All in

I have to make a confession. I’ve become obsessed with the trade deadline. On Tuesday at 3:15 p.m., I felt a cold chill go up my spine. So sure was I that Prince had been dealt to the White Sox that I had to check ESPN, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Brewers websites before I could stop holding my breath.

You have a lot of choices as a baseball fan as to what sort of fan you want to be. You can go to a few games a year and wear your team’s cap and call it good. You can follow your team in the paper. You can watch a few games and check the standings every once in a while. I’ve been that sort of fan at times during my life. But since 2008, my first year with Extra Innings, I’ve been all in. And this year I’ve taken it to an entirely new level with the blog. I don’t say “they” anymore. I say “we”, as in we didn’t pitch very well last night. The more invested you are, the more it hurts when things don’t go your way. Or in this case, the more it hurts when one of your favorites won’t be a Brewer anymore (even if trading him makes a ton of sense).

I watched Tuesday night’s game in one hour because I didn’t get home until late.  Basically, the Pirates scored a lot of runs in the beginning of the game and the Brewers tried hard to come back but fell just short. Depending on the speed at which you fast forward with TiVo, it is usually best to stay focused on the little score box.  The score box thingee went crazy in the bottom of the first. It kept moving, while Casey McGehee seemed frozen after committing two errors. A total of three errors and Dave Bush’s ineffectiveness led to NINE Pittsburgh runs in the first inning. Is this payback for me calling them “light hitting” yesterday?  I guess Ken Macha didn’t want to use the bullpen because he left Bush in for four innings and he gave up one more run. (4 IP, 9H, 10R, 5ER, 2BB, 2SO, 2HR)

Things that may or may not surprise you about this game:  

1. Dave Bush pitched longer than the Pirates starter, Brad Lincoln, who had a nine-run lead at one point (2.1 IP, 9H, 7R, 7ER, OBB, 1SO, 1HR);  
2. The Brewers got within a run at 10-9 after the top of the sixth inning;
3. The bottom of the Brewers order did most of the damage, with Jim Edmonds going 4-5 with a HR;
4. Carols “I’m in the doghouse” Villanueva made his first appearance since July 8; and 
5. Prince Fielder is still a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Pirates 11, Brewers 9

Game played 7-21-10