Michael Trzinski

I don't disagree, but I think he is ready to take another step forward. I'd like to see another five HRs and SB, and another 10 points onto his slash line. And a Gold Glove would be nice!

For any team shy of juggernaut status, the outcome of the season can swing wildly and unexpectedly, based on the performance of a few high-variance, highly important players. With their erstwhile shortstop now in San Francisco, the Brewers have one such player stepping into his shoes. Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / © Michael McLoone-Imagn Images Joey Ortiz came over to the Brewers—along with pitcher DL Hall—in the blockbuster trade that sent pitcher Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles late last offseason. Much was expected of Ortiz, and in fact, this writer predicted that Ortiz would win the third base job and perform well in Milwaukee in what was essentially his rookie campaign. It didn't happen right away or all at once, but that turned out to be mostly right. What Went Wrong In 2024? Ortiz started well in Milwaukee, at first under some protection from right-handed pitchers and in a manageable role—then in an increasingly full-time gig. He was hitting .275/.380/.455 over 211 at-bats in late June, and was looking every bit the Rookie of the Year candidate that the Brewers front office had hoped for when they acquired him. Alas, neck inflammation sent him to the 10-day injured list on Jul. 2. When he returned the weekend before the All-Star break, he was not the same hitter. Ortiz slashed .158/.222/.211 and did not hit a homer in July. He was scarcely better in August, with a line of .195/.290/.345. He played every game down the stretch and finished with a slash line of .239/.329/.398 for the year, with 11 homers and 11 stolen bases. He was not Mr. October in the Wild Card Series against the Mets, either, going 0-for-11 with two strikeouts. The neck injury torpedoed the season, even though he led the team with six triples, and finished in the top five with 25 doubles and 56 walks. What Can Go Right In 2025? With the departure of shortstop Willy Adames via free agency, it is all but a fait accompli that Ortiz will move over to the ‘6’, returning to the spot that he called home for most of his minor-league career. Even though Ortiz ranked third in MLB with 8 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) at the hot corner, moving him was a no-brainer: he has the tools for shortstop, and no other internal option would have been better. Offensively, the projections show him with 11-13 home runs, 10-12 stolen bases, and a slash line around .250/.320/.400. In other words, they expect him to play like last year, with a little higher batting average. I would suggest that Ortiz can perform better still, with something more like 15 homers, 15 steals, and a .750 OPS. He'll be a year more experienced, he'll probably be healthier, and he might even be a little more comfortable in the field, back at his natural position. Ortiz will not replace the power numbers of Adames, but his defense should be much better. How Will This Impact The 2025 Brewers? The question, in my mind, depends on who steps up and takes the third base position. At this point, the Brewers have six players in camp who will be battling for playing time at the hot corner. The leaders in that not-quite-competition figure to be Oliver Dunn, Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monasterio, who could certainly share time at the position, rather than one of them winning it outright. There are other longshots hanging around, too, though. If none of those three seizes their chance and (as expected) Tyler Black is unable to hack it at the hot corner defensively, maybe Ortiz gets moved back there and the team slides Brice Turang to short, with the diminutive Durbin at second. Maybe they platoon two or three of this varied group, and Ortiz stays at short. No matter what, we know Ortiz is capable of putting up big offensive numbers, and we know he has a chance to be a very good defender even at his new, old position. Time will tell. When it does, Ortiz's results will play a large role in determining the Brewers', for good or ill. View full article

My wife was checking on her Prime account and she tells me that 'apparently,' Fan Duel is not available as an add-on...yet. Any truth to that, or are we just missing something?

We can only hope. Crawford was an All-Star at age 22 and led the AL in triples and steals that year. If Payne is 3/4 of the player that Crawford was, we have a good catch!

With Opening Day finally in sight, it’s only fitting that we look back at some of the memorable home openers in Milwaukee Brewers history. Image courtesy of © MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL / USA TODAY NETWORK Since the first Opening Day in 1970, the Brewers have had four ‘blow-out’ victories, a game in which they scored more than 10 runs and won by at least eight tallies. Here is a brief recap of that quartet of contests in which Milwaukee got the last laugh. 1978 (11-3 over Baltimore) The 1978 season will be remembered as the genesis of the team that would come to be known as Bambi’s Bombers, after skipper George Bamberger, who was making his big-league managerial debut. The 1978 version won 90+ (93) games for the first time and four years after that would appear in the World Series for the first time. Paul Molitor also made his major league debut in this game, going 1-for-5 and getting his first big league hit, an RBI single off southpaw Mike Flanagan. After a rainout the previous day, 47,824 fans came out on a sunny 60-degree day to see the new manager and the young phenom known as ‘Mollie.’ The fans got their money’s worth, and it started in the second inning as the Brewers scored three times, highlighted by a two-run double by Andy Etchebarren and the RBI single by Molitor. The Brewers made it 4-0 the next inning with an RBI single by Cecil Cooper. Two innings later Larry Hisle hit a two-run blast to increase the lead to 6-0. Hisle, a free agent signed in the off-season, also had a double to cap off a 2-for-3 day in his Brewer debut. In the bottom of the seventh, Sixto Lezcano slammed a grand slam homer to increase the lead to 10-0. Don Money added a groundout-RBI the next inning to account for the 11-0 score. Meanwhile, left-handed Brewer starter Jerry Augustine had cruised through eight innings, allowing only six singles and a walk and was aided by his infield, who turned a trio of double plays in the first seven innings. The ninth inning was a different story, as ‘Augie’ got the first out and then gave up the following: home run, walk, single, single, walk. At that point, Eduardo Rodriguez came in and got the final two outs in the 11-3 victory. 1995 (12-3 over Chicago White Sox) The season after the 1994 (and part of 1995) work stoppage saw only 31,426 fans attend the home opener, which was played on April 26. It was the smallest Opening Day crowd since only 13,883 showed up in 1973. The 1995 Brewers were in the midst of a 12-year drought in which the team failed to reach the .500 mark. The Brewers scored early and often off White Sox pitcher Alex Fernandez, a former first round pick of the Brewers in 1988, who chose not to sign with Milwaukee. Revenge came in the form of eight runs (four earned) on five hits and five walks in just 2.2 innings off the offerings of Fernandez. In what was becoming a recurring theme, John Jaha blasted a grand slam in the home opener in the first inning to make it 4-1. Milwaukee pitcher Ricky Bones gave up one run in the first as the home team held an 8-1 lead after three frames had been completed. It was 8-2 when the Brewers tacked on a pair of runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, courtesy of RBI singles by Pat Listach and Darryl Hamilton in the fifth and a two-run jack by Turner Ward in the sixth. Chicago got a ‘too little, too late’ tally in the top of the eighth to end the scoring in the 12-3 win. Listach went 3-for-3 in his return from an injury-plagued 1994 that saw his season end with surgery on his left knee. Bones was removed with one out in the fifth after issuing his fourth base on balls, leaving him just short of qualifying for the easy win. Angel Miranda and Mark Kiefer gave up a combined one run on two hits in the final 4.2 innings. 2008 (13-4 over San Francisco) The spanking delivered by the Brewers over the Giants on Opening Day was a prelude to the year that Milwaukee returned to the post-season for the first time since 1982. Milwaukee beat up three of the four Giants pitchers, beginning with three runs in the home first. Prince Fielder had an RBI single before getting knocked in by a Bill Hall home run that riled up the crowd of 45,212 at Miller Park. The Brewers broke the contest wide open with five runs in the fifth inning. Gabe Kapler and Fielder each had RBI singles, but the big hit was a three-run home run by Hall, his second of the game to stretch the lead to 8-0. The Giants scored two runs in the top of the sixth off Brewers starter Carlos Villanueva, but Milwaukee quickly got it back with five more in the bottom half of the sixth. Jason Kendall and Fielder each had run-scoring doubles, while Kapler, Hall, and Corey Hart all had RBI singles to make the score 13-2. Reliever Salomon Torres got roughed up by his former team for two runs in the seventh but persevered through the end of the game to notch his first of 28 saves on the year, which would be the final of 12 campaigns for the diminutive righty reliever. Rickie Weeks scored at least one run for the 17th consecutive game, tying a National League record held by Rogers Hornsby (1921) and Ted Kluszewski (1954). His three runs, two hits, and a stolen base led Milwaukee, along with three hits each by Kapler, Fielder, and Hall, who also had six RBIs. Weeks’ streak would end the next day. 2023 (10-0 over New York Mets) A crowd of 42,017 saw the fifth shutout in home Opening Day history, the only one in which Milwaukee scored 10 runs and won by a similar number. Freddy Peralta started for the Brewers and pitched six scoreless innings before being removed in favor of Bryse Wilson, who finished the whitewashing. The game was scoreless as the Brewers came to bat in the bottom of the third. Brice Turang walked and then stole second. With two outs, Jesse Winker singled to score the first Brewers run. In the bottom of the fourth, Brian Anderson hit a two-run homer to make the score 3-0. The Brewers scored a ‘touchdown’ in the fifth to put the game out of reach. Willy Adames and Anerson each had RBI singles, while William Contreras had an RBI groundout. Three batters later with the bases loaded, Turang smashed a grand slam to account for the final score. The home run was the first of Turang’s career. Turang had four RBIs while Anderson knocked home three. Peralta earned the victory while allowing two hits and three walks while striking out seven batters. Wilson got the three inning save, giving up one hit and three walks while whiffing a pair of Mets. The Brewers would shut out the Mets 9-0 the following night, led by Anderson’s two home runs and six RBIs. Grand Slams Galore The Brewers have hit five grand slams in home openers. Sixto Lezcano had two of them in a three-year span, including a walk-off in a 9-5 win over Boston in 1980. Catcher Mike Matheny hit a granny in a 5-3 win over Texas in 1997. The complete list: Sixto Lezcano, 1978 Sixto Lezcano, 1980 (w/o) John Jaha, 1995 Mike Matheny, 1997 Brice Turang, 2023 Opening Day Excitement Opening Day is the day that baseball fans live for. It signals the end of winter and the beginning of baseball. In the jam-packed parking lots at Miller Park (AmFamField), grills are fired up, the beer is flowing, kids are playing catch, and the atmosphere gets cranked up in anticipation of the first game of baseball since the previous October. Batter up! View full article

Nice piece, @David Go!

Him too...lol

You must remember Jeff Suppan 😎

Seems like it would be a great idea to get to know the prospects at an earlier age in an effort to build a good relationship, which could help the Brewers down the road.

Yeah, there were more for sure, but these three just stuck out to me. Lind had been a pretty solid power bat with Toronto but was coming off a 2014 season which was limited due to a broken foot. He had the highest bWAR on the team with 3.6 in 2015. Parra only played four months with the Brewers until he got traded to Baltimore. To show what a monster July he had? He raised his batting average 30 points before he was traded! 'Blazer' had the best year of his career and was a dependable component of the 'pen.

The 2015 version of the Milwaukee Brewers was not a good club, limping to a 68-94 mark, 32 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. Manager Ron Roenicke was canned after a 7-18 start and was replaced by Craig Counsell. The trio of players featured in this piece were among the best players on that team. Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images Adam Lind Adam Lind joined the Brewers in November 2014 in exchange for pitcher Marco Estrada. The team was looking for a power bat, and the 31-year-old provided that in 2015. Lind ranked third on the team with 20 home runs, 32 doubles, 87 RBIs, 66 walks, and 11 intentional passes. He also ranked in the top three in five other categories. In October, David Stearns took over as the Brewers GM and went to work wheeling and dealing, doing his best to re-stock the Brewers somewhat empty cupboard. One trade saw Lind and his $8 million millstone traded to the Seattle Mariners for three minor league pitchers: Daniel Missaki, Carlos Herrera, and a guy named Freddy Peralta. Gerardo Parra Gerardo Parra was traded to Milwaukee before the 2014 trading deadline in exchange for pitcher Anthony Banda and outfielder Mitch Haniger. Parra--a two-time Gold Glove winner--split time at all three garden spots the last two months of the season, slashing .268/.318/.390 over 123 at-bats. The following season, Parra once again played outfielder utilityman and had 75 starts among 89 games in 'the corn.' After a red-hot July in which Parra had a 14-game hitting streak and was batting .435/.495/.718, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for minor league pitcher Zach Davies. In 100 games for Milwaukee, Parra slashed .328/.369/.517 over 323 at-bats. Michael Blazek Michael Blazek spent two full seasons and parts of two others with the Brewers as a right-handed reliever, but the 2015 was his best. He came to the Brewers from the St. Louis Cardinals in a PTBNL trade for pitcher John Axford. After a September sip of Starbucks, Blazek spent the entire 2014 season at Triple-A Nashville, where he worked out of the pen and in the rotation. His 2015 season saw him post career highs with 45 games, 55.2 innings, 47 strikeouts, 164 ERA+, 3.17 FIP, and 2.42 ERA. Blazek's 1.2 bWAR ranked fifth on the team for pitchers. After a disappointing 2016 (76 ERA+, 5.71 FIP), he only appeared in five games with Milwaukee in July 2017 before getting released. He did set a major league record, though: he allowed five home runs in one inning against the Washington Nationals on July 27. Lind, Parra, and Blazek had solid seasons for the Brewers in 2015. Although they weren't the brightest stars in the Brewers universe, they had some of the best years of their careers during that otherwise dismal 2015 campaign. View full article

Most--well, all--Brewers fans know that Bob Uecker was born in Milwaukee and lived in Wisconsin most of his life. To honor him, the three players in this piece were born in this great state and played ball for the Brewers. Not only that, but they also all played their college ball in Wisco. Enjoy!! Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Vinny Rottino Vinny Rottino was born in Racine, 35 miles south of County Stadium/Miller Park/Am Fam Field. He wasn't drafted out of high school, but after four great seasons at UW-La Crosse, he was signed as a free agent by the Brewers in 2003. Rottino didn't get much playing time at catcher behind Damian Miller, Johnny Estrada, and Jason Kendall, so he played a few games at first, third, and left field. The college batting star didn't get a chance to prove his worth, playing only 62 games combined with the Brewers, Marlins, Indians, and Mets. Rottino entered the broadcast industry and became a Brewers Bally Sports Network TV analyst. J.P. Feyereisen J.P. Feyereisen was born in Stillwater, Minnesota but grew up in River Falls, western Wisconsin, not far from the Wisconsin/Minnesota border. He attended UW-Stevens Point for three years and played one season in the collegiate Northwoods League with my hometown team, the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. When this guy was on fire, he was on fire! In his first one-plus seasons in Low-A and A-ball, he threw 31 consecutive scoreless innings. In 2021, with the Brewers, he went 16 innings without allowing a run. After being traded to Tampa Bay, he went a whole season (22 games, 24.1 innings) without allowing an earned run. His FIP was a minuscule 1.67. Damian Miller Damian Miller was born in La Crosse and played college ball at Viterbo College, located in LaX. Of our threesome from today's piece, he spent the most time in the bigs and easily played the most games. He played in the infamous All-Star Game at Miller Park in 2002, which ended in a 7-7 tie because the teams ran out of pitchers after 11 innings. Miller played 11 big-league seasons for the Twins, Brewers, Cubs, Athletics, and Diamondbacks. After the 2008 season, he received calls from the Yankees and Padres but chose to retire, saying, “If I came back now, it would be only for the money, and if you play baseball, that’s not why you should do it." He said he would only return for one team: the Brewers. Like our friend Bob Uecker, these players were born in the Badger State and played for the home team. We celebrate them as we celebrate Ueck. Thanks for the memories! View full article

I was thinking of a BA around .280 also. And the other counting numbers seem fair. We have a young kid who *shouldn't* be expected to be a superstar in his first couple years. I would expect a 'breakout' season in 2026...and beyond.

Michael Robert Blazek was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and graduated from Arbor View High School. Although he signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Nevada, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals after he was drafted in the 35th round of the 2007 MLB Amateur Draft. Blazek spent seven years toiling in the minors before getting his first shot at the bigs in 2013 with the Cardinals. After just 11 games with the Redbirds, the right-hander was sent to the Brewers as the PTBNL in the John Axford deal. Blazek spent the 2014 season at Triple-A Nashville and then made the big-league team after having a good spring in 2015. Blazek had a career year with highs in games (45), innings (55.2), strikeouts (47), ERA+ (164) and FIP (3.17). He bumped his bWAR up to 1.2 with one hit in four ABs with an RBI double. In 2016, Blazek was on the injured list twice and also spent time at Triple-A Colorado Springs but still managed to appear in 41 games. His numbers didn’t match the previous year, as he posted an ERA+ of 76 and FIP of 5.71. Blazek began the 2017 season in Colorado Springs and started 13 of his 26 games, pitching to an ERA of 3.71 while improving his K:BB rate to 2:1. He was called up to Milwaukee in July and pitched well in his first four relief stints, pitching 6.1 scoreless innings. On July 27, Blazek made his only ML start, and it was a disaster. In 2.1 innings against the Washington Nationals, he gave up eight runs and seven hits, including six home runs. He allowed five home runs in the third inning alone, four of them consecutive. The five round-trippers in one inning were a major league record. He was designated for assignment two weeks later and spent the rest of the year in Colorado Springs. In January 2018, Blazek was signed as a free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He made three stops in the Arizona chain but never made it to Arizona that year. The following April, Blazek signed with the Lincoln Saltdogs, an independent team, but before the season, he was signed to a free agent contract with the Nationals. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Fresno and was called up to Washington for only four games, in which he posted an ERA+ of 67 and an 8.81 FIP. He elected free agency after the season. Blazek signed with the South Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League for 2020, but the season was canceled due to the Covid pandemic. View full player

Gerardo Enrique Parra was born in Santa Barbara, Venezuela and was signed in 2004 by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He made his professional debut at Missoula (Montana) in the rookie Pioneer League, slashing .328/.386/.469 with 23 stolen bases. The left-handed hitting Parra made his debut in ‘The Show’ in his third year. Called up in mid-May, Parra slashed .290/.324/.404 and finished eighth in the National League Rookie of the Year award balloting. Over the next four-plus years, Parra was a consistent performer in the Diamondbacks outfield, averaging 141 games per season. Over that time, he slashed .274/.331/.400 with 151 extra-base hits and 41 stolen bases. The outfielder won a Gold Glove in 2011 and 2013. Parra was traded to the Brewers before the July 2014 trading deadline for pitcher Anthony Banda and outfielder Mitch Haniger. In 46 games for Milwaukee, Parra slashed .268/.318/.390 across 123 at-bats. In 2015 Parra had a 2.0 bWAR, third best on the Brewers. His batting line of .328/.369/.517 across 323 at-bats included a team-high five triples and an OPS+ of 140. In July Parra was smoking-hot with a slash line of .435/.495/.718 in 85 at-bats. On July 31 he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Zach Davies. His time in Baltimore was disappointing as he posted a sub-par OPS+ of 69. He was granted free agency and signed with the Colorado Rockies the following January. Parra lasted three seasons in Denver and had a combined slash line of .283/.320/.407 with an OPS+ of 80 through the 2018 season. Once again a free agent, Parra signed with the San Francisco Giants in January 2019. He lasted only 30 games before his .198/.278/.267 slash line caused the Giants to release him. He was soon picked up by the Washington Nationals and batted .250/.300/.447 in 89 games. Parra appeared four times in the World Series that the Nationals won in seven games. After, Parra became a free agent and spent the 2020 season in Japan before returning to the Nationals in 2021. After splitting the year between Triple-A Rochester and Washington, Parra signed a minor league contract for 2022. In May he was released and a few days later, retired. View full player

Adam Alan Lind was born in Muncie, Indiana and attended Highland High School in nearby Anderson. He was named Indiana Mr. Baseball by the Indiana high school baseball coaches after batting .675 with 15 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs, and 47 RBIs his senior year. The southpaw swinging first sacker was picked in the 8th round of the 2002 MLB Amateur Draft by the Minnesota Twins but elected not to sign, instead attending the University of South Alabama. Lind had a nice sophomore year, batting .392 with 12 home runs and 60 RBIs and was selected in the third round of the 2004 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Lind moved rapidly through the Blue Jays chain, making his big-league debut at the end of his third season. He did not disappoint, slashing .367/.415/.600 across 60 at-bats. The big (6-foot-2, 195-pound) slugger split the next two seasons between Toronto and Triple-A Syracuse. He broke out in 2009, winning a Silver Slugger Award for Toronto on the strength of his .305/.370/.562 batting line with 35 homers and 114 RBIs. Over the next five years, Lind missed a few games due to injury and slumps but still slashed .265/.321/.450 with 89 home runs in 607 games. After the 2014 campaign, Lind was traded to the Brewers for pitcher Marco Estrada. Lind had a nice season for the Brewers with an OPS+ of 126 and bWAR of 3.6, which was best on the team. After the season he was traded to the Seattle Mariners for two minor league pitchers and Freddy Peralta. He spent 2016 with the Mariners and slipped a bit with an OPS+ of 94 with 20 home runs and moved to the Washington Nationals the next year as a free agent. He slashed .303/.362/.513 across 267 at-bats with 14 home runs as a part-time starter. In 2018, Lind played in the Yankees and Red Sox organizations but was released by the Red Sox in August. Lind finished his major league career with 200 home runs and a batting line of .272/.330/.465. View full player

Proprioception? @Matthew Truebloodyou crack me up. Makes me want to work on my body control 🙋‍♂️

Awesome tribute, @Tim Muma