W: Rafael Bentancourt (2-1)
L: Trevor Hoffman (2-6)

HR: Ian Stewart (17), Troy Tulowitzki (12) (both off of Manny Parra)

MVP: Corey Hart (+.260)
LVP: Trevor Hoffman (-.345)

"Manny's 5+ inning and 100 pitches" Graph and Star of the Game Voting
SB Nation Coverage

For the ninth time in his last ten starts, Brewers starter Manny Parra failed to complete the 6th inning. Parra only walked two Rockies batters, but gave up 6 hits, and needed to throw 100 pitches to get through his 5+ innings of work. On the other side of the rubber, Rockies starter Ubaldo Jiminez pitched 8 innings, striking out 10 Brewers, but the Brewers worked him for 10 hits.

Rickie Weeks led the Brewers with four hits, including a single, a double and a triple. Ryan Braun also chipped in with 2 singles and a double, and Prince Fielder drove in 2 runs with a single.

Both Todd Coffey and Zach Braddock did a good job ending scoring threats from the Rockies, however Trevor Hoffman came into the game in the ninth with the score tied 5-5 and slammed the door on the Brewers, allowing a double, a walk and a walk-off single to Troy Tulowitzki, and handing the Rockies a 6-5 win in the rubber game of this series.

Yesterday Esmil, today Ubaldo.

More stuff after the break.

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W: John Axford (7-1)
L: Huston Street (2-4)
S: Huston Street (8)

HR: Todd Helton (4)

MVP: Mike McClendon (+.293) (Note -- Axford was higher, but I gave McClendon extra love for his MLB debut)
LVP: Alcides Escobar (-.197)

Win Expectancy Graph and Star of the Game Voting
SB Nation Coverage

We won. Yay!

Starting pitcher Chris Narveson got things started for the Milwaukee Brewers when he drove in a run with a single in the second inning. Narveson and Jonathan Lucroy would come around to score on singles by Richard Weeks and Corey Hart, giving the Brewers a 3 run lead.

The Rockies would answer back in the bottom of the 4th with 3 runs powered by a Todd Helton homerun. The Rockies would take the lead in the bottom of the fifth on a Todd Helton sacrifice fly.

In the 6th inning, Joe Inglett would deliver his 300th pinch hit of the season, a run-scoring double that scored Alcides Escobar to tie the game. The human windmill, 3rd base coach Brad Fischer, would send Lucroy to home plate to be put out -- of course  to make sure that the Brewers would be done scoring for that inning.

With the score tied 4-4, recently promoted pitching addition Mike McClendon would blank the Rockies for 3 innings in his MLB debut. John Axford entered the game in the ninth inning, and kept the Rockies at bay, giving Casey McGehee the opportunity to drive in the game winning run the 10th inning with a single.

The Brewers collected 16 hits, and only scored 5 runs tonight -- their second lowest run tally with 16 hits -- they have managed to squeak out 4 runs twice before tonight with 16 hits.

Mike McClendon should be signed to an extension, I assume the paperwork is being filed.

For the first time in recorded history, the Milwaukee Brewers will face a pitcher named Esmil.

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W: Wesley Wright (1-1)
L: Kameron Loe (1-2)
S: Brandon Lyon (2)

HR: Corey Hart (23) Jason Michaels (7)

MVP: Randy Wolf (.277)
LVP: Zack Braddock (-.370)

Graph of "At least we didn't get shut out" and Star of the Game Voting
SB Nation Coverage

Randy Wolf and Wesley Wright both kept the bats quiet until the 5th inning, when the Brewers erupted for 2 runs in the 6th -- their first runs since sometime in July. Kameron Loe walked 2 batters in the 7th inning, and Zach Braddock made sure they came around to score when he gave up a grand-slam to Jason Michaels.

The Brewers decided not to score any more runs, and subsequently lost.

More stuff after the jump.

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W: Wandy Rodriguez (9-11)
L: Dave Bush (5-9)

HR: None

MVP: Tylenol
LVP: Dave Bush (-.315)

Graph of "I am pretty sure that this team is done" and Star of the Game Voting
SB Nation Coverage

Random non-bulleted thoughts:

The Astros traded a bunch of their guys, and still managed to shut us out in two consecutive games.

The got owned by some guy named Wandy.

This team's performance is not worth the internet ink I am using to recap.

COPS is probably on some channel on the satellite.

I am pretty sure we will at least score one run tomorrow, although I am admittedly intrigued by the potential "shut-out sweep".

More Stuff after the jump.

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Jim Gantner was born January 5th 1953 in Fond du Lac Wisconsin. Gantner grew up in Eden WI, and attended high school in Campbellsport WI. He attended the UW-Oshkosh and was eventually inducted into their Hall of Fame, along with other MLB alum, Gary Varsho and Jarrod Washburn.

In the twelfth round of the 1974 draft, Gantner was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers. Two years later, on September 3rd in 1976, Jimmy Gantner would make his MLB debut against Mark Fydrich and the Detroit Tigers. Gantner would go 2-4, collecting his first MLB hit in his second AB.

Gantner would bounce between the majors and minors in 1977, however on Sep. 25th, Gantner would hit his first career homerun off of Twins pitcher Ron Schueler. In 1978 and 1979 Gantner would serve as a utility infielder for the Brewers, playing every infield position. 

In 1980 Gantner would take over the starting third base job from Don Money, and would make over 100 appearances for the Brewers in eleven of the last thirteen years of his career. The Brewers would lose to the Cardinals in seven games in the 1982 World Series, however, Jim Gantner would hit .333 with four doubles and a triple.

In 1983, Gantner would put together one of his best offensive seasons when he launched eleven homeruns, and batted .282. Gantner would start to accumulate most of his playing time at second base starting in 1981, and during that span he would define himself as one of the best fielding  second basemen to ever play in the American League.

After seventeen seasons Ganter would retire, playing his entire career with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1992. Gantner would retire with a .274 batting average and 1696 career hits. Only Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Paul Molitor would play in more games as a Brewer than Gantner, and only Yount, Molitor and Cecil Cooper would collect more hits.

Currently, Jim Gantner is still involved in Wisconsin baseball as he coaches the Wisconsin Woodchucks in the Northwoods League.

Allan "Bud" Selig was born on July 30, 1934 in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Selig was born to immigrants, his father was from Romania, and his mother from the Ukraine.

As a young boy in the 30s and 40s, Bud Selig would attend games at Borchert Field, watching the minor-leaue squad -- the Milwaukee Brewers play.  The Brewers would play in Milwaukee until the 1953, when County Stadium would be built, and the Boston Braves would relocate to their new home in Milwaukee.

In 1956, Selig would graduate from the UW-Madison with degrees in US History and Political Science. Selig would serve his county in the Army for a couple of years, and then join his father in the family car-leasing business, an industry in which he is still involved in today.

While the Braves were in Milwaukee, Selig was able to become a minority owner of the team. Selig fervently tried to keep the Braves in Milwaukee, based on the fact that no team in the history of MLB (at that time), had moved to another city without leaving a MLB team still in the city. Even when the Washington Senators left for Minnesota in 1960, a new Senators team was created to play in Washington. Once the Braves left for Atlanta in 1965, Selig created "The Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club", intent on bring baseball back to Milwaukee.

In 1968 and 1969, Selig arranged for the Chicago White Sox to play 20 home games in the now-vacant County Stadium. The Milwaukee baseball fanbase overwhelmingly supported this effort, by far surpassing attendance per game numbers at Cominsky Park. Seeing an opportunity to bring MLB back to Wisconsin, Selig struck a deal to buy the White Sox, but the American League blocked the deal, in order to keep a presence in Chicago. Bud Selig then turned to the financially and otherwise bankrupt Seattle Pilots, purchased them and moved them to Milwaukee.

The Brewers would play their first season in 1970, and under the guidance of GM Harry Dalton would represent the American League in the World Series in 1982, 25 years after the Milwaukee Braves made their first appearance in the Fall Classic. Under Selig's ownership the Brewers would win seven "Organizations of the Year" Awards.

In 1991 Selig would transfer ownership of the Brewers to his daughter Wendy Selig in order to become the Commissioner of MLB, a position he is contracted to hold until 2012.

In his tenure as Commissioner Selig has brought the following changes to the game of baseball.

• 1994 - Three divisions in both American and National Leagues, adding a wildcard team to the playoffs
• 1997 - Interleague play
• 1998 - Expansion into Tampa Bay and Arizona
• 2003 - Home field advantage for the winner of the All-Star game in the World Series
• 2004 - Jackie Robinson Day
• 2005 - Stricter testing for performance-enhancing drugs.
• 2006 - World Baseball Classic
• 2008 - Instant Replay for homeruns

There is no denying that Selig has financially turned around MLB in his tenure as Commissioner, increasing attendance and allowing for 19 new stadiums to be built during his stay in office.

Cecil Cooper was born on December 20th, 1949 in Brenham Texas. In 1968 the Boston Red Sox selected the left-handed Cooper in the 6th round of the draft. After the 1970 season Cooper was selected by the Cardinals in the Rule V draft, but he was returned to the Red Sox in April of 1971.

In September of 1971, the Red Sox would call up Cooper, and he would get his first AB on September 8th, grounding out against NY Yankee pitcher Jack Aker. Three days later, Cooper would pick up his first MLB hit pinch-hitting against Detroit Tigers pitcher Joe Coleman. Interestingly, future Brewer teammate Ben Oglive would be called into pinch-hit after Cooper. Two season later on September 7th, 1973 Cooper would pick up his first MLB HR against the Tiger's Bob Miller.

From 1974-1976, Cooper would become the Red Sox starting 1st baseman and compiled a solid .287/.326/.458/.784 line. In 1975, Cooper would play in the post-season for the first time. He batted .400 against the A's in the ALCS, ending the A's quest for a "four-peat", however against the Reds, Cooper struggled getting only 1 hit (double) in 19 ABs. After the 1976 season Cecil Cooper would be traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for All-Star first baseman George Scott and Bernie Carbo.

In 1977 Cecil Cooper would become the Brewers fixture at first base, as he played in 160 games. In 1979 Cooper would lead the AL in doubles (44), win his first of two Gold Glove awards and would make his first of five All-Star appearances as a Brewer. 1980 would mark Cooper's best year as a hitter, as he scorched a .352 batting average into the books, following George Brett's .390 effort. Cooper would also lead the AL in hits with 219 in 1980 -- a mark that is still the most collected by a Milwaukee Brewer in a season.

Cooper would return to the post-season in 1981, as the Brewers faced off against the Yankees. The following year Cooper would hit a homerun in a losing effort, for the Brewers in the 1982 World Series against the StL Cardinals. In the ALCS against the Angels in 1982, Cooper would hit one of the most memorable singles in County Stadium history, when he drove in two runs, with a game-winning single against Luis Sanchez.

In 1983 Cooper would lead the AL in RBIs with 126, a franchise record that would stand until Prince Fielder broke it in 2009. Cecil Cooper would also win the Roberto Clemente Award in 1983, the only Brewer to ever win the award.

After Cooper retired in 1987, he retired with a .302/.339/.470/.809 career line as a Milwaukee Brewer. He collected 1815 hits and 201 HRs. Cooper would go on to work for the Brewers in several capacities as a coach and manager for the Brewers after he retired, including managing the Brewers AAA affiliate in Indianapolis from 2003-2004. In 2007 Cooper would replace Houston Astros manager Phil Garner as their manager, and he would hold that position until 2009.

Warren Spahn was born on April 23rd, 1921 in Buffalo, New York. In 1940 the left-handed Spahn was signed by the Boston Bees, -- from 1936-1940 the Boston Braves were nicknamed "Bees" -- in 1942, Spahn would make his MLB debut with the Boston Braves.

On April 19th Spahn would make his first major league appearance against the NY Giants, Spahn would face and retire 2 batters. The next day Spahn would be called on to pitch three innings of relief against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Spahn would give up 4 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks. Spahn would draw the ire of Brave's manager Casey Stengel when Spahn refused to plunk Dodger shortstop Pee Wee Reese. Stengel would send his young pitcher to the minors after the game. Twenty-three years later Stengel and Spahn would be reunited on the struggling NY Mets. Spahn was quoted as saying "I am probably the only man to work for Stengel before and after he was a genius".

Spahn would return to the Braves in September, getting his first start on September 13th, and his first complete game on September on September 26th. Spahn would not get a decision in either game, even though he pitched a complete game on the 26th. The Braves were outscored 5-2, but ended up winning via the Giants forfeit.

Warren Spahn would serve his country from 1943-45 as a combat engineer. His bravery at the Ludendorff Bridge and the Battle of the Bulge would earn him a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. Spahn would return to the majors in 1946 at the age of 25, to partner with pitcher Johnny Sain, creating one of baseball's most memorable lines, "Spahn and Sain, then pray for rain".

After a mediocre 1946 season in which Spahn would go (8-5), Spahn would begin his dominance of the National League in 1947. Spahn would win 21 games for the Boston Braves, the first of thirteen 20+ wins seasons Spahn would generate for the Braves. Spahn would also lead the NL in shutouts (7), innings (289.2) and ERA (2.33). Spahn would also be elected to his first of 14 All-Star Games.

In 1948 Spahn would lead the Braves to the World Series to face the Cleveland Indians. Spahn would pitch in 3 games starting 1, and pitching in relief twice. Spahn would get a WS win, but the Indians powered by the arms of Bob Feller and Bob Lemon would prevail.

1949 to 1952 would be the last four years that the Braves would be in Boston, during those 4 seasons Spahn would lead the NL in strikeouts every year, and win 20+ games in three of those seasons.

In 1953 the Braves would move to Milwaukee, and Spahn would lead the NL with career high in ERA (2.10) and wins (23). In 1956 Spahn would win 20 games for the seventh time in his career, it would also start a streak of six consecutive 20+ win seasons. In 1957 Spahn would start a streak of leading the NL in complete games for seven consecutive seasons. Spahn would win 21 games, and win his only Cy Young award in 1957 as well.

In 1957 and 1958 Spahn would pitch the Braves into back-to-back World Series appearances against the New York Yankees. In 1957 Spahn would get two starts, winning one and losing the other. In 1958 Spahn would get starts winning two, losing one, featuring a two-hit shutout.

Warren Spahn threw his first no-hitter at the age of 39 in 1960, he would throw his second no-no the following year after his 40th birthday. Spahn would finish 2nd in the Cy Young balloting in both seasons. At the age of 42, Spahn would win 23 games for the Milwaukee Braves, the most ever by a pitcher 42 years old or older. At the end of the 1964 season, Warren Spahn would be sold to the struggling NY Mets, and then pitch for the SF Giants to finish the 1965 season and his MLB career.

After pitching in the minors for a couple of seasons, Spahn would be elected to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1973 garnering 82.9% of the vote. Warren Spahn would finish his career with 363 wins (6th all-time), the most ever by a left hander, and the most wins by any pitcher who started his career after 1920.

From 1953 to 1964, no Milwaukee pitcher came close to matching Spahn's marks. Spahn made 399 starts for the Braves and completed 232 of those games. Spahn won 234 games for Milwaukee, and 63% of his decisions.

Eddie Mathews was born on October 13, 1931 in Texarkana Texas. When he was a small child, his family moved to Santa Barbara California, where he developed his skills as a left-handed hitting third baseman.

In 1949 Mathews was signed by the Boston Braves, and he quickly moved through their farm system, dominating the pitching he faced along the way. In 1952 a 20 year old Mathews would become Boston's starting third baseman. Mathews would finish 4th in the NL in homeruns with 25, and finish 3rd in the NL Rookie of the Year voting, following Joe Black, and Hoyt Wilhelm.

The Braves would move to Milwaukee for the 1953 season, and Milwaukee would have its first baseball superstar as Mathews would lead the National League with 47 homeruns, and finish second to Roy Campanella in the NL MVP race.

Eddie Mathews would play for the Braves during their entire time in Milwaukee (1953-65), in fact Mathews would be the only MLB player to represent the Braves in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta. One hundred and sixty-players would play for the Milwaukee Braves in this time period, Mathews would lead all of them in homeruns (452), games (1944), runs (1300) and walks (1254). In 1954 Mathews would be joined in the lineup by future homerun king Hank Aaron, and the teammates would slug 863 homeruns between them, bettering the mark hit by the legendary duo of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Mathews would represent the NL and the Braves nine times in the All-Star Game. In 1959 Mathews would win his 2nd NL homerun title slugging 46 jackshots. Mathews would finish 2nd in the MVP balloting to Chicago Cub shortstop Ernie Banks. Besides his prolific power, Mathews was also able to elicit free passes from pitchers as well, from 1961 to 1963 Mathews would lead the league in walks in each season.

In 1954 Eddie Mathews would be chosen to grace the cover of the first issue of the iconic Sports Illustrated magazine. Mathews was photographed in County Stadium hitting against the SF Giants and catcher Wes Westrum.

The Milwaukee Braves would go to the World Series in 1957 and 1958 to face the NY Yankees. In 1957 Mathews helped the Braves beat the Yankees with 3 doubles and a 10th inning game winning homerun in game 4. In 1958 Mathews struggled batting only .160 as the Braves would fall to the Yankees.

After the 1966 season, Mathews was traded to the Houston Astros, where he would hit his 500th career homerun off of future HOFer, Juan Marichal. In 1968 Mathews would be shipped to the Detroit Tigers, and would finish his career as a world champion, helping the Tigers beat the Cardinals in the Fall Classic.

From 1972 to 1974 Mathews would return to Atlanta to manage the Braves. Mathews was at the helm of the Braves when Hank Aaron would break Babe Ruth's career homerun record. With 79.42% of the vote, Eddie Mathews was voted into MLB's Hall of Fame in 1978.

Mathews had a .271 career batting average, 2,315 hits and 1,453 runs batted in to go with his 512 homers. Ty Cobb when asked about Eddie Mathews said the following: "I've only known three or four perfect swings in my time. This lad has one of them."

Rollie Fingers was born on August 25th, 1946 and attended Upland High School in Upland California. In 1964, Fingers would be signed to a contract by the KC Athletics. In 1968, after the A's had moved to Oakland, Fingers would make his MLB debut against the Detroit Tigers, giving up 4 runs in 1.1 innings.

On May 13th in 1969, against the Boston Red Sox, Fingers would pick up his first save. From 1969-1973, Fingers would pitch as a starter, reliever and closer for the A's. In that time span, Fingers would start 37 games for the A's and even pitch four complete games. In 1973, however Fingers would make his last start, and begin his career as an exclusive closer, earning himself his first of seven All-Star selections.

During spring training in 1972,  A's owner Charles Finley offered a $300 bonus to the player that could grow the best facial hair. Inspired by Snidely Whiplash, Fingers grew the famed handlebar mustache that he became famous for, and still sports to this day.

Rollie Fingers would play a critical role for the A's during their dominance of the AL in the early 1970's. In 1972-1974 the Oakland A's "three-peated" as World Series Champions. In the 1972 WS, Fingers pitched in 6 of the 7 games, logging 10.1 innings, winning one and saving two of the games. In 1973 Fingers pitched in 6 of 7 games again, only allowing 1 run in 13.2 innings, while saving 2 games. In 1974 Fingers won the WS MVP award, as he pitched in four of the five games, winning 1 and saving 2 of the games against the LA Dodgers.

In 1977 Fingers would begin a four year stint with the SD Padres. In three of those seasons, Fingers would win the Rolaids Relief Awards, twice leading the NL in saves. In 1980 Fingers would record his 228th save, breaking the standard set by HOFer, Hoyt Wilhelm.

After the 1980 season the SD Padres traded Fingers to the Cardinals with Gene Tenace and two other players to the StL Cardinals for catcher Terry Kennedy and seven other players. The very next day the Cardinals traded Ken Reitz and Leon Durham to the Cubs for future Hall of Famer closer, Bruce Sutter. At that point the Cardinals had two future HOF closers on their roster with Fingers and Sutter. Only four days after acquiring Fingers, the Cardinals sent Fingers along with switch-hitting catcher Ted Simmons, and starter Pete Vuckovich to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Sixto Lezcano, starter Lary Sorenson, and prospects David Green and Dave LaPoint.

Rollie Fingers made his first appearance as a Brewer on opening day in 1981 against the Cleveland Indians. He took the ball with one out in the eighth inning and a one run lead. Fingers gave up a couple of hits and a walk, but got through the eighth and ninth innings without surrendering the lead, and saved his first game for the Milwaukee Brewers.

During the 1981 strike-shortened season, Fingers would appear in 47 games, and the Brewers would win 40 of the games he entered. Brewer manager Buck Rodgers was not afraid to use Fingers more than an inning, as Fingers made 31 multiple inning appearances in 1981 as well. Seven times Fingers entered the game in the seventh inning and 20 times Fingers entered the game in the 8th inning. Fingers made 18 appearances in which he pitched two or more innings.

Fingers would end the 1981 season with 47 games (finishing 41), 78 innings, 61 strikeouts and 13 walks, and a minuscule 1.04 ERA. Of the 38 base runners he inherited, only ten would come around to score. Fingers would also lead the league in saves with 28, converting 82% of his save opportunities, and win both the AL MVP and Cy Young awards -- being the first Brewer to win either of those awards.

The Brewers qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 1981, and because of the player's strike that shortened the season, the Brewers had to face the NY Yankees in a five game divisional series. The Brewers only won 2 of the 5 games with the Yankees, Fingers won one of the games and saved the other.

1982 would be the first year that the Milwaukee Brewers would represent the American League in the World Series. Rollie Fingers would pitch in 50 games for the Brewers, with the Brewers winning 39 of those contests. In those 50 games Fingers would rack up over 79.2 innings. In over half (27) of his appearances he was needed to pitch more that one inning. He entered the game in the 7th inning 10 times, and the 8th inning 14 times. Only 8 out of 35 inherited runners would be allowed to score, and Fingers converted 83% of his save opportunities.

Rollie Fingers represented the Brewers in the All-Star Game for the second time in 1982 (he took the loss for the AL in 1981). Unfortunately, on Sep. 2nd of the 1982 season, Fingers would make his last appearance of the year, as he suffered a season ending injury. The Brewers would go on to win the AL pennant, and beat the Angels in the AL Championship Series, to face the StL. Cardinals and their closer Bruce Sutter in the World Series. 

Fingers would end up missing the 1982 post-season and the entire 1983 season as well. In 1984 Fingers would return to the Brewers and would pitch effectively enough to save 23 games in 33 appearances, but would be shut down for the season near the end of July. The Brewers would sign Fingers to pitch one more season in 1985, however after a very unremarkable season he would be released.

Pete Rose, the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, offered Fingers a roster spot for the 1986 season. However, Reds owner Marge Schott had a strict rule requiring all players to be clean-shaven. Given the choice between shaving his mustache or retiring, Fingers opted to retire but not before he suggested that Marge Schott go shave her St. Bernard.

When Rollie Fingers retired, he had pitched in 944 career MLB games, starting only 37 of those games. He saved 341 games, which would be later broken by Jeff Reardon and others. In 1992, with 81.2% of the vote, Rollie Fingers became the first "modern day closer" to be elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Eventually both the A's and the Brewers would retire the #34 uniform honoring Rollie Fingers, making Fingers one of only 8 MLB players with this honor.

Hank Aaron was born on February 5th in 1934, in Mobile Alabama. Aaron attended Central High, and as a freshman and sophomore, led his high school baseball teams to two championships. When he turned 15, he was offered a tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers, however he failed to make the cut. Two years later Aaron would be signed by the Indianapolis Clowns, who he would help lead to win the 1952 Negro League World Series.

After winning the Negro League World Series, Aaron would receive two MLB contract offers, one was from the NY Giants, the other was from the Boston Braves. The Braves offered Aaron $50 more than the Giants did, and for that reason, Hank Aaron would end up playing for the Milwaukee Braves.

Aaron started his journey to playing in the big leagues in Eau Claire Wisconsin, playing for the Bears in the Class C Northern League. Aaron would be the unanimous selection for the leagues Rookie of the Year Award. In 1953 the Braves (now moved to Milwaukee), promoted Aaron to Jacksonville, their single-A affiliate of the South Atlantic League. Aaron won the league's MVP Award by a large margin as he led the league in just about every offensive category. Aaron was one of the first five African Americans to play in the South Atlantic League, in the racially segregated southeastern United States. Jacksonville manager, Ben Geraghty (please click on link), who Aaron considered to be the "greatest manager who ever lived", helped Aaron survive the racial tensions in the country at the time.

In 1954 Hank Aaron made the jump to the big leagues, when he replaced an injured Bobby Thomson. On April 13th, Aaron would make his first MLB start against Joe Nuxhall and the Cincinnati Reds. Nuxhall would hold Aaron hitless however, Eddie Mathews would homer twice -- the first and second of 863 homeruns Mathews and Aaron would hit as teammates in Milwaukee and later, Atlanta. Vic Rachsi would surrender Aaron's first hit (April 15th), and homerun (April 23rd) later on in 1954.

The following year Hank Aaron, now a fixture in Milwaukee would be selected to his first of 21 consecutive All-Star games. In 1956 Aaron would collect 200 hits for the first of three times in his career, and also win his first of two batting title. Aaron would win his only NL MVP Award in 1957, as he led the league in homeruns (1st of four in his career)  and RBIs (1st of four in his career) while batting .322 (4th in NL).

The Braves would enjoy back-to-back World Series appearances in 1957 and 1958 against the NY Yankees. Aaron would lead the Braves to Milwaukee's only World Series victory in 1957 in seven games, batting .393 and blasting three homeruns. In 1958, the Braves would return to the Fall Classic to play the Yankees, only to lose to NY in seven games. Aaron would bat a respectable .333 in the losing effort.

From 1959 to 1973, Aaron would be a model of consistency, hitting over 30 homeruns in each season except for two. In 14 of those seasons Aaron would finish no worse than 5th in the NL homerun race. Aaron would also finish 5th or better seven times in the race for the NL batting crown. In the outfield, Aaron would collect three consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1958-1960.

On July 14th, 1968, Aaron would become the 8th player in MLB history to slug 500 homeruns, victimizing Mike McCormick of the SF Giants. Roughly one year later (July 31, 1969), Aaron would pass Mickey Mantle with his 537th homerun, trailing only Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. In 1970, against the Reds, Aaron would collect his 3000th career hit, which would make him the first member of the 500 HR club to collect 3000 hits.

In 1972, Aaron would crush his 600th career MLB HR off of the Giants Jerry Johnson. Later that year, Aaron would pass Willie Mays for second on the all-time HR list, knock in his 2000th RBI, and break Stan Musial's record for total bases. In 1973, Hank Aaron would hit his 700th HR, and finish the season one homer shy of Babe Ruth's mark at 714.

On the first pitch Hank Aaron received against the Reds' Jack Billingham, Aaron tied Ruth's MLB homerun record, launching homerun #714 into the stands. When the Braves returned home to Atlanta to play the Dodgers, Hank Aaron would hit one of the most famous homeruns in baseball history, as hit #715 off of Al Downing into the Braves bullpen for a new standard. Aaron would end the season with 733 HRs.

In the off-season, the Atlanta Braves would trade Aaron back to Milwaukee for Dave May. Aaron would play two more seasons for the Brewers in the American League, collecting 22 more homeruns, the last #755 off of Angel pitcher, Dick Drago.

Five years later Hank Aaron would be elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, collecting 97.8% of the vote -- the most since Ty Cobb's 98.2% in 1936. After his retirement as a player, Aaron has worked in baseball, holding many management and leadership positions with the Braves and MLB.

Three hundred and ten MLB pitchers would give up homeruns to Hank Aaron in 31 different MLB parks (195 in County Stadium). Seventy-one of his 755 career homeruns came off of 13 different pitchers that were enshrined in MLB's HOF.

Hank Aaron would also play seven seasons with his brother Tommie. In 1969 against the NY Mets, the Aarons would be the first brother teammates in the NL Championship Series. With 768 combined homeruns, the Aarons lead all MLB brother combinations in career homeruns.

As mentioned earlier, a mere $50 is what made Aaron a Milwaukee Brave instead of a NY Giant. There is no denying that an outfield featuring Willie Mays and Hank Aaron would have been beyond legendary. However, that same $50, spent by the Boston Braves is probably one of the largest reasons that the city of Milwaukee can boast at least one World Series championship.

Bob Uecker was born on January 26th in Milwaukee Wisconsin. After serving in the armed forces, Uecker signed with the Milwaukee Braves in 1956. In 1962 Uecker was called up to the Milwaukee Braves as a catcher, after a very solid (.928 OPS) performance in 1961 with the AAA Louisville Colonels.

On April 13th in 1962, Uecker would make his MLB debut as a pinch-hitter against Hall of Famer Don Drysdale and the LA Dodgers. In his first at bat, Uecker would ground out to second base. On April 19th, Uecker would get his first start behind the plate against the SF Giants and Hall of Famer Juan Marichal. Uecker would go 0-3 with 2 strikeouts and ground into a double play. Although, Uecker would reach base for the first time in his career working a walk off of Marichal.

Against the Phillies on May 3rd, Uecker's teammate Joe Torre would get plunked by Phillies pitcher Art Mahaffey. Torre would have to leave the game and Uecker was called from the bench to pinch-run for Torre. Uecker stayed in the game to catch for the Braves, and in the 4th inning Uecker singled to left field for his first career hit. Art Mahaffey was promptly removed from the game.

Almost six months later on September 23rd, Uecker would drive in the first and second runs of his career, doubling home Lee Maye and Hank Aaron, off of Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher Bob Friend. Later that game, Uecker would pound out a single against Pirate reliever Tom Butters giving him his first multi-hit game of his career.

Three days later in his next start, Uecker would collect 2 more hits against Casey Stengel's New York Mets, giving them their 118th loss of the year. On September 29, Uecker would continue his onslaught of National League pitching as he went 3 for 4 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

September 30th would mark the last game of the season for the 1962 Milwaukee Braves as they took on 43 year old rookie starter Diomedes Olivo and the Pirates. In the bottom of the second inning, with Ken Aspromonte on base, Uecker hit his first MLB HR off of the second season starter. Olivo would never pitch for the Pirates again, and Uecker would finish the season with a .250 batting average.

Uecker would end up playing in 33 games in 1962 for the Milwaukee Braves. In 1963 Uecker would appear in 13 games for the Braves. The Braves would lose 11 of these games. In April of 1964 the Braves would send Uecker to the Cardinals for Jimmie Coker and Gary Kolb.

While a lot of fun is made at Uecker's expense about his lack of success as a player, as a Milwaukee Brave, he certainly was not the least successful player in the Brave's history. Uecker's .250/.326/.338/.663 line, compares favorable to the tenures of well-known Milwaukee Braves such as: Frank Bolling, Jack Dittmer, Tommie Aaron, Roy McMillan, Del Rice and Felix Mantilla.

After playing for the 1964 MLB champion Cardinals, Uecker would be traded to the Phillies and then in 1967 Uke would be traded back to the Braves, now playing in Atlanta. After leading the league in passed balls (27), while playing in only 62 games, all parties involved decided it would be best for Uecker to quit playing baseball. Besides his legendary .200 career batting line, Uecker would exit baseball as a player with homeruns off of Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Gaylord Perry and Fergie Jenkins.

A couple of years later in 1969 Uecker would be "discovered" by Jazz legend Al Hirt in New Orleans. Hirt was so impressed by Uecker's comedic styling he arranged for Uke to appear on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. Uecker would become one of Carson's favorite guest, visiting the Tonight Show over 100 times in his career.

In 1971 Uecker joined Merle Harmon to form the Milwaukee Brewer's radio broadcast team. Uecker would go on to broadcast the next 40 years in Milwaukee including the current 2010 season. It is hard to imagine Milwaukee Brewer baseball without the careers of Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. It is impossible to fathom Brewer baseball without Bob Uecker.

Bob Uecker would later become a fixture on television as well as radio, appearing in many popular Miller Lite commercials, his own "Wacky World of Sports" show, and the ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere. Uecker would also portray Cleveland Indian broadcaster Harry Doyle in the classic movie "Major League".

In 2003 Uecker won the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting, and was deservedly enshrined in the MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. In 1993 Uecker was inducted into the Wisconsin Performing Artists Hall of Fame, in 1994 the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame, in 1998 the Wisconsin Sports Hall of Fame, and in 2001 the Radio Hall of Fame. Ironically, a man who has made a career focused on self-deprecating humor, found his path into at least five Halls of Fame.

Bob Uecker's ability to connect with the "every man" in his audience, is probably in a large part due to his unforgettable humor and quotes. I will close this article with my favorites:

• "The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up."
• "Sporting goods companies pay me not to endorse their products."
• "One time, I got pulled over at four a.m. I was fined seventy-five dollars for being intoxicated and four-hundred for being with the Phillies."
• "People don't know this but I helped the Cardinals win the pennant. I came down with hepatitis. The trainer injected me with it."

• "When I played, they didn't use fancy words like that (emotionally distressed). They just said I couldn't hit."

• "I led the league in "Go get 'em next time."

• "In 1962 I was named Minor League Player of the Year. It was my second season in the bigs."

• "I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for three-thousand dollars. That bothered my dad at the time because he didn't have that kind of dough. But he eventually scraped it up."

Paul Molitor was born on August 22, 1956 in St. Paul Minnesota. In 1974 he was drafted out of Cretin-Derham High School in St. Paul (same HS as Joe Mauer) by the St. Louis Cardinals. Instead of signing with the Cardinals, Molitor opted to attend the University of Minnesota (following HOFer Dave Winfield) where he became an All-American shortstop his sophomore and junior seasons. In 1977, with the third overall pick in the draft the Milwaukee Brewers selected Molitor, after which he reported to Burlington to play for the Brewers' single A affiliate in the Midwest League.

In 1978 Molitor broke spring training with the big league club as a potential replacement for shortstop Robin Yount who was contemplating retirement. In his first series as a big-leaguer, Molitor had two 3-hit games against the Baltimore Orioles while playing shortstop. In 1978, Molitor would go on to lead all American League rookies in hits, runs, doubles and stolen bases, and finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year balloting to Lou Whitaker of the Detroit Tigers. Molitor would spend most of his rookie campaign leading off for the Brewers, earning himself the title of "The Ignitor".

In 1980, Molitor became on of the first Brewers to be selected by the fans to represent the American League in the All-Star Game, however he would be replaced as a starter due to an injury he suffered. Molitor would go on to represent the AL five more times in his career (1985, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994)

In 1982, Molitor playing the role of "The Ignitor", led the AL in ABs and runs, and helped the Brewers capture the AL pennant for the first time in their franchise's history. Although the Brewers eventually lost to the Cardinals in the 1982 World Series, Molitor batted .353 against St. Louis, and became the first and only player in World Series history to collect 5 hits in a game.

Paul Molitor would enjoy one of his best seasons in 1987, with career highs in SLG (.566) and OBP (.438). Molitor would amazingly lead the AL in runs and doubles despite only playing 118 games. 1987 would also be the year where Molitor would put together a 39 game hitting streak -- the seventh longest in MLB history, and the longest since Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak in 1941.

The most unpopular move by the Brewers' front office history was probably made after the 1992 offseason, when a presumably "declining" Paul Molitor was allowed to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays. Molitor had been very productive in 1991 and 1992, leading the AL in hits and runs in 1991, and making the All-Star squad in both seasons. In his first season with Toronto, Molitor put together his third 200 hit campaign, and finished second in the AL MVP balloting to Frank Thomas of Chicago. 1993 would also be the year Paul Molitor would collect his only World Series ring, as he batted .500 in the 1993 Fall Classic, collecting 12 hits, and scoring a WS record 10 runs. Molitor would be named the MVP of the 1993 World Series.

After three years in Toronto, Paul Molitor would return to Minnesota to finish his storied career with his hometown Twins. In 1996 Paul Molitor broke a 65 year old record when he collected 225 hits as a 40 year old player, breaking HOFer Sam Rice's mark set back in 1930.

After the 1998 season Paul Molitor decided to end his 21 season career. With a career batting average of .306, and 3319 career hits (8th most in MLB history), Paul Molitor retired as one of the best pure hitters in MLB history. Shortly before he passed away, Ted Williams was asked what current player reminded him the most of Joe DiMaggio, one of the best right-handed hitters to ever play baseball, and he replied, "Paul Molitor".

In 2004, with 85.2% of the vote The Ignitor would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in his first year of eligibility

Editor's note: This is Part one of a ten part series revealing the baseball players and figures the BCB community has nominated for the SBN Wisconsin Hall of Fame. A new nominee will be announced each day for ten days. Today we start with the leading votegetter, Robin Yount. - KL

Robin Yount was born on September 16th 1955 in Danville Illinois. In 1973 Yount would be drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers out of William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills California. The same high school also produced MLB players Rick Auerbach, Gabe Kapler, Pete LaCock, Larry Dierker, Kelly Paris and Robin's older brother, pitcher Larry Yount (Taft HS also produced WKRP actress Jan Smithers, and rapper Ice Cube). Interestingly, Rick Auerbach went on to be the last Brewer player to wear the #19 on his uniform before Yount wore it for the next 20 seasons, and into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

After playing only 64 games for the Newark Pilots in 1973, Yount made the leap to the majors for good in 1974 as an 18 year old. By the time the 1975 season ended, Yount broke some of Mel Ott's MLB records for a teenager including, games played, plate appearances, doubles, and runs.

Robin Yount would quickly develop into one MLB's best hitting and most valuable shortstops. In 1980 Yount would be selected to his first All-Star game. He was selected by the fans in 1982 and 1983, the only Brewer to do so until Ryan Braun in 2009. In 1982 Robin Yount won his first MVP award, leading the American League in hits, total bases slugging and OPS, while playing solid defense and winning the Gold Glove at shortstop as well.

In 1982 Yount led the Brewers to their second post-season appearance and their only World Series. Yount led the Brewers in almost every offensive category in the series (with the exception of home runs), batting .414 and scoring 6 runs. Yount would become the only player to collect 4 hits in a game twice in a World Series, doing so in games 1 and 5.

1984 would be Yount's last season at SS, as he would soon after suffer a shoulder injury that limited his ability to throw in the infield. In 1985 when Yount returned from his injury he moved to CF where he played for the last 9 years of his career. In 1989, Yount would win his second American League MVP award, becoming one of the few players to earn the distinction at two different positions.

In 1992 Yount became the 17th MLB player to collect 3000 hits, singling off of Jose Mesa. Yount retired after the 1993 season with 3142 hits for his career. In 1999 Yount was elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility with 77% of the vote, and a very respectable career line of .285/.340/.442./.772.

Robin Yount played 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers, his only major league team Only 4 MLB players amassed more than 2856 games playing for only one team (Yaz, Musial, Ripken, Brooks Robinson). Only 4 players in the history of MLB collected more hits playing for only one team (Yaz, Musial, Ripken, Brett). Playing exactly 1000 more games as a Brewer than second most tenured Brewer, (Paul Molitor) Robin Yount holds Brewers career records for games, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBIs, total bases and walks.

As we don't have any Brewer baseball today or tomorrow, I thought it would be fun to look at the history of the Milwaukee Brewers representation in the MLB All-Star game.

I recently discovered some old Gillette AS ballots. Gillette started issuing these ballots to the fans in 1970, which is a great launching point for Brewer fans. The ballot has seen some changes over the years, and I have logged them below. As a side note, 1970 was not the first time that fans were able to vote for their favorite players. In 1957 MLB discovered that the naughty people of Cincinnati were able to get their entire team and Stan Musial elected to the AS game. No Hank Aaron, no Willie Mays, no Roberto Clemente, just a bunch of Reds and Stan the Man.

MLB investigated this silliness and subsequently took away the voting privilege from the fans, until 1970, when apparently we learned our lesson and could be trusted to vote honestly and not stuff the ballot box.

As you all know, the fans only chose the starting position players. The bench and the pitchers are chosen by the team's manager. Every team is supposed to have a representative, Ellie Rodriguez is pretty thankful for that. Most of the names that you see below you should have expected to see. Still, I think some people forget how good of a player Don Money was, and I think looking at this information will help put some historical perspective on our team.

Enjoy!

1970
Brewers on the ballot: Tommy Harper (2b)
Former/Future Brewers on the Ballot: Joe Azcue (c), George Scott (1b), Sal Bando (3b), Ken McMullen (3b), Hank Aaron (of), Larry Hisle (of), Jimmy Wynn (of), Ollie Brown (of)
Brewers voted in: None
Brewers on the All-star roster: Tommy Harper (3b)
Notes: 1970 was the year that MLB returned the privilege of voting for All-stars back to the fans. The ballots were provided to the fans by the fine people at the Gillette Company. Fans could chose one infield position player per league out of six choices, and could chose three outfielders from a list of 20. The ballot also allowed for write-in candidates to be selected, and former Milwaukee Brave Rico Carty, was written in by the fans to represent Atlanta in 1970.

1971
Brewers on the ballot: Tommy Harper (3b), Phil Roof (c)
Former/Future Brewers on the Ballot: Ray Fosse (c), Phil Roof (c), George Scott (1b), Jack Heidemann (ss), Sal Bando (3b), Ken McMullen (3b), Don Money (3b), Hank Aaron (of), Felipe Alou (of), Bernie Carbo (of), Jimmy Wynn (of), Ollie Brown (of)
Brewers voted in: None
Brewers on the All-star roster: Marty Pattin (p-DNP)
Notes: Don Money makes his first ballot appearance, and Phil Roof (who played for both the Braves and Brewers in Milwaukee) gets a spot on the ballot as well. Roof, would be traded to the Twins on July 8th for Paul Ratliff. Also the ballot expanded in 1971 to include eight infielder choices and 24 outfielders for each league.

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W: Adam Wainwright (12-5)
L: Yo Gallardo (8-4)

HR: Corey Hart (19), John Jay (2)

MVP: Carlos Villanueva (+.022)
LVP: Alcides Escobar (-.079)

Graph of Strained Oblique and Star of the Game Voting
SB Nation Coverage

The Brewers earned a split this weekend in St. Louis, which on the surface is not bad at all, however, it is probably not what they needed in order to gain some ground on the Cardinals. Here are some bullet points.

• Rickie Weeks got ejected in his 2nd AB arguing strike calls.
• Adam Wainwright is one of the filthiest pitchers working right now.
• The Brewers are not a good defensive team
• Corey Hart extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a solo HR
• Yo Gallardo became the 13th pitcher in MLB history to record 3 putouts in an inning.

Yo Gallardo left the game in the 3rd inning, with obvious discomfort to the left side of his ribcage. It was later reported that Yo was suffering from a left-oblique strain. Of course, before clearing off your nearest high ledge, one should probably wait until the reevaluation that is going to happen tomorrow.

What is a left-oblique, and how does one go about straining his? What is the recovery time involved for Yo, assuming this is in fact what he is being bothered by? Here is a great article on pitching and hitting injuries over at ESPN.com.

An excerpt or two:

In recent years the number of players going on the disabled list due to oblique injuries has remained fairly consistent at about twenty per year....

The oblique abdominal muscles are unique because they span the entire trunk (torso) and they are so specifically oriented toward rotation, as is stability of the trunk on the pelvis while weight is being transferred, oblique function is key to proper delivery... Attempts to contract an injured oblique muscle can trigger pain that immediately inhibits the other trunk muscles from functioning normally, which explains why pitchers with this injury cannot deliver the ball.

Once the injury has been properly diagnosed there is the matter of ensuring that it is well healed before the athlete attempts to return to the mound, which can take six to eight weeks for a moderate strain... Continued attempts to push through an oblique injury lead to compensations by other, often weaker, muscle groups, which can then lead to other problems, such as with the rotator cuff. Hence it becomes critical to avoid returning a player to action too soon.

In the 2008 season there were more hitters than pitchers who suffered this injury....

Avoid the split! Taking three games out of four from the Cardinals would be Suweeeeet!!, last night's win gave us 16 out of 22, when the Crew visit the Busch.  It's the first game in the second half for the Brewers today. 81-0, would probably punch our ticket for the post-season.

Instead of blowing off your fingers or toes, monkeying around with fireworks, and gas-grills, why don't you join us after the jump?

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After today, we will have already completed half of our games for 2010. sigh.

All sorts of funny business after the jump.

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W: Jamie Garcia (8-4)
L:  Chris Narveson (7-5)

HR: Tyler Greene (2), 

MVP: Scoreboard Zeros.
LVP: Brewer Bats (-.293)

Fangraph of Nil.

SBNation coverage

Tonight's game was an affirmation of the century-old baseball adage, "If you don't score any runs off of Jamie Garcia and the guys that relieve him, you are probably going to lose".

Chris Narveson got the call for the Brewers to start the game, and he got into trouble right away. Narveson gave up back-to-back singles to Colby Rasmus and Felipe Lopez to start the game. Al Pujols hit into a double play that scored Lopez, and the angels wept. Matt Holliday singled and N Stavinoha doubled to drive in another run for the Redbirds, giving the Cards a 2-0 advantage after one inning.

After Al Pujols drove in a run in the 3rd (Al be with you), Tyler Greene launched a satellite in the 5th to extend the Cardinals lead to 4-0. Trevor Hoffman and bad defense teamed up to give another run to the Cards in the 8th to cap the scoring at 5-0.

Jamie Garcia pitched 7 innings, struck out 7 Brewers, and retired the last 13 batters he faced. Narveson gave up 7 hits and 0 walks, striking  out 4 in five innings. David Riske and Todd Coffey pitched scoreless frames for the Brewers.

I also learned that Al Pujols leads the NL in "scoops" with 26 (Al-lelujah).

Carpenter and Wainwright up next. Eek. White hats are lame.

Let's start this article out by wishing all the dads in our BCB community, a most sincere Happy Father's Day!

I'd also like to send our best wishes to all the dads of our readers and contributors as well. One of the great aspects of baseball, if ultimately not the greatest, is throwing a baseball with our old man, or our children. My father was a very good ballplayer, and a lot of my earliest memories of time spent with him, was playing baseball in our backyard. Unfortunately for me and Tony Gwynn Jr., I suspect that baseball skills may in fact skip a generation.

At the end of the day, I suppose I can be content to be a place holder on the FtJ family-baseball-tree, as at least my son is able to demonstrate some of his grandfather's aptitude for the game. Still there is nothing better than playing catch with my son or father (except when they throw the ball too hard and it stings)

Today, I thought it would be fun to look at the history of "Baseball Dads" that played in Milwaukee, or had MLB dads that had sons that played in Milwaukee.

Let's start out with the Alomar family.

Sandy Alomar, started his long MLB career with the Milwaukee Braves

Sandy Alomar played a couple of seasons for the Braves, before getting traded to the Astros with HOFer Eddie Mathews. Alomar would find his way to the Angels where he would be their everyday 2nd baseman for a few years, playing in Nolan Ryan's first 2 no-hitters.

About 10 years after Alomar retired, his sons Sandy Jr. and Roberto begun their illustrious careers. Between Sandy and his sons, the Alomars amassed over 5000 MLB hits.

Interestingly, Alomar was teammates with former Brewer Clyde Wright, recording the final out in Wright's no-hitter in 1970. Alomar's son Sandy Jr. would eventually catch Wright's son Jaret for the Indians.

As a side note, John Braun is not related to our Ryan Braun, but John Braun was born in Madison back in 1939.

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Avoid the sweep!  And get home with a .500 roadie.

The yoosh, after the jump.

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W: M Belisle (2-3)
L: Zach Braddock (1-1)
S: Raffy Betancourt (1)

HR:Corey Hart (18), Miquel Olivo (9), Sean Smith (10)

MVP: Yo Gallardo (+.272)
LVP: Carlos Villanueva+Zach Braddock

Graph of "Guess where the bullpen entered the game"
SB Nation Coverage

Tonight's game was a great illustration of the old baseball adage, "Yo Gallardo needs to figure out how to get through more than 6 IP with 100+ pitches".

Yo pitched another solid game, striking out nine, walking one, and allowing four hits, giving up only one run in the first inning. However, Yo was able to only get through 6 innings and hit the showers with a 4-1 lead. Carlos Villanueva gave up 3 runs on 2 HRs in the seventh to make sure that Yo didn't get the win, and Zach Braddock gave up another 3 runs in the 8th to make sure Yo cried in the shower.

The Brewers got off to a slow start, getting their first run in the 5th inning on an Escobar single to tie the game 1-1. The Brewers got an unearned run in the 6th to take the lead, and the Brewers increased their lead by two in the 7th with doubles by Escobar and Richard Weeks.

In the bottom of the 7th, the Rockies tied the game with 3 runs off of Villanueva, and took a four run lead in the 8th with runs off of Braddock and Loe.

In the top of the 9th inning, Corey Hart crushed a 3 run blast off of Rockies closer Manny Corpas to bring the Brewers to within one run. Prince Fielder walked and Ryan Braun doubled to get the tying run 90 feet away. The Rockies issued a free pass to Casey McGehee and pitched to Johnathan Lucroy with the bases juiced. But then Lucroy flied out to left, and the Brewers lost.

W: Zach Braddock (1-0)
L:  Jason Motte (2-2)
S: John Axford (4)

HR: Richard Weeks (10), Colby Rasmus (10), Al Pujols (14)

MVP: John Axford (.185).
LVP: Manny Parra (-.134)

Fangraphs graph of victory
SBNation coverage

The Brewers started their scoring early again, touching Jamie Garcia for 2 runs in the 1st inning, fueled by a Felipe Lopez error, and a Casey McGehee sacrifice fly. The Brewers increased their lead to 3 in the third with a Richard Weeks solo shot. Colby Rasmus followed suit with his own solo HR off of Manny Parra in the bottom of the third. Al Pujols brought the Cards within 1 run with a solo HR off of Manny Parra in the 6th, and a Randy Winn sac fly in the 8th tied the game at 3-3 for the Cards.

In the 10th inning Prince Fielder led of the inning with a walk, and singles by Braun and McGehee moved the big man over to 3rd base where he scored on a Corey Hart sac fly to deep center-field. John Axford pitched a scoreless 10th inning to secure the win for the Brewers, and keep them out of the NL cellar.

Manny Parra pitched well enough, striking out 10 batters in the first five innings, however in the 6th inning he walked the bases loaded and earned himself a shoulder massage from Rick Peterson and a hook from Ken Macha. Dave Bush struck out Skip Schumaker on 12 pitches, and Kameron Loe retired David Freese to get the Brewers out of the jam.

Draft tomorrow!

Avoid the sweep!

Also, Avoid the NL cellar!

A loss today by the Brewers would leave them tied with the Houston Astros for last place.

The Brewers will be without rotund red-head Todd Coffey as he was put on the 15 DL retro to 5/30 with a thumb contusion. No corresponding move will be made today, and not likely until Thursday.

The Brewers will send Manny Parra to the bump to take on the Cardinals. The Cardinals will counter with Jamie Garcia. Garcia beat the Brewers on Apr. 10 earlier this year, going 6 IP only giving only one ER. Manny Parra who is making his 3rd start of the season, hasn't seen the Cardinals yet as a starter, however shut the Cards down in an inning of relief earlier this year.

Graphics, lineups and BP after the jump!

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Last night's loss, dropped the Brewers twelve games under .500, to 22-34 with a .393 winning percentage. This would put the Brewers on pace to finish with the same W/L record as the 1969 Seattle Pilots, which was only surpassed by the stallions that made up the 2002 Milwaukee Brewers.

Now, I thought last night's loss was relatively well pitched. However since we dipped under the .400 mark for the first time in a long time at this point in the season, (66 games), I thought it would be interesting (if not entirely depressing ) to see how this pitching staff matches up against some of the others in the previous 42 seasons of Brewer baseball.

1.) Most pitchers used in a season. The 2006 Brewers used 27 pitchers to get through the season, and on the other end of the spectrum, the 1977 and 1978 Brewers used only 13. Currently the 2010 Brewers have already used 18 pitchers, which is more than 20 other Brewer seasons. I have a hard time envisioning the Brewers getting 10 more pitchers on the bump this season, however it could happen when Dave Riske's arm gets reattached and callups are made in September.

2.) Most starters used in a season. Before the season started we had some discussion centering around Jeff Suppan and the need for a team to have 6-7 starters on their roster. The 1969 Seattle Pilots hold the franchise record at 17 starters, followed by the 2002 Brewers (and others) at 13. The strike-shortened 1981 Brewers only used 6 starters, and 9 Brewer teams (including 2007 & 2008) used only 8 starters. Currently the Brewers have used 9 starters which is as many as the Brewers used all of last season. Of course the Brewers will hit double digits at some point, while I don't see them getting up to 17 starters, I could certainly see 13 happening.

3.) Most finishers used in a season. I'll be the first to admit, I am not sure that there is much significance here, but let's look at the bullpen as well. The 1999 Brewers and the Seattle Pilots hold the mark at 20. The 2010 Brewers are already at 11, and place 30th out of 42 seasons.

4.) Most homeruns given up. The Brewers have given up 58 homeruns already this year. The Brewer record for homeruns given up was 219 back in 2006. If you look at the rate at which the Brewers are giving up HR's for every 9 innings, the current team is the 5th worst overall, whoring up HR's at a 1.25 clip. The 2007 Brewers were the worst at 1.44 and the 1977 Brewers were the best at .51

5.) Most runs given up. The Brewers have given up 321 runs already this year. In 1996 the Brewers gave up 899, which of course is a franchise record. The current Brewers however are on pace to eclipse the 900 run plateau, as they are allowing 5.73 runs a game, whereas the 1996 Brewers "only" allowed 5.55 runs in every match.

6.) Most walks given up. To date the Brewers have given up 231 walks. The record is held by the 2000 Brewers staff which handed out 728 free passes. The current Brewers aren't on pace to catch the 2000 team, as they are allowing 4.27 BBs per game compared to the 4.47 per game that the 2000 team allowed.

7.) How do the Brewers rank against the NL overall in 2010. Before the games today here is how the Brewers rank....

Runs/Game - 15th
ERA - 15th
Saves - 15th
Hits - 16th
Runs - 15th
Earned Runs - 15th
Homeruns - 14th
Walks - 15th
WHIP - 16th

On a positive note the Brewers are currently 4th in strikeouts and strikeouts per 9 innings in the NL.

Have a nice weekend!