Game 139: Astros @ Brewers 7:05 PM

[trwi7]

Houston Astros (62-77, 5th in NL Central)
Milwaukee Brewers (70-68, 2nd in NL Central)

Location:



TV/Radio:

FSN Wisconsin/620 WTMJ

Pitching Matchup:

Matt Albers

Yovani Gallardo

HOU: RHP Matt Albers (4-6, 5.36 ERA)
MIL: RHP Yovani Gallardo (6-4, 4.66 ERA)

Astros Probable Lineup:

1. Hunter Pence CF
2. Chris Burke 2B
3. Lance Berkman 1B
4. Carlos Lee LF
5. Mark Loretta SS
6. Luke Scott RF
7. Ty Wigginton 3B
8. Brad Ausmus C
9. Matt Albers P

Brewers Probable Lineup:

1. Rickie Weeks 2B
2. Gabe Gross RF
3. Ryan Braun 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Corey Hart CF
6. Geoff Jenkins LF
7. Johnny Estrada C
8. J.J. Hardy SS
9. Yovani Gallardo P

Tidbits:

-Something happened last night that hasn't happened once this year. The Brewers went into the 7th inning with a 3 run lead and came out with the lead!
-Ray King is back! How cool is that? Just hope we have enough meat ready to feed him, he'll be pretty hungry if all he got was a 5 course meal on his first class flight.
-I would like to give props to Ned Yost. He went with Linebrink in the 7th instead of messing around with McClung and Aquino.
-Rickie Weeks, the ball goes in the glove. The ball does not ricochet off the glove. The throw also goes to the 1st baseman not 5 feet in front of the 1st baseman.
-Who had nightmares of Lee hitting a 3-run homer off Cordero last night? I tried not to think about it but couldn't get it out of the back of my mind.
-Good news and bad news. With a win tonight and a Cubs loss we move back into 1st place. Remember the bad news though. After tonight we go on the road to play the Reds and Pirates.

Some more mojo...




Remember Andy and Roger Astros fans? Mwahahahaaa.

GO BREWERS!

[Asher]

-I would like to give props to Ned Yost. He went with Linebrink in the 7th instead of messing around with McClung and Aquino.

have you abandoned the covenant?!?! i don't know so much about 'props'. i mean, it's like being given the option of sticking your feet into an epsom bath or a tub of rabid ferrets and broken glass, and ned picks the footbath. i guess, for him though, baby steps. okay props.

let's hope the phenom gallardo shows up today and not the other one.

[trwi7]

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have you abandoned the covenant?!?! i don't know so much about 'props'. i mean, it's like being given the option of sticking your feet into an epsom bath or a tub of rabid ferrets and broken glass, and ned picks the footbath. i guess, for him though, baby steps. okay props.

let's hope the phenom gallardo shows up today and not the other one.

Hey he's learning. No way have a I jumped off the fire Yost bandwagon though. We'll see if he learns to put in his best relievers in a pennant race.

[Asher]

well did you see this article by any chance?

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=657387

he basically admits that he should probably have put coco in, then furthers the statement to include that he will definitely consider going with the veteran in the future, but then also backtracks to include the caveat of 'pushing him til he can't go any further', to give himself that cherry-on-top ass-cover he so desperately needs to justify his crappy decisions. because that one extra batter is going to cause coco's poor heart to give out.

[A.J.]

my very first look at gallardo.

[MickeyDavis]

:D my very first look at gallardo.

He's been mostly good with some rough spots (as all rookie hurlers have).

[trwi7]

Holy cow I guessed the lineup right!

[Comet]

Time to re-claim the Comedy Central lead.

[Andrew34r]

I think Hall needs to be in there the rest of the way out. He is not going to get the bat to heat up being on the bench the rest of the season. And I also hope that Ned stops taking out Braun for Counsell late in the games...I understand he is a better defender but it is going to come back to bite us in the ass and the way the bullpen has been pitching it does not matter who is at third we have been blowing leads and we need all the fire power we can get to come back in these games.

[trwi7]

I think Hall needs to be in there the rest of the way out. He is not going to get the bat to heat up being on the bench the rest of the season.

On the flip side Gross' hot bat isn't going to do any good on the bench. I have no problem with Hall and his sub .320 OBP on the bench.

[Andrew34r]

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On the flip side Gross' hot bat isn't going to do any good on the bench. I have no problem with Hall and his sub .320 OBP on the bench.

Gross is swinging a good bat and a better bat than Hall. However he is still just a backup. So whats next? We start Dillon because he is swinging a better bat than Hardy or Weeks...Do you see my point? It's okay to go with a hot bat from time to time but Hall has not started now in what 3 or 4 games?

[trwi7]

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Gross is swinging a good bat and a better bat than Hall. However he is still just a backup. So whats next? We start Dillon because he is swinging a better bat than Hardy or Weeks...Do you see my point? It's okay to go with a hot bat from time to time but Hall has not started now in what 3 or 4 games?

But why would you take out a hot bat when they're still producing and the starter at the same position isn't? That's a horrible move. It's all about production at this point and the bottom line is Gross is producing and Hall isn't.

[Fort Minor]

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But why would you take out a hot bat when they're still producing and the starter at the same position isn't? That's a horrible move. It's all about production at this point and the bottom line is Gross is producing and Hall isn't.

Not exactly true. He's had 6 RBI in his past 8 at bats (spanning 4 games). He's been batting much better since he's shortened his swing.

Though Gross has been better, Hall has been producing lately.

[Andrew34r]

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But why would you take out a hot bat when they're still producing and the starter at the same position isn't? That's a horrible move. It's all about production at this point and the bottom line is Gross is producing and Hall isn't.

I agree with you but only to a point. And basically im going to repeat what I said last. Using your logic we go with the hot bat. So if Braun is in a 0-10 slump and Counsell is 5 for his last 10 ...do we start Counsell over Braun because he is the hotter bat? Same situation with Hardy or Weeks...do we start Dillon because their bats are not on. Im not saying this is the case right now but still I would hate to see Hall on the bench the rest of the season just because he has been in a slump. Hall is good enough to break out of the slump and also a better defensive player than Gross. He just needs to be given the chance.

[trwi7]

Hall has been producing lately.

Yeah and those AB's came against lefties. He has a .305 OBP and .708 OPS vs righties this year. Gross is the better option and should be playing against righties for the rest of the year.

[A.J.]

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Yeah and those AB's came against lefties. He has a .305 OBP and .708 OPS vs righties this year. Gross is the better option and should be playing against righties for the rest of the year.

what happened to hall hitting 30 hrs again? i was looking forward to that

[trwi7]

So if Braun is in a 0-10 slump and Counsell is 5 for his last 10 ...do we start Counsell over Braun because he is the hotter bat? Same situation with Hardy or Weeks...do we start Dillon because their bats are not on. Im not saying this is the case right now but still I would hate to see Hall on the bench the rest of the season just because he has been in a slump. Hall is good enough to break out of the slump and also a better defensive player than Gross. He just needs to be given the chance.

The only problem with your argument is that it's a ridiculously small sample size that you're using to try to prove your point. Throughout the year Hall has demonstrated that he hasn't been able to hit righties, Gross is now the better option.

Also Gross is a better player than Counsell so you're losing a lot more putting Counsell in the lineup over Gross.

[trwi7]

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what happened to hall hitting 30 hrs again? i was looking forward to that

Who said he was going to hit 30 HR's?

[A.J.]

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Who said he was going to hit 30 HR's?

nobody. what i was saying was y do u think hall has been slumping against righties

[trwi7]

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nobody. what i was saying was y do u think hall has been slumping against righties

I don't think it's just against righties I think it's just he's overall slumping possibly from a position change. He's never been particularly good against righties but last year he slugged .525 against them. This year he's not even slugging .500 against lefties so lots of his power which was the main source of his OPS last year is gone for some reason.