Reviewing the Brew - A Milwaukee Brewers Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

This season marks the 30th anniversary of the Brewers only trip to the World Series.  Call me old-fashioned, but I think we should celebrate in style, 1982 style. 
 
During the early 80′s men were defined by their facial hair.  The Milwuakee Brewers of the day, were a team of powerful, unapologetic, lip sweaters.  Rollie Fingers, Pete Vuckovich, Cecil Cooper, Robin Yount, and so on and so on.  It was not just a fashion statement, but a way of life.  You didn’t wear your mustache, your mustache wore you.  That team was rough rugged and did whatever it took to get the job done.

To the left you will note the mustache chart.  Please study it and try to envision a team that covers the entire spectrum of the chart.  It would be glorious.  

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Last season, all eyes were on the new and improved pitching staff.  It was easy to understand why, Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum had been acquired through huge off-season trades.  Then there was John Axford, the young Canadian fireballer who would be taking over the closers role, due to the retirement of Trevor Hoffman.  The bullpen was a mess, there were health concerns regarding LaTroy Hawkins and Takashi Saito, paired with Braddock’s inability to get some sleep and Manny Parra missing the entire season before it even began.  Whether you were a half-empty or a half-full, it was all about the pitching in 2011. 

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The movie Office Space is probably one of my favorites. Noted for its dry and cynical sense of humor, it also features Michael Bolton. No, not the singer; one of the main characters in the movie. Now I’m sure Corey Hart can relate to movie, but in a much different sense. Hart is a real person, yet again, so is his counter part, famous for the 1984 pop rock hit ‘Sunglasses at Night’ (which ironically Brewers’ Hart used as his song during the 2008 All-Star Game). Something that amazes me about Hart, is how underrated of not only an outfielder he is, but of just a player he is.

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Earlier today, Prince Fielder finally signed his long-awaited monster deal. It came with an unexpected team, the Tigers, who came out of nowhere to sign him after they figured out that their DH/catcher Victor Martinez will miss all of next season with an ACL tear.

I’m kind of happy for Prince. I was worried that he was going to go to a team that wasn’t a guaranteed contender for 2012, such as the Nationals, Dodgers, Orioles, and so on. We all know the Tigers are going to contend, and will probably repeat their AL Central championship. But, the Tigers already have an All-Star first baseman in place- Miguel Cabrera.

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Walter...Brewers Super-Fan, feeling the pain.

Every Brewers fan knows that the big news of the day was Prince Fielder signing an absurd deal with the Detroit Tigers.  Rumored to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $214 M for 9 years.  That breaks down to about $750K per pound.  That is all you Detroit.  Tebow knows that city deserves never ending reasons to cheer.  I wish Prince nothing but the best and want him to know that I will always be grateful for bringing this team back to relevancy.  There is no doubt in my mind that if he stays healthy, he will be one of the greatest ballplayers of all-time.  Good Luck Buddy.  Walter is going to miss you most of all.

That should be the big signing news today, but it was not the one on my mind at work all afternoon. 

The signing I want to talk about today is that of Tim Lincecum.

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Brewers skipper Ron Roenicke is a very likeable guy.  The man flies his emotions under the radar.  Sometimes while I meditate (I don’t meditate, but go with me on this), my mind ponders the scenarios that would cause RRR to blow his haystack.  There are not many to chose from.  I go after something he loves…very dearly.  So, in my collective sub-conscious I run him through gauntlets of anti-Kotsay signs, force him to watch Mark Kotsay strikeout to end the 2011 season…over and over again, but usually I just have him fill out the lineup card without Kotsay on it.  These thoughts soothe me.  Anyway, the recent development of Kotsay not coming back has really thrown a kink into my quest for spiritaul oneness.  Not to mention the fact, that now Roenicke will build up even more immunity to pain!!

We need our Mark Kotsay, Ron and I.  He needs him, so that he has a bench guy who is not Craig Counsell (another problem solved).  I need Kotsay so that I can make fun of him and Roenicke having a strange father and son-ish relationship.  I’ve written essays on the subject,  Ron Roenicke loves Mark Kotsay, but why? , and Why did Roenicke start Kotsay? .  There will never be a day when I understand what RR saw in Mark, that aside.  Someone on the Brewers must pick up the Mark Kotsay torch, but whom?

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In 2011, Brewers’ closer John Axford attempted to do something that only a handful of players could successfully pull off well. For once, it really isn’t baseball related, unless you count the superstitions of certain players. In perhaps what was his attempt to imitate Rollie Fingers’ unforgettable handlebar mustache, Axford tried his own luck on one. Where does this rank him among the most famous mustaches and facial hair throughout the MLB?

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Every player in baseball has some kind of superstition.  Whether it was Mickey Mantle and his burnt eggs, or Jorge Posada and the peeing on his hands…thing, and my personal favorite is Wade Boggs writing the Hebrew word “Chai” in the batters box before every at-bat.  Baseball is riddled with superstition and rituals.  Perhaps one of our stars has one of these that we did not know about until now.

Milwaukee Brewers closer John Axford, has burst on the scene as one of the most dominant closers in all of baseball.  What is the secret to his success?  Perhaps this, is the answer…

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There was a time, when I was relieved that the Brewers chose to trade Matt LaPorta rather than Mat Gamel for CC Sabathia.  That was over 3 years ago.  Now Mat Gamel is going to get his first chance to be an everyday major league player.  While last season was the first time he ever played 1st base, the Brewers intend to finally take off his training wheels and see if he can hit major league pitching.  In the words of David Bowie and Freddy Mercury, Mat Gamel is going to have to perform, “Under Pressure”. 

(For the record, I am indifferent about the LaPorta v. Gamel trade choice today)

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Many baseball experts believe that the Brewers mortgaged the farm in order to get Zack Greinke, prior to the 2011 season.  By trading away young arms, the Brewers seemed doomed to never recover.  Destined to wander through a field of non-talented players.  Minor league experts would have you believe that the Brewers farm system is one of the worst in baseball.  Wily Peralta is a sublime example of why that is completely un-true. 

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