Crew Falls Under .500

After losing the series opener to the Cubs on Tuesday the Brewers have fallen under .500 for first time this season. The Brewers blew a 3 run lead for the 14th time this season which leads the major leagues.

It's sickening to watch the crew blow all these leads. Every time the Brewers get a lead you expect them to blow it. There is no way the team can continue to be this bad the rest of the season. At 65-66 the Brewers are still only 2.5 games back for the division lead.

The good news for the Brewers is Ben Sheets is making his return tonight. Hopefully Sheets gives this team the boost it needs. The Brewers need a stopper and Sheets is that guy. Tonight's game against the Cubs is the most important game of the season and a loss would be another devastating blow towards their playoff chances.

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Prospect Watch: Matt LaPorta

Matt LaPorta, the Brewers 1st round pick in this past June's draft is currently playing for Single-A West Virginia. LaPorta has been swinging the bat very well. After 16 games and 60 at bats LaPorta is hitting .317 with five home runs and 17 RBI. He has a very good on base percentage of .403 and has an OPS of 1.069.

LaPorta is probably the Brewers top prospect already. He'll finish the season at West Virginia and will most likely start 2008 in High-A Brevard County.

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Villanueva Sent to Triple-A

In a very surprising move the Brewers announced they were sending Carlos Villanueva down to Triple-A. The Brewers have called up Seth McClung to take his place. This move is very odd considering last night Villanueva pitched three scoreless innings to pick up the save in the Brewers 9-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

Manager Ned Yost insists this is not a demotion for Villanueva and he wants him to work out some kinks in the Triple-A.

"These one-inning stints, it's hard to get any kind of command down," Yost said. "He's at the Major League level, you're battling for first place. He's just got a lot of pressure on him every time he steps out there. I wanted to get him in a little less-pressurized situation to refine his mechanics a little bit."

Seth McClung, Villanueva's replacement was acquired earlier in the season from Tampa Bay in a trade for Grant Balfour. McClung was 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA in Triple-A.

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Brewers Fall out of First Place

With last nights loss to the Reds the Brewers are now in second place. They are a half game back of the Cubs. The loss makes 5 straight for the crew. This team just cannot win right now. Everyone in the rotation is getting killed every time out. Nothing seems to be working.

Things need to turn around quickly or Ned Yost may be looking at unemployment at the end of the season. The Brewers are lucky to be so close to first the way they've played in the second half. This team can still win the division but the starting rotation needs to get better.

For the most part the bats have been pretty solid except for Weeks and Hall who have just forgotten how to hit. Gabe Gross is a good addition to the lineup. He knows how to get on base and can add a little pop. The Brewers need guys to actually get on base for when Fielder and Braun hit their home runs. I have never seen a team hit as many solo homers at the Brewers do.

Bottom line the pitching needs to improve though. It doesn't matter if you can score when you give up 8 runs a game. Ben Sheets please come back soon...

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Prospect Watch: Jonathan Lucroy

Jonathan Lucroy, a catcher out Louisiana Lafayette was the Brewers 3rd round selection in this past June's draft. He is currently playing for the Helena Brewers in rookie league. Lucroy is off to a hot start. He's hitting .355 with a .401 on base percentage and a .913 OPS. Lucroy also has two home runs and 30 RBI.

It's very nice to see a promising catching prospect in the system since catching has been a weak spot in the Brewers farm system over the years. Lucroy is possibly a top 10 prospect in the Brewers system already.

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Graffanino out for the Season; Weeks Recalled

Tony Graffanino will miss the rest of the season as he has a torn ACL. Graffanino suffered the injury in Wednesday's loss to the Rockies. Rickie Weeks will be recalled from Triple-A Nashville to take his place. Weeks hit .455 with a .571 on base percentage in 22 at bats with Nashville.

Things just keep getting worse for the crew. This team has nothing going for them right now besides Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. The bullpen is tired, the injuries are starting to pile up, players are under performing and their lead in the NL Central has diminished. Something needs to happen to right the ship.

The Brewers NEED to win their upcoming series with the Astros. Losing another series at this point would be devastating. The Crew is only 5 games over .500 at this point of the season after starting out 24-10. It's time for the Brewers to step up otherwise they'll be watching the playoffs from home.

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Fact or Fiction on the Crew

Francisco Cordero should be removed from the closers role?

Fiction: While Cordero has stuggled as of late he's still the best option. I think his arm is tired right now and he just needs a little time off to rest his arm. There isn't anyone in the pen who has proved they would be a better option.

Damian Miller should be the starting catcher?

Fact: Johnny Estrada makes good contact but not much of anything else. His defense is poor and he doesn't hustle. Miller is good defensively, is a leader, and calls a better game than Estrada. Miller's average is below Estrada's but his on base percentage is higher. The Brewers record is also better in the games which Miller starts. I don't think it's a coincidence.

With Ben Sheets out Yovani Gallardo is the ace of the staff?

Fact: Gallardo has been lights out since joining the Brewers. The rest of the pitching staff has severely underachieved. Everyone else in the rotation has an ERA of at least 4.80. With Sheets on the DL Gallardo is clearly the teams ace.

Manny Parra should join the starting rotation?

Fact: Claudio Vargas just keeps getting worse. Jeff Suppan, Chris Capuano, and Dave Bush have been shaky as well. Parra should replace Vargas at the #5 starter and Vargas should move to the bullpen. Bush hasn't been too good in relief but has put together some great starts. I think Vargas to the pen would be best move. Parra has showed a lot of promise, he did great in the minors and has done very well in his appearances with the Brewers. Parra deserves a chance in the rotation to show what he can do.

The Brewers need a 5th outfielder and should call up Gabe Gross of Tony Gwynn?

Fiction: While it would be nice to have a 5th outfielder and very easy to demote Chris Spurling for now I believe the best thing is to keep 13 pitchers. The bullpen is tired and needs the extra arm. While Spurling isn't very good he can eat up garbage innings when the Brewers are down. The Brewers just need to wait it out until Sepetember when the roster expansion occurs.

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Prospect Watch: Zach Jackson

Zach Jackson, 24, is currently in the starting rotation for Triple-A Nashville. Last season he spent some time with the Brewers but has spent the entire 2007 season in Triple-A. Jackson has not had a great season. He's 9-7 with a 4.71 ERA in 133.2 innings pitched. He's struck out 95 batters and his WHIP stands at 1.45.

This season has been a disappointing one for Jackson. When he was acquired in the Lyle Overbay trade he was considered to have the most potential of any of the players the Brewers received. He has not lived up to that potential. It doesn't look like he will be called up this season and his status as a top prospect in the Brewers system has fallen.

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The Life of a Brewers Fan

After Friday's win and Saturday's dramatic come back it felt great to be a Brewers fan again. Saturday was a huge come from behind victory, Prince Fielder hit a 2 run homer to take the lead and Corey Hart robbed a home run in the 9th inning. Miller Park was the loudest it had been all season and the players were feeding off the fans.

Then comes the series finale on Sunday. The Crew is up 6-1 in the 9th and it looks like a sweep in the making. Matt Wise comes in and totally blows. Cordero comes in, gets to 2 outs with 2 strikes and ends up blowing the save. 6-6, extra innings and the Brewers end up getting bitten by Wes freakin Helms to lose 8-6. Today's game was the lowest point of the entire season. Yesterday was the highest point and today was just a big slap in the face. Yet another blown lead and this was just painful to watch. Right when you think the Brewers are about to bust out of their slump something like this happens.

The Crew has zero consistency. At times they play championship calibur baseball and other times they play like they should be in the cellar. Aside of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder the lineup has been very inconsistent and the entire bullpen has been inconsistent as well with the exception of Brian Shouse.

Who would have thought following a team that's in a pennant race for the first time in over a decade would be so frustrating? That's just the life of being a Brewers fan.

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Weeks Sent to Triple-A

The Brewers have sent Rickie Weeks down to Triple-A Nashville. You can try and use any excuse that you want like his wrist problems but bottom line Rickie has not been producing the way he should. A .212 average does not cut it at this level. To say Weeks has been disappointing this year would be an understatement. Weeks, a former #2 overall selection in the MLB Draft hasn't lived up to the hype like teammates Prince Fielder, J.J. Hardy, and Ryan Braun. We'll see if he can fix things down in Triple-A.

The Crew have called up Joe Dillon from Triple-A to take Weeks' place. Dillon who turns 32 on Thursday was hitting .320 with 20 home runs and 73 RBI for the Sounds.

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Just What the Doctor Ordered

The Brewers defeated the Mets tuesday night by a score of 4-2 when Geoff Jenkins hit a walkoff home run in the 13th inning. For a struggling team like the Brewers this is just what they needed. Winning a game in walkoff fashion and for a guy like Jenkins who has been struggling and is a leader on this team to deliver the walkoff is huge. This is a turning point for the crew. The Cubs have been breathing down their necks but this team is not going to quit. This was just what the doctor ordered and now the Brewers need to capitalize on this and carry the momentum forward.

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