Not dead yet...

At least not completely. I still use the sidebar quite frequently myself, and Norm dropped me a line to tell me to add this: http://thetripledeke.blogspot.com/

Check it out if you're a hockey fan.

I'm also adding http://www.ranyontheroyals.com/. It's a great blog about true baseball fan suffering. It also talks about teams that aren't better suited for AAA once in a great while.

.....

Please, please, please. When you have the bases loaded, two outs, full count, and the winning run on third, do not, I repeat, do not walk the guy. Groove a 85 mile per hour fastball down the middle for all I care, just make the guy beat you. Yes, it was a bad call, but don't give the ump the chance to blow it. Make it happen.

This public service announcement brought to you by a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers. I really hope I don't have to use the "ranting" tag again any time soon, as I've had to go to it the last two days.

Hey, look, a post!

Yes, I do that occasionally. This one will even have some content!

I love me my football. I love me my CFL, too. Don't ask why. It's just the way I am.

I'm just going to spend a second bitching about the Bombers, and why they don't sign a kicker that, I dunno, doesn't miss three extra points, causing his team to lose to highly rated LSU by a point in Louisiana. Yes, I know he's gotten better since then. Still, I'll never be able to shake the fact that he once was so shaken, he ended up doing that.

Tonight, he missed a 48 yarder in one of the toughest stadiums in the CFL, and the Bombers lost by two. Not an easy kick to make, by any means. And yet, I had no faith whatsoever that he'd make it. None. He's also taking up an import slot, which in the CFL, means that he's non-Canadian. Imports are a little over half the roster. Filling the spot with a Canadian gives the Bombers more flexibility on signing another American, for any position anywhere.

Eh, who am I kidding? They'll stick it out with him until it becomes well too late to matter.

Talkin' Baseball....

I'm eating, sleeping, and living baseball since, gosh, probably mid-May. If it's baseball related, I'm involved. If it means watching the Brewers, I'm there. If it means playing MLB 09: The Show, I'm there. If it means running an internet baseball league, I'm there. If it means cruising the net all day for historical baseball articles, I'm there.

In short, baseballbaseballbaseballbaseballbaseball. Ben would not approve.

Oh, and hello Hyderabad, India! I see someone over there has peeked at my blog, whether by accident, or looking for something interesting. Sorry about the lack of interesting things. Also, hi to Battle Creek, Michigan, and New Berlin, Wisconsin.

Phew...

It's been busy here lately. That screwy work schedule I'll only have to mess with for a few more weeks takes a toll on my mental well-being, but thankfully, it's over in July.

The USFL is now on hiatus, but will be back when the software is done and ready.

Check out the Blitz, though, because there's a new baseball league started by me to pass the time until we get the USFL back up and running. Steph's joining the baseball league, which I hope to give a launch to Friday.

I had fun putting together the USFL Championship game writeup, complete with some commentary and commercials! http://blindsideblitz.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38399

More Melvin when I feel like it.

The Doug Melvin Years: 2005

2005 would be better, and there was even hope for a winning season. The hopes would be dashed on the final day of the season, but still, 81-81 was to be celebrated given the sorry state of the organization just a few years before.

Melvin's penchant for free talent led him to the Atlantic League, where he plucked Mike Rivera off the Atlantic City roster. Rivera has been hitting as of late, and now catches for the team every five days.

The June Draft would bring both Ryan Braun and Mat Gamel. Braun is obviously an all-star left fielder, and Gamel is in a semi-platoon at third with Bill Hall. Good times all around here.

Junior Spivey would be traded for Tomo Ohka, and Ohka would start for two years, while Spivey wouldn't play after 2005.

It would be a quiet trade deadline again, and the first major move after the season was trading Lyle Overbay, who had no more useful purpose in Milwaukee with Prince Fielder on the horizon, as well as Ty Taubenheim for Dave Bush, who's done league average starting work for the Brewers, Gabe Gross, who was decent as a backup outfielder for a few years, and Zach Jackson, who didn't work out in the end.

The Brewers also added Corey Koskie for a minor league pitcher in Brian Wolfe, but Koskie would be laid low with injuries after delivering decent numbers over the first half of 2006.

2006 lay ahead with high expectations after the additions of Koskie and Bush, as well as Prince Fielder starting at first base every day.

The Doug Melvin Years: 2004

2004 wasn't to be the Brewers' year either. They actually dropped a half a game, falling to 67-94 for the season. On the other hand, the team kept adding assets and re-building a crumbling foundation.

The June draft proved bountiful again, as Yovani Gallardo, the team's ace, and Angel Salome, the team's best catching prospect, were both picked up.

During the season, it was a fairly quiet time, as the team didn't do much for building. Russell Branyan was added to be a bat and bring people into the park, but he was nothing more than a stopgap. The team did add Derrick Turnbow after the season on waivers, but most of the changes were addition by subtraction. The team also lost Craig Counsell for a season, as Counsell opted to go back to Arizona for two seasons.

Damian Miller was picked up, and would catch for the team for three seasons. Two trades came up over three days, though, which would shape the course of the next few seasons. Well, at least one of them would.

Dan Kolb was shipped off for pitching prospect Jose Cappelan. Kolb's effectiveness was coming to an end, and while the Brewers didn't get a bounty for him, they had the chance, as Cappelan was a hard throwing righty. It didn't pan out, but it didn't hurt the team either.

However, the team shipped off Scott Podsednik, their center fielder, and relief pitcher Jose Vizcaino in exchange for Carlos Lee. Lee would be a slugger for two seasons, but wanted too much to stick around in the end. Still, it was a good attempt at finding a building block. Podsednik would never reach the heights he did in Milwaukee, although he'd hit a homer in the 2005 World Series. Yes, he was named to the All-Star team that year, too, but his OBP was better than his slugging percentage, and he got caught stealing 23 times. It went downhill from there.

Rick Helling, Ricky Botallico, and Jeff Cirillo would be their freely available talent over the offseason, Helling and Botallico wouldn't amount to much, but Cirillo would return to Milwaukee to become a bat off the bench and their jack of all infield trades, pretty much Craig Counsell's role.

Step by step, the team would start to gel into something very much different than what it had been. It would still take some time, though.

The Doug Melvin Years: 2003

Rock Bottom. 56-106. Still a half game better than the Tigers that year, but yuck. The Milwaukee Brewers did do one thing right that year, though. They picked Doug Melvin up off the scrap heap after the Texas Rangers sent him away. Melvin had gotten the Rangers to the postseason 3 times from 1994-2001, but apparently that wasn't enough. Two losing seasons, and Tom Hicks was thinking of bigger things. Didn't quite work out for them, since they've had only one winning season since, but points for the effort.

Top of the mountain? The Brewers made the playoffs in 2008, one of the best seasons in team history, ending a 25 year drought. From bottom to the top (or maybe the top comes this year? Next year?), Melvin's been the big mover behind it all.

Wikipedia says Melvin was hired in October 2002, so I'll start in November 2002, just to be safe. Just the important stuff, because a lot of the little line-items didn't make any impact whatsoever. This is the first in a series, and will cover 2003.

Melvin has a talent for finding gems among the freely-available talent around the league. To start, he picked up Brady Clark for the waiver price in January of 2003. Clark played 4 years in the Milwaukee outfield, giving the team a cheap solution at a time when the team didn't have a lot of money to invest in talent.

In April, he picked up Dan Kolb off the scrap heap from Texas. Kolb was a Melvin draft pick in 1995, and got another chance to be a big league pitcher from him. He'd pick up the closer's job in 2003, and keep it through 2004, when the Brewers sold high on him, and Kolb would end up back as a Brewer in 2006, but would be on his way out of the bigs by the end of 2007.

Dave Burba falls under the same umbrella, although he wouldn't give as much performance or any return, besides taking up a roster spot and making the team look major league. Still, that has its advantages in luring people to come and stay.

The June draft of 2003 was a bountiful one, as the Brewers picked up Rickie Weeks, Tony Gwynn Jr. Mitch Stetter, and Ty Taubenheim. The first three contributed in the majors in some way, and Taubenheim was trade bait for a later deal of Melvin's which has worked out pretty well.

Cutting links to a terrible past helps too. Jeffrey Hammonds got shipped out on June 4th, a bust if there ever was one. His 3 year, 21 million dollar deal was just what the Brewers didn't need to be doing at the time.

Alcides Escobar was picked up a few days later, and he's one of the Brewers' best prospects.

Doug Davis was let loose by not one but two teams in 2003, but became a Brewers asset, one that came in very handy during trading time. He also gave the Brewers three and a half years of nearly .500 pitching.

On December 1st, Melvin made what may still be his masterpiece deal. Richie Sexson was sent to Arizona for Chris Capuano, Craig Counsell, Chad Moeller, Lyle Overbay, Jorge de la Rosa, and Junior Spivey. Sexson played all of 23 games for Arizona before injuries started taking a toll on his career. On the other hand, Capuano gave the Brewers a few years of quality starting pitching, plus the potential for more to come if he ever recovers from injury, Counsell has been a steadying influence on the Brewers' clubhouse and an important jack-of-all-trades, Moeller, well, he did hit for the cycle, does that count? Overbay gave the Brewers two years of quality first base work, and then became a key cog in a trade when the Brewers had some guy named Prince ready to go, and de la Rosa and Spivey didn't exactly pan out the way we had hoped. We did get Tomo Okha and Tony Graffanino from the latter two later on, though.

The Brewers got 4 years of relief work from Matt Wise, a freely available talent who hadn't pitched in the bigs in 2003. The Brewers also got Carlos Villanueva, a quality reliever for us at this point, for Leo Estrella and Wayne Franklin, both of whom never did anything outside of 2003 in Milwaukee.

2003 had been a bounceback year, although the bounce didn't get the team to 70 wins. 2004 promised to be more of the same, but the rain seemed to be slowing down a bit, and the day just got a little bit brighter for those who had some patience.

Mmm.... Bobbleheads!

Gonna go get me a Trevor Hoffman one at the Brewers game today!

I be employed!

I'm going to be working with claims for Allstate. In an effort not to make it completely obvious who I am, or to say anything that may antagonize them for any reason, I'm just going to leave it at that. 

More content!

I often just open my blog if I need to read something, because my blog list updates the ones I tend to read often anyway, and this way, I know what's new and what's not. Adding MLB Trade Rumors to the mix seemed like a smart move. 

Say, Norm...

I'm thinking of reviving an EHL-type league on my PC. Either I'm going to split the NHL in parts due to the lockout going for more than a year, or the extra-long lockout is going to cause a re-organization, with tiering, like the Euro leagues. Thoughts? 

Woot

It's been a good week plus. I still have Cam around today and a bit of tomorrow. It's a good thing. 

P.S. Remdog loves Chunk

Blog List Update

I feel shame. I added a Toronto Maple Leafs blog. It's that good, though. 

Down Goes Brown has been added, and make sure you check out the fake TML facebook page. 

I also lopped off a few blogs that were either not being updated any more or have lost their fastball, so to speak. 

Dear Pittsburgh Pirates...

How does it feel to be our bitch? 

Signed, 

The Milwaukee Brewers

Less than a week.

I am STOKED. 

No idea why.....

We've never considered Front Office Football for a sim for our BSB leagues. It's good stuff, and it has a college version too (although it's mostly about recruiting and player management, from what I can tell). I own FOF 2004 (although 2007 is the newest version, and the only one easily available for purchase) and the college version (The College Years), and they can interact with each other, with draft classes from college going to the pros. It's very deep, and quite fun. 

The downside is that the leagues are fixed at a certain number of teams, that being 32. That said, the AI seems to be decent, so open teams wouldn't kill us. It's something to chew on the off-chance that the new software doesn't make it off the drawing board (although I have the ultimate faith that it will). 

ETA...

On Norm and Cam invading Madison: 2 weeks and a day. 

Shock!

Norm updated again!

*faints*

....

*dusts self off*

Aight, enough of that. My mission in life is complete. Next item on the agenda: Roberto Luongo may or may not be human. His WORST game of the playoffs so far has been a two goal game, and he finally gave up his first even-strength goal in three games last night. Vancouver's also scoring enough to make a 2 goal game against Luongo still count as a W. Quite frequently, that's not the case. St. Louis had a few dumb emotional penalties in the second and third, and a few 5 on 3 kills by Vancouver quieted down a raucous crowd at Scottrade Center. Next stop: San Jose. Wait.... maybe not. The Sharks are down 0-2 to Anaheim, not an easy team to handle. 

Even better, the Brewers did NOT lose yesterday. They're now 4-9. A five game winning streak in the middle of May would easily make up such a thing, and another one in June would put them where I expect them to be, assuming they play .500 ball the rest of the time. I think that's pretty plausible. It's way too early to jump to judgments, except to say that Corey Hart seems to have figured out how to take a pitch or two. That can't be a bad thing. 

Fixed!

The last template was ugly as sin, and all the color tweaks I added didn't help, either. 

So, back to basics. It's pretty now.

Congrats to TheNorm for finally updating his blog after 7 months. The downside is now I'll have to harass Cam to do his, and he'll just tell me to do something anatomically impossible. 

Damn that Cam. He's got me re-addicted to NHL 09, so much so that I re-figured out how to score goals on a regular basis. Might have to re-fire up that NCAA dynasty I put on hold when I was scoring maybe a goal a game. 

*giggle* Huston Street's already not the closer in Colorado. Something about how closers and middle relievers are interchangable, and that you don't have to spend a ton of dough on anything but the best of the best (ping: Doug Melvin). Ping the second: Hey Colorado, do you NOT realize that finesse pitchers don't work there? Sure, fastballs can be hit a mile, but so can curveballs that don't curve, and fastballs are harder to hit. 

So Norm...

Since it's just you and me here (along with a few Cam visits and a random one from Wyoming, Minnesota...), how's about we revive that Great Lakes Sports Thingy we tried before on BSB?

Another week....

Another distinct lack of content. It's like this place is becoming "Far From the Norm" or something. :D

Hopefully I'll work myself up to an actual post soon. 

I hate to post just to post...

But sometimes I gotta, just to keep rolling.

Brewers opener starts soon, but I'm not starting to watch until Steph's ready to watch. Apparently I'd be "cheating on her" by watching the game before she does. Fair enough. That's what DVR and the NHL network are for. :D

Don Cherry's Grapevine is on in a half hour. I like. 

New Links

I'm always looking for good links to add to my sidebar, and I found one here: http://noalibisnoregrets.blogspot.com/

It's a Badger Hockey blog, which makes me happy, for obvious reasons. 

http://noalibisnoregrets.blogspot.com/2009/03/badgers-in-pros-update.html

That post makes me ecstatic, though. Why can't every team have a blog like this? :D

WCHA News

http://www.westerncollegehockeyblog.com/2009/4/1/817720/no-one-wants-to-be-in-the-wcha

This isn't good news for Bemidji State, who just lost their conference with College Hockey America disappearing. Bemidji makes a lot of sense for the WCHA, especially with a lot of in-state rivals. I almost wonder if Alaska-Fairbanks makes sense there, with Alabama-Huntsville ending up in the CCHA.... 

Werewolf

This has been eating time from me lately. You know about our games, and FOFC hosts some great games too at http://www.operationsports.com/fofc. Very much fun to play and follow.

As for everything else, let's just hope North Carolina loses a game this weekend. I like winning bets. 

Brackets Broken

So I have no teams left in my basketball Final Four, and only one in hockey, since I did one of those, too. Thank you Boston University for not letting me down. The rest of you won't be getting my vote next year. Especially Michigan hockey. :D

Oh, Look, Actual Content!

Seems our Hobey finalist at Wisconsin is more than likely done here. No shock there.

Jamie McBain's headed to Albany, to play for the Carolina organization. 

Bigger thought in my mind: The Hurricanes have enough fans to run a successful blog?

Another New Post!

Norm can rest easy. Cam, on the other hand, had better get his ass updating his blog again. 

Job search continues fruitlessly, but Spherion has me doing a small bit at Netflix that could grow. They also have a state job they may or may not get any time soon, so here's hoping. 

Really pushing the USFL stuff lately, getting pictures off of a vast array of DVD's I now own. That's what's been making the USFL site and the new Stars site look pretty. I wish someone would pay me to do this, I'd gladly do 8 hours a day of storyline work. Someone, anyone? :D

Brewers start in just under 2 weeks, and I can't say I'm terribly thrilled. This year's gonna be tougher than last year, no doubt. 

Hey Cam, your team's a bunch of slackers. I put up 8 more points than you did on Washington. :D

Speaking of the big guy, May 9th through the 18th, he "graces us" with his presence. That's got the potential to be a hell of a lot of fun. 

That be it, that be all that's on my mind at the moment. Oh yeah. Hey NFL, stop living up to the No Fun League moniker. It doesn't suit you well. 

Update

Because some Michigan smartass was making pot-meet-kettle suggestions to update, here it is. (Speaking of which, update yourself. 6 months? :D)

My last week has been like follows:

Get up early as shit on Monday and Tuesday because of a job on the other side of town.

Be sleepy and crabby the rest of those days.

Sim USFL games on Wednesday, get excited all over again by showing the new owner the ropes.

Go bonkers creating a website for the team after I burn out of sending out job apps Thursday.

Own everyone in the NCAA tourney brackets. 

Get annoyed that Wisconsin and Marquette bounce out in the 2nd round (but not too annoyed)

Get more annoyed that the Badgers didn't show up against Denver in hockey, and are now done. 

Be in Racine at the future in-laws this weekend.

Come home from work on Monday, burn out doing apps by 2, and do website updating for some of the rest of the day, as well as creating pictures for the USFL league and picture sorting.

There. Happy? :D

So.... sleepy....

Up at 3:45 Monday, 3:10 today. Netflix is a demanding mistress..... 

On the other hand, naps rule. 

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!

Badgers hockey. Playoffs. American Family Insurance box. Free. Free food. Free drink. Free fun!

Linkage

It appears my best friend Cam has a blog too. 

Mafia!

http://www.blindsideblitz.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36782

Also known as Werewolf and other such things. The easiest way I've found to explain things is this: http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=53377

So if you're new around here, sign up at BSB and come play!

Tis been a while

I have an excuse. A week long vacation to San Diego counts as an excuse, right? 

I have not much to say on the Brewers, but I'm digging the WBC. More baseball that matters = more better. 

My USFL league continues to be fun. I just got a boatload of new footage to use as pictures in the league forums, too. If you're unfamiliar with it, check it out at blindsideblitz.com/usfl

I plan to get the college hockey thing rolling again too, since I'm back. No promises on when, but I've put too much work into it to let it sit much longer. 

Anyway, that's about it for now. 

Fingers crossed....

I put together Steph's new computer chair tonight, as well as posted the playoff games for Cam's VFF league (thevff.net is your friend, and so is blindsideblitz.com). I hope the chair doesn't fall apart. 

Good times....

Not much to blog about lately. Didn't work Monday, still looking for jobs, yada yada. Side projects are taking up my time, such as my USFL league at http://www.blindsideblitz.com/usfl. Check it out, it's good stuff. In other news, I'm headed to San Diego next week, so the blog shall be silent from the 2nd through the 7th, pretty much for sure. 

So I'm employed. Sort of....

Through a job agency called Spherion, apparently I'm now "on call" if a secretary calls in sick on Monday, while they look for a more permanent placement. I have no complaints, given how hard it's been so far to find anything worthwhile out there. Apparently Madison is one of the better places to find work around here, so maybe I'm lucky. 

Milt Says Goodbye

Speaking of legends retiring....

Bit of background, ladies and gents, yes, I'm a Wisconsinite, and yes, I've been one all my life and intend to be one until the day I die, but I'm also a big CFL fan. Even wrote a bit on scout.com when CFL writer Jack Bedell ran the place. Don't ask me why I like the league. Always have, always will, somehow. 

Anyway, in a retirement that's as big to the CFL, maybe bigger, than the retirement of Brett Favre, Milt Stegall made it official that he was hanging them up. I wish every pro athlete could see how he conducts himself on and off the field and take notes. He will be missed. I have not the words to convey how wonderful he was to watch, even in the limited amount of times I got to see him, be it on tape or in person. 

#22 in Action

See this post for what I mean by that. 

The Brewers signed Eric Gagne to a minor league deal today, a far cry from the $10 million deal he got last year from us. 

My reaction: He could have value, given we're not paying him much, if he makes the team.

Steph's reaction: Disbelief, "Are you kidding me?," Anger, Questioning Why?

Also had the Weeks-Hart debate again tonight. No decision rendered, although in her mind, she wins. She always wins there. 

Since I'm rambling about the Brewers, my guess as to at least April's starting rotation is as follows:

1. Dave Bush

2. Braden Looper

3. Yovani Gallardo

4. Manny Parra

5. Jeff Suppan

Reasoning? I heard somewhere (and failed to remember or find the link again) that Macha doesn't want the young guys to worry about being the top guys in the rotation, and Suppan just hasn't had a great stint here in Milwaukee. That leaves Bush and Looper, and I think the guy that's been with us for a while will get the nod on Opening Day. 

25 Random Baseball Things

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/shysterball/article/25-random-baseball-things/

Thank you, Craig Calcaterra, for making me actually want to fill out a 25 Things... uh... thing, this will actually be fun! 

1. My earliest baseball memory comes from before I moved across my small Northwestern Wisconsin city when I was 5. Panini sticker albums were what got me into the game. I had worked on a few albums of other 4 year old attention-grabbers, although I can't seem to remember anything other than the one I helped my sister do at this point, but for two years, I could expect a 25 cent sticker package any time my dad went to the store. Life was good.

http://completist.wordpress.com/2008/02/25/the-top-5-oddballs-of-all-time/

Check out #3. That's what I started with. 

2. Like Craig, I fell in love with a team in 1988, the kind of love only a five year old can have. It was the year I really tuned into the world of sports, and I can tell you more about those Brewers and Packers teams than I can about the teams 3 or 4 years ago. My parents own a double lot, with the house on one part and the extra lot being the ballfield of dreams for a good 10 years for me. The garden had a tiny rabbit fence surrounding it, easy enough for a five year old to step over, and that became a home run fence. Tiny wood blocks became my bases until I got plastic bases from my uncle for my 6th birthday the next May. At that point, my yard took on the properties of the old League Park in Cleveland, or the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, although I wouldn't realize that for another 20 years. A big maple tree sufficed as the left field "foul pole" until I grew a bit more, and the right field street was blocked by a large tree as well. The center field "flag pole" was actually the street sign. For about 10 years, our yard would have brown patches in the spring where I knew I would put the bases when things dried out.  

http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/LeaguePark.html

http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/BakerBowl.html

3. The same uncle that provided me with the bases also cleaned out his closet at the farm, and I ended up with quite a few "season preview" books, mostly football, but one baseball. My search into baseball's past started there, I was learning about the exploits of Pete Rose around the time the rest of America was learning that he was a gambler. 

4. Being from Northwestern Wisconsin, we were at the mercy of the Brewers' schedule as far as when we could see them on TV. We'd see them if they were away during the weekend, and that's about it. That, or the one game or two ESPN would care to share with us as well. If I wanted to watch baseball, the Cubs on WGN were the best option, as the Braves played quite a few west coast games in the years before geography really mattered in the divisional alignment. I fell in love all over again, since I never had to worry about the Cubs playing the Brewers, except in the spring, and I'd even get a few of the spring training games the Cubs would show on TV, even a few extra Brewers games. Day baseball, Harry Caray, the vines, the Eastern Division title run in 1989, life was good. 

5. A dice game helped me love baseball even more. It was a game where you'd take your baseball cards, check out the average and home runs, and roll on a propped up chart that told you your results. I think I still even have it, somewhere in the middle of the attic at my parents' house. I've since moved on to other baseball simulation pursuits, but for years, the results off the chart colored my perception of what was good (20 homers was the benchmark for a "power hitter," and at the time, it was right, anyway...) and what wasn't (You'd rather have a .260-.279 hitter up with runners on than a .280-.299 hitter. That seem wrong to anyone else?).

6. Random quote break: "If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base."  ~Dave Barry

7. Innocence lost: The loss of Paul Molitor to Toronto after the 1992 season was the end of my baseball innocence, as it were. I wasn't knowledgable to get upset over the 1990 lockout, except that it kept spring training games from being played. I wasn't happy about that. 

8. I was never that good as a ballplayer myself. I led off when I was 10 because I was small and could draw walks, and I played first base because no one else on the team besides the pitcher could catch the ball consistently. We won one game that year. I wonder why. 

9. For 3 or 4 years in the mid 90's, we didn't get ANY Brewers games on local TV or cable, save anything national, which was very rare. Given the Packers and the Badgers had most of my attention at that point for their football prowess, that's the mark of the low point of my baseball worship. 

10. Thank God for Midwest Sports Channel. It brought the Brewers back to me, and it brought them more than I had been used to. 120 games a year is a treat when you're used to 3. This was also the first year of the Brewers' National League odyssey. At that point, I fell in love with the pitcher hitting and the strategy behind it. 

11. It was also around this point that I lost any ability to care for the Cubs. Not because they were competitors now. No, we were never in contention for the playoffs at this point anyway. It was more that I realized that the local Cubs fans (remember, northwestern Wisconsin) were frontrunners. I'd never see a Cubs hat during a losing streak. I always saw them in 1998, for some reason. Something about Slammin' Sammy chasing Maris and McGwire. I just wanted them to shut up and go away. They did for the next two years. Funny how that works. 

12. It was around this time I got heavy into baseball "literature," and I'm not talking Roger Angell and the "romance of the game." I'm talking Sparky Lyle, I'm talking Bill Lee, I'm talking about the Bronx Zoo and a deeper look into what makes baseball what it is. Funny thing, I read Ball Four a few years later, and I didn't see what the big deal was, after having started with the Bronx Zoo. I think I did that backwards. Nothing unusual for me

13. Funny thing, I've never really disliked the Twins. I tend to dislike any Minnesota sports club, but the Twins never gave me a reason to hate them. I also couldn't complain about being able to hop in my car every so often and catch a game for about 50 bucks total, accounting for gas, parking, and ballpark expenses. The Metrodome is underrated. It's not ideal for baseball at all, and probably wouldn't be in the top half of my ballpark rankings when and if I catch all the stadiums at some point, but it's comfy, at the very least. 

14. Baseball is a game that's always had its less desirable side. I wonder how today's media would have handled the Black Sox Scandal. 

15. Random Quote Break: "I don't want to play golf.  When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it."  ~Rogers Hornsby

16. Local Red Sox fans did the same thing that the Cubs fans did when they were constantly losing to the Yankees in the playoffs at the turn of the century. You'd see the hats and shirts and hear the talk, until after Game 7, that is. Heck, during 04 when they finally broke through, you heard NOTHING at all from them for about three or four days after they fell behind 2-0. Also, another thing that turns me off about the Red Sox fanbase is the attempt to make the Sox look like the little guys. Sorry. Little maybe in comparison to the Yankees, but you take off the Red, and it's the same machine that spits out cash these days, and spends it just about as well as the Bronx Bombers. Small market fans can see right through that argument, believe you me. 

17. At this point, the Metrodome drapes a big banner of Twins legends across the upper deck in center and right field. I remember sitting behind that banner when I went to my first Brewers-Twins game in 1991. At one point, the Twins could pack the place like few other teams. 

18. Again, like Craig, sabermetrics brought me another level of caring for this game I love. I can't say I'll ever be one to see the game as nothing but numbers, but I'd hate to be a casual fan at this point. I like feeling like I see things in a slightly different light. Always have.

19. I got to see Turner Field on a high school music trip in 2001. The Mets were in town for one of the first series of the season, right after the Subway Series. I was slightly surprised that the place wasn't packed, especially with the reach that TBS still gave the Braves at that point. There was a group there from Jay Payton's hometown with a banner, and Payton tossed a ball or two in that general direction during the game. 

20. Rick Reed pitched in the aforementioned game. He also pitched two starts in a row that I was able to see in 2003, while a camp counselor. We'd make trips to the Dome twice a year after the day's activities were over, and I believe I had to be his good luck charm. He gave up only one run on three hits for the Mets, lost to Esteban Loaiza when Loaiza was having a career year, but only gave up two runs, and won the next game we saw, when the Twins touched up Tim Hudson for five in the first, thanks to three errors. He was done after that year, and would only win one more game in the bigs, even, but it's those kinds of little things that make this game fun. 

21. Final Random Quote Break: "This is a game to be savored, not gulped.  There's time to discuss everything between pitches or between innings."  ~Bill Veeck

22. My fiancee loves the Brewers, and is the definition of a casual fan, although a daily casual. She doesn't quite buy my argument that Rickie Weeks is a good leadoff hitter, because his batting average doesn't tell her that. She also doesn't understand why I'm so down on Corey Hart, because on-base percentage is not in her vocabulary quite yet. I have the rest of our lives to work on that, though. 

23. CC Sabathia was worth it, even if all the players we traded for him end up in the Hall of Fame. I now have a much better perspective on the Doyle Alexander-John Smoltz deal. 

24. Speaking of which, after travelling to Ann Arbor to see my football team die a brutal death in the second half, I spent five hours the next day at a Buffalo Wild Wings there seeing Sabathia win us the Wild Card. The TV was directly to my left, but over my head, so for three hours while my three Canadian buddies watched all the football games on the big screens (including the Packers, and including the Jets with Favre, still a success at that point), I watched Sabathia work his magic, and on the TV next to that one, saw the Marlins win for pride. It was a great day. Even better, I saw Michael Phelps that night after the biggest bender of my life, and no, he didn't have a bong. 

25. I start itching for baseball again in early January, play the video games, card games, and dice games incessantly, and pray for spring. It's the time of year where baseball becomes a pursuit, something to chase and find, and that makes it even more fun. The season comes and goes, but baseball's always available these days. Life is good. 

Random Baseball Quote of the Day

"Chuck Tanner used to have a bedcheck just for me every night. No problem. My bed was always there." - Jim Rooker, former pitcher

Ugh.

Job searching sucks. Job searching in this economy? *headdesk*

Another A-Rod link

http://theyankeesrepublic.blogspot.com/2009/02/trial-of-alex-r.html

I'm not planning this to be a links-only blog, but lately, people have been expressing my opinions better than I can put them down on paper. Or on the internets. I'll find something to give full rant to soon enough. :D

The Local Paper Says It All

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/turns_out_craig_counsell

I can claim this is local, because I live where it was founded. :D

Hat tip to Craig Calcaterra at Shysterball. 

There's a problem, but it's not the obvious one

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/a-slap-at-liberty/

John Brattain hits the nail on the head. People are spending all their time looking down their nose at A-Rod (or whatever cutesy little nickname they've so cleverly given him in the last few days), and don't see the big picture, which is that the government is hell-bent at making an example out of Barry Bonds, and won't stop at anything to do it. Furthermore, someone leaked the information that shouldn't have. I find that to be more of a problem than a player doing what he has to do to be successful in a given environment. 

Something's Brewing in Milwaukee

As a Brewers fan, I'm blessed to be able to read Al's Ramblings and Brew Crew Ball (both linked at the right of the page), as both deliver a different flavor of Brewers news than the mass media does. A lot of outside the box thinking goes on there, helping me feel like I know more about this team than Joe Average, my sworn nemesis. :D

With that, let's take a peek at this team this year. 

Catcher: Jason Kendall can do the job, and I was wrong about doubting him last year. Yes, sometimes Joe doesn't Know. Laugh it up. He does well with the pitching staff, and he's durable. We don't know what we have in Mike Rivera, really, because he never seems to get to play, but I've liked the little I've seen. 

1st Base: We have Prince there until Boras takes him away the first moment he can. Until then, settle in, and hope he doesn't get hurt, because then we're screwed. 

2nd Base: Rickie Weeks is underrated, in my book. A lot of people take a look at only the .234 batting average, and think he's not a good hitter. Not so. I've learned a few things lately, and one of them is that batting average is extremely overrated. Getting on base is the number one thing you want from a leadoff hitter, and he does it at a .342 clip, not great, but definitely worthy, especially since he's coming off a nasty wrist injury in 07 that really limited him. Another thing I've noticed is that strikeouts are overblown. Weeks is a leadoff man. Does it matter if he strikes out or flies out? Not at least one of five times he's up in a game. I think he's worthy of at least one more look. 

Shortstop: I always harass my girlfriend about JJ Hardy, because she's one of his fanboys, but really, he had a great season last year, and I expect him to get even a bit better. Hardy has the range that I think he could play any one of the infield positions at least adequately, which is important, with the supergloved Alcides Escobar waiting in the wings.

3rd Base: And I think Hardy ends up here at some point, as Bill Hall isn't able to hit righthanders, for the most part. Hall had a career year in 2006, but since then, has struggled, as he's been moved from the infield to center to back to third base, and his career on-base against righties is only .300. I can see Hardy being here by the end of July, and Escobar ranging at short. Another thing we could do is bring up a prospect named Mat Gamel, who supposedly has a big bat and a glove full of holes, from most sources I read. 

Left Field: Please, please, please, don't let Ryan Braun be hurt. Next question.

Center Field: Mike Cameron seems to bring enough intangibles into play, as well as a great glove, to make his penchant for striking out less important to me. Even at age 36, he gets on base enough, and hits with power. I hope we have something in the farm system to back him up for next year, but for now, I'm fine. 

Right Field: Corey Hart was an All-Star last year. Then September arrived. When the dust settled, he had only a .300 OBP, with somewhat decent power numbers, but that September swoon downright frightens me, because before that, Hart had been getting better every season, so far. This year is his age 27 year, generally a peak year for the average player. I think we'll find out just what we have there, if we have a long-term keeper, or if he's hit his peak already. 

Starting Pitching: Signing Braden Looper yesterday helps, as the depth is nice, but the rotation will miss both Ben Sheets and CC Sabathia. I forsee a rotation of Yovani Gallardo, Dave Bush, Manny Parra, Jeff Suppan, and Looper, with Seth McClung on the outside looking in early, waiting for an opportunity. 

Bullpen: Losing Salomon Torres hurts, as he had a very effective year as a closer last year. However, the addition of Trevor Hoffman adds a proven arm to the bullpen group, and the addition of Jorge Julio adds depth to a group including Carlos Villanueva, McClung, Mitch Stetter, Todd Coffey, and a few other arms that proved to be major league caliber, at least for last season. I'm not too worried about this, as long as the starting rotation holds up.

I predict a bit of a downturn this year, with 84 wins, but I think this team has the potential for more, especially if the young pitching is as advertised. 

Brett

I'm a Wisconsin sports fan through and through, although I pass on basketball, for the most part. Being that I am one of those people, I got to go on the fun fun ride of Brett Favre's retirement and reinstatement last year. I was one of those people on the side of the franchise, as I believe there's nothing more important than the team itself, as opposed to the individual players, who come in, play, and move on. 

On the other hand, I'm not one of those that wanted Favre to break a leg in New York, and now, today, as he's announced another potential retirement, I am fervently hoping that in a year or two, this will have all blown over, and we can properly celebrate the career accomplishments of #4 the way it was meant to be celebrated, with his name up at Lambeau Field, and with his enshrinement in the Packers Hall of Fame. 

Welcome

Hi. You've found my blog. Congratulations. Your reward is getting to hear my opinions. On stuff. Mostly sports stuff, some real world stuff, some stuff not pertinent to anything in particular. In other words, stuff. I'll be posting some of my rants and raves on things here soon, so you can get a taste of what's to come.