brewers4eric

"Vikings" is my Sunday night replacement for "The Walking Dead". I would describe it as "the Sopranos" in a centruries old nordic setting with plenty of "Braveheart" style combat scenes. It has been tough to find a character that I like, as they spend much of their time trying to kill each other. I have enjoyed the way that they have developed the relationship between the captured monk and the Viking family that hold him prisoner. The exploration of nordic myths and the way that it influences the actions of the characters has also been interersting.

Each year, my wife asks me what I want for my birthday and I say, "a good night's sleep". The number one key during those first few months is identifying the way to help the baby get to sleep. The electric swing was the trick for my daughter. The rocking motion of the glider did it for my son. With kids in tow, you'll also need to plan for additional time for travelling to Brewer games. I didn't allow for my daughter vomiting in the car in the Miller Park general admission lot one year and missed the first two innings of an interleague game against the Tigers cleaning up the peaches that I fed her in Oconomowoc. It was the game where Chris Barnwell got a hit and Rickie Weeks hit a shot off of Joel Zumaya. Take pride in the little things. My five year old son caught his speech teacher using a Cubs pencil. He was quick to point out that she shouldn't root for such a hopeless franchise.

Matt Ford and Enrique Cruz were both on the 2003 team. We were so bereft of talent that two Rule 5 picks made it to the 25 man roster. Ford did pretty well in mop up duty and ended up in the rotation. I can remember sitting through one of his starts after making the 3.5 hour drive to Milwaukee. I think that Matt Williams was Dean Taylor's Rule 5 pick. He made the team out of spring training as a lefty specialist but couldn't throw a strike and got shipped back to the Yankees.

I can remember Andy Replogle gutting his way through some starts against the Red Sox and the rest of the AL East. Randy Stein was another pitcher that I remember from that team, neither of them had impressive stats, but they racked up some innings.

I think they need to evaluate their bullpen candidates for the 6th and 7th innings. When we were on a roll last summer, it seemed like we were set as long as the starters got a lead to Hawkins/Saito, Krod, and Axford. The Brewers would promote relievers based on their ability to provide "length", which they never seemed to need. At times, I wondered if guys like Frankie DeLaCruz and Tim Dillard were even out in the bullpen. During the early part of the season, the pitching will have to carry the team with Braun and Fielder gone, and our stable of former closers is halved from what it was last year. The 25th spot on the roster usually ends up as a power threat (Bob Hamelin) or backup infielder/pinch runner (Trent Durrington). Personally, I always liked Hamelin's quote, "the game isn't over until the fat man swings".

Thanks for all of your efforts, MH. You have made me a better and more knowledgeable fan of the Brewers.

August 20, 1978 I rode a bus with my dad for four hours and watched my first game. I still remember the sights, sounds, and smells from the tailgate crowd in the parking lot. Mike Caldwell threw a complete game and we beat the Tigers 2-1. I've been a Brewer fan ever since that day. July 29, 1979 Brewers 5, Yankees 3. Lou Pinella took out Jim Gantner at third and they rolled around on the infield while the benches and bullpens cleared. I learned some new expletives as they were hurled at Pinella in left field. The crowd was just electric that day. September 1, 2001. I took my future wife to her first game in Milwaukee. Richie Sexson hit a home run to tie the game against the Astros and a second a couple of innings later to win it. Since she is from Minneapolis, she isn't able to name a single Brewers player. April 16, 2005. Memorable for me because I somehow convinced my wife to go to a Brewers game on our anniversary. Karma got the best of me as the Cardinals beat the Brewers on a pair of long home runs against Doug Davis. My wife is mostly at the game for the Cactus League nachos. June 21, 2006. We took our 11 month old daughter to her first game. At a lunch stop in Oconomowoc, I asked my wife if our daughter usually ate a whole jar of peaches in one sitting. My question is answered when we pull into the parking lot and she power vomits all over the car. We missed the first three innings cleaning it up, but the Brewers beat the Tigers and I get to see Chris Barnwell collect a rare hit. June 11, 2011. The wife and I drop the kids off near Madison to stay with their aunt. Our four year old son cries for 45 minutes when he figures out that we are going to a Brewers game. Greinke is dominant and we beat the Cardinals 5-3. Based on the out of date t-shirt jersey that I am wearing, my wife figures out that I had named our son after Ben Sheets.

I live 200 miles from Milwaukee, so I usually only make the trip to Miller Park a couple of times each season. The last game that I attended was Casey's three home run contest on August 3, and the westbound traffic getting out of the general parking was a nightmare. Does anyone have a secret route that would get me headed west after a game? Bear in mind that I am an Iowa country boy. During my 30 mile commute to work each morning, I meet the same three cars and my greatest worry is a deer collision.

It doesn't hurt to have some middle infield depth, but I would rather have Wilson at AAA and not taking up a spot on the 25 man roster. Given that we have some relievers that can go multiple innings and starters that are working late into games, does anyone think that they might go with an 11 man pitching staff over the short term? If they have to clear roster space, my guess is that they might move a catcher and a pitcher until they hit the 20 games in 20 days stretch in mid June.

I had forgotten that Angel Miranda threw a screwball. Other than Miranda, I was thinking that Dave Stapleton (1987?) was one of the few lefties with the Brewers that threw one.

I can recall watching Cameron stride between the gaps in the outfield and thinking, "it's been a long time since we had a center fielder with these type of skills". My only comparison was possibly Devon White, and White was on our roster at the very end of his career. I think that Gomez is superior defensively to Cameron, but again, Cameron was at the latter stages of his career when he was in a Brewers uniform. Gomez's offensive problems would be masked, somewhat, if McGahee and Hart were hitting to go along with the production of Weeks, Braun, and Fielder. Until then, our lineup has too many holes. Offensively, if Morgan was healthy, Gomez would be a nice option at the end of the bench when you need a pinch runner or a defensive replacement for the outfield. Until then, he's our #8 in the lineup and on the scorecard.

Long before I taped every originally run episode of Seinfeld, I appreciated his performances in two of my favorite movies, "Kelly's Heroes" and "The Outlaw Josey Wales".

I can recall reading an interview with Don Money where he discussed that particular game. I can't remember if it was linked to this site or not, but Money also gave his perspective on playing in Japan within the article. Aside from the constant Yankee drama, I'll always remember Martin for the way he managed the Oakland A's in 1980. Rickey Henderson had 100 steals, but what really amazed me was the way that he handled the pitching staff. Recognizing that he didn't have much of a bullpen, the starters stayed in the game every night and racked up the innings and complete games. He basically used a seven man pitching staff during the year. When I was a kid, we made the 3.5 hour drive to County Stadium once a year. I remember sitting in a box seat along the left field line during batting practice for the Yankees when Martin came out and signed autographs. Looking back, I wish I would have battled the crowd of other kids to get one from him. It was the same game (summer 1979?) where Lou Pinella rolled Jim Gantner at third base and a benches clearing brawl ensued. I know that JohnBriggs12 has mentioned that he was at that game, also. Back in 1976, I was a fan of Johnny Bench and the big Red machine. I think Martin got ejected from the last game of the World Series when he threw bats and an assortment of other equipment onto the field. Good memories.

The final game of the 1982 regular season against Baltimore. The losses before that game weren't televised in northeast Iowa, so the sick feeling in my stomach grew in severity right up until the point where the Brewers recorded the last out. Like many others, I get the same feeling whenever we face the Cubs, and can't even bear to watch the games.

I think that Roenicke will experiment with Gomez in the second spot in spring training, but will eventually end up stacking the top of the order with Weeks, Hart, Braun, Fielder and Maghee. The success of our offense probably depends on the sheer number of times that we can get those guys to the plate over the course of the season. The bottom of the order is going to be brutal at times.

Add me to the growing crowd that was unable to put down "Flags of Our Fathers". I also finished "Flyboys" during a weekend camping trip this summer. I've got a growing collection of WWII genre literature, "Helmet for My Pillow" was my last read, shortly after I received "The Pacific" dvd collection for Christmas. I'll be looking for "With the Old Breed on Pelielu and Saipan" the next time that I am in Barnes & Noble. I was also very lucky, as my uncle provided me with a copy of his wartime memoirs from the pacific theatre, having served in Hawaii, Saipan, and Okinawa. The experiences that he passed along are quite a bit tamer than what Robert Leicke recorded in "Helmet for My Pillow", but were no less moving. Its a family connection with history that I will some day pass along to my own kids.

It depends on the crowd and what everyone else is bringing, but I usually stick with a few standard potluck dishes: 1.) Bacon wrapped smokies. 2.) Quick and easy nacho dip. 3.) Seven layer taco dip. 4.) Baked potato soup. 5.) Slow cooker cheesy potatoes. Four of the five utilize a crock pot, let me know if you want a recipe.

I'm concerned about our depth, but I think there will be an additional opportunity to upgrade our bench at the end of spring training. Every team will be faced with roster decisions that may make a middle infielder or a power bench bat available. The forty man roster undergoes quite a bit of turnover in a typical season. While I think that we have assembled one of the worst defensive teams in Brewer history, I'll have a tough time controlling my optimism before opening day. At this point in December, our core talent is solid, especially compared to this point in recent past seasons.

Try to imagine where your family will be six years from now. Then, ask yourself the question of whether you should spend more time with your kids, or spend more time at your job. Its an easy answer, it is just really tough to make it happen. I've been lucky, as my wife has been able to stay home with our kids. Parenting is the toughest job that I have ever had. Enjoy the ride.

Due to this thread, the next time that I see a relish tray that contains only pickles and olives I'm going to push it to the side and say, "this is no good". We had a secretary in our office that liked to experiment with recipes and bring the results into our office. She would go out of her way to plate things up and put them in front of us, always looking for favorable comments on how good things were. Inevitably, a coworker and I picked up on this. No matter how good something tasted, the two of us would simultaneously take one bite, put down our forks, push the plate aside and say in unison, "This is no good". She eventually got sick of our antics and took a job as a bank teller. I've heard that they have really good snacks in their break room.

There was a thread a few years back that discussed your least favorite Brewer of all time. My post reflected my thoughts on Takahito Nomura and his inability to throw strikes. Nomura soured me on asian free agent relievers, but I think this is a good signing. We needed a veteran reliever for the back end of the bullpen, and Saito should fit the bill until he hits the disabled list. Any innings that he throws will give us time to break some of our younger arms into the major leagues in low leverage situations.

You might want to scrap the relish tray and do bacon wrapped smokies instead. Cut a package of sliced bacon into thirds and wrap each smokie with the bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place the smokies on a foil lined pan, sprinkle with brown sugar, cover with plastic wrap and let them cure overnight in the refrigerator. Bake at 300 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. The foil makes clean up easier, as you will be rendering off quite a bit of fat while they bake. A nice side effect is that your residence will smell like a smoke house. Transfer the smokies to a crock pot for your commute. I usually put a little sauce consisting of equal parts of grape jelly and a favorite barbeque sauce in the bottom of the crock pot. They will heat up pretty fast in the crock pot after the drive. My coworkers usually ask for these whenever we do a potluck. At some point I would like to try and make a turducken (turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken). When I do, I'm going to stuff the chicken with bacon wrapped smokies.

Given all of the trade speculation surrounding Greinke and Garza, I think it would be great if the Royals and Rays would just trade them 1 for 1.

If he gets off to a good start, the Pirates will have a decent trade chip at the deadline. Contenders are usually looking for a left handed pinch hitter with Overbay's skills in July. I compare it to the Brewers signing John Vanderwal. I always expected that he would get moved at the break, but Melvin never traded him.

I was as surprised by the trade as I was by the 14 pages of comments that were on the forum when I logged in. In reflecting on the trade, my only thought is to run Marcum out to the mound and see what he can do. I liked the potential that Lawrie possessed, but it seems like the Brewers have had the market cornered on "all hit no field" position players for some time and we don't have a whole lot of success to show for it. With all of the focus on Fielder, this should be a very interesting offseason. Go Brewers