Michael Trzinski

To me, it seems like he is dropping his back knee more than last year.

Certainly looks like the Brewers did the right thing in the spring, choosing 'The Sanchize' over Reese McGuire.

Image courtesy of © Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images (I wrote the first few paragraphs on Monday before the Brewers traveled to Boston to play the Red Sox. After doing so well in their first nine games, Milwaukee went stone-cold batting with two outs. Part one of my story includes everything through the table. Part two begins after the table.) It was such a nice day on Sunday that I decided not to worry about the branch that had fallen into my yard (from the neighbor's tree) during the weekend's ice storm; that could wait for another day. Instead, since it was 50 degrees and sunny, I took my cat Hudson and 'grand pup' Ellie outside and let them run around while I listened to the Brewers-Royals game on Sirius/XM. I'm not sure who it was, either Jeff Levering or Lane Grindle, who talked about the Brewers' ability to have success at the plate after two outs. In fact, they said it repeatedly. The Brewers continued to score multiple runs per inning, putting up a twisted digit in three of the nine frames on the way to an 8-5 victory and a series win at Kauffman Stadium. The Brewers went 5-for-14 (.357) in the contest, including two doubles, a triple, and a home run. They also drew four walks (one of them intentional) and plated five runs during those ABs. When I ran the numbers through my abacus, the slash line came out to .357/.500/.857 over 18 trips to the plate. Pretty impressive! Then I checked out the numbers to date for 2026. The Crew is 34-for-105 with nine doubles, two triples, and six homers. Add on 22 free passes and 35 RBI, and you have some gaudy numbers, albeit in a small sample: .324/.441/.619 in 127 plate appearances. Brewers' Two-Out Batting Stats Player AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB Yelich 16 5 1 1 5 1 Turang 7 3 1 1 3 3 Bauers 6 2 1 3 1 Contreras 8 3 3 3 4 Frelick 12 3 2 Ortiz 13 2 1 1 Lockridge 10 4 1 3 2 Rengifo 6 2 1 2 2 Mitchell 7 3 2 1 7 2 Hamilton 4 2 2 3 Perkins 6 1 1 1 1 Sánchez 7 4 3 5 Vaughn 1 Matos 2 Then came the first and only trip of the year to Fenway Park. Milwaukee went from red-hot with two outs to a dismal 1-for-16 in the first two games with Boston. Christian Yelich drew a walk in his only two-out appearance, and Garrett Mitchell went 1-for-1 with two RBIs. Eight other players went a combined 0-for-15, including 'Wild Bill' Contreras, failing to get a base hit in three trips. Perhaps he was distracted by his brother Willson's antics during the game on Monday. Bottom line: It is unrealistic to expect the team to keep hitting at the pace they did over their first three series. Yelich, for example, has a career slash line of .268/.372/.425 with two outs. Let's hope Milwaukee gets back to its exciting brand of heroics with two outs. That type of success makes the Brewers much more fun to watch. View full article

Sell 1000 of them at $200, make $200k. Sell 5000 of them at $100, make $500k. Of course those sales might not happen, but that is the 'bottom line theory' for sales. Lower the price, sell more. Raise the price, sell fewer. I'm sure they can do some sales projections and will probably come up with similar numbers.

$200 for a jersey, $53 for a hat. OUCH!

MKE doesn't exist either, but there you have it...lol. I was born here and have lived all 66 years in this state. Although I'm not a big fan of winter anymore since I gave up downhill skiing and snowmobiling, the summer and fall are the best. Spring? Ehh, not so much. I think the unis look great and if they are not cost-prohibitive, I will definitely buy one.

Many fans have high expectations, so here's hoping to can figure it out! Good piece, @Jake McKibbin

Nice piece, Steve. Davey played against the Brewers many years ago and although he was normally a 2B, one game I saw him play in RF for Oakland. A batter hit a line drive to him and he misplayed it in the sun and it smashed his face. Ouch. (July 6, 1984 first game of doubleheader. He then missed the next month or so because of it.)

Good for his clients and great for himself. If baseball ever fails because of financial problems, put him #1 on the list of why...

Image courtesy of Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG Spring training 2020 was three weeks old when it was ordered shut down due to the COVID-19 virus that first sprang up in North America in late January. While the rest of the world was trying to figure out how the virus started and how to combat it, MLB was trying to cobble together a schedule for the rest of the baseball season. The virus, which has killed slightly over 7.1 million people worldwide, wreaked havoc on everything, even sports. On a personal note, I lost two close friends and my father-in-law, who was a healthy 89-year-old who went into the hospital on a Wednesday and died four days later. Sometimes, traumatic events hit far too close to home. The MLB honchos were trying to figure out the best way to start the season with equal input from the MLBPA. After nearly five weeks of negotiations, the owners voted unanimously to impose a 60-game plan, just hours after the players had rejected that same schedule. The schedule had the teams playing 10 games against each of their divisional opponents and playing 20 interleague games. The season started on July 23. That day, it was announced that the playoffs for the year would include 16 teams total, eight in each league. The top two teams in each division would make the cut, along with the remaining two best records in each league. Despite outbreaks on two teams and positive tests for players on several other squads, only two games were not played. Detroit and St. Louis were the only two teams not to play 60 games. Two dozen players, including Milwaukee's Lorenzo Cain, opted not to play during the season, although the outfielder played the first five games of the year before opting out for the rest of the season. Cain did not comment, but in a statement to the press, general manager David Stearns said, "We fully support Lorenzo's decision and will miss his talents on the field and leadership in the clubhouse." Isan Díaz of Miami and Nick Markakis of Atlanta opted out initially, but elected to rejoin their respective teams. Brewers pitcher Shelby Miller opted out before the season began. In order to make the stadium experience more 'normal,' cardboard cutouts of fans were placed in the seats, and simulated crowd noise was also played at the venues. Several teams allowed fans to buy cutouts of themselves. ESPN bought pics of Chipper Jones and his son, Shea, and placed the counterfeit Chipper and his bogus boy at Citi Field in New York during a Braves-Mets contest. Despite a subpar 29-31 record, the Brewers nabbed the eighth and final seed in the National League but were promptly dispatched in two games by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who boasted the best record in baseball with 43 wins. The Dodgers defeated the number two seed Atlanta in seven games in the NLCS at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, while top-seeded Tampa Bay (40 wins) edged Houston in seven contests for the American League pennant at Petco Park in San Diego. For the first time all season, a limited number of fans were allowed to attend the NLCS games. The Dodgers beat Tampa Bay in the World Series, played at Globe Life Field, in six games, claiming the team's seventh World Series championship. A limited number of fans, numbering about 11,000 each contest, were allowed in the stadium for the games. Notably for the Brewers during the season, pitcher Devin Williams was named the National League Rookie of the Year and to the second team All-MLB squad after his fine 0.86 FIP and 1,375 ERA+ (that is not a typo). Closer Josh Hader led the NL with 13 saves and set a major league record when he pitched in 12 straight games (11 2/3 innings) without giving up a hit. He then gave up seven hits in his next five outings. On a serious note, coach Pat Murphy suffered a heart attack at a team workout in early August and received a stent. He returned to the Brewers in mid-September. "The part you take for granted sometimes until you don't have it anymore is the connection [with the team], being together," Murphy said. "That's what it's all about. That's why I do it." 2020 was a messed-up season for sure, but the world returned somewhat to normalcy, and so has baseball. We are a resilient people. What are your memories of the season? Please comment below, and thanks for reading. View full article

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images Twice in the last four games, the Milwaukee Brewers exploded in the eighth inning to score six runs. In the final game of the Chicago White Sox Opening Week series, the Brewers' six-pack gave them a 9-7 comeback win. Today’s game was slightly less dramatic, but their sixer broke a 2-2 tie in an 8-2 triumph over the pesky Tampa Bay Rays. Let’s take a look at the ‘Eighth Inning Heroes.’ The White Sox held a 7-3 lead going into the penultimate inning of the final game of the three-game series. Southpaw Chris Murphy came on for the Sox and gave up a single to Joey Ortiz and then wild-pitched him to second. Jake Bauers struck out, and then Brandon Lockridge got aboard via an infield base hit. Blake Perkins walked to load the bases before Brice Turang singled to left, scoring Ortiz to make it 7-4. Murphy went to the showers as Seranthony Domínguez came on. William Contreras popped to third, and the Sox appeared to have an exit ramp in sight. Not so fast. Luis Rengifo made his first hit as a Brewer count, knocking in Lockridge and Perkins to cut the lead to 7-6. Christian Yelich pinch-hit for Gary Sánchez and blasted a three-run bomb that traveled 421 feet and gave the Brewers a 9-7 lead. Sal Frelick walked, and Ortiz struck out to end the inning. Trevor Megill allowed a scratch single but retired the side after that. In Wednesday’s rubber match with Tampa Bay, both teams scored a pair of runs in the third inning on two-run homers by Yandy Díaz and Turang, respectively. Other than that, Drew Rasmussen and Jacob Misiorowski held the opposing teams in check, although a foul ball off the bat of Nick Fortes took out beleaguered home plate ump C.B. Bucknor on a ‘mask shot.’ Former long-time Twinkies pitcher Griffin Jax took over to start the bottom of the eighth, and once again, Ortiz began the frame with a single. Turang bunted to third, and the throw to first was dropped by first baseman Junior Caminero, who had moved over from third after a pair of throwing miscues at the hot corner. Will Bild singled to jam the sacks before Yeli singled to drive in two runners to make it 4-2. Bauers walked, and once again the bags were full, bringing on new Rays pitcher Mason Englert. Garrett Mitchell promptly doubled to score Contreras and Yelich to give the Crew a 6-2 lead. Frelick fouled out, and then Perkins got an RBI groundout on a 3U by Caminero. David Hamilton singled to knock in Mitchell, and once again, Joey O. was the spoilsport, grounding out to end the inning. DL Hall sandwiched three strikeouts amongst a hit-by-pitch and a single to win the series, two games to one. Yelich (2-for-2) and Ortiz (2-for-4) have been effective. Ironically, Ortiz led off each of the innings with hits and then finished them with outs. The Brewers have been very successful this year, putting up crooked numbers in 13 of the 49 innings they have batted in this year. Milwaukee and Houston have each scored 45 runs this season, leading MLB. My question, maybe too early, but can this be a magical season for the Brewers? Time will tell, but let’s make sure to enjoy it. View full article

So much for the over/under on ABS challenges...lol. That was a wicked hit, though 😮