J-Rod's 6th Post: "State of the Brewers: It's a long season..."

Calm down Brewers fans, we're only 81 innings into the 2009 season.

Of course a 3-6 overall record and 2-4 mark at home isn't exactly the position we had hoped to be after nine games, but, considering that we're only 0.055% into the season, it's hardly the time to panic.

Consider this:

1)Apart from the 7-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants on April 9, the Brewers have had a legitimate chance to win every game. The Crew could easily have two more W's minus a blown save by fill-in closer Carlos Villanueva on April 11 against the hated Chicago Cubs and a six-run third inning meltdown by Yovani Gallardo this past Monday against the Cincinnati Reds. While a 5-4 record would look nice...peek around the rest of the league and you'll see the Boston Red Sox sitting at 3-6, the Minnesota Twins at 4-6, the defending American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays at 4-5, and the Arizona Diamondbacks at 3-6. Come October, I still expect at least two of these teams to be sitting atop their respective divisions.

2) Our starting pitching has been pathetic. It's hard to believe we're only third-to-last in the Major Leagues in walks allowed with 43 (only the Braves & Indians have been worse!). It's one thing to put guys on base, but when you start walking consecutive batters with the bases loaded, now we have a problem....*cough* Jeff Suppan. But once this bunch starts pounding the strike zone and gives the team a better chance to win ballgames, things will get interesting.

3) We rank #28 in hitting! Really, if Mike "I swear I'm off the juice" Cameron hadn't gotten off to the start that he has, we'd rank dead last. Check out these batting averages: Prince Fielder (.200), JJ Hardy (.156), Ryan Braun (.212), and Jason Kendall (.120). Manager Ken Macha said it best before yesterday's game in stating that it's evident a lot of these guys are trying to start the year off with a "bang" and are simply swinging at bad pitches. Once these guys settle down and let the game come to them, this offense will give a lot of opposing pitchers' nightmares.

I predicted before the season this team would finish with an 84-78 record, which should put them in the race for the Division (if the Cardinals come back to Earth) or Wild Card come October. Look for GM Doug Melvin to pull the trigger again this season at the trading deadline & make a move for a Jake Peavy-type impact in order to keep the fanbase excited & season attendance again near the 3 Million mark.

But more importantly, Mallards Opening Day is only 45 days, 21 hours, and 24 minutes away....

Liz's 4th post: The great baseball/softball debate

As I mentioned in my last blog I am a pretty big softball fan. I am also a big baseball fan, but when it comes down to knowing stats and players, I am better versed in softball than baseball. Good thing I have the guys in the office and my roommate Jake to keep me updated on all that is happening in Major League Baseball.

Nick mentioned in his last blog that one of his favorite times of the year is March Madness, and although there is always great basketball played during the tournament, one of MY favorite times of the year is the College Softball World Series. It is game after game of great softball being played by the top teams in the nation and you get to see the top players. Although there is the National Pro Fastpitch League, the College Softball World Series is still the most watched softball tournament of the year. Even if many of you may have little interest in softball, I'd like to continue to spend the rest of the blog comparing some of the top softball players to some of the top Major Leaguers.

To start, the obvious softball standout softball player is Jenny Finch. I would compare her to Nolan Ryan. Finch has played softball since she was 5 and has been pitching since she was 8. She was a 3 sport athlete in high school, but always had her focus on softball. She spent her college years playing for the University of Arizona, playing for one of the most successful coaches in softball history, Mike Candrea, and taking Arizona to a National Championship in 2001. Finch recorded 109 wins in her college career and suffered no losses as a junior. Finch also played first base when she wasn’t pitching. In her college career she struck out 1,028 batters and topped out at 71 mph. Now remember, college softball pitches from 43 feet, so a 71 mph "riseball" is equivalent to a 100 mph fastball in baseball, which is why Finch is the Nolan Ryan of softball. She has also thrown several no-hitters like Ryan and has had her number retired! The biggest difference between Finch and Ryan is that Finch has typically been on winning teams and Ryan has often played on mediocre teams. Finch is widely known as the most famous softball player of all time and is currently pitching for the Chicago Bandits and married to free agent pitcher Casey Daigle.

Next we have Crystl Bustos who is the Prince Fielder/David Ortiz of softball. Now I must say I am comparing her to Fielder and Ortiz because in my opinion they are two of the top hitters in baseball, which is due to the fact that I am a big Brewers fans and a big fan of Ortiz. Bustos is one of the top hitters in softball history and was named the 2008 USA Softball player of the year. She plays 3rd base, but is typically utilized as a designated player. Bustos is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and one-time silver medalist. She holds the world record for home runs during a series with six. Bustos got her big shot in the 2004 Olympics when she replaced Dot Richardson at shortstop and was only 23 at the time. With Bustos at shortstop Team USA had one of the most solid infields of all time. She went on to hit .346 in the ’04 Olympics with 10 runs batted in and 6 home runs. As for her fielding, she had 9 starts with a perfect fielding percentage. Bustos on-base percentage is off the charts has she is often intentionally walked, much like Fielder or Ortiz when they are in a crucial at-bat. Like Fielder and Ortiz, Bustos is known as one of the biggest power hitters in all of softball. Bustos is currently playing for the Akron Racers out of Ohio and has retired from international play.

I know I only covered two players; however, they are two of the top players in softball. Stay tuned to future blogs as I continue to compare softball greats to baseball legends.

Oh I almost forgot, feel free to write in to the Olympics commission and tell them to bring softball back as an Olympic sport!

Thanks for reading!