Ned Yost, Coast to Coast: BREWERTHREAD 2005.

C Damian "West Salem's Finest" Miller
1B Lyle "Not Overpaid" Overbay (with the sizable shadow of Prince Fielder over his shoulder)
2B Junior "Junior" Spivey / Bill Hall (with the wafer-thin shadow of Rickie Weeks behind them)
SS James Jerry "J.J." "Kid Dy-no-mite" Hardy / Bill Hall
3B Russell "Three True Outcomes" Branyan over Wes "2 Bad 2 Be 4 Gotten" Helms
LF Carlos "El Horsie-o" Lee
CF Brady "Better Late Than Never" Clark
RF Geoff "I'm Too Damn Young to Look This Damn Grizzled" Jenkins

SP Ben "Body and Heats, I Stained My" Sheets
SP Doug "Whozzat?" Davis
SP Victor "Nobody Likes a Skinny" Santos
SP Chris "Swallows Returning to" Capuano
SP Wes "Leee" Obermueller / Gary "Oh God No" Glover

RP Ricky Bottalico, Jose Capellan, Matt Wise, Jeff Bennett, Brooks Kickinitwithbyronallen, and your closer Mr. Mike Adams

1. They asked Brewers fans on the website if they wanted the old logo back, it was shot the eff down like double-quick.

2. Bob Uecker still doing radio play by play despite being drunk after the 4th inning. Last year during a game he said he wanted to physically assault ostriches. I'm not lying about that.

3. My son Sammy (born during the summer of 1998) has announced the Brewers are his favorite team now, because they wear blue and Sammy Sosa is no longer on a team that wears blue.

it was during a discussion of Grapefruit League play, about some godawful highway stretch where there was an ostrich farm on the side, Ueck was like "those things creep me out, wouldn't you just like to reach your arm out and just slam one right on the top of the head?" doug powell was like, "no, not really, Ueck"

Where in the world is Nick Neugenbauer?

In 46 games, he had 15 holds; ERA 3.40 WHIP 1.21 BAA .248

"A rookie in 2004 with the Brewers, Mike made his major-league debut with Milwaukee on May 18 against Montreal. Adams pitched one perfect inning with one strikeout. Two days later, Mike earned his first major-league win when he allowed one walk and struck out one in one inning of work. In 2003 at Double-A Huntsville, Mike appeared in 45 games, starting two, and recorded 14 saves. In 74.1 innings of work, Mike struck out 83 batters and finished the season 3-7 with a 3.15 ERA. "

teddy higuera & juan nieves (i think he no-hit the o's once)...maybe cal eldred?

how about that dan plesac out of the pen?

of the early 80's team, that's a good question on the pitchers...definitely a vuckovich in there.

Pete Vukovich-- This guy's hat was disgusting and he had a big handle bar mustache. He was the big starter when they went to the series against the Cards.
Rollie Fingers
Jamie Navarro (Who later made a comeback of sorts with the Cubs)
Dan Plesac -- He was the closer for a long time after Fingers.
Moose Haas -- One of baseball's finest names.
Don Sutton -- He pitched in Milwaukee for a couple of seasons in the 80s.
Juan Nieves -- A future superstar that never was one.
Cal Elred -- A future Tom Seaver who became a present end of the pen pitcher. Hey he never was great, but he has pitched forever for a not non-lefty.

This makes me cry!

I don't think the logo was, like, beer or something, but it's better than what they're working now! (You got me dead to rights on a), though.)

Also, although "Mr. 3000" was not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, it made Sammy cry at the end. Why? *SPOILER ALERT* "I feel bad for him...he never got to get his record!" (Sammy was overtired. Plus, he's six years old.)

Anyone know if "Stan Ross" or "Rex Pennebaker" (or whatever his last name is) are unlockable Brewers players in MVP 2005 (or 2004 I guess)? That product placement was UNREAL.

Also, I'm starting to love the logo.

8th inning of a 1 run game. The high and mighty Brian Meadows is in for the Pierats to hold down a 3-2 lead against the top of the Brewers order. Brady Clark gets a single; hundreds of fans cheer, & the Brew looks to be in good shape.

And then the Brewmeister manager (whose name I won't bother to look up) has Junior Spivey start w/ the bunting. Why you want a dude w/ gap power like Spivey (career 452 SLG for a middle-infielder is some good stuff) to give up an out against such a meh pitcher on such a meh team, I don't know - you're in the driver's seat, and you're in a position where the out is a LOT more valuable than the base (esp. w/ the heart of the order due up). Hit & run, dance off 1st, do the "tight & shiny" trick, start another sausage race, do your taxes, do ANYTHING but bunt.

And, of course, Spivey being the (cough cough) seasoned bunter that he is, hits what amounts to a hard chopper to Meadows, and Clark is erased at 2nd. 1 out, runner on first, and Overbay & Lee due up. Boy Genius Lloyd McLendon fetches leftie Mike Gonzalez from the bullpen - guy did have 55 Ks in 43 IP last year, but, still, whoop dee doo, Brewers got it going on.

Until Spivey tries to steal 2nd base. Don't know if this was a managerial mandate, or if it was a hit-&-run attempt, or if the coaching staff gave Spivey the green light to shoot the rally in the foot. The guy is 24-for-38 in SB attempts over 1300+ ABs, which is around the break-point average for base stealers percentage-wise, but is also a sign that the guy should not be running the bases like he's Rickey Henderson. And, with a leftie on the mound, I'm guessing Spivey took a less generous lead from 1st (though this is pure conjecture). So, please, someone, tell me - why the HELL are you risking an out & the game on some average-runnin' guy trying to take second w/ one of your best hitters at the plate? Even if this was a hit-and-run attempt - WHAT THE HELL? You don't trust Spivey to make contact on a hit-and-run attempt w/ your leadoff hitter on 1st, but you trust your free-swinging bopper (128 Ks, kids) to punch the ball somewhere?

End result: Overbay swings mightily at the steal pitch (high & inside) for strike 2, Spivey's thrown out, and the Overbay flails at the next pitch (same locale, I think), leaving Carlos Lee on the on-deck circle, and putting the rally in the waste bin. Pitt adds another run on their 3rd homer OF THE SEASON, from former Dodger catcher Dave Ross. (The other 2 homers: one from Daryle Ward earlier in the game, & the famed blast from the mighty twig of newfound power source Tike Redman.) (TIKE GOT JUICE!) Now with a 2-run lead, the Brewers obviously need their 4-5-6 hitters to do something besides pinch an olive loaf. So, of course, Carlos Lee leads off the 9th against "veteran closer" Jose Mesa with a meek groundout on the very first pitch.

Brewers Baseball: If They Keep Playing Like This, I'm Buying A New Liver

Also, you could probably find the name of the Brewers' manager in the TITLE OF THIS FUCKING THREAD.

Funny that Ned Yost can't instill in his cleanup hitter the value of WORKING THE DAMN COUNT. (Of course, that's always been Lee's shortcoming, & older dogs, they like to shit wherever they want.)

I was actually thinking of posting that to my catch-as-catch-can bloggo, as I tend to not post there too often at all. (Too busy doing nothing, don'tcha know.)

Carlos Lee is not really very old, nor is he a dog, nor is he inclined to shit all over the place.

I was disappointed in the game last night, but mostly because we have developed a bad team habit of not being able to hit past the third inning. Sure, maybe Yost made a couple bad calls with the Spive in that inning; but just taking a pitch is no magic bullet, Dave, and no reason to get all up in a guy's anal cavity with your mighty iron-clad fist of justice. The Brewers are over .500, and Lee has been a large part of that -- FIGHT THE REAL ENEMY, somewhere else. (Our biggest problem: the idea that people still consider Geoff "Garbage Time Hits But Never There When You Need Him" Jenkins any kind of RBI threat at all. He had 95 RBIs last year but they all came at the end of the season, when we suffered the biggest 2nd-half collapse of all time, or something.

So yeah, I'm bitter.

Nym, what would your idealized Brew Crew lineup be? Branyan in Jenkins' spot? Prince Fielder as catcher? Robin Yount reborn?

I'm guessing Spivey will be moved this year, & Overbay will be shipped out during the offseason (unless Fielder goes totally batshit gonzo, wherever he is). I hope the current GM didn't sign that Jenkins contract - that's a lot of greenbacks to give to Mini Favruh.

[xpost]

HEY GEE-OFF - YOUR MOTHER WAS A SNOWBLOWER

- B Clark reached on infield single to pitcher
- J Spivey grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, B Clark to second
- L Overbay reached on bunt single to pitcher, B Clark to third, J Spivey to second.

If Overbay was bunting to move the runners over, someone better bend over for THE FIST.

Oh and Brewers are so far being no-hit by Odalis Perez. What the hell is going on, a complete power outage for the last FIVE GAMES.

by the way carlos lee's new nickname (for his .208 BA) is "el my little ponita"

here's today's fun fact:
fans of ly-le overbay
all make the O face:

O my: When Overbay comes to bat at Miller Park these days, there often is an audible "Ohhhh" chant in parts of the stands, accompanied by fans holding their arms in a circle over their heads. On opening day, the chanting was so extensive that it sounded like a football crowd in the moments before a kickoff.

Be assured, Overbay fans: Your hero has noticed.

"Yeah, it started last year," he said. "There was this one time when there were about 20,000 people here and they all seemed to be doing it. It really put chills in me, and I really wanted to get a hit, but they walked me on four pitches, I think.

"I was like, 'What did I do to deserve this?' But it's fun."

EWING THEORY!

(I'll e-mail my address to anyone that wants to come over & kick my ass.)

"That happened to be the one time I shook off Damian [Miller, the Brewers catcher]," Obermueller said. "That's what happens. The only time the whole game."

Miller wanted a fastball in; Obermueller preferred a fastball away. He left it belt-high for Carroll, who poked it to Jenkins in right. The next batter, Nick Johnson, was also credited with a single when outfielders Clark and Jenkins miscommunicated on a fly ball, but that was all Washington could manage.

"I won't ever second-guess my catcher again, I'll tell you that," Obermueller said.

Miller was less critical. "He could have thrown the pitch I called and gave up that hit, too," Miller said. "Who knows? He's the boss, not me."

I call Damian Miller the real reason that the Brewers are better than last year. Look at that pitching, without Sheets, and tell me he's not handling shit better than Chad the Impaler. And having a good avg/obp doesn't hurt either.

Contrast that w/ 'Zona - they've scored 194, and given up 208, but are +8!!!

"Caveat: Rockies"

Dale Hofmann

Join us now as youthful Rickie grabs a ground ball in Florida and throws it toward Mississippi, as callow J.J. searches for truth and the Mendoza line, and pubescent Prince clears the bases and cleans his plate.

Will Tomo gomo than nine innings in his next start? Is Ryan buyin' what the Brewers are selling? Will Victor sue for non-support? Will Geoff get his groove back? Would a 20-game skid, an outbreak of bird flu and a fire in the clubhouse be enough to discourage Ned?

Tune in daily as the Milwaukee Brewers seek answers for these and other burning questions in Major League Baseball's adaptation of "The Young and the Restless." You know which is which.

It's not true that Chuck E Cheese's is catering the post-game buffet these days, but the Brewers are clearly experiencing a demographic shift. As the customers begin to put faces to the names they've been hearing for years, they will almost certainly expect more than they get.

Today Hardy, Weeks and Fielder. Tomorrow Krynzel, Nelson and Hart. Braun? Maybe sooner than later. Some or all of the above might turn out to be exceptional. Just not right away. Experience isn't a wonder drug, but it has no generic equivalent.

Asking a Milwaukee baseball fan to be patient is like piling a surcharge on his property taxes. Job was the March Hare compared to the average Brewer backer, who has endured a dozen losing seasons and is almost certainly headed for a 13th.

But patience is exactly what the franchise needs right now to prove it was worth waiting for, and it can only hope the previous administration hasn't used it all up. What the Brewers offered before was a bad team and a bad organization. What it appears to be offering now is a bad team and a good organization. That's called progress.

Naturally Yost would contend that this is not a bad team, but then if the manager fell into a tar pit he'd think he'd discovered oil. The Brewers were losing to superior opponents before. Now they're having trouble finding inferior ones.

The departure of Junior Spivey provides an opportunity for Weeks while removing an excuse for last year's fade. The lineups are different, but the problems are similar. When you can't beat good teams, can't win on the road, and you put runners in scoring position and leave them there, there's never any reason to print playoff tickets.

Hardy, Weeks, Fielder et al won't fix overnight what's been broken since 1992, and it's important that they don't use themselves up trying. Doug Melvin's policy of not rushing his prospects is sound. There's no good reason to change it now.

There might be temptation, though, as the Brewers flail away equally at good pitchers and bad. If nothing else, relying on newcomers could sell a few tickets while providing an explanation for another losing season.

The general manager is too smart for that, and the new owner hasn't suffered long enough to press him. As long as Mark Attanasio keeps an open mind and matching checkbook, things will get better, although not as quickly as the Brewers' patrons would like or deserve.

Let's hope it happens fast enough for Yost, who's proved his skill in keeping a bad ballclub together and deserves a chance to show what he can do for a good one.

It only seems like the Brewers' version of soap opera has lasted longer than all of the originals. A happy ending is certainly possible. Just not imminent.

Editor's note: After 35 years, Dale Hofmann is retiring from the Journal Sentinel. His final column, along with a Q&A, will appear in Sunday's editions.

yay, prince is being kept up at mil, at least thru monday.

You are having a breakout season. Do not be upset that no one knows it. Just keep on hitting lots of home runs and doubles, and stealing lots of bases, and being a better fielder than any other 3B or 2B on the club, and being a quietly good role-model type of guy, for the next 10 years or so. If you do this, the good people of Wisconsin will fucking ENSHRINE you.

Your fan,

Matt Cibul4

You are also having an amazing season so far, with a huge batting average and a great OBP. It is hard to believe that you were never a starter before this year, and that you are 31, but I believed in you last year and am proud to be shown to have been correct. You have shown some pop and you are easily a massive improvement over Scott Podsednik defensively. However, you need to stop trying to steal bases as you are rubbish at it and you have been caught more times than you have succeeded.

Your fan,

Matt C1bula

cept replace jenkins w/ overbay.

that brew-crew lineup is the most bizarrely formidable i've ever seen.

Hardy is second best among NL SS for fpct, but he's also had fewer chances than just about anyone else. Still, though, kid's great with the leather. He's been hitting the ball pretty hard in the last month but a lot of those shots are right at infielders.

Yeah, but in the end you ended up with Turnbow, who has been one of the best closers in baseball this year. So the closer situation ended up as a big positive, not a negative.

Bizarrely, much of your paragraph can also be said of the Blue Jays once the names are changed.

and yeah, toronto is the new threat in the al, love that squad

Also, pardon my use of the word "end" three times in one line in my last post. I'm a little hungover and obv. not thinking straight.

Baseball Prospectus is expected to name the Brewers winners of the 2005 Dick Martin Award, named for the longtime Minnesota Twins athletic trainer.

The award goes annually to baseball's best medical team based on a three-year study of factors like days lost to the disabled list, percentage of payroll lost to the DL, and year-over-year improvements and trends regarding these numbers.

The Brewers' medical team is led by head physician Dr. William Raasch and head athletic trainer Roger Caplinger, who is assisted in the training room by Dan Wright and Paul Anderson.

"It's not a mainstream public-type award, but it's significant because it comes from the people who really pay attention to the details," Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said.

When Caplinger took over as head trainer in 2002, Brewers players combined for about 1,100 days on the disabled list. That number was down to 800 in the first year under general manager Doug Melvin and Ash, and 330 last year. It is at 246 days this year, according to Caplinger, and most of that belongs to injured ace Ben Sheets, the only Brewer currently on the DL.

"The Cardinals and Astros just might be the two best teams in baseball. It just so happens that they not only play in the same league but the same division."

Considering that the Brewers finished third in this division, having had to play each team 19 times, shouldn't we declare them the fifth-best team in the National League and have done with it?