5/29/2004 - Brewers (Obermueller) vs. Padres (Tankersley)

[danzig6767]

Podsednik circling around fly balls has all the grace of Rosie O'Donnell running on 6' stiletto heels.

[MassBrew]

And it really is time for more love for Craig Counsell around here. Those two throws to nail the runners were perfect. Nice job by Pods perfectly hitting him with the cutoff throw for the play at third, too.

 

Counsell is worthy of Gold Glove consideration thus far -- seriously.

[PeaveyFury]

Nice job by Pods perfectly hitting him with the cutoff throw for the play at third, too.

 

.... After horribly botching the play to let the ball get to the wall in the first place....

[MassBrew]

Peavey, that ball took a mean bounce to Pods' right.

 

Least deserving win of the season.

 

But we'll take it!

 

Happy, happy, joy, joy...

[gregmag]

Woo-hooo!!!

[DHonks]

Pods with some nice plays despite two balls hitting near him and skipping awkwardly to the fence.

[tyguy20204]

Good win...

 

But again the offense failed to show up.

 

And Jenkins had a lackluster night.

 

I hope he turns it on soon.

[Vgmastr]

With the Brewers' win and the Cubs' loss, the Brewers move a half game ahead of the Cubs. That just makes me smile.

[matthewcmeq]

Once again, I have to ask what is going on.

 

How were the Crew's three runs in the 2nd unearned? Yes, Loretta botched the double play, but Ginter reaches anywqay on the FC. The error only applies to Spivey, who reached second instead of being thrown out. At least two runs should be earned for the following reasons:

 

1. One out when the error occured, not two.

2. You can't assume the double play, so Ginter reached on a legit FC.

3. The errors only effect was to allow Spivey to advance to 2nd. I suppose you could say Spivey's run was unearned since he should have been out, but that is all.

 

What is up? Is this another Tim O'Driscoll screw up?

 

MJC

[Al the Thinking Man]

Mass, Scott ran right to the ball and had it skip past him. Terrible angle to the ball. If not for his ability to outrun most of his goofs, he'd be as bad a defensive CF as you can have.

 

I'm not going to get on his case, as he only had the one play that cost us bases, but he simply looks out of sort on any ball hit over his head...and not that comfy on line drives hit in front of him. If we still had a Jason Conti to sub for Grieve, I'd be all for putting Clark into CF in the late innings.

 

And no, I'm not a big believer in subbing for D.

[Vgmastr]

Quote:

---

What is up? Is this another Tim O'Driscoll screw up?

---

 

If Spivey's put out, then Bennett's the third out. Obermueller shouldn't have gotten a chance to bat.

[DHonks]

How were the Crew's three runs in the 2nd unearned?

 

Pretty simple. the Ginter ball should have been the 2nd out, and Spivey got to 2nd on it (should have been out). Then Bennett struck out, so the inning should have been over. With Obermueller's hit, the inning should already have been over.

[scoop53714]

Al,

 

You are right about Pod's defense in CF. His angles were terrible again tonight and he ALMOST screwed up that long fly in center that he snared on the warning track. It sure would be nice to have an Edmonds,Hunter, Jones type out there running the outfield.

 

Ugly ugly ugly win tonight. I know they will take it but the boys need to get the bats goin'.

[MassBrew]

Yeah, seeing it again, the angle was poor. But Terrence Long wouldn't have attempted to reach third if Scotty had played it cleanly, would he? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Jaylyn]

OK, how about some kudos to Wes. Last time he was in a game was May 12 against Montreal, in which he went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs. Now 17 days later, he goes 6 innings giving up 1 run and more importantly drives in 3 himself. I know some, if not most, of you do not believe Wes can be an effective starter and you are just waiting for Hendrickson to arrive, however I think he can be a good major leaguer if Ned knows how to use him. A couple of weeks ago I stated that Wes is good for six innings max. So far he has proved me correct. Keep it up Wes!http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/happy.gif

[brewmann04]

think wes could be a good #5 guy once Ben comes up

[MassBrew]

Hmmm, one game out of the wild card lead on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend...

[RobertR]

I was at the game tonight. Boy, the Padres have to be kicking themselves for how sloppy they played and the number of chances they let go by.

 

As for the Brewers, the offense still looked ineffectual. Ginter's double was the only hard hit ball all night. Wes' hit was the key play of the game since the Brewers only seriously threatened to score once after that inning. Pods did look scary in centerfield a couple of times as well.

 

Still it's a win. At least the Brewers weren't the ones making the crucial mistakes.

 

Robert

[batman]

I had a good time at the game tonight... I talked a bit about the crowd on the "good crowds expected" thread so I'll stick to the game, here.

 

- Counsell continues to be impressive on defense. I feel pretty stupid for insulting him before the season and questioning whether he could even *play* shortstop, 'cause he's been phenomenal. I don't know if he's a Gold Glover, but he's gotta be one of the best SS's in the NL. Very good arm, solid range, and an absolutely flawless glove. The crowd went nuts on both of his assists, and they were both absolutely perfect throws.

 

- Bennett isn't a very good defensive catcher. He did an acceptable job blocking balls in the dirt, but he let several skip away and had trouble corralling them after they bounced off his chest protector. His throwing attempts were both pretty weak, too. If we're going to have a second catcher who can't hit, I'd at least like him to play some good-to-excellent defense. Bennett seems average at best, and tonight was just another example of that.

 

- Nedley totally botched the Kieschnick moves. With the pitcher due up third, he pinch-hit with Brady Clark even though he was planning on bringing Kieschnick in to pitch the next inning. He double-switched so that Clark would play right and the pitcher would bat in Grieve's spot, which turned out to be third in the following inning. Kieschnick was pulled mid-frame, however, and so he never got to hit. Instead, Adams finished up and was pinch-hit for by Hall. So instead of using Kieschnick to hit and then pitch and then giving Grieve another AB before removing him defensively, Nedley used Clark and Hall. I'd rather have Kieschnick and Grieve or even Kieschnick and Hall than Clark and Hall. That was just a poor move by Ned... why take the chance that Kieschnick will have to be pulled and not get his AB? Even if he wanted Clark to go in as a defensive replacement, Kiesch should have batted in the 9 spot and Clark could have just taken over in Grieve's #3 spot.

 

- Dennis Tankersley doesn't suck. He was hitting 90-93mph with a good fastball and did a real good job of changing speeds. I don't know what his other pitches are, but it appeared that he threw something of a straight change (high 70s-low 80s) and two speeds of breaking ball, one about 82mph and one about 85. His control was pretty good, and he showed good composure despite the error behind him. I was impressed.

 

- Wes Obermueller pitched well, too. His curveball looks really good in-person, but he did struggle with his control. Lots and lots and lots of balls in the dirt, and although the umpire seemed to be squeezing him he wasn't real adept at hitting the corners. Still, I can't complain... outstanding start for your fifth starter, and I'll take that kind of effort every time.

 

- Jenkins looks lost at the plate right now. Absolutely no balance, he's jumping out at everything, and he is missing some balls by *feet*, not inches. Overbay doesn't look real sharp, either, and Grieve had a terrible night. I like that 3-4-5 combo but none of them have their "A" game right now.

 

- Ginter played some outstanding defense at third. He made a couple of really tough plays, including the diving stop / double-play in the ninth, that Wes Helms would never make. He doesn't have as good of an arm, but his range is a lot bigger, especially to his left. He did misplay the ball that Giles tried to score on, but Counsell picked him up. It was a case of two guys converging and neither taking charge, as Ginter looked at Counsell and then stabbed at the ball when Craig didn't make a move to catch it. Neither one of them ended up making the play, and it bounded into shallow left. Hopefully those kinds of mistakes will be eliminated as the two guys play more together.

 

- I can't say enough about Counsell. Really, really impressive.

 

Anybody else take this one in live?

 

~Bill

[MassBrew]

Didn't have a problem with the Brady Clark pinch-hit because it seemed obvious Yost instruced Brady to take the first pitch, squeeze on the second (Clark fouled off the pitch.)

 

Since Yost knew he wanted to squeeze in the run, Clark was the choice, knowing he'd want to defensively replace Grieve for the top of the ninth, anyway.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Thoughts:

 

Defense is important enough to at least consider, as this game (Craig Counsell, Keith Ginter) proved. I know we've had a ton of discussions about moving guys out of position to get bats in the lineup.........

 

Wes O is "ok" for now. I'll take "ok" from our 5th starter. Over his last 2 starts (12 innings), he's allowed 4 runs. Insert small sample comment..........here.

 

Our offense is pathetic right now. 4 hits? Somehow we're winning these games, but how long can they keep it up?

 

San Diego gave this away. We were talking the other night about wasted opportunities and such, and that's how SD has to feel after this one. Total GIFT.

 

Question. Does that mean the Brewers are turning the corner to being a "good" team? GOOD teams take advantage of games like this, and win when they shouldn't. Just a thought, but we're 3 games over, even though we're struggling mightily to score runs.

[batman]

Didn't have a problem with the Brady Clark pinch-hit because it seemed obvious Yost instruced Brady to take the first pitch, squeeze on the second (Clark fouled off the pitch.)

 

Since Yost knew he wanted to squeeze in the run, Clark was the choice, knowing he'd want to defensively replace Grieve for the top of the ninth, anyway.

 

Yeah, you might be right, MassBrew. Kind of a strange call to want to squeeze there, though, don't you think? I figured that he saw something that prompted the squeeze call. I would have preferred letting Kieschnick try to drive in the run, but I can understand the desire to squeeze.

 

Billy Hall came out on deck first, but he was called back... that lends credence to your assumption that the squeeze was on from the beginning.

 

Not sure.

 

Good point, regardless.

 

~Bill

[whizkid]

Bill,

 

Brooks isn't a magician, he can't be warming up in the bullpen and batting or on base at the same time. He made the team this year as a pitcher, his hitting is gravy. He's being used in close and late situations this year and needs the same preparation for an appearance as any other reliever. He really doesn't have a rubber arm. I think Ned's done well making the double switch at the same time as bringing in Brooks and allowing for the chance Brooks can hit the next inning.

[PeaveyFury]

why take the chance that Kieschnick will have to be pulled and not get his AB?

 

I'm 99% sure that Keish never hits first, then pitches (at least so far this year). Usually he pitches then hits, or just hits.... which makes sense, because he needs time to warm up.

 

I could be mistaken, but that's how I remember him being handled so far...

[hawing]

Your May 29, 2004 Brewers : Gettin' in and out of scrape after scrape.

At the risk of echoing others who got home sooner:

 

- Nice to see Wes help his own cause. Who would have predicted he'd drive in 75% of the runs?

 

- Finally, a win in front of a reasonably big crowd. 29,499 despite a holiday weekend, an opponent who is not necessarily the most compelling draw, and no promotion unless you live in one of the five stadium taxed counties. And a large walk-up in so-so weather.

 

- I'll take Craig's offense if it means we also get his defense.