Michael Trzinski

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 😮

Where's Sidd Finch when you need him to create a stir?

Matt is very good at what he does. AI takes lessons from him!

It is possible. I didn't want to jump too high, though...lol

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images There were several hitting stars for the Brewers in their 6-1 win over the White Sox Saturday night at 'The Ueck.' Brice Turang was 3-for-5 with two doubles. Christian Yelich stroked three singles in five trips. David Hamilton continued his impressive start by getting on base twice and stealing two bases. But the player who put the biggest smile on manager Pat Murphy's face tonight was Joey Ortiz. Ortiz came into camp with 15 pounds of newfound muscle, a full beard, and a new, aggressive attitude. The shortstop collected two hits for the second straight game, but more than that, his swing appears to be much improved over last year's version. No, he hasn't really pulled anything yet, but he has been more on time with his swing, hitting two hard grounders up the middle tonight. He drove in Garrett Mitchell in the seventh and stole two of the team's seven bases as the Brewers ran wild on former Brewer (if only for a short time), Reese McGuire. So far this year, Ortiz is leading the Brewers with a .571 batting average, banging out four hits in seven at-bats while knocking in three runs. With the Brewers leading 5-1 in the top of the seventh, Ortiz showed his defensive chops. Colson Montgomery was perched on first with two outs as the White Sox were looking to rally. Austin Hays lined a shot to left field as Brandon Lockridge moved to his right to field the bounding ball. In his haste, he bobbled it, and Montgomery was waved home by the Sox's third base coach. Down four runs, it was an ill-advised move as the run meant little at that point. Lockridge recovered and pegged a perfect strike to Ortiz, who turned in one motion and fired a laser from 150 feet away that catcher William Contreras caught shin high as Montgomery slid into the tag. End of rally, end of inning. Ortiz appears to be more confident early this season, and last year's swing that seemed to result in pop-ups to the right side of the infield is hopefully a thing of the past. No, Ortiz won't hit .300, and he won't hit 20 homers. But if he can hit .270, draw a few walks, steal 20 bases, hit 12-15 jacks, and play his usual sterling defense, the Brewers have no reason to replace him at the '6' spot. View full article

According to B-Ref, he has played seven games (16 innings) at 1B in the majors. Not much experience, but it seems he would be willing to play there. So there's that...

Image courtesy of © Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Opening Day did not start out well for the Milwaukee Brewers. Chicago leadoff batter Chase Meidroth worked a full count on Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski and then slammed a 417-foot homer to the second level in left field to give the White Sox an early 1-0 lead. That was one turning point in the first Opening Day start for The Miz. He promptly struck out the side to shut down the South Sider’s hopes. A Historic Day for The Miz After the home run in the first inning, Miz allowed one hit and three free passes while striking out 11 batters, bettering the previous mark for Brewers Opening Day pitchers by three, set by Freddy Peralta (twice) and Ben Sheets. Misiorowski struck out the side twice and gave up one more hit in his five innings on the mound. The second turning point came when Miz allowed a one-out walk to Meidroth and had a 2-0 count on Colson Montgomery in the third inning with the Brewers leading 4-1. Pitching guru Chris Hook came out and had a little chat with his pitcher. Misiorowski then settled down and struck out Montgomery on three pitches and then set down Miguel Vargas on four pitches. Miz retired the side in order in the fifth inning, and his day was done after 94 pitches and a very solid effort. Game, set, and match. Crooked Numbers, Over & Over Milwaukee scored two or more runs in an inning five times today, effectively demoralizing the White Sox. Joey Ortiz came through with the sacks jammed in the second with a looper over a diving Meidroth to tie the game at one. Then, William Contreras ripped a three-run double two batters later to put the Brewers up 4-1. The White Sox had three base runners in the next two innings but failed to score. The Brewers scored two runs each in the fourth and fifth, and then upped their game by scoring three runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings. Sal Frelick hit a two-run blast in the fifth, and then Jake Bauers continued his spring hot streak by hitting a roof-scraping three-run homer in the seventh that just cleared the fence in right field to account for the final Milwaukee scores. Hamilton Lives Up To Murphy Praise David Hamilton came over in the Caleb Durbin/Andruw Monasterio/Anthony Seigler trade from Boston and immediately won over Brewers fans, as he reached base four times, stole a base, and scored two runs. He also made a play on a slow roller by Luisangel Acuña in the fifth, bare handing the ball and firing to first to retire the speedy brother of Ronald Acuña, Jr. Recently acquired reliever Jake Woodford came into the game in the ninth and gave up the first major league hit to Munetaka Murakami when the former Japanese star blasted a home run to make the score 14-2. Woodford then struck out the side on 13 pitches to end the successful day for Milwaukee. One Down, 161 Games To Go A win over Chicago today is a lot better than last year’s debacle at Yankee Stadium, when the Brewers got swept in three games by a combined score of 36-14. Losing Jackson Chourio to a broken left hand will be a setback for the Brewers, but it will allow manager Pat Murphy to see what Bauers, Brandon Lockridge, Garrett Mitchell, and Blake Perkins can do. All in all, it was a great day for the 43,001 fans at ‘The Ueck’ and the people who watched from the comfort of their couches. Let’s hope the Brew Crew can keep it up. View full article

Great parallels...time will tell!

Image courtesy of Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com Trivia question: Other than the fact that they both played for the Brewers, what do Robin Yount and John Briggs have in common? (Answer at the end of this piece.) John Briggs followed a slightly different path to professional baseball than most players. After he graduated from Paterson (NJ) Eastside High School in 1961, he was honored with the Dave Curtis Award (named for a Marine combat flyer who died in a plane crash) as the outstanding student-athlete at Paterson Eastside High School. Thanks to @JohnBriggs12, who prompted this retrospective after making a comment in our retrospective on the debut season of Robin Yount. Briggs attended the Paterson satellite campus of Seton Hall University for a few semesters, but there is no record of him ever playing baseball for Seton Hall. He played amateur league basketball for a couple of seasons after high school, as well as playing American Legion baseball in the summer. In September 1962, the Philadelphia Phillies signed Briggs to an estimated $8,000 bonus, with scouts Jocko Collins and Ben Marmo signing Briggs moments before a New York Mets scout arrived, albeit too late. “I never found out the kind of offer the Mets had in mind for me. I sure would’ve liked to have known, because I know the Mets’ scout, Pete Gebrian, liked me a heck of a lot,” Briggs said in a 2011 interview for a Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) bio. Briggs, who batted and threw left, was originally scheduled to play in the rookie Pioneer League in 1963 but performed well in the minor league camp and was sent instead to Bakersfield in the Class A California League. In his rookie season, Briggs slashed .297/.379/.500 with 21 home runs and 20 steals. After the season, he was added to the Phillies' 40-man roster. Even though Briggs had only two hits in the spring, he and pitcher Rick Wise were placed on the Phillies Opening Day roster in order to protect them from the ‘First-Year Player Draft.’ In those days, major league teams would keep the young player on the roster but not give him much playing time that first season. Briggs played in only 61 games and had 66 at-bats, slashing .258/.347/.333 with one home run. In only his sixth start, Briggs led off, playing center field against the Mets in the second game of a June 21 doubleheader. Batting against Frank Lary in the first, Briggs blasted a 430-foot shot over the center field fence for his first major league dinger. As special as the day was for Briggs, it couldn’t compare to the performance pitcher Jim Bunning had in the first game. All he did was pitch a perfect game in a 6-0 victory against the Mets. Briggs played a part in the first game as well, making a nice running catch of a long drive to center field by the Mets’ Charlie Smith in the third inning to keep the perfecto intact. Briggs also had a front-row seat for one of the biggest collapses in major league history. The Phillies were leading the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals by 6 ½ games with 12 left to play. Philadelphia promptly lost 10 straight games, including three each to the Reds and the Cards, before winning the last two games of the season. Unfortunately for them, it was too little, too late as the Phils finished one game behind the Cardinals. Briggs got into seven games during that 12-game stretch, going 0-for-5 in a pinch-hitting role. Briggs would play six more seasons for the Phillies, splitting time in the outfield, never getting more than 361 ABs in a season. He started the 1971 campaign with the Phillies, but on April 22, he was traded to the Brewers for catcher/first baseman Pete Koegel and RHP Ray Peters in what was arguably one of the most one-sided trades in Brewers history, with Milwaukee coming out on top. Peters never again pitched in the bigs, and Koegel played in just 53 games over the next two years. In his four-plus seasons with Milwaukee, Briggs hit 80 homers, which currently ranks 25th on the Brewers' all-time list. He was also named the left fielder on the Brewers all-decade team for the 1970s. In an interview with SABR, Briggs said of Milwaukee, “The fans were great. I always had a great rapport with the fans.” In 1972, Briggs hit two home runs (and six RBI) off Nolan Ryan in a 7-3 victory over California on July 14. On August 4, 1973, Briggs went 6-for-6 with two doubles in a nine-inning game against Cleveland. That year, he got down-ballot most valuable player consideration, ranking 23rd in the American League MVP. In June 1975, the Brewers traded Briggs to Minnesota for outfielder Bobby Darwin. Briggs played his last major league game on September 28, 1975. Next spring, he asked for his release so that he would be free to pursue an opportunity in Japan. He signed a two-year contract in Japan but played only part of one season due to an illness caused by foodborne parasites, per his SABR biography. After Japan, Briggs eventually moved back to his hometown of Paterson and worked as a corrections office from 1982-2007. He also worked as a recreation supervisor. In 2008, Paterson’s Little League 13-14-year-old division was named the ‘Johnny Briggs Division.’ In 2008, Paterson Little League’s Bill LaSala said of Briggs, “He’s regarded very highly as a ballplayer and a person, probably more important as a person.” Trivia Answer: They both played just one year in the minors before getting called up to the major leagues. What are your favorite memories of Johnny Briggs? Please add them in the 'comments' section. View full article

Amen! Johnson was a stopgap measure, but prior to 1973, I'm not sure who the Brewers thought the '6' was going to be. Certainly not Lopez, who was at best, a 'AA' hitter.