March 2006
The Milwaukee Bears and the Milwaukee Cerveceros
In addition to retro Sunday’s this seasons, the Brewers will be show casing 2 additional uniforms this year.
In honor of the former Negro League team, the Brewers will don a Milwaukee Bears uniform on June 2nd when the play the Nationals. The Nationals will be wearing the uniform of the Holmstead Grays. The Grays were a Negro League team that played in Washington D.C. I did a little research and it appears that the Bears were only in existence for one season in 1923. Even with that season, the Bears folded in late July never to form again. A short but important history to Major League Baseball includes its part with the Milwaukee Bears. In the last 10 years or so it appears that country is into researching more about its gone but not forgotten leagues with women and African-Americans.
The other uniform taking place is the Brewers will become the "Cerveceros" and play on July 29th against the Cincinnati Reds or should I say "Rojos". For Cerveceros Day, the Brewers plan to transform Miller Park with bilingual 
public address announcements, Latin-themed music and videos featuring some of the game’s great Hispanic players. I wonder what "Roll Out the Barrel" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" would sound like in Spanish? It looks like former Brewer Teddy Higuera will be on hand to be honored that day, it looks like his is already liking the new uniform changes.
It’s all in the Cards
The NL Central starts up this year with a lot of teams seeing that the Cardinals are still the team to beat in the division. Although I would say the are the best in the division with talent and experience, it seems to me that the Brewers got a little bit better and the Cardinals maybe downgraded just a bit. The Cards will be a tough game every time they match up with the Crew. The Brewers took the last series with the Cards 2 out of 3, the first time all year. With a great new stadium in St. Louis, fans will really be pulling for their the home team this year. It is up to the Brewers to avoid the slumps that team go through.
This doesn’t make Cubs fans look any better
What happens when when you get some Cubs fans drunk and they are trying to entertain themselves near a urinal trough full of urine? This video below.
Update: There is some debate in the blogshere if this is a Cub or a Cards fan. The source I found was a Cub’s fan so that is what I went with. Plus it is always fun teasing our most intense rivals.
Archie “Moonlight” Graham
Field of Dreams is one of my favorite movies. Because it incorporates baseball it makes it even better. One character that is involved with the movie is Archie "Moonlight" Graham. In the movie he never got to take one at-bat in the major leagues because of his only late inning substitution. The season ended and he never went back into baseball and became a doctor.
Graham was actually a person that the movie made him out to be. There are a 
few details that have been changed around for dramatic sake or the writer was thinking something different. But the core story of the man is true. He probably has the most famous career statistics with barely a 1 in all the columns. He did serve as a town doctor up in Chishom, MN for about 50 years or so. He probably accomplished a lot with that and according to local web sites, it seemed like he did. The town of Chishom actually set up the Graham Scholarship Fund in honor of one of their most famous citizens.
The amazing thing with this movie is it takes real people and puts them into the story. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson is another main character that starts playing baseball in a corn field in Iowa. It doesn’t ever deal with the really big issue that most fans living today wonder, if he did or didn’t take a bribe, just that he really loved and missed the game.
Sheets starts season on DL, Davis named Opening Day Starter
It was reported that Sheets will be on the 15-day disabled list. It is possible that Sheets next start would be on April 16th which would be the 5th spot in the rotation. Because of the layout of the schedule, the Brewers wouldn’t need a 5th Starter until that date. It is not know if Sheets will get the start or not on that date. He will do some throwing down in the minor leagues. Doug Davis will be the opening day starter at Miller Park.
It also appears that David Bush, acquired in the Overbay trade this off-season, will land the role in the number 5 spot for the starting pitchers. Rick Helling who has also been battling for this spot will probably be a long relief pitcher to start. If Sheets doesn’t comeback soon I wonder if it would be good to give Helling a glimpse at a number 5 spot. This is the projected starting pitcher rotation for the first couple of weeks.
Moeller did some flossing
Of course I did a post on the whole, "Is this the end of Chad Moeller in Milwaukee" and then he has a career day in spring training yesterday.
Moeller 5-4, 3 runs, 2 doubles
Maybe I have the opposite affect on players when I start to doubt them. It is just a one spring training game but hopefully this is the start of consistency for Moeller. Good luck Chad!!
A root canal for Moeller?
Chad Moeller has been in a role as the back-up catcher to Damien Miller. Although Miller started in 114 games last season, the battery match-up with Brewer’s ace Ben Sheets has been with Moeller.
Moeller stats during spring training are leaving me wondering how much he is going to be struggling this season. He did have a slow start last year and also is around the Mendoza line with a .207 average in the two seasons he has been with the team. This was a report from the JS Online about the situation.
Yost also is taking extended looks at catchers Mark Johnson and Mike Rivera but downplayed the notion that Chad Moeller’s job could be in jeopardy after his slow start (0 for 12, including four strikeouts in the Japanese exhibition game).
"We want to look at different guys," Yost said. "I played Jeff Cirillo at second base today. Does that mean Rickie Weeks should be worried? No. This is the time to look at guys."
It doesn’t sound like anything will happen but looking at the team, you have to wonder 
if they might have made a move by season end. Ned Yost is know for having great patience as a manager but how long can he be patient. Considering that Yost was a catcher in his playing one could only assume that he has even more insight as to how Moeller and other catchers work. As the only Brewer to hit for the cycle in Miller Park, you wouldn’t think he might not be on the team. His average was .278, I think, when he was with Arizona. I wonder why he hasn’t been able to get it together. It has been report in the past that pitchers seem to like the way he calls pitches.
Moeller seems like a great guy and I want him to stay on the team. But returning to his Arizona numbers would be a great improvement not only for him but for the catching unit. It is hard to understand what might have happen since he came over from Arizona to where he has been performance wise, since he was a member to the Brew Crew.
Whatever happened to the “Happy Youngster”?
As long as I am trying to find out information about people in the Brewers past, whatever happened to the "Happy Youngster"?
To set this up I have to explain the history of this Milwaukee Brewers 
character. Back when Matt Vasgersian was the play-by-play person for the Milwaukee Brewers television broadcast. It was either he or Bill Schroeder that deemed "Happy" his name sake. This guy got into it so much that he wore a bright yellow t-shirt with his Vasgersian appointed title emblazoned on the front. I remember him snagging home run balls in the bleachers with ease and Vasgersian being extremely impressed by his home run ball catching prowess. A celebrity in the regional broadcasting of the Milwaukee Brewer’s Television Network, he set an image within those years of County Stadium. Devoted fans always seem to make a hallmark in other fans eyes.
His real name is Nick Yohanek. His fame rose during the 
last season or two of Milwaukee County Stadium existence. I did find an old chat transcript from Vasgersian that claimed that Nick went underground due to security reasons. Don’t know if it was true or not but makes for an interesting story. Maybe he ticked off other people in the stands by getting many home run balls or people were jealous of his popularity, who knows. I am guessing that Nick was just out of high school during that time period so today he has to be in his mid to late 20s. What have you been up to Happy Youngster?
The search for Milt Mason: The Original Bernie Brewer
I have heard this before but for some reason I can’t find out more information about the man. I am talking about Milt Mason, the original Bernie Brewer. He is said to be the inspiration for the Brewer’s current mascot. This information below is taken from the Brewer’s web site is all that I can really find on the man.
The concept of a team mascot first emerged back in 1970 when the expansion team needed to draw more fans to the park. An elderly gentleman named Milt Mason decided to sit atop the old County Stadium scoreboard for 40 days until the Brewers filled the stadium for a game. On August 16, a bat day crowd of 44,387 showed up to bring their adopted hero down from his perch.
Doing historical research on this topic I am trying to get connected more information. I am putting out a call to anyone with any information on Milt Mason. Due to the fact that it is said that he was 69 years old in 1970, today, if alive, he would stand to be around 106 years old. I am looking for stories, links I have missed, photo, video or other material that might provide more insight on this man. Please forward anything to me about Milt.
My Personal MLBlog Campaign
The Brewers have returned to their old, fan favorite logo for Sunday home games this year. Hopefully the mlblogs.com will do the same for my weblog template this year.
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