With the Brewers opening up a 5 1/2 game lead in the wild-card race with only a month to go in the season, things are looking pretty good for their first post-season appearance since 1982. Still, after last year's collapse, fans are a little jumpy in Brewerland. In Milwaukee, there's nothing that stirs worry quite like Ben Sheets being mysteriously pinch-hit for after mowing down the Mets in 54 pitches through five innings. That is, however, exactly what happened this afternoon. After information was initially sparse, the Brewers Blog is reporting that Sheets left his start today with "tightness in his groin." That's pretty unremarkable and makes this move sound precautionary (which fits the Brewers Blog's earlier description of Sheets being in the dugout after being pinch hit for). That's probably all we'll know for a while and it won't be until the game ends that we hear anything at all from the Brewers.
I know with Sheets the tendency is to assume the worst (and for good reason), but with the Brewers opening up a rather massive lead in the wild card, this is probably a move along the same lines as Carlos Zambrano skipping his start yesterday. With rosters expanded and the playoffs looming, giving the notoriously oft-injured Sheets some down time is probably a good idea for the Brewers.
