Nothing grinds on a baseball fan like watching a great strating pitching performance wasted because the bullpen cant hold a lead. And it's happening way too much for the Milwaukee Brewers this season. Entering Sunday's game the Brewer relievers ranked 28th in the Majors with a 4.56 ERA and 30th with 17 losses. They have blown 11 of 26 save chances. Considering that the team is only 6 1/2 game behind the Reds it clearly shows what a boat anchor the pen has been. Milwaukee signed Livan Hernandez over the weekend to pitch middle relief and spot start. He surely isnt the answer, but continuing to trot Perez, Loe, Dillard & Parra out there isnt either. Marco Estrada will be back and start tomorrow. He isnt great but has his moments. The question now is do you keep Mike Fiers in the rotation or have him pitch out of the pen. He's been very effective as a starter but right now, the bullpen is calling for help and Fiers might be the answer.

Yovanni Gallardo goes tonight against the Reds at 5:35 on WSAU.

One of the few remaining players from the Red Sox championships of 2004 & 2007 has been traded. Kevin Youkilis is heading to the White Sox. He has been injured and lost his job to up and coming rookie Will Middlebrooks. Youkilis, when healthy, has been one of the best hitters in baseball for the last 10 years, and should help fill a glaring hole in the White Sox lineup.

The Woodchucks head back to work tonight after a rare day off. I'll be in the booth with Jim Sannes tonight as the Chucks host Madison at Athletic Park. Pre game at 6:15.

A lost weekend for the Wausau Post 10 Bulldogs Legion team. They went 0-4 at a tournament in Kenosha. The real tough one was a 1-0 loss in the opener on Friday. Post 10 wasted a great pitching performance from Ryan Zweck and just couldnt push a run across. Lafayette Indiana won the game on a bloop single in extra innings.  Post 10 is back in action on Tuesday night hosting Merrill at Athletic Park.

Whenever I go to Kenosha I have to make a trek to Franks Diner for breakfast. They feature what they call the "Garbage Plate". It's really tasty...plus the cooks and waiters basically give you a floor show of jokes, insults and general carrying-on. There motto is 'Be Nice or Leave" and "Order What you Want, Eat What You Get" .

Also visted downtown Racine for the first time and had dinner with friends at a great Italian place called Salute's. It's run by a large Italian family and the patriarch is a survivor of the Viet Nam battle made famous in the Mel Gibson movie "We Were Soldiers". I also sampled Sambuco for the first time...or as the owner called it "good medicine". If you get to Racine I highly recommend this place.

Songs of The Day   (from my I-pod)

Jim Dandy-Black Oak Arkansas (1973) Nothing says early 70's rock like these guys...they actually played a Wausau bar in the early 80's when they were on the downward slide

Jimmy Olsen's Blues-Spin Doctors (1991) This is one of those bands whose first record was really catchy but they really couldnt follow up on it. This video was made by some guy just fooling around...but it's pretty good