Fort Simcoe Go Boom

At the junction of Highway 3 and Highway 24, due south of Brantford, Simcoe, Ontario, in 1983, an April Fools gag was pulled on the Milwaukee Brewers. John Berton Axford was born. This is the same town where famed Los Angeles Kings hockey star, Rob Blake was born. In fact, a gaggle of hockey players come from Simcoe. Jassen Cullimore, Hall of Famer Red Kelly, Andrew Penner, Dwayne Roloson, Ryan VandenBussche and Rick Wamsley all called Simcoe home.

Maybe Axford should have stayed with hockey. After a wonderful first and second year, everything has been crashing down. So far through Wednesday this year, ‘Boom Boom’ Axford has given up 6 home runs in 11 1/3^rd innings.

Momma’s of Simcoe, don’t let your boys grow up to be baseball pitchers.

On Friday, during the second game with their biggest rivals, the Brewers lost for the third straight game. Axford came in for one inning and retired the side. However, on Sunday, when mopping up and the fifth straight loss at hand, the man from Simcoe allowed two hits, walked two, had an earned run and left after 1/3^rd of an inning with the bases loaded. For those interested, that’s a WHIP of 12.00 and an ERA of 27.00. It was not a week to remember.

Momma’s of Simcoe, your boy went boom.

Al Hrabosky, a former St. Louis relief pitcher known as ‘The Mad Hungarian’ once said, “When I’m on the road, my greatest ambition is to get a standing boo.”

For the good citizens of Milwaukee, these are trying days and it is getting harder and harder not to rain down boos upon the fellow from Simcoe. Their once electric closer now has an ERA of 9.95 with no saves for the year and a WHIP of 1.97 all in 12.2 innings pitched. It’s time he visits Nashville and tries to get the kinks out of his mechanics. If not, the risk Roenicke takes the next time he signals in the ‘Sieve from Simcoe’ is loss of confidence in his leadership. ‘The Sieve’ is creating a cancer on the pitching staff. How can Henderson and the rest of the pen build trust in their existence?

Fort Simcoe go boom.

Play Ball!

From The Navy Yard To Pigsville And Beyond

In case you are living under a rock, baseball fever is at an all-time high due to the expanded playoff spots now up for grabs. It is pandemonium in the parks. All you have to do is watch the Fightin’s and the BrewCrew to see what’s happening. Both teams, picked to finish near or at the top of their divisions before the season began, struggled to find their bearings throughout the summer. But now when the window is closing fast, both Philadelphia and Milwaukee are putting together winning streaks that are defying the odds.

As of this morning, both teams are closing in. The Phillies are only one game behind in the loss column and the Brewers two games behind because the Dodgers pulled off another great 9th inning rally to beat St. Louis and tie the Cardinals for the wild card spot. That leads us all to the next question: if you tie for the Wild Card at the end of the season, do you have a one game playoff? And, where would that game be played? How is it determined? Let’s not forget the D’Backs. There are only 4 games out in the loss column.

Wild Card fever is not only limited to the National League. In the American League, there is an insane rush  for the playoffs going on as well. The Amazing A’s not only are in the driver’s seat for the Wild Card spot, they are only 2 1/2 games behind the mighty Texas Rangers for the top spot in the AL West. Baltimore, behind their Manager of the Year candidate, Buck Showalter, are three games ahead of the payroll laden Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the unbelievable Tampa Bay Rays and the powerful Detroit Tigers. For everyone who wants a final half month of the season to be up for grabs, you’ve got it this year.

The Angels are another interesting story in all of this. With a payroll that is bigger than most, along with an amazing AL Rookie of the Year candidate in Mike Trout, they continue to stumble when they need it the most. The latest Scioscia Slip occurred last night in Kansas City where former Royal’s Cy Young Award winner, Zach Greinke, the former Brewer earlier in the season, took the mound and was Greinkesque. He masterfully shut out his former team for 8 innings. Then Scioscia, as only he can do, decided to let him go  back out to the mound for he 9th. With the pitch count running into the low 100s, Greinke had not finished  a complete game in years. But if Big Mike wills it, it will happen.

Or not.

Greinke got the first two out before he gave up a single into left. Now Mike the Merciless jumped out of the dugout and immediately called for a reliever who promptly gave up a game tying home run and then the winning home run, back-to-back. If you could have seen Greinke’s face in the dugout when Billy Butler slammed the game tying home run, you would have been whisked back to an earlier few days in the season when he had the same experiences while a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. Deja Vu all over again.

How quickly we come full circle back to Pigsville’s favorite ball park. Last night the Crew unloaded against the Mets only to see Scoscia’s disciple, Ron Roenicke bring in Axford in the ninth inning with a big lead. Axford promptly made the game interesting as he gave up his usual runs in the 9th. But unlike what happened in KC or in Dodger Stadium, the game at Miller Park ended with no more runs scoring.

We’re in for a great final few weeks in September. As Jim Murray said, “The charm of baseball is that as  dull as it may be on the field, it is endlessly fascinating as a rehash.”

Play Ball!