Game Thread #77: Brewers (42-34) at Braves (38-40)

by Jeff Sackmann on Jun 24, 2008 3:55 PM CDT in Game Threads

Here are some fun facts that make you wonder what's in the water in the NL Central. There are five teams in baseball with better records than the Brewers right now. Two of those are in the National League, and both of those are in the Central. The Brewers are a half-game better than the East-leading Phillies and 2.5 better than the West-leading D-Backs. For the record, we're also a half-game better than the AL Central-leading White Sox.

All good things must come to end, though, at least for Cardinals fans. The Crew is only a game and a half back of second place and the wild card lead, and while the Brewers continue their set against the Braves, the Cards meet the Tigers. (Are they good this week or not? I can't keep up.)

Today's pitching matchup ought to be interesting: Dave Bush goes for the Brewers, about a month after he shut down the Braves at Miller Park. You're also probably aware that's coming off his best start of the year. Both of those outings were at home, though, and his road ERA is over eight. (Nowhere to go but down, right? Let's hope...)

The Braves have had to turn to Richmond again and again, and so it is tonight, with Charlie Morton on the mound, making his third big-league start. Both of the previous two were interleague matchups, and he even managed a quality start in one of them. Always interesting (and often depressing) to see how the Crew does against pitchers they've never seen before.

Game time is 6:05 CT, and here's the BR Game Preview.

Go Brewers!

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"Nowhere to go but down"

That must be Turnbow’s motto… which would still be better than Kapler’s “mantra”: ‘I prepare, therefore I am prepared,’

by keephopealive on Jun 24, 2008 4:15 PM CDT 0 recs

6th best record

Not bad… when I saw the Brewers record as being 8 games over .500, it didn’t seem like it was that long they were under .500… impressive turnaround they have had lately… on pace to win almost 90 games… stay hot!

The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.

by Kyguy922 on Jun 24, 2008 5:10 PM CDT 0 recs

extrapolate the last 3 games

and we win over 120. whohoo! :)

by PagsBrewCrew on Jun 24, 2008 5:11 PM CDT up 0 recs

My road Bush theory

It’s all Kendall’s fault. Kendall exudes an extra amount of grit while on the road, call it 2.5 Kendall units. The causes an overload of grit on the field as Bush(aka The Gritty Bulldog) is exuding his own above average level of grit, about 1.25 Kendalls of grit. So you have 3.75 Kendalls in the starting battery, which is just too damn much grit. Just having Kendall in the park causes a .5 Kendall to leak onto the field. What they need is at least a -.75 Kendall out of TGB’s road catcher to bring Bush back into harmonic balance. Sadly, Mike Rivera has spent too many years in the minors to be this grit free so he won’t do. Vinny Rotino plays too many positions, and Sal Palmisano has a name that should be written in grit so he won’t do.

I think this leaves us with only one option, and that is to bring Estrada back to fill this valuable role. You can try to argue with the math, but you just prove that you really have no concept.

by Getting Yosted on Jun 24, 2008 5:55 PM CDT 3 recs

Wow.

That’s possibly a greater theory than the theory of relativity. Or could they be linked?

Nonetheless, +1 rec for you, good sir.

Lordz Of Vengeance....If I'm not drunk, I'm at work.

by Dikembe Meiztombo on Jun 24, 2008 5:59 PM CDT up 0 recs

Kendall Units

Best post so far today.

I think you need to do a study on Kendall units for each of our players. I’m interested in the Kendall unit count on Craig Counsell. That has to be a pretty high grit factor.

by SgtClueLs on Jun 24, 2008 6:31 PM CDT up 0 recs

I'd also like to see

Kapler
and former Brewer Tony Graffino

And does Branyan have grit, given the number of times he’s been in the minors?

by PagsBrewCrew on Jun 24, 2008 6:40 PM CDT up 0 recs

I'm suspending myself for one game*

For the Laynce Nix diary. Not for putting it up, but I was kind of overly glib when I wrote it, and now I feel bad. It wasn’t a particularly mature posting.

I’ll forfeit one day’s BCB salary to the Jeff Sackmann Baseball Reading Is Fundamental program too.

*Unless the Cubs lose, in which case I’ll post the flag, lest the Kow beat me to it.

"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"

by roguejim on Jun 24, 2008 5:57 PM CDT 0 recs

blasphemy

Lordz Of Vengeance....If I'm not drunk, I'm at work.

by Dikembe Meiztombo on Jun 24, 2008 5:59 PM CDT up 0 recs