It is 3:04 a.m. in the island nation of Vanuatu. I'm awake writing this blog because I can't sleep. I can't sleep because I have butterflies in my stomach. I have butterflies in my stomach because in two hours the Milwaukee Brewers will be playing their first playoff game since Oct.20 1982. On October 21, 1982, the Brewers went home from St. Louis losers of their only World Series. Many miles away in Oakland, California, on that same day, I turned 1 year old. Being three years away from being moved to Wisconsin, I was not yet a Brewer fan. So forgive me for not watching any of these games.
So here I am 26 years later, on the island of Efate, in the capital city Port Vila, Southern Hemisphere, far far away from Milwaukee yet again. Apparently if Milwaukee is to get anywhere near the post-season, I have to live in a different time zone. Which is pretty damn unfair as much as I love the Brewers. Fortunately for me there is a new take Away Restaurant near my house that has an outside TV, that they leave on all night for their security guards. This establishment has agreed to leave on Fox Sports 3, an Australian sport channel that amazingly will be playing all playoff games LIVE as well as replays at night.
As a Brewer fan who watched religiously through the rough years, I just want to give a moments notice and a moment of silence for Ned Yost...
I know he caught a lot of hell from fans over the past two years. But I remember when he and Doug Melvin came in and turned around the culture of suck-city. Where the rest of the NL just came into Milwaukee for an easy 3 day holiday every time they had to play us. They'd beat the crap out of us and laugh at the pitiful defense, poor pitching, and shitty strikeout prone offense. When Ned came in he didn't have immediate success, but he did have an immediate effect on the team. the garbage was cut loose (Jeffrey Hammonds, Ruben Quevedo, Alex Sanchez) and players that worked hard and gave their all for every minute of every game, were given a chance to play (Brady Clark, Scott Podsednick). I remember Ned saying when he joined the Brewers that he remembered how great a city Milwaukee was when he was with the Brewers in the playoffs, and all he wanted to do was bring that feeling back to the people of Milwaukee. Now, after working tirelessly for what? 5 years? He has to sit at home watching as the Brewers celebrate and begin they're first playoff series in over a quarter century. Ned, I feel sorry for you, and if I ever see you someplace I'll buy you a beer, and tell you thanks for getting us here. We'll never know if the Brewers would've made it to the post season had you not been fired. Maybe they would've turned it around just in time to salvage their season, just like they did under Svuem. Or maybe they would've caved in and missed the playoffs, in which case you certainly would've been let go anyway. We'll never know that now, and I'm sorry you don't get to be there to see this project you started through to the end. But just know, that there are fans out there who are aware that this would've never happened if you hadn't joined us 5 years ago. So Ned, Thanks for all your hard work and good luck in the future.
A few words on the Cubs, and Cubs fans.
As long as I've been a Brewers fan I've been resentful (and quietly envious) of the Cubs and having to live in the shadow of their city. While the lovable losers of the North side of Chicago drew fans from all over the country on WGN, the just plain-losers of Milwaukee aired maybe 5 games a year on the local TV networks. Growing up without cable, I got to watch the Cubs more often then the Brewers, and this only made me hate 'em more. The fact that it was this trendy thing to do, and there were all these people living in Wisconsin, who apparently LOVED the Cubs but couldn't care less about the Brewers. The only reason the Brewers mattered at all to these people was that they provided a cheap alternative place to watch the Cubs every season. So as FIB's do, they'd drive up to Milwaukee on I-90/I-94 like they owned the road, take over our home field, call it Wrigley North, and then drive home drunk and reckless, celebrating the Cubs inevitable victory in Milwaukee. So this year it felt especially humiliating to see the Cubs sweep the Brewers at home over 4 games and then adding insult to injury, celebrate a no-hitter on our field while the Brewers were getting swept...over four games in Philly. Thanks Bud Selig and MLB for officially making Miller Park into Wrigley North.
As a small disclaimer I have to say that over the years I've met a number of Cubs fans that have become good, important friends to me. I was amazed to find out that they actually had real fans, that knew baseball, respected the game, and weren't assholes. According to these three: Carl Johnson (Racine, WI), Joe Engel (Kenosha, WI), and Seth Dallman (all over); according to them, there actually is a whole fan base of Chicago fans that are similar, it just so happens that those other Cubs fans outnumber and drown out the real fans.
So anyway, because of these guys, my animosity towards Cubs fans has decreased in general (it's just the ones who come to Miller Park, talk shit about Milwaukee (not the Brewers mind you, but Milwaukee, and its' people), that still get me real mad)...Let me tell you a secret though. A secret that may be in the heart of every Brewers fan...
I say all of this because I'm scared.
As a Brewer fan, I'm already satisfied. I know you're not supposed to say this but I'm just happy they made the playoffs, that's enough for me. Especially since I'm not there to see it. But I have this horrible dread that the Brewers and the Cubs are going to advance to the NLCS, and the Cubs fans will yet again take over Miller Park, and simply embarrass us in "Wrigley North," going on to win the World Series, forever condemning us to our traditional place of inconsequential laughing stocks. The other side of this masochistic fantasy, is that somehow, the Brewers will pull an amazing upset in remarkable comeback fashion and stun the Cubs in historic fashion, then go on to do the same to the South side in a White Sox- Brewers Word Series. If they were able to pull this off, it would spoil the Cubs 100 year anniversary party (that apparently entitles them to the World Series this year), and forever end the Brewers life in the Cubs shadow, simply by defeating the Cubs in the NLCS, the Brewers would become legendary as the team that beat the Cubs, the year they were destined to win it all.
I'll end this blog entry with a few shout-outs. First to Bill Hall and Rickie Weeks. Bill Hall became my favorite player when he came up as a September call-up in 2003. With a flair for the dramatic, game winning hit, and a willingness to play anywhere, and do anything for the team, he made me a fan. Here's hoping Svuem doesn't forget that ability in the playoffs. Rickie has had a shitty year, a lot like last year actually. He hasn't put it together and it's becoming less clear if he ever will. That said, numbers don't tell the whole story and I agreed with Yost when he said that despite the .230 avg Rickie always seemed to find a way to get on base and score important runs. Good Luck in the playoffs Rickie, I hope you can pull it together in the clutch and redeem your season and standing with the team.
Second, I gotta give a shout out to Ben Sheets.
So here I am 26 years later, on the island of Efate, in the capital city Port Vila, Southern Hemisphere, far far away from Milwaukee yet again. Apparently if Milwaukee is to get anywhere near the post-season, I have to live in a different time zone. Which is pretty damn unfair as much as I love the Brewers. Fortunately for me there is a new take Away Restaurant near my house that has an outside TV, that they leave on all night for their security guards. This establishment has agreed to leave on Fox Sports 3, an Australian sport channel that amazingly will be playing all playoff games LIVE as well as replays at night.
As a Brewer fan who watched religiously through the rough years, I just want to give a moments notice and a moment of silence for Ned Yost...
I know he caught a lot of hell from fans over the past two years. But I remember when he and Doug Melvin came in and turned around the culture of suck-city. Where the rest of the NL just came into Milwaukee for an easy 3 day holiday every time they had to play us. They'd beat the crap out of us and laugh at the pitiful defense, poor pitching, and shitty strikeout prone offense. When Ned came in he didn't have immediate success, but he did have an immediate effect on the team. the garbage was cut loose (Jeffrey Hammonds, Ruben Quevedo, Alex Sanchez) and players that worked hard and gave their all for every minute of every game, were given a chance to play (Brady Clark, Scott Podsednick). I remember Ned saying when he joined the Brewers that he remembered how great a city Milwaukee was when he was with the Brewers in the playoffs, and all he wanted to do was bring that feeling back to the people of Milwaukee. Now, after working tirelessly for what? 5 years? He has to sit at home watching as the Brewers celebrate and begin they're first playoff series in over a quarter century. Ned, I feel sorry for you, and if I ever see you someplace I'll buy you a beer, and tell you thanks for getting us here. We'll never know if the Brewers would've made it to the post season had you not been fired. Maybe they would've turned it around just in time to salvage their season, just like they did under Svuem. Or maybe they would've caved in and missed the playoffs, in which case you certainly would've been let go anyway. We'll never know that now, and I'm sorry you don't get to be there to see this project you started through to the end. But just know, that there are fans out there who are aware that this would've never happened if you hadn't joined us 5 years ago. So Ned, Thanks for all your hard work and good luck in the future.
A few words on the Cubs, and Cubs fans.
As long as I've been a Brewers fan I've been resentful (and quietly envious) of the Cubs and having to live in the shadow of their city. While the lovable losers of the North side of Chicago drew fans from all over the country on WGN, the just plain-losers of Milwaukee aired maybe 5 games a year on the local TV networks. Growing up without cable, I got to watch the Cubs more often then the Brewers, and this only made me hate 'em more. The fact that it was this trendy thing to do, and there were all these people living in Wisconsin, who apparently LOVED the Cubs but couldn't care less about the Brewers. The only reason the Brewers mattered at all to these people was that they provided a cheap alternative place to watch the Cubs every season. So as FIB's do, they'd drive up to Milwaukee on I-90/I-94 like they owned the road, take over our home field, call it Wrigley North, and then drive home drunk and reckless, celebrating the Cubs inevitable victory in Milwaukee. So this year it felt especially humiliating to see the Cubs sweep the Brewers at home over 4 games and then adding insult to injury, celebrate a no-hitter on our field while the Brewers were getting swept...over four games in Philly. Thanks Bud Selig and MLB for officially making Miller Park into Wrigley North.
As a small disclaimer I have to say that over the years I've met a number of Cubs fans that have become good, important friends to me. I was amazed to find out that they actually had real fans, that knew baseball, respected the game, and weren't assholes. According to these three: Carl Johnson (Racine, WI), Joe Engel (Kenosha, WI), and Seth Dallman (all over); according to them, there actually is a whole fan base of Chicago fans that are similar, it just so happens that those other Cubs fans outnumber and drown out the real fans.
So anyway, because of these guys, my animosity towards Cubs fans has decreased in general (it's just the ones who come to Miller Park, talk shit about Milwaukee (not the Brewers mind you, but Milwaukee, and its' people), that still get me real mad)...Let me tell you a secret though. A secret that may be in the heart of every Brewers fan...
I say all of this because I'm scared.
As a Brewer fan, I'm already satisfied. I know you're not supposed to say this but I'm just happy they made the playoffs, that's enough for me. Especially since I'm not there to see it. But I have this horrible dread that the Brewers and the Cubs are going to advance to the NLCS, and the Cubs fans will yet again take over Miller Park, and simply embarrass us in "Wrigley North," going on to win the World Series, forever condemning us to our traditional place of inconsequential laughing stocks. The other side of this masochistic fantasy, is that somehow, the Brewers will pull an amazing upset in remarkable comeback fashion and stun the Cubs in historic fashion, then go on to do the same to the South side in a White Sox- Brewers Word Series. If they were able to pull this off, it would spoil the Cubs 100 year anniversary party (that apparently entitles them to the World Series this year), and forever end the Brewers life in the Cubs shadow, simply by defeating the Cubs in the NLCS, the Brewers would become legendary as the team that beat the Cubs, the year they were destined to win it all.
I'll end this blog entry with a few shout-outs. First to Bill Hall and Rickie Weeks. Bill Hall became my favorite player when he came up as a September call-up in 2003. With a flair for the dramatic, game winning hit, and a willingness to play anywhere, and do anything for the team, he made me a fan. Here's hoping Svuem doesn't forget that ability in the playoffs. Rickie has had a shitty year, a lot like last year actually. He hasn't put it together and it's becoming less clear if he ever will. That said, numbers don't tell the whole story and I agreed with Yost when he said that despite the .230 avg Rickie always seemed to find a way to get on base and score important runs. Good Luck in the playoffs Rickie, I hope you can pull it together in the clutch and redeem your season and standing with the team.
Second, I gotta give a shout out to Ben Sheets.
I know it seems like no one cares about you right now Benny, what with all the (well-deserved) hype around Sabathia. But just like Yost you toiled with us through the lean years, and the injuries are not your fault. i'm sad to see that after all these years with us your arm is dead right as we finally make the playoffs. Rest up buddy, and maybe you can get in the World Series, if we make it that far.Next I gotta go across to the opposing clubhouse in Philly and give a shout out to Goeff Jenkins. After 13 years with us, we sent you away and you finally made the playoffs, sadly you'll be playing against us instead of with us. Congrats nonetheless, you still have a lot of fans in Wisconsin who appreciate the way you played the game while you were here. (a side note, isn't it ironic that Brett Favre the player who defined his team for the last decade+ left the Packers for the Jets, the same year his look-alike Geoff Jenkins, who defined the Brewers for the past decade+ also left Wisconsin for an East Coast team? Does this mean the Jets and the Packers are destined to meet in the playoffs this year? Now that would be a story).
Sticking with the NL East I gotta sey hey to Wes Helms. Once a Brewer, always a Brewer huh? That go ahead solo HR you hit was the most important hit you ever got for Milwaukee, thanks for thinking of us when it mattered.
One more shout out goes to Yovani Gallardo, the 100th Mexican Major Leaguer, coming back as the future face of the franchise, and stepping up to the plate, after two knee-surgeries. Good effort kid, looking forward to seeing you today and for a long time to come.
And finally...A shout out to Lou Piniella and the Cubs. You guys have been the best team in the League all year, what's more your team is exciting, fun to watch, and just plain scary to play against. Thanks however for switching pitchers in that last game of the season until we found one we could hit. We appreciate the help and hope to see you in the NLCS. Though I would be scared to death of losing to you guys, it would be an exciting series to watch.
Peace Out Baseball Fans,
Go BREWERS!!!
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