Willie Upshaw

Fingers Missing, Caldwell Loses Game

August 14

Blue Jays 4, Brewers 2
Brewers now 68-47 (1st by 5.5 games)
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Without Rollie Fingers, the Brewers lost grip of the lead late.

MILWAUKEE — Holding a 2-0 lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the top of the eighth inning, the Milwaukee Brewers were on cruise control. Mike Caldwell had allowed two hits and was untouchable. A two run lead seemed insurmountable. And then…

With two down, Barry Bonnell hit a double to left center field to score Damaso Garcia to make it a 2-1 game. Caldwell would get out of the inning when Leon Roberts grounded out, but the fact that he allowed as many hits that inning as he had in the first seven should have been a warning sign.

Caldwell was out of gas.

Jesse Barfield led off the top of the ninth with a sharp single to left. Willie Upshaw bunted, hoping to sacrifice Barfield to second. Instead, Caldwell fumbled the ball and the Blue Jays had two runners on with no outs. Tony Johnson hit a triple off of the wall in right center to score Barfield and Upshaw. And then former Brewer Buck Martinez brought home Johnson on a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2 Blue Jays.

Dave Stieb nearly matched Caldwell pitch-for-pitch. But while Caldwell ran out of gas late, Stieb shut the door when it mattered. He retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced, and the Brewers’ offense never had a chance.

So, how could this happen? How could manager Harvey Kuenn leave Caldwell in a close game when he was clearly losing it? It’s simple. All-world closer Rollie Fingers wasn’t on the premises. He is back in San Diego getting treatment for a sore elbow. With Fingers, this would have been a win.

The Boston Red Sox fell to the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 in 10 innings, so the Brewers maintained their 5 1/2 game lead. But today is a preview of what can happen if Rollie Fingers is not available to anchor the bullpen. Get well, Rollie. We can’t afford to blow many more of these.

Game Notes: Randy Lerch has been sold to the Montreal Expos. Lerch had been recently demoted to the bullpen, and veteran hurler Doc Medich was acquired to take his place in the rotation. No corresponding transaction has been made. … Gorman Thomas went 3-for-4 and hit his MLB-leading 31st home run of the season.

Vuke Gets Wild Win

August 13

Brewers 3, Blue Jays 1
Brewers now 68-46 (1st by 5.5 games)
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Pete Vuckovich — Vuke was wild, but it was all part of his master plan.

MILWAUKEE — It was Seat Cushion Night at County Stadium, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The fans did a lot of sitting through long innings while Pete Vuckovich was on the mound.

Vuckovich walked a Milwaukee Brewers record eight batters today. The Blue Jays loaded the bases twice. Knowing that, you’d assume the Brewers either lost or it was a high scoring affair.

Either way, you’d assume incorrectly. Vuckovich threw 146 pitches in a complete game, allowing only a single run. In fact, none of his eight walks scored.

“They weren’t biting,” Vuke said to explain his wildness. “I threw a lot of balls down around the knees. They were balls. They just weren’t going after them.”

Especially not in the first inning. In fact, in that inning it appeared Vuke would have a short outing. With one out and a run in, Hosken Powell swung at a 2-0 pitch out of the zone to ground out and end the inning. Prior to that, Vuke had thrown 14 of 16 pitches for balls.

But that’s the way Vuckovich prefers to pitch. He’ll pitch around the strike zone, but he’s not going to split it. And he is not afraid to walk anyone.

“It’s better that way than getting it up where they can see the whole sphere coming at them when they’re attempting to reach out with the wood tool with the purpose of reversing the sphere to certain areas between the white lines where men aren’t standing with gloves on,” Vuke continued.

Oooooohhhh…. kay.

While the Blue Jays failed to score with the bases loaded, the Brewers took advantage of their one opportunity in the fourth. With the bases juiced and one out, Marshall Edwards hit a possible double play ball to first baseman Willie Upshaw. Upshaw spun and fired to second, but the return throw wasn’t in time to retire the speedy Edwards. Ted Simmons scored, and Jim Gantner followed with an RBI single to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead.

Possibly the biggest play happened in the fifth inning. Damaso Garcia led off the inning with a single to right and Rance Mulliniks followed with a walk. Vuckovich then spun and fired to Robin Yount, covering second, in an attempt to pick off Garcia. The throw was just late. But they tried again, and this time Garcia was out. It changed the inning, and the Blue Jays were unable to score.

“That was the big play of the ball game,” said manager Harvey Kuenn. “It was a case of perfect execution. Robin saw daylight, made his move to second, Vuke made a perfect throw.”

While the win was a big one and made it three in a row against the Blue Jays, the Brewers also received bad news about their star closer. Rollie Fingers flew home to San Diego to have his right elbow examined and isn’t expected back this series. Fingers, stuck on 299 career saves, is having trouble with his pitching elbow.

“He felt some stiffness in his elbow last night after the game,” said Kuenn. “It had been a little tender but he said he could pitch last night. He said he wanted to see his doctor out there. He’ll be back tomorrow. He said he’ll be all right after a few days’ rest.”

Let’s hope it’s nothing serious. This team can’t afford to lose a player of Fingers’ caliber.

The Red Sox beat the Orioles 5-2, so the Brewers maintain a 5 1/2 game lead in the AL East.

Caldwell Shuts Out Blue Jays

April 22

Brewers 7, Blue Jays 0
Brewers now 5-6 (4th)
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MILWAUKEE — Can the Brewers just play the Blue Jays every game? Please?

Following today’s game, the Brewers are 4-1 against the Blue Jays this season and 1-5 against everyone else. We need to find a way to schedule more of these games.

Following a dreadful five-game slide, the Brewers welcomed the Blue Jays to Milwaukee with open arms. Things started coming together yesterday with a 3-1 win. And now today, Mike Caldwell and the Brewers shut out Toronto 7-0.

Could there not be a better omen for a team that has found no dependable pitching and whose offense hasn’t been able to score than this? We all knew the offense would come around eventually, but a spotless performance like this one from Caldwell couldn’t have come at a better time.