…One of the best in Baseball!

Wednesday is Jackie Robinson Day. All players will wear #42 to remember Mr. Robinson and honor the 62nd anniversary for breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

It is still hard to believe that only six decades ago, an African-American player in an MLB lineup was news. As you watch games and see all of those “42’s” throughout 15 ballparks Wednesday, remember the athlete, the soldier, the great man who changed the game and the country.

If you’d like to listen to Jackie Robinson’s Hall of Fame acceptance speech click here. He had every right to stand up there all day and empty out his tank. Instead, after all of two minutes and 42 seconds, he apologizes for taking so much time. He always knew what to say and he always knew when he didn’t have to say anything at all. Thank God for Jackie Robinson!

-BA

Sad news from Washington: The great voice of the Phillies, Harry Kalas, has passed away. I was told he collapsed in the press box at Nationals Stadium around Noon (CST) and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter at a nearby hospital.

“We lost Harry today,” David Montgomery, the team president, said. “We lost our voice.”

Mr. Kalas was 73.

This is a great loss. Aside from his legendary status as an announcer, Mr. Kalas was always very generous with his time for young announcers. He always offered great advice to me. In 2007, my first year in the big leagues, I had the pleasure of dining with Mr. Kalas in Philadelphia. We had a long talk about broadcasting and living the life of a Major League play-by-play man. He welcomed me “to the club” and offered some encouraging words after watching a few Brewers telecasts. He told me, “No matter how popular you get, no matter how long you’ve been in one place, none of us are bigger than the game. Always keep it about the game and you’ll be A-OK.”Hearing that from a Hall of Famer (2002) means a great deal and I will never forget our talks every time the Brewers faced the Phillies.

Mr. Kalas, an Illinois native, leaves us where he was most at home, in the broadcast booth.

Pat Hughes of Cubs Radio, produced a terrific audio documentary on Harry Kalas, I highly recommend you log onto Baseball Voices  if you want a special way to remember the great voice of the Phillies.

Mr. Kalas will be missed by all baseball fans, especially those in the broadcasting fraternity.

-BA

Well, Monday in San Francisco was beautiful…sunny and 70 degrees. Unfortunately, the Brewers Opening Day forecast is less promising. That’s OK, the roller coaster ride begins Tuesday and if Mother Nature wants to be part of the fun, so be it.

Brace yourself Brewers fans, this could be a wild ride in ’09. The way the Brew Crew will swing the bats, they’re never out of a game. This is a confident bunch that posted, as Corey Hart put it, “average” numbers last year. All expect more, all expect better offensive production. For me, there are a couple of sneaky key statistics to
keep an eye on. On base percentage at the top of the order and runners eliminated on the
 bases. With the power potential of this lineup, baserunners mean bonus rounds. The Brewers under Ken Macha will not be stealing many bases and avoiding double plays has sent the speedy Corey Hart to the top of the batting order.

Jason Kendall feels the pitching is severely underrated but doesn’t want anyone to upgrade their under(rating) so the young horses, Gallardo and Parra, stay in the “who knew” category.

As for the Giants…they have a deep rotation featuring three former Cy Young Award winners in Tim Lincecum, Randy Johnson, and Barry Zito. Lincecum gets the opener. His career ERA versus the Brewers is 5.25 and the Crew tallied five earned runs last year (6ip) in their only matchup.

Lincecum was the runaway Cy Young winner last year (23 of 32 first place votes) and the first Giant to win the award since Mike McCormick in 1967. He was also the first second-year pitcher to win the Cy since 1985 when Dwight Gooden and Brett Saberhagen both did it in their respective leagues.

Brian Wilson is the closer and he’s a dandy (41 saves in ’08).

Offensively, San Fran is better but they still have question marks. They added five-time All Star Edgar Renteria and are hoping for a “bounce back” year from Aaron Rowand, who is in the second of a 5-year, $60 million contract. Bengie Molina still hits clean-up and interestingly enough, is the only catcher on the roster. Pablo Sandoval is the starter at 3B and will serve as Molina’s back-up in the event of an injury. That will likely change towards the end of April as the Giants, still in evaluation mode, will use four early season off days to rest Molina and clear up their roster picture.

Sandoval, a switch hitter, is a guy to watch. A Prince Fielder-type presence that many feel has a chance to win a batting title one day. He’s a free-swinger who hits the ball extremely hard to all fields.

The Giants have some speed so look for them to test Jason Kendall, who threw out nearly 40% of the baserunners last year, as often as they can. Randy Winn, Fred Lewis and Emmanuel Burris are all base stealers. 

The Pitching Matchups:

Tuesday, 3:05pm CST: Jeff Suppan vs Tim Lincecum

Wednesday, 9:15pm CST: Yovani Gallardo vs Randy Johnson

Thursday, 6:05pm CST: Manny Parra vs Matt Cain

All games will be on Fox Sports Wisconsin with Brewers Live before and after every game.

Enjoy the season!

-BA