Houston/Milw.....

[IE]

Houston (30-37) at Milwaukee (23-45) 8:05 pm EDT
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MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Roy Oswalt tries to continue his
domination of the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday when he takes the
mound for the Houston Astros in the opener of a four-game series
at Miller Park.

Oswalt is 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA in three career starts against the
Brewers, allowing just two earned runs in 21 innings. He has
not defeated any major league team more than three times in his
brief career.

Oswalt (7-4, 2.98 ERA) has won two of his last three starts and
defeated Chicago on Wednesday, when he allowed four runs and
eight hits in seven innings.

The 24-year-old righthander is 3-2 with a 2.65 ERA in eight
starts on the road this season.

Milwaukee hands the ball to Ben Sheets (3-7, 4.33), who is 0-4
with a 4.91 ERA in his last five outings.

Sheets suffered his forth straight loss at Oakland on Wednesday,
when he gave up seven runs -- six earned -- and nine hits in
four innings.

The 23-year-old righthander is 1-2 with a 2.25 ERA in five
starts at Miller Park this season.

The Brewers have lost nine of their last 10 games and dropped
two of three against the Minnesota Twins over the weekend.

Milwaukee suffered a 7-6 loss in Sunday's series finale, falling
to 6-19 in one-run games this season.

The Astros have won four of six and won a three-game series
against the Texas Rangers with a 7-6 victory on Sunday.

Julio Lugo homered twice and Craig Biggio delivered a
game-winning single in the ninth inning. Daryle Ward missed his
third straight game due to a 1-for-22 slump but is expected to
be in the lineup Monday.

 

[IE]

Nelson Figueroa has been bumped from the Milwaukee rotation.
Figueroa had a 10.13 ERA in four starts since returning from the DL on May 21.

Jose Cabrera is going to get a chance to be a permanent member of the Milwaukee rotation. He's replacing Nelson Figueroa.

 

[IE]

Astros activated RHP Scott Linebrink from the 15-day disabled list.

Astros optioned infielder Adam Everett to Triple-A New Orleans.

Astros optioned infielder Keith Ginter to Triple-A New Orleans.

Astros purchased the contract of infielder-catcher Alan Zinter from Triple-A New Orleans.

 

[IE]

Brewers are flat against lefthanders

During their recent seven-game losing streak, the Brewers lost to lefthanded starters three times. Through Sunday, the Brewers were 3-13 against lefthanded starters. They haven't beaten a lefty since they handled San Diego's Kevin Pickford on May 25.

Though the team has a number of righthanded hitters on the bench, no reserve has gotten enough at-bats to stay consistent.

To make matters worse, the starting pitching has fallen on hard times lately when the team faces lefthanders. In their last four games against lefties, the Brewers were outscored 24-4. . . .

Glendon Rusch and Jamey Wright have struggled with their location this month. They have left too many balls over the middle of the plate.

Ruben Quevedo, who has been the team's best starter, hasn't had his great changeup, and Nelson Figueroa has made bad pitches with runners on base.

Ben Sheets hasn't gotten much offensive support, but he has had a hard time getting settled in the early innings. . . .

After his first season with the Brewers, Jose Hernandez appeared to be a free-agent bust. He struck out too much, and he couldn't make the defensive adjustments at third base. However, since returning to his natural position, shortstop, Hernandez has put up solid numbers. His strikeout totals remain astronomical, but he deserves some consideration to be named to the All-Star team as a reserve.

Although Richie Sexson appears to be the most logical choice to represent the team, shortstop is a weak offensive position in the National League. Hernandez leads all NL shortstops in runs batted in and home runs. The Brewers have been pushing Hernandez for the reserve spot.

Hernandez is a free agent at the end of the year and a trip to the All-Star Game would definitely increase his trade value. . . .

With both of their regular catchers on the disabled list, the Brewers acquired Robert Machado from the Cubs for minor-league outfielder Jackson Melian.

Machado, who has never played more than 52 games in a season, was buried on the Cubs' bench. He'll probably see significant action with the Brewers until Paul Bako returns. The Brewers' only other active catcher is journeyman Marcus Jensen.

Machado will probably be Ruben Quevedo's regular catcher. Both played in the Cubs' farm system and know each other very well. The Brewers now have seven former Cubs on their roster. . . .

The Brewers are already close to terms with first-round pick Prince Fielder. Because the Tigers already signed No. 8 pick Scott Moore to a $2.3 million deal, Fielder and the Brewers were only about $100,000 apart. It appears Fielder will get at least $2.1 million.

The Brewers already gave a significant signing bonus to pitcher Manny Parra, a "sign and follow" pick from the 2001 draft. Parra received between $900,000 and $1 million. . . .

Curtis Leskanic and Chad Fox continue to battle shoulder problems. Leskanic hoped to begin throwing again after cutting short his rehabilitation assignment, but he had to receive a cortisone shot. Leskanic is doing strengthening exercises, but he is not throwing yet.

Fox, who is on the disabled list with a strained rotator cuff, also received a cortisone injection this week. Fox will be re-evaluated this week. Paul Rigdon is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder on Tuesday.

SCOUTING REPORT

Two years ago, Geoff Jenkins appeared as though he had a chance to be a consistent .300 hitter with above-average power. But he won't approach .300 again until he goes back to using the opposite field on a consistent basis.

When he goes the other way, Jenkins hit .313 and .303 his first two full seasons in the big leagues, but last year he hit .264 and this season he has been hovering between .230 and .245.

Jenkins hasn't been the same hitter since he injured his shoulder last season. He's pulling off too many pitches.

The Brewers count on him to be a top run producer, but he's not hitting well with runners in scoring position, because he's missing. He still has a good arm in left field, but it hasn't been quite as accurate this season.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME

The Brewers might not have been able to break a seven-game losing streak if Machado had failed to lay down a two-strike bunt in the eighth inning of a tie game.

Machado couldn't get Mike Jackson's first two pitches down, because Jackson was throwing high fastballs, but he waited on Jackson's 1-2 pitch and was able to get the ball down to move the runners to second and third. It's the kind of play that the Brewers don't execute enough.

The team has lost many games because they can't move a runner over to third, or drive a player in, once he gets there.

 

[IE]

Future is now for team's rotation


When 23-year-old Kirk Saarloos jumps from Class AA to the majors to start for the Astros on Tuesday at Milwaukee, it will round out perhaps the youngest starting five rotation ever in the majors. It will include Carlos Hernandez (22), Roy Oswalt (24), Tim Redding (24) and the old man of the staff, 25-year-old Wade Miller who has the most time in the big leagues -- 2.03 years.

Saarloos, a third-round pick out of Cal State-Fullerton last year, is the biggest surprise. He dazzled the Astros brass by going 10-1 with a 1.40 ERA as a starter at Round Rock. Last year, officials had him close at Class A Lexington when he signed after the draft to save his tired arm. He topped the team with 11 saves and allowed only four earned runs in 30 2/3 innings.

But he's not like the rest of the flame-throwing young guns on the team. His fastball tops out at about 89 mph. He uses an assortment of breaking pitches and a lethal changeup. The Astros like him because of his steady, confident presence on the mound and his smart, far-ahead-of-his-years approach to the game. . . .

Saarloos is up because of the loss of Shane Reynolds, who had back surgery and is out for the year. The only encouraging news for the team is Miller has returned to his prominence of last season.

Miller pitched seven innings of three-hit ball Saturday and said he wanted to go longer. He says his fastball is as strong as it was last year (when he won 16) and his slider is better than ever. . . .

Billy Wagner says his fastball is finally back to its old form. He proved it Saturday when he threw 99 and 100 mph on the radar gun and catcher Brad Ausmus had to stop the game to replace his catcher's mitt after Wagner popped the stitches on his first one. Ausmus said later, "He blew my glove up."

Wagner, who had elbow surgery in 2000, doesn't pay much attention to radar guns but says he realizes his velocity is all the way back and his fastballs are moving better than ever.

SCOUTING REPORT

Tim Redding appears to be in the rotation for the remainder of the season because of injuries, first to Dave Mlicki, then Reynolds.

Redding has been impressive in the minors but has been erratic in his major-league call-ups last year and this year. He has often been compared with Oswalt because they are similar in size (6-0, 180), throw fastballs in the 93-95 area and have strong breaking curves. This year, Redding also has improved his slider considerably, but his changeup is still in need of improvement.

The Astros love his fearless attitude, how he attacks hitters, regardless of big-name reputation. But he has a history of being too emotional and letting adversity rattle him. While he seems to have gotten past much of that, it still pops up occasionally. The team thinks when he overcomes it, he can be one of the league's premier pitchers.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME

Jeff Bagwell's surgically repaired shoulder is still hurting, and he's getting by with a little help from his friends. It's only a minor assistance and goes unnoticed by most observers. But when Bagwell goes deep down the right-field line for a pop-up, teammate and longtime friend Craig Biggio follows closely when there's a man on base, especially if they are at second or third. In that infrequent combination of events, Biggio coaxes Bagwell to flip him the ball if the runner moves.

"He understands the situation," Bagwell says. They haven't had to use it yet, but in the event a runner wants to test Bagwell's shoulder, Biggio is there to make the throw.

 

[Terryray]

good stuff IE! Here's covers writeup

good stuff IE! Here's covers writeup

Game of the Day
Monday, June 17, 2002
Astros vs. Brewers
By Trevor Stewart



Two struggling National League teams battle in an NL Central
Division matchup on Monday. And something has got to give.

The Milwaukee Brewers own the worse record in the NL at 23-45
and trail the NL Central-leading Cincinnati Reds by 15 1/2 games.

The Brew Crew will welcome the Houston Astros to Miller Park,
after allowing Minnesota to soar in and take two games in a
three-game set. The Brewers are now sporting an unenviable 1-9
record in their last 10 contests.

The Astros (30-37) are nine back of the Reds in the Central
Division. Houston managed to steal 2-3 from their Texas rivals, the
Rangers before hitting the road for Brewtown. Even with the
series win, the club is still a sub-par 5-8 in their last 13 games.

Ben Sheets will get the start for visitors.

Sheets holds a rough 3-7 record and sloppy 4.33 ERA. The Brewers are a par-for-the-course
4-10 when he starts. The righthander has performed on home soil, putting together a solid 2.25
ERA, despite winning only one of three decisions in Miller Park.

Sheets has been getting beat up in his last three starts and has compiled a porous 6.75 in
those outings.

His Houston counterpart will be Roy Oswalt (7-4, 2.98 ERA). Despite his strong ERA, the
Astros are 7-7 when he climbs the hill. On the road this season, he's been tossed a strong
2.65 ERA, a big improvement from his 4.33 ERA overall.

The righthander hasn't been as hot in his last thee, pitching a 4.87 ERA.

These clubs opened the 2002 schedule against in each in April at the Astrodome. Houston
walked away with two wins including a 15-2 thumping in the Game 2 of the series. Oswalt
nabbed the win in Houston's offensive onslaught, pitching six innings and holding the Brew
Crew to five hits and two runs.

Monday's showdown will be the first game in a four-game set between these two
underachievers. That should give Milwaukee some hope. The Brewers are .500 11-11 in the
first game of a series -- compared to 7-15 in Game 2s and 4-17 in the third game.

Also, the Astros are simply terrible in Game 1s, sporting an ugly 6-16 record in series openers.

The Brewers have started to turn around their offensive woes. In there last 10, they've batted
an amazing .310 as a team versus righthanded pitchers, bettering their overall mark of .256 for
the season.

Houston is batting a miserable .258 against righthanders, but has pulled that up to.285 in their
last 10.

The Astros' bullpen has been shutting down the opposition, as its ERA is a measly 2.37 in the
last 10 Houston games.

The 'under' has prevailed in five of the Sheets' last six starts. The 'under' is also 8-2 in the last
eight meetings between these squads.

Oddsmakers have Houston as a -150 favorite and the total is set at eight.

My Pick: Astros -150








i

 

[Terryray]

Sheets confident, offers no excuses after last loss

Sheets confident, offers no excuses after last loss

from Millwaukee paper



By MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM
of the Journal Sentinel staff

Last Updated: June 12, 2002

Oakland, Calif. - Clearly the Milwaukee Brewers were no match for the
Oakland Athletics, who sliced through them like the hottest team in the
American League should do to the team with the National League's worst
record.

So the Brewers, beaten for the second straight
day by a dominating left-hander with a surging
lineup behind him, could just shrug their
shoulders after their 8-0 loss to Oakland on
Wednesday afternoon.

The Brewers have lost seven straight and were
swept in consecutive series, but they could go
back to Milwaukee rationalizing that they were
beaten by a better team, right?

"Naw," Brewers right-hander Ben Sheets said.
"We have been doing that too much. We have
been tipping the hat too much, I think. We need
to look deep down inside ourselves and see
what we can do to get better.".................








...........Sheets (3-7), who hadn't allowed more than three earned runs in eight
consecutive starts, gave up a run in the first, two more in the second, then let
it get away with four Oakland runs in the fourth.

Sheets allowed a season-high six earned runs and lost his fourth straight
decision.

"I felt really good, actually," Sheets said. "I feel like I have been throwing the
ball really well.

It has been a rough ride for all of the Brewers, who have six losing streaks
of four or more games but only two winning streaks that long.

"It has been a season-long swoon," Sheets said.

 

[Terryray]

Mill 6-19 in one run games this season.

Mill 6-19 in one run games this season.

from official site:


06/16/2002 2:28 pm ET

Royster trying to cope

Brewers mounting losses frustrate interim manager

By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com

MILWAUKEE -- Even-keeled
Milwaukee Brewers manager
Jerry Royster, father of two,
woke up Sunday already
thinking about baseball.

"When I get up I immediately
get on it," said Royster, named
interim Brewers skipper when
Davey Lopes was fired April
18 and elevated to full-time
manager 12 days later. "I try
not to let that get in the way of
my daily activities, but I'm
definitely thinking about it."

Royster kept thinking about it
until 4 p.m. CT Sunday, when
Jeffrey Hammonds grounded
out to shortstop to end a 7-6
loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Milwaukee rallied twice from deficits of 4-0 and 6-3 to tie the game in the fifth, but Nelson
Figueroa served up a solo homer to Corey Koskie in the seventh that stood as the
game-winner.

"That's a (very) poor game," a clearly frustrated Royster said afterward. "We can't do
that at this stage of the season."

It was a change of character for the usually upbeat Brewers skipper. But he insists he's
able to leave that frustration at the door when he goes home each night.

That's his nature, Royster says, and it's the way you have to be when you manage the
National League's worst team. The Brewers are 23-45 overall and 6-19 in games
decided by one run.

"I understand a lot more when I go home," he said earlier in the series. "I'm talking about
initial reactions -- sure, I fly off the hook. I have several times, actually."

Given the Brewers up-and-down play, it's no surprise.

On Sunday, they were booed in their own ballpark. Second baseman Ronnie Belliard
didn't dive after Torii Hunter's two-out single and watched the Twins score four times in
the opening inning. Alex Sanchez pulled up on a fly ball to right-center field that appeared
within range in the second.

But as they rallied, the Brewers looked like a team with potential to be competitive.
Milwaukee struck for three runs in the second with a single, a home run, an infield hit
and a long double.

And Sanchez and Belliard atoned in the Brewers' fifth. After Lenny Harris' pinch-hit
double, Sanchez beat an infield single to third base. Belliard followed with a sacrifice fly,
and Sanchez scored later on Richie Sexson's RBI single.

But it wasn't enough to avoid another numbing loss. The Brewers must finish the season
59-37 (a .720 winning percentage) to avoid a 10th straight losing season.

"But the way we're playing you have to be patient ... and understanding," Royster said.
"It also calls for the players to understand the manager is going to yell and scream. I try
to pick my times that I do that.

"I try to be as honest as I can. I don't think I've held back very much in losses. I try not to
get too excited in wins ... because you don't want to get too high. But yet, our victories
have been so few, you have to enjoy them."

Royster's eight-year-old daughter, Kara, was with dad for all three games of the
weekend series against the Twins. Her presence was evident in the manager's office: a
drawing pinned on his bulletin board amid Major League Baseball legalese, and a portable
video game system on a counter to the side.

Kara sat next to her dad as he taped his pregame show with Brewers broadcaster Bob
Uecker, and got to meet Royster's other "kids;" the 25 ballplayers in Brewers jerseys.

As bench coach, Royster was regarded as a "player's guy,"
the kind of coach players felt comfortable talking to about
anything. Now as manager, Royster's role is different.

"He's the same guy I saw last year, but with a little more thump
to his voice," said Hammonds, who was 1-for-5 with a run
scored Sunday. "Now he's the one being held accountable. So
I hope there is a change. I expect there to be."

Royster, a veteran of eight seasons as a minor league manager, says he knows the role
is different. But he has tried to keep his personality the same.

"I would never change for anything," he said. "I wouldn't know how to, or what to do
differently.

"The guys still joke around with me the same way as when I was a coach. You can see
they're a little more tentative, they're a little reluctant to talk about some of the things we
used to talk about. Hopefully they'll get over that, too."

Infielder Mark Loretta has been battling for playing time under Royster, but said the
skipper has been doing a good job.

"I really do. I think he's tried to stick with that same personality," Loretta said. "It's not
easy. It's not an easy transition."

Loretta celebrated his first Father's Day as a dad Sunday night with wife Hilary and son
Frank, born in Arizona during Spring Training. Royster and the other Brewers dads did
the same.

But on Monday, Milwaukee is at it again. The Brewers and Astros play at Miller Park, the
only game on the Major League schedule.

Adam McCalvy covers the Brewers for MLB.com. This story was not subject to approval
by Major League Baseball or its clubs.