Tracking The Baseball Season

 So here we are at Mill....er, American Family Field.  Recently made a second trip to see the Milwaukee Brewers in this young season.

Crowds are still limited to under 12,000. But they make up for it with passion and noise, sounding like a much larger gathering.

Okay, so there are advantages to having these Covid 19-influenced games. Takes less time on the highway to get to the parking lot (no, I don't miss the slow-moving nose-to-tail traffic games on the Interstate, from beyond State Fair Park to the stadium turnoff).

Can park a lot closer to AmFam itself, and it takes less time to get in for the game. Though, to be honest, we do miss parking in Darrell's driveway on Story Parkway.

Food lines are shorter, as are the restroom lines. And, once the game is over, sure takes less time to exit the parking lot -- though for day games, that traffic heading west is, well, challenging.

And, hey, it's baseball in person!

Adrian Houser did something in Miami recently that NO other Milwaukee Brewer pitcher has ever done before: struck out 10, walked none AND hit a home run (in a Milwaukee win). And since 1900, only 17 pitchers have accomplished that feat. Pretty awesome.

The Brewers bump their attendance to 50% capacity today, and will go to 100% end then of June. Good news, baseball fans!

"The Wheel Of Cheese Keeps Turning!"

Can I just be honest here and state emphatically that I'm tired of the national sports talk folks -- and the state ones as well -- delving into the Aaron Rodgers-Green Bay Packers rift.

Talk and speculation is cheap. None of us are in the room or privy to what is being said.

As a proud stockholder, I humbly offer my services as "marriage counselor" in this whole situation. Am only taking this on because Doctor Phil's schedule is booked. True, I lack any real experience in this area...although, I think 37 years of marriage sorta helps!

Am sure as hell not gonna call in Adam Schefter, the national talking head who started up his rumor and innuendo mill on draft day -- but said he was "hearing from league sources". Yeah, right. And I've got some swampland to sell as well.

Hey, even Brett Favre is weighing on this via his podcast. And among Packer alumni, who knows more about messy divorces with the team than Favre? His on-again-off-again retirement gig got stale, and when Green Bay moved on to Rodgers, things got ugly. Heck, it wasn't until Packer legend, and Wisconsin royalty, Bart Starr gave his blessing that most fans welcomed Favre back to the family.

Favre's gut tells him that, if not traded, Rodgers is willing to sit out the season. But, Favre adds, "You don't want to go out this way, whether it's sit out or play somewhere else."

But on to my "counseling".

Advice to Green Bay's front office: Suck it up, pay the man and find a way to keep this guy in the Green&Gold. And while you're at it, the organization needs to move on from team president Mark Murphy. I don't think this guy is doing the best for the team that he can. Stayed with Coach Mike McCarthy too long. Hasn't he learned from the Favre situation. Hasn't kept his franchise quarterback happy.

Advice to Rodgers: Please please please just tell us what you want! Want to be given a bit of a voice with the team? Fine. Want an extension to know you're going to be THE quarterback for the next three or four years? Fine. And if you end up being traded, don't be surprised if it isn't necessarily to the destination you want. Just sayin'

But, Aaron, the National Football League is a business. And unless you've purchased the team (and we haven't heard about it!), you need to let the team conduct business.

I will say this. It has been VERY VERY quiet this week in both camps. This tells me that the parties involved are getting something done.

And Now, On "As The Wheel Of Cheese Turns"...

God lord, can we please get MORE drama in Green Bay?

So, the Green Bay Packers were preparing for yesterday's opening round in the draft (rounds two, three and four today, the rest tomorrow) when BAM! long-time quarterback Aaron Rodgers says he just can't play in Green Bay any more and wants out.

Coincidence? I think not.

Things have been salty between the organization and their MVP quarterback ever since the team took a first-round shot on another quarterback, Jordan Love. Feeling disrespected (and how can you with the kind of money he's making?), Rodgers has pouted about it. Wants a contract extension, then doesn't, etc.

What better way to embarrass the Packers than to have this all blow just hours before the draft?

I thought we learned a lesson from the Brett Favre I'm-gonna-retire-no-I'm-not-yes-I-am fiasco.

Apparently not.

Come on already. Do you want to win Aaron? Then Green Bay is your best shot at doing so. Do the Packers want to win? Then Aaron Rodgers is your best quarterback to do so.

Settle your differences, boys, and play nice.

Keep in mind, Aaron, IF the team does trade you, it won't necessarily be to the team you want to go to.

Let's Get Back To Attending Sporting Events

Want to return to normal?

Want to go to a sporting event that actually has a full, rowdy house pulling for the home team? A full Camp Randall or Lambeau Field or American Family Field?

Want to see crowds at high school football games or small colleges this fall? At fall and winter sports in general?

There's an easy way to accomplish this.....

Get your damn shots!

It's not the typical sports take, but really, all this vaccine business really DOES impact the world of sports. If we want herd immunity and a return to something that resembles normal, then getting the shots is the right move, not just for you but for all of us.

Checking today's paper, it looks like just north of 42% of all of us here in Wisconsin have had at least one shot, and nearly 32% have had both. Doesn't mean any of us can let our guard down, though. And yes, I am as tired of all of this crap as anyone.

But we gotta do what we gotta do.

Stay safe! 

Opening Day 2021 Recap

 Well, we're three games into the 2021 MLB season. And after a memorable 6-5 come-from-behind Opening Day victory, the Milwaukee Brewers are scuffling along with a 1-2 record.

Being at Opening Day, being part of the rowdy crowd of 11,740, was amazing. Seemed so great to actually BE in the ballpark again.

Some thoughts on that game...

A PRE-RECORDED Sausage Race?!?! That was pretty lame. And also generated the loudest boos of the day.

MASKS WERE required in the stands, in the concourse, in line for food. Pretty much everywhere. Judging from the fans in our section, it's safe to say the crowds were probably 98% in compliance.

DISTANCED SEATING was well-executed by the Brewer organization. Seats were sold in pods of two to six, and unused seats were zip-tagged to prevent 'cheating'.

ON THE FIELD, we have to have better pace in games! Thursday's Opening Day tilt took 4 hours, 14 minutes to complete, for goodness sake! All that time to play 10 innings? And the extra inning started with a runner at second base (do like this wrinkle, by the way). But the game featured 13 pitchers, 26 walks (17 issued by Milwaukee pitchers alone!) and 22 hits. 

Come on, MLB, pick it up a little! Saturday's "old school" game, a 2-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins in a pitcher's duel, only went 2:36! But then, when there's only three total walks, that makes a difference.

WITH THE SMALLER crowds, getting to the parking lot, entering AmFam Field, and getting out of the parking lot after the game was a snap. Waits in line for food were not that big a deal, either.

An Opening Day Like No Other

 The Milwaukee Brewers have their home opener on Thursday, their 51st season. It's no April Fools! Actual in-person baseball is back!

There was going to be a LOT of celebrating in 2020 for that magical 50th Anniversary season. Covid-19 got in the way of that, and pretty much every thing else.

I've been to probably 35 home openers. And after scoring tickets to join the "Chosen 12,000" for this year's game, it will be the 26th attended with my oldest son at my side. Doesn't get any better than that.

But this will be a home opener like no other, as the Brewers sent out an email of more don'ts than do's for the 1:10 p.m. game with the Minnesota Twins.

No Tailgating is the one that leaps off the page. How weird will it be to do the walk up to Miller .. er, AmFam Field without the scent of burning charcoal, burgers and brats in the air? No carry in food (there goes my stable, as I have always taken in peanuts to snack on). In fact, each fan is only allowed to bring in one unopened plastic bottle of water, soda or juice.

No cash transactions in the ballpark -- any food or souvenir purchase will be done with credit, debit or digital wallet payments.

Thankfully, the roof will be closed for the game. Initial contacts from the Brewers had indicated it would be open for health protocols, but with the temperatures not hitting 40, I'm thrilled they changed their minds.

All the regulations in the world won't taint this experience for me. Geaux Brewers!

Marquette Makes "Smart" Decision

So the Marquette Golden Eagles (and, yes, I still think of them as the Warriors!) have hired Shaka Smart as their new men's basketball coach.

Smart move, in many ways.

An Oregon High School grad (Go Panthers!), Shaka Smart will bring a new attitude to Marquette, one which the previous coach, Steve Wojciechowski, let get away. A disciple of Duke's Mike Krzyewski, Wojo (128-95 in seven years) saw his street cred among Wisconsin players (among others) go south when the Hauser brothers (of Stevens Point) both transferred out to other programs. This after Wojo let high-scoring (and high shooting) Markus Howard pretty much run the program.

Smart won't let that happen. He had success at VCU with players who played with a chip on their shoulders, guys who played hard and together. He took VCU to the 2011 final four and made Sweet 16 appearances the following two seasons before he was hired by Texas.

In six years, he posted a 190-86 record, but this year the No. 3 seed Texas team was upset by 14-seed Abilene Christian in the opening round of the tournament.

But keep in mind that in Texas, basketball usually seems like an after-thought. This is a football first school in a football first state in a football first region.

Over 12 seasons, Smart has a record of 414-272. Can he get Marquette back to the national stage? Al McGuire set the gold standard for the school, going 296-79 in 13 seasons AND bringing back a national championship in 1977. Lofty goals, for certain, but I think this program is headed in the right direction.

Baseball Should Limit The Dreaded Defensive Shift

 That scourge of baseball, the dreaded "defensive shift" has one again raised it's ugly head.

Today's baseball managers tend to over-use it. The Milwaukee Brewers, for example, employed a shift 44.4% of the time last season, the fourt-highest rate in baseball. That's not likely to change in 2021.

But it's a tactic that's been around for decades.

I was reading "The Big Fella" recently, a great biography on Babe Ruth by Jane Leavy. To quote the passage:

Having created the expectation he (Ruth) understood it was his job to fulfill it. During the 1946 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals employed a then radical defensive shift to foil Ted Williams, packing the right side of the infield and leaving the left virtually unprotected. "They did that to me in the American League one year," Ruth told Frank Graham. "I coulda hit .600 that year slicing singles to left."

"Why didn't you?" Graham asked.

"That wasn't what the fans came out to see."

Sadly, too many of today's ballplayers ignore what the shift presents.

Fun fact coming from that Babe Ruth book...the Yankees added pin strips to their uniform look -- now a classic -- to make Ruth look svelte!

Major League Baseball is going to test several new rules in the minor leagues this season. MLB wants to limit defensive shifts, change the pickoff rules for pitchers, expand the size of bases and perhaps test automated strike zones.

I'm fine with most those, and perhaps adding the DH to the National League should be a thought as well. But as for automated strike zones, I think we need to skip that. Call me old school, but I still think the human umpire gives spice to the game. Just as long as said umpire is consistent! When the strike zone changes from inning to inning, or from the start of the game to the end, that's a BIG problem.

Got my Opening Day tickets for April 1st! We had tickets for Opening Day 2020, and we all know how THAT worked out, but I rolled the credit over and was given the opportunity to purchase early.

So, our little group (Stevie joins Garrett and I) will be among the "Chosen 12,000" cheering on the Crew against the Minnesota Twins. Nice thing about the smaller crowd -- less traffic, easier parking, less lines. It's all good.

Time For Bucky To Think Outside Of The Box

 Let's talk Wisconsin Badgers winter sports for a bit.

Women's hockey? They just won their sixth National Championship. Kudos to Coach Mark Johnson.

Men's hockey? Back in the National Championship tournament for the first time in six years, and Coach Tony Granato's squad is a Number One seed in the 16-team tourney with a great opportunity to win it all.

Men's basketball? Coach Greg Gard's squad closed out a somewhat disappointing season with a quick exit in the NCAA tournament, falling to a Number One seed (Baylor) after shocking North Carolina. Streaky team on offense, but it was Baylor's defense that sent Bucky home. Still, Wisconsin went dancing, again.

Women's volleyball? Technically a fall sport competing now in this Covid-19 season, but still this squad is the top-ranked team in the nation and the program is consistently ranked among the best under coach Kelly Sheffield .

Then there's the women's basketball team. WHY can't Wisconsin put a competitive team on the court? Hell, they haven't had a winning season since the 2010-11 season, and haven't been in the NCAA tournament since 2010.

Just hours (maybe minutes!) after falling in the Big Ten tournament, Athletic Director Barry Alvarez fired Coach Jonathan Tsipis. In five seasons (counting this year's 5-19 record, and a pathetic 2-18 Big Ten mark) Tsipis was only 50-99 overall and a miserable 16-74 in conference.

To add insult to injury, the team's best player, 6-1 junior forward Imani Lewis, entered the transfer portal.

Come on, Barry. Let's think out of the box on hiring a new coach, maybe take a long, hard look at bringing in someone out of the WNBA. Wisconsin hasn't been able to attract most of the state's top women's talent, keeping them home like the Badgers have done in football.

Certainly someone with a WNBA background might be able to stir things up a bit, bring some attention to a program that needs desperately needs it.

Shake things up, Barry. Do the unusual.

What does Wisconsin have to lose?

It's NCAA Tourney Bracket Time!

 We've waited a long, long time for this -- the return of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

March Madness, in all it's glory, is back this week after getting sidelined in 2020 by Covid-19. That means that Virginia and Coach Tony Bennett have been, technically, the defending champions for two years.

It's a wild tournament field to be sure.  It's been a long time since teams like Kentucky, Duke and Louisville didn't get invited to the Big Dance. The streak of 24 straight appearances ends for Duke, while Kentucky fails for the first time in eight years.

I always fill out a bracket or two, though the method for my madness is questionable at best. I've been known to pull for teams I root for (like Wisconsin and a few others) or teams I have a connection to (Louisiana-Lafayette and LSU from my time living down that was, as does Texas, coached by the pride of the Village of Oregon, Shaka Smart) or teams I just root AGAINST like Notre Dame, North Carolina, etc.

What's amazing about this year's tournament is the fact that nine of the Big Ten's 14 teams were invited, with two of them Number One seeds (Illinois, Michigan) and two of them Number Two seeds (Iowa, Ohio State). The last Big Ten team invited, Michigan State, needs to get through a play-in game to advance. The Spartans are only 15-12, and I suspect the selection committee may have given them this shot based on venerable coach Tom Izzo. That and the fact that the Spartans put up some serious wins down the stretch.

As for the Badgers, a team that struggled to a 17-12 record and went winless against ranked opponents (0-9) since the first of the year, getting a ninth seed was a gift. If the Badgers don't figure out a way to put the ball THROUGH the basket, not just around it, this will be a short stay. 

Wisconsin meets an 18-10 North Carolina team and it's veteran coach, Roy Williams. Since returning to his alma mater, Williams has taken NC to the tournament 13 out of 14 years, and seven times has been the Number One seed in the process.

Bucky has it's work cut out for it. But as we know, when it comes to this tournament, all it takes is a hot hand or two to give a team momentum.

Speaking of brackets, if you're interested go to Yahoo Fantasy Sports Tourney Pick'em; I've got a bracket group set up: Jim's Magnificent Group  (Group ID #3785). If interested and you need the password, reach out to me on facebook messager.