Category Archives: Milwaukee Brewers

Merry Christmas…

January 6, 2015 – 6:51 pm

…and Happy New Year!

Santa delivered a big win for a much needed bye week in the NFC North Division Championship Game against the Detroit Lions. That was followed up by a Barry Alverez lead Badgers football team’s upset of Auburn in the Outback Bowl on New Years day. Then the Dallas Cowboys took care of business in the first round of the playoffs and punched their ticket for a rematch of the Ice Bowl (yeah, I said it) this Sunday. Marquette’s Men’s Basketball team has been a pleasant surprise, and the Badger’s Men’s team has been holding it’s own. Sorry I haven’t been following them as closely as I should, but I will once the NFL season is over and we head into the sports doldrums and count down the days to the NCAA Tournament.

And don’t forget about the Bucks, who have already won more games this season than they did the entire last year. I’m not sure when Brewers pitchers and catchers report, but before you know it we’ll be listening to the dulcet tones of Bob Ueker coming from sunny Arizona while we dream of warmer days at Miller Park.

And just a quick note on the passing of Stuart Scott. I didn’t know the man personally, but I did invite him into my living room nearly every night on SportsCenter. He and Rich Eisen were often much more entertaining than the highlights that were played. By all indications, he was a decent guy with a great sense of humor, and more importantly, a very loving father. Where ever you are Mr. Scott, I hope the pillows are as cool on the other side as they are here.

By andylwellman | Also posted in Andy Wellman, Green Bay Packers, Marquette Golden Eagles, UW Badgers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Just A Few Thoughts

January 24, 2014 – 12:49 am

Here are a couple of topics that I was thinking about today. I won’t go into much detail about them, as I’m not very knowledgeable about them, and I also thought that it might be a way to spark some conversation in the comments sections.

First, the University of Wisconsin Men’s Basketball team. What the heck happened? The last time I wrote about them, they were 16-0 and off to the best start in school history. Since then they’ve lost 3 straight, including one at home, and have fallen in the rankings from 3rd to 9th. I hope I didn’t jinx them, but they’ve gone from nearly no national coverage when they were doing well, to everyone wondering if they were just lucky to start out the season so well. Should we be concerned about the rest of the season for the Badgers?

Second, the Milwaukee Brewers signed free-agent RHP Matt Garza to a 4 year, $52 million deal pending a physical. He was 10-6 last year with a 3.82 ERA while playing for both the Cubs and the Rangers. He has had some injury issues, but does appear to fair better in the National League. He gives up his fair share of homers, which could troublesome in Miller Park, but he doesn’t walk many, so that helps to limit the damage done by the gopher ball. How does this affect the outlook for the 2014 Brewer’s season?

Third, today ESPN declared that the Milwaukee Bucks were the worst run franchise in professional sports. That seems a little hard to believe when you consider the likes of the Cleveland Browns and the Florida Marlins (I can’t think of an NHL example, as I’m REALLY clueless about that league). Why are they the worst, and what needs to be done to change that?

So there we have some talking points. Feel free to comment, or write an entire post if you wish.

By andylwellman | Also posted in Andy Wellman, Bucks, UW Badgers | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Buy Or Sell

July 6, 2012 – 1:37 am

It’s that time of the year again in Major League Baseball. The time for GM’s to decide if they’re all in for this season, or if it’s time to trade their best players for prospects (of course some will choose to stand pat, but there’s no fun in that!). And the Brewer’s Doug Melvin will be no different.

Most times when a team chooses to sell one of it’s top players, it’s because they have an expiring contract and the team feels that they won’t be able to resign them. So it’s better to try and trade them for something than let them walk away for nothing. The Brewers benefitted from such a situation a few years back when the Cleveland Indians decided to “sell” on C.C. Sabathia.

Now the tables have turned with our own Zach Grienke. His contract is up at the end of this season, and the Brewers need to decide if they are going to hang onto him and risk not being able to sign him, or if they will essentially give up on this season and try to trade him for some other teams prospects. And thus the debate begins.

Is the Brewer’s season over, and if so, do they give up on the current make up of the roster in an attempt to become competitive again some time in the future? For what it’s worth, I’m for standing pat. Use the money that wasn’t paid to Prince Fielder and get Grienke signed. It was the injuries that sank this season (along with a freakishly bad showing from Rickie Weeks), and with a solid offseason to get healthy and tweak the roster, the Brewers should be very competitive in the NL Central next year.

By andylwellman | Also posted in Andy Wellman | Comments (0)

Bullpen Smells Like Cowpies

July 10, 2011 – 11:13 pm

I wonder if when Mark Attanasio went to sign up Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum he mentioned how the Brewers were on the rise. How this team could contend for the post-season. How a large part of the players were signed for the next 4 years. How committed the Brewers were to being successful franchise for years to come.

I wondered if he also mentioned how the bullpen will lose or give them a no decision in roughly half their starts. I wonder if he mentioned that in two-thirds of the games the offense would score 5 or more runs, but that would still not be enough for the bullpen to hold.

So much enthusiasm, so much promise, so much hope was placed in the signing of these two guys. Add them to a rotation that includes Gallardo and Wolf and The Brewers have as good a rotation as anyone in the major leagues. As an added bonus, Narveson is a 5th man with a winning record. With these pitchers, not only is the post-season possible, but we should be thinking division title.

Now it seems we can’t count on our bullpen to hold a game. I can’t even imagine how much intestinal fortitude it must take for our starters to hold back from thanking the bullpen for another blown game. How much courage and inner strength it must take for our offense to let go of the fact that their good game was washed away by a poor relief effort. I do know however, the feeling of stress, the turning upside of the stomach and the nails bit off of having to watch a pathetic bullpen TRY to hold a game for the win.

With the All-Star breaking coming up and the trade deadline not to far ahead, it’s time to see how Mark Attanasio addresses this glaring need in our pitching staff. In the mean time, there’s no forgetting our bullpen now, they’re where the smell of manure from left-center field is.

By andylwellman | Also posted in Steve Wellman | Comments (1)