The best part about the Brewers fifth inning rally (for me)

I loved that the Brewers won the opener today. I am rooting for a Milwaukee/Detroit World Series.

The best part for me?
I was doing chores around the house and had the game on my computer. So I got to hear Bob Uecker going nuts when Prince Fielder hit his go ahead homer.

It just makes me smile wider when I think that he could be calling the World Series this year.

Go Brewers.

Look at that! An NL Central team won a playoff game!

When the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series, it was the last post season highlight for an NL Central Champion for a while.

The 2007 Cubs were swept by the Diamondbacks.
The 2008 Cubs were swept by the Dodgers.
The 2009 Cardinals were swept by the Dodgers.
The 2010 Reds were swept by the Phillies.

But the 2011 Brewers have put a big fat W on the board! (No offense Prince Fielder.)

Actually the Brewers are the only NL Central team to win a playoff game since 2006... they did so in 2008 as the Wild Card team against the eventual World Champion Phillies.

The AL Central hasn't fared well either.
Since the Indians took a 3-1 lead on the Red Sox in the 2007 ALCS, the AL Central has lost 13 out of 14 games.

The 2007 Indians lost its last 3 against the Red Sox.
The 2008 White Sox lost to the Rays in 4.
The 2009 and 2010 Twins were swept by the Yankees.
And the 2011 Tigers are down 0-1 to the Yankees.

You want to build up baseball interest in middle America?
Here's a tip.
Win a few games when they matter.

10 Reasons why the Milwaukee Brewers winning the 2011 World Series would be good for baseball

It's time to continue the Why Each Team's Potential World Championship Would Be Good For The Game series. The next entry? The Milwaukee Brewers.



On July 26th, the Brewers were in second place behind the Cardinals and just 1/2 a game ahead of the Pirates. 1 game separated 3 teams. And the Defending Division Champion Reds were a mere 5 games back.



The NL Central promised to be a dog fight to the end... that is until the Brewers starting winning.



Since that day, the Brew Crew is 27-8. No team in baseball has played better than Milwaukee since July 26th and their magic number is 16.

Playoff baseball is returning to Wisconsin. But why would an average baseball fan want to see the Brewers win?



Read on...

10 Reasons why the

Milwaukee Brewers

winning the 2011 World Series

would be good for baseball

1. Wisconsin fans would appreciate a "Multiple Championship" Decade



There's no doubt who the biggest team in Wisconsin is. The Defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers reign supreme. But it would be great for their fans to experience an embarrassment of riches. Places like New York, Boston, Detroit, Miami and Tampa Bay have experienced multiple titles in different sports last decade. Hell even Anaheim had a World Series and Stanley Cup champ close to each other. Why not in Wisconsin? You know it will be a great party.





2. Prince Fielder's defection would not be as harsh if he delivered a title to Milwaukee.



Prince Fielder is as good as gone. It wouldn't make sense for the Brewers to devote such a gigantic chunk of their payroll to a first baseman. And no doubt a team in need of a PR boost this off season will overpay for Mr. Fielder. But stars who depart without a ring leave their old city with unfinished business. Fielder can erase all that in October (and match his father with rings, making the most public Father and Son rivalry even more intriguing.

3. A World Championship would help make Ryan Braun a legit star.



Ryan Braun could very well win the NL MVP this year. And I have a feeling that if you said his name to most sports fans, they would say "Who?"



The former NL Rookie of the Year has put up 5 years of wonderful numbers and not a lot of fame to go along with it. Maybe shining on the national stage would change that.



How could America NOT embrace a power hitter named Braun?



4. It would simplify the question "How long have Brewers fans waited for a World Champion".



How long have Brewers fans waited for a World Champion? Well the Brewers have NEVER won a World Series... but the Braves have. Not the Atlanta Braves, even though THEY did as well. The Milwaukee Braves won in 1957. But have Brewers fans been waiting 54 years? What about the few years there was no team in Milwaukee? Do those count? It is very complicated. But if the Brewers win, it is cut and dry.





5. A Brewers title would mean a lot of Hall of Famers would be celebrated



For a team that has exactly one pennant to its credit, there would be no shortage of Cooperstown enshrined heroes to throw out the first pitch.



It helps matters that the 1982 pennant winners had four, count em, FOUR Future Hall of Famers. Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Rollie Fingers and Don Sutton.



And some fellow named Hank Aaron finished his career as a Brewer and supposedly had some decent years in Milwaukee as a Brave. I'll have to look him up.





6. A Ron Roenicke led title could be traced back to Walter Alston



Bear with me.



Walter Alston, whose big league playing career consisted of one strikeout, worked his way up to the bigs as a manager. He became a World Champion and a Hall of Famer.



One of Alston's coaches was Tom Lasorda, who became a World Champion manager and a Hall of Famer.



One of Lasorda's players and coaches was Mike Scioscia. He became a World Championship manager and I believe is putting together a Hall of Fame caliber career.



One of Scioscia's coaches was Ron Roenicke. If he wins a World Series title, it bodes very well for for one of the coaches on his staff to pass on the Alston wisdom.





7. A THIRD unlikely championship for Craig Counsell would be amazing.



Counsell has bounced around between the Rockies, Marlins, Diamondbacks and Brewers. Hardly marquee big budgeted franchises. (He played 1/2 an unmemorable season with the Dodgers as well.) Yet he was a World Champion in 1997 with the Marlins and 2001 with the Diamondbacks (winning NLCS MVP honors.) 3 rings in three decades without being a Yankee or a Red Sox would be impressive.



If the Brewers are trailing in Game 7 of the World Series, look out for Counsell. Incredibly, he was a part of two Game 7 comebacks.



He hit the game tying sacrifice fly in the 9th inning of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. In the 11th he would score the World Series winning run.



In Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, he was hit by a Mariano Rivera pitch in the 9th inning and was on base when Luis Gonzalez blooped his World Series winning single. If the Brewers are trailing in the 9th, they might send Counsell up just to see what happens.





8. National exposure to Miller Park rituals would be wonderful for the game.



Just imagine casual baseball fans seeing a Brewers game for the first time.



"Wait, they have a race with men dressed as sausages?"



"Explain to me why Bernie the Brewer goes down the slide from his chalet after each homer?"



There's no logical explanation for these rituals, which makes them being seen on National TV even better.





9. A Brewers championship would be a subtle middle finger to Bud Selig

Of course Bud Selig would be thrilled to see the Brewers win and I bet he would gleefully hand the World Series trophy to owner Mark Attanasio. But lest we forget all of those years Selig was owner of the Brewers and never won that trophy himself.



And remember he took part in the cabal that ousted Fay Vincent and put himself, the owner of a team, as "temporary commissioner" in 1992. Here we are 19 years later and he's still here.



In 1992 the Brewers had a terrific season. Then year in and year out for the rest of the time that the Seligs ran the Brewers, they had a losing season. And all the while, the refrain that came from Selig was that smaller market teams couldn't compete. Attanasio took over the team and in 2 years they were a .500 team. In 5 years they were a playoff team. Now they are a World Series contender.



Maybe Selig could have done that as owner, if he wasn't too guilty colluding.

10. How great would a Bob Uecker World Championship call be?



Seriously. Bob Uecker calling the final out of a Brewers title. Have a few beers in him and build up the excitement and I have a feeling it would be the phone ring of everyone in Wisconsin.



And you thought his "Jusssssst a bit outside" call in Major League was memorable. Imagine him happy with the World Series result!







So it looks like post season ball in the Dairy Land is going to happen again. I for one wish they went back to the "ball in glove" hat from the 1970s and 1980s. But guess what? I am thinking that Brewers fans won't be too picky about what hat their team wins in they win it all.



And that is a distinct possibility.

















If you liked this then go ahead and read the entries for the other teams.



CHICAGO WHITE SOX

CLEVELAND INDIANS

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM

NEW YORK YANKEES

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

It's Deja Brew All Over Again

Last night, after struggling to find their offensive groove at Miller Park in Milwaukee, the Mets scored five runs in the eighth inning against Brewers' reliever Kameron Loe to turn a 2-1 deficit into a seemingly comfortable 6-2 lead. The key words are "seemingly" and "comfortable". Because if you've been following the Mets recently, the late innings have been anything but comfortable.

Let's look at the the Mets' last six losses. Methinks you'll be able to notice a pattern in these half-dozen defeats:

• May 27: Mets lead 3-2 in the eighth inning; lose to Phillies, 6-4.
• May 28: Mets lead 2-1 in the eighth inning; lose to Phillies, 5-2.
• May 31: Mets lead 1-0 in the eighth inning; lose to Pirates, 5-1.
• June 1: Mets lead 2-0 in the seventh inning; lose to Pirates, 9-3.
• June 3: Mets lead 3-1 in the eighth inning; lose to Braves, 6-3.
• June 8: Mets lead 6-2 in the eighth inning; lose to Brewers, 7-6.

The Mets haven't exactly been writing the book on how to hold late-inning leads, have they? In fact, the Mets haven't been able to hold on to leads, regardless of the inning, all season. In 18 of their 32 losses, the Mets were in front at some point. However, it's those late-inning losses that everyone seems to remember. Ready for more?

• April 10: Mets lead 3-1 in the eighth inning; lose to Nationals in 11 innings, 7-3.
• April 30: Mets lead 1-0 in the seventh inning; lose to Phillies, 2-1.
• May 16: Mets lead 1-0 in the seventh inning; lose to Marlins in 11 innings, 2-1.
• May 22: Mets lead 3-1 in the seventh inning; lose to Yankees, 9-3.

That's ten losses this season in which the Mets held the lead going into the seventh inning or later, or nearly one-third of their 32 losses. Had they held on to those ten late-inning leads, the Mets would be proud owners of a 39-22 record, which would give them the best record in all of baseball. Even if they had split those ten games, which would still allow for five blown late-inning leads, the Mets would have a 34-27 record and would find themselves in the thick of the National League playoff race. (The Milwaukee Brewers are currently leading the Wild Card race with a 35-27 record.)

But no, the Mets have not won any of those ten games and are now in a position that has become all too familiar to them, fourth place in the NL East with a 29-32 record.

Last night, two swings of the bat from Milwaukee's most famous duo since Laverne & Shirley (Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder) turned a four-run eighth-inning lead into their latest "what if?" loss. It's getting to the point where Lenny and Squiggy could probably lead a late-inning charge against the Mets.

Heck, Nyjer Morgan claimed he didn't even know that his ninth-inning double off Goose Gossage's less successful clone, Dale Thayer, was a walk-off hit. I guess Morgan has been spending too much time as his alter ego on Twitter, Tony Plush. Otherwise, he would have known that blowing late-inning leads has become commonplace for the Mets.

A certain pennant-winning manager for the Mets once said that it's never over 'til it's over. Perhaps the current Mets should heed the philosophical words of that wise man. If they don't do something soon, the 2011 season might be over before it's over.

Albert Pujols will be a Dodger or a Met… and I predict a conspiracy theory

A bizarre and round about series of events and coincidences have made it clear to me that Albert Pujols will almost certainly not be a member of the St. Louis Cardinals next year.

Before Pujols files for free agency, two large market franchises will change ownership and be in position to bid for him, and I believe Bud Selig will be manipulating the whole thing to help preserve his legacy.

That’s right, I am predicting a conspiracy before there are any facts or events to back up my theory. I admit that is no easy trick. But I think I am on to something.

Follow me…

Bud Selig is retiring in 2012. With the steroid era evidently behind him and if baseball avoids a work stoppage (and the NFL and NBA have one) then he will be able to claim that he left the game clean and thriving with labor peace.

But there are four gigantic messes he needs to clean up before riding off into the sunset.

Two won’t be covered here, but I will mention them: The Rays and the A’s stadium disasters. Neither team can last in their current dumps and nor have a viable solution for survival, especially if the Giants can block the A’s move to San Jose. But that is another post.

The big BIG mess is the state of the Mets and Dodgers, two of the flagship franchises of the National League. According to USA Today, only the Yankees and Red Sox are worth more than the Dodgers and those teams plus the Cubs are the only ones worth more than the Mets.

I don’t think it is stretch to call New York and Los Angeles big markets. And guess what? They are both in financial chaos.

The Dodgers have been mismanaged to the point where MLB had to take the unprecedented steps of essentially removing the owner from power. (We’ll see if Frank McCourt surrenders the power of the team.)

And the Mets should be on notice. If the twisted finances of the McCourt divorce can make Selig and company take over the Dodgers, then being swindled by Bernie Madoff (and not being sure what they knew in advance) should be even a greater cause for MLB to step in and take the car keys away from the Wilpons.

In the very least, the Mets should be forced to sell.

So that would mean the Mets and Dodgers would have new ownership going into the 2012 season. And also have a disillusioned fan base, declining attendance and a natural division rival playing well (the Phillies for the Mets and the Giants for the Dodgers.)

Whomever is going to run the Mets and the Dodgers will need to assure their paying customers (and TV viewers and sponsors) that not only are the bad days behind them but glamorous superstar days are ahead.

The Giants were in a similar boat when Peter Magowan took over the team in the wake of the proposed move to Tampa Bay. He found the quickest way to get the fan base energized: He signed the best player in baseball, Barry Bonds.

Which brings us to Albert Pujols. He’s a free agent to be. He has nothing left to prove in St. Louis when he finishes this, his 11th season. He has given the Cardinals a championship, post season heroics, MVPs and done so with class and a flair for the dramatic. And, as I said in a previous video, Cardinal fans can NEVER boo him.

Pujols could need a new challenge in his life, the biggest contract in baseball history and a chance to be a hero in a brand new market.

(See Rose, Pete. See Jackson, Reggie. And Albert is better than both of them!)

And if just so happens that the Dodgers have an opening at first base. I may not be 100% sure how VORP works, but I can guess that Albert Pujols replacing James Loney is an improvement.

And the Mets have Ike Davis, who is a nice player. When you have the chance to get one of the great offensive players of all time, you might think about sacrificing a nice player or two!

Both the Dodgers and the Mets will have new owners, money to spend and a city to impress. And they will BOTH bid on Albert Pujols.

Why do I say that with such certainty? Because Selig will make sure of it. Captain Bud will not let an owner take over the Dodgers nor the Mets unless they were intending on trying to sign Pujols.

It makes sense for the Dodgers to win back their fans and show there is a new era in Chavez Ravine.

It makes sense for the Mets to turn the page on the Wilpon fiasco (and no doubt Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins would welcome Albert’s arrival.)

It makes sense for labor peace as players making big contracts is always looked on fondly by the Players Association.

And it makes sense for Selig as he leave the game with franchises other than the Yankees and Red Sox bidding over the biggest free agents.

And which ever team can’t land Pujols will have a nice consolation prize in Prince Fielder.

Think Selig is above this sort of backroom dealings? Or perhaps not clever enough?

PUH-lease. I am not going to even go into the whole “Used Car Salesman” past of Mr. Selig.

This was the guy who maneuvered the ownership of the Expos, Marlins and Red Sox around so his hand picked successor would take over in Boston instead of the McCourts.

This was the guy who claimed to have no clue about the steroid culture, even though allegations were made public as far back as 1988, when Peter Ueberroth was commissioner.

This was the guy who was part of the owners group that ousted Fay Vincent for not doing their bidding and installing himself as owner/commissioner. It was supposed to be temporary. That was 1992.

This was one of the many owners found guilty of collusion in the 1980s.

Shady wheeling and dealing are right in Bud Selig’s wheelhouse.

So a nudge here and there and making sure the new owners come with an aggressive eye on Albert is not as outlandish as colluding, kicking the commissioner out and not noticing that the players all were bigger than the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

You heard it here first on Sully Baseball.

I am declaring it a conspiracy before it actually happens.

Colluding is and always will be part of Bud Selig’s legacy.

I know I've said this about the Brewers already but...

They NEED to go fulltime back to the M-B glove logo.

They just LOOK like the Brewers when they play with that hat.

Look, if you don't want the block letter uniform with the stripes, fine.

I like them but I can take or leave them. But the hats have to stay.

The Brewers had a fantastic rally last night in the 9th inning capped by Prince Fielder (who looked like he was wearing 2 uniforms worth of material) getting a strange hit off of a sidewall in Miller Park to score the tying and winning runs.

And the whole thing looked cooler in the Harvey Wallbanger get up.

TELL ME I'M WRONG!