Take Back Miller Park

All photos of the July 29th Brewers/Cubs game available on Flickr.

Well, let's start with the good news. The Brewers extended their record sellout streak at Miller Park to 11 and are in excellent shape to surpass 3,000,000 for total attendance on the year. The Brewers have won 11 of their last 13 road games, including a 7-0 roadtrip in San Francisco and St. Louis.

However, a 7-0 roadtrip that pulled the Crew into a tie for 1st in the division didn't do a whole lot of good when they followed it up with a pathetic 1-6 homestand against the Astros and Cubs. I kind of looked past the losing series against Houston, hoping that the team was just amped up and looking ahead to the Chicago series. After it was over, I wasn't sure who made a worse showing - the team, or the fans. I don't know if it's worse that the Brewers hit below .100 with runners in scoring position in the 4-game series, or that the crowd was at least 60% Cubs fans for the week. What started out promising - Sabathia and Sheets on the mound for the first two games, and the lightest Cubs showing at a Miller Park series in a long time - ended up being a disaster. Come Wednesday, with Parra and Bush on the mound against All-Star Ryan Dempster and newly acquired co-ace Rich Harden, our chances looked dismal of even pulling out one win. Seeing Prince hit 2 solo homeruns in already out-of-reach games and seeing a plethora of Brewers fans selling their seats for triple the face value to Cubs fans in the parking lot were the final straws for me.

I, nor anyone reading this blog, can't do much about how the Brewers perform. What we can do is make our presence felt in the stands. This is a plea for Milwaukee fans everywhere to fill the seats for the final home series of the year, September 26-28 against the Cubs, even if we are for some reason NOT in the race anymore at this point, which seems unlikely to me considering our easy August schedule and home-heavy September schedule. I'm sick and tired of being outcheered and outrepresented at home - this happens when the Twins and Cardinals are in town as well, to a lesser extent. The reason there are so many Cubs fans at Brewers home games is because Brewer fans stay home bitching and moaning about how many Cubs fans there are! Does that make ANY sense?!?!? We need to start being part of the solution people! The next time Chicago is in town, no more selling your seats on stubhub, no matter how much you get. No time to be a fairweather fan. Support the Crew, this year if any, because who knows what's happening with the team next year. This is our year to win it, and despite how well the Brewers have played on the road lately, we don't want Miller Park to be "Wrigley Field 2" the next time the Cubbies roll into town with their stupid "W" flags. We've made some progress this year, but we still need to get that stadium about 80% Brewers fans next time around.

And now, to also end on a good note - I got to partake in a pretty special day at the ballpark on Tuesday, as I was invited into the company suite and got to go on the field to watch batting practice before the game! Click on the link at the top of this post to see all the pictures of Lou Pinella's gut and Alfonso Soriano's ridiculously huge bat.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 08.04:

Brewers 62-50, -5.0 (3 @ Reds, 4 v. Nationals)

Reds 51-61, -16.0 (3 v. Brewers, 4 v. Astros)

Twins 62-49, +0.5 (3 @ Mariners, 3 @ Royals)

RACE FOR 2008 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:

Erik - 21

Peter - 39

Trade Deadline Approaches

As the 2008 MLB trade deadline approaches July 31st, I thought I would shed some light on the major deals already done up to this point:

1. CC Sabathia in exchange for Matt LaPorta and 3 other prospects - Indians/Brewers

Even though I am biased, this deal is clearly the cream of the crop and should propel the Brewers into the Wild Card spot in the National League. It provides the Crew with one of the best 1-2-3 starter combinations in all of baseball in Sabathia, Sheets, and Parra.

2. Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin in exchange for Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, and 2 prospects - Athletics/Cubs

Harden is not as dominant as Sabathia and is injury prone, but the Cubs have this guy locked up for another 1-2 years, where as Sabathia is likely a rental. They also gave up far less talent than the Brewers (Gallagher is the best of this group) and got another reliever in exchange.

3. Joe Blanton in exchange for 3 prospects - Athletics/Phillies

Blanton, much like CC, is pitching much better than his record would suggest. Anything is better than Brett Myers. The Phillies and Mets should go down to the wire for the NL East banner with this trade.

4. Richie Sexson signs free agent deal with Yankees after being cut by Mariners

Big Sexy is only hitting .216 this year, has more holes in his swing than a piece of Swiss cheese, and is even worse with RISP, but he will undoubtedly be limited to a platoon with Giambi off the bench. He may shine in a limited role with a change of scenery, not to mention a contending team.

5. Ray Durham in exchange for 2 prospects - Giants/Brewers

This is a win-win for the Brewers - either Ray's mere presence motivates guys like Weeks and Hall to consistently play better, or Durham will get 2-3 starts a week and provide a much needed bat from the left side with a high OBP.

6. Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte in exchange for Ross Ohlendorf and 3 other prospects - Pirates/Yankees

I like this trade a lot. Nady was going nowhere in Pittsburgh, and Marte is a stud, and probably was the best lefty reliever available besides Brian Fuentes. If Hideki comes back healthy enough to play outfield again, the Yankees can turn around and swap Nady in the offseason or next year's trade deadline for 2 or 3 prospects to replace the ones they lost.

7. Casey Blake and cash in exchange for 2 prospects - Indians/Dodgers

These "player and cash" trades are always suspect to me. What exactly does "and cash" mean? Are the two GMs like, "Hey I like the trade on paper...pick up this lunch tab and you've got a deal?" Blake is an above-average player going to an average team in a below-average division, and should help the Dodgers move past the Diamondbacks, unless they make a deal of their own. This seems unlikely, since the D-Backs have a lot of their young guys locked up for a few years and are unwilling to deal them.

8. Jon Rauch in exchange for a prospect - Nationals/Diamondbacks

The D-Backs never really replaced their departed closer Jose Valverde, and Rauch should provide stability in the back end of their bullpen for the home stretch.

9. Randy Wolf in exchange for a prospect - Padres/Astros

Roy Oswalt is on the DL, the Padres have pretty much cashed in their season already, and there's not too many more arms out there. You gotta love the optimism of Houston to be buyers at the trade deadline, and to think that they'll make yet another 2nd-half push.

The five big names players still out there who have been mentioned in trade talks are Matt Holliday, Brian Fuentes, Mark Teixeira, George Sherrill and AJ Burnett. It seems unlikely to me that the Rockies would trade either, since everyone's a contender in the NL West. There aren't any contending teams looking for a 1st basemen except Arizona, and as I said, they probably won't deal a young player for him, and their farm system not developed enough to trade any prospects. Sherrill and Burnett are probably your best bets to get traded. As for the Manny trade talks, after watching Baseball Tonight yesterday, I don't really see this happening until the offseason. Look for Jarod Washburn to go to the Yankees in the upcoming days, and for all three teams in the AL West to have a firesale, since the closest team to the Angels is 10.5 games back.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 07.28:

Brewers 60-45, -1.0 (4 v. Cubs, 3 @ Braves)

Reds 50-56, -11.5 (3 @ Astros, 3 @ Nationals)

Twins 57-47, -2.5 (4 v. White Sox, 3 v. Indians)

RACE FOR 2008 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:

Erik - 21

Peter - 37

Silver Cross Field

All photos of Joliet and Silver Cross Field available on Flickr.

I awoke refreshed and ready to start the day following a great night's sleep in my king-sized bed, in a room that actually had curtains, unlike my bedroom at my house. After being denied access to the pool post-checkout, I started the drive into the city to have lunch with my friend John from grad school, since I had no interest in arriving in Joliet 8 hours before gametime. John put Erik and I up on the first two nights of the tour in his apartment in Wrigleyville, and apparently 4 blocks was still too far away from the ballpark, as his new pad is even closer to Wrigley Field. We caught up over some beers and a couple delicious Aussie burgers at Harry Caray's. As jealous as he was of Erik and my adventure(s), I was a little envious myself that he is going to a Red Sox-Yankees game in New York for his bachelor party. As the rain started to fall, I headed southwest for Joliet, and arrived a little after 4 PM, where I found a parking spot right across the street from the ballpark.

On the way in, I'll admit that I had a pre-conceived picture in my head of what Joliet would look like, and was already thinking of anecdotes to write on the blog (no doubt another Cudahy comparison would have been involved). After all, Joliet is really only known for two things - a casino, and as the place where Jake Blues from the Blues Brothers spent some time in the slammer. I'll have to say though...I think "impressed" is too strong of a word, but it was better than I thought it would be. Somewhere in between a town and a city (a "tity"?), it kind of reminded me of Davenport, maybe Omaha. Streets everywhere were laden with banners that read "If its fun, it's in downtown Joliet," "Joliet Reads!" and "No Parking on Gameday." I did a fair amount of exploring, walking past some cool churches and the Route 66 team store (apparently the old 66 corridor runs through Joliet). Seeing most of downtown still only took about a half hour, so in true Houses Erik & Peter Built fashion, I stopped in a local bar to watch FOX Saturday baseball and throw back some Old Style until first pitch.

I arrived at the gate just before it opened at 6, picked up my $5 GA seat, and went inside. It was decent; I mean, after seeing as many ballparks as I have, I've come to realize that everything's been done before in some variation, and it takes a lot to impress me at this point. Combine the entry of John O' Donnell Stadium, in which you have to walk up steps to get onto the main concourse, the architecture of the Rockford Riverhawks' stadium, and the interior of Haymarket Park, and you get Silver Cross Field. Instead of being sponsored by a financial institution or communications company as most ballparks are, Silver Cross Field went the route of the local hospital, and the entire staff wears nurse scrubs to play along. The site is wedged between the METRA line to Chicago, a little league diamond, and an old warehouse, and amenities include "viewing alcoves" to the street and train tracks, a kids' zone, a group hot tub/picnic area in right, and a rooftop seating area in left where you can watch the game on top of a concession stand so you can feel like you're at Wrigley. Pretty standard concessions and team store, but they did have a nice spot called "Guinness Pub" that featured jumbo imported beers and a small seating area.

The Joliet Jackhammers play in the Northern League, a collection of six teams from disbanded and restructured independent leagues, with clubs that range from Winnipeg to the Chicago area. The Jackhammers are coached by former major leaguer Wally Backman, and his team his basically comprised of relatives of major leaguers, a whole bunch of guys he coached on the South Georgia Peanuts, and his sons. As far as independent leagues go, I think Erik and I can agree that in terms of talent and entertainment, the American Association and the Golden League are pretty outstanding, the Frontier League is average, and the CanAm League is horrible. I would give the Northern League maybe a 'B.' Some shotty defense, but respectable pitching, and there were probably more home runs in this game (6) than I've seen in all the other independent league games I've been to combined. Two of those homeruns were by Jay Ricci of Gary, who also hit a double off the wall and a long flyout to center, and the only reason I could think of for why he's not on a minor league team is maybe "Pedro Cerrano" issues. Gary also featured Mike Rohde on the roster, which was a treat for me as he was one of my favorite Madison Mallards and I saw him get inducted into the Mallards HOF last year. The Railcats defeated the Jackhammers, despite a solid pitching performance by Nick Sevier, who went 7 and struck out 7. The Railcats' lead was slim heading into the 8th, but Gary reliever Kasiko Misawa shut the door on the Hammers by striking out 4 in 1 2/3 to pick up the save (0.40 ERA on the season). The most interesting play of the game occurred in the 7th, when Joliet bunted into a double play and everyone on the field, including the umpires, thought that was the 3rd out. The next inning started, and after a couple pitches to the first batter, the umpires suddenly huddled up with the managers, declared that there were actually only two outs in the previous inning, and then the teams changed sides to record that final out, in which the Jackhammer batter ended up striking out on four pitches.

After the game was a fireworks display NOT cancelled due to lateness. It was short but decent. I checked my car for any foulball damage and then hit the road back to Milwaukee. It was a great weekend, and I wish I didn't have to work the next day so I could have caught a White Sox game on Sunday afternoon. And PS - the luck of the tour continues - storms predicted both days and both games were played!

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 8 (skyboxes were beautiful)
views from park - 3 (METRA)
view to field - 9
surrounding area - 6 (downtown is a couple blocks away)
food variety - 4
nachos - 9 (huge plate, chili & sour cream, good chips)
beer - 7 (bonus points for jumbo bottles)
vendor price - 8
ticket price - 8 ($5 GA)
atmosphere - 2 (pretty quiet for most of the game)
walk to park - 5
parking proximity - 10 (I was really early; across the street for free)
concourses - 7
team shop - 6

best food - nachos
most unique stadium feature - hot tub/picnic area
best jumbotron feature - Lou Pinella/Ozzie Guillen Chevy rap commercial
best between-inning feature - anything featuring Jammer the mascot (best during-game entertinament: Champ the Wonder Dog retrieves broken bats from field)

field dimensions - 327/400/330
starters - David Dickinson (GRY) v. Nick Sevier (JOL)
opponent - Gary Southshore Railcats
time of game - 3:08
attendance - 4,914
score - 6-5 L
Brewers score that day - 8-5 W

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 07.21:

Brewers 55-43, -3.0 (4 @ Cardinals, 3 v. Astros)

Reds 48-52, -11.0 (3 v. Padres, 3 v. Rockies)

Twins 55-43, -0.5 (3 @ Yankees, 3 @ Indians)

RACE FOR 2008 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE

Erik - 20

Peter - 36

Philip B. Elfstrom Stadium

All photos of Philip B. Elfstrom Stadium available on Flickr.

A few months ago, Erik and I found out that classic recipe Schlitz was being re-released in a few scattered liquor stores in Chicago. Without hesitation, we felt an impromptu trip centered around beer and ball was necessary, and we chose this weekend to go. But then June rolled around - Classic Schlitz went on sale in Milwaukee, and Erik decided to take a job in New Hampshire. Since I was already really amped up for this trip, I decided to proceed on with it solo, and this afternoon I arrived in suburban Chicago to watch the Kane County Cougars.

I left work around 2, and despite driving down state roads most of the way, I still managed to hit traffic and construction and arrived at my accommodations for the night – a St. Charles Days Inn – almost 3 hours later. I had a few minutes to settle in and take a few laps around the pool (which was much smaller than advertised, but still nice) before heading out to the ballpark.

The ballpark is a part of the Kane County Sports Complex in Geneva, which is about 4 miles from my hotel. Philip B. Elfstrom Stadium is home to the Kane County Cougars, an A-affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. The team was established in 1991 and was formerly the affiliate of the Marlins, and players such as Dontrelle Willis, AJ Burnett, Josh Beckett, and Josh Willingham were all Cougars. I’d been wanting to come to this park for a few years now – I had planned on going a couple of times when I lived in Madison, but weather and work prohibited this. When I finally arrived in the parking lot after going through a ridiculously long driving sequence, it looked like the state fair – rows and rows of cars parked on pervious pavers and grass. I was temporarily upset after dishing out $10 for an A-ball seat, but then once I got inside I realized where all the money went. This was easily one of the top 5 minor league ballparks I’ve ever been to. As with most A and AA ballfields, it’s more of a seating bowl and some out buildings, moreso than an actual structure, but since it’s built into the side of a hill and wedged between trees and homes in a park, it feels very intimate and enclosed (it reminded me of Dodger Stadium, on a much smaller scale). Ridiculously awesome beer and food variety, great views, exciting team, good promotional calendar, 3 team stores, great prices, and 3 huge picnic areas in the outfield. Even though the fireworks were cancelled because the game ran too late, I had a great time. Note to Kane County Cougars: if you get souvenir cups, helmet sundaes, and build some stuff around the park, I will rank you as my favorite minor league ballyard. This was the 6th Midwest League ballpark I've visited, and definitely the best thus far.

The game ran too late because there were 27 runs on 30+ hits, and at least a dozen walks/hit batsmen. I was expecting more of a pitchers duel between the A’s and Dodgers affiliate teams, since these organizations typically grow stud pitchers on trees and aren’t really known for powerful offenses. Obviously every pitcher sucked, and every hitter got like 3 hits, so nobody in the game really stood out too much to me. The Cougars got out to a 5-1 lead in the 45-minute first inning and pulled ahead to a 15-5 lead in the top of the 7th, but the Loons made a game of it in their half of the 7th with a pair of 2-run blasts. In the end, the Cougars won 17-10 at 10:20 pm, which was apparently 5 minutes too late to shoot off the postgame fireworks. A few things of note in the game that you don’t see everyday: (1) Both starting pitchers were out of the game by the 4th inning; (2) a batter for the Loons laced a broken-bat pop-up that landed softly behind the mound…which is already embarassing, and add to that that every infielder on the diamond went after it, allowing the hitter to end up with an infield double; (3) Jemile Weeks, recent 1st round draft pick of the Athletics and younger brother of Rickie Weeks, started at 2nd base for the Cougars. Add the bat waggle and about 30 pounds, and I would have sworn it was Rickie – hitting .140 in the leadoff hole, 1-4 with 2 Ks and 2 HBP, and a botched double play.

The rankings will show that my favorite between-innings feature was “Batboy leads YMCA,” but an honorable mention goes to the cats sitting in front of me. It was a girl with her dad, and along for the ride was her boyfriend, whom she was obviously introducing to Daddy for the first time. When that awkwardness wasn’t entertaining enough in itself, the father used to play minor league ball, and was sharing many stories and in-game strategy tips with this young chap, so hopefully for the girl that was a good sign that he approves of her choice in men. Tomorrow I’m heading into the city to have lunch with a few friends from grad school, and then it’s off to Joliet for game #2 of the trip.

park stats and rankings:

aesthetics - 5

views from park - 5 (park)

view to field - 10

surrounding area - 3 (park)

food variety - 9 (standard grill fair, but 4 separte grilles, two indoor and two outdoor)

nachos - 5 (I did not have any, but they looked pretty standard)

beer - 10 (excellent price and the best ballpark variety ive ever seen)

vendor price - 9

ticket price - 3 (even though it was worth every penny, still WAY too steep for minors)

atmosphere - 8 (one of the best A-ball crowds ive seen)

walk to park - 1 (huge parking lot)

parking proximity - 8 (free adjacent lot, but huge)

concourses - 8 (great views to field from concourse)

team shop - 9 (three small team stores)

best food - elephant ear

most unique stadium feature - three enormous decks in the outfield

best jumbotron feature - "Fish or No Fish" game

best between-inning feature - batboy leads YMCA

field dimensions - 335/400/335

starters - Given Kutz (GL) v. Jamie Richmond (KC)

opponent - Great Lakes Loons

time of game - 3:40

attendance - 6,705

score - 17-10 W

Brewers score that day - 9-1 W

The Home Run Derby Drinking Game

So I'm sitting here in my living room, flipping between the AAA All-Star Game and the replay of the Home Run Derby from Monday night, and of course enjoying a frosty beverage. And then, all of a sudden, somewhere around Josh Hamilton's 86th homerun and the 113th time Chris Berman said "back, back, back," I look at the bottle of High Life in my hand and have an epiphany - there totally needs to be a Home Run Derby drinking game! I raced to my laptop...and then forgot everything I was gonna write down, as it took forever for my dying laptop to boot up. Upset, I turned to the internet to jog my memory for this post, and soon found out that somebody had already come up for the idea of the Derby drinking game. And not only had the idea been taken, but there seems to be a modified set of rules for every year of the Derby. Without trying to reinvent the wheel, I use the pre-existing game as basis for my own, more generic and simplified version, since clearly even a sober person would not be able to keep up with all the rules of the current version of the game.

Maximum number of participants = 8. Each participant chooses who they think will win and puts $5 into the pool, with the winner taking all. Have plenty of beer on hand, and drink whenever:

1. Any player hits at least 3 homeruns in a row without recording an out
2. Chris Berman says "back, back, back"
3. A reference is made to the previous single-round record and/or Josh Hamilton
4. A player's child/children are shown
5. A player is shown holding a camcorder
6. A player is shown wearing his cap backwards
7. A player hits a homerun over 500 feet
8. A player hits a foul ball
9. A player's swing is shown in super-slow motion
10. The pitcher's face is shown
11. A fan in the crowd is shown holding a sign
12. A player wipes off with a towel
13. A clip from a previous Home Run Derby is shown
14. An aerial shot of the stadium is shown
15. A player is interviewed

I greatly look forward to playing this next year and taking the next morning off of work!

All-Star Week

All photos of Northwoods League All-Star Game available on Flickr.

Midsummer Classics dotted baseball schedules around the country this week, with of course the creme de la creme being the 79th MLB All-Star Game, played this year at Yankee Stadium for the 4th and final time, as the ballpark is being razed in favor of a $1 billion replica for the 2009 season. Monday Night I attended the Northwoods League All-Star Game with my parents in Madison. It was a showcase of some of the finest collegiate talent from around the nation competing in the national spotlight on ESPN-U. Following a special day on Sunday that featured a US Military All-Stars game and the NWL Home Run Derby (Mankato outfielder Michael Rockett took home the trophy with 10 HRs), the actual all-star game itself was sure to be a treat. It was the first all-star game at any level I'd ever attended and I was looking forward to it for many months, and it did not disappoint.

After purchasing some all-star game merchandise (see sweet logo above) and grabbing dinner, we went out to our seats to watch the teams warm up. The seats I purchased 2 months ago ended up being direcly behind a post (E-Mallards website for not specifying which seats were Obstructed View). Once we moved over, we observed a few interesting happenings that occurred even before the game started. First of all, there was one random other team's mascot in attendance - Slider of the Rochester Honkers. Why their mascot is not a goose and/or named Honky is beyond me, but that's another story. This tall lanky mascot would chest bump and basically just get really excited every time a Honkers player was introduced during the All-Star Lineups ceremony, and it provided a lot of entertainment to an otherwise long and mundane process. Secondly, the umpires were introduced - all 12 of them! Each set of 6 performed their duties for 4.5 innings a piece. I'm not sure if I was more surprised that the NWL actually had that many umpires, or that the ASG employed a "pinch umpire" system. Third, the singing of "O Canada," in honor of the Thunder Bay invitees, was probably the worst national anthem I've ever heard in person. He was horrendously off-key right out of the gate, he struggled to remember the words to the song, and at one point even took a long pause and started laughing before regaining his composure and stumbling to the finish. I tried to sing as loud as I could to help him out, but it was to no avail. This provides further fuel to Erik's theory that National Anthems should only be sung by children and barbershop quartets. Last but certainly not least, as is the tradition in Madison, Maynard Mallard the mascot brought in the game ball on a zipline and delivered it to the Mayor of Madison, who tossed a strike for the ceremonial first pitch.

The game itself dragged on quite long, as there was a lot of offense and a lot of pitching changes, but it was a great experience to be witnessing so much talent, most of which will probably be drafted in the next couple years. Every pitcher tossed between 2/3 and 1 inning, and every single player on both sides got into the game. The South All-Stars struck with 2 in the 1st, and the North countered with 3 in the 2nd. After that, it was all south as they motored on to an 8-4 victory, their first over the north in 3 years. It was hard to pick up and/or remember any one player since there were so many substitutions, but the two Madison starters, Matt Jansen and Rob Lyerly, looked like studs. Jansen started the game and struck out the side, and Lyerly was 2-2 with a walk and an RBI double. Josh Prince and the MVP of the game, Cory Vaughn, both also chimed in with 2 hits a piece for the South. After a long evening of watching pre-game fungoes, drinking cheap beer, and non-stop entertainment, we unfortunately had to leave after the 7th, due to a combination of my parents having to get up at 5 AM for work, and the out-of-nowhere arrival of a thick swarm of mosquitoes.

After arriving home that night, I could not have been more relieved that I had my folks tape the MLB derby, because boy did Josh Hamilton put on a show. I saw this kid come up with the Reds last year when I was in Cincinnati and he is going to be something special. In a constant effort to hit one out of the stadium, he put up 28 in the first round, but alas was too tired to sustain the momentum for three rounds, and ended up conceding to Justin Morneau for the crown. Come next year though, nobody is going to even remember that Morneau won, only J-Ham's remarkable performance. Milwaukee Brewer slugger Ryan Braun took third with 14 total homers.

The big day was Tuesday, the MLB All-Star Game. It was really special to watch, and I can only imagine what it must have been like to be there, to see the parade down 6th Avenue with all the all-stars past and present. And then to go to Yankee Stadium and see the largest assemblage of Hall of Famers and All-Stars on one field in the history of the game during the pre-game ceremony. And then to see Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, Whitey Ford, and Goose Gossage throw out the first pitches, which were driven in by "The Boss" George Steinbrenner, who was clearly in tears on this remarkable evening. And then to watch the National League trying to win for the first time since 1996, only to be outlasted by the AL in 15 innings, and just under 5 hours. JD Drew may have won the MVP award, but the real MVP was the Mayor of New York and the Steinbrenner family for putting this together. It was only fitting on this special night that Commissioner Selig refused to concede the game in a tie as happened in 2002 - this game was going to go on forever if needed so as to make this All-Star Game a memorable one for ages and ages.

Tonight are most of the Minor League all-star games, and I will definitely be watching the AAA ASG on ESPN2. The 2nd half starts Thursday - let's go Crew!

NWL All-Star Game stats & lineups:
NORTH
Michael Rockett CF, Mankato
Derek McCallum 2B, St. Cloud
Carlos Ramirez C, Mankato
Eric Stephens DH, Rochester
Derek Wiley 1B, Thunder Bay
Devin Goodwin 3B, Rochester
Tony Balisteri SS, Rochester
Josh Upchurch RF, Alexandria
Chris House LF, Duluth
Brendan Lafferty P, Mankato

SOUTH
Ryan Goins SS, Waterloo
AJ Shindler 2B, Battle Creek
Cory Vaughn CF, La Crosse
Derek Melton 1B, La Crosse
Rob Lyerly RF, Madison
Joey Register DH, Waterloo
Jeff Cowan 3B, Wisconsin
Troy Frazier LF, Wisconsin
Rocky Gale C, Green Bay
Matt Jansen P, Madison

first half winners - Mankato (N), Madison (S)
MVP - Cory Vaughn
pitchers of record - Chris Sale (W), Alex Kalogrides (L)
time of game - 3:01
attendance - 5357
stadium - Warner Park, Madison WI

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 07.16:
Brewers 52-43, -5.0 (3 @ Giants)
Reds 46-50, -12.5 (4 v. Mets)
Twins 53-42, -1.5 (3 v. Rangers)

RACE FOR 2008 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:
Erik - 20
Peter - 34

Fifth-Third Field, Toledo, OH

All photos of Fifth-Third Field are available on Flickr.

One of the advantages to moving across the country every couple of months is the opportunities it provides for taking in ball games. I am now four days into a new job in New Hampshire and on the way out I got to make a stop in Toledo and check out the world famous Mud Hens. You may remember the Mud Hens as the team Cpl. Klinger was a fan of in M*A*S*H or the team that Lou Brown managed for thirty years, before getting his shot with the Indians, in Major League. I was pretty excited to get to the game and check out the ballpark but, unfortunately, a hangover from the Milwaukee beer party and construction in Illinois and Indiana prevented me from arriving until just about game time.

Let me tell you, I didnt miss that much in downtown Toledo. I pulled off the freeway and right into a parking lot. On the two block walk to the park i passed several boarded up buildings. The entire downtown was deserted. Toledo is the model for Pete's argument that ballparks don't spur economic development (Fifth-Third Field was built in 2002).

The park itself is pretty nice. As I was making my way across Indiana, I did some quick calculations in my head and realizing I wouldn't get to Toledo until game time called ahead and got a ticket. $11 put me in the third row just to the third base side of home plate, not to shabby. Fifth-Third field has a lower deck, an upper deck of club seats and suites around the infield. It also has a group section called The Roost that is in the right field corner and is hung off two existing brick buildings. The concourses are fairly narrow but it was easy to make my way through them between innings. In left and center field the is a concourse where fans can stand above the 12-15 foot high wall. In right field there are two tiers of picnic tables.

The game itself was quite a long affair. The visiting Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees teed off in the first inning sending eight men to the plate and pushing across three runs. The Mud Hens scratched one back in the bottom of the inning then took the lead with 3 in the 5th. The Yankees fought back to even the game in the sixth and both teams spent the rest of the game wasting opportunites. In all the Yankees left 9 men on base and the Mud Hens stranded 11. Most of these runners reached with less than two out and there were many times that each time had multiple men on base and a chance to take the lead but blew it. The offensive star for the Mud Hens was Timo Perez, going 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored. In the end Yankees SS, and former Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales homered off Francis Beltran in the top of the 12th and the Mud Hens could not draw even in their half of the inning. I did see something at this game that I had never seen before. In the bottom of the 7th with runners on first and second and one out the Mud Hens attempted a sacrifice bunt but Yankees reserve catcher Chris Stewart touched the bat on its way through the zone. The home plate umpire called catcher interference, loading the bases. Of course, the Mud Hens couldn't take advantage as the next batter grounded into an inning ending double-play.

The Mud Hens, and most minor league teams it seems, stretched the Fourth of July into a weekend long celebration and had post game fireworks. Two problems occured with these. First, Sundays are Kids-Run-the-Bases day ad the crowd had to wait for what seemed like all the youths in Toledo run around the bases. Note to promotions people nationwide: Fireworks come before Kids-Run-the-Bases. Secondly, the fireworks display Pete put on in the ally behind his house last Saturday was far superior to that of the Toledo Mud Hens.

So, now I'm in New Hampshire and there are several minor league teams within easy driving distance. Hopefully, I can find some time off and make it to a few games.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 6 (nice entrance but concourses are kind of dumpy)
views from park - 1
view to field - 8 (very close all the way around)
surrounding area - 1
food variety - 7 (pretty standard but there was one made-to-order grill)
nachos - 6 (points for effort with chilli-cheese nachos, but chips to sauce ratio far to great)
beer - 4 (only Bud/Bud Light, pretty expensive, but souvenir cups)
vendor price - 8 (other than beer, excellent)
ticket price - 9 (boo service charge for ordering over the phone)
atmosphere - 4 (not too much excitement for the Hens)
walk to park - 1
parking price/proximity - 7 (free street parking if you get there early enough, otherwise $5)
concourses - 5
team shop - 8 (lots of throwback Mud Hens gear but also half the store was dedicated to the Toledo Walleye, a minor-league hockey team that won't even begin play until the 2009-10 season)

best food - Muddy Dog - a chilli cheese dog
most unique stadium feature - The Roost party area
best jumbotron feature - Hot Dog race
best between-inning feature - one night only Rockin' Ray and Sky Dogs USA

field dimensions - 320/404/315
starters - Ross Ohlendorf (SWB) v. Yorman Bazardo (TOL)
opponent - Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees
time of game - 3:39
attendance - 9,515
score - 5-4 L

Brewers score that day - 11-6 W v. Pittsburgh

Brewers Trade for Sabathia

In a bold move by the Brewers' front office, a blockbuster deal was finalized at a press conference this morning, which sent the Indians' staff ace and reigning AL Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia to Milwaukee in exchange for a wealth of prospects - AA OF Matt LaPorta, AAA P Zach Jackson, low-A P Rob Bryson, and high-A 3B Taylor Green. LaPorta is generally considered the top prospect in the Brewers organization, and one of the tops in the nation, and although he probably won't be "major league ready" until next season, look for him to be on Cleveland's big league roster immediately. He was hitting .288 with 20 HR and 66 RBI for the Stars leading into this trade. Jackson has struggled mightily this year but still remains one of the top arms at Nashville, and he does have nearly a season of major league service time under his belt. Bryson is the wild card in the group, a 31st round selection last year. Taylor Green shows a lot of promise at third base for Brevard County and was voted the Brewers Minor League Player of the Year last season.

This trade is good for Cleveland since they desparately needed a bat in the lineup, and to unload some payroll. There are several reasons why Doug Melvin and myself like this trade and why it's best for the Brewers:

(1) The future is now - With Prince refusing a long-term contract offer similar to Braun's in favor of year-to-year arbitration, and with Sheets already being quoted as wanting to explore the free agent market, the time for the Brewers to win is this year. They have the best record in the majors since the "Boston Massacre" (May 20) and have pulled to within 3.5 of the Cubs and are in a tie for the NL Wild Card with the Cardinals.

(2) Compliment to Ben Sheets - Sabathia now provides the rotation with that 1-2 punch that can match up with every team in the National League come playoff time. If you add on top of that the nearly guaranteed 10-12 wins you get from Suppan, and the dominance of Manny Parra in the last 2 months, the Brewers have a solid 3 1/2 starters in the rotation now. Despite Sabathia's record, he has a sub-4 ERA and always gives you 7-8 innings a start, both important to the bullpen down the stretch.

(3) Depth in the farm system - The main reason to develop the farm system as the Brewers have is obviously to eventually see them shine at the Major League level without having to spend large free-agent dollars. The other reason, however, is to provide a team such as the Brewers with trading chips. AA-Huntsville has 10 all-stars this year, and the farm system also features highly-touted prospects such as Hernan Iribarren, Jeremy Jeffress, Mark Rogers, and 2008 top draft pick Brett Lawrie at other levels. As Melvin sees it, the system is so deep that he could afford to part with LaPorta and others, even if Sabathia is a half-season rental.

(4) Worst Case scenario is not that bad - The worst-case scenario here is that we lose both Sheets and Sabathia to free agency. If this happens, we receive 5 of the top 35 draft picks in 2009 as compensation, and let's not forget that Gamel and Escobar will most likely be on the big-league squad next year, Gallardo will be back, and we still have many more trade chips and a large enough payroll to go and get somebody else in the offseason. However, it seems highly unlikely to me that we wouldn't get to sign at least one of these two guys, and hopefully Sabathia's presence will motivate Sheets to re-sign here, and vice versa.

Sabathia's tenure as a Brewer starts tomorrow as he takes the hill against the Rockies at 7:05 at Miller Park. Playoffs here we come!!!

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 07.07:
Brewers 49-39, -3.5 (4 v. Rockies, 3 v. Reds)
Reds 43-47, -10.5 (3 @ Cubs, 3 @ Brewers)
Twins 50-38, -1.0 (3 @ Red Sox, 3 @ Tigers)

RACE FOR 2008 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:
Erik - 20
Peter - 28

Rhythm & Booms Weekend in Madison

All photos of Warner Park available on Flickr.

After a rough 3-day work week following our trip to Washington, I took off from work a tad early on Friday to pick up Erik, and we made our way west to Madison for our first Mallards game of the season. It was also the annual Rhythm & Booms Festival at Warner Park - and corresponding pre-fireworks party at our friend Shane's house - so Erik and I were in for a long weekend of ball, flipcup, and watching shit get blown up.

Ever since I became aware of the awesomeness that is the Northwoods League in 2006 when I lived in Madison, it has been Erik and my favorite baseball league. It is a college summer wooden bat league for players that have not yet signed a professional contract and still have at least one year yet of college eligibility. This league and others like it are intended to be a way for kids to get exposure to wood bats, and basically just an excuse for them to play ball all summer to further sharpen their skills. I know I've already said how much I love the Mallards on this blog, but I will go ahead and put money on the table right now - anyone who attends a Madison Mallards game, I guarantee you it will be the most fun you ever have at a baseball game. Not just in terms of game action, but atmosphere, food, prices, between-inning entertainment, the hilarious PA guy, and of course the game and inning-by-inning promotions, all rolled together make this my favorite place to watch a ballgame in the whole world. And it will only get better when Warner Park gets renovated in 2010.

Erik and I arrived at the park around 5:30, and some broad near the gate promptly offered up Duck Blind seats for 2/3 face value, and we jumped at the opportunity. Many parks have all you can eat areas these days, but few include all-you-can-drink as the Mallards do. So Erik and I both got a ticket and as much beer and fried Wisconsin food as we could handle for $20 a piece. We also both got our picture with a mascot - Erik with Millie, and me with Quenchy the Quench Gum mascot, a sponsor of the Mallards. Additionally, we both acquired C.J. Thieleke pint glasses for Pint Glass Night, bought really sweet jerseys for $45 each, and both got autographs from Potsie of the show "Happy Days," as it was Happy Days Night at the ballpark, which also included a Fonzie "aaaaaayyy" contest. The amount of fun and alcohol we had for that price should not have been legal, particularly for how close we sat. We watched members of the opposing Brainerd Blue Thunder warm up, play pepper, and run sprints for about an hour before the game, and we were so close we could here everything the players were saying. The game ended up being a victory for the Mallards, but part of what makes a Mallards game so special is that the end result is secondary. I can't wait to go back in a couple weeks for the Northwoods League All-Star Game, which is held in Madison this year.

The next day was Rhythm & Booms, and for anyone who hasn't seen this in person, you must. It always is preceded by a twilight-start Mallards game, but Erik and I were too wrecked from Shane's party to attend that game. We instead stumbled the three blocks to Warner Park from the party and got a good spot on the lawn for the best fireworks show I've ever seen - we were so close, and they shot off so many fireworks, that pieces of shell were falling on us towards the end, which Erik and I both of course kept as souvenirs from the outstanding weekend. This weekend is definitely going on Erik and my calendar every year we're able, and a special thanks to Shane and Miranda for letting us stay at their house and play Wii all weekend.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.30:
Brewers 44-37, -4.5 (4 @ Diamondbacks, 3 v. Pirates)
Reds 38-45, -11.5 (3 v. Pirates, 4 v. Nationals)
Twins 45-37, -1.5 (3 v. Tigers, 3 v. Indians)

RACE FOR 2008 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:

Erik - 18

Peter - 27

Tour 2008: Ripken Stadium

Photos of Washington Day 3 and Ripken Stadium available on Flickr.

After arriving late last night, we got a bit of much needed rest this morning then headed in to downtown DC. We met up with my friend Kelly and had lunch while I tried to decide what to do with the next four months of my life, since watching ball all summer isn't going to cut it this year. After lunch we walked down the mall towards the Washington Monument. We passed by the Newseum where outside they had displayed newspaper front pages from several different countries and all 50 states. Intrigued, we wanted to look around inside for a bit. We thought the Newseum would be free like most of the other museums in DC but when we found out it cost $20 to get in, we promptly left. We finished our walk down the mall but when we arrived at the monument we found that it was sold out for the day.

We got back on the metro and headed back to Alexandria. After transfer subway lines three times we arrived at the end of the yellow line and hopped on the bus that took us from the apartment to the metro in the morning. Unfortunately for us, the bus we take runs on a loop. Now, there are both clockwise and counterclockwise loops. So, our ride back to the apartment could have been 20 minutes. But, we got on the wrong loop and took a drive through scenic northern Virginia and past Mt. Vernon before arriving at the apartment an hour and 10 minutes after we left the metro station. If you're scoring at home, that's an E-Us.

Then we jumped in the car and headed towards Aberdeen. We hit a few traffic jams along the way but nothing too major and we made it to the game about a half hour before the game started. The Aberdeen Ironbirds are the short season A ball affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and the team is owned by Cal Ripken Jr. Ripken Stadium is beautiful and is also used as the home of the Cal Ripken League World Series. The Ironbirds have sold out every game in their history and there is now a waiting list for season tickets. We were pretty excited for tonight's game because we had All-You-Can-Eat seats right behind home plate. And they did not disappoint.

We took our seats and immediately headed to the buffet line. It was a nice little spread featuring beef fajitas and quesadillas. The only draw back was that it cost extra if you wanted a beer. The game began and the starting pitcher for the Ironbirds was very Rick Vaughn-esque. In two innings of work he struck out six batters and walked three while giving up a run on a single and an error. At the end of two, with the score tied one-one, the rain hit. Once again, we were just barely under the overhang of the roof and we were able to stick it out for a little while. Then the wind shifted and the rain started blowing right in our faces, so we took shelter with a few beers on the main concourse. The rain lasted for about a half hour and then the grounds crew took another half hour to get the field ready for play again. Once the game got underway, both bullpens took over and put up zeros until the bottom of the 7th. The Ironbirds put together a three-run rally and went on to win the game 4-1.

We got back in the car and hit the road for DC, singing along with the Beach Boys all the way home. Tomorrow, sadly, it's back home to Milwaukee. A special and heartfelt thanks for Phil and Frank for letting us stay at their apartments, and particularly to Phil for driving us around Sunday and Monday.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 7 (just about the best youll find for a short-season A stadium)
views from park - 3
view to field - 10 (all-you-can-eat seats are right behind home plate)
surrounding area - 2 (players' Courtyard Marriott in parking lot)
food variety - n/a (didnt really investigate this, we had the buffet)
nachos - n/a (see previous answer)
beer - 7 (low variety, mostly Bud products, but good price)
vendor price - n/a
ticket price - 10 (buffet + excellent seat for $31)
atmosphere - 5 (good for A-ball, but it cleared out after the rain delay)
walk to park - 2
parking price/proximity - 10 (adjacent lot for free)
concourses - 5
team shop - 10 (excellent variety and prices)

best food - buffet
most unique stadium feature - LCF dimension displayed in Ripken family number (3-7-8)
best jumbotron feature - Chick-fil-A cow cheerleaders
best between-inning feature - kids wear oversized wind breakers and catch baseballs in them

field dimensions - 330/404/330
starters - Luke Greinke (SI) v. Chris Salberg (ABD)
opponent - Staten Island Yankees
time of game - 2:25 (1:11 delay)
attendance - 6,470
score - 4-1 W

Brewers score that day - 4-1 W

Tour 2008: Final Season of Yankee Stadium

Photos of New York and Yankee Stadium available on Flickr.

Today Erik and I attended the 43rd-to-last regular season game in the 85-year history of Yankee Stadium - but first, let's get you up to speed on our Saturday adventures.

After blogging, Erik Phil and I finally left Alexandria mid-afternoon and headed for downtown Washington. Phil had done a little research before our arrival and discovered that there was an annual DC BBQ Contest & Festival occurring near Federal Triangle, so we met up with Frank there to find out what that was all about. All in all, I'd say we were all fairly disappointed. I mean, it is pretty big (streets are blocked off), but about half of the festival is for competition entries only, and those entering food in the BBQ cookoff are not allowed to hand out samples. When we did finally find stands that sold BBQ, it was nothing in particular to write home about. There was also a ridiculous beverage system that involved standing in one line for beverage tickets, and then going in an adjacent line - in the same tent, mind you - to actually receive the drink. And on top of everything, there was for some reason an entry fee. So...if any of you are in Washington and have a chance to go to the BBQ Festival...don't. After a waste of $10 and an hour, we headed for the nearby ESPNZone to finally meet up with Lauren (who was not feeling too crisp from the night before and didn't meet us out until 5:30) and throw back a few before heading to the ballpark.

Saturday's seats were again excellent - 2nd deck, 2nd row, under the scoreboard in right field. We were all up in Elijah Dukes' business and had a great view to the game - and not to mention a pretty outstanding little bar right at the top of our section. When purchasing these tickets a couple months ago I figured this would be a great vantage point from which to check out the cherry blossom trees proposed for the left field concourse, which are synonymous with DC, but sadly those must have gotten V-E'd out. We also finally (A) met Lauren's boyfriend who came much-hyped because we were told he could get us free Five Guys at the ballpark (the Washington equivalent to In 'n' Out Burger), and (B) had time to visit the team store today. Both were awesome - the Five Guys was delicious, and the team store, even though it could have had more variety, had lots of cool stuff. Erik bought a Lastings Milledge t-shirt jersey, and I bought a plush Thomas Jefferson Racing President doll (see photos) and a Nationals Park inaugural season baseball. The game did not end up being as good as the food and team store, as they lost in a rout, 13-3. Josh Hamilton finally got his first hits of the series for the Rangers, and Texas pretty much put the game out of reach with a 7-run 7th, highlighted by David Murphy's bases-loaded double. Teddy Roosevelt again had the lead in the Presidents' race, but was distracted by an inflatable kangaroo around the final turn and lost to Honest Abe, thus extending his career winless streak.

Moving on to Sunday, we ended up post-gaming at a much-anticipated pirate-themed bar in Silver Spring, and then after closing the joint down took the Metro all the way from Maryland, through the entire length of the District, over to Virginia. What that meant was that Erik and I got about an hour of sleep before having to wake up at 6 to catch a 7:30 bus to Manhattan. It was a rough beginning to the day, but after sleeping the entire 4-hour drive to New York, we were refreshed and ready to watch ball in the historic final year of Yankee Stadium. The bus dropped us off near Madison Square Garden and we took the D Train to the Bronx for the game. We had the luck of the tour on our side once again - 40% chance of thunderstorms predicted, and even though there was a pretty fierce hour-rain delay, the game was played in its entirety. Luckily, we had seats that were just under the roof canopy on the top deck. It was nice to not have to work on a Sunday to be able to watch a little afternoon ballgame at this historic field. Our view was again pretty excellent - almost at the top, but right behind home plate with a pretty good view of the game. The Yankees ended up defeating the Reds 4-1 to avoid the sweep (of course the one game I go to, my Reds lost). Andy Pettitte went 6 strong innings, and Johnny Cueto for the Reds probably could have bested his 5 had the game not contained the rain delay, as he had only given up one run and struck out 8. The newly-moustached Jason Giambi was the star of the game, going 3-3 with 2 RBI, and the lone run for the Reds came on Ken Griffey Jr's 601st career jack, on a 102-mph fastball from Kyle Farnsworth that just cleared the right field wall. It was well worth the lack of sleep and 8+ total hours on a bus to get to see a game at Yankee Stadium one last time. After the game, we of course raided the team store for "Last Year" merchandise, and we had a quick drink at Mickey Mantle's at Columbus Circle before heading back to Washington for the night. Tomorrow it's a little bit more sightseeing and our final game of the trip, a minor league game in Aberdeen MD.

Tour 2008: Nationals Park

Photos of Nationals Park and days 1 & 2 in Washington available on Flickr.

The "Tour-plus" continued yesterday when Erik and I visited brand-new Nationals Park, coincidentally on the 1-year anniversary of the main tour last year (June 20, 2007 in Madison). Despite booking our flights about 6 weeks apart, it worked out that we were booked on the same incoming and outgoing flights, and arrived at Reagan National Airport at around 10:30 pm Thursday evening. It was a really luxurious flight on Midwest Airlines, and featured fresh-baked cookies, picking out our Christmas presents in the SkyMall catalog, and a few rousing games of Go Fish. I for one was really tired and hungry after working the whole day at the firm and missing lunch, but when my friend Phil picked us up, we were promptly informed that he had left the bar to come get us and that we were going right back (he may have still had his tab open). So we drove to Alexandria, a Virginia suburb of Washington where Phil lives, and proceded to tie one on at a 7-day-a-week karaoke bar in Old Town called the Rock-It Grill, and then subsequently dominate some Triple w/ Cheese sammiches at a late-night Wendys - a great start to the trip.

Friday we had no specific plans and were in no rush to roll out of bed, and we finally arrived in the DC area around 1:30 to start our day. I'm a huge fan of the Metro rail system in the area and is one of the things I miss about living in DC, but being so far out of the city in Alexandria, it took over an hour to get into the city, as we had to catch a connector bus to the rail station first. We started the day with lunch at one of my favorite brewpubs, Capitol City Brewery, near Union Station. We then met up with Phil after his rough 3-hour workday and walked around the mall, snapped some awesome photos, and then went to some sort of rugby/soccer bar downtown to kill time before the game and meet up with my friend Lauren. The new stadium is located in SW, and for those familiar with the DC area, you know theres historically not a lot going on in this area of the city. So when we arose out of the subway tunnel at the Navy Yard stop, I was refreshed to see the street lined with proposed and upcoming developments posters. I still don't know if baseball stadiums necessarily make the best development catalysts, but thats another story. For now, we met our friend Frank at the gate and the group was now complete.

Nationals Park, much like the Reds' park or Turner Field, is very elegant in its simplicity. Its construction story is also an interesting one, as the team had far less time than the typical 32 months required to build a ballpark, and had the architects on site during the construction process, designing one wedge of the park as the wedge next to them was being built. This is evident when you go inside the park with some of the end sections that only contain one seat in the front row. The stadium is also the first LEED-accredited, or "green," ballpark in North America, and also has the largest LED jumbotron in the world. The stadium features all its seats very close to the field, very wide concourses with a decent food and beer variety, and about a 38000 capacity if I had to estimate. We had seats in the 300 level on the first base side , and with the Capitol and new development in the background, had one of the best views in the stadium for one of the worst teams.

The 14-inning affair against the Rangers ended so late that the post-game fireworks show was cancelled, but at least the Nationals pulled it out. Elijah Dukes went 5-6 in the game and hit the game-winning RBI, and starter Tim Redding went a strong 6 innings. Triple Crown candidate Josh Hamilton for the Rangers went 0-6 with 2 Ks, and staff ace Kevin Millwood gave up 3 runs over 8. Manager Manny Acta and the Nationals have clearly cashed it in for the year with Nick Johnson, Ryan Zimmerman, Chad Cordero, and Austin Kearns all on the DL. We capped the night off with a few drinks in Adams Morgan, an area near where I used to live, and tomorrow its BBQ Festival, more ball, and the Pirate Bar.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 7
views from park - 6 (would be nice if you could see Capitol, but blocked by high rises)
view to field - 10
surrounding area - 3 (for now...lots of development coming)
food variety - 10 (they have brisket!)
nachos - 5 (really good chips, poor chip-to-cheese ratio)
beer - 6 (variety, souvenir cups, all beer the same price, but expensive)
vendor price - 5
ticket price - 5 (pretty steep for such a horrible team)
atmosphere - 4 (low attendance for the Nats, cancelled fireworks)
walk to park - 6 (development renderings, Exxon-Mobil protest bear)
parking proximity - 7 (across the street but expensive, most people take the metro)
concourses - 9 (wide lanes!)
team shop - 6

best food - hot dog
most unique stadium feature - massive scoreboard, press box on roof
best jumbotron feature - Teddy Roosevelt training for Presidents Race
best between-inning feature - Presidents Race

field dimensions - 336/402/330
starters - Kevin Millwood (TEX) v. Tim Redding (WAS)
opponent - Texas Rangers
time of game - 4:10
attendance - 30,359
score - 4-3 W

Brewers score that day - 8-5 L

The End of a Tradition

[Erik and I at Doubleday Field last July on the ball tour]

Today marks the 69th and final Hall of Fame Game, played annually at historic Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY since 1940, the year after the Hall of Fame opened. Major League Baseball has been slowly removing all of its exhibition games (one of the few blunders by Bud Selig) from the schedule since 2002, and this is the last remaining in-season exhibition played in the Majors, which this year is between the Cubs and Padres. There are still currently pre-season exhibition games played overseas and in Memphis, and even the Civil Rights Game is probably going to end up becoming a regular season game soon, just as part of the Japan series was this year. With today's marketing/revenue demands, distance between teams, and taxing schedules, there is just no time for a small little exhibition game like the Hall of Fame Game, now matter how important it is to a small city like Cooperstown.

This game was originally held on Induction Day until the late 70s and on the day afer Induction Day up until 2002, when it was moved to mid-June. The game has sold out all of its 9500+ seats since its first move in 1978 and has been a great annual tradition in this one-stoplight town. Everyone puts on their biggest smiles and favorite team's jersey to meet all the players at the annual parade down Main Street before the game. Schools in the area even save their last snow day so that all students can have off to attend the day's festivities (why children are even in school in mid-June is beyond me). I'm sure today's big contract players are relieved to not have to play this game anymore, and perhaps it's not worth saving just for the sake of the residents of Cooperstown, but since its inception this game/festivities has been a large funding source for the nearby Hall of Fame, and many veterans/HOF members are left to wonder what will now fill the void of this former revenue source. The Hall of Fame runs mostly on private donations, and hopefully it will continue to sustain itself and constantly improve, along with the game, for years to come. Having been to Cooperstown myself during another big baseball event, the All-Star Game, I know firsthand what baseball and the history of the game means to this town, and I'm sure today will be bittersweet for many folks. This will also sadly be one less baseball event for Erik and I to attend - Hall of Fame Game, you will be missed.

UPDATE: The game was cancelled! After the parade and the ceremonial first pitches it started to pour. What a lackluster end to this great tradition.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.16:

Brewers 36-33, -8.5 (3 v. Blue Jays, 3 v. Orioles)

Reds 33-38, -12.5 (3 v. Dodgers, 3 @ Yankees)

Twins 34-36, -4.5 (3 v. Nationals, 3 v. Diamondbacks)

RACE FOR 2008 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:

Erik - 12

Peter - 21

A Dominant Homestand

The Brewers finished the most recent homestand 8-1 to improve to 4 games over .500, and after winning only one against the Rockies in Denver are now at 33-30, which is sadly only good for 3rd in the division since the Cubs are also red-hot right now. I'll let Erik chime in on his views on the Rockies series since he was there. With a huge series against the 4th place Astros looming, the biggest story as of late has been the third base platoon and subsequent trade demands of Billy Hall. He was no doubt going to earn himself a trade next year with a decent season because of the impending promotions of Mat Gamel, Matt LaPorta, and possibly even Tony Gwynn Jr. Now with his .225 batting average and whining about playing time, his stock has lowered significantly and I don't see him being shipped anytime soon, although a Greg Maddux-Bill Hall trade is becoming more and more appealing.

The other big stories are our all-of-a-sudden dominant pitching (with a couple exceptions) in the last 3+ weeks, and the re-emergence of Gabe Kapler, who is out to prove that his hot April hitting was not a fluke. Gabe has a legitimate chance to at the very least earn a platoon with Mike Cameron, if not the starting job. He has raised his average about 40 points in the past two weeks and has made many spectacular plays in the outfield, and "the Hebrew Hammer" is slowly emerging as the new fan "cult favorite," following in the footsteps of such recent players as Brooks Kieschnick, Jeff Bennett, Derrick Turnbow, and Jeff Cirillo in his latest stint with the team.

Lastly, news on the injury front. Neither Eric Gagne nor David Riske are close to returning to action, even though both are throwing off of flat ground at about 80% and their 15 days both expired a while ago. Rickie Weeks tweaked his knee covering the bag on a hard slide in Friday night's game and was replaced by Joe Dillon in the lineup for Saturday and Sunday's games. Weeks is flying back to Milwaukee this morning to have his knee scoped and hopefully he'll be alright in a few days.

Notes:
- There were two notable brawls last week, both involving the Rays. One occurred when newly-emerging douchebag Coco Crisp of the Red Sox charged the mound after being hit with a pitch as retaliation for his dangerous slide the night before. Lucky for Shields (and for Crisp), he didn't land his attempted roundhouse punch with his pitching hand. The other "brawl" happened yesterday when Rays C Dioner Navarro had a few words with Matt Garza after he gave up a an RBI single in the 4th inning and the two proceeded to get into a shoving match in the dugout. Many suspensions handed out from the brawl with the BoSox; no word if Joe Madden has suspended any of his own players for the latter incident.

- The Los Angeles Angels have been awarded the 2010 All-Star Game for some reason, when newer ballparks Great American Ballpark, PETCO Park, and Chase Field have not yet hosted one, and Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City has NEVER had one.

- 10 DAYS UNTIL OUR TRIP TO NEW NATIONALS PARK!!!

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.09:
Brewers 33-30, -6.5 (3 @ Astros, 3 v. Twins)
Reds 30-34, -10.0 (3 v. Cardinals, 3 v. Red Sox)
Twins 31-32, -5.5 (3 @ Indians, 3 @ Brewers)

RACE FOR 2008 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:
Erik - 10
Peter - 19

A May to Remember

One-third of the 2008 season has now passed, and as of June 1st...

- The Rays are in first place in the AL East at the latest point in the season in franchise history, and the Cubs have the best record in baseball at the latest point in the season since 1908, the last year they won the World Series. (On a side note, I'm pretty sure the Rays are going to be on national television for the first time EVER on Wednesday against the Red Sox).

- There are several legitimate Triple Crown threats, including Chipper Jones (leads league in average), Lance Berkman (leads league in RBI), and Chase Utley (leads league in HR) in the National League, and Josh Hamilton (leads league in all three categories) in the American League. From this list, Jones and Berkman (as of Friday were hitting .421 and .385 respectively) are also making a run at being the first player(s) to hit .400 since Ted Williams did it over 60 years ago.

- The National League Central has 4 teams over .500 this late in the season for the first time in five years, and this is the first time the Yankees or Red Sox have NOT lead the AL East at this point since the early '90s.

- The Diamondbacks have two legitiamate Cy Young candidates in the same rotation in Brandon Webb and Danny Haren. Other contendors at this point would probably be Adam Wainwright, Daisuke Matsusaka, Edinson Volquez, Tim Lincecum, Ervin Santana, and James Shields, none of which have won the award yet.

- In the past week, Manny Ramirez has hit his 500th homerun, Ken Griffey Jr his 599th, Johan Santana picked up his 100th win, and Randy Johnson tied Roger Clemens for 2nd on the all-time strikeout list with 4,672. I really feel sorry for the guy who's going to have to carve all of Manny's hair out of bronze on his Hall of Fame plaque.

- Baseball Prospectus' "Nation's Top Prospect" Jay Bruce has had a debut week for the ages. He is 13-22, including 2 HR and a 4-hit game, and the Reds are 5-1 since his recall from AAA-Louisville.

- Franklin Gutierrez turned the 13th unassisted triple-play in Major League history; the Giants also turned a 5-4-3 triple play last week.

- Lastly, in late May it was the latest in the baseball season that the Red Wings, Pistons, and Tigers all played a home game on the same day.

And let's go Crew!!! 5-1 so far on the current homestand with a 3-game set against the back end of the D-Backs rotation yet to come. For the past two weeks the Brewers have been pitching AND hitting AND defending superbly, and with Riske/Gagne coming back from the DL soon, it looks like we could really turn the corner here before the All-Star Break. And speaking of "gaining ground before the Break," look for Erik to put a dent in my substantial "most games attended" lead, as he will be unemployed as of Friday.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 06.02:

Brewers 29-28, -7.0 (3 v. Diamondbacks, 3 @ Rockies)

Reds 28-29, -8.0 (4 @ Phillies, 4 @ Marlins)

Twins 29-27, -1.0 (3 v. Orioles, 4 @ White Sox)

RACE FOR 2008 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:

Erik - 7

Peter - 17