Lance Parrish

Cooper, Yount are Silver Sluggers

November 8

The votes are in from the American League managers and coaches, and the Brewers’ Robin Yount and Cecil Cooper were named the best offensive players at their respective positions.

Yount is being recognized seemingly every day for another award following his historic 1982 season. It is the second time he has been a Silver Slugger, winning it first in 1980.

Cecil Cooper is a three time Silver Slugger winner, taking the honors in each of the last three seasons. Often overshadowed by Yount this year, Cooper was spectacular. Second only to his amazing 1980 season, Cooper hit .313 with 32 homers and 121 RBI.

It’s not surprising that multiple Brewers would make the list. And not to get greedy, but you could make an argument for Paul Molitor, Gorman Thomas, Ben Oglivie and Ted Simmons as well. Though to be fair, all winners were deserving, and are probably more deserving than the Brewers just mentioned.

What do you think? Were any Brewers snubbed?

Pos: Player, Tm	AVG	HR	RBI	H	2B	3B	SB
C: Lance Parrish, DET	.284	32	87	138	19	2	3
1B: Cecil Cooper, MIL	.313	32	121	205	38	3	2
2B: Damaso Garcia, TOR	.310	5	42	185	32	3	54
3B: Doug DeCinces, CAL	.301	30	97	173	42	5	7
SS: Robin Yount, MIL	.331	29	114	210	46	12	14
OF: Reggie Jackson, CAL	.275	39	101	146	17	1	4
OF: Willie Wilson, KCR	.332	3	46	194	19	15	37
OF: Dave Winfield, NYY	.280	37	106	151	24	8	5
DH: Hal McRae, KCR	.308	27	133	189	46	8	4

Yount Named TSN AL Player of the Year

November 1

1982 Donruss Robin Yount — Robin is recognized again!

The Sporting News announced their AL and NL teams today and named Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers as their pick for the 1982 TSN American League Player of the Year Award.

Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves won the award in the National League while TSN named Steve Carlton of the Phillies and Dave Stieb of the Blue Jays their pitchers of the year.

Yount was joined by teammates Cecil Cooper at first base and Gorman Thomas in the outfield. So… how in the world is Dave Stieb the AL Pitcher of the Year? And how is Geoff Zahn on the team but not Pete Vuckovich? Vuke was named the best right-handed pitcher — not only in the American League, but in all of baseball — by the Associated Press. Vuke was also named to the UPI AL All-Star Team along with Baltimore’s Jim Palmer.

So while it’s certainly exciting (if not unexpected) that Yount won the Player of the Year Award, the fact that Vuke wasn’t recognized — not only as the best pitcher in the AL, but one of the two best pitchers — is a bit of a head-scratcher. And it also raises concerns that he may not win the AL Cy Young award.

Following are the entire AL and NL rosters, as named by The Sporting News:

American League

Catcher: Lance Parrish (DET)
1st Base: Cecil Cooper (MIL)
2nd Base: Damaso Garcia (TOR)
Shortstop: Robin Yount (MIL)
3rd Base: Doug DeCinces (CAL)
Outfield: Dave Winfield (NYY), Gorman Thomas (MIL) and Dwight Evans (BOS)
Designated Hitter: Hal McRae (KC)
Pitchers: Dave Stieb (TOR) and Geoff Zahn (CAL)

National League

Catcher: Gary Carter (MON)
1st Base: Al Oliver (MON)
2nd Base: Manny Trillo (PHI)
Shortstop: Ozzie Smith (STL)
3rd Base: Mike Schmidt (PHI)
Outfield: Dale Murphy (ATL), Pedro Guerrero (LA) and Lonnie Smith (STL)
Pitchers: Steve Carlton (PHI) and Steve Rogers (MON)

Brewers Hold Tigers for Big Win

September 15

Brewers 5, Tigers 3
Brewers now 86-60 (1st by 1.5 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule

1982 Topps Roy Howell — Roy Howell was the unlikely offensive hero for the Brewers.

DETROIT — The Brewers beat the Tigers 5-3 with Pete Vuckovich on the mound for his 17th win. Must’ve been an easy win, right?

“People are going to look at that score and figure it was an easy win,” manager Harvey Kuenn said after the game. “But it wasn’t.”

Well, alright then. Harvey set me straight.

Really, even though Vuke never seems to lose, no start of his is particularly easy. Today’s game was a shining example. The Tigers had 13 hits and three walks but left 14 on base, going 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

The biggest bullet was dodged in the bottom of the eighth. With the Brewers hanging on to a 5-3 lead, Vuckovich allowed a one-out single to
Alan Trammell. Jamie Easterly then got the call from the pen and allowed a single to Lou Whitaker. With two on and one down, Dwight Bernard was the third pitcher in three batters and walked Glenn Wilson to load the bases.

After Howard Johnson popped to third, the dangerous Lance Parrish came to the plate. It was Parrish who hit the game winning home run in the 10th inning two nights ago.

“I figured he’d try to jerk it just like the other night,” Bernard said, “and that’s exactly what he did. But it was a curve on the outside corner and he hit it off the end of his bat.”

It may have been off the end of his bat, but Parrish still gave it a ride. The bases loaded blast sent Ben Oglivie to the wall where the ball finally died in his glove for the final out.

The offensive hero of the night was Roy Howell, who had an RBI double in the second to give the Brewers the lead to start and a two-run single in the sixth to give them the lead for good. Both crucial hits were with two outs.

It was another key win as the second place Baltimore Orioles again beat the New York Yankees to remain a game and a half behind the Brewers.

Meanwhile, the Brewers won a potentially important coin flip. In the event of a three-way tie between the Brewers, Red Sox and Orioles, the Brewers would play a game at Boston. The winner would host the Orioles. Since the Red Sox are now 5 1/2 games back, the only tie that is particularly likely is with the Orioles. So this is a big deal.

The Brewers have a day off tomorrow before starting a three game series against the reeling Yankees on September 17 in Milwaukee.

Lead, Season Slipping Away

September 13

Tigers 4, Brewers 3 (11)
Brewers now 84-60 (1st by 2.0 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule

DETROIT — The news coming in from Tiger Stadium kept getting worse and worse.

After Gorman Thomas hit his 35th home run to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead in the top of the 11th inning, Pete Ladd took the mound for the bottom half of the inning.

You know Pete Ladd. He’s the rookie filling in for Rollie Fingers who allowed a home run to Jerry Mumphrey in the 10th inning in New York three days ago to lose to the Yankees.

Well… It happened again. But worse.

This time, Ladd had a lead. This time, he walked Larry Herndon to lead off the inning to bring the winning run to the plate. And then he allowed the home run, this time a two-run shot by Lance Parrish.

The Brewers miss Rollie Fingers. It’s painfully obvious. Three of the team’s last four losses could have been prevented with Fingers on the mound.

A diplomatic Harvey Kuenn understands the impact of Fingers: “He could have made a difference. Anytime you have Rollie in the pen and you’re ahead by one run, you certainly have the edge.”

Then Harvey dropped a bomb: “At this point, we really don’t know if we’ll have him or not. We’ll have to move things around if he doesn’t pitch anymore. He have to have someone pick up the slack.”

WHAT??!! First, Fingers was out for a few days. Then a week. Then another week. Now for possibly the season? What have we seen that tells us the Brewers have anyone who can step up and come even close to picking up the slack?

Jim Slaton? He’s a long reliever. Jamie Easterly? Jerry Augustine? Dwight Bernard? Please, please, PLEASE! Not even close.

Then, the trifecta of bad news. The Baltimore Orioles came from behind to beat the Yankees 8-7 and pull to within two games of the Brewers.

Kuenn tried to stay calm: “All I can say is we have to come back and beat them tomorrow. We still have a two game lead.”

Sure. Now. But without Fingers, does anyone think this team can hold off the Orioles for 19 more games?

I don’t.

Brewers Make Most of Hits

September 8

Brewers 9, Tigers 7
Brewers now 83-56 (1st by 4.0 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule

MILWAUKEE — Yesterday, the Brewers dominated the Tigers with the suffocating pitching of Don Sutton. Tonight, well… They just found a way to win.

It wasn’t pretty. The Tigers outhit the Brewers 17-10. They had five extra base hits to only three for the Brewers.

“We scattered 17 hits very nicely tonight,” manager Harvey Kuenn joked to the Milwaukee Sentinel. “We just outscored them. It isn’t exactly what you’d call a well played ballgame. But you are going to play some of these and win them. This was a big win for us.”

When the Tigers started the game with two runs in the first, the Brewers responded with four, thanks largely to a three-run home run by Cecil Cooper before an out was made.

The Tigers tacked on a couple more in the top of the third on a double by Enos Cabell, and the Brewers fought back with three of their own. Take a jab, connect on two uppercuts.

It happened again in the fifth when the Tigers started with two runs on hits by Lance Parrish and Jim Turner. The Brewers countered with two of their own in the bottom of the inning, one on a two-out squeeze single by Charlie Moore and another on a hit up the middle by Ed Romero.

That’s the way it was all night long. The Tigers didn’t have much trouble scoring on Brewers pitching, but they simply couldn’t keep up. Bob McClure, staked to a 7-3 lead in the fourth, was unable to survive the fifth to get the win. Moose Haas, who moved to the bullpen to make room for Don Sutton in the rotation, allowed two runs in five innings of relief.

Of course, it was Haas who pitched the final two innings because Rollie Fingers is still nursing a slight tear in his forearm. He was originally expected to be out a week, but after an evaluation today it looks like he’ll be out another week.

Fingers says his arm feels a little better, but there is still pain when he throws. When will he return? “Your guess is as good as mine,” Fingers said.

The Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox, second and third in the AL East, both lost and fell to 4 and 5 1/2 games back respectively. The Orioles have won 17 of 19, yet gained only 2 1/2 games on the Brewers who finished up a solid homestand.

Next up is a four-game series in New York.

Brewers Reward Caldwell with Win in 11

June 17

Brewers 3, Tigers 2 (11)
Brewers now 32-29 (3rd)
Box Score | Season Schedule

DETROIT — Heading into today’s game Mike Caldwell had allowed 15 runs (13 earned) covering his previous 9 2/3 innings. Today? Well, today was a bit different.

Heading into the bottom of the ninth of a 2-2 game, there was every reason to go to the bullpen. Caldwell had been masterful, allowing two runs on four hits through eight innings. The batters due up were Lance Parrish, Mike Ivie and Larry Herndon, all batters who had homered off of Caldwell during the past week (Parrish and Ivie today). Rollie Fingers and Jim Slaton were ready in the bullpen. Why not just be happy with the eight innings Caldwell provided?

But Harvey Kuenn stuck with him. Nine pitches later, the inning was over. Caldwell strolled out for the tenth. Another nine pitches later, the tenth inning was over.

It was an amazing display. In ten innings, Caldwell threw merely 103 pitches. And Dan Petry matched Caldwell, allowing only two runs while going 10 innings as well. Thankfully, the Brewers offense got Caldwell a win. He more than deserved it.

Ned Yost, who had pinch hit for Ted Simmons in the ninth, would get a second at bat in the 11th after strikeouts by Robin Yount and Cecil Cooper to lead off the inning. Yost lined a shot to deep left center over Kirk Gibson‘s head for his first major league triple. After Ben Oglivie was intentionally walked, Alan Trammell would boot a ground ball by Gorman Thomas that would allow the eventual winning run to score.

It’s a game like this one that makes a fan believe that the Brewers are for real. Terrific pitching and timely hitting against one of the league’s best teams on the road.

Could it be? Are the Brewers one of the league’s best teams?

Game Notes: Third base coach Harry Warner was ejected in the third inning after arguing with umpire Bill Haller about Tigers second baseman Lou Whitaker not being close enough to the bag when turning two … Ted Simmons broke an 0-for-14 slump with a single and a double.