topper09er

Nice outing from our worst starter

Horrible slide, need to go head first on the foul side

Why not go home???

80 pitches to get 9 outs, walks a pitcher trying to bunt. Nice

Well Bianchi will get some pitches to hit here

We need to stop talking about being 84th on the all-time saves list

As usual, everyone watching on TV knows the result but the umpires dont yet

Palmeiro? He hit a few, including 1 in the Jeffrey Maier game

Sosa hit a few post season bombs

I'm going to guess Frank Thomas and Ernie Banks. Big Ern is correct, Frank Thomas hit a few

Not sure if you are referring to the Soriano jump-drop or Matt Holiday groin-drop

Who are the 2 members of 500 HR club to never hit a post season HR?

gotta love the 3-1 infield fly

Cubs have thrown out 4% of base stealers this year

Great AB there by Ovie

This stall tactic on the replays is crap.

I have an accountant friend who used the "if they only play .500 ball" logic back in what was is 2006 or '07 when they started out really hot. I kept telling him that teams have hot and cold streaks. I figured they were around a .500 team, and a hot start doesn't change that... it really only makes it more likely that they'll trade for a player mid-season rather than trading away players. Because he started thinking playoffs early in the season, he got really mad when the team played under .500 ball the rest of the way and missed the playoffs. I feel the same about this year's team. I felt before the season that if everyone stays healthy and some things fall their way, they could fight for a Wild Card spot. I still feel the same way. They will have some losing streaks that will even out this hot start, and at the end of the year if they continue to stay healthy and the very young and very old players don't wear down as the season progresses, they will probably be in the Wild Card race. The one outlier is whether this hot start means they will trade away some of their few decent prospects for a rental player. I guess I'm just saying to enjoy the team and the success they're having, but don't get too high on the good times, as it can lead to frustration (borderline depression) when they have their inevitable cold streaks. Your friend was right. You are falling prey to the gambler's fallacy. Its the idea that after an event a random occurance has to lean the other direction to make up for it. For example, if you have a fair coin (that you know is fair) and you are going to flip it 10 times. You expect to get 5 heads and 5 tails. You then flip 5 heads in a row. The gambler's fallacy says the next flip is likely to be tails to even things out so you get 5 tails. But it isn't more likely to be tails, the probability hasn't changed: 1/2 heads, 1/2 tails. So that said, if you expected the Brewers to be a .500 team coming into the year, after the start there is no reason to expect the Brewers to be a below .500 over the remaining games. You may say that the start doesn't change your opinion of the Brewers, but that means you should expect them to win 50% of theri remaining games, not less. The gambler's fallacy only applies to independent events, that is to say each event does not affect the others. This is true with flipping coins, but I would think not in baseball.

Last may have been Cecil Cooper

And to tie this whole thing together nicely, similar to what a rug can do for your living room, the closest anyone has come to hitting .400 since Williams in '41 is Tony Gwynn, .394 with San Diego in 1994

I didn't. I knew it right away. But then I read a lot of baseball history. A lot. To clarify, I did not cheat with my guess, I cheated by confirming there was not a previous player

Yes, he did. He could be surly with reporters (that started after he decided to go fishing off-season instead of going to see his mother), and sometimes with the fans. But he was a good man overall. He was like Ruth in that he absolutely went out of his way to help kids in any way he could. He did a lot of work with the Jimmy Fund in Boston. Then there was his service in not one, but two wars. Ted is an American icon, and the best pure hitter to ever play the game imo. Cobb was great, too. Joe Jackson was amazing with Black Betsy. But Williams was an artist. I'd give my left leg if I could jump in a time machine, and go back in time to watch him play a game in his prime. In the 1940s, Williams did each of the following things in separate years: Hit .400 Win the Triple Crown Win the Triple Crown Win an MVP Win an MVP Miss a full season to WWII Miss a full season to WWII Miss a full season to WWII

Going by Team name not franchise, the first Milwaukee Brewers teams played from 1884-1899 mostly in the Northwestern League and Western League. No future HOFers, but I have to call out the 1886 squad featuring such players as Lady Baldwin, Tug Arundel, Trick McSorley, Jumbo Schoeneck and Dick Burns. From 1897-1900 their manager was Connie Mack, but 1888 they first had Clark Griffith. He went made 25 starts and had 25 complete games. He entered the HOF as a pioneer in 1947 although he was a good pitcher in the majors before becoming the owner of the Washington Senators. I don't see any other HOFers until they joined the American League in 1900 and had player/manager HOFer Hugh Duffy in 1901, but I feel required to mention 1891 player Phenonenal Smith

I cheated, Williams played in the first season (1936) for the Padres in the PCL as a 17 year old so it is him. Bobby Doerr also played on that team...and he is still alive!

Williams comes to mind, I know he played there in the PCL. Can't think of anyone earlier so I'll go with Teddy

The Shef, I think the year after we traded him. He almost won the triple crown I think