Ruben Quevedo's debut with the Brewers was a disaster.
The young pitcher acquired for reliever David Weathers gave up seven runs on eight hits, including two homers, in only three innings against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. Those are heavy numbers for the heavyweight pitcher from Venezuela.
We were told Quevedo was a young phenom based on his numbers for the Cubs' Triple A farm club in Iowa. But, he looked more like the pitcher who struggled to a 3-10 record last season in his first attempt to make it in the big leagues.
To be fair, we shouldn't judge Quevedo or the trade based on only one outing. Quevedo also wasn't the only Brewer to struggle on Saturday, as the Braves posted a 14-2 win at Miller Park.
But, the dismal display serves as the latest blow to the slipping reputation of GM Dean Taylor and the Brewers' baseball operations staff. Have they really demonstrated in tangible terms that they know what they are doing better than Sal Bando and Phil Garner?
Let's hope they do over time.
Sheets Ripped Again
The Brewers' other young pitcher, All Star Ben Sheets, has not won since the All Star break. Sheets gave up seven runs in three innings against the Braves on Sunday.
After he gave up three runs in the first inning, the Brewers came back to give him a 4-3 lead on Richie Sexson's grand slam in the bottom of the first. But, Sheets have up four runs in the third inning, as the Braves batted around.
The Brewers pulled within a run at 7-6, but Sheets gave up another run in the sixth on Brian Jordan's RBI single. He was charged with 10 runs in 5.1 innings.
Braves Dominate
The Brewers never have been able to shake the old ghosts of the Braves, who never had a losing season in Milwaukee. The Braves since they've been in Atlanta have beaten the Brewers 12 of 16 times in Milwaukee and 11 of 21 overall. They truly do act like they still own the place.
Attendance Records
The fans might not be seeing good baseball on a consistent basis, but they continue to come to Miller Park in record numbers. The Brewers surpassed the 2 million mark in attendance for only the second time in their history Friday night. They are a sure bet to set an all-time record since they have already sold more than 2.4 million tickets.
The All Star Game next season also will help give the Brewers a boost, but by the second half of next season the club had better improve on the field to give fans a reason to continue coming to one of the great ballparks in the country.
Marvelous Marv
Marv Pfennig worked his 3,400th game as head of wardrobe for the ushers and concession people Sunday. Of course, most of Marv's games were at County Stadium. He has made the transition to Miller Park. His span includes the Braves and Brewers.
Minor League Awards
Infielder Corey Hart was the Brewers' Player of the Month Award for June while righthanded pitcher Mike Shwam claimed the Pitcher of the Month title.
Hart, 19, batted .330 with six home runs and 27 RBI in 26 games at Ogden, of the Pioneer Rookie League in July. He also had seven doubles, a triple, 26 runs scored and a .592 slugging percentage.
Hart was originally drafted by the Brewers in the 11th round of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. He is 6-0 and 180 pounds and is a switch-hitter.
Shwam, 23, was 4-1 with a remarkable 0.38 ERA and two saves in 11 relief appearances for Class A Beloit of the Midwest League. He allowed just two runs, one earned, in 23.2 innings. Shwam walked just four batters and struck out 23 while opponents batted a meager .143 against him.
Shwam is 6-2 and 200 pounds. He was drafted by the Brewers in the 44th round of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft.
5K Sausage Race Results
Jeremy Burhs of Waukesha won Saturday's 5K Sausage Race presented by Brewers Charities, Inc. A portion of the proceeds from the race will be donated by Brewers Charities, Inc. to the Friends of Milwaukee's Rivers.
Burhs, 20, ran the route in 15 minutes and seven seconds to lead the nearly 1,100 runners, walkers and wheelchair racers in this year's race.
The tour took participants from the Klement's Sausage Haus through Miller Park and finished on the Miller Park pedestrian bridge near the River East parking lot.
The leading female runner was Racine's Paula Moxon, who finished in 18 minutes and 23 seconds.
Gregg Hoffmann writes The Brew Crew Review column on Mondays and Fridays and maintains a special Brewers' message board on OMC. Hoffmann will be on vacation until Aug.13 and will resume his column on Aug. 17. Feel free to hit the message board in his absence.
