Paul Molitor

Brewers are AL East Champs!

Brewers 10, Orioles 2
Brewers finish 95-67 (1st place)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Robin Yount was the MVP of the most important game of the season.

BALTIMORE — The Milwaukee Brewers are who they are, and we love ’em for it. They hit, mash homers and score run after run. Their pitching is inconsistent, but they are anchored by three All-Star caliber veterans. And, most importantly, the Milwaukee Brewers are exciting.

We know this. These are the ingredients that have made for a dramatic season. And how exciting would it have been to clinch the American League East before traveling to Baltimore for the final four games of the season? Or even clinch in games one, two or three?

No, it came down to the final game. For us. For our enjoyment. Though it would have been a painful loss, the final week of turbulence added an exclamation point to this final game. Victory could never feel so sweet.

If the Brewers have proven anything to us fans throughout the season, it’s that they can handle adversity. They overcame a rough start and managerial change to unexpectedly take, and hold, the divisional lead. Did you think the Brewers would fail to overcome this little obstacle? Shame on you.

By any account, this was Major League Baseball’s regular season game of the year. The drama could not possibly be greater, deciding a division on the final game of the season. Potential Hall of Famers Don Sutton and Jim Palmer faced off in Orioles manager Earl Weaver’s final game.

Fantastic.

Orioles fans were confident, strolling through the turnstiles in droves with signs that exclaimed “Sweep!” and dancing with brooms as they mocked their downtrodden opponents. They could taste a division title.

But of course, this was the stage for Robin Yount to again remind us why he is the runaway American League Most Valuable Player. On the final day of the season, in enemy territory, when his team needed a leader to step forward.

With one down in the top of the first inning, Yount made a statement to the Orioles and their fans with his solo home run: The first three games are forgotten. Today is a new day. This game will not be so easy.

Yount’s statement set the tone, but it was how the bottom of the first inning ended that made it clear that the Brewers were a motivated and focused bunch. With two down and runners at first and second, John Lowenstein smacked a single to right field. Glenn Gulliver ran through third base coach Cal Ripken Sr.’s stop sign and Brewers right fielder Charlie Moore accepted the challenge, throwing a pea to catcher Ted Simmons that easily nailed Gulliver at the plate.

The Brewers’ momentum carried over into the top of the second when Gorman Thomas led off with a walk, and a flustered Jim Palmer threw an errant pick-off throw into right field. The gaff landed Thomas on third base with no one out. When Thomas stepped on home plate after a Roy Howell groundout, it was a 2-0 Brewers lead heading into the bottom of the second.

This was new ground for the Orioles, who had scored at least three runs by the end of the second inning in each of the first three games of the series. Down 2-0, it was also the first time during the series that the home team had been down by as many as two runs.

The Orioles needed to counter the Brewers’ emotion, but they had no answers early. Sutton disposed of the opposition rather easily in the second, and the Brewers were ready once again to strike in the third.

With one down, Jim Palmer faced a familiar foe. For the second time in three innings, Robin Yount drove a solo shot into the right field bleachers to extend the Brewers lead to 3-0.

The Orioles’ Glenn Gulliver responded with a solo home run of his own in the bottom of the third, but the run was only a minor annoyance for Sutton and the Brewers. And once the Orioles failed to capitalize on a bases loaded opportunity with two outs in the fifth, loyal Brewers fans began confidently preparing champagne glasses in Milwaukee.

Cecil Cooper, the Brewers’ presumed runner up for team MVP this season, led off the top of the sixth with a solo home run. After a Ted Simmons walk, Jim Palmer was unceremoniously removed from the game in favor of Tippy Martinez. By knocking Palmer out of the game, the Brewers had already won.

Don Sutton mowed through Orioles batters inning after inning. Ben Oglivie hit a well-placed single in the top of the eighth to score — who else? — Robin Yount from third after a lead-off triple.

In the bottom of the eighth, Baltimore provided one final scare for fans back in Milwaukee. A temporary bout of Sutton wildness put two runners on via the walk in the eighth, leading to a one-out, run-scoring single by Terry Crowley.

Harvey Kuenn then trotted out to the mound and put Sutton’s fate in his own hands: Talk Kuenn into leaving him out there, or be removed. Kuenn left Sutton on the mound.

Then, with runners on first and third and two down, pinch hitter Joe Nolan hit a slicing fly ball into left. Ben Oglivie ran it down, sliding into the corner to make an amazing, inning-ending grab.

It was likely the most important catch in Milwaukee Brewers franchise history. Oglivie saved two runs on the play, and possibly more since a hit would have extended the inning. The catch preserved a comfortable three-run lead for the Brewers with only one inning to go.

Through the eighth, the Brewers had provided a large dose of pitching and defense to put themselves in position to win. The only ingredient yet to be displayed was the one that has made them famous this year: Offense.

Don Money led off the top of the ninth inning with a double. Dennis Martinez retired Charlie Moore and Ed Romero, and then all hell broke loose. Molitor hit a ground ball single up the middle that scored Marshall Edwards (who had come in to run for Moore). Yount was hit by a pitch. Cooper greeted new pitcher Mike Flanagan with a double that scored both Molitor and Yount. And to cap it off, Ted Simmons — by all accounts the leader of this team — hit a two-run homer.

Five runs came across for the Brewers in the top of the ninth. The score, with the Orioles coming to bat for the final time, was Brewers 10 and Orioles 2.

John Shelby led off the final inning with a single to left off of Bob McClure. Dan Ford popped out to Yount on the infield. Benny Ayala flied out to Gorman Thomas in center. Eddie Murray hit a single up the middle.

Then, the moment we Brewers fans may cherish for generations: Gary Roenicke hit a lazy fly ball that fell safely into the glove of left fielder Ben Oglivie.

Pop the champagne! Dance in the streets! The Brewers have won the American League East!

The Brewers have won as a team all season long. It was only fitting that this final regular season win would be a team effort. Don Sutton was sharp on the mound. Robin Yount hit two home runs and a triple. Cecil Cooper hit a home run and a double. Ted Simmons hit a crucial two-out, two-run homer. Ben Oglivie made a sliding catch into the left-field corner that may have saved the team’s season. Paul Molitor and Roy Howell knocked in runs. Charlie Moore threw out a runner at home to end the first. And Bob McClure held the lead in the bullpen.

Enjoy this feeling, Brewers fans. Our Brewers are AL East Champions. The American League Championship Series begins on October 5 in Anaheim, where your Milwaukee Brewers will participate in a best of five for rights to play in the World Series.

So, how do you plan to celebrate a Brewers appearance in the playoffs?

Brewers Swept in Double Header

October 1 2 Comments

Orioles 7, Brewers 1
Brewers now 94-66 (1st by 1.0 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Mike Caldwell was the second veteran Brewers starter to be roughed up by the surging Orioles today.

BALTIMORE — Immediately after the Brewers were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in a double header today, general manager Harry Dalton shut the door to the clubhouse for a 10-minute meeting.

“We just talked a little,” said an agitated Dalton. “The door was closed so we obviously didn’t want anybody else to hear it.”

The Brewers deserved the talk. Needing only one win in four games, today’s performance was an ugly display. With two aces on the mound for the Crew, a win should have been possible. And considering the Orioles were throwing rookie Storm Davis, it was even more doable.

“They flat out beat us badly,” said Paul Molitor, who had three hits on the day. “We didn’t do anything real badly out there, we weren’t choking or anything like that. They just came out and played real good, aggressive baseball.”

Call it whatever you want, Paul. But maybe, just maybe, you should match that intensity tomorrow.

The game had a bad feel from the start. With two down and one on in the first inning, Caldwell surrendered a two-run bomb to Eddie Murray. Two is never enough, of course, so he he said, “Hey! Why not!” and gave up hits to the next two batters to bring home another run to make it 3-0 after the first inning.

Folks, it really doesn’t get much better after that. And to be honest, I don’t want to cover more details than I need to. Lenn Freaking Sakata hit a home run. The Brewers — Harvey’s Wallbangers — scored one run on six hits off of the rookie, who pitched a complete game. Mike Caldwell allowed seven earned runs on 13 hits in seven innings of work.

Oh, the one bright spot? Chuck Porter came in for the second straight game — and twice in the same day! — to pitch a scoreless eighth. Fantastic.

Suddenly, I have no confidence in this team. Coming into this series, the Brewers needed only to win one game. One. They have now spent two of their best three pitchers and wasted two games.

Luckily, Orioles manager Earl Weaver doesn’t believe in momentum.

“I remember when we were up 3-1 in the 1979 World Series,” Weaver said. “I remember the 1969 playoffs when we won three straight and then ran into the Mets. It’s that inertia theory. A body in motion remains in motion unless something changes it.”

Alright, so now Weaver’s just messing with my head.

We’re in serious trouble right now. The Brewers now have to win one game out of two. On the road. In Baltimore. Against a great team. And emotions will be high, not only because it’s a pennant race, but because it is the end of the road for Weaver.

But at least we have Doc Medich on the mound tomorrow, right? Right?! Oh, boy.

Crap. I don’t like the feel of this. Since about July, it’s seemed like the Brewers’ season. All of a sudden, it seems as though it’s in the stars for the Orioles.

So what do you think? Is it time to panic?

Anticipation of a Pennant

October 1 Leave a Comment

1982 Topps Stickers Pete Vuckovich — Pete Vuckovich will take the mound in Game 1 of today's double header.

BALTIMORE — You’re a Brewers fan and you’re like a kid on the last day of school, looking at the clock, waiting for the final bell to ring, ready to burst forth with joy and a feeling of freedom. In this case, it’s freedom from the O’s, the AL East and from the Crew’s humble and, at times, awful beginnings.

You are eager to see your heroes soaked in bubbly as much as they’re ready to taste it.

That taste, however, will need to wait because the Crew lost a 9-4 stinker in their series finale with the Red Sox and lost a game in the standings as the Orioles rallied with four runs in the ninth to beat the Tigers, 6-5. But in facing the O’s, the Crew’s Magic Number is now one (since a Brewers win equals an Orioles loss) as they lead the division with four games to play.

Just win one and the pennant is theirs. Win just one and history is secure. Win one and the city will be one step closer to its first World Series since the Braves in 1958.

Just one. It won’t be easy. All four games are in Baltim…

Wait, what? Four games? Yes, four. The schedule says three, but today the Crew and the O’s will go all Ernie Banks on us with a doubleheader to open the series.

One game is the continuation of a 2-2 tie between the teams on June 26. Mario Ziino, the assistant director of media relations for the Crew, explains:

“The Brewers game at Baltimore on June 16, 1982 was suspended after nine innings was complete because it ended in a 2-2 tie. The cause was rain at 12:05 a.m. The game was delayed twice at the start – first for 34 minutes following the first out (Paul Molitor) of the game and again for 43 minutes once the tarp was removed it had to be placed on the infield again. So at roughly 10 p.m. local time, the second batter of the game (Robin Yount) stood in the batter’s box. Because the teams had completed nine innings, the stats went into the books. The two teams would have to play the game over in its entirety, and was scheduled for the next first night Milwaukee came to town (October 1) as a twi-night doubleheader.

“A suspended game occurs when play is stopped with a tie score and both teams have completed an inning past the fifth. If it occurs before the fifth inning, the game is replayed and the stats are thrown out. It’s simply a rainout.”

So, there you have it. Starting with today’s twi-night doubleheader, the Crew and the O’s will play three games in a 24-hour span. The Brewers can save themselves some grief by taking one of these games today. But the Crew is 3-6 against the Orioles this season and just last weekend lost two of three at County Stadium to the O’s. Add to this the fact this could be Earl Weaver’s last stand as O’s manager, and not only will the Crew face a formidable foe, but they will also meet an emotionally charged foe.

Ace Pete Vuckovich (18-5) starts the first game at 4:30 p.m. CT against Dennis Martinez (15-12). Mike Caldwell (17-12) takes the hill in the nightcap.

Two aces, two chances to win one game and make Brewers history.

The anticipation is killing us. Here’s hoping the Birds don’t as well.

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.”

NED YOST! No, really. NED YOST!

September 29 3 Comments

Brewers 6, Red Sox 3
Brewers now 94-63 (1st by 4.0 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule

1982 Topps Ned Yost — It was one at bat, but Ned Yost had the game of his life.

BOSTON — With two down in the top of the ninth in a 3-3 game and Paul Molitor on second, Cecil Cooper at the plate, and Ned Yost on deck, Red Sox manager Ralph Houk made the reasonable move: He had Mark Clear intentionally walk Cooper to face Yost.

Sigh. Like many Brewers fans, Uecker’s announcement of the intentional walk for the far-from-fearsome Yost nearly drove me back to the kitchen to grab another drink. The inning was over.

You see, typically Ted Simmons would be up in this spot. In that case, Houk would have been less willing to put a second runner on base in a tie game and an extra-base threat at the plate. But Marshall Edwards pinch ran for Simmons when Coach Kuenn went for the win in the eighth, so Yost was then needed to finish the game behind the plate.

Yost hadn’t seen action at the dish since September 11, more than two weeks ago. The back-up catcher, known for his defensive abilities, had nine extra base hits and five RBI on the season. Sure, it’s been Yost’s best offensive season yet in his three-year career, but without a home run he was not seen as a threat to bring home the go-ahead run.

Yost lofted a fly ball to left field that, in any other park, may have been a fly out to end the threat.

“GET UP!”

Could it be high enough?

“Get outta here!”

Could it be deep enough?

“GONE FOR YOST!”

Ned Yost! Oh my GOD, NED YOST! Though it came in a tie game, this may have been the least probable ending of a game all season.

NED YOST!

“(Sal) Bando had told me to be ready when Robin was up, that I was going to win the game for us,” Yost explained. “I was running around like a crazy man because I didn’t bring any bats. I figured we were in a pennant race and that Teddy would do all the catching. I was in my full catcher gear when I ran down to the clubhouse to find a bat. I didn’t find any there so I came running back to the dugout. After a while, I just pulled anything that I could find on the rack.”

That “anything” hit the game winning home run. That “anything” was Charlie Moore‘s bat.

“Hell, he can have it,” Moore said. “At least someone got some use out of it.”

“I can’t explain how it felt out there,” Yost said to a crowd of reporters. “I can’t even say that it happened. It’s like a fairy tale, the kind of moment you spend your whole life dreaming about. I was so overjoyed I wanted to jump up and down, but I figured that wouldn’t be right.”

Oh, we did the jumping up and down for you, Ned. And it felt just fine.

Boston has given the Brewers and their fans their swagger back. With the lead in the AL East trickling away, nothing seemed to go right. Then the 6-3 win with Doc Medich on the mound in Game 1. Then Ned Yost.

Don Sutton on the mound, this was a game the Brewers expected to win. Sutton, though, wasn’t sharp early and put the Brewers in a 2-0 hole in the first inning when Jim Rice hit a two-run homer.

Like they so often do, however, the Brewers battled right back. Don Money smacked a solo shot in the top of the second, and Sutton got himself out of a second inning jam before settling down in the third. From then on, he was untouchable, allowing only one hit until Gary Allenson‘s lead-off homer in the seventh.

But after seven innings and Bob McClure on the mound, the game was all tied up at three. Sutton out of the game, advantage swung to the home team.

It seemed that the Brewers gaffed on failing to cash in on a golden opportunity in the eighth. With one down, Simmons singled to left and the speedy Marshall Edwards trotted in to replace him. After a Gorman Thomas walk and Ben Oglivie strikeout, Don Money walked to load the bases. Charlie Moore, however, popped to first to end the inning.

Bob McClure kept the Brewers in the game, retiring the side in order in the eighth. Thus, the stage was set for Yost and the Brewers in the ninth.

Two down and two on, Ned Yost at the plate. Such an improbable ending. But Yost’s homer adds yet another chapter to this storybook season of a team destined for the playoffs.

And considering what happened in Detroit, that is looking even more possible. The Tigers beat the Orioles 3-2, extending the Brewers’ lead to four games with five to play. The magic number is now two.

A Little Breathing Room

September 29 Leave a Comment

BOSTON — Still holding your breath, Brewers fans?

From the first hit — a single by Paul Molitor to open the game — to the last — Charlie Moore‘s infield squibber to the pitcher in the ninth — it was good to see Harvey’s Wallbangers remembered how to bang walls. Last night, the Crew pounded out 17 hits off three Red Sox pitchers en route to a 9-3 win over Boston at Fenway Park, which means the Brewers and their fans could breathe a little easier.

1982 Topps Don Sutton — Don Sutton takes the hill for the Brewers.

Just as important as the Brewers’ win was the Orioles’ fall-from-the-lead 9-6 loss to the Tigers in Detroit. The Crew now leads the O’s by three games with six to play and Milwaukee’s magic number is now 4 (any combo of Crew wins/O’s losses totaling four means our beloved Brewers are AL East champs).

Really, though, Milwaukee’s magic number — with apologies to the man who wears No. 4, Molitor — is 19. The Kid has been The Man in the AL, and all of baseball, this season. On Tuesday, he showed why he will walk away with the AL MVP.

Yount went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBI to help power the Crew. It was his 59th multi-hit game of his incredible season and hopefully is the start of a huge week for Yount, who was 5 for his last 24 entering Tuesday night’s game.

Then again, in pounding out 17 hits, everyone — except Stormin’ Gorman Thomas, who took the collar — got well. They can keep it going tonight as John Tudor (13-10) takes the mound for the Red Sox. The Crew kicked the stuffing out of Tudor on June 26 in Boston, banging out five hits, including homers from Charlie Moore, Cecil Cooper and Ben Oglivie, in four innings.

More of the same tonight would be nice. Don Sutton (3-1), who has been dandy since Harry Dalton pilfered him from Houston on Aug. 31, takes the hill for the Crew. Game time is 6:35 CT.