Worst to First - The Sequel

[NYY #23]

We made a deal with the Giants in an effort to help shore up our bullpen, sending four minor leagues to San Francisco in exchange for reliever Tom Burgmeier. Burgmeier is 1-2 with a 2.45 ERA in 29 innings this year. We shipped off 25 year old shortstop Ray Busse, 25 year old starting pitcher Steve Luebber, 25 year old reliever Aurelio Lopez, and 32 year old right fielder Archie Moore.

We also made another deadline deal with the Padres, sending minor leaguers Mario Mendoza, Ron Brand, and Jack Heidemann in exchange for Cesar Geronimo. Geronimo has only gotten 86 at-bats this year, but I'm hoping he can help us in the outfield until Fred Lynn returns from injury.

We'll be without Lynn for most of August, and we've felt the impact of losing his bat. We went 13-18 in July, and now hold just a 3 1/2 game lead.

Jon Matlock, Marcelino Lopez, George Brett, Al Bumbry, and Fred Lynn were selected to the All-Star game.

[NYY #23]

The Brewers struggled in August, although not as bad as we struggled in July. We ended up with a 14-14 record, but our streaky play made the division a little too close for comfort. We had a nice streak to end the month though, and now hold a 6 game lead, with our magic number 23.

Roster expansion is here, although to start September I don't plan on calling anyone additional up yet. We'll play it by ear and hopefully build a lead so we can call up some of the minor leaguers.

[NYY #23]

With a 9-3 win over the Cleveland Indians yesterday the Milwaukee Brewers are heading to the playoffs for the first time in their history.

It took until year 4, but it feels good things are finally clicking with the Brewers. Our likely opponent in the playoffs is the Chicago White Sox.

[NYY #23]

After finishing the regular season with a 91-71 record the Brewers will head off to face the Chicago White Sox in the League Championship Series. All things considered, this should be a pretty evenly matched series. Both teams sport identical records, with the White Sox scoring 6 more runs this season, and allowing 29 runs less.



We did lose 16 game winner Jerry Reuss for the playoffs with an injury. Hopefully we'll be able to make up for his absence.

[NYY #23]

Jon Matlock got the start for the Brewers and cruised to a complete game 11-4 victory, allowing just 2 earned runs. It's funny how the playoffs work, but after hitting .227 for the year Doug Rader went 4-4 tonight. George Brett and Cesar Geronimo added three hits apiece.

[NYY #23]

The Brewers trailed 3-0 heading into the ninth inning, but with the bases loaded Enos Cabell and Fred Lynn hit back to back singles to even the score up and head into extra innings.

We headed into the tenth when George Brett hit a leadoff double, then came around to score when Cesar Geronimo reached on error. Lee would later single Geronimo home for the 5-3 victory.

Dick Tidrow pitched 8 2/3 innings and left the game with a no decision, allowing 3 runs. Marcelino Lopez worked out of a ninth inning jam, then pitched a scoreless 10th for the victory.

The Brewers now lead the best of 5 series 2-0 heading back to Milwaukee.

[NYY #23]

With Houston and St. Louis still battling in the NLCS, the Brewers had the opportunity to end the series today, at home, and get a few days of rest in before starting the World Series.

Ed Figueroa got the start today, and left the game with an injury after 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just a hit. Going back to my time with the Yankees, this seems like a disturbing post-season trend.

Mike Caldwell entered in relief, and pitched the next three innings, allowing three runs. But the bat of Fred Lynn gave us the lead with a big two out double that plated the tieing and go ahead runs.

Tom Burgmeier got the ball in the seventh, before turning it over to Marcelino Lopez for a two inning save. Lopez can be full of headaches, but I can't hold his pitching against him.

The Brewers will advance to the World Series in year 4, and we'll await the winner of the Houston-St. Louis series, in which Houston took a 2-1 series lead after winning tonight 5-0.

[NYY #23]

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Bring on the Astros, owner of a 90-72 record during the regular season, who defeated the Cardinals 3 games to 1 in the NLCS. Pitching is their strength with Jim Palmer (16-9, 3.22), Bill Burbach (16-6, 2.86), and Doc Medich (13-16, 3.61) leading their rotation.

Game 1 featured a pitching duel between Jim Palmer and Jon Matlock, or at least what was supposed to be a pitching duel. Jim Palmer held up his end of the deal to pick up the win in a complete game 5 hitter.

Jon Matlock gave up 7 runs in 3 1/3 innings, and it was no consolation that just 4 runs were earned.

Fred Lynn was our offense tonight, tripling home 3 runs in the ninth inning, but it was too little too late as we lost 8-3 and fall behind 1-0 in the World Series.

[NYY #23]

Nothing like a home game in the World Series, except when you give up 13 runs, and only score 1. Once again the Astros 5 hit us tonight and now are up 2 games to none going back home to Houston.

Dick Tidrow was tonight's victim, lasting just 3 1/3 innings while allowing 7 runs. A parade of four relievers followed, but it didn't stop the bleeding as every pitcher gave up a run tonight.

This was definitely a demoralizing game for us, but I do know that we are better than we are playing. We probably won't win, but it would at least be nice to show up.

[NYY #23]

The Brewers' bats "broke out" tonight, slamming 7 hits and scoring 2 runs. Most of the damage came from the bat of Duane Kuiper who went 3-5 with an RBI.

Sam McDowell got the start tonight for the Brewers and went a series long 6 1/3 innings, and gave up a series low 5 runs. It obviously wasn't enough though, as the Astros won the game 5-2 and now take a commanding 3 games to 0 series lead.

I'm honestly pretty frustrated right now. We are playing pathetic in the World Series. Part of me is surprised we are even in the World Series this year after last year, but it's still frustrating none-the-less.

At this point I'm not even wanting to watch the rest of the series, so the plan is to sim to the end of the series, wrap things up, and start preparing for year 5 in Milwaukee.

[NYY #23]

You know the situation, down 3 games to 0 in the World Series. Our backs against the wall, needing to win 4 straight to win the World Series. I'm disgusted enough by our play the first three games of the World Series, so I hit sim to the end of the playoffs. I guess that's the equivalent of leaving town and turning off the phone during the middle of the World Series with your team in it, but that guilt didn't even register until the next day.

So after completing the World Series it was time to go to bed, because I didn’t even want to think about next year yet. I didn't even look at the results, until the next day, and wow.

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Game 4:
Milwaukee 5
Houston 2
W: Jon Matlock
SV: Marcelino Lopez
HR: Al Bumbry

Bumbry is a guy that doesn't hit many home runs, so a solo shot to tie the game in the second seemed to be the spark. Jon Matlock pitched like the Jon Matlock I've grown to rely on and the Brewers avoided the sweep

Game 5:
Milwaukee 2
Houston 1
W: Dick Tidrow
SV: Marcelino Lopez

Down 2-1 in the eighth inning Fred Lynn singled home two runs as we squeak by for the win!

Game 6:
Milwaukee 4
Houston 2
W: Ed Figueroa
SV: Marcelino Lopez
HR: Leron Lee

A three run shot by Leron Lee put us up early, and we held on for another win to tie up the series. Unbelievable. I'm really regretting losing faith right now.

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Stay tuned for the conclusion of the Series, and year 4 to find out whether the Brewers complete a remarkable comeback, or start preparing for next year.

[NYY #23]

Game 7 for all the marbles. It was a rematch between Jim Palmer and Jon Matlock, and unlock Game 1 this pitching duel lived up to the hype.

Both pitcher's pitched a complete game, and combined they gave up 2 runs.

Al Bumbry hit a solo home run in the fourth inning, his second of the series, after hitting 7 home runs all year. Baseball sure can be a funny game.

Duane Kuiper singled home the only other run of the game, and Jon Matlock gets the win after pitching a shutout.

The Brewers complete an amazing comeback after being down 3 games to 0, and my time in Milwaukee is complete. I think the thing I'll remember most is three years of budget struggles, and losing, before we finally turned things around, then went all the way to the World Series and won.

Like the last couple of teams it always feels too soon to leave. Just when you get the team where you want them, you leave. But I've reached the halfway point now, 15 down, 15 to go.

One last story from Milwaukee before moving on, manager Al Brazle announced he was retiring, going out a winner. After being an average pitching coach his entire career he got a little shot at glory managing for a couple seasons, so I wish him the best in his retirement.

Milwaukee Brewers - 51-111 (.315) 48 GB
1971 - Milwaukee Brewers 64-98 (.395) 23 GB (Season Score - 3)
1972 - Milwaukee Brewers 71-91 (.438) 36 GB (Season Score - 1)
1973 - Milwaukee Brewers 70-92 (.432) 24 GB (Season Score - 6)
1974 - Milwaukee Brewers 91-71 (.562) - GB (Defeated Chicago White Sox 3-0 in LCS and Houston Astros 4-3 in World Series, Season Score - 136)

[NYY #23]

Last year the Padres finished 67-95, tied for the worst record in baseball with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Padres have never had a winning season in their six years of existence. The Padres have some pieces to work with, but have some glaring holes.

The fact that the Padres didn't allow the most runs in the league was a minor miracle, and they were 9th of 12 teams. 24 year old Lynn McGlothen is our ace, and last year was 18-16 with a 2.95 ERA. Our only true starter on the team is Mike Wegener, who went 9-23 with a 5.28 ERA. Every other pitcher on our staff was a reliever, so the bullpen saved our staff in more ways than one. Priority number one is shoring up the staff.

Our offense has some valuable pieces, catcher Gene Tenace, left fielder Dwight Evans, center fielder Johnny Grubb, right fielder George Foster.

But we are an offensive minded team in a pitcher's park, with weak defense. We'll need to change that if we are going to win in San Diego.

[NYY #23]

The Padres drafted first in the amateur draft, and needed pitching, pitching, and more pitching. I don't feel like he was the best player available, but John Candelaria was our number one pick. In the second round we selected another pitcher, Eric Rasmussen.

Reliever Mike Flanagan was selected in the third round, with another pitcher Rob Dressler selected fourth. Another reliever Ed Glynn was our fifth round pick, with center fielder Don Hopkins our final pick.

We should be able to sign all of our draft and we'll try and make some improvements during the offseason.

[NYY #23]

The offseason for the Padres was slow, which I thought was a bad sign. I tried hard to make some deals to improve the team defensively, but wasn't able to find a deal that I thought would really improve the team. So we entered the year with the same team we ended the draft with.

We did concentrate on signing our draft picks and shoring up our coaching staff. Frank Verdi signed on as our hitting coach, with Memo Luna aboard as our new manager. Veteran scout Craig Hooper also signed on with a 2 year deal.

Our owner in San Diego does have some expectations, wanting us to stay close to an even record.

The Padres started out the year real hot, going 17-6 for the month to start out in first place. Dwight Evans hit .366 for the month with 5 home runs, 20 RBI, and 14 runs scored to capture the NL Batter of the Month. John Candelaria captured the Rookie of the Month award after going 4-0 with a 2.36 ERA.

[NYY #23]

While the Padres remain in first place after May, our lead shrunk to 2 1/2 games after a 14-13 month.

We do have some holes that we need to fill though, and really need help at first base and third base. Second base and our rotation could also use an upgrade.

We'll try and make a couple moves in June to strengthen the team. We don't have much available to deal, but it's worth trying since we are in first place unexpectedly.

[NYY #23]

We completed a minor deal with the Montreal Expos, sending minor league second baseman Ted Kubiak to the Expos, and getting back 30 year old second baseman Davey Lopes.

We also completed a deal with the Dodgers, sending 3B Hugh Yancy, MR Fred Newman, C Barry Foote, and 3B Bobby Etheridge to the Dodgers in exchange for 36 year old utility player George Banks. Banks is old, but should be able to play almost every position.

We also decided to give George Foster a try at first base, with Rick Miller taking over right field. These aren't big moves, but rather small tweaks. Giving up a few minor leagues we don't have plans for some veterans.

Trying to plug holes without ruining our future, and for the month we finished 14-15, and are holding on with a 1 1/2 game lead over the Astros.

George Foster has hit .407 with 6 home runs, 24 RBI, and 16 runs scored since his shift to first base, good enough for Batter of the Month in June.

[NYY #23]

The Padres are unexpectedly locked into a battle for first place with the Houston Astros, and it's debatable if we are pretenders and not contenders, but it's really a two team race in the NL West, so I can't help but think if we could get in to the playoffs, who knows what is going to happen.

So with that in mind I made another deal with the Dodgers. The initial offer was RF Gorman Thomas in exchange for catcher John Stearns, but after tweaking the deal it looked like this:

Going to LA:
C - John Stearns
RF - Rod Gaspar
SS - Mario Mendoza
MR - Bill Castro
1B - Tim Harkness

Going to SD:
RF - Gorman Thomas
2B/3B - Sal Bando
C - Barry Foote

While Castro is a reliever, he hurts the most since he was 4-0 with 9 saves and a 1.19 ERA at 23. The big piece coming back is 31 year old Sal Bando, who can play both second base and third base, two weak positions. Barry Foote will be a downgrade at backup catcher, and Gorman Thomas is loaded with power potential, but is hitting in the low .200's for the second year in a row.

For the month the Padres went 14-15, and finished the month a game back of the Astros. I worked really hard to add another pitcher, either another dependable starter, or reliever. The price was real high though, and I couldn't find any deal that I thought was worth it, so I was disappointing.

Our All-Star selections were Lynn McGlothen, Gene Tenace, and Dwight Evans.

Let's hope for a good month in San Diego.

[NYY #23]

The Padres finished August with a 14-15 record, and now have a narrow half game lead over the Astros. It's been a month of see-sawing back and forth with the Astros. Lose a couple games, fall behind, win a couple games, pull ahead.

While we see-saw with the Astros, the Phillies are steam-rolling the National League. But it doesn't matter that we'd be in fourth place in the NL East, once you get in the playoffs, who knows what will happen.

We spend the next month against he NL West, so outside of 5 games against Houston we'll be playing all teams with losing records.

[NYY #23]

The Padres finished with a winning month, going 13-12 to finish 2 games behind the Astros. There was a lot to like about this year though, and we made some great improvements in year 1 in San Diego. Let's not forget this was the Padres first ever winning season.

We've also got some young pitching, and young hitting, and heading in the right direction (I think). We'll be back next year, and hopefully stronger.