PRINCE FIELDER RIPS 50TH HOMERUN IN BREWERS WIN
September 26, 2007
Prince Fielder hit a pair of home runs Tuesday night to become the youngest player to hit 50 home runs in a season as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-1 as the Brewers moved to with 2 games of the Chicago Cubs in the race for the NL Central title.
Fielder’s feats overshadowed the fact that the Brewers drew within two games of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central — and Brewers owner Mark Attanasio’s assertion that manager Ned Yost doesn’t have to worry about his job for next season.
Fielder hit a two-run home run to right field in the first inning and a opposite field two-run shot in the seventh inning as he surpassed Willie Mays to become the youngest player ever to hit 50.
Fielder is 23 years, 139 days old as he put his name in the record books surpassing one of baseball’s all-time greatest stars. Mays was 24 years, 137 days old when he hit his 50th home run in 1955, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Fielder has clearly asserted himself as the front runner for the National League MVP Award. Fielder leads the National league with 50 home runs after Tuesday nights game. Fielder is third in the National league with 119 runs batted in. Fielder also leads the National league with a slugging percentage of .625.
Fielder faces his strongest competition for the Colorado Rockies left fielder Matt Holiday. Holiday leads the National League with 131 runs batted in. Holiday is second in batting average at .338, second in slugging percentage at .608, and he is currently fourth in home runs at 36.
Fielder is a clear cut favorite to win the award especially if he leads the Brewers to the NL Central title and their first post season appearance in 25 years. The last time Milwaukee advanced to the post season was in 1982 when they lost in the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
With the past history of the Chicago Cubs, the Milwaukee Brewers could sneek into the playoffs as this years Cinderella team and rumor has it a Brewers fan delivered a goat to Wrigley Field on Monday.
Can you say the curse of the Cubs is back and if the goat don’t work rumor has it Steve Bartman will be in the stands this weekend at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
NED YOST FIGHTING FOR THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS
September 25, 2007
Ned Yost has six games left headed into Tuesday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park in Milwaukee not only to save a very promising season that has gone south, but to save his job as the manager of the Brewers.
The Brewers enter play Tuesday night three games behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central and will need a miracle if they are to get to the post season for the first time since 1982 when they went to World Series where they eventually lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
The Brewers at one time this summer had a 8 1/2 game lead in the NL Central. They where the hottest team in baseball and should’ve been on cruise control toward their first post season bid in 25 years. Thats when the Brewers began their downward spiral and it all began with Yost’s decisions on the field, especially his questionable calls with his bullpen.
Baseball is played over a six month period and a lot of things change over the course of a season. Players go through streaks all season long and when a player isn’t performing on the field, sometime a manager has no decision but to sit his star. Unfortunately for Brewers fans, Yost decided to stick by Derrick Trunbow as his setup man.
Turnbow and closer Francisco Cordero gave Milwaukee the best closing combination in the major leagues for the first two months of the season. Both players were virtually hitless as Turnbow took care of the 8th inning and Cordero was lights out in the 9th inning as the Brewers closer.
Then June came around and for some reason Turnbow hit a wall. Turnbow has some of the nastiest stuff in the major leagues but if you can’t throw the ball across the plate for strikes in the major leagues, you probably should not have a job.
In a sight all too familiar to Brewers fans this summer and fall, Yost would call on Turnbow in the 8th inning of a game which Milwaukee was leading. Turnbow would come in and pounce his first two pitch 10 feet in front of the plate and eventually walk the lead-off hitter and then proceed to walk the next batter in the same fashion.
Then the next batter knew exactly what was coming, a TBow fastball right down the pipe which they teed off on and usual sent flying out of the park. Ned Yost could then be seen, like clock work, walking to the mound with his head down and grabbing the ball from Turnbow now with his Brewers trailing in the game in which they eventually went on to lose.
Yost and Brewers fans across the country need a miracle this week if they plan on keeping their season alive come October. Do I believe that Ned Yost deserves to manage the Brewers in the future - yes but with one exception. When it comes down to pitching personnel and decisions, those decision should rest in the hands of the Brewers pitching coach, Mike Maddox.