Let's Take A Deep Breath, Badger Fans

Let's just tap the brakes a little on the upcoming season, Wisconsin Badger fans. That's not just my opinion, but one Head Coach Paul Chryst is pretty strong on. He's been telling his squad to ignore the hype, and for good reason.

Wisconsin is highly ranked in the pre-season polls, yes. For example, Athlon has the Badgers 9th, Sports Illustrated puts them 3rd.

But those rankings are, by and large, pretty bogus. If given the magic wand, I would wave it and ban ALL polls until the first week of October. Let teams get some games behind them before judging.

I'm not raining on the parade, here, just being a realist. Granted, Wisconsin returns 9 of 11 offensive starters (losing TE Troy Fumigali and FB Austin Ramesh, an unsung hero in the team's 13-1 season). The entire O-Line has returned, which bodes well for RB Jonathan Taylor and QB Alex Hornibrook.

This an offense just plain loaded. It may well be superior to the team Russell Wilson led.

But then we look on the other side of the line, where Defensive Coordinator lost 8 starters. That means a new-look defensive backfield, inexperience at linebacker and a green defensive line.

The young guys MUST step up if Chryst (34-7 in 3 years, a winning percentage of  82.93%) is to continue on his very successful path.

As an aside, the Badgers caught flack last season for having BYU on the schedule. Schedules are set so far in advance that, who knows how strong (or weak) a team might be. For example, earlier this year Georgia Southern scheduled a one-off game with Wisconsin for the 2023 season. They're a Sun Belt Conference team, so another softie put on the schedule along with Buffalo (MAC member). Both of those squads will get a big payday for coming to Camp Randall.

The only possible strong non-conference foe is Washington State of the Pac-12 -- and again, who knows how good or bad that school will be five years from now.

A Trip Into Enemy Territory

The Bucket List got another check mark this week. Journeying into enemy territory, I caught the Milwaukee Brewers in a game with the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Brings my number of Major League Baseball stadiums visited to a dozen -- and counting.

From my Sunset Boulevard hotel, it's a 10 minute walk up Vin Scully Avenue, across Vin Scully Place (boy, they really, really like Vin!) to the stadium with my nephew, Bill. Wearing  Brewers colors, but never bothered by the Angelenos -- who are more concerned about the evening's promotion, $1 Dodger Dogs. Usually $6.50, "Doyer Dogs" are nine-inch hot dogs. Pretty good deal for a meal. And you can't beat the weather.

Dodger Stadium is impressive. It's clean. It's friendly. It's orderly. And while it's an older venue, it does not show it's age. The team is celebrating 60 years in LA. The Brooklyn Dodgers (known forever as Dem Bums) pulled up stakes and moved, bringing Major League Baseball to the West Coast -- joined by the San Francisco Giants. Both clubs fled New York for greener pastures. Not the last to do so -- the Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee and, eventually, Atlanta; the Athletics left Philadelphia for Kansas City, then settled in Oakland.

Prior to the Dodgers and Giants, the farthest outpost MLB had was St. Louis, home of the venerated Cardinals. But as the years passed, Ray Kroc (of McDonald's fame) got the San Diego Padres while the Singin' Cowboy himself, Gene Autrey, roped the Angels for Los Angeles. And while the Pilots moved to Milwaukee (becoming the Brewers) after a single season, Seattle ends up with the Mariners.

Great game, by the way, tho the Brewers fall in 10 innings, 6-4, after Yasmani Grandal bangs a two-run home run inside the right field foul pole. Milwaukee wastes a lot of opportunities -- bases loaded with 1 out and Travis Shaw hits into an infield double play. But still, a fun evening & the Crew wraps up the West Coast road trip going 5-3.

young dbs

The Green Bay Packers started training camp last week. In some respects, it's more a day care when one considers the very VERY youthful group of defensive backs.

When it comes to NFL experience in the defensive backfield, the emphasis is on GREEN for the Green Bay Packers. Of the 11 cornerback hopefuls and 6 safety candidates, 12 are under 25 years of age. And of that age group, only HaHa Clinton-Dix has any real amount of actual NFL game experience. Granted, last year's rookie stars, Kevin King and John Jones (both 23) played a bit, but both were slowed by injuries.

Toss in first-year defensive coordinator Mike Pettine's new approach and system, and it's more school than day care for the young group.

Former defensive coordinator Dom Capers said that his complicated defense was best run with veteran players. Former general manager Ted Thompson's squads were consistently among the youngest in the league, so that might have been part of the problem. But Pettine has had success wherever he's been -- and former players, like Wisconsin DC Jim Leonard, speak highly of him.

Folks, be patient. There's gonna be a learning curve here. Learning how to play defense the Pettine way, and learning how to adjust to the speed of the NFL game. Mistakes will be made,  no getting around it. But will they LEARN from those and improve, or just be the same old/same old from week to week.

Don't look for a lot of flash in the pre-season, either. Teams tend to play vanilla defense, for the most part, in these tilts. So we probably won't know a lot about this defensive group until September. And that's being generous. I don't think we'll get a real read on the defensive backs until October. In other words, until we've seen these kids getting trial-by-fire game experience.

Let's Make A Deal...But Not Just Any Deal

Unless you've just been rescued from a water-filled cave in Thailand, as a Milwaukee Brewers fan you're well aware of the rumors flying as the trade deadline approaches.

Yes, word on the street has the team hot on the trail of Baltimore Oriole soon-to-be free agent Manny Machado, a versatile power-hitting infielder. It's a rent-a-bat kind of thing for Milwaukee (think Paladin from "Have Gun Will Travel"), since Machado would likely only be in a Brewer uniform for a couple months. Pundits and talk shows have been piling up prospects to deal for Manny.

I think the Machado hype is smoke-and-mirrors. It's much like a magician directing the audience's attention to one hand while working the trick with the other. In this case, Milwaukee General Manager David Stearns is the magician, and the baseball world the audience.

For, while the attention is on Machado, Stearns is no doubt looking hard at helping the Brewers with pitching. Yes, the team has several throwers on the DL -- Wade Miley, Zach Davies, Brent Suter. But will the club hope one or all of these guys can come back to help the staff, or will Stearns make a move, one that won't gut the farm system but help the club win the division and reach the playoffs.

The faltering New York Mets are said to be dangling Jacob deGrom (under contract until 2020) and Noah "Thor" Syndergaard (eligible for free agency in 2022). Either would be better additions to the Brewers, as playoff baseball success stems from front-line pitching. Even guys headed to free agency next year, like Toronto's J.A. Happ (cousin to Wisconsin Badger basketball's Ethan Happ) and James Shields of the Chicago White Sox might be appealing.

Stay tuned and trust Stearns, who has made good moves thus far in his young GM career. And don't be surprised when Manny Machado ends up in Dodger or Yankee or Indians uniform after the dust settles.

                                                             ************

On the subject of the Brewers, who won Tuesday night in Miami, a deeper look at the box scores the last two days shows the Marlins (and yes, folks, this is supposed to be a Major League ballclub) drew 5,996 fans on Monday and 5,624 on Tuesday. These are tickets sold, of course, and not necessarily the fannies in the seats.

Hell, the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods League, a league of college players, routinely draws bigger crowds than Miami.

R.I.P Dutch

Lawrence "Dutch" Rennert, 88, died Sunday in St. Augustine, Florida -- and the world of baseball lost a colorful character.

There was never a question about a call with Dutch. He was as animated as they come when calling a strike. Heck, if you were sitting in the upper deck, you heard him.

Dutch was from Oshkosh, WI. A long-time minor-league umpire, he was promoted to the National League in 1973. He worked 2,693 regular season games, plus six NL Championship Series, three World Series (1980, '83 and '89) and two All-Star Games.

I first met Dutch while working with the Oshkosh Northwestern back in the  '70s, heading over to his house to interview him before he headed off for spring training. In the off-season around the Fox Valley, you often saw Dutch (paired with Larry Van Alstine) working high school or college basketball games.

What you saw with Dutch was what you got. He was a real story teller. He loved his job, and he loved people, from fans to players. He told a great story of working games in Montreal when the Expos were there, and a fan who showed up for every game, calling "DUTCHEEEE" to him before the game. He was proud of his work, and humbled by the opportunity.

RIP Dutch. I know you're behind the plate again and loving every minute of it.

Transgender Competiton Creates Questions

Sometimes, things can sorta slip under the radar. Out of sight, out of mind you might say.  So I thank one of my California contacts for bringing this to my attention. When I started covering high school sports in 1969, this sort of thing never entered my mind.

I'm speaking of an incident in Connecticut this past week, when during the State Open track and field championships, one person broke the State Open records for girls in both the 100- and 200-meter runs. That person is a biological boy. Terry Miller of Bulkeley, a transgender, won both events. In the 100-meter dash, the runner-up was Andraya Yearwood of Cromwell -- also a transgender.

The line from the theme song of the Archie Bunker show comes to mind -- "And you knew where you were then....goirls were goirls (loved that Archie accent!) and men were men". But, the time's they are a changin'.

I totally support those of the LGBTQ community. Athletes, non-athletes. Doesn't matter. It's your life, go for it.

That said, I think the whole Connecticut situation will call for some steps to clear up the muddy waters. The only solution I can see -- if an athlete is biologically male, then the athlete competes with the males. It's just not a level playing field if said transgender competes against females. It's just a fact of life.

For example, in the just completed WIAA State Track Meet, the winning time in the girls' Division 1 100 was 11.99 (and only 1 of 11 finishers was under 12.0) while the 200 time was 23.76 (again, the only sub-24.0 time turned in). For the boys, winning time was 10.65 in the 100 and 21.43 in the 200. In both events, all competitors were sub-11.0 and sub-22.0, respectively.

Hey, I don't have the answers here. Just want to get a dialogue going because sooner or later we will need to get to an answer that's fair for all. This isn't a red/blue topic or an across-the-aisle topic. It's a PEOPLE topic. And our families, friends, co-workers, neighbors...well, they all deserve a thoughtful, respectful approach.

time

Kneeling, Standing & Everything Inbetween

I'm not a big fan of mixing sports and politics, mind you, but it happens. Sorry, but I just can't ignore this week's events without comment. 

Those of us of a certain age can still picture African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. On the platform, the two of them with a single black-gloved fist thrust into the air, their Black Power Salute.

That 1968 summer saw a lot of racial unrest and violence in America. These men were drawing more attention to it -- I would hope to help correct it.

Fast-forward to this 2018. Players across the National Football League kneel (or on occasion thrust a fist into the air) during the National Anthem. Again, to peacefully protest racial unrest in America. And this week, President Donald Trump cancelled what had been a regular White House event, hosting a sports champion. In this case, he pulled the rug out from under the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles.

His reasoning? Teams are showing a lack of respect to him -- and, by the way, the National Anthem and the military. Of course, the fact no Eagles knelt during the season was ignored. As was the fact that a significant number of Eagles were not going to attend the White House ceremony. Is it a true disinvite when the invitee chooses NOT to come? Last year's NBA champs, the Warriors, didn't go. And this year's NBA champs won't, either.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney blasted Trump's decision, saying "These are players who stand up for the causes they believe in and who contribute in meaningful ways to their community. Disinviting them from the White House only proves that our President is not a true patriot, but a fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of throwing a party to which not one wants to attend."

Does the action of professional (or college athletes) during the National Anthem really mean disrespect to the Anthem, the flag or the military?

And do military veterans see it that way?

I reached out to a friend for his thoughts. Mike is a huge sports fan AND from a true military family. His mother and father are both veterans -- Vietnam -- while he served in the Navy and has a son in the Marines. His thoughts?

"As for the kneeling issue, this issue is very well blown out of proportion by the media. I am under the firm belief as a service member that I fought and defended this nation to preserve the rights of citizens. I am grateful to whomever spoke to (Colin Kaepernick) to get off the bench and kneel when he first started to protest.

"Ultimately I am grateful of his choice to kneel and not stand on, burn or mutilate our ensign (flag). The country has seen multiple protests and acts that have spoken out for cause for (INSERT). The great part of our constitution and our country is "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

That probably sums it up best. Veterans served to give ALL of us the right to freely and peacefully speak our mind. To disagree with those in power. Somebody needs to tell a certain draft-dodger the facts.

Baseball Still A Big Draw -- In Most Places

In most of the country, baseball is still going strong. Whether this is city based (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis) or regional is anybody's guess. But one thing is clear -- The Florida Project in baseball is not working.

Once upon a time, the Lords of Major League Baseball looked around for markets to expand in. Lo, there sits Florida. Teams draw great during spring training. You have a lot of retired folks from fan bases all over the country settling there. And let's factor in the huge (yes, YUGE) population of people from Latin American countries (including Cuba), where baseball fans go crazy for the sport.

So baseball placed teams in Tampa and Miami. What could go wrong?

Apparently quite a bit. As of May 16th, for example, the Los Angeles Dodgers topped MLB in attendance, averaging 46,663 fans. Milwaukee's Brewers, averaging 32,995 (626, 916 fans through home 19 games, great for a small market club) was 10th. The rest of the Top 10 were St. Louis, the New York Yankees, San Francisco, the Los Angeles Angels, Chicago Cubs, Houston, Colorado and Boston. Boston, by the way, averages 33,564 in Fenway Park, where the maximum attendance is 37,731 for night games and 37281 for day games.

Now, let's look at The Florida Project. Ranked 29th, Tampa has averaged 14,710 (264,795 in 18 games) while Miami is 30th with 245,538 fans in 23 games, an average of 10,675. By the way, 30th is dead last, folks.

On Mother's Day, there were 15 games played. Of those, 14 drew 470,546 fans for an average gate of 33,610. Then there's Miami, which drew a whopping 7,435 for a game with Atlanta. Keep in mind, that's tickets old, not fannies in the seats. That means that just over 30,000 fans showed up dressed as empty seats. (Reminds me of the bad old days of UW football under Don Morton and his "explosive" veer offense -- 45,000 fans dressed as empty seats in a stadium that held 70,000-plus.)

WOW! It seems in Miami, when they have Fan Appreciation Nite, it is just that -- singular. And this is a franchise now headed up by Mr. Yankee himself, Derek Jeter, who came into his maiden voyage armed with dynamite to blow up the franchise (goodbye Christian Yelich; so long, Giancarlo Stanton). Unfortunately, the shrinking fan base has been down this road before. And was especially burned AFTER previous ownership conned them into building fancy, splashy new digs -- then torn down the team yet again.

Over on the other coast, Tampa ownership has been grousing for a new stadium. But if you build it, they probably won't come. History tells us that. Even in years with contending teams, neither city drew all that well.

The only real solution would be for baseball to bite the bullet and move the squads. I continue to be hopeful that relations with Cuba will get to a more normal state. Why? Havana is a baseball-crazy market just waiting for the MLB to tap it.

Random Thoughts On America's Pasttime

It gets a bad rap now and then, because today's perception is that baseball is just too slow. No, the sport is MEANT to be played at a leisurely pace.

What's slowing down baseball? Constant pitching changes, delays between pitches, delays with replay. I do like the move towards a set number of mound visits in a game (call this the "Wilson Contreras Rule" since the erstwhile Chicago Cubs pitcher would make a mound trip on pretty much every friggin' pitch).

But the overuse of replay seems to be taking baseball's soul. Personally, I like the human aspect of the umpire. Right or wrong -- and usually right -- it's nice to have that aspect. Do the Men In Blue need to call the strike zone on a consistent basis? Of course, but as long as they call 'em the same for both teams the whole game, I'm good.

I don't think we'll see a .400 hitter again, nor will we see anyone break. Why? Several reasons. These marks were set when baseball didn't have an outpost west of the Mississippi, when St. Louis was the farthest outpost. Travel was done by train. More leisurely. And less media scrutiny as well. Today's instant news, and need for it, keeps a player in an ever-growing spotlight as he nears records. It's just a fact. 

Here's a tidbit I ran across recently that astonished me. Before the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee, just as the 1953 season was starting, there was a move afoot to buy the St. Louis Cardinals. In financial trouble, the Cards could have been moved. But the Auggie Bush family stepped forward and saved the day. Who knew?

A Trip In A Baseball Time Capsule

Thanks to a drive with a World War II veteran named Irwin, I was introduced to a Baseball Time Capsule of sorts, something a baseball fan can appreciate.

It's Red Smith On Baseball a collection of columns by Green Bay-born and raised Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith (Sept. 25, 1905-Jan. 15, 1982). Smith was a sportswriter, a columnist for five decades who influenced a lot of journalists. He started his newspaper career with the Milwaukee Sentinel.

The book carries 167 Smith columns starting in 1941 and carrying on through 1981. It's an interesting walk down the halls of baseball history. And a reflection of society as well. After all, Smith started writing about baseball before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. He writes a little about the Negro Leagues, but other than Robinson, Larry Doby and the great pitcher Satchel Paige, he doesn't touch on the standout names of that league -- Theodore Roosevelt Radcliffe (better known as Double-Duty after he pitched one game of a championship doubleheader and caught the second) or Josh Gibson or Buck O'Neil.

Granted, as you read his columns from the late 1940s -- Larry Doby has joined Jackie Robinson in the majors -- he does include the terms "colored" and "Negro" to describe these players. Keep in mind this was common for the time. Doesn't make it right, but attitudes needed changing. And unfortunately, continue to need change.

That's the biggest negative. On the plus side, he touches on players like "Losing Pitcher" Mulcahy, as Hugh Mulcahy was known. A pre-WWII thrower with the woeful Philadelphia Phillies, Mulcahy pitched in a then-National League record 56 games in his first season. In the span of two seasons (1938 & 1940) he lost 42 times. But he was a good pitcher saddled with a poor supporting cast. Back then, good players on bad clubs ended up making their money leaving for New York or Chicago or elsewhere. But before Mulcahy could cash in, he was drafted -- and ended up losing his best years to the war.

Other pluses worth noting? Details of re-creating a road game for radio relying on telegraph play-by-play; Hank Greenberg's farewell to baseball; Learning of Babe Ruth's death during a steamship crossing of the Atlantic, and talking about the 53-year-old Ruth's final months; The story of a Lou Gehrig medal, presented by Japan and returned via the Jimmy Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. No kidding...

The list goes on and on from Smith, a storyteller who painted great pictures and told stories in column after column. Recommended reading for the die-hard baseball fan.