SeriesFinale

Yeah, both Corey and Billy Hall were disappointing yesterday in terms of not dropping bad old swinging habits which I hoped Sveum/Lasik would've rectified.

Bah, Cowgirl Creamery's Mt. Tam, and Humboldt Fog (among others) are incredible by any standards! California and Wisconsin both do cheese and beer really well, I've been spoiled. Now if only Wisconsin could get a proper wine country! Anyway, in lieu of The Stinking Rose (which can be kinda touristy), since it's your honeymoon may I suggest Allegro Romano up on Russian Hill. Intimate, romantic Italian trattoria in a nice neighborhood with fantastic views (great for a walk before or after dinner); the food is pretty great (and you'll get your share of garlic!), but the service puts it over the top: Lorenzo, the owner/headwaiter there, makes you feel big-time and always has "a rose for the lady!" at the end of the meal and usually has a heavy hand with some complementary port as you enjoy dessert and get your check. He's kind of a trip. Rudy Giuliani was eating there last time I was there (Valentine's Day!).

That's kind of what I've been telling people--they think yesterday was indicative of how improved their batting is and how bad our pitching is...easy to look like Murderer's Row when Suppan and Julio picked up the majority of yesterday's innings, and those two are arguably the black holes of both the rotation and the bullpen. You wouldn't believe how many people think Suppan is indeed our #1, but there's no point in arguing with people that don't understand he's not, I suppose. Our pitching is certainly not great, but not nearly as bad as yesterday, and I think Gallardo and Villanueva combining for, say, a 6-2 win tonight would go a long way to dampening the enthusiasm in NorCal and lifting some spirits in Wisconsin. Now, if they put up 5+ again tonight and tomorrow, then things really could get dire for us and maybe pretty exciting here (I'd be rooting for them--nice fans, nice park, a fun-to-watch team of young guys and likeable vets now that Barry's gone). But I just don't find yesterday to be a strong barometer of either team's prospects this year. Season starts tonight.

I agree, to an extent. I hope he pitches 7 or 8 innings today so we don't really have to see too many pitchers, plural! But I'll take them not giving up 10 lousy runs today, however they do it. The crowing on Bay Area sports talk radio this morning is unbearable. I can understand being excited if I were them, but some of the stuff they're saying about their team and ours is ridiculous ("I mean, I know it was just the Milwaukee Brewers, but ten runs!"). They're not as good as that, and we're not as bad, and a Yo start should give our offense a chance today to win the game and prove that.

He was really jawing with the umps after striking out, and then was jumping up and down and yelling and shaking his head after a Giants hit sailed over third base and was marked fair without him even making a move at it--this while the play was still happening. It's one thing to state your case (I mean, Macha came out afterwards, so there was some question), but the way he did it made him look more like a petulant child than a grown man

Not many Brewers fans out that I could see today in the park in general (I saw one guy with an 80s Molitor road jersey on the concourse and two guys on the train platform afterwards), although I could spot a few behind the Brewers' dugout. I'll be back there the next two, hopefully we'll see a few more of our kind!

Haha, thanks, there is that: I don't have to beg my boss to let me off at Noon tomorrow. I think everyone was surprised the game actually happened, and people were genuinely sunning themselves by the end. Weird weather. I'll be back for the next two, and there are 159 to go after that. This was disheartening, but it was one game.

Today was great fun as a "day out" as a baseball fan. Horrible as a Brewer fan. I've had too much "fun" to even make a proper analysis of all that went right and wrong today, but I can say that near the end of the game when one of the many Opening Day Drunks at AT&T Park today (yeah, every team has them...their concourse was flooded with idiots) told me that he "wish[ed] they could play us every day," all I could do was shake my head. "Come on, you guys faced Jeff Suppan, a bad Seth McClung, a spot Dave Bush, and Jorge Julio today," I told him, but then I felt much worse for us than him. The Brew Crew put up a crooked number on a day that the Cy Young winner left after the 4th and gave up three runs, they faced a bad bullpen and a bad offense, and they still got killed. An embarrassment, but one that gives me grave concerns about the ability of this team's strengths to deal with it's weaknesses. But it is one game. Personal Razzies today go to Macha (Suppan should not have started this game...matchups are big, but this team has and will beat Lincecum before and Yo can handle the "pressure," and now we're stuck with Soup against the Cubs this weekend again and no Yo), Suppan (obviously, but I've come to expect nothing more), Billy Hall, especially (my favorite player, but he was horrific today, not just with his hitting and fielding but his behavior...two fans in SF asked me if "he's always like that," childish and embarrassing), and JJ, who really disappointed, along with McHung. Well, tomorrow's another day.

OK, I'm off, with large umbrella and old-school Brewers Starter jacket (perfect weather for it) in tow Wish me luck, wish us all luck!

It was pretty standard--as Gallardo/Parra goes, so go the Brewers, etc He actually was on the Razor and Mr. T, but they were both out sick so the Giants' broadcast guy, Dave Flemming, did the interview. Another media note (I guess you'd call it): Matt Vasgersian is in town and will be doing Thursday night's game on MLB. A nice familiar voice.

I just went for a run, and while it's not raining yet, it's definitely coming: it was gray when I left and got much darker, colder and damp while I was out. There's 100% chance of precipitation according to the forecasts. The good news is, the heavier "storms" are now being predicted for later in the afternoon and the evening, but that's about it for the good news for now. I hope if they postpone it, they do it as soon as possible so I can go to the office and get a few hours of work in in order to gain brownie points to get out early for the make-up game tomorrow...like I said, maddening. This has to be frustrating for Giants' fans, too, many of whom, like Brewers' fans, come from long distances to attend these games. Rainouts are a rarity around here, and I can't think of a worse time for one--Opening Day on a weekday afternoon with little to no room for maneuvering for the teams or their fans in their schedules, really. I'm not much of a sign guy, but I'm tempted to go over to Walgreen's before I leave for the "game" and pick up some posterboard and a marker to draw up one that reads "HEY MLB--MILLER PARK CURRENT CONDITIONS: 62 AND DRY"

I'm not sweating the Wednesday/Thursday games--for one thing, the hourly forecasts are more favorable, and for another, that 30/40 is only for precipitation, which along the bay side of town here this time of year is usually just a "hard mist." I am sweating tomorrow, however. But the weather forecast for tomorrow, with the heavier "storms," really is an aberration for this time of year. Rainy season has pretty much waned. We don't really get thunder and lightning here, either. If they were playing on the other side of town or back down at Candlestick Point, winds might be more a problem, but they average all of about one postponement a year at AT&T (I don't recall them having any last year); this is a town of microclimates, and AT&T is in a cold but generally stable one. They'll get two in this week, and I'd bet all three. It stinks, but tomorrow's forecast is a rare bird for these parts.

Looking dire. I'm starting to freak out because between taking tomorrow and Thursday afternoon off of work, I don't think I could get off for a make-up game on Wednesday, and I spent $300+ for two seats tomorrow...

Heads up for the Bay Area bf.netters: Brian Anderson is gonna be coming on KNBR in a bit here to talk about the Brewers and preview the series.

If it rains out tomorrow, there will be a split-admission doubleheader on Wednesday. Maddening.

Why do you say this?The rains here this time a year that tend to linger for a while are a softer mist, but usually they're relatively brief. That said, the forecast is getting worse, and yeah, I've since seen that the Giants made the call so they could get that additional Dodgers exhibition in (money is the only reason why I can think of, given the endless length of this ST)...I'm already livid given the amount of money it cost me for tickets on StubHub and the time I took off work. Again: the Brewers and Rays have domes--why are they playing on the road at places that don't in early April and getting postponed? Come on, MLB.

Hard to predict the weather anywhere, but especially in Northern California in April. The good news is any rain that comes is likely to be pretty mild and shouldn't delay the game long if at all. I'm not sure why they're playing tomorrow instead of today, but I'm not entirely sure it was the Giants' call to make. I like how they'll be playing three days in a row, but it would be preferable to have done it Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday so the Brewers get a proper travel day. I don't really mind that the Brewers aren't starting at the same time as everyone else--kinda nice, actually.

A Baldwin Cousin

Well, I for one enjoy(ed) Wrigley much, much more than Yankees Stadium. I'd have been very interested to see that place before it was "improved" in the 70s. I can't, of course, speak to the clubhouses, although the stories speak for themselves. All things must pass, and so will Wrigley eventually, but they don't have a similar situation to the Yankees where they can move a block or two down without creating a schism, unless they choose to build on the same site and use New Comiskey for a couple years.

It used baseball figures of speech and created visuals based on those...the second-baseman using a needle and thread to create a "tailor-made double play," talking about the cornucopia of baseballs foods: cheese, cans of corn, etc etc I bet it'll pop up on YouTube soon.

Looks fantastic, woogie, indeed a sight for sore eyes. I think if Soup can keep it around four runs through seven, we've got a decent chance here

I cannot stand Brett Myers Shame this couldn't have happened last October; a real knock against the existence of karma.

"The Giants' opener could get very wet . . . if it's played" I tend to skew towards the guys in the comments...it may be a little wet, but it will be played. Gorgeous out there today though, wow.

There's an article on doing SF on a budget on MSN today that I actually think gives some pretty good general advice.

I hope you contribute to a Phoenix thread...I'm planning on heading down to AZ in September and have never been!