Milwaukee Milkmen Ballpark Opening Delayed

It was officially announced last week that Routine Field, the new ballpark opening for the new independent American Association's Milwaukee Milkmen, is behind schedule and is now targeting a June 24th home opener.  The Milkmen were supposed to open their home schedule on May 24th.  The team is still expected to participate in the league this season starting on May 16th, but will play all home games in Kokomo, Indiana for the foreseeable future (the Kokomo Jackrabbits of the Northwoods League are of the same ownership group).

This is just the latest in the shady saga of Mike Zimmerman, the CEO of the Milkmen and ROC Ventures, who is also developing Ballpark Commons surrounding the Franklin ballpark.  A development that was originally estimated at $100 million has now swelled to over $180 million due to seemingly arbitrary increases in scope and what Zimmerman is calling "unforeseen development expenses" and "the Foxconn Effect," which is in reference to the large southeastern Wisconsin project siphoning subcontractors, thus contributing to increasing construction costs in the area.  All of this led to Zimmerman requesting an additional $5.2 million from the city in December 2018 - this after already conning the city out of a TIF district, whose economic impact on a blighted exurban area can be are argued to be marginal at best.  Approvals for this project have been contentious from the beginning, with Franklin's own mayor speaking in opposition to certain aspects of the development, including but not limited to a senior housing complex that is also behind schedule.

My family does not live far from this complex, and I drove by it about a month ago only to find they were still setting steel on the ballpark.  I will go on record now that I would bet money the Milkmen will not play a game at Routine Field this year.  Everything that has gone wrong on this project has so far, including a brutal winter which no doubt impacted schedule.  This is yet another example of one of those projects where I struggle between my thoughts as a baseball fan and my thoughts as an architect/citizen.  It's hard not to be excited about a brand new professional baseball team right in my backyard, and for the UW-Milwaukee baseball program to finally have a respectable facility.  But this could also very well bankrupt the city of Franklin and go down as one of the worst examples of the so-called "economic impact" that ballparks can provide.  I won't go off on another diatribe on publicly financing stadiums under the guise of serving as a development anchor.  There are ways to do this successfully - we need not look any further than our own Milwaukee Bucks - but the way that Zimmerman and Franklin have been butting heads since the very beginning, I worry about the ROC's and the city's future.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 4/22/19:

Brewers 13-10; 3 @ Cardinals, 3 @ Mets, 4 v. Rockies

Twins 12-7; 3 @ Astros, 3 v. Orioles, 4 v. Astros

2019 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 0

Peter - 5

More MLB Rule Changes

Let's talk about the newest set of rule changes released by Major League Baseball about a month ago.  Baseball more than any other sport is steeped in tradition and thus is very polarizing when it comes to the slightest rule change, but for this very same reason, is in major need of modernizing.  Not everybody is going to agree with all of the new rules (myself included), but years from now, we will look back and the vast majority of these rules won't have adversely affected any baseball fan's enjoyment of the game.  Lowering the mound in the 1960s or adding the Designated Hitter in the American League in the 1970s were both very controversial at the time, but are now commonplace in the game.  And you can find this in any sport - mandatory helmets and nets behind the goals in the NHL, for example.  Just as I don't see these rule changes really affecting the hardcore base of MLB fans, I also don't see these measures drawing large amount of fans, which I feel is an unstated goal.  You either like baseball or you don't - reducing the game by 5 minutes or removing defensive shifts isn't going to all of a sudden make somebody love the game.  It's been well documented that NFL games are getting longer and longer every year due to commercials and play stoppages (the 2018 average was 3:12), but you never hear anything about wanting to reduce the length of a game because the NFL is so popular.  Now firmly off of my soapbox, here are the rule changes being implemented starting this season:

2019:

• Between-inning breaks reduce from 2:05 to 2:00.  Whoopee.
• The waiver trade period has been eliminated, which in effect makes July 31st the last day of the season that trades can be made other than those claimed off of outright waivers.  This is largely in response to the Astros picking up Justin Verlander on the last day of August in 2017, and dominating in his 5 starts with the team en route to their eventual World Series Championship.  I think this is a good rule that will force teams to commit to being "in or out" of playoff contention earlier in the year and will thus increase competition late in the year.
• All-Star Voting now culminates in an "Election Day" where fans pick the starters from the top 3 vote-getters at each position.  I like this as it will avoid runaway vote-getters and allows for players who get hot closer to the break to have an even chance.  It gets more fans involved.
• Home Run Derby now has massive payouts to encourage more participants.  There's no reason that Bryce Harper shouldn't be doing this every year, but perhaps after this past offseason even $1 million wouldn't be enough to sway him.
• Mound visits reduced from 6 to 5 per game.  I don't think I've been to or seen a game where all 6 visits were used so not a big deal.

2020:

• Roster provisions - active rosters increase to 26 and September rosters increase to 28.  This essentially eliminates mass September callups.  The goal is to create a level playing field, but really the advantage is to the large market teams that have all of their payroll invested in the 25-man roster.  The small market teams that generally have deeper farm systems will be hurt by this.  Increasing rosters to 26 just makes sense with how pitchers are used today.
• Limits on position players pitching.  Commissioner Manfred thinks this is embarrassing, there's really no other reason for it.
• Perhaps the most controversial of all the rules, there will be a 3-batter minimum on all pitchers starting next year.  Perhaps Wade Miley facing one batter to start a game of the NLCS last year was the final straw.  And somewhere, Tony LaRussa is laughing.
• Injured list moves back up to 15 games from 10.  This is largely in response to teams abusing the IL to cycle through fresh relievers, which I don't see a problem with.  Oh yeah, the DL is now called the "Injured List."  Way to take 150 years to realize that the word "disabled" is insensitive.

There are still way more crazy rules that I think are going to come down the pipeline by the 2021 CBA agreement.  For instance the commissioner seems hell-bent on banning the shift, which is extremely short-sighted.  But despite what you or I may think of any of these rules, they represent something much larger - they mean that the players, owners, and the league office are talking, and anything we can do to avoid a lockout - even if that means a DH in the National League - is a welcome compromise.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 4/10/19:

Brewers 8-4; 3 @ Dodgers, 3 v. Cardinals, 4 v. Dodgers

Twins 6-3; 3 v. Tigers, 4 v. Blue Jays, 3 @ Orioles

2019 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 0

Peter - 4

Brewers Carry 2018 Magic into Start of 2019 Season

All photos of 2019 Brewers Home Opener available on Flickr.

Last week Thursday was my first regular season game attended in the month of March as the Brewers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 in their home opener at Miller Park.  It was the first Brewers home opener victory in 5 years and brings my record up to 5-7 in openers attended.  A forecast in the 50s and a day off of work with no kids spelled an early start to tailgating for me, my wife, my brother, and sister-in-law.  Opening Day is always the best tailgating day to see how over the top some people get with their setups after a long winter of anticipation.  I did not see the usual truck hauling the pay-per-squat Port-a-John, but there was a couple next to us that literally bolted a tent into the ground and brought their own smoker.  With the elaborate smorgasboard they had and their eagerness to talk to all passersby, it was pretty clear they got stood up by some friends but were making the best of it.  Before we let things get too out of hand, we made sure to make it inside in time to see the starting lineups and what we assumed would be the unveiling of the 2018 NL Central Champion banner.  Much to our disappointment, the banner was already displayed and no mention was made about it in any announcement during the game.

After a few years of improvements ranging in scale, this year was more the status quo at Miller Park.  Mr. Attanasio clearly had spent enough money in the offseason renovating the spring training facility and fielding the highest opening day payroll in franchise history to make any substantial improvements to Miller Park, and I don't blame him.  There were a few token concessions additions this year, but the only one worth noting is a switch from Korbel Brandy to Central Standard, a local craft distillery.  Although Wisconsin has a national reputation for cleaning out entire metropolitan area's worth of Korbel for any major road sporting event, it was refreshing to see the switch to support the local distiller to keep up with the craft beer influx in the ballpark over the last few years.  With Double Old Fashioneds in hand, we made our way up to our usual club seats for the game.  We spent about 5 innings in our seats down the RF line, and the remainder of the game amongst the chaos that is the SKYY Lounge.

As I mentioned, the Brewers came away with a 5-4 win on Opening Day.  The Cards got the scoring started in the 2nd with back-to-back homers by two of the most quintessential Cardinals hitters, Kolten Wong and Harrison Bader.  Leave it to St. Louis to have their 7-8 hitters, who would most likely be utility players in 75% of the league, hit bombs.  Moose Tacos got a run back with a jack in the 2nd, and then Christian Yelich picked up right where he left off in the 3rd with a 3-run homer.  Thursday would be his first of 4 consecutive days homering to start the season, which set a franchise record and ties the all-time MLB record.  Pitcher Jhoulys Chacin, unquestionably the ace of the staff last year, pitched into the 6th and added a homerun to boot.  Speaking of players the picked up where they left off, Josh Hader through 21 consecutive fastballs over 2 innings of work to pick up his first dominant save of the season.

The Brewers would go on to take 3 of 4 from the team I think will take 2nd in the division and picked to win the 2nd wild card.  It was not an easy series, but the entire team (with the possible exception of Orlando Arcia) seems to have rekindled the magic they had in September and October last year and brought it into this season.  It was evident the effect that returning the entire starting lineup has on the chemistry and grit of this team.  The weekend left me with 3 major things to watch for the season:
1.  Will Jesus Aguilar approach anything even close to the season he had last year?  My money is on no but I hope he can prove me wrong.  With top prospect 2B Keston Hiura lurking in AAA and Shaw's ability to play 1st, Aguilar may be destined for a platoon role by mid-season.
2.  The young rotation.  I feel pretty good about Burnes and Woodruff in the rotation, I think they'll both take major strides this year.  But I am nervous about Peralta in the rotation.  I don't see how someone who throws 90% fastballs and barely has a usable 2nd pitch can survive in the rotation.  If and when Nelson rejoins the team, I would hope he returns to the bullpen where he is best suited.
3.  Ryan Braun (or whoever hits 3rd in the lineup) needs to step up and have a huge year.  It was already clear even from just these 4 games that Yelich will be getting the Barry Bonds/Bryce Harper treatment all season, so the guy who hits behind him will have to pick up a lot of slack.  Braun had a couple of clutch hits and 4 RBI over the weekend, and you could literally see his astonishment on TV when the Cardinals continually walked Yelich to get to him.  Still maintaining that trademark confidence in his age 35 season, combined with a launch-angle swing overhaul, might give the fans one more exciting vintage Braun season in the twilight of his career.

The 2019 Championship Campaign is off and running!

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 4/1/19:
Brewers 3-1; 3 @ Reds, 3 v. Cubs, 3 @ Angels
Twins 2-1; 2 @ Royals, 3 @ Phillies, 2 @ Mets

2019 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 0
Peter - 4