One week to go before the Crew heads North! 

Make sure you take note of the Brewers "On Deck" event planned for your enjoyment Sunday, April 1st.  It’s a FREE event at Miller Park.  The "On Deck" will not be televised this year but the entire TV crew will be there.  We’ll be potato- sack racing to build unity and producer John Walsh will be practicing yelling at Bill and me to "READ THE PROMO" to get us ready for the first telecast.  The players will be there, too…shaking hands, kissing babies and signing autographs before they hit the field for a public workout in the afternoon. 

Some questions to be answered:

For Melam: Joe Thatcher is a great story.  Certainly a guy you root for.  It would not surprise me if he pitched in the Big Leagues this year.  I watched him from the stands Saturday and he is filthy!  He throws NOTHING straight.  He has a natural cutter that breaks away from lefties and into righties.  From what I’ve seen, he hasn’t shown an "away breaking" pitch to righties but he’s a difficult guy to square up on as a hitter which means you can ditch the radar gun and look at results.  It’s rare for a club to call a guy out of minor league camp halfway through spring training so he definitely has the Brewers attention.  They might be making a "Disney" movie about Joe Thatcher one day!

For (too many to count): I know the Direct TV deal is a bummer for many of you.  This decision came from MLB so you can direct your complaints to the mothership.  If you’re anti-Direct TV, you can still watch every Brewer TV game and listen to every Brewer radio game on the web.  Just sign up for the MLB.TV Premium package at MLB.com.  The picture/sound clarity is good with a high speed connection and you can watch/listen at your own leisure since every game is archived after live play.  It’s less expensive than the Extra Innings package, as well.

For Steve at mybrewers.mlblogs.com: I’ve spent some long nights on the web trying to cram four decades of Brewer history in my bean.  Milwaukee World Series teams show up every 25 years so I hope the trend continues in 2007…then is broken in 2008.  Overall, soaking up Brewer lore is a slow process.  I try to pick up as much as I can day by day but I’m not going to pretend I’m an expert.  I can spit out facts all day but to really know it is to live it.  I don’t start "living" it until I get to Milwaukee.  Foundation first, then the house.  I’m trying to build a solid foundation and so far, the process with the current ballclub and front office has been smooth.   

For Javier: Yes we’ve added to the TV announcing crew but Bill and I will call every game whether it’s on FSN North or WMLW (140 games total).  As far as the outfield situation…be patient.  You have to feel for Laynce Nix.  He strained a muscle in his side at the worst possible time.  Tony Gwynn, Jr. is silky smooth in the outfield and I know the Brewers like him.  It’s NEVER a bad thing to have a surplus…especially if you have to address a need.  I’m sure Doug Melvin has been busy fielding calls.  There are a few teams with outfield needs.  If nothing shakes…Frank Kremblas is going to have quite an crew in Triple-A Nashville.  Stay tuned. 

For Brett and Kevin in Milwaukee.  Marc wants you two to know that "he is the #1 Brewers fan in Rock Hill, SC and that if he could be at the games, he too would boo every time anyone but Ryan Braun, potential NL Rookie of the Year, takes 3rd Base."  Marc gets credit the most creative Ryan Braun comment…there coming in fast.  Ryan Braun’s time is near.  Too risky to bring him up now with such a young infield already.  He swings a golden bat.  But if you bring him up and he struggles defensively, his bat will bear the burden and then you have two spills to clean up.  I’ve watched Braun take fungoes at third and he picks it just fine and his throws are accurate.  But he struggles in the games.  That means he’s pressing…and if he’s pressing at Maryvale, what happens at Miller Park?  Let him get some innings under his belt in the Minor Leagues then he’ll be a Brewer with a bullet.

Thanks for all of the questions and comments.  I’ll get to more on the webcasts this week.  I’ve got a new home address…it says "WI".  Cool!  See you all on TV April 2nd.

BA

Ok…here’s a Hall of Fame entry to ease touchy nerves from last week. Click here.  Enjoy?