This weekend the boyfriend and I were in the left field bleachers for Saturday night's extra inning heartbreaker.
That game was by far the most fun I've ever had at a loss. The crowd was a sellout, the visiting Minnesota fans were knowledgeable, friendly and well-behaved and there were two spectacular home runs. (and a third and fourth that "should" have been)
Ryan Braun hit a monster that hit off the railing on the landing of Bernie Brewers slide. This was about half a section over from us, above our heads. We were keeping score and actually didn't see it come off the bat, but it was in the air so long, we had time to catch up with it and see it bounce. Unbelievable home run.
My love of Russell Branyan has been well documented here on Cute Sports. When he came up to pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth inning, we were just giddy. (Russell has the nickname 3TO, referring to the 3 True Outcomes of an AB - meaning the 3 outcomes that do not involve anyone but the batter - a walk, a strikeout and a homerun. Russell tends to do one of the 3. No groundouts, no popouts - just walks, strikeouts and homeruns.) With the game on the line, I was fearing "The Muscle" would be swinging for the fences and we'd be looking at a 4 pitch strikeout. (I was giving him the benefit of the doubt for one foul off)
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Instead, he cracked the hell out of the ball and tied the game. I could not stop laughing. I'm not sure I've ever hi-fived so many people.
While it meant the team lost, the boyfriend and I were very excited to have witnessed an inside-the-park homerun. Michael Cuddyer's pinch hit ITPHR, for that matter. (That's one of those things on the list of plays every fan wants to see in person before they die - The triple play, the no-hitter, the inside-the-park - you know, rare plays.)
Of course, it was officially scored as a triple and an error, but I think I'm keeping the ticket stub and marking it off the list, anyway!
The big mystery of this game was leaving Julian Tavarez on the mound for the 12th inning, especially when he couldn't seem to find the strike zone. He loaded the bases and every fan in Miller Park was calling for him to be pulled. Ned Yost, being Ned Yost, left him in and he promptly gave up the runs. THEN Ned pulls him. The JSOnline.com Brewers Blog says this was Ned's "excuse:"
Why Yost left Tavarez in the game
By Tom Haudricourt
Saturday, Jun 14 2008, 11:03 PM
With many Brewers fans in the sellout crowd at Miller Park screaming for manager Ned Yost to take reliever Julian Tavarez out of the game before he lost it in the 12th inning tonight, I'm sure you folks out there in cyberspace were doing likewise.
Why did Yost leave Tavarez in the game to load the bases, then surrender a two-run single in what eventually became a winning five-run rally by Minnesota?
Yost had three other options in the pen: rookies Tim Dillard and Mark DiFelice and veteran Guillermo Mota. Dillard and DiFelice had pitched Friday night and Yost didn't want to use them again, particularly with the game on the line.
Mota had pitched two innings in Houston on Wednesday and another on Thursday and Yost thought he needed another night off. Yost would have gone to Mota had the game made it to the 13th inning, but didn't want to use him beforehand.
"He was the last guy I was going to use," said Yostg. "I felt like he could use one more day off.
"I was trying to win this game. I don't think about tomorrow at all in that situation."
Tavarez had escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the 11th and Yost hoped he'd get lucky again in the 12th. Because Tavarez is a sinkerballer, Yost hoped for some groundballs to get out of the inning. Delmon Young hit one to shortstop Craig Counsell, resulting in an out at the plate. But Brian Buscher -- whoever he is -- followed with a two-run single and the Brewers were done.
"What he does is he keeps the ball down. He has a nice sinker," Yost said of Tavarez. "We were playing the infield in, trying to get groundballs. He got one but he didn't get the second one."
Of course, the reason Mota was "unavailable" was because we brought him in on Thursday in a game we were losing by 5 runs despite the fact that he'd pitched the day before.
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I understand the theory behind not pitching a guy three days in a row, but if ever there was a situation in which to blow that off, this was it. In addition, it's a matter of bullpen management. All the decisions made in the games leading up to that one are what left us light on Saturday night.
In addition, Tavarez has not pitched well since he got here. From his MLB.com player page:
Quick Splits:
He's awful at night. He's mostly awful at home. For a guy who supposedly plays the numbers game, Ned Yost sure screwed up with this choice Saturday night.
