SeriesFinale

And by the way--not a soul associated with the Brew Crew was wearing a novelty outfit of any kind. I can't vouch for some of their fashion choices (although CC looks quite dapper in his suit) but not a Sweep Suit in sight.

What's to say....a road sweep is a road sweep and a West Coast road sweep is even better than that. Forget that it's the Giants: Manny outpitched "The Freak" today. These starting pitchers were no jokes for SF, and the Brewers clocked them. Pretty chippy in the stands in the late innings today...I have to say that the Brewers' fans in our section at least were very, very obnoxious today. Drunk and clownish. Totally embarrassing, when your team gets a season sweep and you're a visitor in another team's park (esp. one there's no rivalry with), there's no need to turn around and wave at the crowd and point to your Brewers' gear and jaw and wave brooms in people's faces etc etc etc. Out of line, and lame. The Giants' fans didn't take kindly to it and I can't say I blame them.

Here's me modeling my "Zing. Boom. Tararrel." brewerfan shirt today in SF with two lovely ladies, my wife, and Our Trenni http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/SeriesFinale75/IMG_5082.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/SeriesFinale75/IMG_5083.jpg

Not much to add (like a good chunk of you, I don't see the down side right now in bringing in a veteran bench lefty at that cost), I just thought you guys might like this photo. It's of crummy quality but I took it of Ray-Ray and Mark A meeting each other (for what I assumed was the first time ever by the body language, hand on the shoulder etc) in the tunnel after today's game...check out TH hovering! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/SeriesFinale75/IMG_5086.jpg I definitely got the feeling from Durham he was ready to join the Brew Crew, no "I'm devastated" here, and I think those of us down there made him feel welcome, but you could also tell it was a little bittersweet. He's a 36 year old family man who'd been with the Giants for some time now (played in the Series with them, etc)...it couldn't have been easy to say goodbye. He was class though, came over to sign autographs and say Hellos and Goodbyes to Brewers' and Giants' fans alike. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/SeriesFinale75/IMG_5088.jpg Edit: Wow, looking at these photos now he looks down but I can tell you that wasn't his demeanor at the time

It'll be interesting to see if they announce the deal before the game today...it'd be nice to let Ray-Ray give a fare-the-well moment with his longtime fans in SF.

We've done a number on Lincecum twice, he's done one on us once. The Brewers have just dominated the Giants this year, the run differential is something else, and the bats have been on fire the last two days. Figure in too that the Giants stink at home and Manny is no slouch--heck, I even wonder what mental effect the possible Ray-Ray/Taschner deal going down today would have on the Giants. That's gotta be a downer. You'd have to think that with perhaps the best NL pitcher of the season on the mound for them today, the Giants would have the advantage, but we'll see. I won't bring a broom out to the park today, but we'll see.

It's pretty funny he said this...I had an older Japanese-American Giants' fan in front of me at the game that I was talking with the whole time (before him and his wife split in the 8th) and after everyone (including Giants fans) booed Yabu's pace, and then the Giants fans booed wildly after Rickie's double, he leaned back and said to me, "Well, that's what happens when you've got a Puerto Rican and a Japanese guy trying to talk with one another!" "Well, you know, the way I see it human beings around the world all have fingers, right?," I say.

A few things from today's game (sorry if they've been covered earlier, I've been out and about today since the game itself)... --The Giants as part of their 50th anniversary in SF had a pitcher and catcher reunion and good ole Mike Caldwell was there (Mark Davis, too, but not as exciting for me). Sure, he was wearing orange and black, but it was awesome seeing him today all the same. --There was a great couple of minutes for me and my wife watching Big Ben interact with "Lou Seal," the Giants' mascot, while Ben was warming up in centerfield before the game. They were pretty impressive out there as the new Two Stooges, giving and taking--ole Ben's got the gift for physical comedy. I thought he was going to mix it up with him for a few seconds there. --Benny didn't look at his best from pitch one (coincidence?). I'm a little surprised he lasted as long as he did, but I was impressed with the way he came back around after the 4-run inning and didn't melt down. --I'm sorry you guys didn't get to see Prince absolutely CRUSH that Splash Hit live. It was a thing of beauty, the Giants' fans even loved it. I go to a lot of games here and that was the first Splash Hit I've seen live and it was pretty impressive, to say the least. --My wife, who basically follows me following the Brewers, said to me in the 7th, "Is that guy with the curly hair the one who blew all those saves?" I looked, and she was pointing to good ole Gagne, who had a jacket on covering his name. I was proud of her. --I love Billy Hall but he is pushing way too hard. Way too hard. --I love the Giants' Field Club seats...they have windows into the visitors' batting cages beneath the seats so if you're in the tunnel you get to see what bench guys are going to pinch hit, as Skaalen goes down and tosses to them in the inning or two prior. Fun to watch. --As a Brewers' fan, there is no better sight than seeing Ned's Chiclet smile. He has looked so incredibly happy the last two days. Talk about a guy who can't really hide his emotions as much as he tries. Like last night, all the Brewers looked loose and happy, which seems rare out here. --Lot of Brewers' fans there again today...there were a lot of us waiting by the dugout and in the tunnel afterwards. My wife and I got bored and left (I'm just not an autograph hound) but not before Uke walked right next to us on his way into the clubhouse to a round of respectful Hellos and Hey Bobs. Pretty cool. --I'm really, really impressed with the way this team fought back when they might've tucked their tails in after their ace got knocked around, even against the Giants. A road win is a road win. A West Coast road win is even better than that. --I think the Crew can take Lincecum tomorrow. A lot of friendly Giants fans told me after the game at the place we were at that, "You guys are gonna lose tomorrow, though." Maybe. But the Brewers have had success against Lincecum, Manny's no slouch, the Giants stink at home, and the bats are rolling. We'll see. I'm not gonna bring my broom, but we'll see.

Something tells me Taschner at the least would relish not having to face Prince again

Big Ben is definitely not chopped liver either, of course. I don't know how you can make a "Plan B" out of him. If the Brewers go hard for CC, I assume they just expect to lose Ben. Of course, if CC keeps pitching like he has been (I can't imagine) and is a huge part of a playoff run (that I can imagine), the Brewers might decide it's way too rich for their blood and just shoot for Big Ben as their #1. What a problem to have.

I don't know if I'll ever be "mad" about it, even if he enters the HoF and the Brewers miss the playoffs. We've been over this many times but I felt it was the right move at the right time and we'll deal with the consequences, good and bad. All that aside, like someone else here mentioned one day, I think he's already well been worth the Zach Jackson part of the trade if you want to look at it that way. It seems the team responds to him just being on the mound because they know why CC was brought here at great cost. Of course, at the end of the season, we may well be: http://keitholbermannisevil.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/brandon-de-wilde-shane.jpg "CC....come back, CC...where you going? Come back, CC! Ned's not mad!!!" But if that means the ranchers (Cubs) and their Jack Palance (Rich Harden) have been defeated, I'll be OK with that.

Spot on. It's a real shame and I hope they survive in places outside the South despite their disastrous over-expansion. I like everything about Jack in the Box right up to the moment the food itself slides down my throat. Uff da.

It's much harder to sell later games like that along the bay on a weekend...their first priority is their market. That said, I don't get it...I assume they'd be getting much more money from TV for a Saturday night game, even with just 25,000 people freezing their parkas off in the stands.

As he was walking back into the dugout after his last AB, I drunkenly yelled at him, "Pinch hit Splash Hit tomorrow, CC!" His stroke looks so good and powerful. Man, that one wiped out all my bad memories of seeing them limp through the West Coast last year. After watching CC in the first inning I never got any kind of feeling the Crew was gonna lose this one. I was sitting a couple rows back from the dugout and the guys looked loose and fresh which seems a rarity out here--I'm glad this was a first stop after the break because it has to have helped. I think with Sheets on the mound tomorrow we've got a good shot at taking the series (which shouldn't be an accomplishment against these recent Giants teams but would be at any rate) but I was just happy to see a win (a dominating one at that) and pick one up tonight. Lot of Brewers fans there tonight in my section, by the way--but even more CC Sabathia fans! A lot of people there cheering for him tonight with beautiful brand new Sabathia jerseys. I bet he had a ton of friends and family there. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

It's a Friday night, unless you're a young child or elderly you'll survive to see the end of the game...heck, I get up early every Sunday morning to see the Crew, I don't think it'll kill you Midwesterners to live on Pacific time for a couple days! Anyway, I walked up California Street for a lunch meeting today at another office and there were Brewers fans all over the place: walking through Chinatown, riding the cable cars...I hope they give us something to cheer about at least once this weekend. I like the lineup even with Rickie at the top after all that Kapler talk.

I bet Agent Zero gets welcomed with open arms when the Wizards come to town this year Wait until he plays in Oklahoma City.

Yeah I paid something like $25 on Amazon which is more than I'll normally pay on a t-shirt but I thought it was pretty unique

People are truly insane. Sonic is pretty good but it's still just fast food, and it's not going anywhere. I love the occasional In-N-Out or Rubio's, and I miss Culver's badly, but no way I wait longer than 15 minutes for any of it, and even that's pushing it.

Some tough pitching matchups this weekend...I just want one win, which would be one more than they gave me in SF last year. We knocked around Sanchez last time and have actually had some success against Lincecum (we did a number on him twice last year; he dominated us once) and the Giants are horrid at home so I don't think that's too much to ask. Can't wait to see CC go to work in person...I hope he doesn't try to pour it on too hard for his home-area crowd and lose a touch on his control like his first Brewers start, but given those results I'm not too worried. I'll be behind the Crew's dugout tomorrow with my MB glove hat and my yellow old-old-school AA Milwaukee Brewers shirt... http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/3187ZQKV15L._SS400_.jpg ...keep your eyes peeled!

All this talk about that game made me want to look it up and you're right, I had totally forgotten about that: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL199907170.shtml Loretta went 5 for 6 that night, not bad And how about that KC lineup: Damon, Beltran, Sweeney, Dye and Joe Randa in his career year and yet they were still garbage

Ah, OK. I thought it was weird I wasn't seeing this anywhere. In that case, the guys on ESPN radio have no clue.

This blows my mind...when I saw Pena's name in the first part of the thread title I fully expected to see Mota DFA'd at the last part. I understand the money situation but in a year when they've signalled they're going for it it makes absolutely no sense to keep him lingering around.

Sure was. They gave away "Last Year at County Stadium" hats that night if I remember correctly. Kicker being Big Blue had collapsed two days earlier..it was laying in a crumpled heap with much of MP's brick walling just beyond the outfield the whole time. Pretty eerie.

That wouldn't surprise me...I looked over his stats earlier and they weren't nearly as good as I remembered them being.

[insert Mota Relief Fund joke here] Incredible.