Who's to blame? Everyone has a part in this mess!

It's a Brewers off day today, so a lot of time to think about what is the latest cause of dropping to 4-11 at Miller Park to a team that was 5-14 on the road before getting to Milwaukee.
Got a chance to read a couple of things on what is to blame for the 29-7 beatdown over three games by the Braves.
The Journal-Sentinel story on the bullpen finally showing the innings that have been wearing on them of late and just imploding, giving up big run numbers in each of the three losses and turned ties or close games into blowouts.
Well, that is the obvious place to look. Hell, even Carlos Villanueva got worked and gave up his first runs of the season during the series.
The only pitcher out of the bullpen to not give up a run was Todd Coffey. And if my memory serves me correctly, he did give up a double that brought two runs in, but those were Mitch Stetter's runners.
The cause for that is the brutal showing by the starters that are averaging less than six innings per start on the year. How is that acceptable. This is all five guys in the rotation not being able to manage pitch counts and consistently get out of innings. That is just unacceptable. To be honest, I don't even know if I trust Yovanni anymore when he starts. Even if he strikes out 10 guys, he's likely only going five innings.
The other four, including Friday night's starter Randy Wolf, have not been much better.
In doing some more reading at a blog that is becoming one of my frequent reads, The Brewers Bar, a good point is brought up that this isn't just about the bullpen. In baseball everything is connected.
It's a good point. Monday night at the game Rickie had two errors that extended innings. Tuesday Alcides kicked a couple of balls and the offense left 11 runners on base and couldn't get the big hit that could have gotten Dave Bush the lead and maybe helped him settle in. At Miller Park leads have been few and far between and it's hard to say what getting a guy that lead will do.
That brings me to an offense that aside, from Ryan Braun and Casey McGehee hasn't seen any of the guys consistently get in a groove and make a statement. That includes Prince Fielder who has an on-base percentage just some 20 points behind his slugging percentage. Tell me you expected that from the big fella?
Some are calling for Ken Macha to be relieved of his duties as manager. Well, let me ask those people this question: Can firing the manager make pitchers throw strikes and last into the seventh inning? Didn't think so. So I'm not sure that's a move that wold accomplish much. That doesn't mean I don't think it can't happen.
With problems in almost every aspect of the game, maybe a different voice leading the charge is welcome. I'd have to say in a year where we may see Prince traded Doug Melvin has to make moves that will give this team a chance to get in the race and keep Prince in town as long as possible. The managerial move is one that has to be on the list if it comes to it.
With the Phillies coming to town, I'm not sure the weekend will see a bright resurgence from all the key parts of this team.

Enough of the depressing talk. Got a couple good links and vidoes from the Web I found today. First, the good stuff. If you know me, you know I'm one of the last people to support the singing of a Lady Gaga song. Well, I stumbled upon this on the Interweb yesterday. Damn impressive if you ask me for a sixth grader to be able to perform like this. Take a listen. So great!


Found some funny wrestler pics on Maxim.com today. Just seeing these big guys out of place is quite funny.
Just like the pic of John Cena holding an oversized tennis racket. Hahahaha!


Now finally, we come to the Nussie Hunter portion of the broadcast. Today, I'm introducing myself and you to one Giorgia Palmas. Who is she? Well, she's an Italian model and TV host. Take a look at these pics to get a full look at her. Here's a sample. I'd say I can't understand Italian, but I'd spend time attempting to figure out what she was saying.

Brewers pitchers... Not sure I can trust any of you!

Another loss today by the Brewers has Wilber's Way making its May debut. Being shutout for the third time in four games has me changing a bit of what I was going to write here.
Regardless, the Brewers have now lost 8 of their last 10 games and were outscored by the Padres 21-2 in four games. So while pitching was a question mark coming in, the offense made sure to not let us forget about it having problems and being inconsistent.
Doug Davis, who has had his problems, was not so reliable in Game 1 of the series and the guy that came on in "relief" of that one was Jeff Suppan. When all was said and done, the Padres won 9-0.


Dave Bush  did pitch pretty good in Game 2 of the series, giving up just three runs in seven innings of work. But the offense couldn't get anything going and fell 5-0.
It marked the first time since 2005 the Brewers had been shut out in back to back games.
It was the best starting pitching showing since Yovanni Gallardo was solid against the Pirates on Monday night at Miller Park, but this time the offense did not back the up. Just the bad luck of baseball.

The Brewers did get a win Saturday night behind Gallardo. But even that was a chore. Yo went seven innings and struck out 11 on 118 pitches and had to hit a home run, his fifth of his career.
Hawkins, who has seen his share of troubles came on in the eighth and Trevor Hoffman, who you all know about his struggles, returned to the city where he saved 552 games, and closed the game out.


That sets the table. Now I have to ask the question. Who do you trust on the mound for this team? The problem has been mainly the starting rotation. Here are the lines (From Baseball-reference.com):
Yovanni Gallardo: 3-2, 36 IP, 40 K, 16 BB, 32 H, 15 R, 12 ER, 3.00 ERA
Randy Wolf: 2-2, 37.1 IP, 27 K, 16 BB, 41 H, 18 R, 16 ER, 3.86 ERA
Dave Bush: 1-2, 29.1 IP, 15 K, 12 BB, 30 H, 17 R, 15 ER, 4.60 ERA
Doug Davis: 0-3, 22.1 IP, 24 K, 10 BB, 38 H, 23 R, 22 ER, 8.87 ERA
Jeff Suppan: 0-1, 14.1 IP, 11 K, 3 BB, 22 H, 14 R, 13 ER, 8.16 ERA
Chris Narveson: 1-0, 15 IP, 12 K, 9 BB, 22 H, 12 R, 11 ER, 6.6 ERA
Now you can't take everything by those numbers, but know this. The team ERA ranks 13th of 16 teams in the NL. The staff has given up the second-most hits in the National League. That heps rank them 14th in the NL in home runs allowed (33).
Where was the help Doug Melvin was supposed to bring in? Nothing has changed from last year, at all. Now people claiming Doug Davis should be taken out of the rotation, are crazy. Who are you going to put in that spot? They made the one move with Narveson going in. I'm sure we'll see Manny Parra starting at some point this year, but not in place of a healthy but struggling Davis.

Like I said, this isn't going to be all about the pitching. The last three series' dating back to getting swept by the Cubs, then dropping two of three to the Pirates has worn on this team, which has lost 8 of 10.
The offense, up until this point, was one of the best in baseball. The numbers show that.
After checking Baseball-Reference.com, I found some pretty interesting numbers that I didn't realize (maybe because the pitching was so awful).
The Brewers are second in the NL in runs scored (128), first in doubles (56), fourth in homers (28), first in on-base percentage (.355), third in batting average (.273), second in slugging percentage (.452) and second in OPS (.807).
Those are some pretty staggering figures. To me, that says this 10-14 start is something that is on the pitching. Yes the last week has been rough for the hitters. I'm not going to put it on all of them, but I am going to single out one guy, Rickie Weeks Now I'm not coming down on Rickie, just pointing out some numbers.
Since the Brewers drilled the Pirates for that 20-0 win on April 22, Weeks' average has dropped from .344 to .258.
It's been seven games since then and during that time Rickie is 4 for 34 (.118 AVG), with 17 strikeouts, just one RBI (which came on his home run) and he's taken only five walks. Here's the link, again on Baseball-Reference.com. For a team built around Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, having guys on base in front of them makes them dangerous. That makes Rickie getting on base imparative to the success of the team. It doesn't help that Macha is still struggling to find a suitable guy to put in the No. 2 spot. With Carlos Gomez and Jim Edmonds hurt, that has made things a struggle and put guys you wouldn't necessarily want in front of Ryan and Prince.

Ok, enough on the Brewers for now. That will resonate throughout Monday for me. We need some funny to lighten the mood. Leave it to Jimmy Kimmel and his unnecessary censorship. Damn funny!


I'm pretty sure these next two ladies are Brewers fans and would be very interested by the success of the team. Yep, the Maxim Hometown Hotties Contest is in full swing and we got a double feature of Nussies for you.
First is Franklin's Andrea. She likes Wii (take a look! Haha.) And Susana is from Richfield, which is like 15 minutes from me. The links take you to their profiles. There were a handful of other Wisconsin girls that made the initial cut. Be sure to check out the rest of the Hometown Hotties.
Here's Andrea.


Here's Susana

The day is finally here... OPENING DAY!

 The day has finally arrived! Yes, Opening Day is here! It has to be one of, if not the one day I look forward to the most of any of the 365 each year. I've gone in person to the last three and it's more than just baseball why I love this day.
It is the official start of spring to me and most of us here in Wisconsin. That's the first reason. I know the first day of spring was March 21, but without baseball and the boys of summer playing at 1 Miller Park Way, it's not official.
The second reason is baseball. I'm a sports nerd - you are reading my sports blog, after all - so when my hometown team arrives and starts the season, I'm going to get jacked.
Third, the people. Have you seen Fever Pitch where Ben Wrightman has a whole other family every summer? That's what is is like for me. I have an extension of friends that I've met going to games and see them throughout the summer. We talk baseball, life, and anything worth talking about over drinks and a brat. Yes baseball delivers conversation. That's why it is so great. It has built-in time to build up for a moment when a player could deliver the big home run or strikeout.


Now that I've told you why I love Opening Day itself, let's talk about the game I'm going to see tomorrow afternoon (And here's my proof!). Yovanni Gallardo has been handed the ball and will make is first MLB Opening Day start. Ken Macha kept it under wrap for a bit, but it was made official last week. He has shown he is the ace of the staff and deserved the nod.
There is another question mark not yet defined and that is the starting right fielder. Corey Hart's struggles in spring have been chronicled. So much so that in Friday night's exhibition game at Miller Park those in attendance who think they know what the team should do rained the boo birds down on the Beermakers' 6-foot-6 right fielder. What did he do to show the pundits? He went 4 for 6 and raised his batting average 49 points. I'd say that's hearing the whispers and showing them what's up.
There are some other big questions surrounding the team. Namely the pitching pieces added this winter making the team better and getting them back into the playoffs. Here's the story in today's Journal-Sentinel that breaks them all down.

While we're answering questions about the season, I need to go on record and make my season predictions for the team I invest most of my summer emotions into.
I've been doing some thinking about this, about how many wins I'm expecting out of this team. I love the addition of Rick Peterson to the coaching staff. He's going to help the pitchers exponentially.
I like Randy Wolf and Doug Davis to the pitching staff and the depth Manny Parra and Chris Narveson.
Moving J.J. Hardy allowed for Alcides Escobar to take over at shortstop and should add speed to the lineup and keep the same defense J.J. had.
Even the catchers on this year's team are an upgrade offensively. Gregg Zaun and George Katteras have played great this spring. I don't put all my eggs in the spring stats basket, but it shows potential and I like it.
With that said, the Cardinals are the team to beat again this year. And with everything I've read, I'm on board with that notion. I'm in disagreement about the rest of the Central. I'm thinking the Brewers have a shot to get the No. 2 spot in the standings.
Does that put them in the Wild Card hunt? I'm not sure. I really like what the Braves have. I'm thinking the West is down in the NL this year meaning the Central and the East should provide the Wild Card.
I'm not counting the Brewers out of the race, but I'm thinking it's going to be hard for them to get more than 85 wins this season with the youth in the batting order in Carlos Gomez and Escobar. Also, I'm expecting some hiccups from Casey McGehee this year. Not a lot, but some should be coming. He hit under .200 all spring. So maybe it's coming.
My prediction is 82-80 and falling just short of the playoffs. If Jim Edmonds is called upon to play right field and can turn on some of his Angels or Cardinals magic, that could get pushed.

While I'm on Opening Day talk, let's talk about a new opening that has just come up. It's with Kim Kardashian. Just found out she's newly single and is strutting her stuff. Take a look a the gallery here with some amazing photos of her in a bikini. Here's a great sample! Now it's time to rest for baseball!