MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Ben Sheets knows how bad his record looks since the all-star break.
He just doesn't believe it tells the entire story.
"I ain't pitching great," the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander said. "But I don't think I'm pitching as bad as it's made out to be."
Sheets' latest exercise in frustration came Tuesday night at Miller Park when two bad pitches resulted in a 5-2 loss to Houston before the Brewers' 17th consecutive sellout crowd. The defeat dropped Sheets' record in his last eight starts to 1-5 with a 4.06 earned run average.
When the Brewers acquired left-hander CC Sabathia from Cleveland in early July, the thinking was that the 1-2 punch of Sabathia and Sheets atop the rotation would be tough to beat. Sabathia has held up his end of the bargain, going 8-0 with a 1.60 ERA in nine starts.
But the Brewers have won only three of Sheets' eight starts since that trade, limiting the impact somewhat. Sheets has heard more than once that he hasn't lived up to his part of the co-billing, which he finds more than a bit irritating.
"I've pitched plenty of winnable games and pitched plenty of losable games during that stretch," he said. "The first half, I came away with a lot of victories, pitching the same way that I have this half."
That's not exactly true. In 18 first-half starts, Sheets compiled a 2.85 ERA. In seven starts since the break, he has a 4.00 ERA.. Not horrible, but definitely a notch below.
It hasn't helped that Sheets' run support has been scant for the most part. Over his last eight starts, the Brewers have scored two or fewer runs four times, with a total of 26 runs (3.25 per game).
Often finding himself in tense, low-scoring games - such as his 3-2 loss in San Diego last time out - Sheets admits to pitching too cautiously at times.
"Sometimes I get caught up in trying not to make a mistake because one can make the difference right now," Sheets said. "That's the reality of the situation. I know there's not a lot of room for error.
"We win as a team and lose as a team. I felt I was very capable of winning some of the games I haven't won. And vice versa in the first half. I was very capable of losing some of those games."
Sheets paid dearly for two poor pitches he made at the wrong time. With the Brewers ahead, 2-0, in the third inning, he hung a curveball to Michael Bourn, a .226 hitter with little pop in his bat (.306 slugging percentage). Bourn yanked it into the right-field corner for a two-run triple that tied the score.
Butterbean 
