We are live from my living room, joined by my 42 inch HDTV, MLB Extra Innings, my beagle Lucy, and my special friends gin and tonic. Without further ado..
8:04 PM EST- CC Sabathia takes the mound to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The place is just about sold out. I just realized that if Prince Fielder and Sabathia formed a WWE Tag team their combined weight would be more than Earthquake and Typhoon's...
8:17 pm- Sabathia gets out of a runners on the corners situation with 2 outs with a strikeout of Ryan Spillborghs. The token fist pump and CC is back to the dugout. Funny things from the top half of the inning-
1. The scouting report-type interview from Jason Kendall. He looks like Tom Hanks at the end of "Philadelphia"
2. Most of crowd is wearing the vintage "Teddy Higuera-style" Brewers uniforms. When the majority of your fan base is wearing the old school logo, it may be time to go back to that...
Keep refreshing every 20 minutes or so, I plan on updating at the top of each inning.
Thoughts on the Cubs dealing for Rich Harden..
Didn't the Cubs get rid of Mark Prior? This looks like a knee-jerk reaction to the Sabathia deal, but if Harden stays healthy, great move. If he doesn't, that will make 100 years and counting. The Cubs really didn't give up a ton here, and also managed to get Gaudin to help the stress on their pen. I am sure A's fans are thrilled that Rich Harden was traded with their team 5 or 6 games out of the wild card. By the way to recap, the Cubs traded Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson and Josh Donaldson to Oakland for Harden and Gaudin.
Ryan Braun hit a 3 run home run in the first and the Brewers lead 3-0 going into the second.
8:28 pm- The playoff atmosphere in Milwaukee is evident as the crowd hangs on every pitch and is booing every borderline strike call. Sabathia has a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts, giving him 3 for the game. The real fun begins in the bottom of this inning when CC steps to the plate. Ed Sedar, the Brewers first base coach, is wearing a microphone. He thinks Rickie Weeks is "great". That is the insight I am sure network execs look for with the microphones.
8:36 pm-Sabathia grounds weakly to first to end the inning. Dude....
8:39 pm- "Piggly Wiggly, shop the pig and save!" I love MLB Extra innings just for that.
Token shots of Mark Atanasio, the Brewers owner. Is he related to former owner Bud Selig?
Sabathia gets "K" number 4 against the pitcher. This is another reason why if Sabathia was smart he would take the best money offer he gets from an NL team. His stats would go through the roof. As soon as I type that Willy Tavares hits a double to left. Karma, yick...
Clint Barmes flies to right. JJ Hardy won the NL Player of the week honor last week, what do those guys get for that? A Subway gift card or something?
Sabathia vs Matt Holliday, aka "the next big trade rumor guy". He grounds out to third and the inning is over.
Best sign of the night "CC=Crush Colorado"
9:00 pm- A long bottom of the third so far. Highlights include Prince Fielder beating out a potential double play and getting an RBI. 10 college kids are shirtless in the outfield, spelling -"Corey
Hart" (yes the Brewers logo separated the names). A little creepy...
9:06 pm- CC time again. By the way the FSN Wisconsin announcers are just not good. I should have brought in the XM radio and listened to Bob Uecker.
Trivia question "Which 6 Brewers won Cy Youngs in their careers?" Only 2 happened with the Brewers. Hmmmm. One is Eric Gagne, CC Sabathia won it in Cleveland, who are the other 4?
CC in trouble, the long layoff from 3rd to 4th inning hurt him. 1st and second with nobody out.
Bases loaded,nobody out after the 2nd base umpire can't quite see that Ryan Spillborghs slid past the the second base bag and was tagged out 2 and half feet in front of the umpire and calls him safe. Rox get a run on a double play on the next at bat and Sabathia gives up his first run as a Brewer. 4-1 Brewers, bottom of the 4th.
BTW, Julian Tavarez signed a deal with the Braves today. That's the equivalent of dating Tara Reid, isn't it?
Trivia answer-Pete Vuckovich, Mark Davis, Jim Lonborg, Rollie Fingers, Eric Gagne and CC Sabathia. How in the hell did I not remember Rollie Fingers?
9;27 pm -FSN Wisconsin has a Myspace page. Good lord.
Brewers store sold out of all official Sabathia merchandise last night, they restocked in time for tonight's game. Nice to see fans spending money on a shirt that will be in style for about 3 to 4 months.
Real announcer exchange-
"He seems like a guy who sees it all..."
"You mean CC's it all?"
Ba-Dum-Cha!
1-2-3 inning for Sabathia, on to the bottom of the 5th....
9:37 pm- Klements sausage race jingle. I will say no more, other than "They Race For Taste"
Sabathia so far has 4 k's, no earned runs through 5.
Matt Holliday gets on with an infield hit. By the way he is signed through 2009 and then he becomes a free agent. Oh and his agent is Scott Boras. Just saying, if Harden and Sabathia have been moved it's either Holliday or Mark Teixera trade rumors we hear next...
CC is in trouble. 1st and 2nd, nobody out, Spillborghs at the dish, and he walks. Now we have the bases loaded and Brewers pitching coach Mike Maddux, who is Greg's brother and "King of Porn-Stache" goes out to the mound.
Uh-oh, Yorvit Torrealba lines a double into right, 2 runs score and it is 4-3 Brewers. Spillborghs should have scored but he hurt himself rounding second base. Still nobody out.
1-5 double play. Nice play by Sabathia there, he is pretty nimble for a big guy...
David Riske is warming up for the Brewers. Should we say that's a "Risk-e proposition?" Don't worry, I will just throw myself down the stairs, no help needed.
2-2, 2 out, 2 on, crowd standing, the wind-up, the pitch is "Just a bit outside" (love ya Bob)
Sabathia gets the K, his 5th of the night.
Current line 6 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs(2 earned), 4 walks, 5 k's.
Looks like the chef sausage, whose name is Guido, won the race. Thank god he races for taste.
Oh and Corey Hart is up for the final all-star spot. Don't you think if he sang karaoke to "Sunglasses at Night" and put it on YouTube he would win it hands down? Yeah, me too.
10:01 pm- Matt Herges is in the game for Colorado. The phrase "Herges then blew the save" should sound familiar to San Francisco Giants fans. Oh, hey, a balk. This game has had a little bit of everything.
By the way speaking of Bob Uecker, the Portland Sea Dogs have a closer with the last name "Vaughn". Seriously, look it up. Shouldn't they force him to have black glasses and have the number 99?
10:08 pm- David Riske is in the game. He has Pat Riley's hair. Apparently he and CC are good friends from their Cleveland days. Maybe FSN Wisconsin can post a video of that interview on their Myspace.
Sabathia's final line- 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 K's, 97 pitches. It will go in the books as a quality start.
This is where the Brewers need help, in the bullpen. Solomon Torres is the closer, Eric Gagne the 8th inning guy (quick Red Sox fans, tell me about Gagne and the 8th), and Riske is here in the 7th. If Riske and Gagne are considered a "bridge" to Torres, might I suggest a visual of frayed rope between two mountains above a ravine with broken wood in the middle?
Riske gets a break when Matt Holliday thinks he hit a grounder foul, but it is called fair and he is thrown out. 1-2-3 for Riske.
Quick NBA News-Elton Brand is signing with 76ers. I wonder if Baron Davis actually signed any thing yet?
10:25 pm- Ryan Braun is at the plate with two on, 1 out, and Gagne warming in the pen. Did someone say "insurance run"? He strikes out, leaving it to the biggest vegetarian ever to pick up the slack with two outs. BTW, Fielder hits .396 in the 7th inning and later. Perhaps A-Rod should stop eating meat...
Now, right out of the script, Fielder is intentionally walked and the man vying for an All Star slot, Corey Hart, steps up with the bases loaded and two outs. All that's missing is a montage involving Kelly Preston...
By the way you can vote for the final All-Stars at the top of this page...
Hart draws a walk to force in a run. Did I mention Gagne is the Brewers 8th inning guy? This could be a key run. Clint Hurdle is out to make a pitching change.
Breaking news from Los Angeles- Andruw Jones is overweight and overpaid. That is all. He actually managed an infield single while I wrote that. Damn you karma!
10:35 pm- Jason Grilli is in for the Rockies to face Bill Hall. The bases are still loaded. Oh and the Rockies are defending NL champs. 2 run single for Hall, Hart gets thrown out in a rundown, and the inning is over. 7-3 Milwaukee, top of the 8th, can Eric Gagne hold on?
10:40 pm- Gagne gives up a line drive single to open the inning, but is bailed out by a double play. Weeks to Hardy to Fielder.
Gagne has tied his right show twice already in this inning. Maybe Nike should send him something with velcro on it.
Jason Kendall narrowly avoids a busted testicle. Twice.
Torrealba grounds out to Weeks, and Gagne survives. Bottom of the 8th, still 7-3 Brewers.
10:58 pm- Brian Shouse is in to finish it for the Brewers. Torres is warming just in case.
1 out now, and the announcers are arguing about the turning point of the game. Great chemistry in that booth.
2 outs now and a grounder to Fielder , "Behind the Bag!!!!" Oh, no , wait, he snagged it cleanly and the game is over. CC Sabathia is victorious in his Brewer debut. Thanks for stopping by.
8:04 PM EST- CC Sabathia takes the mound to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The place is just about sold out. I just realized that if Prince Fielder and Sabathia formed a WWE Tag team their combined weight would be more than Earthquake and Typhoon's...
8:17 pm- Sabathia gets out of a runners on the corners situation with 2 outs with a strikeout of Ryan Spillborghs. The token fist pump and CC is back to the dugout. Funny things from the top half of the inning-
1. The scouting report-type interview from Jason Kendall. He looks like Tom Hanks at the end of "Philadelphia"
2. Most of crowd is wearing the vintage "Teddy Higuera-style" Brewers uniforms. When the majority of your fan base is wearing the old school logo, it may be time to go back to that...
Keep refreshing every 20 minutes or so, I plan on updating at the top of each inning.
Thoughts on the Cubs dealing for Rich Harden..
Didn't the Cubs get rid of Mark Prior? This looks like a knee-jerk reaction to the Sabathia deal, but if Harden stays healthy, great move. If he doesn't, that will make 100 years and counting. The Cubs really didn't give up a ton here, and also managed to get Gaudin to help the stress on their pen. I am sure A's fans are thrilled that Rich Harden was traded with their team 5 or 6 games out of the wild card. By the way to recap, the Cubs traded Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson and Josh Donaldson to Oakland for Harden and Gaudin.
Ryan Braun hit a 3 run home run in the first and the Brewers lead 3-0 going into the second.
8:28 pm- The playoff atmosphere in Milwaukee is evident as the crowd hangs on every pitch and is booing every borderline strike call. Sabathia has a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts, giving him 3 for the game. The real fun begins in the bottom of this inning when CC steps to the plate. Ed Sedar, the Brewers first base coach, is wearing a microphone. He thinks Rickie Weeks is "great". That is the insight I am sure network execs look for with the microphones.
8:36 pm-Sabathia grounds weakly to first to end the inning. Dude....
8:39 pm- "Piggly Wiggly, shop the pig and save!" I love MLB Extra innings just for that.
Token shots of Mark Atanasio, the Brewers owner. Is he related to former owner Bud Selig?
Sabathia gets "K" number 4 against the pitcher. This is another reason why if Sabathia was smart he would take the best money offer he gets from an NL team. His stats would go through the roof. As soon as I type that Willy Tavares hits a double to left. Karma, yick...
Clint Barmes flies to right. JJ Hardy won the NL Player of the week honor last week, what do those guys get for that? A Subway gift card or something?
Sabathia vs Matt Holliday, aka "the next big trade rumor guy". He grounds out to third and the inning is over.
Best sign of the night "CC=Crush Colorado"
9:00 pm- A long bottom of the third so far. Highlights include Prince Fielder beating out a potential double play and getting an RBI. 10 college kids are shirtless in the outfield, spelling -"Corey
Hart" (yes the Brewers logo separated the names). A little creepy...9:06 pm- CC time again. By the way the FSN Wisconsin announcers are just not good. I should have brought in the XM radio and listened to Bob Uecker.
Trivia question "Which 6 Brewers won Cy Youngs in their careers?" Only 2 happened with the Brewers. Hmmmm. One is Eric Gagne, CC Sabathia won it in Cleveland, who are the other 4?
CC in trouble, the long layoff from 3rd to 4th inning hurt him. 1st and second with nobody out.
Bases loaded,nobody out after the 2nd base umpire can't quite see that Ryan Spillborghs slid past the the second base bag and was tagged out 2 and half feet in front of the umpire and calls him safe. Rox get a run on a double play on the next at bat and Sabathia gives up his first run as a Brewer. 4-1 Brewers, bottom of the 4th.
BTW, Julian Tavarez signed a deal with the Braves today. That's the equivalent of dating Tara Reid, isn't it?
Trivia answer-Pete Vuckovich, Mark Davis, Jim Lonborg, Rollie Fingers, Eric Gagne and CC Sabathia. How in the hell did I not remember Rollie Fingers?
9;27 pm -FSN Wisconsin has a Myspace page. Good lord.
Brewers store sold out of all official Sabathia merchandise last night, they restocked in time for tonight's game. Nice to see fans spending money on a shirt that will be in style for about 3 to 4 months.
Real announcer exchange-
"He seems like a guy who sees it all..."
"You mean CC's it all?"
Ba-Dum-Cha!
1-2-3 inning for Sabathia, on to the bottom of the 5th....
9:37 pm- Klements sausage race jingle. I will say no more, other than "They Race For Taste"
Sabathia so far has 4 k's, no earned runs through 5.
Matt Holliday gets on with an infield hit. By the way he is signed through 2009 and then he becomes a free agent. Oh and his agent is Scott Boras. Just saying, if Harden and Sabathia have been moved it's either Holliday or Mark Teixera trade rumors we hear next...
CC is in trouble. 1st and 2nd, nobody out, Spillborghs at the dish, and he walks. Now we have the bases loaded and Brewers pitching coach Mike Maddux, who is Greg's brother and "King of Porn-Stache" goes out to the mound.
Uh-oh, Yorvit Torrealba lines a double into right, 2 runs score and it is 4-3 Brewers. Spillborghs should have scored but he hurt himself rounding second base. Still nobody out.
1-5 double play. Nice play by Sabathia there, he is pretty nimble for a big guy...
David Riske is warming up for the Brewers. Should we say that's a "Risk-e proposition?" Don't worry, I will just throw myself down the stairs, no help needed.
2-2, 2 out, 2 on, crowd standing, the wind-up, the pitch is "Just a bit outside" (love ya Bob)
Sabathia gets the K, his 5th of the night.
Current line 6 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs(2 earned), 4 walks, 5 k's.
Looks like the chef sausage, whose name is Guido, won the race. Thank god he races for taste.
Oh and Corey Hart is up for the final all-star spot. Don't you think if he sang karaoke to "Sunglasses at Night" and put it on YouTube he would win it hands down? Yeah, me too.
10:01 pm- Matt Herges is in the game for Colorado. The phrase "Herges then blew the save" should sound familiar to San Francisco Giants fans. Oh, hey, a balk. This game has had a little bit of everything.
By the way speaking of Bob Uecker, the Portland Sea Dogs have a closer with the last name "Vaughn". Seriously, look it up. Shouldn't they force him to have black glasses and have the number 99?
10:08 pm- David Riske is in the game. He has Pat Riley's hair. Apparently he and CC are good friends from their Cleveland days. Maybe FSN Wisconsin can post a video of that interview on their Myspace.
Sabathia's final line- 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 K's, 97 pitches. It will go in the books as a quality start.
This is where the Brewers need help, in the bullpen. Solomon Torres is the closer, Eric Gagne the 8th inning guy (quick Red Sox fans, tell me about Gagne and the 8th), and Riske is here in the 7th. If Riske and Gagne are considered a "bridge" to Torres, might I suggest a visual of frayed rope between two mountains above a ravine with broken wood in the middle?
Riske gets a break when Matt Holliday thinks he hit a grounder foul, but it is called fair and he is thrown out. 1-2-3 for Riske.
Quick NBA News-Elton Brand is signing with 76ers. I wonder if Baron Davis actually signed any thing yet?
10:25 pm- Ryan Braun is at the plate with two on, 1 out, and Gagne warming in the pen. Did someone say "insurance run"? He strikes out, leaving it to the biggest vegetarian ever to pick up the slack with two outs. BTW, Fielder hits .396 in the 7th inning and later. Perhaps A-Rod should stop eating meat...
Now, right out of the script, Fielder is intentionally walked and the man vying for an All Star slot, Corey Hart, steps up with the bases loaded and two outs. All that's missing is a montage involving Kelly Preston...
By the way you can vote for the final All-Stars at the top of this page...
Hart draws a walk to force in a run. Did I mention Gagne is the Brewers 8th inning guy? This could be a key run. Clint Hurdle is out to make a pitching change.
Breaking news from Los Angeles- Andruw Jones is overweight and overpaid. That is all. He actually managed an infield single while I wrote that. Damn you karma!
10:35 pm- Jason Grilli is in for the Rockies to face Bill Hall. The bases are still loaded. Oh and the Rockies are defending NL champs. 2 run single for Hall, Hart gets thrown out in a rundown, and the inning is over. 7-3 Milwaukee, top of the 8th, can Eric Gagne hold on?
10:40 pm- Gagne gives up a line drive single to open the inning, but is bailed out by a double play. Weeks to Hardy to Fielder.
Gagne has tied his right show twice already in this inning. Maybe Nike should send him something with velcro on it.
Jason Kendall narrowly avoids a busted testicle. Twice.
Torrealba grounds out to Weeks, and Gagne survives. Bottom of the 8th, still 7-3 Brewers.
10:58 pm- Brian Shouse is in to finish it for the Brewers. Torres is warming just in case.
1 out now, and the announcers are arguing about the turning point of the game. Great chemistry in that booth.
2 outs now and a grounder to Fielder , "Behind the Bag!!!!" Oh, no , wait, he snagged it cleanly and the game is over. CC Sabathia is victorious in his Brewer debut. Thanks for stopping by.
4 comments:
Gin and Tonic, I am more of champagne fan and go with the High Life.
The Harden deal was an interesting one. The Cubs did bolster a talented rotation without giving up much, but I am not a fan of the reaction moves. Such a deal could work out for a team, but it could also turn out to be a superfluous deal that cost a team some talented prospects.
I would normally feel the same way about a team like Milwaukee trading prospects for a rental, but the way they draft they can use the two first round picks they get from losing Sabathia in the offseason and replenish the system on the fly. Melvin has a done a great job with this farm system, I think he will continue to do so. The atmosphere Tuesday almost made the trade worth it by itself, it was electric. BTW Miller High Life is the best! "The Champagne of Beers!"
I don't think the Cubs traded anything of substance in the Harden deal. Murton seems like a AAAA guy to me, too good for AAA, not quite good enough for the Majors. Gallagher projects as a 4th starter at best, and Patterson doesn't really wow me. For a team like the Cubs, who basically have to go for it this year, this was a good move. Risky, considering Harden's health, but imperative.
But you could make the argument that standing pat, the Cubs were still a better team. Let's face, the Brewers pen is a mess and there is not guarantee that Sheets will stay healthy through the end of the season.
As for the rental player....I don't quite understand how it got to be that teams were afraid to give up a couple of prosepects for a guy who will leave at the end of the season. The better the player to better it is for your team on two fronts. First, you add better quality to your team. Second, a premiere player leaving at the end of the season will net you two picks as a Class A Type FA. If you draft wisely and have a great college scouting department, yo ucan turn those picks into solid MLBers within a couple of years. Boston and Oakland are two prime examples of getting guys to the bigs in a matter of a couple of years. Guys like Mulder, Zito, Street, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Buchholz and so on spent no more than 2 full seasons in the minors, and all are all-star quality players.
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