The Wisconsin Sports Bar

Closed

2010-09-15T13:29:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the past 3 years guys it has been fun but it is time to move on

Chris

Lets clear up a misconception

2008-09-15T11:36:00.003-05:00

A couple of commenters have the misconception that I think the Brewers are tanking just to piss me off

From Tron 7 "Chris, It's as if you think the Brewers are playing poorly just to piss you off."

and there are other people who say that.

I do not get that I have never said they doing it just to piss me off I never intended to say that. But I will say they Suck when they do.

Call it Passion or caring too much about a silly game. I would love to see the Brewers doing better I would love for them to still find a way to turn this around. But I am not going to sit here with my head in the sand pretending all is well as they collapse.

It is the blind faith, Polly Anna brand of fandom I cannot understand. I do not have the ability to just back and watch the ship sink I am from the school of "Do something anything to the bitter end" my something is bitching about how they are falling apart. Would it be better if I just pretended that everything that was fine?

You know in the end I do not care what people think of my "Fandom" it is what it is

What this weekend did was help me step back from the Brewers I just refuse to become emotionally wrapped up in what is a game. I managed to do this with the Packers a while back and I am going to try to do it with the Brewers if they win great if they do not so what. But if I think they are not putting out a good effort on the field I will comment on it here. If I think they suck I will say it. That is why I started doing this to express my feelings not Daniels or ESK or Tron 7 feeling my feelings.

So that is what I am going to continue doing and if the Blind Faith crowd does not like it so be it

There are millions of other sports blogs in the world I am sure you can find a Polly Anna Brewers blog that never rips on them no matter how bad it gets.

But please stop telling me how I should be a fan ok do that for me and I will not tell you how to live your Fandome either

Deal?

Chris

Corey Hart Watch

2008-09-15T09:56:00.004-05:00

So after a weekend free from booing classless Milwaukee fans lets see how the looser more care free Corey Hart did.

2 for 15 with one double and one triple one run scored no runs driven in.

Go get them tiger I like this new looser you

Chris

Giving Charles Woodson some props

2008-09-15T09:32:00.002-05:00

Something we do not do enough as fans is give guys who sign a huge free agent contract then actually play at a level that makes them worth the money credit.

We as a group will shred a Pro who takes the money and runs say like with Eric Gagne or or Jeff Suppan or Barry Zito for example. It funny the number of baseball guys that come to mind or basketball players but I am drawing a blank on football guys but know they are out there.

But you have a guy like Woodson who signed a 7 years deal with the beloved Packers for $52 Million. Can you say you have not been happy with the signing the guy plays hurt he wants to play special teams if they would let him. He is playing with a broken toe and still managed too huge interceptions in that mad 7 minutes at the end of the game one of them for a touchdown.

I am a modern fan I do not fault anyone for taking the big contract but I really appreciate the guys who take the money and still show up.

So let me take this moment to say Mr Woodson I am happy and greatful that 3 years ago you decided to join our team and I appreciate the way you are playing and I think you are worth every cent the team is playing you.

Wow that felt good I wish I could do that more often. You know how I could tell Woodson is playing well? I had to look up the numbers for his deal you all know that if you suck the fans know your contract better than your agent. So right there shows Woodson does not suck.

Thank You
Chris

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times 2

2008-09-15T07:44:00.002-05:00

What a weekend of mixed emotions for Wisconsin sports fans.

First the bad, the Brewers went into Philly needing only a split to maintain their 4 game lead in the Wild Card division. As we all know they failed to do it our Faux Ace grooved 2 fast balls to Ryan Howard to start the party on Friday and it ended with Phillies taking game 4 on Sunday night to take all 4 games from our beloved Crew and pull into a tie with the Brewers for the WCD.

Things are looking pretty bleak on the Brewers front, I am talking Dunkirk bleak or the Surrender of Corregidor bleak. Contrary to what some people would tell you this does not make me happy in any way shape or form. Every Brewers loss chips away at my baseball soul and this September collapse is even worse than last years collapse to me.

The Brewers are not dead but they are on life support the Phillies have an incredibly easy final 4 series Atlanta, Florida Atlanta and Washington. Plus the Brewers have to start playing better and I do not know if that is possible

Who knows maybe this weekend was rock bottom for the Crew they woke up naked and rolled in a Philadelphia alley. Maybe they will find that old time religion and straighten up and fly right for the rest of the season and surprise us(Well not all of us some of you believe and believe hard don't you)

I do not really see that happening this team has not show too much character since the end of August so why should they start showing it now. But no matter how much they suck they are still our Brewers and come next February we will all be back and ready for the 2009 season and what ever it brings. Hopefully we will be talking about the amazing late September comeback of 08 and how it saved Ned Yost's job.

I will play out the string with the Crew right down to the bitter end I actually am a pretty good fan despite the nasty rumors some bum keeps spreading about me here I just am not a Pollyanna fan that is all.

On to the Best of times
The Badgers win a tough game out west and the Packers stumble in Detroit but bounce back to destroy the Lions in the final 7 minutes.

The win over a scrappy and tough Fresno State team vaulted the Badgers to number 8 in both polls they have a weak off then go to the big house to take on a Michigan program that is reeling right now. I like Wisconsin Chances in that game.

The Packers jumped out to a 21 point lead then gave it back then roared away in the final 7 minutes fueled by 2 defensive touchdowns and nice running one by Brandon Jackson. The Rogers kid is starting to show he can really play and that the Packers future is very bright as long as he can remain healthy.

The J E T S and their legions of fans learned the hard lesson yesterday Brett Favre is not a god just a really good but old quarterback. As I was watching that one play where Favre and the Running Back who was supposed to block for him got tackled for a huge loss how nice it was to see Rogers and his 24 year old legs running around like he was Randal Cunningham.

So the weekend was not a total loss I am just going to pretend the you know what at you know where by you know who in front of those fucking you know what asshole dick sucking cum guzzling fans never happen so lets never speak of it again.

So lets all enjoy the day off no games from any Wisconsin team that matters today everyone take a deep breath start thanking Odin that football is here and college basketball is just around the corner and that baseball is almost over(at least for us)

Life is too short to worry about something as silly as a bad baseball team.

Chris

Good thing I hate Kittens

2008-09-14T21:12:00.003-05:00

Come on Danny tell me how everything is going to be alright how we have nothing to worry about.

3 and 11 in the month of September our 4 game wild card lead gone in a weekend

You and your ilk have been ignoring reality for the whole month

When will you realize this team is in serious serious trouble

Oh and to make matters even worse Carlos Zambrano is 3 outs away from throwing a no hitter in our fucking park.

Oh year September Brewers Baseball fever Catch it.

Denial "A refusal to admit the truth of a statement"

Deny this Danny right now the Brewers Suck Ass

Chris

Zambrano working on no hitter

2008-09-14T21:04:00.004-05:00

Update: Zambrano pitches a no hitter at Miller Park vs Astros.

He's no hit the Astros through 7. And, of course, the game is at Miller Park.

If you don't have MLBTV here's the gamecast link.

Badgers up to 8th in both polls

2008-09-14T19:56:00.002-05:00

Lost in the Packers' win and the penultimate act of New Choke is the release of the latest college football polls. As expected, the Badgers pole-vaulted over OverratedSU (now 13th in the AP, 14th in the Coaches) and not-as-expected (except by the party-sans here) jumped past Auburn to move to 8th in both polls.

For those that think Fresno State was a patsy, the pollsters disagree; they're still 25th in the AP and the first team in the "other" category in the Coaches.

Game 2 Thread of Positive Thinking

2008-09-14T17:46:00.004-05:00

The night cap game will be a blowout in the Brewers favor. I've decided to bring some positive thoughts and energy towards the Brewers because they need it. Plus they got the guy above pitching. Isn't that what he was brought here for anyways? Come on Jeff pitch us into the post season and get us a win tonight.

It's the same lineup for the Crew as the opener. They face Brett Myers on 3 days rest.

RF Corey Hart
SS J.J. Hardy
2B Ray Durham
1B Prince Fielder
LF Ryan Braun
CF Mike Cameron
3B Craig Counsell
C Jason Kendall
RHP Jeff Suppan

With no further ado let's get a win!

Brewers Fire AAA Manager

2008-09-14T16:37:00.002-05:00

In a somewhat surprising move the Brewers did fire a manger but it wasn't Ned Yost. Instead, they let go AAA manager Frank Kremblas because the Brewers felt there was no future for him with the big league club.

Hopefully, this is more of a message that the Brewers don't have a lot of faith in Kremblas's managing and less so that Yost is very safe.

A message for the Milwaukee Brewers

2008-09-14T15:11:00.003-05:00

You Bunch of Huge September Choke Artists
When they lose the final game tonight to the Phillies they will have been swept and will have choked up the wild card lead.

Trust me I am a professional Doomsayer so I know of what I speak

I am not going to even bother with the night cap game. Dont really care for the Brewers at this moment. Their second September collapse has really soured me on baseball for the moment.

Hey the Packers won big today after a scare so the day was not a total loss

Chris

GAME TWO OF THE AARON ROGERS ERA OPEN THREAD oh yeah and the Brewers game one

2008-09-14T10:55:00.003-05:00

The Packers go for back to back wins to start off the season and the Aaron Rogers era

They travel to Ford field in Detroit to take on the really bad real life fantasy team that Matt Millen put together. It is funny how the anti TT crowd is even thought he has had success can you imagine what it must be like having Millen as your GM?

Ok Game info
Packers vs. Lions at Ford Field

Kick off is at Noon CDT

TV Fox and NFL Sunday Ticket if you are a subscriber(I am not this year good thing I live in Wisconsin)

So join the rest of the crowd here at the WSB to follow the Pack

You can also talk about those choke artists we call a baseball team

Go Pack Go and Please win a game Brewers ;)

Chris

Couple of Updates

Brewers line up
Brewers
RF Corey Hart
SS J.J. Hardy
2B Ray Durham
1B Prince Fielder
LF Ryan Braun
CF Mike Cameron
3B Craig Counsell
C Jason Kendall
RHP Dave Bush

Grant and Woodson to play in today's game.

2008 NFL Week 2

2008-09-14T10:54:00.001-05:00

Last week sucked to the tune of 6-10 ATS and 1-1 O/U, and the hard drive on the desktop is dying. Let's get this Texan-less week done quickly so you can get some dough. Yes, I did change the post time to 10:54 am from 11:44 am so I don't trip all over the Packer/Brewer open thread.

Green Bay (-3) @ Detroit - Everything screams, "TRAP!" about this game except one thing; it's not Turkey Day.
Indianapolis (-2.5) @ Minnesota - The rust comes off this week.
Chicago @ Carolina (-3) - Taketh the home team.
Oakland (+3.5) @ Kansas City - Two-headed quarterbacks do not work in the NFL.
Tennessee @ Cincinnati (pick'em) - You've got to be kidding me; a Kerry Collins-led team not a road dog? Jump on this one.
New Orleans @ Washington (+1) - I dislike teams with early injuries. Take the under-42.
NY Giants (-8.5) @ St. Louis - The Lambs lay down for everybody.
Buffalo (+4.5) @ Jacksonville - Again, injuries kill. Mental note; find a replacement for Mo-Jo.
Atlanta (+7) @ Tampa Bay - You may like the points, you may want the points, and any honest bookie will give you the points, BUT YOU'RE NOT GONNA NEED THEM! Hotlanta's suddenly a big-play team, and the Bucs are a big-play-giving team. Take the over-37.5.
San Francisco (+7) @ Seattle - This is your Game of the Weak.
Miami @ Arizona (-7) - The Cards will have to overcome the Egg Appearance Curse, but since it's the Dolphins, book it!
New England @ NY Jets (-1) - All streaks come to an end...except Brett Favre's.
San Diego @ Denver (-1) - Injury Discount comes into play again.
Pittsburgh (-6) @ Cleveland - The dominance will continue unabated.
Philadelphia (+7) @ Dallas - Philly's too stout for this kind of beatdown by the bookies.

Well will the Brewers step away from the edge or jump?

2008-09-14T10:26:00.002-05:00

They have to win one of two games today to maintain their slim wild card lead. Winning both would actually put them back where they started with Phillie down 4 games

Anyone think they will take both with their 4 and 5 starters going today?

The Cubs play Houston today in wonderful Miller Park due to the Hurricane flushing out Houston so we get to stick it too dumb ass Cubs fans again who will be paying Marque Prices to see their team play in a modern dry stadium. The sad part is we actually have to root root root for the Cubs because a Cub win slows down the Astros WC Juggernaut.

This is why I am so down on the Brewers if they had played even .500 baseball so far in September we would be talking playoffs like it was a done deal.

Oh Corey Hart nice 0-4 yesterday sure hope you keep up your loose play in the Double Header today. Corey if you are going to open your mouth back it up with your play do not go all Prince on us ok.

Ok two games today to punish you and tear at your soul

Game One
Bush vs. Blanton at Citizens Bank Little League Ball Park

First pitch is at 12:35pm CDT

TV: FSN | RADIO: The Website says TMJ but we all know that is wrong since the Packers are playing today so you will have to hunt for your local Brewers fall back position on your radio dial.

Game Two
Suppan vs. Myers at the same place

First pitch is at 6:35pm CDT so you will have to tear yourself from NBC's football night in American coverage should not be all that hard.

MLB is saying it is on FSN and WTMJ which may be correct if the Packers post game stuff is done.

It is time for this team to make a stand and win a game that matters in September

Plain and simple

I am going to combine the open thread for game one and the Packers game

hope to see you there

Chris, a ridiculous doomsayer and the Brewers number one b-grade fan AKA The Rat.

Wisconsin gets it down late into the night.

2008-09-14T09:45:00.002-05:00

In spite of a WAC officiating Crew that had to be on the take, despite having quarterback Allen Evridge forget how to throw the ball in the second half. And they also managed to over come a couple of big plays by their host Fresno State.

In the end it was the number 10 ranked Badgers who were whooping it up when the 5th Quarter started. Praise be to Odin.

It was a very good open thread last night started out a little slow but really picked up in the second half of the game.

I was over all very happy with what I saw from Wisconsin they should have had at least 10 more points and they have to cut the penalties out but I am grading pretty loose on this game.

They went out all the way to the West coast and played a team that is very good at home in a tough stadium and they Took Care of Business. They did not let the mistakes or the inept performance by the WAC officials stop them. The Defense found ways to get it done and in the end. The Offense got the most important 10 yards of the night, when their last possession started on their own one foot line after the ball took an amazing bounce for Fresno State on their last punt. With their back up QB running they show they hammered out the 10 yards they needed in two play to get the first down and secure the win.

It was weird as close as the score was you never felt Wisconsin was in trouble(outside of that manic period in the third quarter when they started to melt down)They always seemed to make the play to stop drives or to force Fresno State to attempt long field goals. Give Thanks to Odin that Fresno's kicker had a horrible night missing 3 field goals. That was the difference in the game right there.

Right now with that win and the losses by OverratedSU to USC and the continued collapse of the Michigan football program Wisconsin is the king of the Big Ten. Until someone one knocks them off the top of the mountain the Big Ten BCS bid is theirs to lose.

A fun night of football which helped take our minds off of a certain baseball team that has forgotten how to play. For that I am very grateful it was fun to enjoy sports for a couple of hours last night.

On to Michigan next week and the start of the Big Ten season. Look for Wisconsin to jump up to 8th in both polls is my prediction.

On Wisconsin
Chris

A quick parting thought. You have to give OverratedSU credit for scheduling teams like the Condoms but damn if you are going to play those types of teams at least make an effort to look like you belong on the same stage with them. Once again the Buckeyes game the Big Ten a black eye by laying another egg on the national stage.

Time for the Badgers to Salvage the Day. Open Thread

2008-09-13T20:42:00.004-05:00

Well it is not all doom and gloom here at the WSB a Badger win could go a long way to salvage the day.

As I write this the Buckeyes are doing their usual shit themselves on National TV act getting pummeled by USC. Michigan got hammered by the Domers.

So the Badgers could stake out a claim at the top of the Big Ten with a convincing win tonight in the Valley

I bad of a feeling I had going into the Brewers game I have a very good feeling about this Badgers game no clue why just feeling good about the game.

So if you are watching the game jump in the open thread and speak your mind

On Wisconsin
Chris

Wild Card Lead down to 2 games

2008-09-13T18:26:00.003-05:00

Brewers lose again in Philly

3 and 9 in September Offense is stuck in Neutral starting pitching is showing cracks after a great run

The Wild Card Lead is down to 2 games it could be gone by tomorrow night

I am worried very worried

But I am sure the Blind Faith Crowd is as cool as the other side of the pillow

hell we still have a 2 game lead in the Wild Card Division right.

All is well remain calm

Hey I see Corey Hart went 0-4 sure glad he is playing more Loose on the road I would hate to see what he would do if he was tight.

Guess what Corey you keep this up and you will be back to playing in front of 11,000 every night and Miller Park will be super quiet for you.

This really is starting to suck

Chris a ridiculous doomsayer and the Brewers number one b-grade fan AKA The Rat.

Oh Yeah There is More to Life than Baseball

2008-09-13T10:48:00.002-05:00

A lot of good football to watch today including a huge Wisconsin Fresno State Tilt.

How the mighty have fallen when Wisco vs. Fresno St is a more important game than Michigan vs. The Domers. Not that won't be a fun game to watch shame they both cannot lose.

Michigan vs. Domers is on NBC at 2:43pm CDT

The the biggest game of the day Condoms vs. Nuts aka Trojans vs. Buckeyes out in California. ABC 7pm CDT

Then the game that means the most to Wisconsin people

Wisconsin travels to the San Fernando Vally to take on Fresno State.

A huge game for Wisconsin because it is their last non conference test before they start Big Ten play. And it will be a huge test Fresno State is ranked 21 so this will be an impressive win if they can pull it off

I do not know why but I have a feeling Wisconsin will win this one going away. I respect Fresno St. but I feel or my hope is that by the 4th quarter our big O-Line will have worn them down and our three headed monster at RB will be running amok over the Fresno St. Defense.

The Badger game does not start till 9:30pm so it will be a late night if you are staying up to watch the game.

So a great way to spend a rainy day(if you are in Wisconsin it is a rainy day) Watch Football and The Brewers and then we can really have fun tomorrow with the Double header and the Packers.

Off to go get snacks and more beer

On Wisconsin
Chris

The Ventures Live: Wipe Out Live in Japan 65

2008-09-13T09:58:00.002-05:00

Something a little more pleasant than the Gummy Bear song one of my favorite old "surf" bands from the 60's The Ventures.

This is footage from a Show in Japan in 1965 before I was even born great stuff a lot of the modern bands could not hold these guys jocks when it comes to playing live.

I was introduced to these guys from my father who used to play them in the garage on his old Reel to Reel machine. Good times man Good times.

enjoy and if you like this kind of music I highly recommend getting their "Live in Japan 65" Album(yes I said album) 29 songs of surf music goodness for your listening pleasure.

Chris

Thank the Gods, A Rain Out

2008-09-13T09:19:00.002-05:00

I cannot think of a MLB team or fan base that needed a rain out more than the Milwaukee Brewers and their fans. I hope the guys on the team put the extra night off in Philly to good use. No matter how they spent it be it at a bible study or by having 3 Asian hookers sent to their room. If it can calm then down and help loosen them up I am all for it. If it were me I would have made a bee line to Gino's to get a Cheese Steak then I would have walked across the street to Pats to have another. MMMMMMM cheese steak who needs God or Asian hookers when you can have a sandwich of grilled meat and cheese whiz ;) Not that I am bashing Asian hookers.

So we all had a Friday night to go do something other than worry about the Brewers it was kind of refreshing and hell they even managed to gain a game on the Cards but that does not do us much good does it since the Cards have finally come back to the mean and are not really part of the Wild Card race. Losing to the Pirates will do that too you.

So we will see if the rain out has some kind of Bull Durham effect on the Brewers

Today's game info
Parra vs Hamels at Citizens Bank Little League Park.

First pitch is at 2:55pm CDT

TV: FOX | RADIO: WTMJ 620/BRN Game is on Big Fox so plan accordingly.

Ok this is all come down to the simple equation of you win you are in. The Brewers need to start winning games and they will make the playoffs they need to win a lot of the remaining games so why not start today.

Parra needs to get back to his winning ways and it sounds like a lot of his troubles have not been not having his stuff, it is he is not trusting his stuff. Manny you do not suck so just see what Kendal calls shake your head yes and throw the damn pitch. Come on son it is time to say "Damn the torpedoes" and pitch your team to a win.

The Brewers have had some success with Cole Hamels I think they chances of a win are better today, than it was going up against a guy like Moyer.

Oh and not to sound like a broken record it would not hurt if the Bats put 7 or 8 runs on the Phillies today.

Oh and it is all kinds of sick, but we all need to become the worlds biggest Cubs fans till the Houston Chicago series is over. No matter where it is played. Right now getting in the playoffs is more important than catching the Cubs and the best chance we have of another team cooling the red hot Astros down is this three game Cubs series. Like I said get into the playoffs as the Wild Card and you still have a chance.

Do or Die time folks and we all know it they have to get a split out of this weekend or they dead in the water.

I personally am feeling a little better about their chances after rain out I guess I needed a day off too(No Bible Classes or Asian Hookers for me and sadly no cheese steak either) Now if they lay an egg today I am climbing right back out on my ledge but for this morning they can take the suicide watch off.

Hell I am only a B Grade fan anyway so I can stop caring so much.

Lets get it done.

Hurray Beer
Chris a ridiculous doomsayer and the Brewers number one b-grade fan AKA The Rat.

Cubs-Astros...in Milwaukee?

2008-09-12T23:19:00.001-05:00

Maybe.

Suddenly it seems that a Cubs-Astros series under the dome at Miller Park is not so far-fetched.
Major League Baseball was considering moving the key series between National League Central contenders to Milwaukee on Sunday and Monday, according to two baseball sources. If the plan goes through, details, including game times and ticket procedures, would be announced Saturday.

Brewers spokesman Tyler Barnes confirmed that the team is on stand-by, and is waiting for direction from MLB.

That would be so weird to watch the team the Brewers are chasing and the one chasing the Brewers down play in Milwaukee of all places.

Open Thread of the Rats Jump Ship: NO GAME

2008-09-12T16:56:00.005-05:00

UPDATE: The game has been postponed due to rain...likely to be made up in a double header Sunday.

As evidence by the "Choke" thread that sat atop this space most of the day, some folks have decided the season is over. Not us! We are in it til the end!

2B Rickie Weeks
SS JJ Hardy
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
CF Mike Cameron
3B Bill Hall
C Jason Kendall
P Manny Parra

The turnaround starts today! F' Cole Hamels, even if his poop is used as currency in Clearwater. I don't care if he owns the Brewers, or if the starting third basemen, Susan Hall, is 2-12 with no extra base hits against him. So he has made Rickie Weeks look foolish on many occasions and struck out Corey Hart 6 out of 10 times. So what if Ned Yost is skipperin' like it's the Valdez. The Brewers have a three game cushion and not even a sweep in Philly knocks em out of the playoffs.

Goonies never say die.

What it takes to make it to the level of A grade Brewers fan.

2008-09-12T16:51:00.002-05:00

Near as I can tell you only need one thing and one thing only Blind Faith in the Brewers.

You must never doubt them no matter that they have a 26 history of failure or that this squad has a 4 year run of at best coming up short in the crunch(2006 they actually regressed)

You must ignore that fact they are 3 and 7 over their last 10 games and split with the worse team in the NL on their home field.

I have been labeled as a B grade fan by someone of no consequence I have no problem with that

Lets see what gets you a B grade as a Brewers fan.

I have/had tickets to at least 10 home games.

I have actually traveled to another city to watch the Brewers play on a couple of occasions once this year.

I have either watched in person or on TV or listened to on the Radio close to 130 games of the 147 games the Brewers have played this season. Hell a lot of the big wins I re watch the next morning on MLB.TV using the archive feature.

I care enough about the Brewers that I let it effect how I feel about non baseball things(Their losing that double header in July of last year to St. Louis ruined my experience at the Buffet Concert seriously I was so pissed at the Brewers I could not enjoy a Buffet Show)

I plan vacations so I can try and see the Brewers play on the road.

all of this and more but I am only a B grade fan because I lack the one thing that would make me jump up to that A level

Blind Fucking Faith and the ability to ignore the collapse while it is happening.

Amazing isn't it?

Well I have never been big on blind faith in anything so I am resigned to live out my life as a B grade Brewers fan.

I am what I am.
Chris a ridiculous doomsayer and the Brewers number one b-grade fan

A number of reason Corey Hart needs to Shut The Fuck Up

2008-09-12T16:14:00.002-05:00

As all of you know probably know by know Corey Hart said they were playing "looser" since they were on the road and away from Miller Park where the mean Milwaukee fans were booing him and his teammates, while they went through the motions as they staged another September Collapse.

Well as one of those fans who has been known to boo this years version of the Milwaukee Brewers for their bad play at times I have a few numbers Mr Hart needs to stop and think about before he calls out the Milwaukee fans. This goes for some of his teammates also.

First number $0.444 Million: how much money you made because you can play a children's game very well(most of the time) There are people who read this blog who are far smarter than you who will never see that kind of money in 10 years let alone in a year. But a lot of them plunk down some of that hard earned cash to come out to the old ball park to see you guys swinging at strikes three pitches that were practically rolled up to home plate well not Billy Hall he is swinging before the pitcher throws the ball.

Second number 26 years: How many years Milwaukee fans have suffered without playoff baseball so forgive us when we get a bit testy as we watch you and your teammates fail once again.

.500 ball: All you and your teammates needed to play this September or last September to get into the playoffs, in case you forgot you did not manage to do it. Just another reason we are a bit angry out here in Brewers Fan Land.

3 million: how many tickets we mean booing fans bought this season. You know Milwaukee is the smallest market in baseball right but we are in the top ten in attendance.

8 million plus: The number of votes we booing assholes cast for you so your ungrateful ass could be the in the last All-Star game every played in Yankee Stadium voting you in over a guy who played for a New York team. Let me explain that to you Corey two boroughs of NYC equal the population of Wisconsin but we managed to out vote them to get you in that game. I guess we can type and boo at the same time.

0: number of runs you have driven in Since September 1st

I could go on for hours Corey but I wont. Here is a word of advice for you and your teammates, get a couple of hits when you come up with the bases loaded and less than 2 outs hell move a runner from 2nd to 3rd without using up all three outs once or twice. Win a couple of games when the pressure is on and maybe we will stop busting your stones.

Sincerely,
Chris a ridiculous doomsayer and the Brewers number one b-grade fan

The trip to the woods cancelled you guys are stuck with me for the weekend

2008-09-12T14:02:00.003-05:00

Too far to drive to chance having to spend all weekend sitting in the trailer.

Plus if I do not post this place is as quiet as a library.

Stand by this afternoon for my feelings on Corey Harts statement about the booing at Miller Park.

There is a lot of other sports things to cover too besides the Brewers collapse.

Badgers have a huge game tomorrow night and there is a Packers game Sunday

So even with the Brewers blowing it there is a lot to be fired up for this weekend.

talk at you later

Chris, a ridiculous doomsayer and the Brewers number one b-grade fan.(oh yeah I now have a title for the rest of the baseball season.

Now the Offical Drink on the Milwaukee Brewers.

2008-09-12T07:32:00.002-05:00

Another September another collapse

The Brewers will be out of the wild card lead by Monday.

I am out of here see you all Sunday night when you can either tell me how wrong I was or worship me for having the ability to see into the future.

Yost and Melvin have to go.

Really tired of this team lying down and dying in September.

Chris

Open Thread of Sof' Tossin'

2008-09-11T16:01:00.000-05:00

2B Rickie Weeks
SS J.J. Hardy
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
CF Mike Cameron
3B Bill Hall
C Jason Kendall
RHP Ben Sheets

Jamie Moyer is the type of pitcher that eats the Brewers alive. No hard stuff, tons of change-ups, and excellent control. Strangely, he has not had a ton of success against the Crew.

Game starts in 2 hours. Go Crew!!

We Dance in Celebration, enjoy this catchy little ear worm

2008-09-11T09:01:00.001-05:00

"Oh I am a gummy bear" I have had that stuck in my head for days now damn kids

Chris

As nice as yesterdays win was,

2008-09-11T08:44:00.002-05:00

3 and 7 will not cut it on this road trip, The Brewers have a chance to put the Phillies behind them and reel in the Cubs and get some payback on the pesky but still shitty Reds(66-80 qualifies you as shitty).

This is a huge road trip and I will be honest I am almost glad they are going on the road They have not been all that stellar at Miller Park since the break, while they have been pretty damn good on the road since the break.

Every win in this next 4 games takes 2 games off our magic number(with the Phillies) So while normally I would be happy with a split this is not a two team race the team that really scares me is Houston they are coming like a freight train and they pretty much play Pittsburgh the rest of the month. Believe it or not the Cubs might be the team that saves our wild card berth. The only real teams the Astros play this month are Florida and Chicago. So the Cubs could cool off the Astros while we are TCBing against the Phillies and the Wild Card could start to look like a much stronger lock than it does now.

You have to hope the comeback win yesterday coupled with the road trip act as a catalyst to fire up the Brewers offense and get it humming again.

Easier said than done but they need to relax and just play the game they are pressing big time. I guess all that talk about how they learned from last years run was bullshit.

Phillie is beatable Florida went in there and took two of 3 from them so the Brewers going 3-1 is very possible but so is getting swept. They have to hit plain and simple.

16 games left, 16 games to make everything they did this season worth it. We all know if this team gets hot they are capable of going 14 and 2 in this last 16 but we also know they are capable of going 2 and 14. There is no .500 in this team it is all or nothing strike out or home run. They are what they are.

It would nice to go into that band box of a stadium the Phillies play in and have our home run bats come back to life.

As huge as the win yesterday was it means nothing if they gack up this series.

Today's game info
Sheets vs. Father Time aka Moyer at Citizens Bank Little League Park.

First pitch is at 6:06pm CDT EAST COAST BASEBALL ALERT.

TV: FSN | RADIO: WTMJ 620/BRN

Can Sheets put back to back gems together we really need him to be at his best and the bats need to forget it is Ben on the mound and go out and score some fucking runs.

See the Ball Hit the Ball, Catch the ball throw the ball. Simple game just relax and have fun.

Magic number is 13(for all three teams chasing us)

Hurray Beer
Chris

Interesting Yankee Fact

2008-09-10T23:03:00.002-05:00

No Yankee has ever collected 3000 hits with the team. The all time leader is Lou Gehrig:

Jeter sent an 0-2 pitch from Los Angeles Angels right-hander Ervin Santana into left field for his 2,519th hit. Only Lou Gehrig (2,721) has more hits in a Yankees uniform.

I have to admit, I did not know that. You think the evil empire, and you think gaudy stats of all types. I never realized they had never had a 3000 hit guy. Jeter will probably change that in a few years, but still. That's a lot of history without one of the most hallowed numbers in baseball.

One Afternoon Makes It All Better

2008-09-10T18:07:00.000-05:00

Phillies lost! Either the Cubs or Cardinals will also lose.

Nothing to worry about folks!

Open Thread of Baseball!!

2008-09-10T12:43:00.002-05:00

Let's all just relax and enjoy a baseball game today shall we? C.C. is pitching, it's September 10th and the Brewers have a 3 game lead on a playoff spot. If it's difficult for you to find optimism in that, then you should reevaluate your life. Your entire life. If you decide it's all too much to bear, please, take Ron Santo with you.

Durham

Hardy

Braun

Fielder

Kapler

Cameron

Counsell

Kendall

Sabathia

Thank God, Mike Rivera remains safely on the bench after a marathon game last night.

While You Plummet To Your Death

2008-09-10T10:18:00.002-05:00

remember, the Brewers currently have the 5th best record in all of baseball, a three game cushion on the playoffs, and CC Sabathia pitching today. And we are crying like they are on their way to 100 losses.

Get a grip folks, step away from the ledge, and look at the forest. It's much more appealing than those Bill Hall trees.

Like it or not we must continue to document the disaster

2008-09-10T10:16:00.003-05:00

AKA Today's game info

Sabathia vs. Arroyo at the House of Horrors that Miller Park has become.

First pitch is at 1:05pm CDT DAY BASEBALL ALERT

TV: WMLW 41 | RADIO: WTMJ 620, ESPN Deportes 1510/BRN I wonder if the collapse sounds better or worse in Spanish?

CC is coming CC is coming he will save us he will smite our enemies.

Hopefully he will bring his bat today since he will have to hit a solo shot then pitch a no hitter to TCB but we know he can do it.

CC will stand in the breech and in his best English Sergeant Major voice will yell "Hold the line Men for God King and Country Hold the line"

Then he will look behind him and see the Bats have all abandoned him and he will be sliced to ribbons by the horde of Reds

Sorry I am on top of the Bunker ladder about ready to slam the door shut before the mushroom cloud appears.

Go Brewers Go
Chris

5000 internet dollars if you can name the battle that painting is portraying

Now for something to take your mind off the Brewers

2008-09-10T08:03:00.000-05:00

well I find it funny

Chris

Do not rule out ending the season in 4th place.

2008-09-10T07:34:00.002-05:00

Yes I am totally pissed off at the Milwaukee Brewers so I am not cutting them any slack at the moment. But it is not that much of a stretch to believe the Brewers could end the season in 4th place in the NL Central. St Louis has pulled with in 3.5 games with Houston charging hard at 4 games back.

The Brewers and their AWOL offense play one more game on this home stand from hell then go on a 10 game three city road trip. Right now they could easily lose all 4 in Phillie since CC is not pitching in any of those games and there is no way the Brewers offense can go head to head with the Phillies.

This home stand has been a disaster of Epic proportions how the hell can you go 2 and 7 at home when to of the 3 teams you played are practically AAA ball clubs.

Well one good thing that might come out of this massive implosion if they do not make the playoff I do not see how Mr A can bring back Yost.

Last nights game what can you say once again the Brewers had a young pitcher on the ropes in the first inning and only got one run and then preceded to let him mystify them at home plate for the next 5 innings or so. This team is totally inept at home plate right now. It is hard to watch them blow scoring chance after scoring chance.

Oh and Fuck Mike Cameron 5ab last night no hits and 3k's I think 2 with the bases loaded.

Prediction when the season is over we will find out that Braun is playing much more hurt than we believe and that is why he is hitting so poorly right now.

Prince should have taken that 60 million when they offered it to you.

Bill Hall should not be in the line up no matter what hand the pitcher throws with.

What is really sad about this is the Cubs are having their usual late season collapse and we cannot enjoy it since the suddenly suck ass Brewers refuse to take advantage of the Cubs suckage. Face it the Brewers could easily be in first place right now and think of how the asshole Cubs fans would be wailing. But know the Brewers are going to deny us that pleasure. Just like they have denied us the pleasure of the playoffs.

So that begs the question which choke is worse last year or this year?

Oh and all that talk about how being in the race last year hardened this team can be tossed out the window as the bull shit it really is. They got to crunch time and this team once again pissed it's self and now they are getting ready to run like a French Canadian from a save from the playoffs.

But like I said the bright side to all of this is only 17 more games left before they fire Ned Yost. So every dark cloud does have a silver lining.

Now there is a slight chance the Brewers might go on the road and the change of scenery might wake their bats up who knows but I have my doubts.

Shame such a good year is going to end like this.

resigned to our fate
Chris

Open Thread of 5th Inning Tie

2008-09-09T20:48:00.001-05:00

echo

echo

echo

Yes, Week 1 was weak as usual

2008-09-09T16:49:00.001-05:00

Did I mention that the hardest week in the NFL season to predict is the first? Let's go over the carnage.

Washington 7 @ NY Giants 16 (-4.5) - That's how to start the season. Time to break out the old pre-Alvarez Badger chant - I WON FIRST!
Cincinnati 10 (-2) @ Baltimore 17 - Also not recommended; QBs with broken noses.
NY Jets 20 (-3) @ Miami 14 - Please welcome your division-leading New York Bretts.
Kansas City 10 @ New England 17 (-17-LOSS) - Welcome to Super Loser Curse, Brady.
Houston 17 (+6.5) @ Pittsburgh 38 - Ow; my knee! I'm sending the bill to Gary Kubiak for being stupid and having no defense.
Jacksonville 10 (-3) @ Tennesse 17 - Yep; it's hurting a lot. At least Guido's working over the same knees Knock-Knees Tony did for the playoffs.
Detroit 21 (-3) @ Atlanta 34 - How bad are Duh Lions? Fox announcers are already calling for heads to roll. At least I got the over right to salvage a split.
Seattle 10 (+1) @ Buffalo 34 - The Seahags looked like The Walrus retired a year early.
Tampa Bay 20 @ New Orleans 24 (-3.5) - It's all about the turnovers creating emotion.
St. Louis 3 (+7.5) @ Philadelphia 38 - Mental note; see if the Eagles' defense is still available in my fantasy leagues.
Dallas 28 (-6) @ Cleveland 10 - Wiggy and Owen are quite happy with this result.
Carolina 26 (+9) @ San Diego 24 - I had the right state for the barking dog, just the wrong town.
Arizona 23 @ San Francisco 13 (+2.5) - Turnovers kill.
Chicago 29 @ Indianapolis 13 (-10) - Yep; it was over at halftime. Only thing is, that Bears' D still has bite.
Minnesota 19 (+2) @ Green Bay 24 - At least I told you to not take the Aaron Rodgers Won't Make It Through Game 1 prop bet.
Denver 41 (-3) @ Oakland 14 - How bad was this week? I whiffed on the JaMarcus Russel INT total.

Owie-stingie. 6-10 ATS, 8-8 straight-up, 1-1 over/unders leave Guido hunting my sorry ass down. Worse, I owe Uncle Fred because dumbshit me took the donkey with a broken nose instead of the Ragin' Cajun who pulled off the Upset of the Week™.

Wow this place got quite all of a sudden

2008-09-09T14:21:00.001-05:00

Check 1 2, Is this thing on?

Check Check

testing testing testing

is there anyone out there?

;)

Chris

My Friend Bill the Mets Fan Ode to his last game at Shea

2008-09-09T09:18:00.003-05:00

Most of us went through this when County Stadium closed so we know what he is feeling and saying.

I was lucky enough to catch a game out there this year as you all know with Bill and his family, Good Times Man, Good Times

Bills Ode to the last trip to the old ball park.

Hurray Baseball
Chris

Less Depressing Game Info for Tonight

2008-09-09T09:13:00.002-05:00

7:05 @ beautiful Miller Park

Jeff Suppan v. Ramon Ramirez

Another no info guy in Ramirez. Pretty good in the minors but not incredible. He's also kind of old (25) to be getting his first starts.

Good news? Suppan owns the Reds. Also, the Brewers are still 3 games up in the Wild Card race.

So Far So Good

2008-09-09T09:11:00.002-05:00

I have to admit I was very pleased with what I saw out of young Mr Rogers in last nights game.

If you remember back to last seasons first game this looked a lot better.

Defense did ok holding Purple Jesus in check(by that I mean he did not get 200 yards and 3 TD's)

The Officials last night were terrible their arms have to be sore from throwing that many flags.

It was also good to see Grant bust off that long run when they really needed it.

Short week coming up but I liked most of what I saw last night.

Go Pack Go
Chris

Tonights game info

2008-09-09T09:05:00.001-05:00

Fuck I don't care, I think I am going to take the night off and read a fucking book or play my fucking Xbox360(Civ Revolutions rocks)

If you really want to know the game info go here.

Chris

Starting to get that Brewers Collapse in September Feeling Again

2008-09-09T08:50:00.002-05:00

"I got a bad feeling about this Mav"

It is funny but not ha ha funny, history does repeat itself.

Once again the Brewers look poised to collapse in the home stretch of a playoff run, and once again the main culprit is the bullpen.

It was poised to be a perfect night in Wisconsin the Pack had taken down the Queens on National TV and the Brewers were 3 outs from pulling a half game close to the Cubs while maintaining our 4 game lead on the Phillies. Then Brewers Bullpen Shit Happen Again. Not the usual source but still another game lost by the pen.

You cannot even blame Ned on this one he did everything he could to avoid using the pen. He had Dave Bush he of the 6 innings ,100 pitch rule throw 8 innings to avoid using the pen in the 8th. But Torres came in and just pissed down his leg in the 9th.

And do not let the score fool you the Brewers still are not hitting they got a ton of runs on a tiny number of hits. They also struck out at least 10 times.

We need to face facts this team is in trouble just like 05 06 and 07 our pen is suck hole of badness that neither hope or late inning leads can escape.

Right now who can you trust in the pen in the 8th or 9th inning? GAGne no Riskie no Mota maybe Torres maybe there is no lights out for sure 98% of the time answer out there.

The middle of our line up is still sucking ass and not getting it done Corey Hart needs to sit for the rest of this series he is just god awful at the plate and his play in the field cost us at least one run last night. A good throw to home plate and Bruce is meat and the Reds do not get their first run.

The Brewers might go on the road and prove me wrong but I really believe by the end of that 10 game road trip the Brewers will be out of the Wild Card lead might be out of the Wild Card race if they lay a total egg.

Is anyone seeing anything from this team that tells you they are going to pull this out before they hit the ground like a fucking dart?

I tried to stay up beat as long as I could but last night really hurt.

This fucking team is going to let us down once again.

And think about this how far can a team with a pen as bad as the Brewers go in the playoffs if by some miracle they hold on.

This team should be pushing 90 wins already and have a playoff spot locked up.

Fuck Me tell me why I put myself through this year after year?

Same old fucking story

Chris

Forget what I said yesterday

2008-09-09T07:33:00.001-05:00

"Now is a perfect time to panic" Woody(hat tip BCB)

Now where did I leave my paper bag

Chris

Don't Be Sad

2008-09-08T22:11:00.002-05:00

Packer Win! Jets Win!! Patriots lose Brady!!!

All three things are good for Wisconsin sports fans. The Packers beat the next best team in the division and their draft pick patrons won a game, and saw some of their biggest competition go down for the year.

3 wins for the Packers, 1 loss for the Brewers. We can get through it.

Open Thread of Rad Monday

2008-09-08T17:06:00.000-05:00

The Packers march to a championship begins now. The Bears duped America into thinking they were somehow "back" last night, but that game had as much to do with Marvin Harrison and Tom Moore officially declaring themselves senile as it did to the Bears really showing anything. Except Forte...that guy is good.

Also, everyone's favorite Packer lifer, Brett Favre, had a hell of a showing yesterday and with one snap of a pretty boys knee becomes the undisputed best QB in his conference yet again. Too bad you can cheat your way out of a torn ACL eh Billy boy?

So, Packers-Vikings in an hour, and Brewers-Reds at eight. Not much to say about the Packers yet, kind of an unknown, but the whole world will be watching Rodgers...we know he is up to it. Make the True Believers proud bro.

Brewers need to turn it around against a red hot Reds team. Dave Bush v. Edinson Volquez (who is still pitching well). According to Haudricourt, Yost has yet to decide on a center fielder, which is a shame because Mike Cameron is freaking awesome. Lineup as it stands:

2B Ray Durham
SS J.J. Hardy
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
CF --------------
3B Craig Counsell
C Jason Kendall
RHP Dave Bush

C'mon Pack, c'mon Crew!! Could be a great night in Wisco tonight!!

Something I would love to see them add.

2008-09-08T10:49:00.002-05:00

I love how sports have become since the invention of the "Fox Box" you can click to a baseball or football game and with in 30 seconds know the score number of outs or which quarter you are in etc.

But I would love FSN to add pitch count to the numbers at the top of the screen.

they have room on the right side, next to the FSN logo.

I know a lot of "casual" fans(I need to find a better word) could care less but I have become a avid follower of pitch counts. Does that mean I am becoming a stats geek lol.

But I have learned that pitch count can mean a lot, is CC or Sheets going into the 8th inning with 80 pitches because that means if they are pitching well they will most likely finish the game. Or if the opposing pitchers have 85 pitches in the 6th inning I am pretty sure we are going to get into the other teams pen.

So why not add the pitch count to the "Fox Box" there is a audience that would love to have that info and we are most likely the geeks who will be watching game come hell or high water. Why not cater to you core audience?

Would you like to see pitch count added or do you have another number you would like to see added to the top of the screen?

Hurray the Fox Box
Chris

Oh yeah the Packers play tonight on MNF

2008-09-08T09:58:00.003-05:00

No pressure right? The Bears just announced they might have something to say about who wins the NFC North the Lions are still the Lions and we get the Queens in what is the first MNF game of the season and the debut of Aaron Rogers as a starter in games that count.

Oh and You Know Who won his first game for his new team much to the delight of all the Faux Packers fans, you know the guys and gals who are now proudly sporting their Jets number 4 jerseys.

No Pressure right

I think if the Pack loses tonight it will be because of the Defense not Rogers.

I am sure it will be a hell of a game with a insane atmosphere up at Lambeau.

Here is the question which game means more to you tonight the Brewers game or the Packers game?

I will be honest I care more about the Brewers games than the Packers game but I will be bouncing back and forth between the two.

I am sure there will be more Packers stuff here as the day goes on.

Go Pack Go
Chris

"We're dealing with a lot of shit."

2008-09-08T09:57:00.001-05:00

A great scene from Bull Durham

Just trying to lighten the mood here. ;)

Chris

Since Ned won't do it I will have to do it for him. Shower Speech Time

2008-09-08T09:51:00.003-05:00

"This is a simple game, you throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball, you got it!"

Truer words have never been spoken.

Hurray Beer
Chris

Do Not Be This Guy

2008-09-08T09:05:00.002-05:00

"All Is Well Remain Calm"

I refuse to panic, yes I am worried but I refuse to panic

Yes they are playing very bad baseball right now but nothing has been lost yet.

They remain only 4 game behind the Cubs with 6 head to head games left with them. They remain 4 games in front of the Phillies and with the Cubs playing the Cards starting tonight. So if we can TCB against a hot Reds team at home we will either gain ground on the Cubs or will finally bury the Cards.

They have 19 games left so if they go 10 and 9 they will finish with 92 wins, I think 92 can carry the Wild Card Division who knows if the Cubs continue their meltdown it might carry the division. We are not the only team having issues.

I want to run around screaming Ahhhhhhh we are all going to die, the season is over, repent your sins the end is coming. But I refuse to act like a Nancy boy Cubs fan.

This team has done this all season they get cold together and they are really cold right now but they can get hot together like flipping a switch. Who knows maybe this close brush with being on the wrong side of a perfect game will wake them up. Maybe they will start being a little more patient at the plate. I think it might be a good thing that they go on a long road trip after this series since July the Brewers have been so so at Miller Park while being pretty damn good on the road.

Even as bad as yesterday was their magic number went down to 16 game.

Ok let me get this off my chest

Hi my name is Chris and I have a Billy Hall Problem, Yes when I first started free basing him two seasons ago it was an incredible high but now I sit here at rock bottom he cannot hit he cannot play 3rd base. He is really starting to hurt this team at the plate and with his glove. He has a ton of money tied up for the next two years. He has to go if Melvin can find a GM stupid enough to trade for him, even if we have to do like Toronto did with Koskie where we pay 75% of his salary to move him so be it time to move on.

I am willing to give Weeks one more year but I am done with Hall.

Ok here it is Braun, Fielder and Hart need to start hitting Ned needs to stop going to Gagne in the 8th inning.

We will be alright they cannot stay cold for the whole month of September. Can They?

So here is a nice calming Radio Head Video for you to listen to and just relax

On to today's info
Bush vs. Volquez at Miller Park

First pitch is at 7:05pm CDT(one hour after the Packers kick off)

TV: FSN-HD | RADIO: WTMJ 620/BRN(I do not think that is right I think the Packers will be on the Big Station so who knows where the Brewers game will land)

Ok it is a new week lets get off to a fresh clean start.

Hurray Beer
Chris

Brewers and a Packer less NFL Sunday Open Thread

2008-09-07T18:00:00.000-05:00

No Packers today but the NFL is back and everyone will be watching to see how "You Know Who" will do with the J e t S Jets Jets Jets.

I find it funny all the You Know Who Jets jerseys I am seeing good thing he did not go to the Vikings or Bears.

Football will take us out of the Chute but the Crew will be on at 1:05pm

I did not get Sunday Ticket this season so I am going to be stuck watching the games network give me.(holding off to get Sunday ticket till middle of the season I miss to many games during hunting season to make it worth while)

Brewers line up for Sunday
2B Rickie Weeks
SS JJ Hardy
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
CF Gabe Kapler
3B Bill Hall
C Jason Kendall
P Manny Parra

No Cameron due to a sore knee, that does not bother me one bit.

Let Sunday begin

Chris

This stays on top till 6pm look below for new stuff

Todays Game Info

2008-09-07T11:29:00.002-05:00

Parra vs Young at sold out for the third game in a row Miller Park

Cory Hart bobble head day

First pitch is at 1:05pm CDT

TV: FSN | RADIO: WTMJ 620, ESPN Deportes 1510

So you can get in an hour of watching he whose name will must not be spoken and his new team play before switching over to the Brewers game.

Crew going for a hard won series win and try to move on game closer to locking up a playoff spot.

Bats need to wake up and Parra has to get back to his 8 wins in a row ways.

It should be a beautiful day for baseball at Miller Park and a huge crowd

Here is an idea lets win one in a laugher

Hurray Beer
Chris

Some Sunday Morning Brewers and Badgers Thoughts

2008-09-07T11:09:00.003-05:00

First once again Ben Sheets shows the upside to him being on your team following up his injury shortened game with a 5 hit no run 7 K complete game gem. It is performances like this that make Sheets maddening because you know he has talent you just never know if he will be on the mound to use it. I still think if they leave him in they most likely win the Mets game the other night.

Now on to bitching about the Bats, yes I know it was Peavy but come on one fucking run

Runs by game in September so far 2 5 2 2 3 1 is there any wonder why they are 2 and 4 in September.

But they have a chance to reduce their magic number by 3 today if they win and the Mets take both games of the double header the Brewers magic number would drop from 17 to 14 in one day.

They gained no ground but they also gave no ground up either at this point in the season that is good enough. As Shrek said "That will do Donkey, That will do"

You have to figure the Bats will get hot soon this team tends to be streaky they slump together and they get hot together. Right now they are slumping but the last two nights they found a way to win.

On to the Badgers
What a difference a half makes they were not all that good in the first quarter and half of the second quarter. A lot of self inflicted wounds dump penalties and the like. But they turned it around showed how dangerous they can be when they start hitting on all cylinders. They hung half a hundred on Marshall and then added an extra point to cap the day. 51 unanswered points and they were running the ball at will towards the end of the game.

If they can throw the ball like they did in the second half with the trio of running back we have this could be an interesting year Being able to hit a defense all game with Hill Brown and Clay is just down right unfair. The BTN announcers kept pointing out that Clay is the third sting running back as he destroyed a tired and demoralized Thundering Herd Defense.

Next week will be a huge test going out to Fresno State. They win that game it might signal the start of a very good year for the Badgers. Both OSU and Michigan were challenged by weak opponents yesterday, both look beatable.

I know it was a Conference USA team but it was nice to see the Badgers handle a rough quarter and still annihilate a weaker opponent like a top 10 team should(They will be a top ten team in the next poll thanks to East Carolina killing West Virgina)

You know how you shut up fat alums who happen to write at sports blogs?

Score 51 unanswered points lol

Saturday turned into a day of everyone telling Chris to sit down and shut up while they Took Care of Business ;)

Lets hope the good JuJu carries on to Sunday.

Hurray Beer and On Wisconsin
Chris

One final observation I was eating dinner with the family at the Oconomowoc Chilies last night the Brewers game was on all the TV's in the place when Sheets go the last out the whole restaurant erupted into clapping and cheers. Yeah the Brewers have come a long way in this state in the last couple of years.

Hurray another winning season one box checked on the season to do list :)

May the record reflect...

2008-09-06T23:17:00.002-05:00

...that Chris owes me 5000 internets dollars. Hell of a performance by Benny tonight. The ninth was a little more exciting than I'd like, but it was better than seeing some of the schlubs from the pen in there.

In other news, I've concluded that I am Ben Sheets' lucky charm. You can donate money to send me to the remainder of his starts this year.

Cubs fans are starting to envoke 1969 already

2008-09-06T12:26:00.002-05:00

6 game losing streak and getting mashed by the Reds will do that to you.

Bizarro BCB's Al says this team is giving him the 1969 feeling all over again.

I do love when the Cubs fans who have been arrogant pricks all season start to panic(mean Cubs fans in general not Al he seems like an ok guy for a Cubs fan)

I have stated many times my puzzlement at how the fans of a team that has won nothing in 100 years can act like they more championships then the Evil Empire.

Maybe it is Karma for them being such bitches.

I mean Cards fans can be whiny cry babies as this year and the untucked shirts have proven. But considering how many World Series Flags they have in that little Championship Garden at Busch Stadium they could act much worse than Cubs fans but they don't

So enjoy watching Cubs Nation panic they are really good at it we are pikers when it comes to panicking when compared to them.

Here is to pulling within 3 games tonight

Hurray Beer
Chris

What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is going on here?

2008-09-06T11:48:00.002-05:00

Today is the first day I have really payed any attention to the Badgers Football team

Kind of wish I had kept ignoring them

Already Down 14-0 in the 2nd half to Marshall ouch babe.

Ok from what little I have seen they are not the number 11 team in the nation

They will lose to Fresno State

When does basketball start?

Consider this the Badger Open thread if you can stomach it.

Start doing some of that coaching shit Boy Wonder

On Wisconsin
Chris

Badgers Open Thread

2008-09-06T11:47:00.002-05:00

I really don't know why I'm putting this up other than to be in the spirit of things. Marshall just made it 14-0 and The Badgers look like crap.

Bucky is now going to be forced to throw the ball and you can kiss that top 20 ranking goodbye.

An In Spite Of Win Last Night

2008-09-06T10:33:00.003-05:00

I know it bothers all of people who like/love Ned Yost and his style or lack there of when it comes managing a ball game, when we Yost haters say the Brewers win "In Spite" of Ned.

Well last night was a text book example of the Brewers winning In Spite of Ned.

First he goes back to the GAGne well again and again even when he knows that well is poisoned. Then he tries to give the game away by bringing in Riskie. It was only Shouse and his Neo like reflexes that saved our asses.
(Thanks to Jihad at BCB)

Shouse turns that DP and gets us another lease on life.

I am still trying to figure out how Brewers managed to win that game as bad as the bats hit once again. They left 17 runners on base not as bad as San Diego's 27 but still not good.

I had a very funny vision of a very angry CC dressed like a pimp just pimp slapping GAGne(who is dressed like a whore in my vision) while he screams "Bitch where is my win? Smack Smack What the fuck did you do with my Win?" While GAGne cowers in the fetal position telling CC how much harder he will work for him next time. lol CC Then replys "Next time you bitch you think I can continue to live in the style I have become accustom to with you losing my wins like that Bitch" Smack Smack lol GAGne just cries like a little girl.

That will end this episode of WSB Theater of Chris's mind.

I am pretty sure that is the second game of CC's that GAGne has cost him the win. I believe the Brewers won both starts(Pittsburgh and San Diego) but I could be wrong.

Ok we won and it is time to move on and look at what good came out of last night.

Cards lost in a another brilliant bullpen melt down to the Marlins and are now 6 games back Houston lost and are now 7 back Philly won but can gain no ground on the Crew.

Then the best part the Cubs lost their 6 game in a row so the Brewers move to 4 back as all of Cubdom starts having 1968 and Bartman flash backs.

The Brewers Magic number drops to 18.

So on to today's game info
Sheets vs. Peavy at nice and dry and filled back up Miller Park.

First pitch is at 6:05pm CDT

TV: FSN-HD | RADIO: WTMJ 620/BRN

It is simple to know what needs to be done today the Bats have to score some runs off of Peavy and we have to see if the China Doll can game it past the 5th inning.

Normally I would be worried about this game due to Sheets pitching but I have a feeling the Brewers bats are going to erupt tonight someone needs to treat Kevin Kouzmanoff like a Olympic Figure skater and bash him on the knee with a pipe. That dude and his glove have taken a lot of runs away from the Brewers through two games.

Brewers know what needs to be done can they get it done is the Question

One final thought before I go watch the Badgers

DIE GAGNE DIE DIE RISKIE DIE DIE YOST DIE.

Ok I feel better now

Hurray Beer
Chris

Chick's With Dick's

2008-09-05T23:37:00.002-05:00

Congrats to Dick's Sporting Goods for finally opening a store in Southern California.

Gillespie said the retailer plans to open a 44,000-square-foot store in summer 2009 in the new building adjacent to Atrium Court, where Dean & DeLuca also plans to open next year.

Dick’s declined to comment.

There are no Dick’s stores in California, according to the retailer’s Web site. As of Aug. 2, the company operated 357 Dick’s Sporting Goods stores in 38 states, primarily throughout the eastern half of the U.S.

Dick’s also owns Chick’s Sporting Goods, a chain founded in 1949 that operates 15 stores in Southern California. Last year, Dick’s bought Chick’s, which has stores in Yorba Linda, Laguna Hills, Ladera Ranch and Tustin at The Market Place.
The retail company expects to convert one Chick’s store to a Dick’s shop for the fiscal third quarter, according to a recent company statement. It didn’t specify that location.

Only California could give me the excuse to write the above headline at an otherwise respectable sports blog.

The turn the boat away from the big white thing open thread

2008-09-05T18:14:00.003-05:00

CC will save us tonight he will smite our enemies

Time to get back on track

No line up since I am doing this from my phone

Hurray Beer
Chris

A Brewers TV Schedule note

2008-09-05T14:09:00.001-05:00

"WMLW-TV (Channel 41) will televise the Cincinnati Reds at Brewers game at 1 p.m. Wednesday. That telecast replaces the Brewers at Reds game on Saturday Sept. 20, which was picked up by Fox as part of its weekly national regional package." MJS

Shame it has to be on WMLW what a suck ass station I still think I will listen to it on the radio the picture will be better on AM620 lol

Hurray Beer
Chris

The Chicago Injury Bug Infestation

2008-09-05T13:32:00.003-05:00

White Sox fans, I'm sorry. I'm oh so sorry. The Score is reporting (I heard via Will Carroll) that Carlos Quentin, a legit candidate for AL MVP, has a broken wrist and will miss the rest of the season.

Will does take care to state that this contradicts some info from yesterday, and has not been confirmed yet, but if this is the case, the Twins can start celebrating. Especially since they dumped Mike Lamb on some stupid team.

Oh, and I find it funny that "shoulder tendonitis" was considered good news for Carlos Zambrano. Sure it's better than "torn labrum," but it's not that easy to manage, and they now run the risk of unknowingly running an ineffective Zambrano in a playoff game.

On the Brewers Horizon

2008-09-04T22:10:00.005-05:00

Since we know Captain Ned will not save us

We better hope 1st Mate CC can steer us back onto a winning course.

But with the way our bats are hitting on this home stand we might need another No Hitter out of him

Sigh
Chris

Open Thread of Late to the Party

2008-09-04T19:49:00.001-05:00

Damn heavy class load this semester...

2B Rickie Weeks
SS J.J. Hardy
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
CF Mike Cameron
3B Bill Hall
C Jason Kendall
RHP Jeff Suppan

Already 1-1

2008 NFL Week 1

2008-09-04T17:16:00.000-05:00

Friends, Degenerates, Countrymen - get out those wallets! The hardest week of the easiest money (or at least broken bones) you'll ever earn is upon us. Since I managed to off Knock-Knees Tony after a disastrous post-season, I'm back for another season of fun and mayhem to defend my 123-120-13 regular-season record ATS and 20-13-1 performance on the over/unders. As always, the lines are provided by our friends at Bodog, the team I'm taking will have the line next to it, and I will disavow any knowledge of you should you use these picks (especially my 2-a-week over/unders).

Washington @ NY Giants (-4.5) - Jim Zorn has a better chance against the G-Men than Jason Campbell.
Cincinnati (-2) @ Baltimore - Rookie QBs are not recommended.
NY Jets (-3) @ Miami - Dare I say it? DARE I SAY IT? Not yet.
Kansas City @ New England (-17; currently off Bodog's board) - Welcome to Mismatch Central. Don't worry about the "injured" right foot on Brady.
Houston (+6.5) @ Pittsburgh - Let there be HITS! Take the under-43 to give The Man a feel for this game.
Jacksonville (-3) @ Tennesse - This won't hurt a bit; it's going to hurt a lot.
Detroit (-3) @ Atlanta - If you're looking for defense, this isn't the game for you. I know we have another rookie QB, but take the over-41 in the Mistake of the Week™.
Seattle (+1) @ Buffalo - It's too early in the season for Holmgren to start losing.
Tampa Bay @ New Orleans (-3.5) - This early in the season, it's all about the emotion.
St. Louis (+7.5) @ Philadelphia - The Rams are too healthy to be giving up this many points.
Dallas (-6) @ Cleveland - I'm trying so hard to avoid "Matrix" references.
Carolina (+9) @ San Diego - If I were convinced the Chargers' Big 3 were 100%, I'd gladly give the points.
Arizona @ San Francisco (+2.5) - It's a Dog Day Afternoon and Kurt Warner's wearing Milk Bone underwear.
Chicago @ Indianapolis (-10) - It doesn't matter whether it's Orton or Grossman at QB; this one will be over by halftime.
Minnesota (+2) @ Green Bay - I know it's real tempting to take the prop bet that Aaron Rodgers won't finish this game. DON'T DO IT!
Denver (-3) @ Oakland - Over/under on the number of Bronco picks of Russell - 2.5. Take the over.

NFL Predictions AB Edition

2008-09-04T13:47:00.003-05:00

I suck at preditctions but here goes:

NFC North
Green Bay (10-6)
Minnesota (8-8)
Detroit (6-10)
Chicago (5-11)

NFC East
Dallas
Philly
New York Giants
Washington

NFC South
New Orleans
Carolina
Tampa
Atlanta

NFC West
Seattle
St. Louis
Arizona
San Francisco

AFC East
New England
NY Jets
Buffalo
Miami

AFC South
Indianapolis
Tennessee
Jacksonville
Houston

AFC North
Cleveland (Surprise team of the year)
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Baltimore

AFC West
San Diego
Denver
Oakland
Kansas City

NFL Predictions (Benjamin Edition)

2008-09-04T13:05:00.002-05:00

NFC North - 1. Green Bay 2. Minnesota 3. Chicago 4. Detriot
NFC East - 1. Dallas 2. Philly 3. New York 4. Washington
NFC South - 1. Carolina 2. New Orleans 3. Tampa 4. Atlanta
NFC West - 1. Seattle 2. Arizona 3. San Francisco 4. St. Louis
AFC North - 1. Pittsburgh 2. Cleveland 3. Baltimore 4. Cincinnati
AFC East - 1. New England 2. New York 3. Miami 4. Buffalo
AFC South - 1. Indianapolis 2. Tennessee 3. Houston 4. Jacksonville
AFC West - 1. San Diego 2. Kansas City 3. Denver 4. Oakland

NFL Predictions (Eric Edition)

2008-09-04T11:06:00.003-05:00

NFC North1. Packers 11-5. Vikings 10-6. Lions 6-10. Bears 4-12
NFC East1. Dallas2. Giants3. Philadelphia4. Washington
NFC South1. New Orleans2. Carolina3. Tampa4. Atlanta
NFC West1. Seattle2. San Francisco3. St. Louis4. Arizona
AFC North1. Pittsburgh 2. Cincinnati3. Cleveland4. Baltimore
AFC East1. New England2. Jets 9-73. Buffalo4. Miami
AFC South1. Indianapolis2. Houston3. Tennessee 4. Jacksonville
AFC West1. San Diego2. Denver3. Kansas City 4. Oakland

NFL Predictions (steveegg edition)

2008-09-04T10:58:00.002-05:00

My sister's dogs ate my homework, but here goes absolutely, positively nothing:

NFC North
Minnesota (Good - Adrian Peterson is enough in this division. Bad - If an opposing team can figure out how to tackle AP, the Vikes are done. Record - 9-7)
Chicago (Good - They still have a special special team, and the aging defense should have a few stops left in them. Bad - That defense is aged, and the disappearance of Brett Favre from the division won't mean they'll go through fewer QBs than Green Bay. Record - 7-9)
Green Bay (Good - As long as injuries and tall physical receivers don't hit the defense, they'll be able to stop people. Bad - There will be 8 people crowding the offensive line almost every down, and the departure of Favre means they'll be going through as many QBs as the Bears. Record - 5-11)
Detroit - (Good - I honestly can't think of any. Bad - They're still run by Matt Millen. Record - 3-13)

NFC East
Dallas
Philadelphia (wild card)
NY Giants (wild card)
Washington

NFC South
Carolina (by a tiebreaker)
New Orleans
Tampa Bay
Atlanta

NFC West
Seattle
Arizona
San Francisco
St. Louis

AFC North
Pittsburgh
Baltimore (wild card)
Cleveland
Cincinnati

AFC East
NY Jets
New England (wild card; do not overlook the Super Loser Curse)
Buffalo
Miami

AFC South
Jacksonville
Indianapolis
Tennessee
Houston

AFC West
San Diego
Denver
Oakland
Kansas City

Bonus nose pick - Jacksonville over Dallas in The Championship Game That Cannot Be Named.

NFL Predictions (Noonan Edition)

2008-09-04T09:45:00.002-05:00

Football Outsider DVOA projections are here. My predictions use them, but are not a copy by any means. Without further ado...

NFC North
1. Packers (11-5)
2. Vikings (10-6)
3. Lions (7-9)
4. Bears (4-12

NFC East
1.Philly
2.Dallas
3.Washington
4.New York

NFC South
1.Carolina
2.New Orleans
3.Tampa
4.Atlanta

NFC West
1.Seattle
2.San Fran
3.St. Louis
4.Arizona

A brief word of explanation on the West. First of all, I’m bad at picking the West. I'm one of those people who thought the Cardinals would break out for the last 3 years. Second, while I may be playing into selection bias, as I saw the 49ers play 2 preseason games which is always a stupid way to judge a team, I think they will be pretty good and may push for a playoff spot in a weak division. The reason is that they have a strong defense anchored by the great Patrick Willis, and that I believe Alex Smith was a bigger problem than people realize. JT O’Sullivan is not great, but I think he’ll be a significant enough upgrade to do some damage with the old-but-still-effective Ike Bruce, and open up the ground game for Frank Gore. They may be a sort of Tampa Bay-in-the-making.

AFC North
1.Baltimore
2.Pitt
3.Cleveland
4.Cinci

AFC East
1.New England (duh)
2.NYJ
3.Buffalo
4.Miami

AFC South
1. Indy
2. Houston
3. Jacksonville
4. Tennessee

AFC West
1.San Diego
2.Denver
3.Oakland
4.KC

NFL Predictions (ESK Edition)

2008-09-04T09:26:00.002-05:00

I have no idea how I am doing historically, but I do know I was spot on with the Pack. I included the records of teams I care about.

NFC East
Philadelphia
Dallas
New York
Washington

NFC North
Green Bay 12-4
Minnesota 10-6
Chicago 6-10
Detroit 4-12

NFC South
Carolina
Tampa Bay
New Orleans
Atlanta

NFC West
Seattle
Arizona
San Fran
St Louis

AFC East
New England
New York 9-7
Buffalo
Miami

AFC West
San Diego
Denver
Kansas City
Oakland

AFC North
Baltimore
Pittsburgh
Cleveland
Cincinnati

AFC South
Jacksonville
Indianapolis
Houston
Tennessee

NFL Predictions

2008-09-04T08:17:00.003-05:00

The NFL season is upon us.

Each year at the onset of the MLB season I take everyone at the bar's predictions then at the end of the year add up the scores and declare a winner.

As we stand right now, a certain bartender is blowing away the competition, but as we saw last year, September can breed surprises.

I have decided to start the same sort of contest for football. Here are my predictions:

NFC East
Dallas
Philly
Washington
Giants

NFC North
Green Bay
Minnesota
Detroit
Chicago

NFC South
New Orleans
Carolina
Tampa Bay
Atlanta

NFC West
San Francisco
Arizona
Seattle
St. Louis

AFC East
New England
Jets
Buffalo
Miami

AFC North
Pittsburgh
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Baltimore

AFC South
Jacksonville
Tennessee
Indy
Houston

AFC West
Whale's Vagina
Denver
Oakland
Kansas City

Belly up and give me your predictions!!!

Patrons leave your predictions in the comment section.

I think he had a better chance to get hit by lightening

2008-09-04T08:02:00.002-05:00

Last night I am watching the first Episode of the 2008 WSOP Main Event off my DVR.

I saw something that I might never see again

A guy lost when he went all in with 4 Aces, he got beat by a Royal Flush.

They said the odds of 4 aces losing to a royal is over 2.5 billion to 1

That is just plain amazing bad luck on the one guys part.

The real amazing thing is that ESPN got it on Camera when you consider how many tables are going on the first day. They just happen to be following Ray Romano from the TV Show "Everyone Loves Raymond" around and he had just moved to that table when the table he was at was broken up.

Man losing a hand like that in the WSOP Main Event would just haunt me for years.

Chris

The Sun Rose This Morning After All

2008-09-04T07:42:00.002-05:00

Yes the last three days of Brewers baseball were painful but it is not the end of the world. The Brewers could have easily taken 2 of 3 games in this series. And as bad as Dave Bush's first inning was he did settle down and pitch 4 more scoreless innings. I would be more worried if the first two games had not been pissed away by the Crew, if the Mets win them in blow outs to get this sweep then I am on the ledge.

But when you lose 3 games in a row and give up only one game to the teams chasing you and lose no ground to the team you are chasing it shows you that yes, "Every Dark Cloud has a silver lining" These last 3 days could have been a lot worse.

Once again this leading the wild card while chasing the division makes you see things in two different lights.

I mean I totally understand how Cubs fans feel right now "Yes we are in a rough streak but at least our lead is still 4.5 games"

I can also totally understand how Phillies and Cards fans feel "Damn it the team we are chasing loses three games in a row and we only pick up one game"

This is Baseball Bizarro world that we Brewers fans are living in.

Ok not time to panic we will leave that to the Cubs fans they have much more experience at it.

The last time this happen was in July when the Cubs over stayed their welcome at Miller Park and the Brewers responded by going on a tear in the month of August. They now play two bottom dweller teams in San Diego and the Reds they could easily go 5 and 2 or 6 and 1 on the rest of this home stand which would take the sting out of being swept by the Mets.

This team has to respond and do it now the Cubs are trying to give us the division and Houston has now become a distant player in the Wild Card race with their 8 game winning streak. I told you I was glad we were done playing them.

The Brewers have to be monsters the rest of this trip because it is followed by 4 games in Philly and 3 in the Dump in Chicago.

Ok time to look forward Tonight's game info
Suppan vs. Estes at nice and dry Miller Park

First pitch is at 7:05pm CDT

TV: FSN-HD | RADIO: WTMJ 620/BRN

No better way to wash the bad taste out of your mouth of getting swept than to take it out on a last place team. That is what good teams do. Time for the Brewers to prove they are a good team.

The Cubs play the Reds and the Cards play the Marlins Phillies are off before opening a series with the Mets and Houston Houston is off before starting a series with the Rockies.

so a win tonight would be a wonderful tonic for a lot of frayed Brewers fan nerves.

Lets see if Suppan can keep his ball rolling this is supposed to be the time he shines in September

Time for the Bats to step up the 3,4,5 and 6 spots need to start getting it done.

Magic number is now 19 and the unlikely run to 100 wins stands at, well I am not going to bother with that any more lol.

Lets win a game baby,

Hurray Beer
Chris

What Football Games Can You See?

2008-09-03T16:37:00.001-05:00

This website is awesome.

(H/T, Outsiders)

Bill Hall: The NL's Worst Non-Pittsburgh 3rd Baseman

2008-09-03T16:05:00.002-05:00

NL Third Basemen By VORP (Min 100 PAs)

1. Chipper Jones – 62.1
2. David Wright – 48.9
3. Aramis Ramirez – 34.7
4. Troy Glaus – 30.3
5. Ty Wiggington – 28.6
6. Jorge Cantu – 22.3
7. Ian Stewart – 18.7
8. Edwin Encarnacion – 18.3
9. Mark Reynolds – 17.2
10. Garrett Atkins – 17.2
11. Omar Infante – 15.8
12. Kevin Kouzmanoff – 14.3
13. Russell Branyan – 11.0
14. Ryan Zimmerman – 10.9
15. Casey Blake – 6.6
16. Blake Dewitt – 2.9
17. Jose Bautista – 2.9
18. Pedro Feliz - .8
19. Geoff Blum - .2
20. Wes Helms – (-3.3)
21. Bill Hall – (-4.2)
22. Jose Castillo – (-5.5)

Billy's been worse than your typical scrub off the street. He's cost the Brewers roughly a half a win. I mean, how can you be worse at hitting than Wes Helms? How?

Bill Hall is the Eric Gagne of offense.

Open Thread of Avoiding Embarassment

2008-09-03T10:46:00.002-05:00

Holy shit, it's Mike Rivera!

2B Rickie Weeks
SS J.J. Hardy
CF Gabe Kapler
LF Ryan Braun
RF Corey Hart
1B Mike Rivera
3B Bill Hall
C Jason Kendall
RHP Dave Bush

I'm kind of stunned. I like it though...

Game starts in about 2 hours, hopefully Milwaukee can save some face today. Oliver Perez is a freaking enigma that has pretty well shut the Brewers down, including Braun who has been baffled in 6 at-bats, scratching out a lowly single against the lefty.

Go Crew!

Badger Basketball Schedule announced

2008-09-03T10:24:00.000-05:00

Wisconsin released its basketball schedule for the 2008/09 season

You can see it here in PDF form

On Wisconsin
Chris

The City of Green Bay wants their Taste.

2008-09-03T09:43:00.003-05:00

"The Green Bay City Council has approved an ordinance requiring scalpers to buy a permit to sell tickets outside Lambeau Field."

It will now cost scalpers $800.00 to get a permit to sell/scalp tickets in the designated area by Lambeau Field

You have to love local politicians they see someone else making money and the first thing they think "How can we get a taste of this?"

I am sorry what exactly did the City of Green Bay do to earn this money what services did they provide?

There was a TV show called Wiseguy and in the season finale of the first season, one of the Mob bosses explains to the main character who he now knows is a FBI undercover agent. "the reason the Government goes after the mob has nothing to do with fighting crime it is the fact the Mob is not giving the government a "taste" ie paying taxes on their profits.

That line has always stuck with me scalping tickets for sporting events is what it is I have bought and sold tickets through brokers hell didn't MLB create Stub Hub?

Once again why should the City of Green Bay get a taste for doing nothing.

One final question isn't the area where you can "legally" scalp tickets in Ashwaubenon anyway? How can the City of Green Bay require you to have a permit to sell your tickets in another city?

So do you need the permit to scalp your ticket on Ebay or Stub Hub or through a Broker?

Everyone wants to wet their beak

Chris

Pissing away games

2008-09-03T09:02:00.002-05:00

Another wasted chance last night at Miller Park, the game was lost in the first inning when the Brewers had the young Mets pitcher on the ropes. A lead off home run is followed by back to back walks so two on no outs one run already in looking good right.

Prince grounds out to the right side advances both runners ok productive out but then Corey Hart and Mike Cameron both strike out and the Brewers get no more runs. They had a chance to blow the game open in that first inning and let the kid off wiggle off the hook.

Then they make it worse by giving the Mets not one but two unearned runs.

It was a rough hot night at Miller Park last night it is so frustrating watching this team play they can be oh so good but at times they can drive you nuts.

Just when I was starting to climb on the "Bring Back Cameron" bandwagon but now I am once again unsure. He has looked terrible in this series, he is 0 for the series and managed to strike out 3 times yesterday and leave 6 runners on base. You couple that with Prince having a bad night(0-4 5 LOB) you can understand how the Brewers left 22 runners on base.

What is the most frustrating about this series is the Mets are not a better team than the Crew they are just not making the mistakes the Crew are making. You could handle getting beat a little better if it was a 5-0 or 7-2 ass whooping but when you keep pissing away games through bad pitching(looking at you GAGne) or errors in the field. The Brewers could easily be 2.5 games behind the Cubs right now if they could get their collective heads out of their asses.

I cannot believe Yost went right back to the GAGne option last night it did not cost them anything but to go right back to the fuck after he pissed away a game the day before.

I will admit I am worried no strike that I am nervous about this final month the Brewers need to extend their lead over the Phillies before they go in there for 4 games I know a lot of people around Wisconsin and in the national media are declaring the Brewers the WC Division winners and the Cubs the NL Central winners.

I am sorry I do not think either one of those are written in stone. The Cubs are riding a 4 game losing streak even though they are playing at their beloved dump and the Brewers are finding ways to lose so do not go buying your playoff tickets yet.

Now the Brewers could win today and run off a nice winning steak with the Padres and Reds coming to town. So short term things should start looking up.

Some things that did give me hope Weeks is starting to heat up at the plate finally, Mota has looked a lot better lately. You couple that with the Cubs finally hitting a rough patch at home. You know if the Brewers can pull with in a game or 2 of the Cubs the pressure on our friends to the South will be crushing. The Cubs and their fans are fighting a lot of bad Ju Ju from their past so I do not think it will take much pressure to make the crack.

Ok enough about yesterday moving forward.

The Brewers have not lost 3 games in a row since that ugly week in July. I am hopeful that Dave Bush can keep his run going and join the rest of the Starters with having 10 wins.

Like I said earlier the Brewers could win today and run off 8 in a row with their next two opponents. I am not panicking plus that was the last game I will be attending at Miller park this season so the Brewers should be fine.

Today's game info
Bush vs. Perez at Miller Park

First pitch is at 1:05pm CDT DAY GAME ALERT

RADIO: WTMJ 620, ESPN Deportes 1510 No TV in Wisconsin For those of you with MLBTV the game will be on in NYC so people outside of Wisconsin will be able to watch the game.

Bush has to get it done today, the pen got a work out last night Ned used Mota 2 innings and Torres 2 innings so I am guessing both are not available today. A nice 7 to 8 inning performance by Bush would be great

The Bats need to pick it up and start getting it done yes they scored 5 yesterday but they could have easily gotten 8 to 10 runs last night.

They need this game in a bad way just to right the ship and avoid the sweep.

Lets get it done

Hurray Beer
Chris

Open Thread of Into the Unknown

2008-09-02T16:20:00.002-05:00

2B Rickie Weeks
SS J.J. Hardy
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
CF Mike Cameron
3B Bill Hall
C Jason Kendall
LHP Manny Parra

The Brewers face the kind of pitcher they hate. An unknown. John Niese is the best arm in the Mets organization (they traded everything else for Santana), and they are throwing him into the fire tonight. (It's nice of the Brewers to offer the 7-8-9 spots as reprieve).

He's got decent velocity and gets a lot of ground balls. I don't like this one bit. Hopefully a large Milwaukee crowd can show up and rattle him. If they could get into Santana's head and induce a balk (I'm in a generous mood) then hopefully they can really shake Niese.

Yo: Savior

2008-09-02T15:27:00.005-05:00

Tom H provides some useful info; Yovanni Gallardo is about to throw a simulated game.

This is great news, and if they can get Yo ready to go, they should put him in the pen for the playoffs. I cannot understate how much better this would make the Brewers (assuming he's the same old Yo).

The playoffs truly are a different animal than the regular season. This is covered in depth in BP's book, Baseball Between The Numbers in the chapter entitled: Why Doesn't Billy Beane's Shit Work In The Playoffs?"

in short, the reason is as follows. Playoff teams all have (in general) good offenses. There are fewer easy outs in any given playoff game. This means that balls put into play will turn into hits (and HRs) more frequently than in the regular season. As a result, strikeout pitchers excel in the offseason, whereas those that pitch to contact tend to struggle compared to the regular season. BP has developed a fun little stat to predict postseason success called "Secret Sauce" which aggregates strength of defense, strikeout rate, and closer). It tends to work quite well. I should also point out that in the playoffs, managers tend to make more optimal use of their closers (think of Mariano Rivera, or Keith Foulke recording multiple inning saves).

Anyway, of the 8 playoff bound teams (as of right now) the Brewers rank 6th (lower is better):

1. Boston - 16
2. Anaheim - 17
3. Chicago Cubs - 17
4. Tampa Bay - 26
5. Chicago White Sox - 33
6. Milwaukee - 37
7. Arizona - 40
8. New York Mets - 40

Papelbon, K-Rod, Marmol and Wood. The Brewers currently have nothing to compete with that...unless Yo can make it back. Yo was the staff ace until he got hurt. He's a strikeout monster with great command. 1.250 WHIP (1.269 last year), 1.80 ERA (3.67 last year), a career 114/43 K/BB ratio (basically 3/1).

Yo is exactly what you need in the playoffs. If he can recover enough to be in the bullpen for high leverage situations, the Brewers chances will improve drastically. Starting rotations are not the only part of the pitching staff that shortens up in the playoffs. Bullpens do to.

I'll go into battle with Gallardo, Torres, and Shouse as a LOOGY any day of the week.

Wisconsin at 11 in both polls

2008-09-02T14:05:00.004-05:00

For what polls this early in the season are worth aside. The Badgers are ranked number 11 in both the AP and the Coaches poll.

I guess you have to wade through this Non Conference shat so you have a chance in the polls when we get to the Big Ten Season.

I personally would love to see them wait till the start of Conference play to start doing the polls but we know that will never happen

The System is what it is so I will roll with it.

On Wisconsin

as of this writing Marquette's football team is not ranked in the top 25

Chris

Beware The Smelley Gamecocks

2008-09-02T14:05:00.001-05:00

Details here.

Brewer Relievers By VORP

2008-09-02T13:43:00.002-05:00

Solomon Torres: 20.2
Brian Shouse: 13.7
Seth McClung: 11.3
Carlos Villanueva: 11.2
Mitch Stetter: 7.5
Guillermo Mota: 4.9
David Riske: 4.7

Eric Gagne: -4.5

An Interesting Note About A Washout Receiver

2008-09-02T10:44:00.003-05:00

It is a widely held belief that last year the New England Patriots managed to acquire Randy Moss for a song, and that the Packers should have made the move to get him and were out-maneuvered by the crafty Pats.

However, did you know...

Compounding the error is the fact that Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli moved up in round two to get [Chad] Jackson, giving up a second-round pick and a third-rounder to land Jackson.

The picks went to the Packers. And though the Pats deserve credit for not clinging to a mistake in order to avoid admitting that a mistake had been made, the Packers drafted with that second-round pick from the Patriots a receiver named Greg Jennings.

Maybe you’ve heard of him. One thing that’s looking likely at this point is that you won’t be hearing much of anything from Chad Jackson in 2008, or ever.

I am slowly learning how this playoff run stuff works

2008-09-02T09:40:00.002-05:00

I was getting ready to lose my mind yesterday after GAGne returned and pissed away a lead late. Then I realized hey no blood no foul the Cubs Cards and Phillies all lost. Yes the Crew wasted a chance to pull within 3.5 games of the Cubs but they lost no ground to Cards and Phillies in the WC Division.

The Brewers are in a weird place they are playing the role of the fox being chased in the WC race but they are also a hound trying to run down the fox that is the Cubs.

Can one of you math guys let us know what the Brewers magic number is to lock up the Wild Card?

A quick look back at yesterdays wasted opportunity,

First once again Ben Sheets comes up lame when the Crew needs him, I am still trying to figure out why they pulled him if he worked through it in the third and said he was feeling alright when they yanked him. That game is a prime example why I would not resign Sheets in the off season. As usual we get to crunch time and Ben has a boo boo. I said it in the comments it reminded me of Rodney Dangerfield in Caddy Shack saying him arm was broke when the pressure got to him. What good is having a pitcher of Sheets caliber if he cannot answer the bell when you need him.

Riskie and Gagne must be banished to the back of the pen again. Riskie has been awful since he came back and Gagne is just a suck hole even when he is not grooving home run balls he has the worst luck out there with balls just finding holes.

I fear our pen is going to either keep us out of the playoffs or cost us a playoff series. The reason the pen has looked so good is the starting pitchers are going deep and allowing us to not use the pen much. But what can you do when Sheets comes up lame again you have to use the pen more than you would like.

Now lets not give the bats a pass yes they were going up against Santana but when Braun lead off the 8th with a double it was not Santana. And Prince Corey and Cameron could not even get him to third let alone drive in a run. They do that too often get a guy on with no outs and not advance him even 90'.

So the drive to 100 wins takes another hit they are now 7-2 on this drive and both losses have been 8th inning collapses by the pen. They could easily be 9-0 if our pen was not so unstable.

I am going to game tonight(don't worry I will leave before it is over if it is close) Brewers still have a good chance to take this series and who knows they win the next two they might be with in 2.5 of the Cubs. I said it before I am so glad we are done playing Houston they are hotter than hell right now and I would not be surprised if they give the Cubs fits over the next two games.

Can you imagine our friends to the south if they go on a 5 game losing streak lol

All the Pressure is on the Cubs at this point.

So lets shrug off yesterdays game and move forward.

Today's game info
Parra vs. Niese at no shadows tonight Miller Park

First pitch is at 7:05pm CDT

TV: FSN | RADIO: WTMJ 620/BRN

Last time the Crew lost a game they bounced back and won the next 3 games so I will take that again 3 out of every 4 the rest of the way will get it done.

It would nice to see Parra have a 7 inning or longer outing just to avoid the pen it would also be nice to see the Crew beat up on a guy making his MLB debut.

It is simple keep winning and good things will happen

Lets even this series up

Hurray Beer
Chris

First Day of School First Day of School

2008-09-02T09:38:00.002-05:00

A huge day in my house Boy number 2 went off to kindergarten today.

And their was just much rejoicing

Chris

Packers Cut Punter Jon Ryan

2008-09-01T15:50:00.002-05:00

Weird.

The Packers have signed punter Derrick Frost and long snapper Brett Goode. They have released punter Jon Ryan and Abdul Hodge.
Ted Thompson, who wasn't scheduled to speak today, will address reporters after practice before coach Mike McCarthy speaks.
Not only do the Packers have a week to get Goode acclimated -- that was known after J.J. Jansen was placed on injured reserve -- but now they have get a new punter/field goal holder ready as well.
Ryan's release is surprising. Among active punters with at least two years service, Ryan is third in the league with a 44.5 average. He trails just Shane Lechler (46.5) and Mat McBriar (44.7) in that state. Frost has a 41.1.

It would seem that Ryan is the superior punter to Frost. I'm curious to see if there is a back story here or if the Packers just prefer directional punters to boomers.

Better Late Than Never Open Thread vs. Mets

2008-09-01T14:20:00.002-05:00

Better late than never open thread. No surprises in the lineup today.

1-0 Crew in the top of the 6th at the time of the post.

2B Rickie Weeks
SS JJ Hardy
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
CF Mike Cameron
3B Bill Hall
C Jason Kendall
P Ben Sheets

Darth Vader?

2008-09-01T10:37:00.002-05:00

Does anyone know why there is a picture of Darth Vader on the Brewers schedule for the opening game of the 3 game series in Chicago?

I go away for a weekend and look what happens

2008-09-01T09:31:00.002-05:00

The bar practically shuts down bunch of lazy bums ;)

I did not watch or listen to a game Friday or Saturday being out at the Trailer(Damn you Sirius XM) but I did catch the scores on my phone when I went into town.

It sounds like Fridays game was a real nail biter but they got it done. How about that the Crew goes into the PNC House of Horrors and gets a sweep and a no hitter(I am declaring it a no hitter in this bar at least Fuck Bob Webb)

They also gain three games on the Cards so much for CV waking up a sleeping giant and they actually gained 2 games on the Cubs(Should have been 2.5 games Philly blew a game Thursday)

Quick aside last night the ESPN talking head who hosted Baseball Tonight declared that the only division that was settled in the NL was the Central. How can you call a 4.5 game lead with 26 beatable hell if that is the case I give you the Milwaukee Brewers the NL Wild Card Team. Hell the Brewers lead over the Phillies and Cards is larger than 4.5 games. Here is an idea ESPN lets play the month of September then declare winners and losers

But enough of that I have faith the Brewers will do what needs to be done to get into the playoffs be it the WC or the Division

Before we move forward lets take a moment and look at what they did in August.

I wrote on August 1st
"It is simple by the end of August we should have a good idea if we need to print playoff tickets or start thinking about making wholesale changes to this team."

Well they went 20 and 7 in August and the Brewers are very close to printing playoff tickets.(no I am not buying the shitty ones they offered me in case you are wondering)

August was a month where the Crew TCB on a level we have not seen here in a quite a awhile they took bad teams to the wood shed one after the other. This has to be one of the best months of Brewers baseball in the history of the team.

Ok enough looking back there is work to be done starting today.

They start a three game series with the Mets which could be a playoff preview. And damn if they are not starting the series off with a bang.

Today's game info
Sheets vs. Santana at nicer than Shea Stadium Miller Park

First pitch is at 1:05pm CDT

TV: FSN | RADIO: WTMJ 620, ESPN Deportes 1510/BRN

Well what more could the Sheets is an Ace camp want. Sheets goes up against Santana in what is a huge game for both teams. The Brewers have already beaten Santana once this year early in May at Shea. Plus he is a lefty so the Brewers have that going for them.

Sheets is going to need his best stuff and the key to beating Santana is to take pitches drive up his pitch count so you can get into that weak ass Mets pen.

The Brewers go for win number 81 today remember when that would have been a reason to rejoice lol our little baseball team has come a long way.

They are now 7-1 on the drive to 100 wins. Only 26 games left in the regular season.

Hurray Beer
Chris

A Sports Fatwa decreed on Bob Webb

2008-09-01T09:04:00.002-05:00

I have not done this in a long time but there are few crimes worse than stealing a no hitter especially when you steal it from our team.

I either want Bob Webb dead or living in hiding like Salman Rushdie 10 cases of Leinies for the man who hunts Webb down make it really painful and I will throw in an hour with the midget girl who works at the Moonlight Bunny Ranch ;)

I was listening to the game on the ride down and Jim and Uke were besides themselves then I got home and actually saw the video and understood why. As Yost said Webb called it a hit before the LaRoche was even to the bag.

I will tell you what it was a official score keeper for a shitty team was trying to protect his club. I know it was only the 5th inning but Jim Powell had been alluding to the the fact there were no hits in the 3rd and 4th inning. The Pirates suck ass and Bob Webb knew there was a chance a pitcher of CC Sabathia caliber could no hit them so he was looking for any excuse to put a hit on the board. And he turned an obvious error into a bullshit hit.

I am sorry I will not see this as tainted if MLB over rules the call as they should I will celebrate this no hitter just like if the idiot Bob Webb had gotten the call right the first time. It was not CC's fault that a homer scorekeeper tried to screw him over.

So you have your mission boys get the job done.

Brewers Akbar
Chris

Open Thread of Same Ol' Same Ol'

2008-08-30T17:15:00.001-05:00

Same lineup as yesterday. I just got done with a 3 hour fantasy football draft so I need some AFK time. I'll be back before the night is through...soldier on without me.

2B Rickie Weeks
SS J.J. Hardy
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
CF Mike Cameron
3B Bill Hall
C Jason Kendall
RHP Jeff Suppan

Open Thread: Badger Blowout

2008-08-30T11:06:00.000-05:00

The Zips have zip. Zilch. Nada.

So far it's a steady dose of PJ Hill.

I assume you all can watch, since you all have the Big Ten Network now. I'm fairly sure there is no HD broadcast today unfortunately. That 's OK. A few beers and it looks great.

Open Thread of WHY WON'T THE CUBS LOSE!

2008-08-29T17:45:00.000-05:00

Gah. F'in Cubs and their f'in day games. I have to sit and watch those damn things and they refuse to lose. Screw you Chicago.

Luckily, the Brewers are facing Tom Gorzelanny...whom they mash.

2B Rickie Weeks
SS J.J. Hardy
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
RF Corey Hart
CF Mike Cameron
3B Bill Hall
C Jason Kendall
RHP Dave Bush

Why Weeks is in there I have no idea. He has been completely shut down by Gorzelanny over his career. Oh well, gotta play the righties.

What's next, Brett Quatre?

2008-08-29T11:42:00.002-05:00

So Chad Johnson just legally changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco, which is both hilarious and insane, as you would expect from Chad John..Ocho Cinco.

I think this creates a bit of a problem for the NFL, as I can definitely see some enterprising company paying an athlete to change their name.

Chad Goodyear
Antonio Budlight
Phil Google
Tony Roma
Peyton Pepsi-Manning
Tom Coke-Brady
Shaun Apple

This could be fun.

Flynn's Gotta Be #2

2008-08-28T21:17:00.001-05:00

I'm impressed.