BREWERS WIN ANOTHER THRILLER, 8-5 IN 14 INNINGS
The ESPN.com article after the game contains this...
"Sheets (3-3) gave up two earned runs and seven hits over eight innings in losing his third straight decision. He had one intentional walk and struck out four. Sheets hasn't won since April 20 despite an ERA of 3.34 over his last four starts."

Some writer who wanted to get home early had his work all done and was just waiting for that final out in the ninth to submit his work. Who could blame him? The Brewers were getting mowed down by LIVAN HERNANDEZ, and it was 5-0 heading into the bottom of nine. One problem for that writer, however. The Brewers didn't make that third out in the ninth until they scored 5 runs to tie the game and send it into extra innings. The Brewers ninth went like this...
Ginter fly out to center (1 out). Jenkins solo HR, 5-1 Expos. Overbay strikes out looking (2 outs). Helms walks. Grieve singles to right, Helms to second. (Biddle relieves Hernandez). Moeller singles to center, Helms scores, Grieve to second. 5-2 Expos. Kieschnick bats for Jeff Bennett. Kieschnick doubles, Grieve scores, Moeller to third. 5-3 Expos. Podsednik singles to center, Moeller and Kieschnick score, 5-5. (Bentz relieves Biddle). Counsell walks, Podsednik to second. (L Ayala relieves Bentz). Ginter strikes out looking.

An interesting fact is that the Brewers had the winning run on-base six innings in a row, starting with Podsednik in the ninth.

The game finally came to a close in the 14th. With one out Jenkins singled. Overbay extended his hitting streak to twelve games by singling Jenkins to third. WES HELMS just had to put the ball in play deep and he did that by hitting a towering shot to left-center for his 2nd homerun of the season and an 8-5 Brewers victory. The Crew is now sitting comfortably at .500 (16-16)

KEITH GINTER had a particularly awful night. He went 0-7 with 4 K's, three looking and saw his average drop to .235. He also made a crucial error that led to two runs in the sixth. Games this bad may stand out in a managers head, especially when it's a guy that is fighting for playing time that has it. From my own experience, I know that managers, coaches, fans or anybody watching a baseball game hate seeing a guy strikeout looking. It gives the impression that he's not trying or that he sucks really bad. I'm not saying that it's true or that it is right for people to perceive a player's actions as such, but that's just the reality of it all. NED YOST seems like a patient guy, so he might just brush it off as 'one of those days' for KG.

BEN SHEETS went 8 innings and allowed two earned runs on seven hits, one walk and struck out four. His ERA is now sitting at 3.24, despite his mediocre record. JEFF BENNETT and his flat-brim (dude, that's cool when you're skateboarding, not when you're pitching in the Major Leagues) gave up a two-run jack to BRIAN SCHNEIDER in the top of the ninth to make it 5-0 Expos. DAN KOLB threw a shutout inning, and Luis Vizcaino struck out the side in a scoreless frame. MATT WISE, who was just called up, threw two shutout innings while striking out three. The win went to DAVE BURBA (3-0), who threw a shutout inning in the 14th.

A lot of people discount comeback wins as "just another win". While true, it only counts as one win, there is a psychological aspect to it that can help a team out. After all, these are humans playing the game, not robots. You can't tell me that blowing a 5-run lead in the ninth is "just another loss" or that having an exciting, improbable comeback victory is "just another win". I'm sorry, I'm not buying it.

Top prospect JJ HARDY will most likely miss the rest of the 2004 season because of a dislocated left-shoulder. This is the third time Hardy's left-shoulder has slipped out of place. He is going to get a second opinion before deciding to undergo surgery. This might set back some of the optimism surrounding the Brewers farm system. I think that people have forgotten that all prospects don't pan out. I'm not saying that JJ Hardy still won't be a solid player, but that the odds of Hardy, PRINCE FIELDER, RICKIE WEEKS, BEN HENDRICKSON, DAVE KRYNZLE, COREY HART, BRAD NELSON, MIKE JONES, JORGE DE LA ROSA (okay you get the idea) all paning out are very slim.