We’re already three Slaton cards in, so we’re running out of cool things to say about him. But if he can avoid injury this season, Jim will be an important part of the staff.
Brewers Lose Four Straight
A’s 7, Brewers 2
Brewers now 20-21 (4th)
Box Score | Season Schedule
MILWAUKEE — Remember during the spring when we had grand visions of a division title and World Series championship? Yeah, it’s time to shift those expectations.
7,503 Brewers fans sat through a mist and fog that only got worse as the game went on today at County Stadium. The weather mimicked the Brewers’ season so far.
As tends to be the case, the Brewers lost this game more than the A’s actually won it. Fans were probably booing, but there weren’t enough there for anyone to pick up an audible response.
Charlie Moore hit a one out homer in the first, but the Brewers would manage only two more hits the rest of the game on a fifth inning double by Robin Yount and a one-out homer by Don Money in the ninth. The offense made an appearance today as spectators only.
Not that Bob McClure was harmed by the lack of run support. He harmed himself plenty. With two down in the second — after retiring the first five batters of the game — McClure walked the next three batters he faced. Then, when you thought he couldn’t self destruct anymore, he balked in a run.
McClure would pitch 6 1/3 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on three hits and a ridiculous six walks. Of course, you could argue that all five runs were “earned” since the two unearned runs were due to his own error.
It was the Brewers’ fourth straight loss, dropping below .500 for the first time since April 22. Having lost 11 of 15 games, this is the team’s worst slump since 1977.
Buck Rodgers played the part of the desperate manager, fruitlessly arguing a called third strike on Cecil Cooper in the sixth. Rodgers received his first ejection of the season, an apparent attempt to fire up his players. He knows the end up the rope is coming.
If this Brewers’ season has been a rain storm, progressively getting worse throughout the year, we’re approaching the eye now. It can’t get much worse than this.
Game Notes: Rickey Henderson stole three bases in the game and now has 45 on the season … The Brewers will conduct six tryout camps around the state in June and July for players aged 16-21.
Brewers Fall to .500
Athletics 10, Brewers 5
Brewers now 20-20 (4th)
Box Score | Season Schedule
MILWAUKEE — For the first time since April 23 when they were 6-6, the Brewers have lost as many games as they’ve won. There is now no way around it.
The Brewers are incredibly average.
And really, that may be putting it nicely. As has been the case lately with this team, everything possible went wrong.
The A’s came into Milwaukee with a six-game losing streak. The Brewers were all they needed to cure their ills.
In the first inning, right fielder Mark Brouhard bobbled Dan Meyer‘s run scoring double, Meyer went to third and then scored as a result of the error.
In the second, first baseman Cecil Cooper fielded a Tony Phillips bunt with a runner on third and made a wild throw home allowing a run to score.
In the fourth, Brouhard made a throw to second instead of third, allowing speedster Rickey Henderson to score from first on a single.
In the sixth, Paul Molitor dropped a perfect throw from catcher Charlie Moore that should have nailed Phillips at third on the front end of a double steal. As a result of Molitor’s drop, Phillips was safe and later scored.
In the eighth, Charlie Moore ran through third base coach Harry Warner’s stop sign when Henderson bobbled the ball in center. Henderson recovered and threw out Moore at home.
You get the point. It was a sad, sad display. And the fans responded accordingly with boos. Boos upon boos upon boos.
It was the Brewers’ 10th loss in 14 games. They have tumbled to fourth place, a half game ahead of the fifth place Orioles and remained seven games back of the first place Red Sox.
This should have been a bounce-back series for the Brewers. The A’s, it appeared, were in worse shape than the Brewers. Instead, Oakland snapped a six-game losing streak, ended a streak of 17 games committing at least one error and tied a team record with six doubles.
On the bright side, world frisbee champion dog Ashley Whippet will put on a show before tomorrow’s game.
Game Notes: Brewers starter Moose Haas was removed after three innings due to tendinitis in his right elbow … Pitching coach Cal McLish, bothered by dizziness and blurred vision, left before the game and will not make the next trip … The Brewers will make up their opening season two-game series with the Indians in a September 2 double header.
Card of the Day: 1982 Fleer Randy Lerch
In his second year with the Crew since coming over from Philadelphia, Lerch is still trying to find his role. Will the 27-year-old be a prominent starter in 1982?
It is Time for Change at the Top
In 1981, the Brewers were a loose, professional and happy bunch. They also won, and whether the former bred the latter or vice versa, the personality of the team and the results were starkly different last season than through May 23 of this season.
Far too much is going wrong:
- Two players have demanded a trade already at some point in 1982. Charlie Moore started the trend in spring training and only agreed to stay once he was assured playing time in right field. Roy Howell requested his trade during the spring as well and continues to be unhappy about his role as the third third baseman. Yet there are no takers of his paltry batting average.
- Rollie Fingers, who won both the AL MVP and Cy Young awards in 1981, has been less than perfect in 1982. He has lost five times when entering tied games. He’s also shown his displeasure with the way that he has been used.
- Pete Vuckovich injured his ankle either when sliding down a slick hill behind Royals Stadium in a rain storm prior to the game or when a video game fell on it. Either way, his absence caused immediate problems on the staff (Jerry Augustine started that game in Kansas City and allowed 12 earned runs in five innings) and Vuke threatened to take legal action when rumors surfaced that he was less than forthcoming about the source of his injury.
- Bob McClure was hit on the elbow by a line drive and missed time as well. The Brewers’ brass made a serious miscalculation when neither pitcher was replaced on the roster and the Brewers instead went with an eight-man staff while they awaited their return.
- While there are some offensive players performing well (Paul Molitor is hitting .301, Robin Yount .291 and Cecil Cooper .340), others are downright offensive. Gorman Thomas went the entire month of April without a home run and is hitting .228. Ben Oglivie is hitting .224 and catcher Ted Simmons is hitting .203 and continues to look like his best days are behind him.
- The Brewers aren’t getting consistent pitching. The staff is led by Moose Haas with a 3.22 ERA, but Mike Caldwell‘s is 4.45, Bob McClure’s is 5.14 and Randy Lerch‘s is 5.36, all pitchers who have made several starts. Pete Vuckovich may have a 3.79 ERA, but he hasn’t pitched since May 6.
The biggest problem, though, is a lack of leadership. Whether Buck Rodgers is a poor leader or simply a bad fit for this team, his players do not have his back. They routinely call him out in the press and refuse to sugarcoat their feelings about the man in charge.
And that, along with the swirling rumors that former team captain Sal Bando is ready to take over, are the main reasons that it is time to make a change. Even when they win, the team isn’t happy. They aren’t loose. And they aren’t professional.
It is time that the Brewers find a leader, as Bud Lea of the Milwaukee Sentinel said, who is more of a den mother than a major league manager. They need a leader who will stroke egos and let his players play instead of micromanaging with strategies that many of his players aren’t comfortable carrying out.
The Brewers need a player’s manager, and they need him now.
Bad Luck, Execution Lead to Another Loss
Mariners 6, Brewers 5 (11)
Brewers now 20-19 (3rd)
Box Score | Season Schedule
MILWAUKEE — A couple of wins may have quieted the storm in the Brewers’ clubhouse, but two losses later and the winds are howling once again.
Prior to the game, Roy Howell spouted off about his lack of playing time. He hadn’t played in 12 days and it is evident that he no longer wants to be part of the team. Problem is, no one wants him to be part of any other team.
“What the hell is going on here?” Howell asked anyone willing to listen. “At this point, it looks like I shouldn’t have even bothered going to spring training.”
That’s an interesting suggestion since most Brewers fans would agree. Howell has been a negative force on this team. He rarely plays, and he isn’t willing to accept his role. Yet, with a .176 batting average, how can he demand more?
Howell came up in the 11th with an opportunity to be the hero. Runner on first, one down. Gorman Thomas had just walked, so it would appear to be a time to test whether Bill Caudill could throw strikes. Instead, Howell swung at the first pitch and popped out to the mound.
Sheesh. Just let the guy go. Put him, the team and the fans out of their collective misery.
Speaking of misery, the fact that this game had to come down to Roy Howell in the first place is enough to make a person miserable. The Brewers led 5-2 through five innings. In the sixth, starter Mike Caldwell allowed a Dave Henderson ground ball single that scored Al Cowens. With runners on first and second and one out in a 5-3 game, manager Buck Rodgers made a call to the bullpen.
A bit premature? Probably. Rodgers is fighting for his job at this point, so excuse him if he’s a bit jumpy. He saw Caldwell losing his grip on the game so he made the call for Dwight Bernard. Bernard promptly allowed his inherited runners to score on a ground ball double and a groundout, and the game was tied.
Caldwell joined Howell among the disenchanted, frustrated about being pulled so early. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m just a player. I’m just trying to do my job. I don’t know if I’m getting a chance to do it.”
Neither team scored from that point until the 11th. And given Rollie Fingers’ history when entering tied games this season (one win and five losses), it should be no surprise that the Mariners scored on his watch.
That said, this loss can’t be pinned on Rollie. The run scored was more due to luck than skill.
Dave Henderson led off the inning with a broken bat single to left field off of the handle. He moved to second on a Jim Maler bunt, bringing up pinch hitter Manny Castillo. Fingers threw a good pitch on 0-2 and again jammed the hitter, Castillo’s bat broke, and his bloop hit went over Robin Yount’s head for the eventual game winning run.
The Brewers certainly suffered from a bout of bad luck in this game. Not only in the 11th, but in the sixth when all of the Mariners’ three runs scored that inning came on ground balls that found holes.
But the Brewers also failed to produce in key situations. With runners at first and third in the second, Mark Brouhard broke for second on a delayed steal and what should have been the front end of a double steal. Catcher Bud Bulling made a high throw to second, but Brouhard pulled up standing and did not slide. Had he slid, Brouhard would have been safe and Ben Oglivie would have scored from third. Instead, Brouhard walked into the tag for the final out of the inning.
Jim Gantner led off the Brewers’ seventh with a double and Paul Molitor reached on a bunt single. With runners on first and third and no one out, Robin Yount struck out and Cecil Cooper hit a fly ball to center. Henderson caught it, Gantner tagged and was thrown out at the plate.
Today’s run total was the team’s highest in nine days. Not sure that five runs is much to be proud of. The Brewers have now lost nine of 13 games to fall to 20-19 and into a tie with the New York Yankees for third place. They now trail the Red Sox by seven games, their largest deficit since 1980.
The winds are blowing. The egos are fragile. The slightest turbulence puts the team on edge. Time has come for change.
Game Notes: Paul Molitor’s strained shoulder is now well enough for him to play in the field, but he was the designated hitter today.