AJAY

Just wanted to throw the idea out there . . . If Chris Duffy and Mike Cameron were to platoon, do you think it would be a nicer combination for the Brewers? I like Duffy's approach and I think he would provide more balance to the lineup. I also think both guys would have more success in a platoon role. Both are really good defensively too. Thoughts?

Here are my suggestions for the Brewers. . . 1) Definitely put the word "Milwaukee" on the road jerseys. 2) Put the ball-and-glove logo as a shoulder patch on the home and road jerseys. The logo should have the modern colors. 3) Create an alternate hat which has the ball-and-glove logo in the modern colors. It can be used once in a while instead of the "M" hats. 4) Keep the retro-fridays for those who enjoy the retro look.

Don Walker of JS Online is reporting that the Brewers have already sold 1.75 million tickets. That is 10 percent higher than this time last year.It's good to see business is booming despite the economy and some free agent departures.

He doesn't fit the profile of a pinch-hitter or bench player. He just doesn't put together quality at-bats, and he is way too streaky. There is a reason the Phillies released him despite owing him a lot of money. Anyway, if this is the end for him, he had a nice career. I wish him well. I hope he gets honored by the Brewers somehow. Walk of Fame maybe?

I am sure all the luxury amenities will be really nice, but the field and seating bowl are nothing special. The ballpark looks like a slightly enhanced version of US Cellular Field in Chicago. It doesn't really have much scenic charm. I know they wanted to keep a resemblance to the old Yankee Stadium, but I am personally underwhelmed. Maybe I might feel otherwise if I get to see it in person.

Great move. There is almost no risk involved. Gagne did well in the second half once he was removed from the closer role. I wish Gagne luck.

I guess if it's down to these two finalists, I would prefer the Arizona guy instead of some idiot who bleeds Cubbie Blue.

Bob Wolfley of JS Online is reporting that WTMJ management is considering hiring a broadcaster who might have an expanded role with the station. I personally am not thrilled about this idea. I want a broadcaster who is all about the Brewers and MLB, and I don't want some generic sportscaster who also covers the Badgers, Bucks, and Packers during the offseason. I want someone who lives, breathes, and dies by the Brewers only. I want a real baseball guy. I remember when Drew Olson started his radio show and started covering other sports besides the Brewers. Suddenly he didn't seem like the baseball expert anymore and it wasn't the same. I just don't want our new radio guy to be like that too. I am not happy about this.

Interesting comments about Bob Uecker. Like many of you, I have also heard that he isn't the friendliest person when he is off the air. It's kind of sad. How hard is it to just smile and say hello? I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that once Uecker is retired from broadcasting, you are going to hear a lot more stories come out about what he was really like. Anyway, I did notice that guys like Mike Cameron and Trevor Hoffman were having a lot of fun talking with fans while posing for photos and signing autogrpahs. They seemed genuinely excited to be meeting everyone. I can easily see how these two have the reputation of being very popular with teammates.

I attended the On Deck Event with my little nephew. We got there well before the event was supposed to start. However, the lines were so long that we weren't able to enter until near the end of Trevor Hoffman's press conference. We were VERY disappointed to have missed the press conference even though we got there early. I think they need to learn from this and give fans more time to enter before starting the scheduled events. Overall, I liked the event. There seemed to be a good variety of activities for families, kids, and autograph / memorabilia collectors. It was also nice to see several former Brewers mingling with fans and playing baseball with little kids. I do wish they would have held the event in the nicer convention rooms (the ones with carpeting). The room they selected was very cold and sterile. I would have rather had the event in April in Miller Park instead of in that room. On a side note, it was weird not having Jim Powell there. But it was nice to see Trenni Kusnieriek again.

From Brewers.com . . . The Brewers already have begun compiling resume tapes from prospective Powell replacements. Among the many candidates are Padres broadcaster Andy Mazur, an Illinois native formerly with the Cubs radio team, Cubs pregame host Cory Provus, Royals pre- and postgame host Steve Stewart, Dodgers pre- and postgame host Josh Suchon and longtime Brewers radio engineer Kent Summerfeld.

Sabathia, Sheets and now Powell. What a painful offseason it has been Don't forget Mike Maddux, Trenni Kusnierek, and Jack Zdurenzik too. Yeah, it's been really painful.

I never really thought of Jim Powell as the #2 guy. That never even occurred to me. Powell and Uecker always seemed like a balanced team that complemented each other well. I know Uecker was the celebrity and the comedian, but Powell was the polished commentator and the knowledgable baseball man. Anyway, it's a sad day in Brewer Nation. I want to thank Jim Powell for doing an outstanding job during his many years with the Brewers. I wish him nothing but the best. I think I'll go cry now.

God Bless Mark Attanasio. I am giving him a major standing ovation right this very minute. The players union and the Yankees have held this sport and this nation hostage for way too long. It's time to end the absurdity and finally level the playing field with a salary cap. It's time to give the game back to the people of America. The nonsense has gone on way too long. And yes, I need to say it again. . . The players union is one of the most worthless and disgraceful organizations outside of terrorists. I want to see the union get destroyed and I will personally throw the biggest celebration in human history on the day that the players union falls hard on it's rear end. If you think people celebrated hard when the Berlin Wall came crumbling down, you haven't seen anything yet. GO MARK ATTANSIO !!!!

I have no idea if Jim Powell has been offered the job or if he has decided to accept it. But I don't think this will be entirely a story about a man returning to his home state. I really think this decision could be about MONEY. It's been a long time since Powell has lived in Atlanta and he has lived in Milwaukee year-round for a very long time now. I would imagine this place probably feels more like home now unless he still has other family or other significant ties to Georgia. I am guessing this decision will come down to money.

Wow, thanks for making that. Great work. I would love to have a copy as well.

I can't tell you how many thousand times this offseason I have listened to that audio clip. It still feels so magical. That whole Sunday was just so surreal. Anyway, does anyone know if there is a video clip of Braun's homerun but with Uecker's call added to it (instead of the FSN audio) ? Does anyone here know how to make something like that? Any volunteers?

The players are the product, they don't make the product. Think of them as the raw materials of a product which does make up a given percentage of any product's cost. They are the top small fraction of 1% in the world in what they do. They aren't like assembly line workers or programmers or middle managers who can much more easily be replaced. They are as rare in talent as the CEOs of large corporations who are guaranteed certain things when they join a company. I partially agree with this statement, but I also think the Major League uniforms and the Major League ballparks are what make these players seem special. Let's face it, if Alex Rodriguez played in some independent league in some unknown ballpark with some unknown team, nobody would have ever heard of him and nobody would have even cared. He would be just as anonymous as any of us despite being in the top 1% in the world for what he does. I personally think the "Major League" brand name is still more important than the individual players. But I do realize they both go together to promote each other.

Also, it's not fair to completely blame the system for the long-term incompetence of some organizations. Look at the Orioles and Peter Angelos, the Brewers and Wendy, and the current unrest in the Padres organization. If a team is incompetent, that is their own fault. But the system still should not have built in advantages for the same franchises year after year. Even the most well-run small market and mid-market organizations are penalized because they have to say goodbye to players they would rather keep. Look at how many players have departed the Twins and Indians for financial reasons. But when the New Yorks and Bostons face rising costs, they just pull out their big checkbooks and sign their players to big contract extensions and never have to rebuild through the draft. In fact, the Red Sox are already talking about going after Joe Mauer in a few years. But you never hear about the Twins or Royals going after Dustin Pedroia or Derek Jeter. It's just incredibly stupid the way things work in this sport.

I get very frustrated with media and fans who try to define competitive balance as having different teams winning championships over a certain time period. I personally don't care if the same team wins ever year or if different teams win every year. None of that means anything to me. To me, competitive balance is about two things. (1) Integrity and (2) Morale. Winning and losing means nothing to me when teams are all operating under severely different economic conditions. Unless there is a level playing field, this sport is a complete joke and the championships and standings will always be tainted. I also can not stand what this system of haves and have-nots has done to destroy the morale in so many communities. When I was a kid, we never referred to certain cities or teams as "small market". Everyone was "major league" back then and it was a lot of fun to be baseball fan. Unfortunately, this sport now has a tremendous way of completely detroying the morale by treating certain markets as second-class citizens. I personally can not stand this and will never tolerate it. No other sport systematically demoralizes communities the way baseball does. There needs to be full revenue sharing and hard salary cap that protects ALL fans in ALL markets. I don't feel like a second class citizen just because I live in Milwaukee, and so I wish this sport would stop treating me like one. People in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, San Diego, etc. all deserve to have and keep players like Alex Rodriguez, Mark Texeira, CC Sabatha etc. Other sports understand this, but baseball still doesn't get it. This whole stupid system just really infuriates me.

The Yankees might as well sign Manny Ramirez too. If they are so focused on making this sport a complete farce, they might as well go all out. Seriously, I am sick of the players union and a small number of big-market teams holding the rest of the country hostage. I really think Congress needs to get involved now just like they did for the steroids issue. I know they have more pressing matters to deal with right now, but I will definitely be writing to my legislators to complain about the absurdity going on. And I also need to say it one more time . . . except for Al Qaida, the KKK, and other terrorist organizations, the Major League Players Association is the most disgraceful worthless garbage organization ever created. Don Fehr and Marvin Miller are absolute dirtbags and are lower than pond scum. I can not get over how much damage those two scumbags have done to the game. I hate them with such a passion.

I know it's probably not right to complain about something that was free, but I will admit that I was also a little disappointed with the video. I really thought that we had a lot of dramatic walkoff wins that were ignored or forgotten. I also think they should have added a lot more dramatic background music to enhance the effect. In fact, I have seen better efforts from fans posting their own tributes on youtube. I do agree that there were too many interviews and not enough memorable highlights. It also should have been much longer and every player should have been recognized in some way. I really do hope the Brewers make a much nicer version and put it for sale. Anyway, I do thank the organization for giving us this free copy. They didn't have to do this.

I was kind of thinking the same thing. Life isn't played on a level playing field. It's not always fair. It's no use complaining about it. Just deal with it. Just because you do not have the financial means as some fortunate others does not mean that you cannot be a success. You're just gonna have to work harder and make smarter decisions than the next guy. And nothing is more satisfying when you reach your goals that way. All of us deal with "life" everyday. That's why we need baseball to be FUN and a good escape from the pressures and realites of life. As a paying customer, I have certain expectations that there should be fairness and integrity. I will personally never compromise those principles. Other sports seem to get it. For some reason, the sport that I care about doesn't.

Lots of mixed feelings for me . . . 1) I am disappointed Sabathia left. For once, I wanted to see the highest profile player sign with the Brewers. That would have been an amazing symbolic statement that would have forever killed my inferiority complex as a Brewers fan. I really thank the ownership for trying. I think their attempts were genuine. 2) I am kind of glad that the Yankees added that extra year and extra 20 million dollars. For me, it made it less painful to see him leave for New York knowing that he left for the ridiculous money and not because he didn't want to play in Milwaukee. I also think it would have hurt more had he lkeft and the bidding had been closer. 3) I feel sorry for Sabathia. He clearly did not want to play in New York and the extra money will make no difference in his life. Even if the Yankees win a few rings, the championships will all be hollow because everyone knows it's all about their money. I can't see how any Yankee player can find it satisfying to win there. 4) I am partially relieved due to the financial flexibility we now have. The 100 million commitment was a huge risk and there is no historical precedent for a contract like that working well for pitchers. 5) I still feel bad for the Indians fans. I felt bad for them when we traded for Sabathia. I just hate baseball economics and I think free agency is a dumb concept because the interests of the fans should matter the most. 6) I will admit that I am rooting for both Sabathia and the Yankees to fail miserably. This kind of signing is just not good for the game. I feel like there should be some consequences just to reassure myself that the world is just. Well, thank you CC for the memories. We enjoyed having you here, and we appreciate what you did. But I will admit I probably will not have the same emotional attachment to his 2008 half-season as I did before.

I was 9 years old in 1982, and I remember seeing an ad on TV that they were giving away a Brewers vinyl gym bag at one of the upcoming Sunday games. Having the mindset of a 9-year-old, I was completely fascinated by the idea of getting a free bag while also getting to see a game. I didn't know much about baseball other than you are supposed to hit a ball with a bat. My dad had some old Pittsburgh Pirates memorabilia around the house (from his days in grad school in Pittsburgh), so I knew the sport was kind of important. I asked my mom about the ad on TV, and I remember her telling my dad "you should take him sometime". So one fine Sunday, we went to County Stadium and I was completely blown away by the atmosphere. Seeing all the tailgaters was incredible. Seeing the pictures of the players on a giant black and white screen was amazing. Seeing the grass field and the players hitting the ball hard was just awesome. And yes, I got the free vinyl gym bag with the ball and glove logo on it. Jim Gantner hit 2 homeruns that day, and Ben Oglivie also hit one too. The Brewers beat Minnesota 6-2, and I was hooked for life. Of course, I had no idea at that time that the Brewers were going to the World Series several months later. The whole thing was just incredible. Thank you mom and dad.