Brewers 1982

Covering the Milwaukee Brewers throughout the 1982 season, in real-time, as it would have happpened.

Charlie Moore

Brewers Fall to .500

Athletics 10, Brewers 5
Brewers now 20-20 (4th)
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Mark Brouhard
Mark Brouhard couldn't do anything right today.

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.

It is Time for Change at the Top

Buck Rodgers
Buck Rodgers is a bad fit for this veteran team.

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.

Brewers Win, but Chaos Reigns

Brewers 4, Angels 1
Brewers now 19-17 (3rd)
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Buck Rodgers
Buck Rodgers' days as Brewers manager may be numbered.

MILWAUKEE — Outfielder Marshall Edwards was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital this morning with a bleeding ulcer. Given the emotions stirring in the clubhouse, you’d think it would be manager Buck Rodgers dealing with a bout of indigestion.

You wouldn’t know that the Brewers scored as many runs in this game as they did the previous three.

You wouldn’t know that the Brewers snapped a three game losing streak when they topped the Angels 4-1 in Milwaukee today.

You wouldn’t know that Moose Haas pitched his first complete game of the season, throwing a gem in which he allowed only a run on six hits.

No, the focus remained on what is wrong with the team. And that focus is squarely on the manager. The rumor swirling around Milwaukee is that former team captain Sal Bando is ready to take over as soon as general manager Harry Dalton gives Rodgers his pink slip.

Want a vote of confidence from the players? You aren’t going to get one. Asked if Rodgers is respected as manager, Charlie Moore avoided the question: “I’d rather stay away from that.”

Don Money: “I don’t know. I can’t say anything.”

Gorman Thomas: “I have no comment on that.”

Their silence speaks volumes.

Bud Lea of the Milwaukee Sentinel summed it up nicely: “What this team may need is a den mother instead of a manager, someone who would stroke egos. Rodgers does not coddle anyone.”

If the players have proven anything this season it’s that they’re sensitive. Roy Howell‘s tantrum over playing time. Rollie Fingers‘ freakout over when he’s used. Charlie Moore’s demand for a trade.

Is Rodgers fighting for his job? “If we win, I stay. If we lose, I go,” he said succinctly.

True. But there hasn’t been much winning lately. And when your players don’t have your back, you might as well start packing.

Game Notes: The Brewers are now 19-17, five games behind the Tigers in the AL East … Paul Molitor returned to the lineup as the DH. He probably won’t return to the field for a few more days … Mark Brouhard, who had missed eight games with a tight calf, was back in right field … Marshall Edwards’ bleeding ulcer is expected to keep him out about a week … Ben Oglive drove in his 27th run but only the first since May 9.

Cooper is Super in 8-3 Win

Brewers 8, White Sox 3
Brewers now 18-14 (3rd)
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Cecil Cooper drove in four runs to power the Brewers to an 8-3 win.

CHICAGO — Down 1-0 in the third with two outs to 22-year-old All-Star lefty Britt Burns, the Brewers needed a hero. Cecil Cooper, the Crew’s most consistent offensive contributor and an early MVP favorite, stepped to the plate with the bases loaded.

Cooper promptly doubled home Jim Gantner, Paul Molitor, and Robin Yount to give the Brewers the lead. Dependable Cooper comes through again.

The White Sox would tie the game in the 8th when Ron LeFlore doubled in two runs off of Dwight Bernard, who had come in to relieve starter Moose Haas. The lead was temporary.

Cooper walked to lead off the bottom of the 8th, and would then score along with Gorman Thomas on a Don Money double to left to take the lead and knock Burns from the game. A perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Jim Gantner off of reliever Jerry Koosman would bring in the third run of the inning to make it 6-3.

The Brewers would pad their lead in the ninth when Cooper singled home Yount and a run scored on a bases loaded, Charlie Moore groundout.

Cooper would finish the day with two hits, a walk, two runs scored and four driven in. He’s now hitting a robust .354 with 21 RBI on the season. Cooper was super, and his contributions are becoming commonplace.

Moose Haas started on the mound for the Brewers, allowing three runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings of work. Two of those runs scored with Dwight Bernard, who relieved him in the seventh, on the mound.

It was a solid win against a young star in Burns and the now 20-12 White Sox. The Brewers go for the sweep tomorrow with Randy Lerch on the mound.

Game Notes: Don Money collected three hits, all doubles … Unsubstantiated reports that Pete Vuckovich actually hurt his ankle when a video game fell on it, not slipping on a hill … Jim Gantner and Ned Yost collected two hits apiece.

Bad Bounce, Poor Execution Lead to Loss

Royals 3, Brewers 2 (10)
Brewers now 12-10 (3rd)
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Mark Brouhard
Mark Brouhard should have been the hero of today's game.

MILWAUKEE — After two unlikely heroes led to a Brewers victory yesterday, Mark Brouhard was set up perfectly to take those honors today.

In the second inning, Brouhard hit a two-run homer to left to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead. Minutes later, Brouhard made two fantastic catches, crashing into the left field wall to retire George Brett and Hal McRae in the third, keeping the Royals from scoring at least one run.

Even after the Royals tied the game fourth on a two-out RBI single by Onix Concepcion, it was Brouhard’s game. He had been the offense. His defense kept the team from trailing. Just score a run for the guy and make him the hero.

But Brouhard was the only Brewers player who came to hit. Vida Blue, making his first start since recovering from a shoulder injury, held the Brewers to two runs on six hits in six innings. Dan Quisenberry relieved him and held the Crew to two hits for four more.

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