My Summer of Baseball

Yep, That and More

A disappointing game tonight, for sure. Missed chances and dumb mistakes. But I'm counting on the Crew to turn it around for the remaining games.

In the meantime, if you stay on top of the comments, you might have seen this from Curt earlier today:

"Which brings me to a question as we near the mid-way point for the SOBster: Is it everything that you've hoped for? More? Less? What's most surprising? Have you started to dread baseball at all (or regret the blog, for that matter)? OK, that's more than one question. But there you have it..."

Hmmm. Let me take them one by one...and add a few.

Is it everything that you've hoped for?
Yep, and more. It turns out that I love following a team. I enjoy the TV games almost as much as the home games. I dig the pressure of having to write all the time. I love the intricacies of the rules and rulings. 

What's most surprising?
Rediscovering a love of hot dogs.

What's most disappointing?
Fielder.

What's most touching?
That my family reads the blog regularly.

What's most fun?
Winning. But also trying to find a different hook every day to link whatever I'm thinking about to baseball.

What's most frustrating?
The Cubs.

What's most comforting?
38 games in, I still get choked up every game during the national anthem.

So...have I started to dread baseball at all?
Hell no. Is it Friday yet?

Give Me Parra Any Day

Okay, following my complaint about Sheets and free agency last week, I feel compelled to acknowledge this column from Journal Sentinel columnist Michael Hunt.

Basically, he says that Sheets' declaration should come as no surprise. And, that no matter how much Milwaukee wants to keep him, it's just unrealistic to think that's a possibility.

Ultimately, he says, Attanasio will have no choice but to:

"Make your best pitch. Make it very public. And if another team drops Johan Santana or Barry Zito money on Sheets, only the most unrealistic in this town would complain."

Of course, we will complain. But seeing the numbers in Hunt's column and the potential for offers of more than $100 million for Sheets -- when the entire Brewers payroll is only in the $80s! -- well, I get it.

Frankly, I'm an underdog girl more than an ace girl anyway. Sheets may be all that, but with the great pitching yesterday and his even greater attitude, I think I'll just keep rooting for Parra.

I Wanted a Win, But I Really Wanted Wanted

I wanted to write an eloquent post about last night's loss to the Twins.

The four homers were great and Corey Hart continues to be my hero. It was fun, and we enjoyed it with a good friend and good pizza.

But, honestly, my mind wasn't on the game. It was on the new movie Wanted, which I've been anticipating for months.

Sure, Branyan socked another dinger. But when James McAvoy socked a lousy friend with a computer keyboard, it felt like a grand slam.

So, if the Brewers win tonight, I'll be delighted.

But if they don't, I already know what I'm doing for consolation.

I'm going back to the movies. Because Wanted's even better than I wanted it to be.

Kinda Sheety

Is it just me? Or was anybody else disappointed to read that Ben Sheets is pretty much a sure thing for free agency next year?

Now, let me be clear. I don't mean disappointed that he'll be gone, though clearly that will be a major loss for the Brewers. But what bums me out is that he would be so keen to abandon the team.

Still, suffice it to say, he made his dissatisfaction known in the interview - especially in light of his "big year" so far.

Sure, Sheets is a star...when he's healthy. But the last three years, the Brewers have stuck by him through injury after injury.

So it just seems wrong that he'd be so eager to test the waters elsewhere. I guess it's the business of baseball. And I know, it IS a business. But it still feels bad.

3 Million Reasons to Love Milwaukee

If you didn't see this Journal Sentinel article, I hope you'll check it out. It's about Milwaukee baseball fans and their amazing game attendance.

Among other points to make us proud:

* Milwaukee ranks with the likes of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, the Bay Area, Philadelphia and St. Louis in terms of game attendance.

* Per capita, the Brewers are actually the best attended franchise in the National League.

* And, my favorite point, to put it all into perspective: With 19 million people, only 16% of New Yorkers have to go to a Yankees game for them to tally 3 million attendees. As the Journal Sentinel notes:

Comparatively, the Brewers need to get almost every man, woman and child in Greater Milwaukee to show up twice a season at Miller Park for 3 million to happen.

And we'll probably get there. We're at more than 1.3 million already.

Like we even needed one more reason to love Milwaukee.

On Friends and Neighbors

I've written about this before, but it's worth repeating: I love how baseball brings out the neighbor in everyone.

First, yesterday, there was the nice guy across from us who lent us a bottle opener and then a spatula when we were tailgating with friends and realized we couldn't have our beer or burgers without them.

Then there was the guy who needed a jumpstart for his car - not sure why since it was before the game even started. But it was nice to be able to return the karma so quickly by helping him out.

And then there was the nice couple next to us who was willing to swap seats, putting us closer to our friends who were one row up.

Even the Orioles fans seemed nice enough. The guy behind us, who seemed at first to be a blowhard, got a lot nicer after my friend Margret tested his beer "just as a favor" as it was passed down the row to him.

No one can resist Margret's charm - he was pretty much eating out of her hand by the 4th inning. He even confessed that he had bought a Brewers t-shirt the day before.

And, of course, who could forget the four home runs and five double plays that made the game?

All in all, a great day, with the exception of our neighbors to the south. Had they done us the favor of losing to their neighbors the Sox, it would have been perfect.

Is There a Rule About That? Nope.

Saturday night's game was a relief, with McClung enjoying a great outing, the bats turning back on (though just barely enough, with too many left stranded) and a jam-packed ballpark. Good to be going into today's game with the possibility of a series win.

But while I love the Brewers, the coolest baseball news this week, to me, isn't about them. It's about Pat Venditte, the Yankees' new Class-A pitcher.

If you haven't read much about Pat, you should check out this article. You've heard of switch-hitters, well this guy is a switch-pitcher. Says Sporting News:

He brings a different arsenal of pitches and style of delivery from each side. He throws overhand from the right side and three-quarters and sidearm from the left. "From the right side I rely a little more on a power game," he said. "From the left side, I rely more on off-speed pitches and locating with my fastball, curveball and predominantly a slider from a three-quarters angle. That's what I threw mostly in college."

Most interesting of all is what will happen to baseball if he makes it to the majors. He already has a custom-made glove with four fingers and two thumbs, so he can change on the fly.

But how often is it OK to change? There's a great video here of what happened in Thursday's game when he came up against a switch hitter in the bottom of the 9th. Watch it - it's fascinating!

One of the things I love about baseball is all the intricate rules. It's just that much more fun to find a situation where the rules haven't even been written yet.

A Letter to Mark Attanasio

Dear Mark,

We are SO glad you bought the Brewers.

You've been great for the team (nearly triple the player payroll!), you've been great for the park (boy does everyone love the Kids Zone!), and your dad sings a mean National Anthem.

There's just one little thing: Could you please stop coming to the games?

I'm no sabermetrics expert, but it seems like there's a connection between your presence in the front row and a Brewers meltdown.

Maybe you didn't notice, but when you were here during the Owners' Meeting, the team fell apart before our eyes. And last night...well, when was the last time Suppan had a disaster like that?

You left the stands and went to a box, and the Brewers lit up again. But then you came back...and we all saw what happened.

So please, take this in the spirit in which it is intended. We love you. We love your team. Couldn't be happier that you are The Man. But, please: Go home. Seriously.

Besting the Twins, One Kid at a Time

My friend Matt weighed in this morning with the following guest post about Saturday's game versus the Twins. Enjoy...

Baseball in-game excitement is often in the eyes of the beholder…and these words are no truer than when applied to my six-year-old daughter, Peyton. 

Shortly after the sausage race – her personal pinnacle in any game – she batted her big blue eyes at me asking, “Daddy, can we go to the Kid’s Zone?” 

Secretly relieved to get a break from screaming Twin fans and the Moreau jerseys positioned right in front of me for the first six innings, I gladly smiled and grabbed her tiny hand as we headed to the area just beyond the 1st base line.

What a delight! Watching the corners of her mouth approach her ears on several occasions was only exceeded by my laughter as she was convinced she’d beat Corey Hart on a timed run to 1st base. 

Then off to our favorite … the children’s sausage race of course! 

After briefly waiting in line, Peyton’s turn came up and she quickly positioned herself behind the Polish Sausage. After a little reassurance from “Daddy,” she readied herself to push the object twice her size the roughly 25 meters to the finish line.

It was at that moment that some tension returned in me, as an older boy twice her size  – and in a bright red Twins shirt and cap, no less – positioned himself behind the Italian Sausage next to her. 

“We’re just here to have fun,” I kept telling myself, obviously mildly aggravated about yet another Twins fan encroaching on our Brewers fun. 

The stadium staff positioned two other children in the ready position behind the other sausages as they were about to start the race. Peyton’s eyes swelled as he spoke: “On your mark … get set...”

And it was at that point that the big Twins boy got out to an early lead by jumping the gun, obviously motivated to win the race at any cost – even against his younger, smaller opponents. (And Peyton’s dad’s blood pressure began to escalate …) 

“...GO!” … and the other three children, including Peyton, start to push their sausages – now well behind the older boy.

Peyton initially struggled, but never gave up, pushing what must’ve felt like the equivalent of a vehicle down the track towards the finish line. Meanwhile, the Twins boy coasted to an easy victory … and smiled, proud of his tainted accomplishment.

But as fate would have it, poetic justice strikes back.

Upon completing his victory, the young lad circled completely around the Italian Sausage to look back on the onlooking observers and admirers. But instead of adoring fans, he was greeted by the lumbering, giant Polish Sausage coming down the tracks fueled on the strength of a 38-pound girl – half his size! 

Wap!! He immediately tumbled backward several steps onto the floor. Welcome to Milwaukee!! 

Not seriously hurt, the boy went to his father to shed some tears … while this Dad smiled and said to himself, “That’s my girl!”

Watch What You Take for Granted

Baseball today offered the perfect case against taking too much for granted.

First, Blue Jays catcher Gregg Zaun probably expected Fielder to slide by him in the bottom of the first - not land on top of him. I mean, who wants to look up and see the Fielder freight train coming your way? But he did, and we scored. Yea.

Second, Blue Jays outfielder Alex Rios sure got his assumptions wrong when he waited for the ground rule double call on Fielder's hit in the fifth. Maybe if he'd read my blog of May 13, he could have avoided an in-the-park homer. It ain't a ground rule double unless the ump says it's so.

And talk about assumption busters - most players get just one or two in-the-park home runs in their entire career. Who'd expect a big guy like Fielder to do it two years in a row...almost to the day. (His last one was June 17, 2007 in Minneapolis.)

Then there's Dave Bush. The blogs are alive tonight with people saying that of all the Brewer pitchers to come close to a no-hitter, they wouldn't have expected it to be Bush. I'm guilty of that too. But today I say: Back off people. Quit writing about what a surprise it is and focus instead on how well he pitched. We owe him that, after taking him for granted. He deserves a lot of praise today.

Finally, going into the top of the ninth, I don't think a person in the park expected the game to turn from a near shut-out to a near disaster. But six runs later, we were all biting our nails waiting for Torres to, as usual, save the day.

Thank goodness that is the one thing we can all still take for granted.

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Other interesting points about this game:

1. Overbay, who snapped the no-hitter today, was traded by the Brewers as part of the deal that brought Bush to Milwaukee.

2. The last time Bush took a no-hitter into the eighth was during his rookie season playing for...you guessed it...the Blue Jays.