Julio Dooms Brewers Against Marlins

I would have put up a picture of the real culprit in this game, Jorge Julio, but clearly the photographer didn't want to spread any of Julio's bad luck onto his camera, as no pictures were found. Look, I realize that Jorge Julio hasn't gotten any real good work in awhile, but that was no reason to put him into the game with the Crew up over the Marlins by two in the 6th. That had to be a decision Ken Macha was regretting the minute he made it, and ultimately it cos Milwaukee the game.

To refresh the situation for you, the Brewers had a very good second inning in which they were able to load the bases. Jason Kendall and Jeff Suppan both walked with the bases loaded, and then Corey Hart was able to single another runner home as the Brewers plated three runs that inning. A Casey McGehee RBI single in the 5th gave the Brewers their fourth run, and things were looking favorable.

But after five innings on the hill, Jeff Suppan had already reached 100 pitches and needed to be lifted. He wasn't pitching all too terribly, the WHIP might have been a little high but he only allowed two runs. Still, he needed to be pulled and the double switch was made, as Mike Cameron needed to come off with an injury (which I believe to be minor).

Enter Jorge Julio. His official stat line - 0.0 IP, 2 hits, 5 runs, 4 earned runs, 1 walk, and 1 hit batter. The Marlins were patient at the plate with Julio and it paid off, as they got their bases loaded runs back that they gave up to the Brewers earlier. Sure, Todd Coffey ended up being the pitcher on the mound when some of the runs scored, but they were Julio's runners and he looked terrible. I think every Brewers fan was calling for his head tonight, and I don't blame them. 

Julio is fine on this roster if he's just going to be our mop-up guy, but there was no excuse to throw him into the game tonight, even if the bullpen was a little weary. Macha would later say that he really didn't have a choice, Julio needed to pitch that inning to stretch the bullpen. Say whatever you want Macha, putting him in was a terrible move.

The question now is, what do we do with Julio? The Brewers are going to need to call up a pitcher tomorrow because DeFelice is a little banged up, but they haven't decided yet whether or not he'll need to be put on the DL. Possible names that could be called up are R.J. Swindle, Nick Green, Chase Wright, and Tim Dillard. All signs are that Julio is going to be the odd man out, but Melvin has been hesitant to release him already, so we'll see.

Regardless, the Crew found themselves down 7-4 after the 6th inning, and that would do it. After a great series against the Reds, this one was a tough one to stomach.

Why not dig a trench? Then the ball would be as low as you seem to wish it to be.

Player of the Game: I don't know, let's go with Casey McGehee, he did alright.

Programming Note: If you missed the live blog I did with the Sports Bubbler on Sunday, I'll be participating in another one tomorrow night, which you'll be able to find right here on The Bucky Channel as well.