Moose Haas

’82 World Series: Game 4 Preview

MILWAUKEE — Willie McGee with two home runs and four RBI from the eight hole. Of course that’s how the Crew would fall into a 2-1 hole.

After all that has befallen our beloved baseball team, it would figure that a guy who hit only four homers would hit two in a game. Because that’s how the Brewers roll. Or, in this case, stumble. Right, Gorman?

“We’re in the same boat we were in against Baltimore, in the same boat we were in against California,” Thomas told The New York Times. “The boat hasn’t changed. We’re still riding the same boat. Call it PT-109 or the Love Boat, the boat’s been bottom up in the bay before and we always seem to rise to the occasion.”

Pete Vuckovich hasn’t won since Sept. 20. You may remember that game. Vuke went 11 innings, threw close to 165 pitches. He may be asking if it was worth it. Meanwhile, the Crew couldn’t figure out Joaquin Andujar, who only gave up three hits in 6 1/3 before a Ted Simmons rocket clipped Andujar in the knee.

If Cards pitchers keep befuddling Crew batters as Andujar did, the Brewers may be reduced to caning Cards hurlers in the knees in the bowels of the Stadium.

But if we know anything about these Brewers, it is that they bounce back. Moose Haas will take the mound for the Crew while rookie Dave LaPoint gets the egg for St. Louis.

As always, if you can’t watch the game or listen to it, you can follow our tweets at @tweetsfrom1982.

Brewers Crush Cardinals

October 12 1 Comment

Brewers 10, Cardinals 0
Brewers lead World Series 1-0
Box Score | Season Schedule

Mike Caldwell pitched a complete game shutout

ST. LOUIS — The Brewers came into Game 1 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals wanting to change some bad habits. In both the ALCS with the Angels and quasi-playoff series with the Orioles to end the season, the Brewers lost Game 1. On the road, they lost both games 8-3.

Oh, they changed. They changed in a big way. The Brewers squashed any doubts about how power might fare against speed in a truly dominating 10-0 win over the Cardinals in front of their home fans.

It was a huge win for the Brewers. It set a tone that they will be in control of this series from the beginning. And by winning the first game in St. Louis, the Cardinals already have their backs up against the wall. A second loss tomorrow, and you can pretty much chalk up a championship for the Brew Crew.

Gotta admit, I wasn’t particularly confident about this game. Not only due to the team’s recent history and that the game was in St. Louis, but that Mike Caldwell was on the mound.

Sure, Caldwell won 17 games this season, and was this team’s iron man throwing 258 innings. But he also looked gassed as a result, losing the second game against the Orioles and that first game against the Angels. Over his previous two starts, Caldwell went a combined 10 innings pitched, allowing 12 earned runs on 13 hits. He was a human pinata on the mound.

But Harvey Kuenn has pushed all of the right buttons this season, and he saw that his veteran hurler wasn’t right. Caldwell was skipped in the rotation in favor of Moose Haas for Game 4 of the ALCS, and maybe all he needed was some rest. He certainly looked well rested tonight.

Caldwell pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits and one walk to the baffled Cardinals batters. Two of those hits were in the eighth inning, so his dominance over those other eighth innings was truly remarkable.

“Right at the start,” said catcher Ted Simmons, “he was throwing it right on the outside corner and he was painting the black.”

The Cardinals never had a chance.

But the Brewers brought an all-around attack to Game 1. They committed four errors as a defense in Game 5 of the ALCS and eight total in the series. But their glovemen sparkled in the field on this day without a defensive misstep.

Paul Molitor set a World Series record with five hits.

And of course, you can’t talk about the Milwaukee Brewers without mentioning their offense, though they’ve admittedly been absent over the course of much of the past couple of weeks. They came after the Cardinals with 10 runs on 17 hits, never letting up until the final bell. The Brewers scored four in the ninth just for good measure.

One of the issues with the Brewers of late has been early scoring. The opposition has been taking the early lead, often leading to a Brewers loss (the team scoring the first run has won eight of the last 10 games). The Brewers put two on the board in the first inning today, thanks largely to a Keith Hernandez error with two outs, and never looked back.

Paul Molitor was the team’s star on offense, setting a World Series record with five hits, all singles. Three of the hits never made it out of the infield and another was a broken bat job.

“It’s the first time I have had three infield hits in a game,” said Molitor. “It wasn’t pretty.”

No, but they’ll look like line drives in the history books.

Robin Yount nearly matched him, collecting four hits, including a double. Before Molitor had broken the World Series record for hits in a game in the ninth, Yount and Molitor had each tied the old record with four.

“I had no idea,” said Yount. I’m still not swinging the bat that well. The ball just happened to go where the fielders weren’t.”

The top two batters have led the Brewers’ offense all season long. On this day, they went a combined 9-for-12 with two runs scored and four RBI. An incredible performance.

While others certainly contributed on offense (Ted Simmons, Charlie Moore and Jim Gantner all had two hits), there is reason for concern once you peel away the numbers. Offensive stars Cecil Cooper, Ben Oglivie and Gorman Thomas went a combined 1-for-12, and all hit close to .100 during the postseason. These three must get going for the Brewers to be successful in this series.

Despite all of their flaws, the Milwaukee Brewers are in prime position to win this World Series. Win Game 2, and all they need to do is win two of three at home. It’s that easy.

Brouhard Leads Crew to Win

October 9 1 Comment

Brewers 9, Angels 5
ALCS is now tied 2-2
Box Score | Season Schedule

MILWAUKEE — Down two games to one, the Brewers needed a win to stay alive in the American League Championship Series. Thanks to an explosive offense and some solid pitching from starter Moose Haas, the Brewers beat the Angels 9-5 today and will live to see another day.

The story in this one centered on the unexpected wildness of Angels starter Tommy John. John had walked only 39 batters in 221 2/3 innings between the Yankees and Angels this season (a 1.6 per nine innings average), including only two wild pitches in seven starts with the Angels. John walked five in only 3 1/3 disastrous innings on today, throwing more wild pitches (three) than he had previously in an Angels uniform.

The subplot of the game was the offensive performance by back-up outfielder Mark Brouhard. Ben Oglivie bruised his ribs crashing into the wall on a Fred Lynn double yesterday and was unavailable.

“When Benji came in today,” said manager Harvey Kuenn, “he said his ribs were very sore. When he tells me that, I know he’s hurting.” So Kuenn inserted Brouhard, who hadn’t played since September 11.

Well, the move paid off. Brouhard would connect on three hits, driving in three and tying an ALCS record with four runs scored.

With one down and two on in a scoreless game in the second, Brouhard laced a single to center that drove in two. He also scored on the play, thanks to two Angels errors that aided his gallop around the bases. The Brewers led 3-0, but Brouhard’s biggest contribution would come later on.

The Brewers had what appeared to be an insurmountable 7-1 lead heading into the eighth inning, but the Angels finally solved Moose Haas, who had cruised to that point. A Don Baylor grand slam made it a two-run game, and the raucous Milwaukee crowd was silenced.

But with Marshall Edwards on second in the bottom of the eighth, Brouhard calmed the nerves of local fans by delivering a two-run homer to give the Brewers a comfortable four-run lead.

Was Brouhard nervous? “Before the game, we had a flip game in the clubhouse, using a plastic ball. I got in that and just tried to relax.”

Brouhard’s home run gave the Brewers the cushion they needed. Jim Slaton continued the Brewers’ uncharacteristic relief success by not allowing a baserunner in 1 2/3 innings pitched. The bullpen, which struggled through much of the second half this season, has now allowed only one earned run on three hits through eight innings in the ALCS.

Brewers fans had plenty to be happy about in this game. Moose Haas outpitched Tommy John, and looked like a staff ace until his eighth inning collapse. The Brewers’ offense finally put up three runs or more twice in one game, and the bullpen remains rock solid.

What is there to be concerned about if you’re a Brewers fan? Well, Cecil Cooper and Gorman Thomas continued to struggle in the postseason, both going hitless in this game. Cooper is hitting .125 in the ALCS and Thomas .083. Both are critical to this team’s success, and their lack of offense has a lot to do with the Brewers’ recent inability to score runs.

But here we are, facing a Game 5 at home on Sunday. The winner goes to the World Series. The Brewers have Pete Vuckovich on the mound against the Angels’ Bruce Kison. Kison held the Brewers to two runs in Game 2, and Vuke hasn’t been at his best since an inspirational 11-inning win against the Red Sox on September 20.

It’s the most important baseball game in Milwaukee since Game 7 of the 1958 World Series between the Milwaukee Braves and New York Yankees. Will the Crew come through?

Brewers Take Game 3

October 8 1 Comment

Brewers 5, Angels 3
Angels now lead ALCS 2-1
Box Score | Season Schedule

MILWAUKEE — The Brewers came into Game 3 of the ALCS in do-or-die mode. Win, and there’s another day. Lose, and you’re dead. Figuratively speaking, at least.

Don Sutton and The Crew were up to the challenge, as they were in full control of the game from start to finish. Sure, it finished as only a two run margin, a 5-3 Brewers win. Yeah, the Brewers only managed six hits. But there was a positive feel in this one.

Yes, it’s a feel we haven’t had in some time. Control. Most importantly, they had a pitcher on the mound who wasn’t giving an inch, at least until a charitable fan decided to give that inch late.

Up until Friday, Brewers pitchers had repeatedly given up early runs, putting their offense in an immediate hole. An offense that has looked nothing like the Harvey’s Wallbangers of most of the regular season.

But you can’t always count on your offense to score bunches of runs. That is what makes solid starting pitching so important. And that is why Harry Dalton went out and traded for Don Sutton. For games just like the one on the final day of the regular season against the Orioles. And like this one.

Backs against the wall.

Don Sutton is the man, people. He allowed a hit and a walk in the first inning, but not another baserunner until a DeCinces single in the fifth. Prior to the eighth inning, Sutton had only allowed more than one baserunner in an inning once, that opening frame. Yes, Sutton was in supreme control.

The Brewers offense didn’t collect a hit until the fourth inning, but they did so in style. The Brewers hadn’t scored three runs in an inning since that last time Sutton was on the mound. The Crew collected three runs on three hits and a walk in the fourth, breaking through a massive funk at the plate.

Paul Molitor then added the exclamation point, hitting a much-needed two-run homer in the seventh making it 5-0. At the time, it seemed just like piling on. But it turned out to be crucial run production.

The Angels finally figured out Sutton in the bottom of the eighth, with a jump start from the aforementioned fan. Bob Boone led off the inning with a deep fly ball to left. Ben Oglivie headed to the track, leaped, and as the ball was about to enter his glove…

A fan reached over the wall and snagged it. Replays showed it clearly to be the case. It shouldn’t have been a home run, and it was probably going to be an out. Left field umpire Larry Barnett disagreed, however, and that’s all that mattered.

The Angels would score three runs on four hits in the inning, including the leadoff snafu. But by then, it was too late. They weren’t coming back.

Sutton allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out nine in 7 2/3 innings of mound work. He was the stopper the Brewers needed.

“We were shut down for seven innings by one of the best pitchers in baseball in the last 15 years,” said Angels manager Gene Mauch. “He’s very clever… very clever.”

The clever Sutton was relieved by Pete Ladd, who provided a much needed spark from the bullpen. Ladd went the final 1 1/3 innings without allowing a hit, striking out two. Ladd, who blew two late season games with big home runs, has struck out five of the seven batters he’s faced in this series.

“Relief is something that you already better be equipped to handle the pressure and go out there,” said Ladd, “or you might as well stay in the bullpen.”

How things can change for Ladd and this Brewers bullpen. The one thing you can say about this ALCS so far is that the bullpen has not been the problem. While they may not have been dependable as a group ever since Rollie Fingers went down, the bullpen has allowed only one earned run and three hits through 6 1/3 innings pitched.

Are the Brewers back? I think so. I hope so. They have a significant test on Saturday, skipping the struggling Mike Caldwell in the rotation in favor of Moose Haas. He’ll be up against veteran Tommy John, who dominated the Brewers in Game 1.

But the game is at home, and if they tie up the series at two apiece, the Brewers suddenly become favorites in Game 5, in Brew Town as well.

Am I confident? That may be a stretch. But I’ve perked up a bit. Don Sutton and the Brewers gave us a playoff victory, which is somewhat satisfying. And being down 2-1 feels nowhere near as hopeless as 2-0. It also means the Brewers are two home victories from the World Series.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. One win at a time. It starts with Moose Haas on Saturday at 3:45 CDT.

What do you think? Do the Brewers have a realistic chance of winning with Moose Haas on the mound?

Pitching Fails, Brewers Lose

September 30 Leave a Comment

Red Sox 9, Brewers 4
Brewers now 94-64 (1st by 3.0 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Jim Slaton wasn't his reliable self in a spot start.

BOSTON — Needing a win and an Orioles loss to clinch the AL East on Thursday, the Brewers didn’t have it as the Red Sox took the series finale. Not the timely hitting, not the pitching. No champagne.

Yet.

Jim Slaton, who has been a reliable all-purpose pitcher for the Brewers all season long, found himself in a constant jam. He yielded three singles in the first, but managed to escape without allowing a run thanks to a well-timed double play. Two more runners were stranded in the second before the Red Sox broke through in the third.

With two down and a runner on first, the sure-handed Robin Yount muffed an easy Carney Lansford grounder that should have ended the inning. Rookie Wade Boggs, looking nothing like a rookie, stroked a double off of the Green Monster to plate Jim Rice and give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.

Things only got uglier for Slaton, who surrendered two more runs before being replaced by Jamie Easterly.

[Note: Do you know how we Brewers fans can all save some time and energy? As soon as we see Jamie Easterly on the mound, we know the game’s over. Grab a beer. If you aren’t of age, refill your sippy cup. He’s made 12 appearances since the start of June, 10 of which ended in a loss. Easterly tends to be the mop-up guy when the Brewers throw in the towel. And if the Crew is still in the game and Easterly is on the mound? We can expect he’ll lose it.]

Once Easterly allowed another of Slaton’s runners to score, it was a 4-0 Boston lead. Pitching was rough, but we can always rely on Harvey’s Wallbangers to keep the Crew in the game, right? Boston pitcher Dennis Eckersley had other ideas. I’m not sure what those ideas were, but they didn’t include our favorite players stepping on home plate.

They “hit” fine, I guess. The Brewers did manage 12 hits on Eckersley. The problem was they didn’t walk once and they were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

On this night, it would not matter. The Brewers bullpen, which has been the team’s Achilles’ heel since all-world closer Rollie Fingers went down, rolled over once again. A combination of Moose Haas, Pete Ladd, Dwight Bernard and Bob McClure surrendered five runs in three innings. Each pitcher allowed at least a run, a sight that has become far too common.

[Note #2: Brewers fans have to ask an important question. Let’s say the Brewers actually do make it to the playoffs. Let’s say Rollie Fingers never makes a miraculous comeback. What makes any of us think that this team can routinely hold leads late in games without Fingers? No late reliever has proven to be reliable in his place. Unless Sutton, Vuckovich and Caldwell can pitch complete games every time out, we’re screwed!]

Sure, the Brewers scored four runs on five consecutive hits (highlighted by two-run homers by Paul Molitor and Cecil Cooper) in the eighth, but by then the game was far out of reach.

“It would have been nice to take it tonight,” third baseman Paul Molitor said. “But it also will be nice to go against [the Orioles] head to head. After the way they took two of three from us last weekend in Milwaukee, it will be a lot more satisfying to go in there and see the whites of their eyes and take it away from them.”

That’s one way to look at it, I guess.

The Brewers had the champagne chilled and ready in the event the Crew won and Orioles lost. It didn’t happen. The champagne will have to make the trip to Baltimore.

“Don’t worry,” said traveling secretary Tommy Ferguson. “We bought good champagne, it won’t go stale.”

No champagne tonight. No resting the starters in Baltimore. Another day of stress for the fans back in Milwaukee.

AL East Update: The Orioles kept the pressure on by overcoming a three-run, eighth inning deficit to the Tigers on Thursday night. They scored three of their comeback runs with two outs. Had the Orioles failed to win, their only chance would have been a four-game sweep of the Brewers for a tie. Now the Brewers must win one game in Baltimore to clinch.

Rollie Fingers Update: Fingers was unable to throw prior to today’s game due to a stiff forearm. Asked if his star reliever would be available for any of the games in Baltimore, manager Harvey Kuenn said simply, “I doubt it.”

Brewers Bang on Fenway Walls

September 28 Leave a Comment

Brewers 9, Red Sox 3
Brewers now 93-63 (1st by 3.0 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule

BOSTON — As Rob Peterson noted yesterday in his series preview, this week may be the most important of any for the Milwaukee Brewers franchise. Coming off of two straight losses to the pesky Baltimore Orioles, the division lead has been cut to two games with seven left to play.

Of course, holding on for those seven games will be no picnic. Unless the Orioles are the ants looking to carry away our basket of playoff goodies. The first three will come versus the third place Red Sox and final four against those same Orioles. All on the road.

So it’s clear we’re getting into must-win mode here. At the very least, it’s hold-on-tight-and-close-your-eyes mode. Though Boton’s dead, the Brewers’ bats still needed to come alive to reverse recent misfortunes and build upon their dwindling AL East lead. A 9-3 win tonight at Fenway Park helped some of us open our eyes and watch more comfortably.

No one thought it would be easy. Sending mid-season addition and least accomplished starting pitcher Doc Medich to the mound at Fenway Park didn’t inspire confidence. The top priority coming into this game was to score and score often. Harvey’s boys needed to acquaint themselves regularly with the Fenway walls.

Thankfully, that is exactly what happened. Paul Molitor singled to lead off the game and stepped on the plate moments later after Robin Yount hit a 1-1 pitch from Chuck Rainey onto the light standard overlooking the big screen above the Green Monster.

“Hell, he’s been doing this all year,” Gorman Thomas said of Yount’s performance, “why would he stop now?

“He’s having a great hear. More power to him. I hope he stays as hot as he is the rest of the year. It’s just another feather in his war bonnet. He only has about 150,000 as it is.”

Indeed, Yount is having an MVP-type season. But with two down and two on, Roy Howell — a name rarely mentioned when speaking of this record-breaking offense — came through with a clutch RBI single to give Medich a 3-0 lead before he stepped on the mound.

Given the lead, all Brewers fans asked of Medich was to keep the offense in the game. Pitch six innings and hand the ball over with a chance to earn a victory. It wasn’t pretty (three earned runs on five hits and five walks in six innings), but Doc did what was asked of him.

“I didn’t have good stuff,” Medich told the Boston Globe. “I had to struggle for six innings, but when you get those runs…”

Of course, when fans complain about the inconsistent and often unreliable Brewers pitching, in most cases they are referring to the gaping hole left by the ailing Rollie Fingers. Once considered a seven inning game if the Brewers handed the ball and lead to Fingers, relievers have provided little, well, relief since his absence. A bullpen consisting of Moose Haas, Jim Slaton, Dwight Bernard, Jamie Easterly, Jerry Augustine and Pete Ladd has failed far more often than is acceptable.

The painful realization is that with Fingers, first place in the AL East would be long sewn up by now. Thankfully for the Brewers and their loyal fans, the offense handed Moose Haas a 9-3 lead in the seventh inning.

The Brewers bats were too much for Boston’s pitching on this night. It was an offensive onslaught focused on three innings: Three runs in the first, two in the fourth and four in the sixth. But it was the way they scored that was most impressive.

Sure, they hit their home runs, scoring two on Yount’s first inning homer and three when Simmons hit one out in the sixth. But they also scored two in the fourth when they popped four singles, forcing manager Ralph Houk to remove Rainey and go to his bullpen far earlier than he preferred.

In all, the Brewers offense smacked 17 hits, and the pitching was plenty good enough to win. Haas pitched three scoreless innings in relief, allowing only two hits to the suddenly punchless Red Sox and Fingers was not missed on this night. It was his first save of the season and the second of his career.

Just as important for Brewers fans was the news out of Detroit. A paltry crowd of 7,755 watched their fourth place Tigers come from behind to score the final four runs and beat the Orioles 9-6.

Now the worst case scenario is going into the final four games in Baltimore with a one game lead. Should we still be worried?

“We can’t look at going into Baltimore with a one game lead,” Yount responded, “or things like that. We really have to play them one at a time. They’re all big games. We have to win tomorrow as much as we did tonight.

“But I’ll take a win when Baltimore loses every day of the week.”

With six games to go, the Brewers’ lead in the division is now three games. We can breathe a little more easily. But would it be asking too much to have a five game lead before the Crew gets to Baltimore?

Maybe. Probably.

Player of the Game: Time and time again this season, whenever the Brewers need a win, Robin Yount has stepped forward. Tonight, “The Kid” hit a first inning, two-run home run that set the tone for a team losing confidence. Yount had three hits in all, driving in three and scoring two.

Now with 27 home runs, a .331 batting average, 111 RBI and a league leading 202 hits, 45 doubles and .573 slugging percentage, the question must be asked: does Robin Yount have any reasonable competition for the league’s MVP award?

Don’t worry, we’ll answer the question, too. No. Robin should, and will, be M-V-P.