hawing

If you told Carlos that he might get one. More seriously, I was delighted to see him win. It's almost as if this Gold Glove award was awarded based on defense. I do hope this means Cutch has some 2013 season award coming this way.

I wasn't super enthusiastic about more fuel for the Boston-fan-hubris machine, but anyone but the Cardinals, so OK. Here's hoping the Red Sox players do some shaving soon. Fire up the hot stove. Also, not to be overlooked is the (blessed) end of the broadcast career of Tim McCarver.

Given the Pirates' season, I'm sadly skeptical that GoGo can edge out McCutchen. How about Cutch for MVP? Then they could spread the awards around.

UW is having a free scrimmage Saturday at 5:00. I'm hoping to get there and have a look.

Does the pattern of the spots match the pattern of the drain holes in your washer drum? If it does, your washer could be at least a partial culprit. If your washer is older, it might be worth occasionally running a cycle with no clothes and vinegar in place of detergent - that can sometimes remove gunk. There are also commercial products that you can add to a no-clothes cycle (Tide has a washing machine cleaner product, for example), but vinegar is less expensive. When I googled "dark spots on clothes after washing," a common theme among the results I perused was that the spots were oily/greasy and blue Dawn dishwashing liquid (not other brands or colors, go figure) could get the spots out. That might be worth trying if your spots are also oily/greasy and you don't want to spend a lot of $ to replace your dress shirts.

Sorry to those of you who dislike winter weather. But there was at least one snow shower in Madison today.

Woah, it's been longer than I realized since I last took inventory of my extra Gameday programs and posted a list of extras here. If you collect these and have a gap from 2011, '12 or '13 (or in some cases if you're a glutton for punishment and want to actually relive parts of the last season or two), chances are I can help you out. If you're in or can get to the Madison area, I can hand off in person. If you're not and want just a few, I can mail those. If it's more than, say, five issues, I'd want to negotiate postage reimbursement. Thanks for looking, and maybe helping me clear some shelf space! 2011 extras: #1 (cover image: Border Battle, brat vs. Chicago hot dog) #3 (Shaun Marcum) #4 (Mark Rogers) #8 (2011 Draft) #9 (Rick Kranitz) - 2 extras #10 (Zack Greinke) #11 (Fowl Ball - red feathers signifying STL) #12 (Green Week) #14 (Jonathan Lucroy) #15 (Barrel Man and Mr. Red) #16 (Brewers Community Foundation) #17 (Ryan Braun, "thanking his lucky stars") #19 (Yovani Gallardo) #20 (Nyjer Morgan) #21 (Francisco Rodriguez) #23 (Randy Wolf) #24 (Bench Strength) #25 (Standing "Owe" - fan appreciation) #26 (Prince Fielder) 2012 extras: #1 (Aramis Ramirez) #2 (Alex Gonzalez) #3 (A Gonzalez/Gamel/Fiers) - 2 extras #4 (Mat Gamel) #5 (Yovani Gallardo) - 2 extras #6 (George Kottaras) - 2 extras #7 (Jose Veras) - 2 extras #8 (Norichika Aoki) #9 (Corey Hart) - 2 extras #10 (Ben Rouse, the fan who went to all 162 games in 2012) #11 (T.J. Mittelstaedt) - 2 extras #12 (Green Week) - 2 extras #13 (Tim Dillard) #14 (Carlos Gomez) - 2 extras #15 (Zack Greinke) - 4 extras #16 (Travis Ishikawa) #17 (Negro Leagues Tribute) - 2 extras #18 (Martin Maldonado) #19 (Brewers Community Foundation) #20 (Jonathan Lucroy) #21 (Hunter Morris) #22 (Bob Uecker) #23 (Rickie Weeks) #24 (Brewers Mini Marathon) #25 (Fan Appreciation) #26 (Ryan Braun, "leading by example") 2013 extras: #1 (Tom Gorzelanny) - 2 extras #2 (Brewers Baseball Academy / Jean Segura) - 2 extras #3 (Michael Gonzalez) - 2 extras #4 (All-Star voting) #5 (Tribute for Heroes [military]) #6 (Kyle Lohse) - 2 extras #7 (Khris Davis) #8 (Burke Badenhop) - 2 extras #9 (Ryan Braun, "continues to set the bar") - 2 extras #10 (Wily Peralta) - 2 extras #11 (Johnny Logan Walk of Fame induction) #12 (Carlos Gomez) - 2 extras #13 (Polish Baseball Heritage, featuring an incorrectly photoshopped Hot Dog) #14 (Norichika Aoki) #15 (Jim Henderson) #16 (Mitch Haniger) #17 (Logan Schafer) - 2 extras #18 (Jonathan Lucroy) - 2 extras #19 (Harvey Kuenn) #20 (Brewers Community Foundation) #21 (Brandon Kintzler) - 2 extras #22 (Gorman Thomas) #23 (Marco Estrada) #24 (Brewers Mini Marathon) #25 (Yovani Gallardo) #26 (Fan Appreciation)

In the "wafer-thin silver lining" department, I personally would have a hard time buying a cap designed like this even if it featured a Brewers logo: http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/graphics/product_images/pDSP1-17273606_alternate2_p275w.jpg

However the ALCS plays out, I'm pretty sure I'm done following the 2013 MLB season, and surely any games in the NL park. I have a friend who's a Cardinals fan and seriously tried to make the case that STL is the underdog of this year's LCS teams. While it's technically correct that they have the smallest payroll, I fail to see how that translates into neediness.

I have such an internet crush on Deadspin lately.

http://www.trevorloudon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/buhbye.jpg Except if he stays in the organization, he won't really be gone.

Speaking more generally about 2014 renewals: Our packet arrived Saturday and the total owed is exactly the same as last year. Comparing the 2014 seating/pricing list to 2013's, there are no changes for existing or new season ticket customers. The 2014 invoice says that the total ticket savings off gate price, based on 2013 pricing (emphasis mine), is the same as on the 2013 invoice. Thus it appears single game ticket prices aren't set yet. There is also no mention of blue/gold/marquee game categories. Perhaps they're planning to switch to all dynamic pricing; time will tell. The perks for early renewal are a bit expanded. For 20-game, half-season and Terrace Ticket Treat customers, the first 1500 accounts to pay in full can opt for a personal autograph session with Gomez, Lucroy or Segura OR $25 in food and beverage vouchers per seat on your account, plus your choice of Stadium Club passes OR seat upgrade vouchers. For those wondering, the renewal materials are entirely Braunwashed.

Definitely ask. The reps may not have a complete picture of what's available until they know who else is renewing/not renewing, but they should be able to give you some idea already. Here is the hawing household's experience: From 2001-2007 we had a fan's choice 20-pack in the terrace box. The only reason we weren't moved all over was because we asked for family section seats, but we were moved around within that section. In 2008, we added a Sunday Plus 20-pack in the loge family section, which has been awesome for us; and in 2009 we changed our terrace seats to Opening Day Plus. When I talked to our rep about changing the terrace plan, he described how our section (417) was divided, with seats in certain rows reserved for fixed-pack, other rows for fan's choice customers, etc. The rows reserved for fan's choice customers lined up with where we'd been seated in recent years. We wanted to claim seats in row 7 for our fixed package, and at first he said that wasn't possible - that for a fixed 20 pack he could put us in rows 2 or 3. Something like that. Then he realized that since not all terrace box sections have seven rows, row 7 of our section wasn't reserved for anything - so he said, sure, he could put us there. (In case you are wondering, the front rows of the section don't work for me because I'm short and the railing blocks my view. I tested many seats in TB 417 one night in September 2002 when we were almost the only fans there, so I know what seats optimize my view. And yes, I am a giant nerd.) So since 2009 we have had two fixed packs and have mostly been very pleased. There are a few instances every year where the two plans result in our having games on consecutive days/nights, which does not work well with our day jobs and distance from Milwaukee; but that is usually when the exchange policy saves our bacon, or I split those pairs of games with a coworker who also likes the family section. Having the same seats every time isn't important for everyone, but I like it a lot. We have even met the couple who has "our" terrace seats for the Sunday Plus package. It's kind of nice to know who else is sitting there.

I'll be interested to see if Zack speaks frankly about STL again. If he does, it might reignite my fan crush all over again. Hatred with the fire of a billion suns. Seriously.

I think that silver lining is warranted for you, RFC. Games like OAK-DET are entertaining for a neutral observer, but had I been emotionally invested in either team, it would have been kind of stressful.

It was pretty sweet for this fan to see Chris Capuano finally get a playoff appearance, and get the win to boot. Ace of the staff!

I can see it now. Royals are in process of frittering away first playoff spot in decades with Ned Yost making one bad decision after another, when to the rescue comes Dale Svuem with 2 weeks left in the season. Oh, that's outstanding, because it's so plausible.

The Reds fans I follow on Twitter are probably all like this: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1k8sw_steam-na-na-hey-hey-kiss-him-goodby_music I am pretty sure I would not want Dusty to ever manage the Brewers.

Lest we forget: one of those three Lalli hits was a walkoff winner. Link

At the last home game of 2013, the fans behind us were talking about the Brewers' logjams in the outfield and at first base. The first-base "logjam" included Green, Gamel, Hart if he is resigned, and "whoever else is left in the system." The consensus among these fans was that Juan Francisco would be long gone, as would Yuni. Yeah, I know. I decided not to interject. These aren't casual fans, either; they've been in our loge season ticket section as long as we have, if not longer. Anyway, the 1B logjam is smaller now.

The Reds-Pirates game caused me to have multiple flashbacks to Game 3 of the 2008 NLDS. They were generally positive flashbacks. I think most every fanbase should have an opportunity for a happy postseason experience at least once every 20-25 years, so I'm quite all right with Pittsburghers finally getting another chance. When the Brewers are not in the postseason, I tend to side with infrequent postseason visitors and/or smaller markets. So for me a PIT-CLE Series would be awesome, and as a bonus it would probably dismay Joe Buck and the gang at FOX. Mostly I'm in "Anyone But the Cardinals" mode (those of you who agree with this and tweet can find kindred spirits with the #ABtC hashtag). I also feel no need for Boston to have more success. A BOS-STL Series is one I'd largely ignore.

I suppose we (cosmically) need seasons like this to better appreciate the good ones? I'm still kind of bummed. That was the fun six months of the year. Now the other six are coming up.

[sarcasm]We just can't avoid that coastal bias![/sarcasm] Seriously, thanks for all you do.

There were two dingers from Sammy in that game. At least one went to center-right, because we had right-field corner lower grandstand seats that day (exchanged from some prior game we couldn't attend) and I vividly remember having a great view of one of the HR balls sailing almost right in front of us. I know I've said this before, but that was and still is one of the most all-around interesting games I've ever attended.

I almost forgot to post this! but it's still September 23 in the central time zone. Enjoy. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/news/1998/09/23/cubs_brewers/cubs.html