hawing

I'm still low key mad that I let myself get sucked into this show, back in the day. That and Secret Life of the American Teenager. But I'm pleased that the magic number changed Sunday even though it wasn't due to a Brewers win.

It was Lane Grindle's call, and he met the moment. 😀 Let's make sure that noted foodie Mark Canha never pays for his own meal in Milwaukee again. My goodness.

It was ADT on the Marlins' sleeves, and to me those stuck out more like a sore thumb. I was hoping for some keystone kop style defense from the Marlins this week, so we could laugh at the irony of their patch sponsor being a security company.

If you see a "Friday retro" style jersey repping Stephen Vogt and the current magic number at the ballpark tonight, come say hello. 😉

I'm not a fan of the concept, but this is far from the worst of the mlb team patches that have emerged to date.

Marketers announce a new patch.

Maybe Hank the Ballpark Pup has really passed this time. 😔 If Scrubby the mascot Scrubbing Bubble adorns every jersey going forward, I will be either disappointed or forever laughing. Whatever it is had better not disrupt the team's reasonably decent recent mojo.

I think you mean Will Sammon. 😉 David Gasper is editor in chief of Reviewing the Brew, not BCB. People (most of whom are probably not deeply into baseball) say they follow me on social media for the Brewers - but I don't know that I'm the kind of contact you are asking about.

I'd have a hard, hard time rooting for a relocated Brewers franchise.

Apologies first for taking this wayyyyy off track. But this quote above reminds me of September 1995, when (as many of you remember, or at least know) the Brewers' future in Milwaukee was at a bit of a crossroads. I took the step of making a mental short list of teams I would consider rooting for in place of a relocated Brewers team. My S.O., who rooted for CHC as a kid (for reasons that were understandable*), thought he was being helpful when he suggested I change allegiance to CHC. 😬 For those wondering, the teams on my short list of 1995 included Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Seattle, Cleveland, maybe the Twins, and absolutely nothing from Chicago. *He grew up in Kenosha; his grandparents had WGN on all the time; and Milwaukee had no MLB team during his age 9-12 seasons. With my help, he has since turned against the Cubs; and of course, we have always been in agreement on the Cardinals.

It's my turn at what's bugging me. Some of you know I work at a research library that's part of a state agency. We hire work-study student employees to help with many tasks because work-study funding means a portion of wages is covered by federal funds. The hiring process, which peaks at this time every year, requires balancing three different bureaucracies and it's usually a slog even when things go as they should. This year I sent the job ad to the UW-Madison folks who post them, and they notify me that they can't place my ad because they don't have a 2023-2024 contract from our agency yet. Our HR office is supposed to do this by August 1 every year. So okay, HR dropped the ball. I notified HR of the situation and was told "The 2023-2024 signed contract has been sent to UW. It went out in the last week." That wording made me wonder if it was code for "whoops, we forgot, we just did it now." And indeed, UW notified me this morning that the contract arrived yesterday and will be processed in the next few days. (Students are just now moving back to Madison and I need staff in place by the 28th - so even a few days' delay is problematic.) So my suspicion is almost certainly correct and HR forgot about it until they saw my reminder. W H Y not just say "Oh no, we overlooked this, we just got it done, sorry for the delay" ?? I't's annoying enough that I can't advertise for new students or do the forms for returning students for a few days, but I'm frankly more annoyed that HR wouldn't own up to what's most likely a simple mistake. Heck of an example to set for the rest of the agency. 😠

If they split a four game series, neither team will get maximum momentum from it. (Standings aside, though, Reds every day for me. Of course, right now the standings matter.)

Welp, I've been on vacation the last two weeks, including vacation from this site (and from my Twitter DMs - sorry Brock). I'm happy to chime in with suggestions, though. For the Terrace Box section... Technically I guess TB is the bottom of the third deck, but "third" at AFF always makes me think club. Maybe describe it as the bottom/front of the fourth level. Also - for fans who might be concerned about the terrace being problematically rowdy, TB is not that way. Each box section is only 6-7 rows and ushers are generally close and approachable. If you're bringing the family but mom or dad wants to enjoy an adult beverage, the non-family-section TB sections will still serve you well. If your party includes short people, know that the front railing in row 1 and sometimes 2 of the terrace will obstruct their view. (That actually might apply to the loge and club sections too; I haven't sat in the front row of either.) For Loge Infield Platinum: This area is rich in foul ball opportunities and is in front of the press box and broadcast booths. If you want to be the first to hear today's attendance, or the official announcement of why a player left the game this area is for you. It's not the greatest form to turn around and whoop at Bob Uecker until he looks up and maybe waves, but that doesn't stop some fans from trying. Designated Driver info: You can also get a soda voucher at the guest relations stations on the loge and terrace levels. You do have to present proof that you parked on-site (either a paper receipt or the parking pass from your Ballpark app). The voucher is available until one hour after first pitch. Additional Fan Favorite: I'd add the Bob Uecker statue in the top row of section 422. It has an empty seat next to it so you can pose with Ueck for a photo. https://www.mlb.com/news/bob-uecker-statue-gets-spot-in-last-row-at-miller-park/c-73326830 And, as has already been mentioned, include the Club Level in the Best Seats section. Even if you're not club suite eligible, the climate control in the concourse (either heat or AC, depending on the season) can be a lifesaver. The club also boasts food selections not available elsewhere in the park. My favorite is the custom nacho bar. If I think of anything else, I'll add it here, unless you'd rather I contact you directly, Brock.

I guess Friday's loss won't be entirely in vain if it's what finally tipped the scales for the Brewers to realize that Matt Bush wasn't cutting it here. Even if he finds (relative) success elsewhere, he was clearly not working out as a Brewer. Sometimes that happens. Pannone deserves better for his efforts, but as has been noted, that was more of a procedural transaction than a comment on his performance, and it's more likely he'll be back in Nashville soon.

They'd have to get legislative approval, and anyone who even casually follows the current Wisconsin legislative climate knows that would go nowhere. Juneteenth is also not a holiday for (non-UW) state employees, which made me as surprised as NMF to see that Metro is reducing service on Monday. It must be a holiday for city employees, maybe also county. (Googles a bit) Indeed it is! https://www.wortfm.org/juneteenth-has-yet-to-become-a-paid-holiday-in-wisconsin/#:~:text=But Wisconsin is one of,may opt to do so.

I feel like any attempt to keep track of Brewers injuries would look like an out of control electricity meter.

So when Willson is not in the outfield or behind the dish, he'll be the DHBP. 😏

Someone I employed as a grad student (going on 20 years ago) won an award at her current library. The reception for it was yesterday and was held just down the street so I stopped by. She gave me a shoutout in her remarks. It felt nice.

I'm not a teacher, but as a librarian my profession is education-adjacent. My SO retired in fall 2021 from his library career, and if I had a dollar for everyone who asks me "so when's it going to be YOUR turn?", I might be able to retire sooner! 😬 For real, though, I have reached the minimum age for retirement without an age penalty from the state (I work for a state agency). However, I'm not as close to being eligible for full federal benefits. Having a partner at home whose time is almost entirely his own certainly makes it tempting to stop sooner. Another temptation is that one of my two closest colleagues at the library retired last fall, and the other just requested a retirement benefit estimate today. I was hoping we could be the three amigos for a little longer and am ambivalent about being the last remaining amiga for super long. Having said all that, I'm not sure I want to go from 60 to zero in terms of work pace. The SO didn't have as abrupt a close to his career since the last 1.5 years was the heart of the pandemic.

A concessions note: on Fridays, the concession stand behind section 204 has a semi-secret fish fry (it's not on the posted menu) which is a surprisingly good value compared to many ballpark options.

I have *thoughts* on national anthem performances. I suspect I'm an outlier on them, so I won't share them here. I agree that some performances of the Star Spangled Banner are cringe inducing.

25 and under? Wouldn't that include a majority of people not old enough to even start college?

We used to hit up the tundra territory once a year or so, just for a different POV. I think it's now reserved for groups. Womp womp. Somewhere in the MLB dot com archives is FSWI footage of a first inning home run hit to just below our seats in the Territory. If you know where to look, you can briefly see us cheering.

Usher Bill IS the best. He at least used to read this site too! *waving*

I'll admit that the hawing household has scaled back how much ballpark food we eat, mostly because my partner is diabetic and a lot of ballpark staples are not diabetic friendly. We have also continued to mask at games, so we are more likely to stop for Cousins subs or the like en route to the park. Having said that, when I do eat at AFF, I enjoy the baked potatoes, the big warm pretzels (greatly improved since they switched to Milwaukee Pretzel Co products) and (betraying my Madisonness) Ian's Pizza. There's a grilled cheese stand by the hot corner team store which I've also enjoyed, but it was frequently closed during our games in 2022. For beverages, I bring in water or a soft drink and Tom gets a designated-driver voucher. We're rarely in the club seats, but when we have that access, we've had success with the taco bar. You choose your fillings and can ask for enough lettuce to basically have a taco salad instead of a taco. For seating (besides first-base side to stay mostly shaded, because I have two skin settings - pasty and crispy), I love love love our seats in the central loge, below the press box. We've become acquainted with several of the press box regulars and some of the announcers, and I like being able to hear the press box announcements. We also have a 20 pack in the terrace box, and I think it's a best kept secret in terms of the view you get for the price. The key is to land in the sections closer to home plate. Having said that, most of our terrace games are weeknights, which tend to not be super rowdy. Terrace boxes are small enough for guest relations staff to actually be able to keep an eye on things and nip unruliness in the bud. The terrace reserved sections are so much larger that there's no way an usher can see everything. Both our loge and terrace seats are in the family sections. We originally got family section seats when they were designated at County Stadium, because it was the only place in the seating bowl where you couldn't smoke - but we got to appreciating the relative lack of rowdiness/fighting/puking. In both of our family sections, the ushers are attentive, which we also appreciate.