He's in there for his bat

As a former catcher, I know the backhanded compliment of "He's in the lineup for his bat." That phrase is one par with, "You don't sweat much for a fat girl." (Brat and Italian Sausage are just chomping at the bit to comment on that) But at the catcher position for the Brewers foe last night was Javier Valentine who is known for his average bat and lack of arm. Coming into the game, he was 0-6 in throwing out runners during 2007.
So you can imagine my frustration in the second inning when Bill Hall lead off with a single and Johnny Estrada decided the best thing he could do was pop-out to the infield. Jenkins, who I'm not sold on as returning to his old form, couldn't put the ball in play either. So there's speedy Bill Hall standing on first base with no attempt to at least get him into scoring position. Just as I was about to start bitching at Yost for not running all over Valentine he sends Hall on a hit-and-run with Mench at the plate who lined a single to left-center scoring Hall. I was satisfied. But Yost wanted to make it up to me. So he sent Mench AND Council with Bush at the plate - with two outs. You know a manager has no respect for your arm when he's double-stealing with the pitcher up and two outs. But not to be outdone by Mench, Bush lined a two-run hit.
You see what happens when you put guys in motion? The Brewers need to remain aggressive on the base paths (but not as idiotic as the Reds run) and put the ball into play. The runs and wins will follow.

I will be attending my first game at Miller Park tomorrow. I'm sure I'll have a report on the first, of hopefully many, journeys to the holy land of Miller Park.