TauPentaRei

This sub-specie of fan on this site has been ominously quiet lately... then again, I've been avoiding the IGTs and Vent Thread like the plague. I have been internally waffling more than Belgium and flip flopping more than Reef since I wrote this way way back in the year... "I will be a Ben Sheets detractor until we see 20 wins in a season, or 2 in a single playoff series" ...but it is never more applicable then now. He had his chance to be the horse, and he could have even fulfilled the latter of my personal benchmark metric. Were we asking too much to make 6 starts in a pennant race? And all of the depression laced quotes he hands out to the paper about letting the team down et al better show up around contract time: say $3M base + $400,000 for each win. That's how you're going to earn $11M from the Brewers Ben.

Locate one place where I suggested that the roof is a bad thing. I am an advocate of an OPEN roof. There is all the inference in the world that the roof is for rain, not cold. it's still rust-belt baseball, afterall. wisconsin gone soft. blankets and hot cocoa people. if i have to add "enjoyment of 75 degree september and -godwilling- october baseball" to my pre-requisite checklist of brewers fandom ON TOP of ribbon boards, sandy maxx and plastic slides, the Benz brauhaus, elevators and godawful cover bands, TGI friday's, the kiss cam, and fifty more annoyances that pollute a pure experience, I'll stick to watching the Crew 8 times a year at Wrigley. even though i sound like andy rooney, i'm 27 and i helped construct miller park. they managed not to get the bunting up for the all-star game, so i bet they can figure out a way to take the fall out of the Fall Classic. And I'll have you know that i deleted the first 50 words i wrote about your well informed and intricately thought-out reply, because they probably broke 7 of the 10 commandments on here.

Well partially yes, and that is part of the problem; Wisconsonites have gone soft. I see 55K Mets fans managed to find sweatshirts before going to Shea, 36K went outside in Boston that night, and 32K braved the seasonal conditions at Jacobs Field. Baseball is a six month sport and therefore subject to weather variations, it's part of its charm. My experience Saturday - to say nothing of the amazing chessboard nature of the late innings - was rather desensitizing. It was September-quality baseball played in a generic thermostat vacuum. And partially no, because 40,000 people wake up Saturday morning and drive from LaCrosse, Eau Claire, Green Bay knowing they will see a baseball game no questions ask - no rainout, no voucher, no parking money sunk. Just a planned outing to see a baseball game guaranteed is the reasoning behind the roof investment. No one thinks "well, I'd really like to see the Brewers tonight but I'm not going to go because it's cold. I think all those people enjoy the cold to one degree or another (pun intended). Kudos to Minnesnowtans for green-lighting the outdoor park.

Perhaps this is bound for the Off-Topic arena... but then again, when I think playoff baseball I think of players seeing their breath, fans under blankets and the sharpest crack of the bat reverberating though crisp cool autumnal air. Yeah I invested in some Brewers merch in anticipation of just such an atmosphere - a fatty ball and glove hoodie - and much to my dismay I entered the balmy confines of a ball of energy that is released from 40,000 excited people drinking beer, aka Miller Park. No outdoor wall panels open neither! Jebus himself could not have drawn up a more perfect September Saturday night in which to watch baseball, OUTSIDE! This is purely anecdotal, but apparently Melvin was hosting a Q & A session with a bunch of people (my parents included) the other night in the 1982 suite, and one of the typical questions coming from the typical non-baseball person regarded the roof. Doug's answer was explicit because it was the only thing my Ma remembered: the Brewers perform better with the roof closed. Well, count me amongst the disenfranchised; so help me if they turn the heat on.

I don't get this. Ned is George W in this respect: willing whipping boy. Sure Ned has to stand in front of the camera and bungle his way forward to another line-up card, but where is the porportionate blame to Maddux, Castro, Ash, Melvin? What does Sveum do all day that is more important than forecasting the bullpen and anticipating poor returns on book decisions?

Devastatingly Awesome Violent Extinguishing of the Bucs U(singer Sausage) Solidifying Humiliation I absolutely love the symbolism of slapping the Pirates, Pittsburgh fans and the franchise with their 82nd loss of the season, can't get enough of it in fact. No small market mercy or fellow basement dweller empathy any longer. We are better than them and must act like it. Enjoy years 15 thru 29 of your streak of futility patsy creampuffs.

How about gameday Uecker seat sales? Gimme the insider info.

here's my existentialist dilemma of the night: if you are Johnny Estrada standing on first base, do you attempt to steal against Johnny Estrada the catcher? i don't know why every runner (Pence) isn't given green green go go go...

Bonds, over and over again. While still in the 740s though. and then over and over again some more. Ribs, knee, backne, wrist... don't matter.

I am really pleased with the Brewers right now. Plain and simple, September 5... smack talkin junk in my Chicago office is rampant, and I don't even have to open my mouth (yet) to respond to claims that Hawk and Barnett are "Urlacher and Briggs Lite." I am confident in the offense... and has it been 7 of 8 (!) quality starts since Sheets infused life and hope? I am very not comfortable with the infield defense and grass monsters. [rando-stat] After today... 10 of the next 11 games are pitched on 5 days rest: 2 and 1/5 turns through the rotation. We owe the schedule-makers a beer; we could be St Louis afterall. Can someone with the correct info post Gallardo's theoretical kid gloves innings limit ceiling with the current status lest I butcher it?

I certainly trust McClung more than Wise, who - by the way - has pitched exactly 1/3 of meaningless junkball in the last 12 days! You know, like someone who can come with heat, pitch two nights in a row? He is doing a great job. There seems to be a lot of dead weight in the bullpen right now with the funked Wiser, the artist formerly known as the 2006 all-star, the spot starting Parra, and a 'how-do-we-use-him' Gallardo... not the easiest management task. Roster expansion will be nice, but of course, not without its risks. Both Turnbow and Cordero had a nice week-long vacation prior to being used last night... they should be so fresh and so clean clean.

It's all I have left. Really. And I am reaching to have something to hold onto. I was a very loud drum banger at the 3/4 mark of the season. There are 41 games left! Rah Rah Rah! Well here we are at the 4/5 mark. 20% left... Cue 'Full House' music with Bob Saget life lesson: So I was running a 10K yesterday... only the markers were labeled in miles. I was coming up to mile marker #5, doing the grandma mall walking shuffle - dragging hard core third leg of the Tri, walking through aid stations, dumping water on my head, cursing my wretched existence, wishing I was home guzzling suds, then I saw my wife and her friend, they cheered, i was lifted* like i never knew possible... 1.2 miles left, HEYwhaddya know... 20%!. my legs worked again, finding my stride galloped... turned the corner the music the home stretch the finish line! Or conversely, for a college english class i showed up every day, read every book, wrote every paper, contributed to discussions... and decided not to take the final exam worth 20% of the grade; I got a 'B' and I was ok with that. Crikey... at this point Harang and Arroyo could carry the Reds to a 24 - 8 finish and take the banner with 84 wins. Some Cinderella pops out of the woodwork... some ugly old hag draped in rags gets a visit from the fairy godmother (sheets? seems appropriate, huh?) and off to the Ball. Peak at the right time. I will be at Wrigley tomorrow. I am stoked. I promise I will go on Wednesday if we win game #1... How could I not show up for the sweep Thursday then also? Last August I posted a big picture of Wendy Selig's mug "reverse Major League penant race style"... every win covered up a section of the vile visage. I am thinking of the same concept here... anyone think a 20-12 finish is possible? I do. Peak at the right time... some quality .500 road ball, a hearty 7 game winning streak... you know, before we turn back into a pumpkin. *need to quit the Boo-ing Milwaukee.

Melvin has already made clear that he's strictly limiting Yo's innings this year, so why are some pretending that it isn't going to happen? not that i agree with devil's advocatism, but Melvin has always been 100% honest with the media

Jack McDowell with 27 I think was mentioned in papers today.

Leave it to Ben Sheets to get injured while he's on the Disabled List...

But the 2007 Brewer optimist in me is shrinking to a tortured, crying naked baby lying under a chair, like the Harry Potter-portion of Tom Riddle's shattered, horcrux-torn soul nothing to add except a standing ovation with arrhythmic, singular, echoing applause. Bravo.

This line of thinking is the same line that's been trotted out by the Brewers this whole stretch of poor play. Im getting so sick and tired of hearing "there's a lot of baseball left, hang in there...". hey! step out of the bitter barn and come play in the hay! I am tempted to launch another thread completely entitled: what is 25%? 25% left is: 41 games... the bottom of the 7th at Miller Park... the part of the popcorn bag with all the halfed-pops... when you have to manage your stack of chips the closest... the part of your dookie that is most satisfactory... coming to work on Thursday when I'm on four 10s... Sure we have been awful... I will march at the front of the parade with that flag. My newly emphasized & adopted philosophy (only to keep me sane, of course) is: Peak At The Right Time. You play 120 game to position yourself to have a chance at the end game. The strategic maneuverability of the end game is an entire new game unto itself, but certainly no less important that establishing board control during the first 1/4. Does Yost have a checkmate in him?

Chicago anchored, I very rarely get into AM 620 zone to hear the abundant and relevant information passed along by Brewers 360 (?)... but a recent nugget managed to catch my ear that this is the year that Ned has decided to kick the tobacco out of his life. I gotta say that those sunflower seeds he gulps like Lohan pops anything small and white are not doing the trick. Ned, I was up your ass to get Jenkins more meaningful at-bats for the annual surge to the point of calling for Geoff in the 3 hole; I appreciate your malleability to make a change, and now I insist you stick the most cancerous, gooiest, texas-sized chaw in that cheek that you can farm from North Carolina. I will give you a poop-load of credit for personal health decisions or public relations ploys or whathaveyou. It is August; your personal dementia could use a decent buzz. Load it up, swirl it around, spit it out... laugh a little. Re-connect with the young'ns. If you indeed are a lame duck you might as well enjoy the farewell parade. And if you want that winning glory that can launch your Milwaukee celebrity above John McGlauchkghklin's... it's going to come from your head being in the right place. Relaxed. Altered. Atlanta lieutenant roots.

slice the pie anyway it's convenient to you... ...played one hell of a 1/4 season, eating 2 nice slices of pizza, feeling full, content even. well, the next 4 slices we unfortunately decided to eat managed to challenge our lactose intolerance medicine to the point where we were Uecking in the porcelain arm-chair violently and without warning. there are 2 pieces of this pizza still sitting in the box! those 2 are good luke warm, room temperature, sitting out all night and picked up the next morning, microwaved or if you're ambitious and have figured out the stove, broilerified. what i'm saying is, i guess: there is another good meal in that box.

the San Francisco Giants have the identical - 18 run differential that we have posted. they are 17.5 games back; we are .5 up. dear lord i hope there is no regression in store

I'll have one of what you're having JohnStumpy. I thought rock bottom was going to be when Verlander peed on us. I thought rock bottom was going to be the 83 to -4 pasting we got at Coors field that one day. I think rock butt bottom is the Cardinals sweep, though the Brewers never cease to surprise.

"Hitting bottom isn't a weekend retreat. It's not a (goshdarn) seminar." - Tyler Durden I imagine it's real easy to become a clubhouse leader when you're comfortably in first place and have the national media stroking your (ego). I bet it's a lot harder to be leaned on when the season is crumbling around you. I just returned from Djibouti... no TV no radio no internet no newspapers no nothing. The last game I saw was the Brewers beating the Cardinals 5 - 3 to close out the 2006 season. Returning to the states to see the Brewers in first place is quite refreshing! All you can hope is that your horse is close enough to make a move down the home stretch, to peak at the right time...

by getting swept, we only had to pitch 24 innings. the staff could not have handled 27 at this point in the season

Gallardo and um... uh... well, I guess just Gallardo, then pray for rain.

Can I be the first to play the 'must win' card for tonights game? Well... aside from that, it has to be a 'must lose' for a certain other team. That said, I propose an iron curtain embargo on that four letter word rhyming with scrub-a-dub-dub. pinstripe cancer gone control thy own destiny! triumph tonite Crew