Brewers 1982

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

Mark Brouhard

Brewers Blown Out in The Bronx

Leave a Comment

Yankees 14, Brewers 2
Brewers now 84-58 (1st by 3.0 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Jerry Augustine
Jerry Augustine and the rest of the Brewers pitchers were awful today.

BRONX, NY — This is one of those games you don’t want to spend too much time on, so I won’t. Or I’ll at least focus on the negatives. Well, there are no positives.

The Brewers played like garbage from start to finish. Doc Medich, who has surprised many by pitching like an acceptable big leaguer, showed his true colors tonight. He couldn’t get an out in the second, allowing seven runs on five hits and two walks.

Sad.

Jerry Augustine, who was DFA’d and brought back but hasn’t pitched for the Brewers since August 17, reminded us why he was let go in the first place. He allowed three runs on four hits in three innings.

Sad.

Jamie Easterly, making his first appearance since July 7, highlighted what we didn’t miss: two runs on five hits in two innings.

Sad.

Dave Righetti pitched a complete game for the Yankees, allowing only five hits. His lone slip-up was a two-run homer by Mark Brouhard in the sixth after the regulars were pulled from the game.

It was a sad, sad display.

“This is a tough loss to swallow,” manager Harvey Kuenn said after the game, “but it happens to everybody. You have to swallow it and move on.”

Maybe, but while this is merely a blip on the radar for the offense, this Rollie Fingers-less bullpen is what is of grave concern to Brewers fans. Fingers was seen lobbing the ball in the bullpen before the game, but he still hasn’t thrown since September 2.

The longer Fingers is out, the more likely a repeat of this pitching disaster is to repeat itself.

And oh, by the way, the Baltimore Orioles won today to pull to within three games of the Brewers in the AL East. Move on? Maybe. But Brewers fans are approaching panic mode.

Brewers Pile on in Sixth

Leave a Comment

Brewers 8, Angels 5
Brewers now 81-55 (1st by 4.0 games)
Box Score | Game Schedule

The Brewers won, but Gorman Thomas' injured arm is a concern.

MILWAUKEE — Entering the sixth inning, the Milwaukee Brewers could get nothing done in support of another terrific start by Mike Caldwell. Geoff Zahn was shutting them out on two hits and carried a 1-0 lead.

It all started when Jim Gantner led off the inning with a hit by pitch, taking a high fastball off of his wrist. Gantner would be replaced by Rob Picciolo, and x-rays revealed only a deep bone bruise.

Molitor singled to left, Robin bunted both runners over, and then Cooper hit a harmless groundout to short.

So there it was. The Brewers had runners at second and third with two outs, trailing 1-0. It’s where pennant contending teams cash in. It’s where others do not.

The Brewers cashed in. Zahn threw a wild pitch, plating Picciolo. Gorman Thomas then hammered a rare opposite field single to score Molitor. Don Money hit a looper into the corner in right that Reggie Jackson couldn’t cut off for an RBI triple. And then Mark Brouhard, filling in for the injured Ben Oglivie, launched a three-run homer to make it five two-out runs in the inning.

The Angels would battle back with a two-run homer by Reggie Jackson in the top of the seventh, but the Brewers then put their collective foot on the throat with three runs on four hits in the eighth. Every offensive player other than Gantner got into the act, collecting either a hit, run score or RBI.

Caldwell allowed all five runs in eight solid innings of work to pick up his 14th win and sixth in his last seven starts. Caldwell has been a revelation since Kuenn took over, going 9-3 with a 3.63 ERA since early July and 7-1 with a 2.70 ERA since August 1.

Pete Ladd, the temporary closer while Rollie Fingers nurses a slight tear in his right forearm, allowed only a single in a scoreless ninth for the save.

If there was anything to worry about as a Brewers fan following this game it was Gorman Thomas’ health. He injured his arm in the second making a throw and struggled with the pain for the rest of the game.

Thomas originally hurt the arm 12 days ago in Anaheim making a diving catch. Manager Harvey Kuenn says it’s something that most players would miss time with, but Thomas simply treats it with ice.

Thomas was in so much pain that he asked Charlie Moore, who was playing right, to go after anything close.

“I was shading everyone to center more than I usually would,” Moore said. “He also told me if a ball got through to get ready to make a throw for him. You know he’s really hurting when he says something like that and is showing pain on his face.”

The Brewers need to get healthy because their rivals are getting stronger. The Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox each won to remain 4 and 4 1/2 games back respectively.

Game Notes: Moose Haas has officially moved to the bullpen, thereby granting the fifth spot in the bullpen to Doc Medich.

Rickey Ties Record, Gorman Steals the Show

Leave a Comment

Brewers 10, A’s 3
Brewers now 74-51 (1st by 5.5 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Gorman Thomas hit two home runs and drove in six.

MILWAUKEE — Rickey Henderson got all of the attention, but Gorman Thomas stole the show.

Henderson led off the game with a single to center and promptly stole second base to tie him with Lou Brock for the single season record at 118. Considering the A’s have 34 games remaining, it’s safe to say that record will be broken. Shortly.

Will the Brewers try to prevent Henderson from breaking the record? Tigers manager Sparky Anderson walked batters in front of Henderson to clog the bases, an interesting strategy.

“If he’s gonna steal,” manager Harvey Kuenn told the Milwaukee Sentinel, “he’s gonna have to go out and earn it. Our goal is to keep him off base four times. The same goal we have for all the hitters.”

Other than the one at bat in the first, the Brewers were successful at keeping Henderson off the bases and the A’s off the scoreboard. Oakland, meanwhile, was not so successful holding down the Brewers offense. In particular, Gorman Thomas.

Gorman hit a three-run homer in the third inning and a two-run shot with two outs in the seventh to give him a major league leading 34 on the season. Thomas also singled and drove in six, putting him one RBI shy of the club record set by Ted Kubiak.

Unlike the A’s and Henderson, of course, the Brewers aren’t a one trick pony. All-Star shortstop Robin Yount went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a triple while starting pitcher Mike Caldwell tossed yet another gem.

Caldwell allowed three runs on seven hits in his team-high ninth complete game of the season to improve to 12-11. He’s won five of his last seven decisions and seven of his last 11. During his last 52 innings, Caldwell has allowed only 13 runs for a 2.25 ERA.

Is this the same Mike Caldwell who pitched under former manager Buck Rodgers? Caldwell was nearly shipped out of town for later acquisition Doc Medich, who has been far from dependable for the Brewers. Rodgers hinted at naming Caldwell a cancer on the team, and his days as a Brewer seemed to be numbered.

But now? Now he’s pitching like an All-Star.

“He’s pitched great the last two months,” Kuenn said. “If we would have scored some runs in a couple of his losses, he could be 16-7.”

Often overlooked as a factor in the ascension of Harvey’s Wallbangers is the performance of Caldwell. The offense has been great, but other than ace Pete Vuckovich the Brewers needed another reliable arm in the rotation. Caldwell has been it, and then some.

The second place Boston Red Sox split a double header with the Angels, so they fell to 5 1/2 games back of the Brewers.

Game Notes: Ted Simmons had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. … The Brewers will likely call up an outfielder from Vancouver, either Kevin Bass or Mark Brouhard, in the next two days.