People of Wisconsin: Let it Go!

As you well know XL and I just got back from a trip to Chicago and Milwaukee, which was fantastic. We saw 7 different baseball teams play 4 games in three different stadiums, and along the way we saw some funny people too. While there are many great people in this area of the country, there are a few stiffs too, like this guy who just can't let it go. Brett isn't a Packer anymore people! Get over it. But they can't and that is sad.

In addition to the guy you see pictured here at Miller Park, we saw a few people walking around the Brookfield Mall in Favre Jets jerseys, and quite a few more in shop windows. I can't imagine how much it must suck to lose they guy you idolized for all these years, but I can tell you that if it happened to me, I wouldn't be following him to his new home, no matter who's idea it was.

If Cal Ripken had left Baltimore in 2002 to finish out his career with Tampa, Texas or some other team, you can be damn sure I wouldn't be buying his jersey with another team. Sure, I might have still followed him, like I did with Eddie Murrary, but going out and buying another teams jersey is ridiculous. You are a fan of your team, and sometimes that means that you become overly attached to some of the players, but that doesn't excuse this type of behavior.

We had a friend in college who loved Rickey Henderson, so much so, that he rooted for which ever team Rickey was playing on at the time. As pathetic and short sighted as this plan is, at least his allegiances never changed, because his only allegiance was to Rickey and he didn't stray until Rickey hung up his spikes.

The other main reason this guy is stiff of the week is because he is wearing his football jersey tucked into his jeans. There can be no other punishment for this than immediate and painful death. Not to mention the fact that he is wearing a football jersey to a baseball game. Douche.

Miller Park: Algonquin for Baseball Heaven

Greazy and I spent last night at Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. This was the last leg of our three days, three stadiums, four ball games tour of the mid west and it did not disappoint. This ball park has everything you could possibly want in a state of the art stadium. From an amazing kids section to great views from just about any vantage points you can't go wrong. There is also a Fridays in left field that serves as the left field seats. People reserve tables to eat while the game is being played. Needless to say it would be the most expensive (and longest) meal you would ever have at a TGI Fridays restaurant.

There also was a great variety of food including a stadium secret sauce for your brat which was outstanding. The "seats" we purchased were standing room only accept in this ball park there is no designated area for you to stand. You are free to roam around the field and loge level and there are areas for standing all along. The ushers are vigilant about you not sitting in the "investment of others" which would be a seat and with the way the Brewers are playing there are few empty seats to be had anyway. Regardless, Greazy and I found a great place to stand down the 1st base line that gave us great site lines. We also found a good place out in the center field bar area for some great pictures. In the end the Brewers won, the Italian sausage lost and Greazy and I have another great memory of a great new ball park. The one big negative for this stadium is there is absolutely no mass transit available to get to it. So if you're in town to see a game and didn't rent a car expect to pay nearly $50 for round trip cab fare as that seemed to be the going rate for us. Another bonus though is the Miller Brewing company tour is about a 20 minute walk from the ball park. Greazy and I did this and found it to be worth the time, especially if you're into seeing different breweries.

Miller Time!

After a day in the bleachers on the North Side and the Red Line double header the next day, XL and I took a bus north to Milwaukee to see our first game in a retractable doomed stadium. The only other indoor baseball either of us have ever seen was on a trip to Tampa with Inky and our college roommate back in 1998. This was a million times better to be sure, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

We started our day off on the Miller Brewery tour, which, while some Milwaukee residents is tantamount to climbing Everest, was quite easy. When XL and I told the concierge at our hotel that we wanted to do the Miller double she thought we were crazy. "I've never heard of anyone doing that" she said, but we found that Miller has direction cards all printed up for those who want to do the unimaginable. If you are going to Milwaukee to see the Brewers, stop by and see the brewery first, tell em Greazy sent Ys.

After our 15 minute walk to the Stadium we were struck by how tall Miller Park is. They had to make it tall to allow for the stackable roof, but the side effect is the high vaulted effect, accented by the huge wall windows beneath. Once inside, the view is that much better. The decks are short, and close to the field. All of the sight lines are excellent, and if you are there without tickets and the Brewers doing well, you may have to get standing room only like we did. If you do end up on your feet then you'll be really happy that you can see the whole park from all of those standing room areas.

The big plus to this stadium is the kids area, which you would think I wouldn't know, being as I'm a 32 year old man. But, XL and I had a good old time taking pictures with the sausage statues, the mock up ballplayers and in the giant mitt, where I played the ball. In addition to the great play area the Brewers provide an amazing array of shops, stores and eateries.

The in game experience was what you might expect from a fan base that was downtrodden for years, and has just become invigorated. There were a lot of fans in late model Brew Crew shirts, hats and jerseys who all knew their heroes well enough, Weeks, Hardy, Hart and Hall but probably couldn't tell you who was on the 1982 team. The shear amount of people in CC Sabathia jerseys show how out of touch these fans are. There is slim to no chance that he'll be there next year, but still they drop $20 on a tee shirt or $150 on a jersey.

Lucky for us the game lived up to the setting as the Brewers beet the Pirate Hookers 6-3 on a double and a homer from Ryan Braun. I hate to say it, but the only thing that was missing was a sudden and unexpected rain storm that would have forced them to close the roof to close above us. Which makes it the first time in my life I've ever prayed for rain at a ballgame.

On Deck: Chicago and Milwaukee

In our ever present need to cover sports first hand, XL and I are getting ready to do some road work this week. We are headed to Chicago and Milwaukee to see some baseball, but more importantly: baseball in August that counts. That's something we can't get in Baltimore these days. XL and I have been to 13 stadiums together (Oriole Park, RFK, Nationals Park, The Vet, Citizens Bank Park, Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, PNC Park, Jacobs Field, Busch Stadim II, Kauffman Stadium and Tropicana Field) in addition to that, I have been to Shea and we both have been to Memorial Stadium. So, it is big for us to add three new ballparks to our list, and even bigger when one of them is Wrigley which is one of the crown jewles of baseball.

We will be updating the blog with pictures, impressions and notes about the games. We luck out a bit in getting to see 4 teams who are in the playoff hunt on this trip, even though we miss out on seeing CC Sabathia in Algonquin for the good land. Here is what we will see:

On Thursday at 2:20 central time we see Carlos Zambrano (12-5) take on Cincinnati at Wrigley. The Reds will throw Aaron Harang (3-13) and knowing the way baseball can work, they will somehow get a win in this game they should lose by 20.

Friday is a big day for us, as we will attempt the North Side/South Side double header. First up will be another game at Wrigley as Jason Marquis (8-7) will toe the rubber against the Washington Nationals. The Nats will send out another pitcher with a rubbish record in John Lannan- I don't know her name. Lannan? Lanolan? Like sheeps wool>- a lefty with a 6-12 mark. Just as soon as the Cubs game ends, XL and I will hop on the red line and head south to see the Sox take on the Rays in a possible playoff preview. For the Sox it will be John Danks (10-5) taking on Edwin Jackson (9-8).

After that long day in Chitown, we'll get up first thing on Saturday to take a bus to Milwaukee. Once we get settled in Beer Town USA we'll head to Miller Park to see Jeff Suppan (8-7) battle Pittsburgh's promising young righty Jeff Karstans (2-2).

Once the sun rises on Sunday we'll know a bit more about the crazy NL central race and have a good idea how bad the injury bug has effected Tampa. XL and I will also, undoubtedly, have gas, sleep deprivation and need of a bit of a break. That said, I'm sure we will have had a great time, and many new stories.