Do You Hear That Noise Cubs(Fans)?

That would be the footsteps of the Milwaukee Brewers. The now 2nd place team in the NL Central and Wild Card leaders who happen to now be only 2 games back of the division lead.

This Brewers team is playing with more swagger and confidence then I have seen in a very long time. It seems once they got CC Sabathia this teams confidence shot through the roof.

We just swung a deal for Ray Durham who will be a nice veteran presence in the clubhouse as well as a switch hitter off the bench who can start at 2B a few times a week. He hist for average and carries a high OBP just what the Brewers need at the top.

I'm not sure how the whole Bush/McClung platoon in the starting rotation will work out but Seth looked good last night and Bush has been on fire his last five starts. We will see how Suppan pitches tonight but maybe HE should be the odd man out. But with the salary they pay him he ain't pitching out of the pen anytime soon.

Bill Hall is heating up, even against RHP. IT"S ABOUT TIME! I still want to see Branyan get a few starts a week against RHP though.

And hey, after last night's win in St. Louis and their first road sweep since 2004 the Brewers are only 1 game under .500 on the road this season. Simple amazing considering how they have played on the road since Yost took over as Manager in 2003.

It's Been Awhile, And Things Look Great In Milwaukee!

I have not posted on here since June 25th. Mostly because I have been busy, but also because I have been very lazy and have not felt like writing anything. And although I was not down with the idea of trading Gamel or LaPorta for Sabathia, I have totally changed my mind. And of course we did swing a trade for the 2007 AL Cy Young winner big lefty CC Sabathia. We got to keep Gamel, Alcides Escobar and Angel Salome. Because of this I am totally okay with the trade. Yeah we had to give up Matt LaPorta who will be a damn good player, but we also only had to throw in a few spare parts like Zach Jackson. Because of this and the fact that Sabathia is one of the most electric players to now ever wear a Brewers uniform I totally take back my last post. The Brewers have been hot and now with Sabathia and Sheets heading the pitching staff things look great! Not to mention the great jobs Dave Bush and Manny Parra have done. Well two more games before the All-Star break tonight and tomorrow against Cincinnatti (tomorrow CC will make his second start as a Brewer). And speaking of the All-Star game, it is just amazing that for the second straight season we got a player voted into the starting lineup. Ryan Braun will start in the OF for the NL along with Matt Holliday and Kosuke Fukudome. Joining Braun on the NL team from the Brewers is Ben Sheets and Corey Hart. After years of getting one player in the mid summer classic representing Milwaukee it's nice to see 3 or more on a consistent basis. Were only .5 games back of the Cardinals for the wild card and only 5 back of the Cubs for the division lead. Things look great and I really feel a post season birth this year, FINALLY!

Gamel And/Or LaPorta For CC Sabathia? No Thanks

This has become a hot topic amongst Milwaukee sports talk radio show hosts this past week after ESPN's Buster Olney mentioned the Brewers as a top candidate to get last years AL Cy Young winner. The main reason that Onley feels the Brewers have perhaps the best chance is because of the large amount of talent in their minor league system, specifically in AA Huntsville. And even more specifically 3B Matt Gamel and LF Matt LaPorta. The Matt's are two of the biggest prospects in all of baseball. LaPorta was the Brewers first round pick a year ago and Gamel was the Brewers 4th round pick in 2005 (same year they drafted Braun in the 1st round, talk about a nice draft). Both guys have just been ripping the cover off the ball in AA Huntsville this season. Gamel is batting .371, 15 HR, 66 RBI and an OPS of 1.064. LaPorta is batting .294, 19 HR, 59 RBI and an OPS of 1.011. Here is the thing, the Indians if they even decide they want to deal Sabathia and if Melvin asks about him their is no doubt they will want one of these guys plus a guy like maybe Tony Gwynn, that would be a minimum deal. There is a chance they could ask for as high as both Gamel and LaPorta. Personally if they just wanted one of the Matt's, it would be hard not to really consider it. I mean an ace like CC joining Sheets in our rotation would be quite awesome. But Sabathia is a free agent after the season and their is no guarantee he would be more then a 2 month rental. Is that worth giving up one of our future studs on this team? I'm not sure it is and I know for a fact it wouldn't be worth it if we had to give up both players. I guess when it comes down to it I don't want to trade either player, but if it is just one and we did make the playoffs and won the whole fucking thing, I would have to approve and say well worth it. If we make a trade and we don't even get into the playoffs and CC walks, I would have steam coming out of my ears all off-season.

After 0-2 Start, Brewers Finish Homestand 6-3

After winning 2 straight to finish off a series win over the Baltimore Orioles the Brewers finished off this 9 game homestand 6-3. Not the 8-1 we had hoped for like their last 9 game stand but after losing the first two games to Minnesota To win 6 out of the next 7 was very impressive. The Brewers for the first time all season are 7 games over .500 with their record now 41-34. And on this homestand the HR ball came back in a big way as they now have 99 as a team. Here are their leaders in long balls:

Ryan Braun: 20
Prince Fielder: 16
Corey Hart: 12
Mike Cameron: 11
Russell Branyan: 10
Bill Hall: 10

Some of the other highlights on this homestand would have to be Dave Bush's no-hit bid he took into the 8th inning against the Blue Jays on Thursday, two more strong starts and wins from Seth McClung, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder each with 2-HR games and Salomon Torres continuing to rack up saves now with 12 on the season.

The Crew now heads out on a 10 game road trip going to Atlanta, Minnesota and Arizona. That is a tough 10 games on the road one of which is a AL park meaning we have to use a DH. Of course unlike last time we were in an AL park (Boston) we don't have to worry about Ned using someone like Tony Gwynn as the DH (probably weakest hitting DH of all time, in the history of baseball). I would be thrilled if they are just able to go 5-5 on the trip. Anything less then that would be awful and anything more would be a pleasant surprise. Go Brewers! Catch those Cubs and/or Cardinals!

Gagne Close To Returning, Will Set-Up Torres Upon Arrival

I have to give Ned Yost some serious credit. He has already made the decision that when Eric Gagne comes off the DL during the Twins series June 27th he will not be the closer, but will instead be the 8th inning set-up man. Salomon Torres who has been lights out since taking over for Gagne picked up his 10th save today and surley deserves to continue to be the closer for this team until he proves otherwise. I'm as big of a Gagne fan as you will find, but this is flat out the right decision. Gagne had some struggles before this DL stint closing games out and Torres has just been to good to make any kind of move. Now if Torres struggles, sure then maybe you make a change at some point. I don't see Torres all of a sudden blowing up though. I do believe that Gagne can be a very effective 8th inning guy setting Torres up. Guillermo Mota has been the 8th inning guy but has been very inconsistent. I see Yost going with roles of Villanueva in the 7th, Gagne in the 8th and Torres in the 9th. Mix in Brian Shouse anytime you need to get a lefy out in the 7th or 8th and our pen should be set. David Riske, Tim Dillard and Mota will be guys you can go to in the 6th and I would assume Mark DiFelice will now be the long man if a starter struggles early on. The best part about all of this is Gagne is being a true team player and had this to say:

"I'm here to win," Gagne said. "That's all I care about. Salomon has been throwing unbelievable, and if I get upset with that, that would be stupid. That would be selfish. ... All I demanded when I came over here was respect, and they showed me a lot of respect.

"Closing, setting up, [pitching the] third inning, I don't care. That's the last of my worries. I just want to compete, get back on the mound."

Say what you will about Gagne but you have to respect comments like that. Team first.

Ryan Braun Wants Your Votes, Campaigns With 2 Homerun Game

Ryan Braun has moved into 4th in NL All-Star voting for Outfielders. He now only trails; Alfonso Soriano (injured), Koskue Fukudome and Ken Griffey. The top three vote getter's make up the starting OF in the mid summer classic. If you have not voted your 25 times online, please do (yes I already have casted all of my votes, I voted for Braun, Burrell and McClouth for the NL OF). Braun has better total numbers then all three of the players in front of him one of which (Soriano) is on DL. Braun currently: .291 AVG, 20 HR, 55 RBI and a .908 OPS. Braun was in full campaign mode last night in the Brewers 7-0 win over the Blue Jays as he hit his 18th and 19th HR's of the season. Braun's star is rising fast not only here in Milwaukee where he is already a superstar but the rest of the league and it's fans are really starting to notice. So go to mlb.com and cast your 25 votes for Ryan so for the second consecutive season the Brewers can get a deserving player voted in as a starter in the mid summer classic.

News, Notes And General "Tidbits"

I attended today's Brewers v. Twins game on Fathers Day with my Father. We had a great time, brought back a lot of memories of going to the games when I was young at County Stadium. Shared a great Brewers 4-2 win to avoid the sweep as well as some laughs, beers and brats! We arrived to the park about an hour and a half before first pitch and got to see the Brewers players playing ball with all of their kids on the field. It was neat to see them playing ball with their big league Dads.

Seth McClung (4-3, 3.94 ERA) continues to impress and I continue to have a HUGE man crush on him. Got the win today and pitched 6 strong innings striking out 4 giving up 4 hits, 2 runs both earned but once again walked ZERO. It just shows you once again that if Seth keep the walks at a minimum he can be a very good starting pitcher in this league. His ONLY bad start was against the Braves when he walked 6. It just goes to show ya.

I totally called Mike Cameron's 2-run HR today as I turned to my Dad and said; "after he hits this HR I will forget all about that .215 AVG." Sure enough, he made me forget. For now :)

Although Ryan Braun hit his 18th HR last night, he had an 0-4 today and his average has dipped to .285. The lowest it has been in awhile. I dare to say that Ryan has gone into a "mini slump". Shouldn't be too much of a concern, Braun doesn't go into prolonged slumps because he is that damn good. I expect him to heat up against the Jays and the O's.

Injured relief pitchers Eric Gagne and David Riske are making positive steps in the direction of getting of the DL. Riske threw a few simulated game innings on Saturday and Gagne threw off a mound Sunday morning for the first time since going on the DL. Neither have "timetables" on return dates but both are moving in the right direction and Riske seems closer then Gagne at this point. My hope is the sooner the better. With guys like DiFelice, Dillard and Tavarez wondering our pen I would much rather have these guys out there.

Not Really A Good Way To Start To A 9 Game Homestand

The Brewers quite literally sucked last night. Pretty much in all aspects of the game. Hitting, pitching and Fielding all kind of took the night off. They scored only 2 runs on 5 hits, that's right 5 hits against some guy named Kevin Slowey (what you never heard of him? Yeah me either). Bush didn't pitch horrible but he didn't pitch good either. Gave up 10 hits and 4 runs, 3 earned. Tim Dillard came into the game in the 7th and gave up 5 runs, but none of them were earned because as I said the fielding was awful last night as well. Bill Hall playing 2B had a very costly error (his second of the game) and it opened the flood gates as the Twins poured it on in the 7th. We still have 8 games left on this homestand, but if we want to catch up to the Cubs or Cardinals we need to win at least 7 of the remaining 8. We just had a 8-1 stand and there is no reason to think we can't do that again. JJ Hardy should hopefully back today or Sunday which means Counsell can play 2B and we can get the atrocious Bill Hall off the field. The fans at Miller Park really gave it to Hall last night with the boos as he was 0-3 at the plate and had those two very costly errors which now gives him 15 on the year. You know it's funny, Hall wants to be traded if he doesn't play everyday. He is getting that chance more or less with Weeks on the DL and he is doing nothing with that opportunity. Even if the Brewers wanted to trade him, could they really get anything for him at this point? He has a huge contract and has had a very bad year thus far. Oh and can we PLEASE ditch the retro uniforms yet? Another loss wearing them.