Brewers are on fire. Cubs in 2nd in the NLC and leading the wild card. I call it the battle of the Irish. Milwaukee HC Pat Murphy vs. his former boss and player at ND, Cubs HC Craig Counsell.
Murphy is becoming a folk hero in MKE. Demeanor is like a 1950s manager. Pulled a pancake out of his pocket to munch on while being interviewed by an attractive female sideline reporter from Apple TV after Friday’s game. Also known to scrounge through pizza boxes left outside of hotel rooms for late night snacks and being caught on camera in the dugout dropping F cluster bombs. I thought the Brewers were in trouble after losing Counsell who was outstanding in MKE but his former manager/subordinate has provided a seamless transition.
Meanwhile the Astros continue to bleed out with a sweep by the Red Sox. They beat both Hunter Brown and Framble Valdez. Our once big lead of 7 games is now 2.5 games. The Mariners really bolstered their lineup with their Trade Deadline additions. The addition of Carlos Correa was a good one though.
Re: Pat Murphy, he basically built the ND Baseball program before he left for greener pastures in Arizona. He begged the AD for the job when he came to ND, was a subway fan for all his life and just wanted to be at ND.
Bobda, it looks like both fan bases have prospered. I love Milwaukee. I've only been there once, the time I called you, but I found it to be a beautiful city and surrounding area. We went to a Brewers game when I was there. I believe there's a mutual respect behind the rivalry. I was impressed by the Brewers' tribute to Ryne Sandberg during the recent series with the Cubs. I hope both teams make the playoffs, but I also hope the Brewers cool off, and the Cubs sneak around them into first place.
Tribe sweeps the Mets. Gavin Williams had a no-hitter going with one out in the ninth when Soto torched a good fastball for a home run. Got one more out and then walked a guy and was relieved. What was really cool was that the New York fans gave him a standing ovation. Classy.
Some milestones are quickly forgotten! SAN FRANCISCO -- Justin Verlander added another memorable chapter to his legendary pitching career Sunday, yet was hardly in the mood to celebrate. Verlander struck out the side in the first inning against the Nationals to become the 10th pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,500 career strikeouts. Not long after, things began to unravel for the three-time Cy Young Award winner as the Giants dropped an 8-0 decision to Washington in front of 40,000 fans at Oracle Park.
This story is familiar to Astros fans as well. At one time we were down 7 games to the Mariners, but they hit the skids and we had a great month and ended up 7 games, now we're like the Dodgers and struggling while the Mariners are playing well. Result that 7 game lead is gone and we are barely hanging on to a 1 game lead. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It was only six weeks ago, on July 3, that the Los Angeles Dodgers held a nine-game lead in the National League West, with their 12th division title in 13 years seen as a foregone conclusion. They have since won only 12 of 33 games. Now, after being swept by the neighboring Los Angeles Angels, the Dodgers find themselves trailing the San Diego Padres -- the team they will host for a highly anticipated series this weekend -- by one game. "Obviously, it doesn't feel good to fall into second place and to lose a lot of these games," said Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani, speaking through an interpreter, after a 6-5 loss at Angel Stadium on Wednesday night. "We're doing everything in our power, having close meetings, doing everything that we can to try to right the ship. We just have to do a better job."
Cleveland playing catch up....lost 10 games in a row and were thought to be dead...since then they have gone something like 21-9 and are only a half game out of Wild Card spot. Not going to mention that they started out with sweeping the Astros.
Cleveland played so well in that series it was hard to understand why they were on such a losing streak.
Astros avoided the no hitter by getting a dribbler that only the pitcher could get to and it was a slow dribbler and he couldn't make the throw in time and so we got a cheap hit. I almost felt bad that he lost his no hitter and perfect game on a crummy hit like that. Still got a shutout tossed at us.
Bobda's Brewers are on fire again! 13 game streak. Pat Murphy certainly pushing all the right buttons.
Got number #14 this evening! Pitching has been outstanding and it seems that the Brewers have a different hero every game. Yesterday it was Yelich and tonight it was Montesario, a utility infielder, who hit a first pitch 3-run homer in the 11 to provide the cushion for the win on the road against the Reds. Murphy has really installed a culture of mental toughness and paying attention to details into this team.
Although he was Counsell's assistant, Murphy was his mentor, having coached him at ND. As sad as I am at the Cubs' post-ASG drop-off, I'm happy for Murphy, who was the ND coach when my son was there.