Biggest series of the season

the brewers and cardinals 4 game series at st. louis is going to be the biggest anticipated series of the year!!!

ya nuts? they are playing the cubs right after. if the crew come out of these two serieses 6 and 2 they will make the playoffs. A below .500 finish might be too much to overcome.

go crew!!!

hands down this is the biggest series of the season to date. For people that remember last year, it was a doubleheader disaster in St. Louis last July that made us go into a freefall. If we play 4 bad days of baseball, we are 5 games behind the wild card.

Ideally, we steal one of the first two games, and then win with CC and Sheets on the mound. But in this series, anything is bound to happen.

Also for those who really follow baseball closely, it will be interesting to see if these 2 teams renew the beanball wars from the past 2 seasons. I was at a few of those games last year, and in the game where I sat close, we could hear Ned yelling at La Russa.

Top notch excitement--Lets go CREW!

obviously it's the biggest series to date, not season since we still play the cubs. i'm feeling we win our division and the cubs go on a huge losing streak

Mr. Reynolds wrote:obviously it's the biggest series to date, not season since we still play the cubs. i'm feeling we win our division and the cubs go on a huge losing streak

As far as our playoff chances go, I would argue that it is more important that we beat the Cardinals than the Cubs. We can still make the playoffs if the Cubs end up winning the division. We can't make the playoffs if the Cardinals finish with a better record than us. (assuming they don't leapfrog the Cubs and the rest of the wild card entrants.)

As for the emotion and fan frenzy, obviously Chicago is more important. But logic tells us that St. Louis should be the team we are targeting at this point. A division title would be awesome, and I want it more than anyone, but what we really need to see soon is the Cardinals starting to fade. They are playing way way way above their heads at this point.

I have been watching the Cardinals and wondering how the hell they are winning any games at all. I remember a game at Fenway where Ankiel, their 5 stick I believe, went 0 for 6 with two strike outs and the game tying error, which ended up losing it for them in extras.

How can a team make the playoffs in the Central with guys like this starting in their outfield? It makes no sense to me.

I realize Pujols is a stud and they do have a few others to boot but when push comes to shove they do not have the fire power of either the Cubs or the Brewers.

We must make a statement this series and the next, that the Brewers are here to stay in 2008.

also this is game #1 of the Ned Yost platoon pitching experiment.

One thing you have to say for Ned, he isn't afraid to try something outside of the box. Although I'm not sure I agree with this strategy.

Does this mean Bush will be in this series for middle relief? I know he has a terrible away record but you would think he could pull it together for a few innings per night.

Ollie Octagon wrote:Does this mean Bush will be in this series for middle relief? I know he has a terrible away record but you would think he could pull it together for a few innings per night.

see this is what makes this platoon move so questionable. Bush is scheduled to start at home over the weekend, which means his bullpen day would be wednesday. Because managers never mess up a starters schedule, bush will throw a side session on wednesday on schedule. If our bullpen is completely dead, he might instead use Bush to throw 2 innings like Manny Parra did right when we got CC.

So basically, we have 2 pitchers now that can't be used as relievers because we want to keep them on their routines. So we run the risk of taxing the bullpen, especially when you consider that this point, Mota and Gagne aren't coming anywhere near a close game. So we are down to Stetter, CV, Shouse, Torres, Riske unless we are getting blownout---which has not been happening at all.

This is why I think we are guaranteed to make another move to bolster the bullpen. Also, Suppan gets activated off the DL tomorrow which means there has to be a corresponding roster move. Don't be surprised to wake up tomorrow morning to see the following headline:

Mota released by Brewers

[quote="Ollie Octagon"]

I realize Pujols is a stud quote]

Braun is a stud, what Pujols is I haven't come up with a word for.

I mean, has anyone looked at the guys numbers? If he didn't play for the Cardinals I'm sure I would root for the guy, because he is fantastic.

Ollie Octagon wrote:I have been watching the Cardinals and wondering how the hell they are winning any games at all. I remember a game at Fenway where Ankiel, their 5 stick I believe, went 0 for 6 with two strike outs and the game tying error, which ended up losing it for them in extras.

How can a team make the playoffs in the Central with guys like this starting in their outfield? It makes no sense to me.

I realize Pujols is a stud and they do have a few others to boot but when push comes to shove they do not have the fire power of either the Cubs or the Brewers.

We must make a statement this series and the next, that the Brewers are here to stay in 2008.

Ankiel is still batting .278 with 22 HRs and 56 RBI (11 RBI in the last 10 games). Pretty sure we wouldn't mind if some of our batters started to hit like that.

The Cards as a team are batting .277 compared to our .254 and have scored 14 more runs. I don't really know how you can say they don't have firepower. They don't hit as many home runs, but then again only two other teams in the NL have more than us.

I'm not as concerned with beating the Cubs for the division than I am beating St. Louis for the wild card. We should beat them out but as last year shows a lot can happen in the second half of the season.

Did a lot of thinking last night and I think that this was Ned's best game this year of managing.

I previously said above not to expect mota or gagne in any close game, but then I thought about it some more after Ned put them in. If Ned doesn't use those 2, combined with Bush's platooned starting role, we are down 3 guys in the bullpen. That is something we can't afford to do. So what Ned did was make sure to get them both in what stat junkies call "low leverage situations." Neither of them had to face Pujols, and neither of them threw a pitch in the critical 8th and 9th innings. and Ned had people ready if he needed to give one of them the hook.

Plus in the 10th inning I'm very glad Torres was left in the game to hit. We had already been through 5 guys in the pen, and Ned knows Suppan is coming off the DL tonight and we might really need Charlie V badly if things get ugly or suppan is tired.

A fantastic win last night. Was pissed about Rickie's rock hands in the ninth, but it was awesome to see the Crew respond immediately to the letdown.

Plus, watching Harden throw an absolute gem last night yet take the loss was just icing on the cake

Go Crew!

What I mean is, they are a club of names that aren't the most well known in baseball, past Troy Glaus and Albert Pujols. When I watch them play, then view their statistics, it looks as though they are playing past their potential.

I don't think St. Louis will be in the wild card hunt come September.

Good call on the Harden fiasco. One minute he has a no hit bid, the next they are down 1-0. Are the Cubs' sticks finally cooling off?

I think so.

crew won last night in the 10th!! playoffs here we come

Didn't realize how close the Mets and Phillies are as well. Those are two good teams that could sneak up on us if we're not careful.

BOMBER wrote:Didn't realize how close the Mets and Phillies are as well. Those are two good teams that could sneak up on us if we're not careful.

it would be great to win the division but i hope we have the wild card to fall back on. The mets are falling apart as we speak, i really don't see them keeping it together. The phillies however, look like a good team. Their the only other team i really like to watch play.

Who was complaining about the Sabathia trade?

Brewers are mopping the floor with St. Louis. How many runs have the scroed? like 7 in three games?

Hopefully the Crew can break out the brooms today with Sheets on the bump. We need this one because we don't get CC or Benny in the upcoming Astros series, and they are a team that can hit the ball.

I predict 6-3 Brewers

Lets up so! Sheets is throwing with a big chip on his shoulder, i don't think he likes being shown up by the new guy at all.