Top 2: Raul Ibanez struck out swinging against Yovani Gallardo

Top 4: struck out swinging against Gallardo

Top 6: struck out swinging against Gallardo

Top 9: struck out swinging against John Axford

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: Ibanez added to his impressive -1.1 fWAR on Sunday when he collected his first golden sombrero of the season against the Brew Crew.  In defense of the 39-year-old (wow), Gallardo was absolutely nasty on Sunday as he fanned 12 over seven innings.  For those of you who didn’t realize he was that old, then get this: the Seattle Mariners drafted Ibanez in the 36th round of the 1992 draft

Total 2011 Sombreros: 113

Top 1: Lance Berkman struck out swinging against Yovani Gallardo

Top 3: called out on strikes against Gallardo

Top 5: struck out swinging against Cameron Loe

Top 7: struck out swinging against Loe

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: Tough game for the Big Puma.  Hitting fifth for the Cardinals last Thursday, he basically had to follow a home run in three of his four at-bats.  In both the first and third inning, Pujols homered two spots ahead of Berkman, while clean-up hitter Matt Holliday dropped a two-run bomb in the fifth.  The Big Puma’s sombrero marked an 0-for-14 skid which he snapped in his first at-bat on Friday.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 103

Top 1: Stephen Drew struck out swinging against Yovani Gallardo

Top 3: Drew called out on strikes against Gallardo

Top 6: Drew struck out swinging against Gallardo

Top 9: Drew struck out swinging against John Axford

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: Gallardo shut down the free-swinging Diamondbacks’ offense on Wednesday night.  More so, he shut down Stephen Drew, who accounted for three of his six strikeouts and finished with a golden sombrero.  I’ve come to learn that in any given game, a DBack’s player has a legitimate shot at a sombrero.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 65

Bottom 2: Jonathan Lucroy struck out swinging against Matt Cain

Bottom 4: Lucroy struck out swinging against Cain

Bottom 6: Lucroy struck out swinging against Cain

Bottom 7: Lucroy struck out swinging against Jeremy Affeldt

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: It just wasn’t Lucroy’s day on Sunday.  The Brewers’ backstop was the only starter not to record a hit in their 7-0 win over Matt Cain and the Giants.  However, considering that Yovani Gallardo allowed four hits over eight shutout innings, I’ll go ahead and say that the Lucroy still called a nice game.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 35

It’s been a while since I have posted anything here on The Sombrero.  The last couple of weeks have been really busy and perpetually stressful.  I just finished up an exam period that consisted of 12 total tests.  It’s break now, though, and I am back home where it is dumping on the mountain.  I just got word that 15 fresh fell today, which gets the hill over 2 feet of new in the last 48, and it is supposed to pick up when the sun goes down.  Griff, our homeboys the Meyers, and I are headed up in the morning, and it has the potential to be the best Day 1 of my life.  A lot has happened since the last time I posted, but the holidays are getting underway nicely already.  My dad is home from Australia and Grandma is coming down either Thursday or Friday.

As everyone rolled out of bed today, we checked our phones like we do every morning to make sure that nothing earth-shattering happened in the world of baseball overnight.  This morning was one of those rare ones when something like that actually did (Arlo gave me a little heads up on it last night to tell you the truth).  At least it was earth-shattering for the rest of the N.L. Central, because they discovered that the Milwaukee Brewers will have the best rotation in the division next season.  If you’re from Milwaukee, Christmas came a little early this year in the form of former Cy Young winner, Donald Zackary Greinke.

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