Manny Castillo Archives

Brewers 6, Mariners 5
Brewers now 70-50 (1st by 5.0 games)
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1982 Topps Rollie Fingers In Action — The Brewers are struggling without Rollie Fingers, who is not In Action.

SEATTLE — The Brewers have blown a couple of leads of late as they struggle to figure out how to cope without All-Star closer Rollie Fingers. Today, it nearly happened again.

The last time these two teams met in Seattle, the Brewers were reeling. Milwaukee had fallen to seven games out of first place and manager Buck Rodgers was replaced with Harvey Kuenn. So much has changed since then.

Of course, one of those changes is the health of Fingers. Starting pitcher Mike Caldwell and the Brewers were cruising through seven innings. The Brew Crew led 6-2 through seven and a half innings, and Caldwell had allowed only five hits. Then he ran out of gas.

The Mariners scored one in the eighth when Julio Cruz doubled, stole third and scored on a Dave Elder sacrifice fly. No big deal, the Mariners just did a good job of manufacturing a run.

Then Caldwell took the hill for the ninth. Richie Zisk doubled to center. Al Cowens doubled to right, scoring Zisk. Gary Gray singled to left, and suddenly it was 6-4 Brewers with no one out and the tie run on first base.

Without Rollie Fingers available, the Brewers turned to rookie Pete Ladd. Luckily for the Brewers, Big Foot did just fine. He struck out Dave Revering looking, and Rick Sweet then hit a sacrifice fly to make it a 6-5 game. With the tie run still on first, Manny Castillo flied to left and the Brewers breathed a sigh of relief.

Offensively, “Harvey’s Wallbangers” decided to go with a game of small ball. They collected 11 hits, but not one was for extra bases. The Brewers stole two bases and bunted twice, including a Paul Molitor safety squeeze to score a run in the sixth. Most importantly, hitting was timely as the Crew scored four of their six runs with two outs.

It was pleasant to see the offense score without the long ball, and the Brewers gained a game on the Red Sox, who fell 4-3 to the A’s. But the blinking question mark right now is over the bullpen. If Rollie Fingers is out for a significant amount of time, or can’t come back at 100%, can this team survive down the stretch?

So far, so good. But having won only two of their last six games, wins aren’t nearly as automatic under Kuenn as they once were.

Game Notes: Jamie Easterly, scheduled to throw a simulated game tomorrow, will not according to Kuenn.

Mariners 6, Brewers 5 (11)
Brewers now 20-19 (3rd)
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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.

Pitching Falters Late, Ladd Holds On

Bad Luck, Execution Lead to Another Loss