Monday, June 13, 2011

Game Sixty Seven: Cubs 1, Brewers 0

Box Score

It's tempting to blame this loss on Kameron Loe for giving up the winning run, Ryan Braun for miss-playing a ball in left field, Rickie Weeks for an off-target throw to the plate, or Ron Roenicke for calling for an ill-fated suicide squeeze. But the fact of the matter is that you generally need to get more than six baserunners and one run to win a game. This loss falls on the shoulders of the offense, and I hope it was just one of those games rather than the Brewers' road woes returning. That said, I want to discuss the squeeze play.

I agree with the call. The game was tied at 0-0, the Brewers were bats were more like wet noodles, and there was a runner on third with one out. More importantly, Randy Wolf was ahead in the count 3-1. The last thing you want to do is walk to opposing pitcher, so odds were Wolf was going to see a fastball. Instead he whiffed at ball-four and Betancourt was dead to rights. All things considered, it was a good risk to take, even though is ultimately demonstrated why the play is called a suicide squeeze.

I hate losing to the Cubs and I hate watching the Brewers bats go silent on the road. But the recent play of the Brewers has me feeling optimistic, so I will classify this game as "one of those stinkers that you can't avoid" and look forward to tomorrow.

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