The Nutty Buddy

I saw this in the paper today, and I had to share it. There is a man in Phoenix named Mark Littell, formerly a pitcher for Kansas City, who has designed an anatomically correct athletic cup, called, you guessed it, the Nutty Buddy.

Apparently it offers better protection for "your boys," and he even tested it on himself with a pitching machine. See the video below.

Follow Up

Well Eric Gagne is officially a Brewer. If he returns to 2002-2004 form, everyone in the NL Central better look out! If not, we can watch $10 million go down the drain. Knowing what Mike Maddux and Billy Castro can do, I'm voting for the former!

Back to the Cordero discussion. I was talking to a friend of mine last night, and he feels the same way as I, that Cordero had no intention of staying in Milwaukee. It's a shame too, that players are so fickle. The fans loved Coco, he could have made just as much money here in Milwaukee, and he would have been playing on a team with legitimate playoff hope. But anyway, good riddance. I don't want someone on my team who doesn't want to be here.

On to happier thoughts. How cool is it that Milwaukee is actually getting in the hunt for these big free agents? First Jeff Suppan, now Eric Gagne. Two consecutive World Series winners. Granted, we are still considered a "small market," but when big names start looking at this small market, and we start performing up to our capability, just imagine what this team can do.

So those are my thoughts for the day. 110 days till Opening Day. Until next time, go Brewers!

Money Talks

Hello again Brewer fans. I know it's been a while but I just haven't had much to say until recently. The deal with Francisco Cordero and the Reds really chapped my ass, so I need to vent.

As the title says, money talks and bullshit walks, apparently to Cincinnati. I can't say that I was shocked to read that he left Milwaukee. It was fairly apparent when he said, "I'd like to stay in Milwaukee, but it's not up to me," that he would go wherever he got the most money. But come on, $42 million, with an $13 million option, for 4 years, versus $46 million with a $12 million option? There is virtually no difference, and if he really wanted to stay in Milwaukee, wouldn't his agent have gone to Doug Melvin and given him a chance to beat the Reds' offer?

According to Doug, he was never asked to beat the offer from Cincy, which implies to me that Coco wanted to leave. If he really wanted to stay in Milwaukee, I believe he would have given Doug every opportunity to match Cincy's offer.

But on the upside, barring new developments, the only decent starting pitching Cincy has is Aaron Harang, which means that Coco will get to work every five days. Maybe that's why he left. Maybe he wanted to "earn" his money sitting on the bench. Maybe we wore him out forcing him to set the club record for saves in a season. Maybe he didn't enjoy being an All-Star and would rather take the four days off.

He'll get plenty of rest next season. And he must have been on crack when he said he thought Cincy could get to the World Series. Ha! Six teams in MLB had worse records than Cincy last season. Six out of thirty. And they're going to go from that to the World Series? Keep dreaming Coco, and enjoy spending next season picking splinters out of your ass.

On to other pitchers, Doug Melvin has been busy signing other pitchers to fill the void Coco left. I think I'm most encouraged by David Riske. He has virtually the same stats as Scott Linebrink for a lot less money. And let's face it, Scott kinda stunk up the place once he left San Diego. I remember him shutting us down when we played in San Diego, but something happened once he got to Milwaukee. Oh well. He's Chicago's problem now.

And then there's Eric Gagne. I'm not too sure about this one. $10 million for a guy who hasn't had a decent season in what, three years? If he can come back, he'll be huge for us, but we don't need another Ben Sheets on the team. One big pussy is quite enough.

So anyway, that's my rant for the moment. I welcome any and all comments and criticisms, as always. Oh, almost forgot, major congrats to Ryan Braun for winning Rookie of the Year. Take that Troy! So until next time, go Brewers!

Saturday's Goats

I have a three way tie for my award for the goat of the game in today's extra-innings loss to the Braves. First up, Ned Yost, for insisting that Craig Counsell bunt in Mel Stocker from third. Why not let him swing away with only one out? Counsell is a veteran player, and an owner of two World Series rings. He knows how to get a run in from third. Even an infield out would have scored Stocker with his speed. But no, Yost was married to the idea of a bunt, and the Brewers left the bases loaded, and Stocker still on third. Nice job.

Secondly, to Rickie Weeks for bobbling the ground ball that would have ended the 11th inning with a double play. You are a major league baseball player in a pennant race. That play has to be made. But no, the winning run advances safely to second and scores on Texeira's base hit. Good going Weeks.

Finally, to the perennial goat, Seth McClung, for sucking so hard that you walked the winning on base. Why in the sweet name of keeping the Cubs out of the playoffs would Yost send in Seth McClung in such a crucial spot in the game? Wasn't Vargas in the bullpen? Hell I would even have rather seen Matt Wise in there instead of McClung. He's stunk it up all but one of his appearances for Milwaukee this season. So some great clutch pitching from one of Tampa Bay's castoffs.

At this point in the season, with the way some things are going, horror of horrors and I want to bite my tongue off, but it appears that the Cubs are going to win the division. Where is Steve Bartman when we need him?

Yost's Goat Farm

Old Ned Yost he had a farm,
E I E I O.
Spurling, McClung, Aguino
E I E I O
With a wild pitch here,
And a passed ball there,
Here a walk,
There a walk,
Everywhere a walk, walk
Old Ned Yost he had a farm,
E I E I O.

Can you tell I'm not thrilled with Yost's decision to use Greg Goat Aquino in the 7th? Why take out Shouse, who has been the most dependable reliever all season?? Why not just start with Linebrink, instead of risking it with McClung, who has been marginal at best since the trade? Is Ned trying to lose games by using these AAA goats instead of proven major league pitchers? It would be hard to pick just one goat of the game today, but I think Ned is at the top of the list.

Why??

Once again, I wonder what the hell Ned Yost is thinking. Jeff Suppan is pitching brilliantly against Chicago. He lets one runner reach, and Yost yanks him in favor of Scott Linebrink, who coughed up the game during his last outing in San Francisco. Guess what? Linebrink gives up four runs. FOUR RUNS!!!!

Why the hell didn't Yost leave Suppan in the game? I can see pulling him once the tying run reaches, but not until then. I understand the manager can only do so much, and it's up to the players after that, but pulling Suppan tonight was a BAD call, and if the Brewers go on to lose this game, it's on Ned's head.

If It Ain't Broke.....

Why, oh why, did Ned Yost alter the program that's been working pretty much all season? Scott Linebrink induces the double play to end the 7th inning, JJ Hardy gets the home run to put the Brewers ahead. Normally then, it's Turnbow for the 8th and Cordero for the 9th.

Why then, did he send Linebrink back out there for the 8th? That just makes no sense to me. I can see altering the lineup to get more production, and his shakeups usually work. But this made no sense, and ultimately cost the Brewers the game.

This is getting embarrassing, and it has to stop pretty damn quick if the Crew plans to make any kind of run at the postseason. The Cubs have not crumbled as everyone predicted, and the Cardinals are not the joke they seemed to be at the beginning of the season. Something's gotta give.

WTF??

Ok, for everyone who says Ned Yost is a bad manager, I can only hope you all were watching the All Star game. Two outs, bases loaded, down by one run, and LaRussa plays Aaron Rowand instead of letting Pujols pinch hit? Is it just me, or is that the stupidest move in the history of baseball?? The National League had a legitimate shot to win the game, and LaRussa blew it.

At least our Brewers had a good showing at the MidSummer Classic. Ben Sheets threw a scoreless inning; Prince did well at first, except for one little error; JJ drew a walk to start what should have been the winning rally; and Cordero was stellar except for that home run. At least none of our guys was the goat that popped out to lose the game.

And now back to the regular season. Our Brewers start off the second half at home with the Rockies, followed by the Diamondbacks and the Giants. Time to buckle down and put the Cubs in the rearview for good. Go Brewers!

In Case You Missed It

This is hysterical. Phillip Wellman, a minor league manager in the Braves organization, throws a major league tantrum after being ejected Friday night. I don't know what he was smoking but this is classic!

What's the Point?

So I'm keeping an eye on the Cubs game today, and I happen to switch over when Angel Pagan is trying to steal third base on a semi-wild pitch. He gets thrown out, by a very close margin, and Lou Piniella goes nuts. He gets ejected and actually kicks dirt on the umpire's feet. (First time I'd ever actually seen that!)

The argument goes on for a while and other umpires step in to control Lou as he kicks his own hat around in front of the dugout.

What I don't understand is the fans. They proceeded to throw all kinds of crap down onto the field. Was this in support of Lou? In protest for what they thought was a bad call?

Either way, it appears that "the best fans in baseball" support their team by trashing the field? So I ask, what's the point?

Brewers Look Sloppy in Soap Debut

As I'm sure most of you know, four of our Brewers made their acting debut today on CBS' "The Young and the Restless." FSN tagged along, and word from the set is that our boys were very prepared, and delivered their lines very well. They didn't look very good, though, in my opinion.

Tonight's episode of "Brewers Live" gave us an inside look at the guys' morning on the set. The soap regulars were very impressed with how prepared all the guys were, and Peter Bergman even singled out Bill Hall for extra praise. The guys got all the perks of being soap stars, including makeup. It seems, however, that they didn't get the benefit of a wardrobe consultant.

All four guys were dressed almost identically: dress pants, and button down shirts, not tucked in. Now I know that this is the style for guys these days, and when the shirt is paired with jeans, I quite like the look. Jeans are typically snug, and the looser fit of the button down looks quite nice with them. However, dress pants are worn much looser and baggier, and the shirt not tucked in just looks messy and sloppy. I think they would have looked much better had they tucked in their shirts. Any other opinions?

The Brewers episode of "Young and the Restless" airs on June 20.

Ann Carroll Botches Another One

I know I've written about this before, but it's really getting under my skin. As I've mentioned, Ann Carroll can't get through one broadcast without screwing something up, but today was especially funny, at least for me.

The first mistake I caught was when she was talking about JJ Hardy on the pre-game show. She said his 11 homers leads the Majors. I bet A-Rod was pretty pissed off to find out that 11 beats 15. JJ leads the National League, Ann, not the majors.

The best one yet, though, was during the post-game show. She was talking about the Brewers going to Philadelphia, and how they were lucky that Ryan Howard is on the DL. According to Ann, he strained his "foreham." Enough said. Seriously, how bad does she have to screw up before they yank her off the air?

Incidentally, she was just as bad when she worked for FSN Minnesota. Check out this gem! (Be sure to listen closely as they cut to commercial!)

Winning is Cool

Everyone knows this, right? While the increased media scrutiny may have put some added pressure on our Brewers, I have to admit, it's pretty cool. I was just on MLB.com, and there were four photos of the Brewers on the front page. One was of Bill and Vergie Hall, one was titled "Baseball's Best," and was a split photo of JJ Hardy and Kevin Youkilis, one was JJ Hardy in a photo gallery, and the other was a preview of today's game against the Mets.

The same thing goes for ESPN.com. There were several photos of the Brewers on that front page a few days ago, and the main photo on MLB on Yahoo Sports recently was of JJ Hardy.

I think it's fantastic that our 'small market' team is getting all this attention from the big time media. Even Sportscenter is starting to notice the Brewers. I just hope they keep winning! Go Brewers!

Brewers Players are "Young and Restless"

According to today's Journal Sentinel, Chris Capuano, Bill Hall and JJ Hardy will make an appearance on CBS's "The Young and the Restless" when they travel to L.A. later this month.

There was no mention of how the guys would fit into the storyline or what their appearance would entail. I'm assuming they would be playing themselves, since the soap is set in the town of Genoa City, Wisconsin. The real Genoa City is located southwest of Milwaukee, just north of the Illinois state line. It will certainly be fun to see our Brewers on a national television show that's not related to sports, and trying to act as well!

There was also no indication as to when the guys' episode would air. They are in L.A. May 21-23, which is when they will film their spots. I might have to start watching that week to check out their acting debut! So now that CBS has taken notice of baseball's best, you think ESPN can be far behind? Go Brewers!

High Praise

My friend Jim, who is a Cardinals fan, sent me the link to this article that was featured in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports section. I thought my fellow Brewer fans might want to check it out. This is a very complimentary article, and it's also quite gratifying to see that other media outlets are starting to take notice of our boys. Go Brewers!

That's What They Get

I've actually been meaning to post this for a while, but keep forgetting. Those of you who know me, know that I applied for a job with the Brewers last fall. The position was for a Media Relations Coordinator. This was a large part of my last job, so I could have done it in my sleep, and would have gladly taken a pay cut to do it. But the Brewers wanted someone with "major league baseball experience." I later found out they already knew who was going to get the job, and they posted the opening only because they had to.

The person they hired, from what I understand, was straight out of college, and his major league baseball experience was an internship with the Brewers the year before. But I digress.

Part of the job was to help put together the annual media guide. I sat down with mine the day I got it and started reading immediately. It took me about 10 minutes to find the first error. On page 397, the final line of Davey Nelson's bio reads as follows, He currently splits time between Bradenton, Florida and

That's it. Then a space and then starts the bio for Hector Molina. Nice editing there!

Another facet of the job was to work on the programs available at every game. I picked up one a couple of weeks ago and was flipping through it on my way out of the stadium. On the back page, where it profiles tips from the pros, the headline reads something like this, "Everyone knows that shortstops are the infield general's." Nice punctuation.

This is coming from someone responsible for media output?? I'm glad that MLB experience is paying off, because the college education apparently isn't. Never mind the fact that I wrote countless press releases in my last job, or that I worked on the media output for a huge golf tournament a few years ago, or that nothing went out of our office before I proofed it, but like I said, that's what they get for not hiring me!

Cordero Honored

From MLB.com -

Francisco Cordero named winner of "DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month Award" for April

Francisco Cordero of the Milwaukee Brewers was selected as the winner of "DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month Award" for April, it was announced today. This officially sanctioned Major League Baseball (MLB) award recognizes the most outstanding relief pitcher during each month of the regular season.

Cordero was a perfect 10-for-10 in save opportunities in April, tying him with Jose Valverde of the Arizona Diamondbacks for most saves in the Major Leagues. The right-hander allowed no earned runs in 12 games, striking out 19 batters over 11.1 innings pitched while only surrendering two hits. Cordero's 19 strikeouts in the month placed him second overall in the National League among relievers behind his teammate Derrick Turnbow, who had 21. Cordero, a 2004 All-Star, helped the first place Brewers finish April with a 16-9 record, tied for the second-best opening month in franchise history.

In recognition of this honor, DHL will donate $1,500 to the Beckum-Stapleton Little League in Milwaukee in Cordero's name. This donation will be made in conjunction with the Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF), a joint initiative of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. With this donation, the Beckum-Stapleton Little League will have the opportunity to purchase a pitching machine package from ATEC, the official supplier of pitching machines and other training equipment for MLB. In addition, Cordero will be recognized in a special advertisement in USA Today next week.

The "DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month Award" winner is selected by a special Major League Baseball "yellow-ribbon" panel that includes Mike Bauman, national columnist for MLB.com; Rich "Goose" Gossage, the nine-time All-Star pitcher; Darryl Hamilton, former Major League outfielder and a member of the MLB On-Field Operations staff; Jerome Holtzman, the official MLB Historian and a member of the writer's wing of the Hall of Fame; and Bob Watson, Vice President, On-Field Operations, Major League Baseball.

At the conclusion of the season, Major League Baseball fans will have the opportunity to determine which relief pitcher had the best overall season and deserves the third-annual "DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Year Award." A list of finalists will be selected based on statistical qualifiers and fans will be able to vote for the winner online at MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball. The "DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Year Award" will be presented during the Major League Baseball postseason. Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees has won back-to-back "DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Year Awards."

Congrats CoCo! Go Brewers!

What Gives?

So I get home from the game last night, all excited to watch "Baseball Tonight." I was certain the Brewers would get some coverage after the way they've been playing lately.

The first nine minutes (I timed it) were dedicated to the Yankees and their injuries. Then there were the highlights of all the games, including about twenty seconds for the Brewers.

Then the wrap. One of the commentators, and I don't know which one, predicted that the Pirates would be in first place by the end of May. The Brewers are first in the NL Central. They have the best record in the NL. They have the best record in all of MLB, and this guy picks the Pirates? Again I ask, what gives?

Why is there no love for the Brewers? Is everyone taking a "wait and see" approach? Well in my opinion, "Baseball Tonight" needs to wait on all the Yankees talk and see what the Brewers are doing! Go Brewers!

Ok, Seriously Now

How many broadcasts will Ann Carroll screw up before FSN yanks her off the air? Seriously, I haven't seen one pre- or post-show that she hasn't flubbed. How hard is it to read a teleprompter? "Brewers Live" is almost unwatchable since she started, and what's with the studio shots? I much preferred the live feed from the ballpark, filled in with pretaped interviews. The new format sucks, as does Ann Carroll, and not in a good way. Go Brewers!

Take That, Zambrano!

Holy hard fought comebacks, Batman! How awesome was that game tonight?? I must admit, I watched most of the last few innings through my fingers, rocking back and forth on the sofa like a catatonic. But all was well in the end as the Brewers made Carlos Zambrano eat his words.

JJ Hardy. Craig Counsell. Geoff Jenkins. Prince Fielder. Carlos Villanueva. Derrick Turnbow. Outstanding, clutch offense. Unbelievably amazing defense. Tremendous bullpen effort. There aren't enough adjectives to describe the way our Brewers played tonight. Games like this are going to give me a heart attack before the All Star Break!

One of the commentators mentioned early in the game that Lou Piniella divides his season into ten sixteen-game segments. He said that after sixteen games you should know where your club is at, and how they're going to play. Hmmmm. 19 games into the season and the Brewers are 12-7, and the Cubs are 7-12. I like Lou's theory!

Claudio Vargas didn't have his good stuff tonight, but luckily the bullpen pitched out of some jams to keep the team in the game, and ultimately deliver a win for Villanueva, and a save for Turnbow, his first since last July.

I could ramble on all night about how fantastic this game was, but I won't. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's matchup between Rich Hill and our $42 million dollar man, Jeff Suppan. Rich Hill is tough, sporting an ERA of only 0.41, but hopefully tonight put a real charge into the Brewer bats, and they'll be able to get off to a good start tomorrow.

Well I've way too worked up tonight, and I need a beer! Until next time, go Brewers!

This is our Ace?

Once again, I'm scratching my head over the hoopla around Ben Sheets. I keep hearing about how "lights out" he is when he's healthy. Well, this year he's healthy, and right now he's getting lit up like a Christmas tree. Sure, he had a brilliant opening day, but what the hell has he done since then? It's the bottom of the 6th right now in St. Louis, and Big Ben has had his butt handed to him today.

I missed Ben's breakout season a few years ago when he established himself as an "ace," and I have yet to see his fantastic stuff on a consistent basis. All I've seen in my three years of watching the Brewers, besides Ben saying "ouch my arm hurts" for two seasons, is a few flashes of brilliance amid long stretches of mediocrity.

And on top of pitching like shit today and giving away the game, he also killed the ERA on my fantasy team! The big 12.6 he's sitting on for today's game totally negates the 2.7 posted by my other starter. My ERA went from a 2.8 to a 4.0 Thanks a lot Ben!

Umps, Drunks and Soup

Wow, so many things going on in my head, I don't even know where to start. Jeff Suppan, bad umpires, Brady getting booed. I'll start with Soup.

How great was it to see him in a Brewer uniform? Granted, he didn't start off sharp, but he did what he was hired to do: keep the team in the game. He really reeled it in after the third inning or so and carved up the Dodgers, and kept the Brewers within two. Sadly, Carlos Villanueva blew that. I don't recall Carlos ever pitching that badly!

Of course, his bad pitching could have been the result of bad calling. I don't know how it looked on TV, but from where I was sitting at the game, it seemed the home plate umpire was flipping a coin to decide balls and strikes. His strike zone seemed hugely erratic, and he was definitely not calling both ways.

Yes it was disappointing to not get the sweep, and several drunks around me started yelling to give up the season. But the way I look at it, we started off 5-0 last year and the season went to crap, so maybe it's a good thing we got that first loss out of the way. Just my opinion.

Speaking of drunks, what the hell was up with booing Brady Clark last night? He didn't trade himself! He didn't ask to be traded, and wasn't a free agent looking for money. So all of you who were booing Brady last night need to become better informed before you open your mouths!

Maybe Brady even knows something we don't. He signed my homerun poster for me before the game, and I told him I wasn't happy with Doug Melvin about the trade, and he told me he'd be back next year. Sounds to me like Brady wants to be in Milwaukee, but I can only hope he'll be back. Such a class act, and I wish him only the best.

Getting back to those drunks, I gotta say there's nothing better than going to a game and being surrounded by them. Especially drunks who talk a lot. Drunks who talk a lot who have no friggin' clue what they're talking about is even better! ( hopefully by now you're picked up on the sarcasm!) I had a lovely group of young men sitting in front of me last night who were razzing Jenkins every time he came up to bat about his strikeouts. I finally asked them if they recalled that Jenkins was hitting over .400 in spring training, and was 1-2 at that point in the game. Then they complained about Bill Hall and his strikeouts, totally overlooking the fact that Hall didn't strike out until his last at bat. (that's an improvement for Hall!) Listening to them makes me not want to drink at games anymore. Almost.

Then there was the father and son sitting behind me who were talking nonstop during the game. Again, they had absolutely no clue what they were talking about. Do I know too much about baseball, or am I just too impatient with people who don't bother to educate themselves?

Who knows? All in all, it was a fantastic series against a damn good team. Turnbow seems to have his stuff back. Bill Hall isn't striking out at much, nor is Jenkins. Hardy seems back to full form. The defense looked great, as did the offense and pitching. This could be a really good season.

I'm looking forward to beating the crap out of the Cubs this weekend when Miller Park is once again invaded by FIB's. I'll be there Friday to check out the first of many "Retro Fridays" and collect my little Charlie Moore bobblehead. Dave Bush gets his first start of the season against Rich Hill. These two faced off in the last meeting of the season last year, and Bush was spectacular. Here's hoping he can do it again. Until next time, go Brewers!

Bye Bye, Brady

Well yesterday was a very sad day for me. In an effort to clear out the outfield, Doug Melvin and Company sent Brady Clark to the Dodgers in exchange for Elmer Dessens. I realize that something needed to be done in the outfield, but I would have thought Kevin Mench would have been more expendable than my Brady.

My Brady. That's what I've always called Brady Clark ever since I started watching the Brewers three years ago. I don't know why, I just always have. He was my very first favorite Brewer, and I've always been his biggest cheerleader.

Brady is such a hard worker, and a total class act. He was an undrafted free agent who worked his way up to the big leagues. He was usually the first person to arrive at the ballpark in the morning, and the last to leave at night. He was always working to improve his game, and make himself a better player.

I had the opportunity to meet Brady last summer, and he was just as nice as I'd hoped he would be. He was very friendly, and even took the time to pose for a photo with me.

I know we needed to clear out our outfield, but I think Doug dropped the ball on this one. Brady wasn't the outfielder who threatened to "pitch a fit" if he didn't get playing time, or who said he "needed to go" if he had to platoon. No, Brady just went to the park and did his job. Just like he always does.

Brady, you will be missed, at least by me.

Best Baseball Movies Ever

This week's USA Weekend Magazine featured an article on the best baseball movies ever as a precursor to Opening Day. Three of the four panelists featured picked "Bull Durham" as the top film, with the other vote going to "Major League." As we all know, Bob Uecker was the best part of "Major League," but I have to go with "Bull Durham" as the best.

Robert Redford and Keving Costner split the vote for best leading man, two votes for Redford in "The Natural," one vote for Costner in "Bull Durham," and one for "Field of Dreams."

Here's the link to the article if you'd like to read it yourself. http://www.usaweekend.com/07_issues/070325/070325baseball_movies.html Send me an email and tell me what your favorite baseball movie is. One week till Opening Day! Go Brewers!

Fantasy Baseball

Well winter is winding down (I hope!), and everyday brings us closer to Opening Day, not only in MLB, but also in Fantasy Baseball. Yesterday was draft day in my league, and while I didn't get the All-Star team I was shooting for, I think I made out pretty well. Ours was an automated draft, and I was the 6th pick. So here's the lineup for my 2007 Brew Crew.

C- Joe Mauer, Johnny Estrada
1B - Kevin Youkilis, Scott Hatteberg
2B - Dan Uggla, Josh Barfield
3B - David Wright, Tony Graffanino
SS - David Eckstein, JJ Hardy
OF/DH - Magglio Ordonez, Geoff Jenkins, Moises Alou, Pat Burrell, Garrett Anderson, Jay Payton
SP - Jeff Suppan, Ben Sheets, Chris Capuano, Dave Bush, Francisco Liriano
RP - Francisco Cordero, Mariano Rivera

As I was 6th in draft, the best players like Albert Pujols were gone, but all in all, I think I have a pretty strong fantasy team. Another owner already tried to trade me for Uggla, but with 105 runs scored last year, I wasn't giving him up! Can anyone make any suggestions to strengthen my team?

26 days till Opening Day!

Happy Birthday to Me!

As I'm sure all of you know, Bill Hall signed a four-year, $24 million contract today, with an option for a fifth year. That makes me very happy, as Bill Hall is one of my favorite players. In fact, the Brewers have given me great gifts lately. I got Jeff Suppan for Christmas, and now Bill Hall for my birthday. Ok my birthday isn't for another 10 days, but still. Should I send Doug Melvin a thank you card? 2007 is shaping up to look like a pretty good year. (knock on wood!) Only 55 days till Opening Day!

The Countdown Begins

Welcome back Brewer fans! I know it's been a while, but I've had a rough winter. That coupled with the fact that other than signing Jeff Suppan, (what a great Christas gift that was!), there hasn't been much to write about.

But with the Winter Warmup last week, the countdown to Opening Day is officially on. Pitchers and catchers report to training camp in just a few short weeks, and April 2 can't come soon enough for me.

The Winter Warmup was the official introduction of Jeff Suppan and new announcer, Brian Anderson. Daron Sutton did get on my nerves a bit with the whole refusal to believe in the jinx thing, but he was a great announcer most of the time, and Mr. Anderson has some large shoes to fill. He seemed a little nervous after he took control of the Warmup broadcast, but that's to be expected, and I'm sure he loosen up with time. Just out of curiosity, what will become of the Buckethead Brigade?

Jeff Suppan, on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber in his first official introduction to Milwaukee. I also thought it was extremely classy of him to show up in a suit and tie while the other guys' attire was substantially more casual. He presented himself very well, and seemed genuinely excited about being in Milwaukee. An indication that Suppan definitely wants to be here is a complete no-trade clause in his contract for the first two years, and he has veto power after that. That's definitely a good sign.

Suppan joins Ben Sheets, Chris Capuano, Dave Bush and Claudio Vargus in a starting rotation that, dare I say it, looks to be one of the best in the National League. We have five solid, dependable starters, along with Carlos Villanueva waiting in the wings. I know it's been said before, but 2007 could be the year. Fingers crossed!

That's it for now. I mainly just wanted to let my four or five faithful readers know I'm still kicking. 76 days till Opening Day! Until next time, go Brewers!