Nick gives Reds a Neugie

Just when this writer cautioned everybody to not expect too much from Nick Neugebauer right away, the 21-year-old rookie threw a "neugie" at the Reds in an outstanding major league debut.

Where I come from a "neugie" was an unwanted head rub, often administered by the neighborhood bully from a headlock position. He would rub with his knuckles until it felt like your scalp was on fire. Well, Neugebauer bullied the Reds for five innings Sunday, while every Brewers' fan cheered him on.

Neugebauer held the Reds to three hits in five innings, after giving up no hits in the first four innings. He struck out nine and walked three. In short, Neugebauer, the youngest pitcher to start this season in the National League, was outstanding in the Brewers' 6-3 win.

I still issue words of caution. In fact, they might even be needed more after such an impressive debut.

But, Neugebauer showed poise, decent control and an ability to use his slower breaking stuff along with an explosive fastball.

Neugebauer looked very nervous as he walked the first batter, Todd Walker. But he struck out the next three, including Ken Griffey Jr. on a 97 miles-per-hour burner, to retire the side.

He then started the second inning by striking out Dmitri Young. It wasn't until the fifth inning that the Reds started to catch up with him.

Pokey Reese singled, stole second and went to third when catcher Henry Blanco's throw sailed into center field. Reese scored on Wilton Guerrero's infield single. Walker also had a single in the inning, but that was it for the Reds. Nick gave them one smarting "neugie."

Now, the Brewers have to figure out what to do with Neugebauer. His next scheduled start would be Friday at Miller Park against the Colorado Rockies.

To make room for him in the rotation, somebody would have to be sent to the bullpen. Allen Levrault would seem like the most likely candidate since Mac Suzuki has looked good in recent games.

Neugebauer's debut isn't the only reason for Brewers' fans to feel good. The Brewers won their second straight series on the road and recorded their first sweep in Cincinnati since June 22-24 against the Cubs. They were smart enough not to don any sweep suits this time.

Jeromy Burnitz extended his hitting streak to 13 games. For the first time this season, Burnie is carrying the team like only he can during a hot streak.

Devon White and Jose Hernandez had good series against the Reds. So did Lou Collier, who along with Mark Sweeney, has given the Brewers some more consistent contact hitting since being called up from Indianapolis.

Mike Coolbaugh, another recent callup, went 2-for-4 in one of the games against the Reds. Catcher Kevin Brown, called up to replace the injured Raul Casanova, also got into the act with two homers Saturday in his first game with the Brewers this season.

Maybe one of the positives about the Brewers' horrendous slump and injuries will end up being that the team finds a few players who can contribute more than originally thought.

So, hey, live it up a little. You deserve to feel good after suffering through the last month or more.

Hopefully, the Brewers can continue to make you feel good during a five-game series in Wrigley Field this week. As mentioned earlier, the last time the Brewers played there they pulled off a sweep that had them within a few games of first place.

That's not the situation now, but the Brewers can still have an impact on the NL Central race in the series, since the Cubs are in the thick of it with the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals.

If the Brewers would win three or four games at Wrigley, they could hurt the Cubs, who are coming off a tough series at Arizona.

The Brewers also have seven games left with the Astros and Cardinals so they also could play spoilers against those teams.