Results tagged ‘ Tim Dillard ’
Welcome To The Show
Today is September 1st, rosters have expanded to 40 players, and the Brewers have made their call-ups. Here is a list of the 10 players the Brewers called up.
Tim Dillard
Mitch Stetter
Mark DiFelice
Vinny Rottino
Angel Salome
Joe Dillon
Alcides Escobar
Mat Gamel
Brad Nelson
Tony Gwynn
Some of these guys have Major League experience, such as Dillard, Stetter, DiFelice, Rottino, Dillon, and Gwynn, but guys like Salome, Escobar, Gamel, and Nelson will be making their debuts sometime this month.
These guys will need to make the most of their opportunities down the stretch, as a few will probably be every day players a few years down the road. Here will be their first taste of big league ball, and it is going to come in the middle of a playoff race.
Now to talk about the actual team, the Crew just got done with a road sweep in Pittsburgh, stretching their lead in the Wild Card to 5.5 over Philly, and 6.5 over St. Louis. This may be the last of the Cardinals, as they seem to finally be fading. The Brewers still have a four-game series in Philly next weekend which could make things very interesting.
As most people know by now, CC Sabathia came as close as you can to throwing a no-hitter yesterday. Was it an error or a hit? I didn’t see the play live, and when I finally did see a replay I had already been influenced by what the announcers thought of the play so it is difficult for me to decide what I would rule it. And while it shouldn’t matter, the barehanded attempt helped the cause for a hit extremely. I’ve heard some say they should leave it a hit, because the moment is already lost and the rest of the game would have played out differently. I say that doesn’t matter, CC Sabathia allowed no hits against the Pirates and he himself should be rewarded for that.
In what is being built up as a possible NLDS preview, the Brewers take on the Mets in a weekday series starting today. Thanks to Labor Day, two of the games are afternoon affairs, and today’s pitching match-up between Ben Sheets and Johan Santana should be a dandy.
The number of games is dwindling, and it is an exciting time to be a Brewers fan!
Peaks And Valleys: Let’s Climb This Together
Most baseball fans understand that throughout the course of a 162-game season, teams are going to have their highs and their lows. Every fan wants more highs than lows, and as a Brewers fan, it’s about time we get to experience more highs. There is also a rule of thumb on how to make the playoffs in baseball. Win your home series, go .500 on the road. By winning about two of three for every home series, that gives you roughly 60 wins. By going .500 on the road, that adds another 40, and at the end of the season your team will end up with around 100 wins and will be in serious contention for the postseason. Today I’m going to take a more in-depth look at how the Brewers season has gone thus far.
Theoretically, after every road trip, the Brewers record should be about the same number of games over .500 as it was before, and they should move farther above .500 after every homestand.
(Beginning record, teams, ending record, +/-)
(0-0) – @ CHI – (2-1) +1
(2-1) – vs. SF, vs. CIN – (6-3) +2
(6-3) – @ NY, @ STL, @ CIN – (11-7) +1
(11-7) – vs. STL, vs. PHI, vs. FLA – (14-11) -1
(14-11) – @ CHI, @ HOU, @ FLA – (16-18) -5
(16-18) – vs. STL, vs. LA – (20-21) +1
(20-21) – @ BOS, @ PIT, @ WAS – (24-27) -2
(24-27) – vs. ATL, vs. HOU, vs. ARI – (32-28) +7
(32-28) – @ COL, @ HOU – (35-31) 0
Current Homestand
(35-31) – vs. MIN, vs. TOR, vs. BAL – (39-33) +2
The Brewers are currently +11 at home, and -5 on the road. That isn’t horrible, but it’s not the best either. If you take out the extremes (+7 at home and -5 on the road), the team is at 0 for the road and +4 at home. This just shows how big of a swing a hot homestand or road trip can be. A key point, besides the +7 and -5 the Brewers have, every other trip has been between -2 and +2. That is the sign of a consistent ballclub, so long as there are more +2′s than -2′s.
Many fans love the team when they’re winning and toss them aside when they’re losing, but the most loyal are there throughout. It’s such a marathon of a season, that you can’t get too high after a win, nor too low after a loss.
Break Out The Brooms
The Brewers completed their fourth home sweep of the season yesterday, although it was not without any drama. Dave Bush pitched brilliantly, taking a no-hitter into the 8th. After losing his bid for history, he escaped the 8th with a 8-1 lead. That’s where things got ugly. After Tim Dillard got two outs, allowed two runs, and then put two more men on base, he was relieved in favor of David Riske. Riske, who is fresh off the DL, promptly walked the first batter he faced, and then gave up a Grand Slam to Joe Inglett. It was Inglett’s first home run this season and just the third of his career. Ned Yost then called on Salomon Torres, who gave up an infield single before striking out Matt Stairs to end the game.
Just a couple other notes from yesterday’s game. Russell Branyan continues to rake, he is batting .306 with 10 HR is just 62 at-bats. Also, Prince Fielder hit his second career inside-the-park home run, when his double got stuck underneath the padding in right. The ball was still clearly visible, but Alex Rios didn’t pick it up, assuming it would be ruled a ground rule double. When he noticed that Fielder had kept running, he picked up the ball, thus making it live again, but Fielder was already on his way home.
One last note, since Corey Hart was moved back to the 5-spot, so far in three games he is 5-10 with 3 RBI. While he may be a good leadoff hitter, he is most valuable to the Brewers lineup batting behind Fielder.
Time To Roast Some Birds!
What’s that? Willie Randolph is available to manage the Brewers for the rest of this season? Sign him up!
It seems the Ned Yost bashers had been quiet for some time, until at least the 12th inning of Saturday’s game against the Twins. With the game tied 4-4, Yost brought in Julian Tavarez to work the 11th. Tavarez labored through the 11th, escaping a bases loaded jam, and followed that up by loading the bases again with no out in the 12th. Was there a pitching change? No. Not until the Twins had scored twice to take the lead and eventually win the game. Taverez worked 1.1 innings, allowing four hits and three walks. Available in the bullpen were Guillermo Mota, Mark DiFelice, and Tim Dillard. Only after the Brewers had surrendered the lead did DiFelice come into the game. Why win today when you can save your pitchers for tomorrow?
In other news, some National League owners are upset that an extra position player has to bat 3-4 times a game due to the DH, instead of their pitcher’s getting those at-bats. This is a reaction to Hank Steinbrenner’s comments about how the NL needs to move into the 21st-century and institute the DH.
Now that the Brewers have won their first interleague game on the season (current record: 1-5), it’s time to take on a pair of teams donning bird monikers, the Blue Jays and Orioles. Anything less than 4-2 against this pair is unacceptable.
I may need to remove my foot from my mouth about the Corey Hart-Rickie Weeks leadoff debate. After the first five games, Hart stats (.208/.208) are worse the Weeks’ (.210/.325), although Hart is currently in an 0-13 slump. I still have faith that Hart will begin to bring his average up to his normal .290 clip, and will be a better option at the top of the order than Weeks is.
Lastly, Ryan Braun is just one spot away from being in the starting outfield for the All-Star Game. Braun trails two Cubs and Ken Griffey for one of the spots in the starting outfield this midsummer classic. So make sure to Vote Braun at every upcoming game you attend!
mlblogsbarrelman
Recent Comments