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Brewers face red-hot Rockies
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Milwaukee Brewers' Craig Counsell strikes out to end their baseball game against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning in Atlanta, Sunday, June, 7, 2009. Atlanta won 8-7. (AP Photo/John Amis)
I confess I engaged in a bit of a creative logic as I looked at the Brewers schedule in a moment of uncertainty after the abysmally weird Florida series.
“OK, so they lost 3 of 4 to the Fish. If they sweep the Braves, they’re 4-3 on the road trip. They come home to play the Rockies, who are below .500. And the ChiSox, who are also below .500 — so they can step on the gas a little and regain the lead they’ve probably lost to the Cardinals.”
Two things I hadn’t accounted for:
- Carlos Villanueva would have a bad outing and give up the final game to the Braves.
- The Rockies completed a four-game sweep of the Cardinals, preserving the Brewers lead on the Birds.
Seriously, where did all that come from? You could say Villanueva “was due” to give up a run, or to give up a lead, after pitching 15 scoreless innings. But what does that even mean? It doesn’t make sense to say “He’s been doing so well, he was due to play poorly.” Either way, it was disappointing. Especially because they lost in yet another game in which they faced an opposing pitcher making his Major League debut — Tommy Hanson, the guy the Braves released Tom Gla
The Rockies clearly got a boost in finishing off the Cards from Troy Tulowitzki’s return. You remember him, right? He’s the guy Ryan Braun beat out for the 2007 National League rookie of the year.
Yesterday was one of the dreaded, reviled off-days in the Brewers schedule. It’s easy for the city’s lust for baseball to wane when the team goes away for a week, and doesn’t play for a day. But there are hints that this Brewers team is drawing not just fans, but hardcore junkies.
Fewer of the uninitiated ask, knowing your proclivities, ask “Going to the game tonight?” when the team is on the road. Because now even they know the Crew is in Florida, or Atlanta. Fewer of those peons ask, “Did the Brewers win tonight?” when the team has a well-deserved day off. Because now even they know the Crew did not play today, and they know the miserable void that created in their daily routine.
And all the wizened Brewers fans answer the question, “What are you doing Tuesday night?” with an “I think I might go to the game.” Because the home team has been gone for a week, and they’re hungry for a fix.
