WGN Radio is hyping hockey, basketball and even…BEARS football? Attendance is down at both Wrigley and U.S. Cellular Fields. Milwaukee fans are apathetic about northbound traffic from Illinois and no one’s uttered the FIB acronym in weeks.
Wow, the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs must both suck this season. Chicago: your offense is 13th in the league, you’ve scored 234 runs and Ted Lilly hasn’t won a game since his season debut in April. Milwaukee: your pitching is 13th in the league with a team ERA of 5.29. Crack a PBR or a High Life. Either way, you might need it to get through this week’s Disappointment Bowl.
By: Melissa S. Wollering
Both teams were expected to be contenders in the NL Central but not even their storied rivalry is exciting anyone this month.
Before commandeering the Pirate ship, the Cubs dropped five of six, dipped below .500 and settled into 6.5 games out of first in the division. The Brewers bowed lower losing six of eight, sinking eleven games under .500 and hiding 9.5 games behind first place.
This week, Yovani Gallardo, Randy Wolf and Dave Bush will take on Ted Lilly, Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster; proving mediocre pitching paired with mediocre pitching produces… mediocre viewing excitement/anticipation.
The good: A) Gallardo is 6-0 since his first two losses at the beginning of the season, with a 1.93 ERA over ten outings. B) Gatorade machines don’t exist within Miller Park. C) Dave Bush, at the very least, can take solace in the fact his matchup partner is nicknamed after a large trash can.
The bad: A) Ted Lilly is 1-6, hasn’t won a game in seven starts, has a huge lack of run support and needs to win against the Brewers to avoid the longest losing streak of his career. B) Carlos Zambrano isn’t doing much better. C) Dave Bush can’t say much about any of this considering his 1-5 record and 4.97 ERA.
Lilly did pitch well in mid-April against Milwaukee, beating the Crew for the third straight time. If there was ever a team you could use to climb out of a funk, the Brewers would be that team for Lilly. Ironically, Ted is looking to avoid matching the longest skid by a Cubs pitcher since Ryan Dempster – then a reliever – who watched six decisions drop the wrong way for him in 2006.
In contrast, the longest win streak by a Brewers pitcher since CC Sabathia’s 9-0 feast in 2008 is Gallardo’s current 6-0 streak. Carlos Gomez has confidence in Yo. He told reporters that when he comes in and Gallardo is pitching that he knows the team will win that day. Cocky? Nah…brilliantly optimistic and uplifting.
But the Brewers have to do more than pitch to win the I-94 Disappointment Bowl. Remember that nice little three game sweep administered by the Cubs at Miller Park at the end of April? Yeah, the Crew was outscored “just” 25-4. Run support for both teams will be crucial. Bats need to warm up the damp Milwaukee air and infuse excitement back into the rivalry cocktail.
Ultimately, the Baby Bears are 19-8 in Milwaukee throughout the last four seasons, and it doesn’t get any better the further back you search. Therefore, history could repeat itself despite the fact it has been an equally disappointing season for both teams this year. Just grip your beer with more force and drink until both teams start selling off their assets.
“Gettin all worked up over the Cubs comin’ to town, bringin their overpriced Belgians and craft brews from some gentrified neighborhood near Damon Ave. That’s sewer water, that is.
Buyin’ some honest beer and tickets for a tasty price, watchin a good rivalry in West Milwaukee in a place with a retractable roof, that’s livin’ the High Life.” –Fictional Wendall Middlebrooks