The Brewers winning 7 in a row was an unfamiliar sight Wednesday night, but there was another unfamiliar sight in Bush stadium, Gagne warming up for a potential save.

With CC going for his third complete game and Torres having pitched the last 4 games (and two innings the previous game), Gagne started warming up in the bottom of the 9th and the Brewers were leading 3-0. For CC to get pulled, he would have to give up at least 1 runner, and that would have put the game into a save situation. I believe Riske was warming up as well, but from the two pitchers body language, it looked like Gagne would have gotten the call.

If Gagne could get his form back and be the 8th inning guy, that would be huge for the Brewers. Gagne had a very shaky start to the season, but if he could get some of his old form back and handle the 8th, the Brewers could have some of that 1-2 they had back when Turnbow and Cordero where 8-9.

I hope and think Yost will give him a chance. He is pitching better since coming back from the DL, on Monday against the Cardinals he pitched very well, completing the inning and striking out two. Sometime between now and September I think Yost will make him the setup guy for a stretch of games, hopefully giving him 4 chances in a row. Of course Yost will never say what he is doing, but if you see Gange pitch 4-5 games in a row, that is what is going on.

If he can regain some of his form and be the setup guy going into September/October, that will really bolster the bullpen. If he can't that will just solidify that signing as one of the worst in the offseason.

The second half of July looks very interesting for the Brewers.

They start out on a 7 game road strech, but the good part is they get to start out rested after the break, and against a bad San Fransisco team who is 40-55. Then they go to St. Louis for four, a division rival and 1.5 games between the Brewers and the NL wild card spot.

After the road trip we get an almost mirror image 7 at home. The first 3 are against the struggling Astros, 44-51, then 4 against the Cubs. I don't really have to tell you the Cubs are leading the Brewers by 5 games right now.

If the Brewers start the second half of the season off hot, things will get very interesting.

Note: A while ago I said I gave up on playoffs and was hoping the Brewers would play .500 ball. Well, adding CC changed all that. I'm not sure we can catch the Cubs, but I think the wildcard is in plaly for sure.

   Welcome to a new age Brewers fans. For the first time in 25 years the Brew crew are buyers instead of sellers late in the season. They definately had to give up a lot to get a lot, but I do believ this one will prove to be well worth it. It's sad to see an awesome prospect like Matt LaPorta leave the Brewers system, but he is after all just that, a prospect. What the Brewers gained in this deal was the prospect of reaching the post season for the first time in a quarter century. We gained the prospect of getting to see C.C. Sabathia, reigning A.L. Cy Young award winner, pitching at the top of his game while inserted into a rotation including Iron Man Sheets and Boy Wonder Parra. The Cubs meanwhile have gained the prospect of another year of futility tagged on to the hundred or so they've piled up already.

   With this move the Brewers have become the team to beat in the N.L. I know the Chubs and Cardinals still have better records, but they are floundering. The Crew has the second best record in all of baseball over the last month and a half, and it seems like half the team hasn't even hit it's stride yet. When Fielder finally gets hot, Cameron stops striking out and Hall gets Lasik, this team while surpass scary and become downright terrifying for the opponents. On the other side of the ball all the teams will have to deal with will be the potential flurry of fast balls from one of our three Aces.

   I can not wait to tailgate in October.

The Brewers beat the Diamondbacks last night 8-6.

The Brewers were up 7-1 in top of the fourth, so it really should not have been that close, but at least they added an insurance run in the eigth.

The thing that really struck me was the Brewers team that beat the Diamondbacks. Rivera at first, Dillon at second, Kapler at center, and Torres closing. That is 4 out of 10 positions that are being filled in because of performance. Haurdicourt makes it seem like Rivera was in for Fielder because Fielder is slumping. Kapler is in for Cameron because Cameron can't hit. Dillon is in for Weeks for the same reason, and Torres is in for Gange because Gange is "hurt", and by "hurt" I mean can't throw strikes.

Considering the under performance of Fielder, Weeks, Hall, Cameron, and Gange, the Brewers are playing really well. On the other hand, consider what the central would look like if only two of those players played up to the hype.