Results tagged ‘ Tony Gwynn ’
Remembering ’08: March 31st
Throughout the off-season, sprinkled in between posts about current Brewers happenings, will be a look back at the 2008 season. This past season turned into something truly special for the Crew in the final week of the season, but it all began way back when, on March 31st, at Wrigley Field.
Opening Day around the Majors featured the Brewers taking on the Cubs in a heated NL Central rivalry. The Brewers were fresh off their first winning season since 1992, and the Cubs were favored to win the NL Central for the second straight season. Optimism abound on that Monday afternoon, when Ben Sheets took the hill for the Crew.
Thanks to a rain delay and some dominant pitching by both clubs starters, the game remained tied at 0-0 till the 9th. The Cubs trotted out new closer Kerry Wood to shut down the Crew and get the Cubs a shot at winning the game in the bottom half. What transpired over the next two innings was one of the biggest highlight/lowlight twists of the season for the Brew Crew.
On Wood’s first pitch in the 9th, he hit Rickie Weeks, putting the leadoff man on. Tony Gwynn then fouled off the first two pitches he saw from Wood on bunt attempts. On the 0-2 pitch, Gwynn laid down a perfect sacrifice and the Crew now had the go-ahead run in scoring position for Prince Fielder.
Wood and the Cubs elected to intentionally walk Fielder, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with Ryan Braun coming up. Braun watched ball one, then ripped the 1-0 pitch to center for an RBI single to put Milwaukee on top 1-0. But the inning did not end there. After a Bill Hall strike out, Corey Hart delivered with a two-out, two-run double to right to give the Brewers what seemed like an insurmountable cushion at 3-0.
In came the Crew’s new closer, off-season addition Eric Gagne. Gagne gave up a leadoff single to Derrek Lee, and then walked Aramis Ramirez, bringing the tying run to the plate in the form of Kosuke Fukudome. After falling behind 3-0, Gagne got a strike over to make it 3-1. On the next pitch however, Fukudome crushed a 3-run homer to right center to tie the game 3-3. Gagne recovered to get the next two out, and after allowing a two-out single to Felix Pie, he got out of the inning when Mike Fontenot grounded out.
On to the 10th they went, and this time Craig Counsell delivered with a leadoff pinch-hit double. After Jason Kendall sacrificed him over to 3rd, and Rickie Weeks was again hit by a pitch, Tony Gwynn lifted an 0-1 pitch to center for a sacrifice fly to score Counsell and give the Crew a 4-3 lead.
David Riske then came on in relief of Gagne for the 10th. In a much smoother inning, Riske got the Cubs to go 1-2-3, and the Crew had their first win of ’08. They had gone from on top (3-0), to the bottom (3-3), to back on top once more (4-3) in a roller coaster of a game.
This game set the tone somewhat for what the rest of this season would hold. With late inning rallies and collapses, something fans grew way too accustomed to over the course of the season.
Another Day, Another Loss, Another Heartache
It’s seems for the Milwaukee Brewers that at this point in the season, it’s the same stuff happening on a different day. Last night it was a mediocre starting pitching performance out of Jeff Suppan, coupled with poor hitting with runners in scoring position by pretty much everyone up and down the lineup.
Ned Yost managed the game fairly well. He made good pitching changes, and his bullpen responded with 5.2 innings of 1-run baseball. He put runners in motion on the basepaths, with Corey Hart and Tony Gwynn both stealing bases late in the game to put the leading/winning run in scoring position. But every time the Brewers needed a clutch hit, they didn’t get one. The eight starters for the game had three hits total, two coming from Prince Fielder. The pinch-hitters had two hits, one being a game-tying three-run homer from Ray Durham in the 7th.
With the Phillies and Brewers losing, the Astros and Cardinals winning, the Wild Card race has tightened up quite a bit. Only four games separate the Brewers and Astros, with the Phillies just three back and the Cards 3.5.
Standings Update
Milwaukee – 82-63
Philadelphia – 79-66
St. Louis – 78-66
Houston – 78-67
Last night was also the fourth game of the year I’ve been at, sitting in the fourth different section as well. Many fans at the games seem to demand perfection out of the Brewer players, as evidenced by booing Eric Gagne after he threw a ball on an 0-2 pitch. It didn’t take long for the boo birds to come out last night, booing Bill Hall after he ended he first inning with the bases loaded and booing Gagne for just entering the game.
Today is a must win for the Crew, because tomorrow the playoffs begin in Philadelphia. There is no more room for error, the time to win is now!
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!
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