Brewers Fall 1 Win Short of World Series

All photos of the Brewers' 2018 Postseason run available on Flickr.

Now that I've taken some time to reflect and step back from the season, it was a wild ride and a fantastic season for the Milwaukee Brewers, and I could not be more proud of them. For the team in the smallest media market, who most gave no chance to the entire postseason, to push the Los Angeles Dodgers to a Game 7 in the NLCS, was remarkable. Critics will say that the way Craig Counsell pushed his bullpen the final 6 weeks of the season was what did them in, but at the end of the day we just didn't hit very well in the postseason outside of a couple of games.  The likely NL MVP Christian Yelich was barely a factor after his Game 1 homer, Jesus Aguilar was limited to 2 homeruns in their two blowout wins, and Lorenzo Cain turned it on just a little too late.  The bottom of the order and the historic run of success by our pitching staff carried them to within a few runs of clinching their first ever National League pennant, and to their highest win total in franchise history.

Unlike 2008 and 2011 where we sort of went all in on one season just to taste the playoffs, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic for this team's future.  Outside of Wade Miley and Mike Moustakas, nearly every player will be returning for next year, and quite honestly I wouldn't be surprised if we resigned both of them.  Christian Yelich is just 26 years old and is only going to get better.  Top prospect Keston Hiura has been tearing up the minor leagues and should be our starting 2nd baseman before next summer.  Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff will be moved back to the rotation to give us some depth along with a returning Jimmy Nelson.  Mark Attanasio will likely go into this offseason with pretty much an open checkbook given their performance this year.  Not to mention all of the hardware this team will be getting as a confidence boost - Counsell was named co-Manager of the Year, we have 4 Gold Glove finalists, and I already talked about Yelich's MVP candidacy.  This team is poised to compete for another 3-5 years and it is an exciting time to be a Brewers fan.  I'm sad and disappointed that it's the Dodgers getting pummeled by the Red Sox instead of us, but I already can't wait for Spring Training.

FINAL 2018 STANDINGS:

Brewers 102-67 (including playoffs), NL Central Champions, lost to Dodgers in NLCS

Reds 67-95, -28.5, last in NL Central

Twins 78-84, -13.0, 2nd in AL Central

FINAL 2018 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 16 (+19 worked)

Peter - 24

2018 MLB Postseason

(screenshot courtesy of FS Wisconsin)

The Brewers ended their 7-year postseason drought with a thrilling final week of the season, ripping off 8 straight wins to not only clinch a playoff spot on Wednesday in St. Louis - the same place they were eliminated from the playoffs last year - but also to pass the Cubs for the NL Central Crown in a thrilling Game 163 yesterday.  I must say, even though I'm ecstatic that we get to pass up the Wild Card coin flip and rest our bullpen, objectively speaking I think the division tiebreaker games are stupid.  The Cubs and Dodgers should have just won their respective divisions based on head-to-head matchups and been done with it.  Literally no other sport does this.  Can you imagine if the Packers and Vikings were tied at the end of the year and they had to extend the season a week to play another game?  As I said, I'm not complaining, and it is a lot easier to take since the Brewers don't really have a true "ace" that they wasted.  Jhoulys Chacin had a hell of a year and was our best starter by far, but our bullpen is the star of the pitching staff and will be for however long we go in the playoffs.  The Brewers just need to go 11-8 in the month of October to secure their first World Series championship ever, and I couldn't be more thrilled to attend Game 1 of the NLDS on Thursday.  Whereas in 2008 I think Brewer Nation was just happy to be there, and in 2011 we ran out of gas in the NLCS, I legitimately think this team has a chance to at least win the pennant, and it is only the first in what should be several playoff years to come.

Elsewhere around baseball, only really the National League was exciting this year.  It seemed like all of the AL races were locked up by the all-star break, with the exception of Oakland getting hot and sneaking into the 2nd wild card spot.  The fact that a team with the lowest payroll in the league got 96 wins in the stacked American League is just another feather in the cap of Billy Beane.  The NL West, East, and even the Central were pretty competitive most of the year.  The Nationals managed to disappoint yet again and crush many preseason World Series predictions, my own included.  There were a lot of tearful goodbyes in the final week of the season, including Joe Mauer, Bryce Harper, Adrian Beltre, and most notably David Wright, who played his first and final game on Saturday for the first time in over 2 years due to spinal stenosis.  Yadier Molina is also 36 years old now, and if his career ended by watching a loss from the bench that secured 3 straight years missing the postseason, I would be more than fine with that.

On the ballpark side of things (which is why you're all here), I only made it to 21 games this year.  It's my lowest total since I started keeping track, which was the year I graduated from college in 2004.  Sadly my wall of stubs at work is not as long as I'm accustomed, but considering I have been helping keep an infant alive this year, I still think it's an impressive number.  Molly has already been to 7 games and 2 ballparks before her first birthday and I'm excited to teach her more about the game as she gets older.  I did manage to get to 10 different ballparks this year, including 4 new ones to add to my total.

Onto my yearly preseason and postseason picks - I again went 7 for 10 this year.

PLAYOFFS START 10/2/18
NL Wild Card - #4 Cubs v. #5 Rockies
NLDS - #1 Brewers v. WC Winner
#2 Dodgers v. #3 Braves

AL Wild Card - #4 Yankees v. #5 Athletics
ALDS - #1 Red Sox v. WC Winner
#2 Astros v. #3 Indians

World Series Prediction: Indians defeat Brewers in 7
Rooting for:  Indians v. Brewers

Preseason Predictions
#1 Cubs
#2 Nationals
#3 Dodgers
#4 Brewers
#5 Giants

#1 Yankees

#2 Astros
#3 Indians
#4 Red Sox
#5 Twins

Astros defeat Nationals in 6

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 10.02:

Brewers 96-67, +1.0, NL Central Champions (NLDS v. Wild Card Winner)

Reds 67-95, -28.5, last in NL Central

Twins 78-84, -13.0, 2nd in AL Central

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 16 (+19 worked)

Peter - 22

2019 Affiliate Dance

There are three new ballparks opening in the minor leagues next year - Amarillo TX, Las Vegas, and Fayetteville NC.  Normally new ballparks means parent clubs jockeying for new affiliations, and that will certainly be true in 2019:

• San Antonio Missions moving AA team to new Amarillo ballpark, name and affiliation TBD
• Colorado Springs Sky Sox moving AAA team to San Antonio, retaining the "Missions" name and its Brewers affiliation
• Helena Brewers moving Rookie League team to Colorado Springs, name TBD.  Expected to remain a Brewers affiliate but not confirmed.
• New York Mets purchase Syracuse Chiefs (AAA), moving from Las Vegas
• Oakland A's switch AAA affiliate to new Las Vegas ballpark, moving from Nashville; name TBD
• Houston Astros switch AAA affiliate to Round Rock Express, moving from Fresno
• Texas Rangers switch AAA affiliate to Nashville Sounds, moving from Round Rock
• Washington Nationals switch AAA affiliate to Fresno Grizzlies, moving from Syracuse
• Buies Creek Astros (high-A) moving into new Fayetteville NC ballpark, name TBD

This sort of thing happens every even-numbered year, as typical parent-affiliate contracts are signed in 2 and 4 year cycles.  What is notable to me and the reason I'm writing about this is the surprising signing of the Brewers with San Antonio.  The Round Rock Express are partially owned by Nolan Ryan's family, who is also a special assistant to the Astros.  So, when the Express announced they would not be renewing with the Rangers next season, it was all but a foregone conclusion that the Astros would sign with them and the Rangers would switch to San Antonio.  I don't think anybody including the Brewers were expecting to get into such a great situation in San Antonio.  It's not the best ballpark in the country - almost 25 years old and 8 miles from downtown - but it a fantastic market in one of the largest cities in the country.  It'll be easier for the team to travel, in the same time zone as Milwaukee, and certainly a better situation than the likely alternative of Fresno, which is one of the worst parks in the circuit.  Between the upgrades being made to Wolff Stadium and the talks of a new ballpark, it was enough to sway David Stearns.  It's only a 2-year deal, so if San Antonio has not broken ground on a new park in the next two years, look for the Brewers to push hard to move to the new Wichita stadium in 2020.  Either way it's great to get out of the 6000+ ft altitude of Colorado Springs, at least on the AAA-level.  I'm not too concerned about the results of our Rookie League team being affected by the move.  At that age you're looking more at raw ability than ERA and homeruns allowed.

Hopefully the Brewers can bring the same excitement to the Missions as they did the Sky Sox this year, who narrowly missed a division title by one game on the last day of the season.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 09.19:

Brewers 86-66, -3.5, +2.0 WC #1 (3 v. Reds, 3 @ Pirates, 3 @ Cardinals, 3 v. Tigers)

Reds 65-87, -24.5, eliminated (3 @ Brewers, 4 @ Marlins, 2 v. Royals, 3 v. Pirates)

Twins 70-81, -14.5, eliminated (3 @ Tigers, 3 @ Athletics, 3 v. Tigers, 4 v. White Sox)

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 15 (+17 worked)

Peter - 22

September Call-Ups

With all of the change around baseball since Commissioner Manfred took the reins, and with the looming CBA negotiations only a few years away, it is widely speculated that use of the "September Call-Up" will be changed dramatically, or may even go the way of the dodo.  Our own beloved mustachioed former GM Doug Melvin was one of its most vocal critics for years, arguing that changing the rules of the game in the most important month of the season made no sense.  Adding additional roster players also increases the chances of more in-game substitutions and pitching changes - and thus lengthening the game - something that MLB has tried to stifle at every turn.  Mainly for this reason, I would not be surprised to see MLB teams having to report a roster of a certain size for every game in the near future.  This compromise keeps the tradition of the call-up in tact while leveling the playing field a little bit.

The long standing tradition of calling up minor league players goes back to the implementation of the 40-man roster in 1921.  It serves many purposes, such as rewarding minor league players having a good season, helping to manage the workload of a 162-game schedule, or simply as a way to get a look at young players in high-leverage situations before the following spring.  It also allows teams to add veteran players to a roster for a playoff push, which is why you often see a flurry of waiver claims made on August 31st every year - including the Brewers picking up Curtis Granderson, Gio Gonzalez, and Xavier Cedeño.  All of these things validate the use of the September call-up in my mind.  I understand the counterargument, but if you have a deep farm system you should be allowed to use it, especially when players are dragging 5+ months into a season.  I can't even imagine how the Brewers bullpen would hold together over this month without this rule in place.  Certainly not to be overlooked is the in-game strategy and added excitement for even just the casual fan.  In fact, some of the most exciting players and biggest moments in baseball history were September call-ups.  Randy Johnson pitched only 26 innings as an Expo in September 1988, but it was all the Mariners needed to see to trade for him the following year en route to a Hall of Fame career.  K-Rod was called up in 2002 and went on to win 5 games out of the bullpen during the Angels World Series run.  David Price was called up with only 2 weeks left in the 2008 season and ended up closing out the Rays' Game 7 of the ALCS.  Among the notable call-ups this year, I would expect for Alex Verdugo to get a look for the Dodgers - their top overall prospect - and the Cardinals to call Carson Kelly back up to relieve the aging Yadier Molina down the stretch.  The Blue Jays may even call up Vlad Guerrero Jr., if for anything just to sell tickets.

The Brewers already have 36 of their 40 guys in the clubhouse as of Monday, and I would expect once the Biloxi minor league season is over that number might even expand to the full 40.  They're going to need every one of those players to contribute at some point this month to make it to the finish line.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 09.04:
Brewers 78-61, -4.0, +1.5 WC (3 v. Cubs, 3 v. Giants, 3 @ Cubs, 3 v. Pirates)
Reds 59-79, -22.5, -17.0 WC (3 @ Pirates, 4 v. Padres, 3 v. Dodgers, 3 @ Cubs)
Twins 63-74, -14.0, -19.0 WC (3 @ Astros, 3 v. Royals, 3 v. Yankees, 4 @ Royals)

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 14 (+16 worked)
Peter - 20

Tampa, Oakland Moving in Opposite Directions on New Ballparks

(photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Rays and Tampa Bay Times)

After years of exhaustive negotiations and research, the Rays made a small yet significant step forward to perhaps cementing themselves in the Tampa area by releasing schematic renderings for a new ballpark, which could supposedly open as soon as 2023.  The site that was finally chosen was in the Ybor City area, one of the oldest parts of Tampa that could use the development.  The renderings most notably feature three things: a translucent roof, a ton of streetfront retail, and a nearly $900 million price tag.  It will be no small feat to get those three elements implemented in a neighborhood on the National Historic Register and in a city that is already tapped out on hotel tax money.  What this proposal does represent is that the long-standing dispute between the Rays and the City of St. Petersburg, where Tropicana Field is currently located, may have turned a corner.

While the Rays' most significant hurdle moving forward is probably financing, the Athletics' primary problem is location.  The A's ownership has indicated that wherever the ballpark happens to get built will likely be completely funded by the team and other private investors - if a site ever gets approved altogether by the Oakland, the club, and MLB.  The A's saga has been going on even longer than the Rays, at least as far back as 2006 when the team proposed a new 35,000 seat ballpark, initially in Fremont and later San Jose, which was then dubbed "Cisco Field."  The Giants currently have a minor league team in San Jose and thus claim that area as part of their "territory," so naturally they objected, and this has been making little to no progress since.  Because of MLB's strict territorial rights and because Oakland is, well, Oakland, there are a limited number of areas the team can feasibly look to build a stadium that are both accessible and conducive to growth and profit.  It seems to be down to two sites presently - one in the Port of Oakland or "Howard's Terminal," and another option to build a new ballpark next to the Coliseum, similar to how the Brewers located Miller Park.

Commissioner Manfred has made his interest in expanding MLB to 32 teams very well known, but also that this will not happen until the Oakland and Tampa ballpark crises are both solved.  So, there is a sense of urgency for the A's and Rays that has really never been there before.  The clock is ticking and I suspect that if we don't see any big movement on either situation by the end of the current CBA (which is set to expire in 2021), that the murmurings of relocation will start get louder.  Montreal and Portland, among other cities, have been salivating for this opportunity and both would be prime candidates to land a team, but Manfred will certainly exhaust every option first before even considering that.  Burning bridges in markets like Oakland or Tampa, however small they may be compared to the rest of MLB, would be a bad idea considering the waning popularity the sport already has.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 08.20:
Brewers 69-57, -3.5, -- WC (3 v. Reds, 3 v. Pirates, 3 @ Reds, 3 @ Nationals)
Reds 55-69, -16.5, -13.0 WC (3 @ Brewers, 4 @ Cubs, 3 v. Brewers, 3 @ Cardinals)
Twins 59-64, -12.0, -14.5 WC (1 v. White Sox, 2 @ White Sox, 4 v. Athletics, 3 @ Indians, 3 @ Rangers)

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 12 (+16 worked)
Peter - 20

Franklin, Wisconsin Name the Team

(photo courtesy of JSOnline)

Lost in the news shuffle with all the new ballparks and team rebrandings has been that an independent league team will be starting up in less than a year in the Milwaukee area, in a brand new ballpark only 20 minutes from where I grew up.  A few months ago the 5 finalists for the "Name the Team" contest were announced, and as is par for the course these days, they are all absurd:

• Barn Owls
• Crop Dusters
• Haymakers
• Milk Men
• War Pigs

The names go along not only with what one would associate with this part of the country, but also the ballpark which is supposed to be designed in a "farm aesthetic," whatever that means.  Some of the more stereotypically Wisconsin options have thankfully been eliminated, including Bovine, Cheesers, and Cow Tippers.  Team Naming Rule of Thumb #1: if your spell check alerts you that something is not a word, it should never have been an option (seriously WTF is a "Cheeser"?  That sounds like a fetish).  I've found in the past that I tend to be overly dramatic about the name that gets chosen in these sorts of contest.  The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and the Akron RubberDucks are two that immediately spring to mind.  But as the years pass, I get used to them, and come to appreciate their uniqueness.  Now, saying names like the Richmond Flying Squirrels or the Pensacola Blue Wahoos just comes naturally.  I expect that to be the same with the Franklin team, but I have to admit I would have a hard time saying "I'm heading to the Crop Dusters game" for a long, long time.  Although that name certainly has a ton of mascot and promotional potential.

The new ballpark, currently simply dubbed "Ballpark Commons," is set to open in time for the next American Association season in May 2019, and no matter what name is chosen, I'll be there.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 08.09:
Brewers 66-51, -1.5, +1.0 WC (3 @ Braves, 2 @ Cubs, 3 @ Cardinals)
Reds 50-65, -16.5, -14.0 WC (3 v. Diamondbacks, 3 v. Indians, 3 v. Giants)
Twins 53-60, -10.0, -14.0 WC (3 @ Tigers, 2 v. Pirates, 4 v. Tigers)

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 11 (+13 worked)
Peter - 20

Brewers Add Soria, Moustakas as Trade Deadline Looms

The Brewers have long assumed to be buyers at the trade deadline, and given how they limped into the All-Star Break I was wondering what exactly GM David Stearns was waiting for.  The team finally got some much needed reinforcements on both side of the ball in former All-Star closer Joakim Soria from the White Sox and 3B Mike Moustakas from the Royals.  The Brewers have been in desperate need of another bat for their inconsistent offense and another arm for their overworked bullpen, so both players were excellent additions.  Whether coincidence or not, the pipeline to current and former Royals as tradeable assets seems to remain as open as ever.

Soria and Moose both present some flexibility and creative managerial opportunities for the team.  Soria now becomes the 6th pitcher in our bullpen with either a logged save this season or significant closing experience.  He gives Counsell another setup option instead of JJ and Jennings who seem to pitch almost every day, or to allow Knebel to get more work in non-save situations.  Moose wasn't exactly the middle infielder we were looking for, but it's hard to pass up one of the best bats available on a very friendly contract.  Travis Shaw will move to 2B for the foreseeable future, which does a few things.  It obviously adds production to a middle infield that is 28th in the league in offense.  It also gives Craigers the opportunity to play more matchups and rest Travis more, who has been dealing with nagging injuries all year.  Getting another position under a his belt is also going to give the team flexibility next year and beyond after Moose is likely gone, or perhaps even make him more marketable as a trade chip down the road.

Short of Jacob DeGrom, we got two of the best players available on the trade block, and the bottom line is that we have a better roster today than we did last week and gave up relatively little to achieve that.  Brett Phillips was the biggest name traded, but with our crowded outfield now even more crowded with the emergence of Eric Thames, we simply didn't have any room for an OF that is 7th on the depth chart.  The Brewers have also been linked to Jonathan Schoop and Kevin Gausman of the Orioles and Zach Wheeler of the Mets in the last few days, all of which would be amazing gets.  It will be an interesting 24 hours leading up to the trade deadline on Tuesday.

And PS - if the Brewers sell Moose Tacos t-shirts like Kansas City did, I am 100% buying one.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 07.30:

Brewers 61-47, -1.5, +1.5 WC (4 @ Dodgers, 3 v. Rockies, 3 v. Padres)

Reds 48-58, -13.5, -10.5 WC (2 @ Tigers, 4 @ Nationals, 3 @ Mets)

Twins 48-56, -9.0, -13.5 WC (3 v. Indians, 3 v. Royals, 4 @ Indians)

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 10 (+12 worked)

Peter - 19

Tour 2018: Canal Park

All photos of Canal Park available on Flickr.

After settling our night's bar tab that I mostly remember, Sunday morning began with a stop at the old Forbes Field, which is a few miles east of downtown in the Oakland neighborhood (see PNC Park photos).  Today the majority of the former site has been engulfed by the Carnegie Mellon campus, which is perhaps most well-known for the 42-story neo-Gothic Cathedral of Learning tower.  All that remains of the former home of the Pirates is a portion of the outfield wall and the flag pole that was famously in the field of play due to the vastness of the outfield.  It's sad that this historic park is gone, but the fact that anything remains at all is more than you can say about a lot of old parks.  We played catch near the wall for a few minutes until we realized we were too out of shape to continue, and then headed out for the 2-hour drive to Akron.

Canal Park takes its name from the Ohio and Erie Canal (which unfortunately is just out of sight behind the stadium) and it sits right in the middle of downtown Akron.  It was a much larger and denser downtown than I was expecting, sort of like a Dayton or a Rochester NY in terms of architecture and feel.  I couldn't help but laugh when I noticed that the block the ballpark sits on was renamed "King James Way" and my trusty navigation device refused to call it that.  Canal Park is only a couple of years younger that UPMC Park, but paradoxically, the newer "retro style" makes it feel more contemporary.  A very strong and dominant brick and stone façade fronts the main street and really serves to tie it into the downtown area well, and gives it a powerful street presence and proper sense of scale.  So many "retro style" ballparks are just retro for the sake of replicating a style, but in this case it actually serves a purpose.  The main entrance leads you onto the 1st base side on grade with the concourse, and the field is sunken below.  The concourse was a fairly standard concourse of a ballpark this size but was very busy.  The park wasn't super crowded because of how hot it was, so it wasn't a huge factor, but I could see with a full park that the concourse would get congested very quickly due to all of the extra standalone concession booths crammed in there.  Canal Park uses just about every square inch of space under the shade of the suite level to fill with anything and everything they can staff to make extra money.  It's not at all due to the lack of built-in concession stands either; in fact, there are a ton of those with a remarkable variety.  So if distractions and eating are your thing at a ballgame, you will not be disappointed here, but to me it just made an otherwise beautiful park seem chaotic and noisy.  Other than that, I really enjoyed the layout and look of the stadium.  There were a couple of bar areas in right field that provided refuge for many sweaty patrons - one was an outdoor tiki bar similar to the setup in Nashville, and the other an indoor bar that looked to be more private and nature.  It actually looked like an ordinary bar on the street that just happened to access the stadium, rather than vice versa, so probably a nice non-gameday option for the people of Akron to see the ballpark on their lunch.  We had seats behind home plate again, but spent a fair amount of time behind both base lines, and the views from all sides was surprisingly beautiful.  I think I appreciated the experience and uniqueness of Erie more, but in terms of classical beauty and function, Akron was very approachable and a nice place to watch a ballgame.

Erik and I had a dilemma in that we had both not eaten all day by the time we got to the game, but with the temperature in the mid-90s, also could not bear the thought of anything super hot or heavy.  I decided to go with a Jet's meatball sandwich and Erik a cheeseburger, both of which we knew would be room temperature at best under the stadium concession warming lamps.  With full bellies and large cold beverages, we settled in for a matchup between the newly renamed RubberDucks and Rumble Ponies.  The RubberDucks, formerly the Aeros, take their name from the local economy largely built on tires - Goodyear, Firestone, and Bridgestone were all founded in Akron - but don't ask me what the hell a Rumble Pony is.

The star of the show and clearly the reason most fans came out to the park was to see former Tim Tebow stuff his former quarterback frame into a Binghamton uniform and see if he was any better than Michael Jordan.  He started out as nothing more than a publicity stunt when he signed with the Mets last year - and he still is - but he has turned in a respectable season thus far that was good enough to make the Eastern League All-Star game last week.  He was hitting .276 with 6 homers and 36 RBI as of Sunday and went 1-4 as the DH out of the 7-hole.  It was crazy how many people were there wearing an assortment of Denver Bronco and minor league Tebow shirts.  The other recognizable name in the game was the starter for the RubberDucks, Triston McKenzie.  He is the Indians' top prospect and has been moving through the system fast at age 20.  He pitched into the 6th and gave up 3 runs while striking out 7, but his stuff was much better than his pitching line indicated.  There was also a dude named Logan Ice on the Ducks who for some reason did not use "Ice Ice Baby" as his walk-up song, and I am seeing now on MLB.com that he is not just a cool name and is actually their 20th ranked prospect.  Tyler Krieger, another Indians top 30 prospect, was the offensive star of the day going 3-4 with a stolen base and an RBI.  We ended up having to leave in the 8th so Erik could catch his flight out of Cleveland, and it looks like we missed another 5 runs after we left.  Of course the one time in our entire lives we left a game early and that would happen, but we still saw an impressive 49 innings in less than 72 hours so I can't really complain.  Akron held on to win the see-saw affair 9-5 with the help of their 4 runs in the 8th.

After the game, it was a quick 45-minute jaunt to the Cleveland airport and then another 6 1/2 hours of driving for me back to Milwaukee.  I got home about 11pm CT, but thankfully I'm an adult with a reasonable amount of vacation now so I was able to take off Monday as well.  That's about it on the new ballpark front for me this year, but rest assured that Erik and I are already talking about next year's trip!

park rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 8
views from park - 7
view to field - 6
surrounding area - 7 (downtown Akron, for whatever that's worth)
food variety - 10nachos - 8
beer - 7 ($4.50 for 12oz domestic, 20 & 32 oz also offered)
vendor price – 8 (bonus points for souvenir refillable Duck Mug)
ticket price – 7 ($13 behind home plate)
atmosphere - 7 (Tebow Time!)
walk to park – 6
parking price/proximity – 9 (free street parking on weekends or $5 lots)
concourses - 4
team shop - 4 (points deducted for no rubber ducks!)

best food – Nice 2 Meat U Grill

most unique stadium feature – tiki bar in right field, randomly angled wall in center

best jumbotron feature – Webster v. Rubberta go-kart race

best between-inning feature – Erik and I refusing to participate in the multi-inning Lip Sync Battle

field dimensions - 331/400/337

starters – Harol Gonzalez (BNG) v. Triston McKenzie (AKR)

opponent – Binghamton Rumble Ponies

time of game – 2:57

attendance – 3,770

score – 9-5 W

Brewers score that day – 7-6 L