Reggie Jackson

Brewers Pile on in Sixth

September 5

Brewers 8, Angels 5
Brewers now 81-55 (1st by 4.0 games)
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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.

Teammates Pick Vuke Up in Win

September 4

Brewers 8, Angels 2
Brewers now 80-55 (1st by 4.0 games)
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MILWAUKEE — It appeared that Pete Vuckovich didn’t have it today. It appeared he’d be taking a quick shower. Then his teammates picked him up.

In the first, Vuke needed all the help he could get. Bobby Grich led off with a drive to deep left. Marshall Edwards raced it down and made a brilliant catch, crashing into the wall.

Rod Carew then singled to left. Brian Downing hit a liner into center, but Gorman Thomas made a nice running catch. Vuke walked Reggie Jackson. He walked Doug DeCinces. Then he uncorked a wild pitch that allowed the first run of the game to score.

But with two down and runners at second and third, Gorman Thomas was going to help his buddy get out of it. Don Baylor laced a sinking liner to center. Gorman charged and laid out at full extension, making the catch.

Vuckovich allowed one run that inning, but without the help from his friends it could have been much, much worse. It’s likely he wouldn’t have gotten out of that inning at all.

He wasn’t sharp on this day, but Vuke would get himself out of jams from that point forward. Runners were stranded at second and third in the fourth, and first and second in the sixth and seventh. He’d bend, but he would not break.

Meanwhile, his teammates put runs on the board. Jim Gantner, Ted Simmons, Gorman Thomas, Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, and even Rob Picciolo came through with RBI hits. Vuke held on and his teammates tacked on.

After Brian Downing flied to left for the final out of the game and Vuke picked up his career best 16th win, it was congratulatory handshakes and hugs all around. Vuke and Gorman embraced as they walked off the field.

“He said a few things to me,” Vuke joked. “I’m the worst, the usual.”

He eventually revealed that he simply told Gorman thanks for the defense.

“These guys have been bailing me out all year, especially Thomas. Our defense is underrated.”

The defense has gotten a bad rap all season, and some of it deserved. But as a team, no one is playing better right now.

They’re playing so well that the team received permission from the Commissioner’s Office to sell playoff and World Series tickets. Beginning September 8, fans can start mailing in their orders.

The Brewers would have home field advantage for the ALCS but not the World Series (if they get to either series, of course — don’t want to jinx it). The ALCS would begin on October 5 and 6 with games 3, 4 and (if necessary) 5 in Milwaukee on October 8, 9 and 10.

The World Series, if you want to think that far ahead, will start in a National League park on October 12 and 13. If we are so lucky, World Series baseball will come to Milwaukee on October 15, 16 and (if necessary) 17.

Want tickets? They’ll cost ya.

A box seat for the ALCS is $17 and $24 for the World Series. A strip of six tickets for each possible game is $123. Grandstand tickets are $12/$18/$90 and bleachers are $5/$8/$39.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to talk to a witch doctor about reversing the possible curse I just created.

Sixth Inning of Hell Leads to Loss

September 3

Angels 5, Brewers 2
Brewers now 79-55 (1st by 3.5 games)
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Jim Gantner's miscue in the sixth helped the Angels score four runs.

MILWAUKEE — For the third consecutive game, the mighty Brewers offense managed to score only two runs. Yet the discussion following tonight’s loss focused elsewhere.

The talk was about the shaky and controversial sixth inning with the Angels batting and the Brewers leading 2-1. With Rod Carew on first and no outs, Doug DeCinces hit a grounder right at Jim Gantner for a sure double play. Or so it seemed.

“It should have been a double play,” Gantner admitted after the game. “I just got my hand in the way. It wasn’t a bad hop or anything, I just got my hand in too far and it hit the thumb on my bare hand.”

Gantner was able to get Carew at second, but DeCinces was safe at first.

Then, with the count full and the dangerous Reggie Jackson at the plate, Bob McClure threw a fastball that appeared to paint the outside corner for strike three. Instead, home plate umpire Rich Garcia called it ball four. McClure hopped up and down on the mound while catcher Ted Simmons looked back at Garcia in disbelief.

“Five or six guys came up to me after the game and said they were watching on TV and that it was right there,” McClure complained. “It was a crucial situation and he can’t miss those. I’m not blaming anybody but myself for getting into that situation, but he needs to be better than that.”

The call apparently affected McClure on the mound as Don Baylor then hit another sure double play ball, this time to the pitcher. McClure gloved it and threw to second, but the throw was high and Gantner was only able to get the force out.

With two down (and having had chances for five outs), Juan Beniquez tripled to left to score Carew and Baylor. Bobby Grich then launched a two-run homer for good measure, giving the Angels a 5-2 lead.

“Why is it when you make one stupid mistake, everything seems to fall apart?” Gantnter asked.

While all four of the runs were technically earned, the inning should have ended without a run scored. And had that been the case, the Brewers would have won.

But you can’t focus entirely on bad luck when the typically vaunted offense can’t score more than two runs. They score six or seven and this doesn’t matter.

What does matter is that the Brewers lost and both the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles won. Milwaukee’s lead in the AL East is now down to a much less comfortable 3 1/2 games.

Injury Notes: Rollie Fingers, who left the first game of yesterday’s double header with an injury, has a slight tear in his right forearm. He is expected to be out for at least a week. … Pitcher Moose Haas may miss a start after spraining his right wrist during warmups before the seventh inning yesterday. … Ben Oglivie will be out for at least 48 hours after taking a cortisone shot for bone bruises between his thumb and second fingers on both hands. The injury is caused by the pressure he puts on his hands when swinging.

Stars Come Out in California

August 25

Brewers 7, Angels 3
Brewers now 73-51 (1st by 5.0 games)
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1982 Topps Stickers Robin Yount — Yount went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a home run.

ANAHEIM — Tonight’s game with the California Angels was won by the Milwaukee Brewers because of three players: Ted Simmons, Robin Yount and Pete Vuckovich.

It was the slow-footed Simmons who dropped a surprise bunt in the first with two outs and Yount on third that would score a run.

“That surprised everyone,” manager Harvey Kuenn told the Milwaukee Sentinel. “Including myself. He did it strictly on his own. I know he caught the Angels by surprise and us too. A pleasant surprise.”

In the bottom of the first, Simmons stepped up again to keep the Brewers in the lead. With two outs, Rod Carew took off from first on a pitch to Fred Lynn. Lynn laced a base hit into the gap in right center, and Carew raced around third towards the plate. Outfielder Charlie Moore fired a one hop bullet to Simmons, who blocked the plate and tagged Carew before he could score.

Simmons, of course, was not done. In the fifth inning and the score still 1-0, the Brewers catcher again made his presence known with two outs. Simmons drove a Steve Renko fastball over the right field wall for a two-run homer to give the Brewers a 3-0 lead.

That would be a critical hit as the Angels would strike right back in the bottom of the fifth with two runs of their own. The Angels would then pull to within one on a Reggie Jackson solo homer in the bottom of the sixth.

At that point, it was shortstop Robin Yount who took center stage. Robin doubled home Paul Molitor in the top of the seventh to give the Brewers a two-run lead and knock out Renko. Then, in the top of the ninth and Molitor on again, Yount knocked a two run homer to put the game out of reach. Yount finished with four hits, two runs scored and three runs batted in.

The contributions of Simmons and Yount were nice, but it was the mound work of Pete Vuckovich that kept the Brewers in control all game. Vuke allowed only three earned runs on seven hits in a complete game to improve to 15-4. Vuke shares the league lead in wins with Kansas City’s Larry Gura, and he stands alone with a .790 winning percentage. Vuckovich is now 29-8 in his two seasons with the Brewers and is gaining a reputation for winning big games.

“He’s got to be the best,” Kuenn said of Vuckovich. “He rises to the occasion each and every time.”

The second place Red Sox beat the Mariners 5-4 in 12 innings to keep pace five games back of the Brewers. Milwaukee has a day off tomorrow before starting a four-game series with the A’s in Milwaukee.

Game Notes: Reggie Jackson hit his 31st home run of the season, pulling to within one of Gorman Thomas for the AL lead. … Rickey Henderson of the A’s stole two more bases and now has 116, two shy of Lou Brock‘s single season record. Henderson and the A’s now head to Milwaukee for four games, where the Brewers will be challenged to prevent Henderson from breaking the record.

Brewers Mash Four Homers in Win

July 21

Brewers 10, Twins 4
Brewers now 54-37 (1st)
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Don Money hit two home runs to lead the Brewers

MINNEAPOLIS — The Brewers have been playing a finesse game of late to varying levels of success. That style does not fit Harvey’s Wallbangers.

Today, the Brewers returned to their roots, mashing four home runs en route to a 10-4 win over the Twins, salvaging the finale of a three-game series. Don Money, filling in for Cecil Cooper who sat with a sore right knee, mashed two long balls while Ben Oglivie and Charlie Moore knocked out one.

The tone was set early in this game. In the bottom of the first, Tom Brunansky hit what appeared to be a home run to right center, but Gorman Thomas made a leaping grab that pulled the ball back into the park.

The Brewers scored their first run on a leadoff homer by Money in the 3rd. Then they benefitted from Frank Viola‘s bout of wildness in the fourth, tacking on six more runs. Viola walked in one run before Paul Boris took the mound. Simmons hit a sacrifice fly, Gorman Thomas walked, and Ben Oglivie hit a grand slam just clear of the 327 foot sign in right.

“There was no doubt it was out of here but only in this place,” said Oglivie. “Any other park and you can forget about it.”

It was Benji’s 22nd home run of the season, tying him with teammate Gorman Thomas, Cleveland’s Andre Thornton and California’s Reggie Jackson for the AL lead.

Moose Haas picked up his third straight win and struck out eight in eight innings.

The Red Sox split a double header with the Rangers, giving the Brewers a half game lead in the AL East. The Brewers have a day off tomorrow before heading to Kansas City.

Game Notes: The Brewers won the season series with the Twins 7-5. The Twins are the only team to beat the Brewers since July 4.

NL Dominates AL Again

July 13

National League 4, American League 1
Box Score

MONTREAL — Considering the Brewers were represented in this year’s All-Star Game by four players (Robin Yount, Cecil Cooper, Ben Oglivie and Rollie Fingers), you’d think that at least one of them would provide us with some juicy memories.

Nope.

Instead, it was yet another relatively easy win for the National League, knocking off the American League for the 11th straight time and 19th of the last 20. It’s not even fair.

I could put you to sleep with details of Brewers exploits. Yount went 0-for-3 with a walk, but struck out to end the AL’s first inning rally with runners on first and third. Cecil Cooper recorded his first All-Star hit in that same first inning, but it was a soft chopper for an infield single. Ben Oglivie had one at bat and flied out to right. Rollie Fingers pitched a scoreless eighth, but allowed two hits.

Snore. At least this game didn’t matter.

After the AL took a 1-0 lead in the first on a sacrifice fly by Reggie Jackson that scored Rickey Henderson, the NL struck back with a two-out, two-run home run by All-Star Game MVP Dave Concepcion over the left field fence off of Dennis Eckersley.

“It was a slider up and in and I don’t think it broke,” said Concepcion. “I was able to hit it really good.”

Indeed. While the two runs were all the NL would need, they scored another on a sac fly… in the….

…snore…

I’m sorry. This is just getting to be such a tired story. Nineteen times in the last 20 games? Eleven in a row? Give me a freaking break. I’m tired of hearing about it. I’m tired of writing about it. It’s painful to watch.

“All of this stuff about the National League being better will probably come up again next year,” said Yount. “Hopefully, I’m here to listen to it.”

Hopefully.