Brewers 1982

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

Dave Goltz

Thomas, Slaton, Fingers Star in Win

Brewers 2, White Sox 1
Brewers now 17-14
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Gorman Thomas
Gorman Thomas owned Comiskey today.

CHICAGO — You might think that a game won by the score of 2-1 may be lacking heroes. You, my friend, would be wrong.

First, I present to you Gorman Thomas. In the first inning with two outs and Ron LeFlore on second, Greg Luzinski hit a towering drive to the deepest part of Comiskey Park in centerfield. Gorman Thomas raced it down, making an amazing running catch to save a run.

Soon after, with two down in the Brewers’ half of the second inning, Thomas hit a homer off of the facing below the upper deck in left field to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead.

With two down in the top of the fourth, Gorman Thomas and White Sox starter Richard Dotson faced off again. On a two balls, two strikes pitch, Dotson threw ball three up around Gorman’s head, knocking him to the ground. Thomas dusted himself off, glared at Dotson, and stepped back into the batter’s box.

Gorman Thomas fouled off the next three pitches before launching the fourth into the second row of the upper deck in left.

But you can’t win a game 2-1 without pitching heroes. You may recall that this should have been Bob McClure‘s day to pitch. But he has been out with a bruised pitching elbow, so long man Jim Slaton took his turn on the mound. Slaton did more than could have possibly been expected of him against the hard-hitting (now) 20-11 White Sox. He held them to one run on six hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out six.

Need a third hero? How about the mustachioed one, Rollie Fingers? Our valiant closer entered with two down and the tying run on third base in the seventh inning. Fingers got Luzinski to tap back to the mound to end that threat, and he then retired the final six White Sox batters to end the game. Perfection.

Sure, the Brewers made a couple of errors again on defense (Yount committed his seventh and Yost his first). But this is the type of hard fought game we’ve been waiting to see from the Brewers against one of the league’s top teams.

We know you have it in you, Brewers. Do it again tomorrow.

Game Notes: Today’s win ended the Brewers’ four game losing streak … Thomas now has six home runs, all hit during the month of May … Fingers recorded his seventh save … Infielder Rob Picciolo has been acquired from the Oakland A’s for minor league first baseman John Evans and pitcher Mike Warren. Warren had been drafted from the A’s last December. Picciolo, 29, will be a back-up at second, shortstop and third … Kevin Bass, who celebrated his 23rd birthday two days ago, was sent down to make room for Picciolo … Brewers pitching coach Cal McLish has been experiencing blurred vision and dizziness and is not with the team … Mark Brouhard is expected to be out a few more days, recovering from a tight calf … Jerry Augustine is being prepared for the possible signing of pitcher Dave Goltz. Augustine, who has two years left on his contract, is expected to be the odd man out.

Short-Armed Brewers Embarrassed Again

White Sox 13, Brewers 2
Brewers now 16-14 (3rd)
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Lamarr Hoyt
Lamarr Hoyt helped extend the Brewers' losing streak to four

CHICAGO — The White Sox unveiled their new, shiny, color scoreboard today. That was pretty much the highlight of the day for the Brewers, who once again paid for being short on arms.

You know what happens when you go into games against top teams when you are short-handed in the bullpen? You get beat.

Both Bob McClure and Pete Vuckovich are hurt. Considering neither pitcher has been placed on the disabled list, that means the Brewers have only eight pitchers to work with. You might get away with that against the Twins, but you won’t against the Royals and White Sox.

And the Brewers haven’t.

Bob McClure was hurt on May 9 when a line drive hit him on the pitching elbow. Pete Vuckovich was hurt two days later when he slid down a hill on the way to his start against the Royals. As a result, Jerry Augustine was the sacrificial lamb in a 17-3 loss to the Royals, a game in which he allowed 12 runs on 15 hits in five innings.

You’d think the Brewers’ brass would learn from that game. You can’t have two dead roster spots or that game will simply repeat itself. Well, today, it essentially did.

This time, Mike Caldwell was the sacrificial lamb. Having little help in the bullpen, Caldwell needed to fight through the assault on his Earned Run Average. Caldwell pitched parts of six innings, allowing at least a run in all but one of them. When all was said and done, he had allowed nine earned runs on 13 hits in five-plus innings of work.

Meanwhile, the strong-armed White Sox cruised. Starter La Marr Hoyt went the distance in this one, allowing two runs on 10 hits. He’s now won 12 straight dating back to last season. He’s 6-0 lifetime against the Brewers.

This is embarrassing. The Brewers have now been outscored 39-11 over the past three games, allowing 52 hits. Yet nothing is being done to help the pitching staff.

Well, not nothing. They’re doing something, but nothing that is helping their staff right now. The Brewers worked out free agent pitcher Dave Goltz and were impressed and scheduled another workout for May 15. Goltz signed a lucrative six-year contract prior to the 1980 season with the Dodgers, but he never quite lived up to the hype. The Brewers could use such an arm right now.

Another arm won’t solve the defensive woes, however. Once again, the gloves behind the mound are making the pitcher’s life difficult. Four more errors were made by sloppy Brewers defenders today. Though it didn’t make a difference today in this lopsided game, it’s been the difference in several games this season. Poor fundamental defense is simply unacceptable for a major league team.

Game Notes: The Brewers have lost four straight and are 4.5 games back in the American League East … Bob McClure threw on the sidelines prior to todays game and reported some progress, but isn’t expected to be ready for his next scheduled start against the Angels … Dave Goltz is 105-98 in a 10-year career and won 20 games with the Twins. Goltz claims the Brewers were his first choice before signing with the Dodgers for more money. He is also trying out for the California Angels and may have workouts with the White Sox and Royals as well.