Brewers losing in fifth inning

Folks, I am so frustrated with Milwaukee Brewers manager Ron Roenicke right now that I want to scream.

Remember my earlier blog post, where I said that Shaun Marcum, tonight’s starting pitcher, didn’t look really good?  (I said he was OK.  Not awful, but not great, and that I fully expected Marcum to be gone early.)

Well, apparently Roenicke has a whole lot more faith in Marcum than I do despite Marcum’s last four outings, where he compiled a 6.66 ERA.  When Marcum started to falter, quite predictably, in the fifth inning, Roenicke didn’t even have anyone warming up in the bullpen.

Just a few minutes ago, Paul Goldschmidt, a rather unheralded first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks, hit a grand slam HR off Marcum to put the D-backs ahead 7-1.  Marcum, finally and mercifully, was lifted; just like his last start, Marcum lasted only 4 2/3 innings and looked, at best, like he has a tired arm.  (Or, quite possibly, that there may be some problem with Marcum’s arm — he hasn’t looked like the same pitcher for a month.)

Now Kameron Loe has been brought in, and another run has scored.  The Brewers are now down 8-1.

This happens in baseball, as it’s rare in the postseason to win all games (“sweep the series”) because both teams, demonstrably, are good ones that have played well all season long.  And a good team that’s finally managed to get a home game, like the D-backs, usually manages to win at least one game (the 2008 Brewers, vastly overmatched by the Philadelphia Phillies, won their first home game in ’08 behind then-Brewers pitcher Dave Bush), so the D-backs doing well tonight is not a surprise.

As of right now, it looks like it’ll be up to Brewers left-handed starting pitcher Randy Wolf tomorrow night to lock this series down for the Brewers unless there’s a major rally in store from the Brewers big bats.  I’m confident that, providing the Brewers cannot rally tonight, Wolf will pitch well tomorrow and the Brewers will close out the series in four games.

DWTS Results; Brewers Game in Progress

After a few hours worth of editing, I turned to two of my favorite things to do: watch “Dancing with the Stars,” and continue to follow the Milwaukee Brewers in their National League Division Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Thus far, the Brewers are leading the series 2-0, and with Shaun Marcum pitching tonight, there’s a good chance that the Brewers can wrap things up this evening if all goes well.

In tonight’s game so far, Marcum gave up two runs in the first inning but has otherwise been OK.  (Not great, but not bad, either.)  And Corey Hart hit a home run in the top of the third to cut the lead to 2-1, which is where the game stands as it enters the bottom of the third inning.  My estimate as of now would be that the Brewers bullpen should be ready to go early, perhaps as early as the fourth inning if Marcum doesn’t regain any momentum; this game will definitely be up to the bullpen to win as it stands.

As for DWTS, the results show was one of the more unusual ones in recent memory because Kristin Cavallari — one of this season’s better dancers — went home rather than Chaz Bono (called safe early), the lowest scorer, Nancy Grace, who despite her name is far less than graceful, and David Arquette, who got scores that were much better than he deserved last night.  Note that both Bono and Arquette danced the rhumba, while Grace danced the waltz; Cavallari had the demanding samba, and was the only dancer last night who had to perform that difficult dance.

Now, what probably sent Cavallari home early is her lack of name recognition.  She’s best-known for being Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler’s ex-fiancée and for her stint playing herself on “The Hills,” and her very first words on DWTS were something to the effect of how she’s really not “the b-word” (as this is a family-friendly blog, I won’t quote the word she did say that rhymes with witch) and that she hoped people would give her a chance.

Though I am no fan of Mark Ballas (he annoys me, and has for several seasons, most noticeably with former partner Bristol Palin and their “gorilla dance,” where both danced in gorilla masks and outfits), he actually toned it down this season and I was able to see his partner’s potential.   So while I wasn’t on board the “Kristin train” (as Mary Murphy of “So You Think You Can Dance” would most likely put it), I definitely wasn’t against her and enjoyed watching her dance.

What I think happened is exactly what DWTS host Tom Bergeron suggested; voters assumed Cavallari would be safe and voted for those they felt would be in jeopardy, such as Bono (the night’s lowest scorer), Arquette (he’d been in the bottom two the week before, so people knew he needed help) and Grace (though I honestly don’t know who’s voting for her, I can see where people might think she needed help).  Also, the clips from last night’s show for Bono, Arquette, and Grace were all much more stirring than Cavallari’s, and that, too, might’ve been a factor in how people voted.  (To sum up: Bono danced to a song his father Sonny Bono wrote called “Laugh at Me,” which resonated with the crowd due to Bono’s overall likeability; Arquette confessed to his battle with alcoholism and laid the blame for his marital problems solely on his own shoulders; Grace nearly died in childbirth with her twins.  While Cavallari hasn’t had that level of drama in her life by a mile; she’s only twenty-four, while Bono, Arquette and Grace are all at least forty years old.)

At any rate, the important thing to know is that Cavallari is out, though if someone else gets injured or withdraws, she might be called back as she was definitely a favorite of the judges.  She also might be asked to dance with her partner, Ballas, on the results show just to show some more of her developing skills — this has happened before with someone who was truly eliminated too soon.  Or something else good may come of this for all I know, as last night Cutler was in the DWTS audience and there was a photograph of the pair this morning, holding hands; perhaps this experience will help the pair down the road.

As I have been voting for Bono and Lacey Schwimmer (Bono’s professional partner) from the beginning (I will continue to do so as long as Bono lasts, partly because I like him but mostly because I really enjoy Schwimmer’s dancing as she is my favorite DWTS pro), I would’ve been unlikely to vote for Cavallari because I knew Bono and Schwimmer would need a lot of help.  Maybe many people were like me, and wanted to see Bono’s journey because he’s so likeable, and because we can tell how hard he’s working, and because his pro, Schwimmer, is also quite likeable as well.

All that being said, the people I had firmly expected to be in the B2 this week were Grace and Arquette, with Grace going home.  When those two were called safe, I was shocked — but really, it’s the judges fault for not putting those two far lower as they both were (I’m sorry to say) awful.  And had the judges given those two, Arquette and Grace, the low scores they truly deserved as they should’ve been right down there with Bono, it’s quite possible one of them would’ve gone home and we’d have Cavallari’s performance and showmanship skills to look forward to next week rather than two more insipid performances by Grace and Arquette.

Dancer Lacey Schwimmer Tells Critics to “Zip It”

This week, controversy swirled around “Dancing with the Stars” cast member Lacey Schwimmer, a professional dancer, because supposedly at 5’3″ and being a size six, she’s “too fat.”  As this isn’t the first time her weight has been talked about in a derogatory manner, Schwimmer has apparently had enough.

Here’s what she said here about these critics:

There’s nothing I can do about except let it go and get over it,” she told In Touch, adding two simples words for would-be critics, “Zip it!”

Let me try to explain how asinine it is that anyone would criticize this woman over her weight.  Schwimmer, 23, is a size six.  She dances for a living, so most of her body is toned muscle, as she is fit and in shape.  She doesn’t have an ounce of flab on her, as the skimpy costumes the DWTS female pros often wear will show anyone who has any sense at all.  And while she’s probably the curviest dancer on the show, that doesn’t mean her weight is too high; on the contrary.  It means most of the other dancers need to gain weight.

Schwimmer seems to have a healthy body image, as the following quote shows:

“I have boobs, I have a huge butt and I have a lot of muscle,” the 23-year-old dancer told In Touch magazine, via the UK’s Daily Mail. “I like having curves – I’m proud of them!”

And I say, “Good for her!”  Because if a woman who is a normal weight, who’s toned, fit, and in shape, is getting so much criticism, what chance do those of us who truly are “big, beautiful women” (also known as “full figured,” which are the kinder ways to say a larger than average size) have of being portrayed accurately in the media with any empathy at all?