hawing

We had a surprise upgrade from terrace to field last night, and so had a different vantage point. Once Ryan took that HR swing, I immediately thought, hey, that's the swing we used to see all the time. /analysis The early start still puzzles me. I understand that it's an experiment, but I don't know why 50 minutes earlier instead of 30 or 60. It wasn't WTMJ night again. It made for a slight workplace hassle getting out earlier, but getting back to Madison before 10:40 was pretty novel. Also regarding the early start: I don't think all the food vendors were notified of the start time, as some weren't ready to take orders until about 5:45. It looked like they were operating on a 7:10 first-pitch schedule. Back to the game: on the way home last night, I kept thinking of the Badgers' tag line of recent years - See What Happens Next - and realized that for the Brewers right now, that concept is decidedly ominous.

I tend not to be a boo-er, but I did boo Francisco Cordero on either his first or one of his first returns to Miller Park after spurning the Brewers for the Reds.

It's kind of a Sundayish lineup, only on Saturday. It's almost like a long weekend? I mean, I guess if you don't play Logan Schafer ever, he has no chance to improve. Welp, Brewers, see if you can get on the right side of the Uecker Line.

For good or for ill, this fan vote will be a handy litmus test of the current power of the Hank voting bloc. I voted the same as JimH5, including the bowl because we do eat cereal regularly and with two more bowls in the house, we could theoretically go one more day before having to do dishes. (Despite that last sentence, the S.O. and I really are grownups.) Either that or I can make them Christmas gifts for two of my four nieces and nephews...maybe all four if I can work some bf.net trades. Trucker caps are just not my style, even with the ball-glove logo. The duffel bag would presumably have some useful application. The scarf is nice, and I like that it'll say Milwaukee, but I'm just not in need of a scarf. Maybe we should be relieved the choice isn't between five different Hank items.

Aw, that's nice. Unfortunately, it was a different library (UW-Madison has a few dozen libraries) and not me. They should do stuff like that at my library, though, because it's much more attractive than the place they like to choose. I did see Sam Dekker visit my library earlier this spring as part of a class tour. Also, one of the basketball players owes us a fine. Before you ask, I can't disclose who it is.

First thought: My goodness. While it's not a huge dollar amount, just the thought of investing in that to keep grinding an ax is mind-boggling. Second thought: any chance it was Mrs. Haudricourt? (Sorry. I'm pretty sure TH doesn't deign to read message boards like this.)

You're a hero.

Just setting us up for the Cardinals Big Inning ® Which admittedly could double as the (Brewers' pitcher) Meltdown Inning. But let's hope not.

Bob and Joe on the radio are talking about the ceremonial first pitch: Willie McGee to Ozzie Smith. I'm sure that's coincidence and no other pair of STL dignitaries from any of their zillion other "rings" was available.

I think if you're still waiting by today (4/13), it's easily time to check in with the Brewers.

Did you need a new reason to figuratively (as well as literally) see red when it comes to STL? Here you go. I mean, jebus. I'm sure there's a chorus of "Hate us cause you ain't us" starting anew in STL right now, but only half of that describes me. I hate them, and I'm GLAD I ain't them. The only thing I'd be perversely interested to see is how they think scoring "The Cardinal Way" is different.

Haha, there is in fact still a Cafepress store with Brewerfan merchandise! http://www.cafepress.com/bfdotnet You can still get a throw pillow in any of the logos shown there. The hawing yard actually features a yard sign with the "Because it Snows in October" graphic. My S.O. has a Pocket Doppler baseball jersey. A portion of sales there will go back into the site, so if you're ardent about bf.net, check it out. Edit: And for those of you marveling at the option of a Thong: bf.net lore holds that someone actually ordered one once. With which graphic, I don't know. It wasn't me.

Ironically, I was at a NWS spotter training session on the UW-Madison campus while the Fairdale and Rochelle tornadoes were doing their respective things. Happily, it didn't get near enough so the presenter had reason to say, "let's step out of the auditorium to get a better look at this tornadic storm."

I would not be averse to the happiness trifecta of (1) Brewers winning; (2) Cardinals losing their home opener; (3) Wainwright being part of 1 and 2. *knocks on wood* *touches iron* (Fun fact, per kalle8: In Italy, they touch iron for luck instead of knocking on wood.)

I think the extra drinking (even the family sections have no no-drinking rule for opening day) plus the on-field results - particularly getting down really early - made for enough misery to cancel out, if not outweigh, the sheer joy of being back at Miller Park for a ball game. For me, Monday was the second opening day in a row where by mid-game, I found myself looking forward to our first "normal" game (and last year they won the opener, so that sentiment isn't just related to losing). By the end of opening day 2015, I was thinking more seriously of returning to our prior-years pattern of making the Brewers' second home game our opening day. So I guess it did feel like more than "more of the same," to address Invader's specific question.

Our first detector games were Monday and Wednesday - we were not at any of the test games in 2014 - and I admit my expectations were pretty low (i.e. I was expecting hassles), but there were virtually none. On both days we got to the gates/lines later than we typically do, for reasons unrelated to security. We entered by home plate with the home plate team store on our right - the same entrance we've been using for years. I felt like the slowness on Monday was due more to sheer volume of people rather than the security measures. I bring a canvas bag into the park and the S.O. brings a fanny pack for his diabetic-friendly snacks. If you have a bag, you set it on a table and the stadium staff look inside just as they've done for some time now. The bag doesn't go through the detector. There are small plastic bins for the contents of your pockets (keys/phone/etc), and then you walk through the detector. I've been putting my phone and keys into the canvas bag, so I haven't used the bins. The only delay I experienced so far was in waiting for the S.O., who needed to be wanded. The wanding did not reveal anything so they let him pass. The only thing I haven't figured out yet is where my favorite bag checker from years past is this year. My favorite ticket beeper is in the express lane, so I don't know if I will cross paths with him as much this year. We've discussed this before in other threads, but I assume this is a cover-your-behind measure for MLB and isn't likely to often reveal actual weaponry. As for the evacuation video that RFC mentioned...I didn't see it on Monday and only caught part of it Wednesday, again because we arrived later than usual. But from what I saw on the concourse TV, it looks very much like the evacuation video that is now played before UW events at the Kohl Center. It just has blue arrows instead of red. Maybe all facilities are adopting that general evacuation template, I'd guess also as a cover-your-behind measure.

It's April!

Thank you, Jake! It feels good to know someone in the organization remembers us little people at bf.net.

Reaching waaay back, I miss the posts of Bring Back the Stein.

For what it's worth, if you began to follow a team not in your MLB-designated market, they might actually be easier to follow via MLB.TV - provided you can manage any time zone differences. [sarcasm]Thanks, MLB and your irritating market rules![/sarcasm]

I was born in the first off-season after the Braves left Milwaukee. My mom's family was pretty into baseball (my grandpa even went to some of the late 60s White Sox games at County Stadium), but I'm told my dad swore off the sport as soon as the Braves left town. This has got to be part of why I had to find baseball on my own as a teenager, instead of it being a part of my childhood. In 1995 I knew things might go awry for the Brewers, and I had decided before the stadium vote that if the Brewers left, they would instantly become the "anti-franchise" for me. (I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have remained the Brewers in Charlotte.) I think I've mentioned this on the forum before, but in 1995 I also started a mental list of teams I would consider adopting as my team if the Brewers ceased. The teams I remember being on the list are the Twins, Pirates, Royals, Mariners and Indians (not necessarily in that order). Interestingly, I've been to games at each of these teams' parks, except not yet to Target Field. At the time I remember the S.O. (who grew up a Cubs fan since his prime getting-into-baseball years fell right when there was no team in Milwaukee) saying, well duh, root for the Cubs. But I felt no desire to do that. Even if I somehow, someday found the Cubs' story compelling, they have a zillion fans and don't need my support. The only selling point for me would be relative proximity. If I had to create a 21st-century MLB contingency list...it would be harder because I'm into the Brewers that much deeper now, but the list would probably not be much different. Pirates/Royals/Indians/Mariners are all more my type of market size, and the Twins are relatively nearby. I might even add the Nationals to my list. I wouldn't see a reason to divest all of my Brewers stuff if they changed places/names, but I might have to forego wearing them for a mourning period.

The Brewers started to mail season ticket packages last week and I believe they expect to have most/all in the mail by the end of this week. The hawing household seems to be one of the last to receive every year, so I'm expecting the same this go-round.

Oh, man, that's terrible. I just did a search for his most recent posts and in one earlier this month, Chad mentioned that he and his wife had just bought a house up the hill from MP. Geez. I appreciate that the obituary suggests donations to the BCF.

Charter did move MLBN to "Digi Tier 1" earlier this month. The bill we got in (I think) January had a notice saying this would happen. It's $10/month more to add that tier and I am still pondering whether I want to do that. The cable account is in my name so I figure I get to make the final decision. This page includes a link to an out-of-date Digi Tier 1 lineup (out of date since it doesn't show MLBN). There are times we've missed out on Badger sports because they were on ESPNU, so I wouldn't mind having access to that. At least Charter waited until after the 30 games in 30 days Brewers segment aired.

When I look at clips from The Gong Show nowadays, I wonder if anyone was ever sober on that set. I mean, like ever.