Romeo, Romeo. Wherefore Art Thou, Romeo?

 We don't often have discontent within the halls of 1265 Lombardi Avenue. Player unrest is not the norm in Green Bay. Hasn't been for years, other than a situation here or there (named Farve or Rodgers, for example).

So this suspension of wide receiver Romeo Doubs, for "conduct detrimental to the team"  is puzzling. Also disconcerting for the Packers, since stellar cornerback Jaire Alexander had the same punishment last year. Remember when Jaire appointed himself a team captain and went out for the coin flip in his home town?

Granted, Alexander seems to bounce along to the tune of his own drummer, but I think his suspension set a tone. He popped back into place and has been a quiet teammate since.

What's the problem for Doubs? We may never know the whole story. Rumblings of unhappiness in the offense had bubbled up. Targets, production, things like that. In all fairness, the Packers did have a backup quarterback starting two straight games. And you can bet that Coach Matt Lafleur and company scaled down the offense for Malik Willis -- especially in light of his new exposure to GB following that trade from Tennessee. So throws down the field, where Doubs excels, were limited at best.

Do WE need to know what the problem was? No. Only that the air had been cleared and things are headed back to normal.

What counts in Green Bay, and the NFL for that matter, are WINS. Green Bay got one on Sunday and goes to 3-2 for the season. A good position to be in despite having to play a backup QB in two of those while Jordan Love got right.

Chin Up, Brewer Fans!

Thursday's gut-punch 4-2 loss to the New York Mets stings even today for Milwaukee Brewer fans.

The club had battled back in the wild card playoff with a dramatic win Wednesday. When Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 2-0 lead, it seemed like the stars had aligned in Milwaukee.

But then Pete Alonso, once a Madison Mallard, reached into our collective chests and pulled out our hearts, showing them to us as an amazing season came to an end on his three-run homer. 

What happened against the Mets?  Well, some of the veterans we were counting on failed to show up -- William Contreras was just 2x12, Willie Adames 2x11, Rhys Hoskins was an O-fer, as was youngster Joey Ortiz. In contrast, young guns like Jackson Chourio hit .455, Blake Perkins .500, Frelick .364 and Brice Turang .455.

And make no mistake about it, this was truly an amazing season. A Central Division title with a 93-69 record, both of which caught the baseball world (and pretty much all of Brewer Nation) by surprise.

What Milwaukee fans have to look forward to is the return of one helluva young corps -- Chourio, Turang, Frelick, Perkins, Ortiz, Contreras, Garrett Mitchell, Tobias Meyers. This is a bunch you can build around. There are holes to fill -- there always are. Some more team power, especially at first base, is needed.

Don't forget that Christian Yelich will be back, as will pitcher Brandon Woodruff. These two additions will help solidify the squad. Yelich is a pro's pro and a great example to the young guys.

The question pops up about the future of Adames, who becomes a free agent when the World Series concludes. The shortstop had a career year with 32 home runs, driving in 112 (one shy of the shortstop record of 113 set by Robin Young. Adames, 29, will be highly sought after on the free agent market. A very good defender with a solid bat.

As important to Milwaukee in the locker room as on the field, can the Brewers afford to keep Willie?

Only if he gives a "home town" deal to the club, pushes a lot of the salary down the road and is willing to settle for a three or four year contract. Otherwise, it's a safe bet we'll see him in somebody else's uniform next season.

The Brewers really had the turnstiles spinning for these three home games, drawing 120,968 fans with the tops a crowd of 41,594 on Thursday. After finishing the regular season 16th in the MLB with 2,537,202 fans (an average of 31,323, just 38 games per game behind Colorado) the playoffs bring that total to 2,659,170. You can bet that, without the roof over American Family Field, that overall total would be a lot smaller.

 

The Debate Over Pete Rose Continues

It's been a busy week at the Pearly Gates, and a sad one here as prominent actors and athletes shuffled off this mortal coil.

We lost Dame Maggie Smith, Kris Kristofferson and John Amos from the world of entertainment, along with Pete Rose and Dikembe Mutombo from the world of sports.

Perhaps the most tragic was Mutombo, who succombed to brain cancer at the age of 58. Great big man in the game; loved his finger wag no-no-no after blocked shots.

But I digress a little.

With the passing of Pete Rose, the rebirth of the debate over his Hall of Fame entry begins. The all-time hits leader in Major League Baseball was banned for life by baseball's commissioner for betting on baseball. Perhaps the most egregious while manager of the Cincinnati Reds.

On the wall of every minor league and major league clubhouse I've been in was a poster warning against gambling on baseball.

Pete knew what he was doing and chose to do it anyway. And since pretty much every professional sport is now in bed with on-line gambling sites (and many states have legalized sports betting), it creates a murky, gray area for society.

If a lifetime ban applies to the person, then by all means let's put Rose in the HOF. Took an informal poll among friends who were all for his addition to the hall. A couple made very impassioned, convincing arguements.

Have always said I wanted to keep him out until he was beyond being able to benefit from it financially. So now, let him in. BUT be sure that, on Pete's plaque, it points out the lifetime ban and the reason for it.

And while we're letting Pete into the HOF, let's open the doors for Shoeless Joe Jackson, who died 73 years ago. Surely his "lifetime ban" has expired. Painted with the same brush as those Chicago White Sox who were caught fixing the 1919 World Series (the Black Sox Scandal), he was acquitted in court of law in 1921 of having anything to do with it. Yet Judge Kenesaw  Mountain Landis, commissioner at the time, barred him for life. The career .356 hitter had a fine World Series, batting a series-high .375 with three doubles, a home run and six runs batted in. In fact, he accounted for 11 of Chicago's 20 runs and did not commit an error. Hardly numbers of someone throwing the game.

Jackson couldn't read or write, so it's possible (as he said later) that a team lawyer talked him into signing a contract he didn't fully understand.

The average time for a 9 inning game came in at 2 hours, 36 minutes this year. Thank you, pitch clock.

There were only 26 complete games by a pitcher in the MLB this year. In 1975, Catfish Hunter of the Oakland A's had 30. Let's let that sink in for a bit.