BREWERS' PEN NOT DOING JOB MILWAUKEE'S BELEAGUERED RELIEF CORPS HAS BLOWN SAVES IN FIVE OF THE PAST SEVEN GAMES

Milwaukee Art Museum

     MILWAUKEE -- Mike DeJean struggled to find the exact word to describe the recent problems experienced by the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen. 

     "I'm not sure it's exactly the right word," the struggling closer said, "but it seems like we've lost a little of our focus out there." 

     By losing that focus, the bullpen has drawn a lot of attention, especially after blowing save situations in five of the past seven games, including Friday's 8-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies. 

     It always is most noticeable when a team's designated closer is the one who is victimized, as was the case for DeJean at Minnesota last Sunday and at Houston on Tuesday. It's also happened four other times in 22 save attempts. As a whole, the bullpen has wasted 11 of its 29 save opportunities. 

     "We're right there," manager Ned Yost said, "but we've lost too many games in the eighth and ninth innings." 

      DeJean, whose ERA of 4.79 is stratospheric for a closer, said part of his problem is mechanical. "For whatever reason, I'm not feeling comfortable," he said. 

     Yet DeJean, in his second season as the team's closer, won't run away from the responsibility as long as Yost keeps running him out there. 

     "I talked to (Houston closer) Billy Wagner the other day and he's been in the business for seven years," DeJean recalled. "He reminded me that we don't have a safety net. You've got to love that, and I do." 

     Upon further review 

     Actually, there was no further review by Yost of last night's game in which the Brewers were upset by the balls and strikes calls of home plate umpire Mark Carlson. 

"Didn't even look at it," said Yost, who had said he would review the video of Friday's loss, especially of the eighth inning when he felt reliever Leo Estrella was unfairly squeezed and walked in the lead and insurance run.

     Yost had a simple explanation for not viewing the tape. "What's it going to show me?" Yost said. "Either I made a jerk of myself by getting thrown out of the game or I was dead right. Either way, it still doesn't get me anywhere." 

     Shuffling the rotation 

     Tops on Yost's post All-Star break priority list is finding a way to separate the fourth and fifth starters in his rotation, positions now manned by Matt Ford and Dave Burba. "We've had trouble there," Yost said. 

     The Brewers top three starters -- Ben Sheets, who works this afternoon against the Rockies, Wayne Franklin and Matt Kinney -- have not been spectacular but have combined for a cumulative record of 16-18. The other two spots, manned on occasion by Ruben Quevedo and Glendon Rusch, are a combined 2-16. 

     The struggles in those two spots have placed some undue pressure on the bullpen because Yost doesn't have a reliever capable of working three or four innings of relief. 

If Yost were to keep his regular rotation, Burba and Ford would be scheduled to work the first two games after the break. Don't be surprised if Sheets works the first game after the break (July 17 at Pittsburgh) followed by Ford, Kinney, Franklin and Burba.