Hey Guys,

I apologize if this is posted somewhere else.

Check your local listings for a 1982 Brewers program on the MLB Network.  Set your DVRs.

"1982 Milwaukee Brewers: Highlighting manager Harvey Kuenn's slugging American League champions of 1982. Kuenn took over in the dugout for Buck Rodgers early in the season."

 on tonight in LA at 9PM. SWEET.  very much looking forward to seeing it. should be awesome. i miss county stadium.

Jamie.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Brewers are off today, and as such there's no game thread. But, take a look at Jamie's photo gallery and you'll feel like you've been to a game, if not more. Thanks Jamie!

Hello Everyone,

I have to say, this trip was easily the best Spring Training trip, ever.  This was the 4th time I drove down there to watch baseball since I moved to LA about 5 years ago.  I have made some great friends going down there; and we made plans to meet up and stay together this year in Phoenix.

I drove down there in the middle of the night to get down there for when the players started getting to the ballpark.  This year, I made it a point to go and watch other teams, where as in the past I mostly just hung out at the Brewers camp.  Living about 2 miles from Dodger Stadium; and the Dodgers being my 2nd favorite team; I was especially excited to go to the new Dodgertown.  The new facility for the Dodgers is just beautiful; and when they opened up the park to the public for the first time a day before the first game; my friends and i took advantage of the $1 hot dogs.  The guy on the PA announced that the Dodgers Ballpark aims to be the most fan friendly in the Cactus League; which is pretty cool.  The White Sox share the stadium with the Dodgers; but their practice fields have ZERO access for fans; which is really a shame.

Some Highlights of the Trip:

• -Went to the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Goodyear Ballpark, which hosts the Indians (and the Reds starting next year); and before the ribbons hit the ground, my friend Andy and I were in there side by side.  First ones in the new park! 
• Talking to the Brewers is always fun.  Four years ago, there were a lot less fans down there; so it has been fun to see the players and team get more popular.  It is always good to see and chat with these guys.  I talked to Seth a bit about how he hopes to improve his batting this year; with Jeff Suppan about how great his Sports bar here in LA is; and with Braunny about making three stops (hopefully the WBC, April, August) in LA this summer!  It was also great to see Chris Capuano.
• Got to meet a bunch of Dodgers that I haven't met before.  The access to the players here in LA is not so great; so it was fun to chat with Matt Kemp, James Loney; and even Andre Ethier about his favorite local diner in my neighborhood.  They really made a great effort to mingle with the fans; definitely one of the more fan friendly teams down there.
• My friends and I made a trip down to Tuscon (about 2 hours) to see the Rockies and DBacks play.  There was hardly anyone down there; and it seems that they are doing everything they can to move up closer to the other teams in the Cactus League.  It was fun to see Tulo and Todd Helton.
• On the last night I was down there my friends and I went to dinner at baby Kay's Cajun Kitchen.  The food there is fantastic; I lucked out and ran across it a few years back.  We had all just come from the Brewer game about 10 miles away; and surprisingly enough, Billy Castro walked in to the restaurant.  He came over and chatted with us for about 10 minutes; and then stopped by for another 10 minutes with his wife after they were done eating.  I told him congrats on the new job.  He said he is very excited about the team; and enjoys his new responsibilities.  What a great guy.
• Some former Brewers I ran into were: Tomo Ohka, Greg Aquino, Scotty Pod, Claudio Vargas, G. Mota, Mark Loretta, Lenny Harris, Don Money, Chris Bosio, Scott Fletcher, Ted Simmons, Don Baylor, Tony Graffanino, Kevin Seitzer, Doug Henry, Bill Schroeder, and Jason Bere.
• While in Tuscon I got to reenact the Wesley Snipes moment in Major League (They shot the Movie at the Rockies current stadium) when he finds out he makes the Major League team.  Charlie Sheen says: "Don't celebrate in front of guys that just died."  So he goes outside and does a little dance and says, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
• The trip had many highlights, but my favorite 10 minutes was when I listened to Greg Maddux talk baseball to a few players in the dugout.  He talked about how he wasn't afraid to pitch in the zone; how he used to work on the movement of his pitch by pitching balls 90 feet away into buckets; and how he loved it when the batter would move around in the box and not stay in the same place during an at bat.

VIP Fans of the Trip:

• I think this guy is the same guy from last year. 
• This guy aced the shirt; but kept the suspenders!
• I'm glad I dont have to decide who has a better moustache.  This guy or this guy.
• This has to be THE BEST PHOTO I took on the trip!
• I still cant believe a parent would let Dodgers owner sign their kid's forehead.

Misc Tips for Spring Training (Please ask me if you have any questions):

• Bring a Map of where you will be going.  I haven't run across a great map yet; so take 5 minutes to do a few Google Maps of where you will be headed.  Some of the new ballparks are a bit difficult to plug into a GPS cause of the names like Ballpark Way.
• Bring a Baseball and Blue Ballpoint (or a handful of Baseball Cards and a blue sharpie Blue Sharpie).  So far this spring the Brewers have been great about signing for the fans.
• Put on more sunscreen than you think.

You can never go wrong with these great places to eat:
1. Don and Charley's: They have great food (a bit pricey); and the place is packed with sports memorabilia.  Many players stop in there to eat; especially on the weekends.  The night we went we saw Bob Feller and Mike Fetters! 7501 E. Camelback Rd. Scottsdale AZ. 85251 (480) 990-0900
2.  Baby Kay's Cajun Kitchen: Get the Cajun Combo; the etouffee is the best thing on the menu!!!!  2119 East Camelback Rd
Phoenix, Arizona (602) 955-0011
3.  Oregano's Pizza:  I think we ate at the Scottsdale location.  Excellent Pizza.  Casual Dining.  We sat outside and split a pitcher of the local Hefeweizen Beer; which was incredible.  Don't forget to order The Original Pizza Cookie for Desert; you will thank me later.

My Full Set of Spring Pictures are now on my Flickr Page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jengber/sets/72157614569790843/

Hope Everyone is doing Great; and chat soon,
Jamie...

 

Hey Guys,

I just got back to LA; and have uploaded some pics from the 1st part of my trip.

Again, I am sorry that i wasnt able to report from camp; I stayed at (literally) 6 different places on my trip (between friends houses; and hotels in phoenix, scottsdale, and tucson); which meant a lot of moving around and not typing stories for the internet.

Here are a few pics to entice you; and i promise there are many more; including one that i took today of dodgers owner Frank McCourt signing a kid's forehead.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jengber/sets/72157614569790843/

yay!

Jamie.

Hello Dudes, I am very sorry that i havent been posting a report/pics; we have been running around 12 hours a day; and havent had reliable internet access. i have been getting some good ones; and will be posting ASAP. Seth McClung says hi; and he wanted to pass along that he has been working on his batting stance to improve his hitting. went to see the giants today. zito played catch with timmy lincecum; and r johnson played catch with cain. got some great shots of it; randy was tutoring cain how to throw some fancy pitches. tom hardicourt has a pretty awesome beard. soon, Jamie in LA

Hey Dudes,

I will be driving to AZ to be there for the Brewers workout tomorrow morning. This will be my 4th year going down there; and I am very excited to see all the players; and hang out with some great friends I am meeting up with in AZ.

I plan to take a bunch of pictures and upload them to my  flickr account as they accumulate. Hopefully my blog will be exciting enough for a front page bump (hint hint). ha!

As you probably know; the Dodgers are in AZ for the first time; and since they are my 2nd favorite team, I am excited to see them workout as well.

Go Brewers!

Jamie in LA

super fun. my awesome neighbor and huge phillies fan, missy and i went to the game. it was an electric atmosphere. it has surprised me every time ive been there how much more intense the energy is than at the beginning of the season. i have gone to about 35 games this season; and the acquisition of manny; love him or hate him has been huge for this team both on the field and in the stands. wish the brewers were playing. at least i got to see a matt stairs home run; which is a lot like watching a brewer victory... i posted a few pics from the game

Hey Guys, We had a blast yesterday at the game; despite it's abrupt ending. The 150 of us UW-Alumni were loud the whole game; chanting everything from "Let's Go Brewers" to cheers for every one of the guys in the Bullpen; which we were sitting next to. It was fun to lead chants of "Marcus Hanel" and "Billy Castro." They were pretty amused; and I got a good shot of Riske and Torres laughing at us... Here is the full set of Pictures (It's my Birthday today; so it was a perfect celebration!) Go Brewers! Jamie in LA.

Hey Guys,

I was lucky enough to go to the game yesterday; and of course I forgot my digital camera. Which is a bummer; cause it was one of my favorite baseball experiences in quite some time. It was a beautiful day for baseball and seeing Peavy vs. Sheets was as awesome as advertised.

For those of you who have not been to Petco; plan your trip now. It is a beautiful ballpark; that is totally fan friendly. It is a perfect mix of a new ballpark with other fun stuff to do without being cheesy (Angels Stadium). The park beyond the outfield fence is spacious and geared for the whole family. Kids can play in a sandbox or hit balls in the tiny baseball park. The best thing is that if you sit on the hill, you can see the live action of the game; and watch it on a huge monitor with the television feed; The Padres radio guys are also patched in to the loudspeakers out there, so you can hear whats going on. Totally awesome.

Since it was far from sold out; I wandered around and watched the game from several seats.

Highlights:

- Watching Ben Sheets warming up from 5 feet away. The visiting bullpen is a bit ridiculous. They are on the field with no shade at all.

- Chatting with Seth McClung, Jeff Suppan, and Marcus Hanel; who are really great guys.

- Sitting in the Park and realizing that this place is only 2 hours away.

- Seeing so many Brewer fans everywhere. Where did all these people come from??? They weren't around a few years ago. Awesome.

- Trevor Hoffman's almost comical entrance. It was kind of silly; but enjoyable to watch. I don't think the music was turned up that loud all day.

- I was about 5 feet under the Mike Cameron home run. I thought I had a chance to catch it; till it hit the wall above me and bounced back on to the field.

- The Carne Asada Tacos I got on my way home. mmmmm.

I'm going to the game tonight; and on Sunday with a group of 150 UW-Alumni living in Los Angeles. Should be awesome. I promise not to forget my camera this time.

Go Brewers!

Jamie in LA.

I went to the Dodger game last night and was surprised how much i was rooting for the Indians.  I guess it might be that I have been a fan of them since the day i saw Major League... and enjoyed a little American league nostalgia. 

I was sitting in my very favorite section; right next to the visiting bullpen (section 52); and taking in the game.  The Indians were up 4 runs in the 8th when the Indian's Bullpen did their best Milwaukee Brewers impression.  It was fun seeing them warm up and then trot into the game.  Borowski looked pretty bad warming up; but went in anyway; and got the longest Ned Yost leash i have ever seen (kobayaski and Bauer; who looks AWESOME were already warmed up and ready to go).

The Indians won the game in 10 innings; but i thought of you guys.

Some of the Dodger fans are a bit much.  Though, I did chuckle when a group of drunk guys sang "Wild Thing, you make My Heart Sing!" while one of the Indians was warming up.

Worst (Best???) RAZZ of the night was and, i wrote this down on my vitamin water bottle to save it's brilliance...  

Screaming to the Indian's Bullpen: 
"We got good weather here.  You aren't gonna get any help from Tornadoes!"

(he has a point).

I am going to the game again today and sitting in the all you can eat section.  My goal is 3 hot dogs, 2 nachos, and 3 cokes.

Hey Dudes,

So, the trip to Arizona was excellent.  I look forward to it every year; but I have to say this year was the best.  I had good friends to hang out with and watched a lot of baseball.

The Brewers are primed for a great season, and I feel fortunate to have been able to go down there and watch them work out.  I am envious of all of you guys that live in Wisconsin and get to saunter over to Miller Park on a regular basis.  I probably won't see the Brew till they come out here in August.

Enclosed are the remainder of the photos from my trip.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jengber/sets/72157603966847267/

Here's to a Championship Season!
Jamie

I talked to Seth and told him that i was a regular poster on brewcrewball.  he said that he was aware of the site; and that he wanted to say that he loves being a brewer and is very happy to be with the organization.  

He was very nice and said that he wanted to tell everyone that he is a "real person with feelings." and not a klingon (who has no feelings).

He said that some of the criticism has been tough on his family; but it has mostly been from his times in tampa.  

i asked him if i could quote him on "i am not a klingon." and he said i could.  

seth is a really nice guy.  he chatted with me for a few minutes; and seemed very excited about the season; and his place in the brewer organization.

i told him that there was nothing but love; and that we think he is awesome; unlike some of the other players.  he posed for a pic with me that i think is pretty cool.

http://flickr.com/photos/jengber/sets/72157603966847267/

i am sorry that it took a bit to post; as i have been running around a lot...

jamie in la!

Poll

Do you love Seth McClung?

100%

YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

31 votes

31 votes | Poll has closed

Hello dudes,

I was at the awesome inters quad game today.  There would have to have only been 25 people there; honestly.  

-Gorman Thomas was in attendance and was feeling the effects of his long flight.
- Matt laPorta is already acting like a big leaguer; not nice about autographs.
-the new media guide is out; it's prince on the top half; brauny ,on the bottom.
-bush, vargas, suppan, moto, choate, and few other pitched.  super cool..

Please enjoy the photos;
http://flickr.com/photos/jengber/sets/72157603966847267/

ttyl,
jamie (in maryvale)

Hello Brewer Dudes,

I am still alive and well; thank you for your concern.  I am sorry that I haven't been in better touch with my Brewer Report.  My Suspicion is that Hardicourt has a solid internet connection going for him...

The past few days have been excellent.  The weather has cleared up and it has been 75 and sunny.

I have been bouncing around camps between the Giants, Athletics, Mariner, Royals & Padres; but seeing the Brewers for a bit both days.

One thing I wanted to mention before I go to my sound slumber before going at it again tomorrow is that Gagne hasn't walked out with the team in two days.  Every day the entire team walks out to the fields to do their drills.  I am not sure why he hasn't been out to the main fields?  As far as I can tell, he is the only one who has been in camp practicing that hasn't been on the walk the past few days (Gallardo and Escobar).  I don't know if he is hurt or taking it easy; but I thought it was worth mentioning.

I tried three times to upload many photos of the past few days on to my flickr page; http://www.flickr.com/photos/jengber/
 but this connection at the resort is too slow.  I will try to get them up soon...

ttyl,
jamie in la.

Hello Dudes,

Greetings from Maryvale!

I am very excited to report that the Brewers ARE practicing; and working on putting together a Championship team for us.

This is my third year driving down here from LA to see the Brew.  I had a difficult (impossible) time sleeping cause of my excitement but managed to get a few hours before I got up at 2:15am.  I took a quick shower; said goodbye to my cat (Gibert); filled up the gas tank; and was on the 10 East by 2:45am.  Armed with my IPod (and the Airborne Toxic Event singles) the 5 1/2 hour (270 mile) drive went fairly quickly despite the constant rain on my windshield.  I arrived around my goal of 9am.

The day was excellent.  I wish you all could have been there!

Random Thoughts:  (I'm sleep deprived):
-Since I have been going down for a few years now, many of the players recognized me; most notably Ryan Braun.  He and I talked quite a bit last spring; and I told him that I drove down from LA.  As a LA resident himself, he said, "What did it take you, five and a half hours?"  "Yeah, I said."  He was very cool.
-Carlos Villanueva also remembered me form the Wisconsin Alumni Event at Dodger Stadium when a group of 40 of us sat next the the bullpen.
-I talked to our one and only Tom Hardicourt for a bit.  I told him that I loved the blog; and he seemed pleased to hear that.  He commented that it's unfortunate that there is so much bickering after his posts. I agree (I have long ago stopped reading any comments on that blog).  He spent about 20 minutes chatting with Doug Melvin.
-  I watched several pitchers do a bunting drill, including... SETH McCLUNG!!!!  I'm not sure that he is aware of his cult following here on this site. (He said he has bunted in a game twice getting them both down; I hope I didn't jinx him.)
-I asked David Riske if he had ever played with anyone on this team before; and he said he had not; but it is going good so far.  (He said he hasn't bunted in a game since college.)
-Autograph-wise: most of the guys were pretty cool; with the exception of Torres (who before I even asked him for an autograph raised his voice and said he would only sign my ball and not my jersey) and Mota (who, when I told him I drove down from LA; he said "I don't care where you came from." and then glared at me.  After signing 7 autographs for other people who came up to him a lot later, he finally signed my team ball; I told him that I said "I'm sorry. I only mentioned LA cause you used to play there." I couldn't help but think he was confusing me with someone else; it was THAT uncomfortable???)
- Ned Yost watched the majority of the practice from a tower (above the rest rooms) where he could see all the fields.  Don't know why he wouldn't be working with players on individual drills; but maybe that was just me.
-Doug Melvin was very nice; but we ran out of stuff to talk about.  I told him that I am the biggest Brewer fan in LA.  He said that "Our owner is the biggest brewer fan in LA."  I agreed at the time; but after thinking about it; if I was a billionaire; I would have bought the Brewers the first chance I got.  My Brewer fandom goes 25 years.  I love mark, but I think we have to share this title.
- It started raining a bit more near the end of practice and that was ok with me.  it was an awesome day.

I am planning to go see some other teams workout tomorrow; but I will be in touch.

I'm tired and going to take a nap.

ENJOY THE PICS!!!!
May i suggest a SLIDESHOW?

Hope everyone is well,
jamie (in maryvale)

Poll

If you could only have one Brewers Autograph; who would it be?

6%

Ben Sheets

4 votes

52%

Prince Fielder

34 votes

16%

Seth McClung

11 votes

0%

Eric Gagne

0 votes

0%

Billy Hall

0 votes

3%

Rickie Weeks

2 votes

13%

Yovani Gallardo

9 votes

1%

JJ Hardy

1 votes

0%

Jeff Suppan

0 votes

6%

Corey Hart

4 votes

65 votes | Poll has closed

I guess since im the (self-proclaimed) leader of brewer fans in the Los Angeles area, i think this is more amusing; cause i actually thought about stopping by to hang out with Jeff Suppan at his fancy new sports bar (Soup's Grill) for the Super Bowl.

It seems Jeff EVENTUALLY figured out that there are many places that you can watch the Super Bowl for FREE, and that people in Los Angeles dont want to pay to hang out with a milwaukee brewers pitcher; myself included.  and, if i dont want to pay to hang out with Jeff that probably means that there arent too many people who would.

Jeff made THREE changes to his Super Bowl party this week.  I've received two emails; and just checked out the website to find another update.  

EMAIL # 1: "We at Soup's Grill have decided for Super Bowl we will have all you can eat and drink for our party....  It will be a $50 fee to enter, $100.00 for a reserved table for 4, $ 50 for a dugout table for 2, and $ 25 for a stool at the food counter.  We will not over sell this event so you are assured a comfortable experience for the game.  Check out the website www.soupsgrill.com for more details.
All the Best,
Soup"
* Doesn't sound cheap; but not a terrible deal, either.  50 bucks for all you can drink and a buffet.  He must have had second thoughts about serving football fans all you can drink, cause a follow up email came out the next day.

EMAIL# 2: "After further review.....We have decided to change the Super Bowl Party.  We will open at 2:00 pm with a $25.00 entry fee.  We will a have full menu available along with promotions.  It will be first come first serve on seating.  If you have already purchased tickets in advance under our old Super Bowl policy we will refund your fee less $25 and still honor your seat location.
Hope to see you there!
Soup"
** BOOOO!!! so, now he has decided that he might lose money on all the beer and food; so he decides just to charge people 25 bucks to get in the place; um, huh?  I dont know about you guys, but i dont pay 25 bucks to get in to bars; it defies logic.

WEBSITE UPDATE:
No cover charge
First come, first served
$50/table to reserve ahead of time
Doors open at 1pm
** I really hope all of this confusing party planning is a result of him being out there jogging and lifting weights and getting ready for spring training and not worrying about his super bowl party; but to me it seems like he has penned these emails himself.

I want to get out there to this fancy place; but it wont be this sunday...

Poll

Who are you rooting for this Sunday?

66%

I could care less... man I'm bummed the Packers aren't in the Super Bowl. Why God????? Why???????

44 votes

15%

Patriots

10 votes

18%

Giants

12 votes

66 votes | Poll has closed

Dunno if you guys saw this yesterday; but i thought it was worth posting.  

The youtube link to a video dissecting Lincecum's delivery was especially interesting...  be careful with that back, Timmy!

i keep forgetting that gallardo is only 21; at least for another month. he is barely old enough to have a leinenkugel's at miller park.

Poll

Which one of them has the most promising future?

66%

Gallardo

50 votes

33%

Lincecum

25 votes

75 votes | Poll has closed

I saw Tom Hardicourt's Brewer grades
http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2007/10/03/you-be-the-teacher.aspx#comments

Here is my shot at it:

Infield: Ryan Braun, A-; Craig Counsell, C-; Joe Dillon, B; Prince Fielder, A+; Tony Graffanino, C+; J.J. Hardy, B+; Rickie Weeks, C-.

Outfield: Gabe Gross, C+, Tony Gwynn Jr., C-; Bill Hall, C-; Corey Hart, A; Geoff Jenkins, C-; Kevin Mench, C-

Catchers: Johnny Estrada, F; Damian Miller, C-

Pitchers: Dave Bush, C; Chris Capuano, F; Francisco Cordero, A-; Yovani Gallardo, B+; Scott Linebrink, D; Seth McClung, C; Ben Sheets, C+; Brian Shouse, B; Chris Spurling, C+; Jeff Suppan, C+; Derrick Turnbow, D; Claudio Vargas, C+; Carlos Villanueva, A-; Matt Wise, D-

Offense: B+
Defense: C-
Starting Pitching: C
Relief Pitching: D
Bench: B-
Manager/Coaches: D-
Front Office: C
Ownership: A
Overall: B-

What do you guys think?

Poll

Least Valuable Brewer 2007

8%

Derrick Turnbow

6 votes

14%

Matt Wise

10 votes

11%

Scott Linebrink

8 votes

19%

Chris Capuano

14 votes

0%

Rickie Weeks

0 votes

32%

Johnny Estrada

23 votes

14%

Craig Counsell

10 votes

71 votes | Poll has closed

Sort of on the same page with the game thread standings posts; I was wondering if anyone has been giving the Brewers luck when attending games this season.

Unbelievably, I have watched about 120 games, but have only been to two of them (one at Dodger Stadium, one at Miller Park; and some spring training workouts).

                 W      L   Win Percentage
Jamie in LA:     1      1        50%

life-sized cutout of owner Mark Attanasio to get them motivated.  

Hey, It worked for the guys in Major League!

"Every time we win, we peel a section!"

Seriously, we should make this happen and send it to Miller Park!  That would probably be the coolest thing ever.  and, we would be virtually guaranteed a spot in the playoffs!

Anyone good at this sort of thing?

It would be a great gift from Brew Crew Ball.