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Everything posted by Joseph Zarr
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A random note about the name 'Julio Muchacho':
When I was first considering the transition from obsessive and creepy lurker in those epic minor league threads of the original Brewer Fan to an actual poster, I was really struggling with a name. Initially, I tried to craft an homage to Marquis Grissom's innate ability to swing and colossally whiff at every off-the-plate slider feigning as a possible pitch over home plate. I found that homage mysterious and challenging. For some reason, unbeknownst to my conscious self, a casual story 'The Rock' shared over a telecast sometime in the 1990-1991 season about then Brewers reliever 'Julio Machado' was milling about my Brewers-themed mind and it sunk its teeth in me. Apparently, Bill revealed at that time, Señor Machado loved to eat iguana. As an adult, having now traveled extensively in Central and South America, this is just not a big deal - not even remotely. BUT, as a suburban 8th grader at that time, I was incredulous. "Iguanas?!? Whoa." Machado had instantly achieved cult status in my eyes. And, that story had traveled with me in the dusty caverns of my mind ever since.
So, as I was considering my 'screen name' I became married to an homage to this one-time Brewers reliever, Julio Machado, who had somehow managed to continue occupying a snug place in the archives of my Brewers nostalgia even tho he pitched a mere season with the club! Why did he only pitch one season? During the inquiry, I hit a snag. As I was randomly trying to validate my memory of that same broadcast on the interwebs, I discovered Mr. Machado was expected back with the Crew for the 1992 season but there was a hiccup: he was being investigated for allegedly murdering a secretary in his home country of Venezuela during a traffic dispute (in which, he later claimed, he feared he was being robbed). The iguana story careened to the wayside when learning of this truly unfortunate event. Who knows what truly happened that disastrous evening? I certainly don't. It's just a terrible event any way we look at it and a woman was taken from her life in ways she never imagined. Machado was ultimately released after serving 4 of his 12 year sentence in a Venezuela prison...and, with it, so did the aura of magic surrounding my memory of the 'telecast iguana'. I was defeated. But, I had already committed.
SO, downtrodden and morose, I simply opted for 'Julio Muchacho'. If I translated it truly and with emotion, it would read: 'Julio, Man!'. What I intended to use, originally, was: 'Julio Machado's Iguana'. ?
AND, my friends, that is entirely too much detail behind my screen name. But, what can I say, I began writing this lil piece. I had committed.

