JimH5

I don't feel bad for Prince. I feel bad for me not having him on my hometown team any more. He's been a great Brewer, he seems like a wonderful teammate--and he wants to get the most money possible. Nothing wrong with that at all. But if he goes to a team in the division, then he's going to get booed--that's part of the deal. Otherwise, I wish him the best, and hope he has great success with the Yanks or Nats or Angels or whichever team he joins--and moreso, I hope we can find someone able to take his place.

If the Brewer win wasn't enough, I'm given a double dose of delight, as Spanish bullfighter Juan Jose Padilla took one to the face by Marques the bull. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/08/juan-jose-padilla-spain-bullfighter_n_1001412.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003 I only hope Marques got in a few f-bombs on Spanish tv before he was undoubtedly slaughtered.

2005 Chisox, Angels & Astros/Cardinals

I don't like Yuni at all. He had a 0.7 WAR for the season. But we had 5 seasons from Jim Gantner with a lower WAR, and he's a beloved icon. Yuni had a big hit tonight, and made a terrific putout at 2nd when the game was on the line. Kudos to him for a good night, and I hope he continues this run for another few weeks.

I love the birds on bats logo. They hate the Cubs. Bob Gibson was awesome. Dizzy Dean has been on reruns of Hee Haw on RFD tv in recent weeks, and he was wearing a snappy hat. They make an awesome villan, so it should be a great series. Bruce Sutter's beard was quite bushy. Stan the Man's harmonica-playing is sweet.

Dear Yuni, I'm sorry for what I said earlier that you were my favorite Brewer when there were two outs and I had to pee. I promise to hold it , regardless of how long your at bat takes. Thanks for being so clutch tonight. Your BFF, Jim

It is funny how that works. Yuni is still pretty maddening, but he definitely came up big today.

I actually like it. It's pure kitsch for sure, but no more so than a sausage or pierogi. The Miami art scene has some pretty vivid stuff. . .Romero Britto, David Lebatard, Depena, RJ Hohimer. . . And while this thing throws it all into a blender, I'm fine with it being an iconic thing for the Marlins.

Awesome story, splitter. . . And good for you for giving the guy a hand.

Posada had a great Division Series, seemingly wrapping up his 17-year career. He has 4 World Series championships, 11 post-season homers, 275 career regular-season homers, 379 doubles, 900 runs, 1065 rbi, 1664 hits, a career .273 batting average, .374 OBP, .474 SLG. He has 5 All-Star appearances & 5 Silver Sluggers. Is he a Hall of Famer? There are 16 Hall of Fame catchers. . . Johnny Bench Yogi Berra Roger Bresnahan Roy Campanella Gary Carter Mickey Cochrane Bill Dickey Buck Ewing Rick Ferrell Carlton Fisk Josh Gibson Gabby Hartnett Ernie Lombardi Biz Mackey Louis Santop Ray Schalk Seemingly, Mike Piazza & Ivan Rodriguez will join that group. And I think Posada belongs too.

I think he's in Mississippi. Physically, he's kind of a mess. I don't know what is causing it, but he's got to be 300 lb. or close. He moves around very slowly with a metal walker on wheels, and I can't remember if he was complaining about his knees, or maybe his hips or what. I think he drives everywhere he goes, and remember meeting him at Gonzaga Hall a couple of years back. I asked him about an earlier show appearance in Westchester County, NY. He cancelled that show, and the promoter said that he was ill, but Boomer said that he drove up there, found out the terms of the appearance weren't to his liking, and drove back home. He still has a very captivating personality that dominates the room. Not sure how it works when the Brewers invite guys back for stuff. I would think the invitation and maybe travel expenses might be enough, but maybe they get paid, too. Whatever it was, I guess Boomer wanted more.

More forgotten then Scott, was the guy who's name I stole for a monicker. Do you realize on the day Briggsie was traded away for the awful (as a Brewer) Bobby Darwin, he had a .447 OBP, the Brewers were 28-28 and only 3.5 games out of first. Without Briggs they went 40-66 the rest of that year. Briggs was also the first Brewer to go 6 for 6 in a game, and he once hit two home runs (including a GS) in a game off of Nolan Ryan in 1972, which was no small feat, considering that was a year that Ryan fanned 329 and only allowed a total of 14 HR all year in 284 innings. Having been at that game, it cemented Briggs as my first ever favorite Brewer.Briggs was a solid player along with Davey May as well. Though he's probably retired now, last I heard Briggs was working in law enforcement on the East Coast. I remember being dissappointed at the closing of County Stadium that guys like Scott, Briggs, May, Harper and Pattin weren't involved (I think Colborn had an MLB coaching job somewhere). Perhaps they were invited but declined. They definitely had more of an impact on the franchise than guys who represented that era like Lew Krausse, Danny Walton and Ron Theobald.Boomer Scott and Johnny Briggs were at a signing at Waukesha Sportscards not that long ago. Scott made a comment that he didn't come back for a Brewers event (perhaps the unveiling of the Selig statue?) because the team didn't want to pay him for his appearance. I don't blame him for trying to grab the money where and when he can. He's in failing health and has difficulty getting around, so for him to travel would require a payday. But that may be why Boomer isn't more involved with the Brewers. Briggs looked in great shape and both guys remain friendly to fans and each other.

Paul Molitor was a great Brewer, and he remains a fine guy. I just think he loves his home state more than ours.

That's exactly what the guy sitting next to me said this weekend, as he got up to go pee.... and Yuni promptly tripled.Funny--I thought the same thing at that point, though I was watching from home. After he took the first pitch I wondered who it was that I was watching. . .I will be glad to eat my words if he keeps it up. . .

Since Andy Rooney is hanging them up, this one is in his honor: I'm glad my last name isn't "Carpenter", with my friends and acquaintances calling me "Carp". That seems like a bad nickname to have.

Well now What's Bugging Me is how oblivious I've been to Sweet Caroline apparently being all around. I'm last to the party on that one--and I'm sure among whatever group there is to have it discontinued at Miller Park. I don't really care what happens at Camp Randall. Let Boston have it. . .the song is fine, but it really does belong to them the way Cotton Eyed Joe belongs to the Rangers and Yankees.

I just heard the Brewer organist playing Sweet Caroline. Has he been doing that all year? Why are we channeling Fenway? And just afterward, the DBacks homer to cut the lead. NO MORE SWEET CAROLINE!

I appreciate what he does on the field, but this "quirkiness" act is getting old. I don't think it's quirkiness as much as it is controlled mental illness. He has been diagnosed with some disorder, so I'm giving him lots of slack.

Yuni's my favorite Brewer, too, when there are two outs and I have to pee.

Lou Piniella was traded for Randy Winn. (SEA-TB). And during the Charlie Finley selloff of Oakland A's players, they traded Manager Chuck Tanner to the Pirates for Manny Sanguillen. I can't see how a loose cannon like Ozzie is going to survive under the control of that Marlins front office. That already looks like trouble.

People don't have the ability to "will themselves" to have a 100 percent chance at anything, just as I couldn't concentrate hard enough as a child to make myself float in midair. But people handle different times in different ways. Some get all panicky in pressure filled situations, while others are just fine with the moment. Some freeze in public speaking, while others handle it just fine. I just don't know how mathematical models can predict that. And go to a new restaurant where the place is jumping, and workers are performing with enthusiasm and confidence, and then look at a place that's dead, and watch how people drag around the place. Why wouldn't sports be the same thing? There are times when we are absolutely locked into a sitation, and there are others, where we're not. Yet we expect hitters on a last place team in late September to take the same approach as they would in a pennant drive? That seems counter to regular human behavior.

I don't know what the real value is. But to me, I'd probably say somewhere between $75 and $100. It's cool and it's Brewers baseball, but it's pretty spartan in style and substance. It's one of those things that I'd like to have, but not THAT much.

Plesac is fired up tonight on the MLB Network. . .His celebration had Harold Reynolds in stitches. . .Great to watch!

That was one of the first 45s I ever bought. The DeFrancos didn't have much of a shelf life, but they were big sellers back in 1973.