Oh-tani Surprise

There was a big crowd around the batting cages at Maryvale this week. Travis Shaw was smacking the ball as many of the invitees were watch with intentness as the veteran third baseman blistered each machine thrown pitch. Rarely do you see the big boys in The Show in the outside batting cages. Something was up. As we entered, we saw a Brewers team on the field and a team in red jersey’s coming to bat.

As some of the first through the gates, we took our seats and there were just a few in the ballpark. Love this time of the year and the early time at the ballpark. It is all yours. Usually there is just a few players warming up in the outfield. But today, we were given a sheet with all of the players numbers, many in the 90s on the back of their uniform.

There was no announcement of the game. Like an old time ‘Hollywood Sneak Preview’, before the scheduled game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Seattle Mariners, the Angels and Brewers, represented by lineups otherwise consisting mostly of minor leaguers, played inside Maryvale Baseball Park, in front of a few fans, including me, a bunch of scouts and a ton of media.

Then the red jersey’s took to the field. And out of the third base dugout came large man wearing #17 who walked to the mound, quite confident. With his warm ups, he was a pitcher with great confidence.

The sudden realization of what was happening hit me like a smack of thunder. This was to showcase a starting pitcher. Shohei Ohtani, was right in front of me. ‘Smack’, the sound of the fastball hitting the back of the catcher’s glove ricocheted throughout the stands. Although the stands were quite empty, the anticipated attention back in Japan, we were told, was such that the practice game was shown on live television, despite the first pitch coming at 2A, Saturday, Tokyo time.

For the next 2 2/3rds innings, eight (8) strikeouts, two (2) runs and four (4) hits, one realized that Ohtani, who had been the highest priced import from Japan, looked good, with a massive slider that was awesome as he had batters leaning back thinking they were about to get hit. Bigger than one expected, Ohtani was the real deal and it was thrilling to see this reward before the regularly scheduled game.

Someone once said, you nearly always see something in baseball that you have never seen before.

Sure, it was a ‘B’ game featuring the Salt Lake City Bees and the Sky Sox, but this morning…this very special morning, one glimpsed a bit into the future which few were fortunate enough to witness in person.

The magic of spring.

Play Ball!
#watchingattanasio

#watchingattanasio

The air is filled with the perfume of jasmine in Arizona during this time of the year. Flowers blooming everywhere give new hope to life for the coming year. The sound of the bat hitting the ball and the scattered talk of the players indicates that this is spring and hope really is in the air. That cannot be said for the Milwaukee Brewers. This is a time of expected expectations. This is due to the leader of the Cream City Nine, one Ron Roenicke.

Since taking over for the disaster that was led by Ken Macha, in his four years in the Brewer dugout, Roenicke has been noted for being a nice guy and a very honest man. It does not speak to his ability to manage a baseball team except for Aarmis Ramirez who says Roenicke is the best manager he has ever had. But remember, the great veteran third baseman played for the Cubs before coming to Milwaukee.

What has Roenicke done? He has won 22 more games than he has lost. He had his team blow a huge lead last year after leading the Central Division for over 4 months last year and dropping completely out of the playoff picture beginning on Labor Day. It may have been the biggest disappointment in Brewer history. And, oh yes….he was not fired by the owner. Nor was his third base coach released. But that’s another story. And during the entire first week of Spring Training, his team continued the slide until this week.

The Brewers did little to improve his chances of improving because, according to the owner, ‘it is a good team’ and he expects them to win. Let’s look at this team that is so good few changes were made.

At catching, no need to improve here as Martin Maldonado is one of the best back-ups in the game. Jonathan Lucroy is a terrific hitter but much has been said of his hamstring problem. He finally played in his first single Spring Training game on Saturday.

First base is always a problem. Adam Lind was brought in and he has been virtually a no-show as he has only played in two games. Nobody backs him up because both of the players that rotated in this position have left.

Second base has Scooter Gannett who is now full-time at the keystone sack. But he has not proven that he can hit left handers.

Shortstop has a gem. Jean Segura is the real deal. He went through a lot of problems last season but he has looked terrific in Spring Training both on the field and at bat.

Third base is Aarmis Ramirez who is as good as any in the league in the Hot Corner. But it is his last season. There is no replacement sight.

Left field is a mystery. Kris Davis has never looked good since being named Braun’s heir apparent two seasons ago. Gerardo Parra is terrific but he may be needed to fill the hole at first. And there is always Logan Schafer who has looked brilliant in the field during Spring Training. He has made a personal highlight reel this spring with his fielding. But can he hit?

Center is home to one of the most underrated outfielders in baseball. Carlos Gomez IS the face of the Brewers. There is none better.

Right belongs to the former face of the team. Ryan Braun looks strong but still has no home runs in the spring. In fact, he has no hits so far this spring. With all the talk that his thumb is OK, don’t forget that is not all one has to worry about with this form All-Star. There is still the head problem that no one is talking about. Can he play under the cloud he created as the face of baseball to the shadow of a ballplayer he is today?

Pitching is the key to making it into the playoffs and winning the World Series. The Brewers traded their #1 pitcher to Houston for nobody. They do have a solid performer in Kyle Lohse and the real-deal, Wily Peralta. But after that is a wing and a prayer. Can Jimmy Nelson become the major league performer everyone thinks he will become? Can Fiers paint more corners than Gallardo and actually not bore all of us to death? And, can we unload the weight around this team’s neck, Matt Garza, and get someone in return?

As for relief pitching, we have what could be a pretty good bullpen. A-Rod, Henderson and the Hulk from Cincinnati. It could be a potent 7th, 8th and 9th inning trio. But can they perform in 162 games?

The team continues to play poorly in the field. Mental mistakes in handling the ball, which are fundamental for most clubs, is a lost art in Maryvale. This is what extends losing streaks. There was a feeling among fans at the ballpark this spring that Roenicke could be fired before the season began. Then the team went on a three game winning streak before being clobbered by Seattle on Friday and totally outplayed by a split-squad Cub team on Saturday. In an interview watching Jimmy Nelson pitch, Roenicke argued that while Nelson had worked on a curve ball in the off-season for a third pitch in his arsenal, the skipper felt that he should be reverting back to the good slider he had last season. What? Who monitors these guys? Is there no communication between the pitching staff and their players during the off-season? Why do we have to wait until his second outing to discover that the manager and pitcher are not on the same wave length? Lets see…the pitcher thinks he needs a curve ball. The manager thinks he should have a slider. Yikes!

We are all #watchingattanasio and hope that someone, namely the General Manger, gives up on this Macha re-do and bring us someone who can finally turn this franchise around. But the problem with that thinking is that since the GM came aboard, the Brewers have continued their losing streak with 956 wins and 987 losses under Doug Melvin’s leadership. In their history, the Milwaukee Brewers have won 3,419 games and lost 3,739 games. Nearly 26.4% of all losses have come under his leadership. That is not a legacy to be proud of. #watchingattanasio

So it is another spring when the air of hope is eternal. There is no bright hopeful in the wings…no Prince…no Braun…no Hart who can give us all the lift our spirit needs. The farm system is bare. The proud days of 1982 are still visions in every Brewer fan’s head. Pauly is now that old-looking manager of the Minnesota Twins and Robin is that old-looking guy in the Crew’s dugout who is getting bigger ovations at the ballpark than most of the players for just for showing up. Rollie, Simba, Gantner, Coop and Oglivie don’t bother to show up any more. Harvey is watching from above.

Will we ever see the hope…the dream of being the World Champion realized?

It’s all up to one guy who lives in Los Angeles.

Play Ball!

The Sights Of Spring

‘Get your ice cold, fresh squeezed lemonade now. You know you love it.’

One of the wonders of a ballpark in Spring is the things you see. The  guy in the section behind the screen giving a little boy a ball he caught. Or the girl at the end of the aisle waiting to buy an ice-cold Lemonade from the hawking vendor. There is the guy with a bullhorn for a voice screaming at the top of his lungs, the name of the player coming to bat. Always a pleasure to be near this guy at Maryvale.

It is also the thrill of seeing a great play from a player this early in the season. One of those is the White Sox third baseman, Conor Gillaspie, who tied a record held by thousands when he assisted on all three outs in an inning. But it was how he did that which was amazing. On one play in particular, he made a fantastic back-handed stab at a hard hit ball, grabbed it with his glove, whirled around and threw a strike to the first baseman (on this day it was Adam Dunn) to record the out.

The agony is seeing yet another poor outing by Matt Garza, the pitcher the Brewers rescued from the Rangers via the Cubs by beating out the Angels to sign him. Every pitch he throws looks like a grapefruit. One should remind him it is the Cactus League.

The occasional player running on the outfield track is always a pleasure to see and for those who have not been to Spring Training, they often talk aloud in wonder that the game is not as sacrosanct as during the regular season. It really is the visual essence of Spring Training.

Skip Schumaker in a Cincinnati uniform just looks strange. But he does have his familiar #55 on his back this season and is hitting .478 this Spring in that Red uniform.  Of course,  Lyle Overbay looks strange at first for the Brewers. Wasn’t he here before? Doesn’t he hold the Brewer record for doubles? Just imagine, you could have a different Brewer first baseman every inning. Beside Overbay there is Mark Reynolds, Jonathan Lucroy and Martin Maldonado (both catchers combined for 24 games at first base last season) and then there is Hunter Morris, Sean Halton and Jason Rogers, all who have been up and down from Nashville in the past few years. In addition, there is the one who started most of the games last year, Juan Francisco. An entire team of first basemen on one team. Only in Spring Training. And, only with the Brewers.

Speaking of former Brewer first basemen, Prince Fielder in a uniform, baggy as usual, with the number 84 on it is so discomforting. One can only suppose that the number stands for the $84 million he is earning each year for the next 100 years.

A Sight Of Spring
Prince Fielder of the Texas Rangers and Avisail Garcia of the Chicago White Sox at first base.

The Texas Rangers Avisail Garcia is a massive fellow. At 6’4”, 240 lb., he reminds one of all those old pictures in the era of Babe Ruth who was clearly so much bigger than most of the other players in the Bigs at that time. The other day, after hitting a single, he was standing just off the first base bag, clearly a head taller and much bigger than Prince Fielder (see picture above). Not much love here. All you have to know is that they hate each other after both were Tigers together and that’s not all.

The player of the year in the American League could very well be the Cuban All-Star for the Chicago White Sox, Jose Abreu, #79 in the program and #1 in your hearts. A big (6’3”, 255 lb) first baseman, he is superb. Powerful and an RBI machine, Abreu is the real deal. The Southsiders are going to have fun with this fellow on the first bag this season.

The hope of Spring would not be complete unless you saw the flawless swing of Logan Schafer. It is one of those picturesque left hand hitter swings that mesmorizes. And as usual, he is hitting well above most (.345 this Spring) and will make the team with all of the hope of past years but while sitting on the bench in Milwaukee, he will cool down and barely hit his weight during the regular season. He looks heavier this season but the speed is still there.

Vonnie Gallardo is still throwing 200 pitches a game with more 3-2 counts than he can nibble away the corners with. If he just did less of the nibbling, he would get through a game in about 55 minutes. The starting rotation of the Brewers look like, #1 Vonnie; #2 Kyle Lohse; #3 Wily Peralta; #4 Eric Estrada #5 Matt Garza.

The Men In Blue

At Camelback Ranch the other day, the four umpires marched down the third base line, in unison abreast of one another, to the music of ‘Hill Street Blues’, a hilarious moment few would ever see in a real game in The Show.

The ongoing conversation between the umpire and the third base coach of the Milwaukee Brewers throughout one of the games this week had one wondering, ‘Are they talking about going to Don & Charlies or the value of the baseball memorabilia collection there’? Guess that’s the reason why he continues to coach even if he personally is responsible, and leading the league, for about five lost games a year.

The Angels keep believing that Albert Pujols will come back from old age and make a difference this year. But the real wonder plays centerfield. Mike Trout is magnificent. He also has 11 RBI this Spring already.

The sun is warm, the drinks are cold. The hamburgers, hot dogs and brats are giving a wonderful aroma throughout the stadiums. People are smiling. No one is being annoyed by that unruly fan or the stumbling drunk. Hey. It’s Spring Training. Everybody is out of shape during this time of the year.

The Dodgers? Their wallets are so heavy, there are just a lot of smiles over at Camelback Ranch. But they do have one of the greatest pitchers in The Show, Clayton Kershaw, even if he has lost all three decision this Spring and has a 9.20 ERA.

Martin Prada is flashing his glove for the D’backs and makes it look easy playing third base. Plus he’s hitting .500. Yikes.

The Cubs?

Then there is Jonathon Lucroy. He is one of the most underrated players in the major leagues. Although his arm has never been one to compare with others, he is a sure handed backstop and a bat like Yogi. He can flat-out hit. And for a catcher, that is fantastic. They are going to have to really keep him fresh and move him to first base if the squad of many over there don’t pan out.

Then there are the managers for many of the teams who sit next to their dugouts on folding chairs as if to see the action even closer. You can just imagine that they are saying, ‘Did you see him dip his shoulder on that one?’, as if they couldn’t see that a few feet from where they are sitting, back in the dugout. It’s a sun thing. They want to get their share of Spring Training sun to take back to those freezing fans in Milwaukee, Chicago and all places other than Florida or Arizona.

Cleveland is showing signs of being very interesting. It is largely a cast of players the manager really loves. And they are leading the Cactus League. Is that a good thing?

Scooter Gennett has outplayed Rickie Weeks in the Spring. And Aramis is ready. His hitting never needs a refresher. And Braunschweiger? He is hitting the cover off of the ball. And strangely, the other day in a visiting ballpark, there were no adverse jeers. Amazing what .500+ hitting will do.

The pitchers are rounding into shape. Chris Sale is the real deal. He looks overwhelming this spring. For a left-handed batter, it must seem like the ball is coming out of the back of their right ear.

Then there is Hank the dog.

The Racing Sausages

The sausages are running in the Seventh at Maryvale and pose with the kids for what seems like hours after their race. The line at the merchandise shop is back up outside the door. Can’t tell the players unless you are wearing his name on your back. The grills are being cleaned for the next day and as you walk out of the stadium, people are smiling and happy. Why not? It’s 80 degrees and you’ve just taken in a game, some with kids, grand children and friends. Walking past the vacant practice fields, you know that you are one of the luckiest people in the world.

This is a ritual everyone should enjoy at least once in their lifetime.

Play Ball!

Can’t You See I’m Crying? Can’t You See the Tears?

It is not the cloth that we have to worry about. It is the thread that makes up the cloth. The fabric is critical. If just one strand is of poor quality it makes the entire piece cheaper. In baseball, this equates to each player who makes up a team. Often, this magic ingredient is called “chemistry”. The chemistry of the Milwaukee Nine is based on the ball and glove logo of old, strong, true blue, built through a farm system that has made every effort to make a small market team viable with good quality people and players that these fans can believe in. After all, they have lived and breathed with these young men’s progress ever since they were signed. That is what a small market team community does. It is always in search of hope and dreams to come. Ryan Braun was once believed to be the strongest thread in the entire Brewer cloth. His deterioration has not happened because he cheated. Cheats are cheats. We know how to handle them. But what has made our cloth, the fabric of what we believe in as the True Blue Brew Crew, crafted by legends like Yount, strong and rich is the belief that all is as good as the people who have made the beer, cheese and sausage that has made our land famous. To the good people of Milwaukee and Wisconsin, that is as important as life itself. Nietzsche said, “I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.” You ask why?

“This is all B.S. I am completely innocent.’ Braun, Dec 2011

“I truly believe in my heart and I would bet my life that this substance never entered my body at any point.” Braun, Feb 2012

“There are a lot of haters-a lot of people who doubted me and lot of people who continue to doubt me.” Braun, Feb 2012

“When you know you’re innocent of something, it’s extremely difficult to have to prove it when you’re in a process where you’re 100% guilty until proven innocent.” Braun, Feb 2012

“We were able to get through this because I am innocent and the truth is on our side.” Braun, Feb 2012

“I have been an open book, willing to share details from every aspect of my life as part of this investigation, because I have nothing to hide.” Braun, Feb 2012

“I have always taken tremendous pride in my image and my reputation in being a role model and handling myself the right way and doing things the right way.” Braun, Feb 2012

“I have nothing to hide and have never had any other relationship with Bosch.” Braun, Feb 2013

“The truth still hasn’t changed.” Braun, July 9, 2013

“I have tried to handle the entire situation with honor, with integrity, with class, with dignity and with professionalism because that’s  who I am and that’s how I’ve always lived my life.” Braun, Feb 2012

“Lies were never innocent. Their purpose was to escape punishment, or work, or responsibility, and they were used for profit.” John Steinbeck, ‘East of Eden‘

The improbable happened when performance enhancing drugs removed this icon in our minds. A terrible battle emerges between loyalty for the team and the loyalty for the individual. That is…team loyalty remains while loyalty for the icon diminishes until our next close encounter…at a ballpark whether the icon is still in the uniform that is familiar to us all.

The real problem remains because it wasn’t about PEDs at all. It was about this former icon’s ruthless use of fabricated truths that made so many…that made us lose faith in truth itself. What to do?

In business, we fire cheaters. Contract or not, cheaters are dealt with severely and sent packing. As for liars, we fire them. No matter what we do to them we can never trust them again. They have planted the seed of doubt. They have no more authority. They have nothing more we can trust them with.

Now, as the season is ebbing and after the season has ended, our disgust continues because of the reminders…because Braun brought into his sleeve of lies another stalwart hero of this land, Aaron Rodgers.

He Braunschweigered Aaron to profess his innocence.

How could you? How could you lie to others to get them to profess your alleged innocence?

“Lies are never innocent.”

Go away. I am hurt. Can’t you see I am hurt? You lied to me. You lied to all of us. I don’t want to see you at Maryvale this coming Spring. It would mean that the Season of Braunschweiger, the Lost Season of Lie, will become the Spring of Doubt. We want to see Nori in right; Cory at first; GoGo in center; Jean at short. We want to see Luc behind the plate and Aramis at third and Rickie at second. We want to see Khris or Logan or anybody in left. We don’t want to see you. We don’t want to see you at all.

Spring is about hope, not doubt and dope. Get out. Get out before all of the disdain of your lies come heaping down on the team I love, we all love. These are the hopes brought about by Bambi’s Bombers, Harvey’s Wallbangers…legends of our youth and of our dreams. These are the guys Cooper made the hit for. These are the guys Rollie came in and saved. These are guys Augie, Mollie, Simba and Sanders fought to bring the dream. Guys like Gimby, Vuch and Stormin, Juan and Sixto created and allowed the dream to grow and what Oglivie made the catch in Baltimore for. Get out. Go to where all liars go to live…in a castle of themselves surrounded by a moat of never-ending lies.

All of this was revisited this past week when the Cardinals came to town and the TV announcing crew from the St. Louis side brought up the issue again. None of the other PEDboys were mentioned. They just centered upon our former left fielder and how it will burden the team with his long-term contract strangling a small market team.

Welcome to our new world. Welcome to our new life. Thanks for the joy you are bringing to all of us. I am hurting now. We are all hurting. We can no longer see the pennant in our future. We now are on food stamps to get free food at the ballpark because management, who also believed and trusted in you, doesn’t want us to abandon the team like you have done to our City…our team.

We haven’t. We won’t.

Get out. Can’t you see I’m crying? Can’t you see my tears? Can you not see that we can no longer see the dreams of our future? We need freedom…freedom away from you. We need space where you do not exist. We just need to have the guys we believe in to just….

Play Ball!

It Is Official

“I’m just a little bit caught in the middle.”

That was the lead lyric from “Moneyball”, the Academy Award nominated movie that brings baseball’s greatest attribute to the forefront each and every year…hope. Without it we cannot survive. And each spring, like yesterday in Maryvale, hope was once again put on the front burner. Lost was the cold of the snowy North. Welcome to another amazing season of hope, or as we call it, baseball.

The thrill of a new season is born days and months ahead of the walk up to the gate. The anticipation builds as the crowd grows as you get nearer and nearer. It is a ritual that commands respect because it brings renewal. You have been here before when all was clean and pure and the world was still well ahead of you. This was always the seminal moment of time as it marked that new year of hope.

Now, as we enter the gate, tickets in hand and searching ahead for that first view of the field that allows us to know that the world is OK and everything is in its place, we in fact are caught in the middle…in the middle of life from the first day of discovery of this magnificent game to the last game of life.

Yesterday we made that same journey again.

The hawkers were monotone in their chant of ‘can’t tell the player without a program’ to the beer vendor’s taunt, ‘it’s cold and it’s from Milwaukee’. The smell was the key. The brats smoking on the grills indicated that all was well with the world. In his very first at bat in the bottom of the first, Ryan Braun cracked a home run to right center to launch a new season. The refreshing journey was true to form. Life is good and baseball is back.

Play Ball!