Patrick425

Watching the Masters and Woods just hit a tree root or something while hitting his 2nd shot on the 9th hole. If I heard correctly, I believe Faldo reacted with a "Jesus!". If that is what he said, it will be interesting if Augusta imposes any sanctions on him..or even bans him (like they did Gary McCord for referring to their greens as being "bikini waxed")

That's insane. Didn't see any video, but according to this article the only fast ball thrown to him was the first pitch of the first AB. So, I have to imagine he was swinging at some pitches outside the zone. The Mike Schmidt story regarding this same feat is incredible also. Never know what you will see at a MLB game (or any baseball game for that matter). http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2015/04/08/as-brett-lawrie-strikes-out-four-times-on-12-pitches-emulating-mike-schmidt-with-one-big-difference/?wprss=rss_sports

*sigh*...Major Leaguers....It's an easy game..you hit the ball..you RUN!!!

Funny, in my copy of RR's book it's on the 1st page and it's rule 1.A. Yes, Lohse got a hit, but I will never understand RR's extremly long rope with starting pitchers.

Cable is working again...kind of wish it wasn't

Took the afternoon off to watch the game...cable outage!! Urghhh!!! Really hate TWC sometimes!

Browsing over the 2015 schedule again and can't believe I didn't notice this before. After the opening Rockies series, all games in April are against either StL, Cincy, or Pit (and the first series in May is against the Cubs). Important to have strong April, especially with how strong the division seems to be this year.

Love opening day! Used to go every year, but stopped about 20 or so years ago when I was in my late 20's. Got tired of some of the antics of people at opening day (so now I always go to the 2nd game), but I still enjoy the day and what it means. New hope, the official start of spring (as far as I'm concerned), warmer weather on the way, and most importantly, the start of the baseball season! Enjoy watching all the coverage on the morning news programs while I'm eating breakfast and getting ready to got to work and enjoy listening to AM620 in the morning as they have coverage from Miller Park with various interviews (usually Uecker, Attanasio, etc). I always take a half day on opening day to go home and watch the game (and to avoid the traffic during rush hour!). Love driving by the stadium on my way home, opening the car windows, and smelling all the opening day tailgate smells. Opening day has always been the equivalent to a national holiday in my world. This year, the Badgers being in the championship game is just frosting on the cake for what was already a great day! Play Ball!!

There was a big thread about this last year and yes, the Brewers did this for some of their final games last year. The biggest thing I saw last year were people being a bit unaware that their were multiple lines. They walked up and just got in the first line that they saw instead of just looking a little to the left or right and seeing that there were shorter lines.

This is how I am as well. A lot of the names mentioned here I didn't remember until I saw them and I instantly thought of the avatar that was associated with them. For example, Brian the Automator. Always remember that avatar wondered if it was him or someone else (looks like Alex Van Halen to me). I do miss the days when the site was more active, but this is still a site I visit on just about a daily basis. I feel it's the best place to get the general pulse of how Brewer fans are reacting to various things happening with the Brewers. It's also a great site to ask general questions (baseball and non-baseball related) and know that you are going to get knowledgeable and honest answers. Great people on this site, even if I don't always agree with them.

Last row (usually row 10, I believe?), middle of the row (basically seats 10-14), of any section from 216 to 221, These are right in front of the press box area. Why are these nice seats?: - When you need to leave your seat, just climb over the back of the seat (not hard to do if you even minimally agile - my dad was doing it in his 70's). No need to bother anyone else in the aisle. - The middle seats mean that even the people that choose not to climb over the back of the seats will not try to get past you when leaving their seats. They will either exit to your left of right - Other than the person sitting in front of you, never an obstructed view from a vender or anyone going up and down the stairs between the sections. - Great foul ball territory, but you have to stay alert. They come back there pretty fast! - If you sit in sections 216 - 217 on a hot day, you get the benefit of the Press Box A/C and you get to hear all the little news tidbits announced on the press box loud speaker when something happens on the field and you are not sure why (for example..."Adam Wainwright left game with tightness in his shoulder") - Cheaper than lower lever seats (100 level). I have had seats 10-15 rows from the field on the first base side and always thought when I sat in those seats that our normal seats in the last row of 217 are much better. Too many people walking through my field of vision and too many people coming and going from my row in those lower seats. Keep in mind however that section 217 is a family section (no alcohol).

It's crazy to think about that in terms of timing. That was a week before opening day (Opening day for the Brewers was April 7th that year). I can't see that type of last minute deal happening before the season begins in today's sports environment.

Do you think fans of the Dodgers, Red Sox, Yankees, Giants, or Angels have these types of discussions regarding their star players?

Yes they are comparable. Both guys had spots in their rotation lined up regardless of their spring results. Nelson came to camp as the Brewers #5 starter. He wasn't in a competition. Like Samardzija he was free to work on whatever he needed without having to fret over losing his spot. In a few days both will be 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA. So basically what you are saying is that they are comparable because they are both starting MLB pitchers. So, I'm guessing you would also say that Khris Davis is comparable to Andrew McCutchen. Sure, by that logic, pretty much anything or anyone is comparable...that doesn't mean they are the same. I would replace Nelson with Samardzija in the rotation in a heartbeat, even if Samardzija had an ERA of 11 in spring training. I believe Nelson can be a very good MLB pitcher someday. Maybe he shows that this year, but as of now he has not given any indication of that (and doesn't have several years of quality MLB starts on his resume). I think some of us just believe that Nelson performing well this year is a key factor to the Brewers being successful this year and we are concerned that he may not quite be up to that task yet (and we also don't believe the Brewers have a viable backup option). I also think that most of us that hold that belief hope that we are wrong.

I got an email (not a call) about this. It stated that they would call the number on my account at around 7pm. I probably will not participate. I can't think of anything worthwhile to ask and I doubt he will reveal anything of any substance in regards to the upcoming season. He will just say all positive things about the current roster and minor league system. Someone will ask him if he thinks they did enough in the off season to compete and he will give an answer about how they strengthened 1B with Lind and the bullpen with Krod and other aquisitions. He will over hype Sardina and the other guys they received for Gallardo and that they will miss him, but that they feel that they have enough starting pitching depth with guys like Jungman and Thornburg. Then someone will ask him if they will make mid season trades to bolster the team if they are in contention. He will answer that they think they don't have many current weaknesses but they will just have to evaluate it when the time comes and if there is a move that they think makes sense they will explore it....and that.

Jeff Samardzija has 7 years in the majors with 3.85 ERA and was an All Star last year with a 2.99 ERA. Nelson has about a half a year of MLB experience with not so great results. Can't really compare the two.

Everyone always says "It's only spring training". True, but it's March 30th (Not March 1st) and it was against minor league players (and it's not like the Brewers have a top rated minor league system right now). It's not like Nelson was out there thinking to himself, it's only spring training so I'll just throw meat pitches to these guys. I'm sure he was trying to pitch effectively and get guys out. It's not "panic", it's concern and I think it's reasonable to be a bit concerned. I'm not saying that the Brewers should just give up on Nelson or that he will never be good or that the Brewers have no shot this year because of pitching. I just hope that if Nelson doesn't show any signs of turning things around in his first couple of starts that they are quick to executive plan B (Whatever that may be). Also, and more importantly, Nelson is on my fantasy team...so yeah, maybe I am panicking a little bit!!

We've gone down to ST in AZ about 12 times. We almost always go during the first week of games. There has been 2 or 3 times where the temps have been in the upper 80's to low 90's. There have been 2 or 3 times where the temps struggled to get to 70. The average temp is 70 and 80 throughout March in Phoenix. Temps in the 90's in March can happen, but they are not the norm.

That is very sad news. If there is a way to collect contributions on this board please let us know. edit: didn't see patrickpge's post (didn't go to the 2nd page).

Not sure what your qualifications are Jericho or what you are looking for, but keep plugging away. When I graduated from college over 25 years ago, I had a whole binder of rejection letters. At least 30 of them. Not sure why I kept them at the time. Many of them were rejections before I could even get a resume. Other than my college degree and a mediocre 3.0 GPA, my resume was pretty thin. I finally landed a job that did not pay very well (compared to what other grads I knew were getting at the time), but gave me the opportunity to prove myself and make connections. Never really had to go through that again. For the most part the jobs I took since that time were through people that I had already worked for and knew what I was capable of. Stick with it, it will pay off in the long run.

How many times have you been to AZ for ST games? Perhaps you thought that FL spring training was fine, but you had no or little comparison to the AZ spring training experience. Also, it's different if you live someplace and have not spent $2,000+ on lodging and airfare costs and burned a week of vacation. I don't think you can compare taking in spring training in a state that you live in vs. being on a one week vacation. Perhaps you are correct about the timing of the weather. Perhaps it rarely rains during game time hours. However, most people that go to spring training are not just going only for the games. It's a vacation. People are spending money and taking off of work to escape bad weather (again, they are not living down there, they have one week). It's nice to see some baseball and get a little closer to the players than you would be able to during the season, but the games are exhibition games and the starters are usually out of the game by the 5th or 6th inning. Many people leave these games early to enjoy other activities in the nice weather like swimming or golfing (hard to do when it's raining). Walking around Scottsdale on a dry warm night is very enjoyable. The weather factor is not just about games being played, so you can't just throw the "silly" weather argument out the window. AZ is in the desert and FL is tropical. It's just a fact that there is greater chance of rain in FL than in AZ In regards to cost. It's not just the difference between a $14 and $10 tickets (the prices differences are actually much more dramatic than that especially if you do not want to sit in the outfield as you stated you do not care for). As you stated it's the cost of hotels, food, car rentals are also more. So, why would I prefer to see my team play in a place where everything costs more? On top of that, you have to assume that you can get a ticket. There are a lot more sell outs in FL than in AZ because of all the east coast teams (and their obnoxious fans). Perhaps the distance between parks is a preference thing. When we go to spring training we want to see the Brewers. Why would we go see two other teams play each other when the Brewers are playing at the same time? We are Brewer fans. In AZ we are within 40 minutes (usually shorter) of seeing the Brewers play at any park that they happen to be at. That would not be true in FL, and even when they were not on the road but playing at home against a team like the Yankees or Red Sox we probably would have a hard time getting a ticket and would have to pay a premium to sit shoulder to shoulder with a crowd that consists 80% of mostly annoying Yankee or Red Sox fans. Again, we are only down there for a week and don't have the luxury of choosing what games we are going to go to over a 30 day period like we would have if we lived there. We went to FL in 2014 instead of AZ. The trip was mainly to go to Disney World, we had no plans to take in a ST game. However, there was one day that it pretty much rained all day (imagine that!) and we decided not to go to the Disney parks. It stopped raining later in the afternoon and Atlanta was playing a night game. I went online to purchase tickets and I think the cheapest ticket available was something like $25 and it wasn't like it was a great seat (may have even been the outfield). There was no way I was paying that to see an exhibition game. One thing I will say about FL if you have smaller children is that there is the Disney factor. However, that's if you care to spend the extra money on the park tickets and deal with the crazy crowds during that time of year (we will never go there again in March). However, for adults and older children, you will never convince me that FL compares at all to the enjoyment of spring training in AZ. Edit: Oh yeah...one more negative about FL...toll roads!!!

I'll also add the weather factor is you are going to claim that it "much ado about nothing". According to weather underground.com, March rainfall (in inches) for the last 5 years: Year Phx Orlando 2014 0.99 3.52 2013 0.85 0.87 2012 0.25 0.97 2011 0.06 6.97 2010 1.09 7.66 I only chose Orlando, because it's a bit centrally located in FL, but my guess is that the results would be similar for other FL locations. The historical average for PHX is 0.99, for Orlando it's 1.61. Significant difference, but not huge. However, as you can see from the last 5 years, the standard deviation seems to be much greater in FL. I doubt you will find many years, if any, with March rainfall totals of 3, 6, or 7 inches in Phoenix.

I used to live in Florida, but I moved away going on 4 years ago. I now live in Salt Lake City, approx a 10 hour drive from Phx. I have no plans of ever returning to Florida. But, having been a resident and having taken in plenty of spring training, the distance between parks, occassional rainout in March, and other factors discussed here are much ado about nothing. If the Brewers get a great situation/offer, they should go. Not sure how you can say those factors are "much ado about nothing". In general, Florida Spring training games are clearly more expensive than Arizona ST games, there are less outfield grass seating options in FL, and there is no way you can make the argument that the FL ST games are not a lot more spread out that AZ games. It's just a geographical fact. Here again is what I posted pack in February in this thread (the times I posted between sites are from Google Maps). FL: Minn - lowest price $12 (when they play the Yankees or Boston it's $14 - if you can get a ticket) Pit - lowest price $15 (when they play the Yankees or Boston it's $17 - again, if you can get a ticket) Toronto - lowest price $17 and they don't have a berm AZ: Milwaukee $8.00 Cleve $6.50 for kids, $10.50 for adults Higher demand teams: Tor @ NY: Lowest price $21.50 (no berm from what I could see). Minn @ Boston: Lowest price $27 (only available seats left for this game - RF Grand Stand). AZ: Mil @ LA Dodgers: $14 Mil @ SF: $16.50 Mil @ LA Angels: $18.25 If your team plays in FL and they happen to be playing NY, Boston, or Washington good luck getting tickets and if you do expect to pay through the nose. Even if they are playing a team where tickets are less in demand, you are going to pay inflated prices compared to AZ. Lastly, in regards to travel time between parks. FL is clearly more spread out than AZ. According to Google maps if you stay in Orlando and want to go see your team play in Fort Meyers it's 2 hours and 47 minutes, Clearwater: 1 hour and 40 minutes, even Lakeland (which would be one of the closer sites) is 45 minutes. In AZ the greatest distance between two sites (Mesa to Surprise) is 1 hour and 6 minutes and if you centrally locate yourself, you probably have no more than a 40 minute drive to any park.

Now that I think of it, my wife had her wedding shower there 21+ years ago. Also, her 25th HS reunion was there. Also Fondy, I grew up in West Allis and the Organ Piper was always a big hang out for us back then. Have not been there in a long time, but if it's anything like it was 30 years ago, it's a fun place for families. Not sure if others will agree, but between the two pizza places, I would say Organ Piper for the atmosphere and Marty's for the quality of pizza.

Looks like they are in Maryvale for at least one more year: http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2015/03/23/milwaukee-brewers-spring-training-staying-in.html?ana=e_mil_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2015-03-24&u=qkGD6+P7R4SZnMdGbi3B7ra5Q0N&t=1427202278