owbc

We started 2-4 but against two solid teams. The easy wins against the Pirates are still ahead of us.

Now we have more hits than them!

It seemed like Prince was waiting on a fastball. He never got one.

I enjoyed Opening Day but it was definitely a different experience than last year. -The crowd in the right field corner of the terrace was much tamer than last year. I am convinced this was directly correlated with the lack of group sales to bars. People were actually watching the game this year and although there was still plently of drinking, I saw very few extremely intoxicated people. Good to see. -There were very few Cubs fans, even less than a normal Brewers/Twins game. Great to see, but I'm sure they will be out in force tomorrow night. There were a few confrontations--some Cubs fans got thrown out of the bleachers, a few Brewers fans near us were arguing about seating locations, and there were some Brewers fans trying to instigate Cubs fans. -The crowd was generally quiet but woke up after Duffey got on in the 9th. I would like to see Brewers fans be more proactive at other times in the game also, but it was hard with all the pitching changes. Still, the crowd went crazy after Rickie's double. I haven't been to any Brewers game with such a sudden turn of events in a really long time. I lost my voice yelling after that hit which hasn't happened at a Brewers game in a long time. -The improved clubhouse RF corner fanzone store looked nice, but we didn't go inside because of the long line. My favorite improvement was that there were also a number of framed pictures added around the ballpark depicting scenes from last year--inluding the confetti after clinching the WC and the Brewers ready to mob Braun at home plate. It's great to have those memories up on the walls. -Finally, they seem to have the parking system down to a science. We had no problems getting in or getting out.

The difference between 150 and 180 million is more than you think. What if you got two job offers, one for $100,000 and one for $83,000: -Both jobs are exactly the same position with the same amount of hours -One is located in your hometown, the other is a few hours away but still in the region. -In one job you will be working with customers who are always friendly to you. In the other, the customers will evaluate you much more critically based on your performance. -Upper management will also likely be more critical in the higher paying job, but you expect that because you will be making more money -In the higher paying job, you will work alongside many of the finest professionals in your field, some of which are considered the greatest of all time. In the lower paying job, you will be far superior to most of your coworkers -Evaluation is based primarily off the performance numbers of your entire company. In the higher paying job, they will expect nothing less than to be the best in the country. In the lower paying job, you will be under less pressure because mediocrity is expected.

I miss Brian Shouse right now...

I like that we scored 6 runs without hitting a HR.

1) I will not kick any holes in the wall or throw temper tantrums over Brewers games 2) I will not refer to any Brewer as being "useless" or "horrible" or "a waste of a human being" 3) I will never give up on a game no matter what the score is 4) I will try to improve my knowledge of baseball this year through statistics/books/movies 5) I will use the internet to see baseball highlights and avoid "Baseball Tonight" as much as possible

Here's some thoughts: -Why is Hardy batting #5 and Hart #2? Hart probably would have many more chances to steal bases as #5 and Hardy has proven that he does better when he sees more strikes with Braun behind him -Suppan was the same as always, but I'm willing to give him some more time since nobody pitched well today. -Great patience at the plate by our hitters today, especially Cameron with 4 walks -Macha should have watched film from the last few times Bush pitched in relief. They will win big tomorrow with Yo on the mound. Johnson is one of our favorite lefties to beat up on.

I have my Bill Hall retro jersey on today :-) This is an area of rain associated with a cold front, so if we can get the main band of rain through before 3:00, they might get the game in. However, looking at the satellite seems to suggest that it will take longer than that, maybe until 4-5:00 or so Milwaukee time and then more scattered rain after that. I think they can get the game in, but there's probably going to be a considerable delay before that happens. As excited as I am for the season to start, I think they should cancel it now and play a doubleheader tomorrow. It would be awful to see a Brewer get injured because of the weather on the first day of the season.

You can't compare Yankee Stadium to Wrigley. I've been to both and I loved my experience at Wrigley and found Yankee Stadium to be disappointing. Old Yankee Stadium reminded me more of County Stadium than anything else: dark/cramped concourses, insufficient concessions/bathrooms, seats too far away from the field, poor audio/visual. The only cool part was the monument park, besides that it really didn't have anything special about it. Wrigley was just a pure nostalgic baseball atmosphere. The disclaimer is that I went to Wrigley in 1999 before Miller Park existed, but I still remember what an experience it was. The bathrooms were disgusting and the place was definitely falling apart, even back then. However, once you get in your seat, it was great (and you wouldn't want to leave your seat because the concourses were dark and cramped). There was no obnoxious music, no flashing scoreboard, just baseball. The view is great (if you don't have a pole in your face) and it felt like that was how baseball was meant to be played. It isn't really like that today, the game wasn't even sold out so it really was only the diehard Cubs fans back then, the Brewers/Cubs were competing for 4th or 5th place, and people were generally much nicer than my experiences with Cubs fans in the post-Bartman era. I would really hate to see the place go, but I really think the grandstand needs to get torn down and rebuilt. Leave the bleachers untouched and make sure the new place doesn't look like a spaceship but as close as possible to the old one with all the modern amenities.

A number of our predictions will happen (down years for Harden and Zambrano, Fukudome still stinks, Bradley gets injured). As a result, they win only about 92 games and take the division by 5 games instead of 10.

Great job everyone! Here are some of my thoughts: Player of the year: Ryan Braun. I expect an MVP-caliber season from Braun and I know he expects it from himself. Expect him to be more patient at the plate this season and keep up his power numbers. The only issue is whether his nagging injury will hold him back. Pitcher of the Year: Dave Bush. Don't get me wrong, I have high expectations for Gallardo, but I expect Dave Bush to be the most consistent pitcher in the rotation next year, throwing 200+ innings and winning 15+. Gallardo will be right behind him, but without a full season in the majors yet, I'm reluctant to believe he will live up to the hype. Breakout of the year: Manny Parra. I'm with others who think our rotation is underrated and Manny is a big reason why. On the offensive side, I expect Rickie Weeks to steadily improve but not break out with a monster year. Unsung Hero: Seth McClung. This is the year that Seth moves into a prominent bullpen position and is trusted by Macha to come into close games in the 6th and 7th inning. I also expect to see him get some starts later in the year. Biggest disappointment: Braden Looper. While he is a bottom of the rotation starter, he gets lit up at the home opener and never really recovers. I expect him to finish under .500 with an ERA over 5.00. Record: 87-75, 2nd place in NL Central. They get off to a hot start but fade in August when the bullpen suffers from overwork due to a weak bottom of the rotation. NL Central: Cubs NL East: Mets NL West: Dodgers NL Wildcard: Phillies AL East: Red Sox AL Central: Indians AL West: A's Al Wildcard: Yankees World Series: Phillies (1) vs Red Sox (4)

They're swinging the bats well right now, I expect them to get off to a big start. 13-9.

This "storm" was a nightmare for meteorologists and yet amounted to virtually nothing. We saw maybe an inch in Madison this morning. Iowa did get hit fairly hard, though.

Looks like this one isn't going to be too big of a deal, but the models don't agree and never have. However, it's going to be plenty cold enough for snowflakes, any accumulations should be under 3", perhaps nothing at all. The exception to that is areas in that winter weather advisory, where maybe up to 4 or 5" could fall in isolated areas. It's going to be a really lucky miss for WI, as the storm is dumping on the plains right now but it is expected to weaken as it gets close to WI before getting its act together again over lower Michigan. It doesn't change the fact that it's going to be 20 degrees below normal on Sunday, but at least we won't have 6" of snow to deal with.

An opening day snowstorm would be just awful. Unfortunately, I'm also watching the potential for a quick shot of snow on Thursday night, as well as a potentially major snowstorm on Sunday. This isn't an April Fools joke either...unless someone has been messing with the forecast models. That being said, I don't believe the long term forecast, it seems too cold for Sunday, but we're talking winter storm warnings if it holds.

Storm went farther SE than expected and was warmer than expected, resulting in lots of sleet for some areas. Typical spring storm--it's almost impossible to forecast these things correctly. Hopefully this is the end of the winter weather thread for this year, but Milwaukee averages 2.6" of snow for April, so I doubt it. Using the very long range model, I will issue an early opening day forecast for April 10--partly sunny with a high around 50, as it looks like we will be in the middle of a split flow pattern next week, with near normal temperatures. Of course, that will probably change several times before then, but at least it's close enough to take a look...

Thanks guys, I obviously really enjoy talking about the weather so if you ever have any questions or need a forecast, I'll be glad to help. By the way, it looks like my earlier thoughts might be off, it's looking plenty cold enough for snow everywhere, which means some areas in the far southeast are going to push 10" with this one. 4-6" looks good for a Madison to Sheboygan line, less NW, more SE.

I am now much more confident my earlier suspicions were correct--Milwaukee and south should see mostly rain/mix at the beginning while Madison can expect closer to 6" depending on how fast the stuff sticks...at that includes NE of Madison since the storm is tracking SW to NE. As for the radar loops--you can see that the storm is moving farther west than originally forecasted by looking at where the main precipitation band is set up right now. Another issue with winter storms is that the precipitation also starts as virga--so it looks like it should be snowing outside based on the radar but nothing is actually falling. One way to help figure out when the precip will actually start is to look at surface relatively humidity, since you want the air to be at least 80-90% saturated to stop the snow from evaporating before it hits the ground. Right now, Milwaukee is 33 with a 24 dew point, so at only 70% RH, it will take a little while to saturate the lower atmosphere before it can snow.

Still a tough forecast today. I can see some parts of the Winter Storm Warning area picking up 6-8" and other areas only getting 2-3". The two models I look at each show a different solution and have been consistent with that for several runs now. -The ground should be cold enough for the snow to stick fairly quickly, especially if the temperature stays in the mid-30s today. -Milwaukee/Kenosha/Racine counties are the biggest question mark, I'm leaning toward it being too warm there to see significant travel problems. 3-6" or so. -The Winter Weather Advisory counties could easily go to a warning depending on the afternoon model runs. Madison is right on the line where a 20 mile shift in the track could mean the difference between 2" and 7". I'm leaning higher for Madison right now, but that could change in a few hours. Madison's rainfall record is going to get crushed and there are two more storms expected this week (mostly rain, fortunately)

Fortunately, the 15" numbers aren't going to happen. There was one model run that painted that scary scenario and it fortunately looks like it was just a nightmare. It looks like somewhere between 4-8" is likely for Milwaukee/Madison. However, there are a number of issues such as air temperature, how much the snow will stick to the ground, how much Lake Michigan will hold down snow totals, how much moisture will be stolen by thunderstorms to the south... Historically, we all know that we can get nailed in March and April, so I would go ahead and prepare for a snowstorm Saturday night. My official forecast is that there is a 95% chance that winter storm watches will be issued this afternoon.

How about we put up a Wild Card banner for now and then paint it over when we win the division this year.

Overall I agree with what others have said. I lived in Sullivan from 2005-2007 and I have worked at the front desk at Witte from 2007-present so I am very familiar with University Housing. Although there are a number of issues with the dorms, it is essential to your college experience that you live in the dorms, otherwise you will get left behind socially. Here are a couple of other suggestions: Don't live in Smith. It is the fanciest dorm but is also fairly high up on the anti-social list. I also strongly suggest avoiding Tripp and Adams if you are outgoing or social. Housefellows in Tripp and Adams are trained to recognize depression while housefellows in other dorms look out for excessive drinking and noise. I recommend Liz Waters and Chadbourne as they are the most centrally located and have Cafeterias right in the building. The one disadvantage is that the cafeterias tend to have limited hours compared to Frank's Place (Lakeshore ) and Gordon Commons (Southeast). Witte, Sellery, and Ogg all have reputations for being social dorms. The amount of partying seems to vary by floor and by year, so I wouldn't pick one based on that--if your floor is too loud or too quiet, transferring rooms is a relatively simple and common process. This year, Sellery is definitely the party dorm, but Witte was the party dorm last year. Out of the three, I recommend trying to get into Ogg even though it is more expensive. It has a great blend of larger, more comfortable rooms while still being social. Witte and Sellery are exactly the same as far as I'm concerned--1960s style with small rooms--although the furniture was just upgraded last year which helps somewhat. I recommend Lakeshore dorms (Cole, Sullivan, Kronshage, Bradley) if you like a slightly quieter atmosphere or like going for runs/bike rides along the lake. They still are relatively social but tend toward less partying than Southeast. Also, they are farther away from just about everything besides engineering. Lakeshore also has the tennis courts and large fields. The Nat is also less busy than the SERF. Also, the walk from Lakeshore to the Kohl Center is 20-30 minutes.

Last year in terrace 404 (all the way down the line), it was quite wild in the concourse--definitely a sight to behold when you're one of the only sober ones down there. The people sitting next to us were friendly but extremely hammered. This year we got upgraded to 409 so maybe it gets better as you get closer to home plate.