My TV pards, Bill Schroeder, drops by the House of Blogs this week for a Fantasy Camp rundown. I participated in Fantasy Camp in 2008 and had a blast! Many organizations say they deliver a "big league" experience but very few do. The Brewers Fantasy Camp delivers! It runs exactly like Spring Training runs for the real Brewers...trust me, I've seen 'em both. Hope you'll join us this year, you'll have the time of your life!

-BA

 

You've dreamed it...Now go for it!

Hey fans, Rock here...Just wanted to invite you all to Brewers Fantasy Camp this winter in Phoenix. I have been running the camp each of the last six years and it's a great way to get the baseball juices flowing in anticipation of the upcoming season at Miller Park. The weather is great, the grass is green, and the experiences and friendships last a lifetime.

 

Fantasy Camp is a week long baseball experience at the Brewers spring training facility in Phoenix, Arizona. Men and women, ages 30 and over, live like a major league baseball player for the week and are coached by former Brewers players. Coaches include Gorman Thomas, Jim Gantner, Mike Fetters, Pat Listach, Chris Bosio, Rob Deer, Don Money and others.

 

Campers play two games daily and wear authentic Brewers uniforms that you get to take home. There is a locker with your name on it in the Brewers spring training locker room and your uniform is washed a hung in your locker each day.

 

The week includes roundtrip airfare to Phoenix, hotel accommodations, daily breakfast and lunch, and nightly happy hour at the hotel. There is Q &A with the coaches each night plus trivia questions for prizes. One of the most popular days of the week is the coaches game on Saturday when campers get to play a game against the staff. You also get to play a game on the field at Miller Park during the summer. Imagine standing on the mound, in a big league ballpark, facing one of your favorite Brewers' legends or taking a swing at a pitch thrown by a World Series hero. 

 

Fantasy camp is the ultimate baseball experience for the true baseball fan.

For information: Click here, brewers.com/fantasycamp or call 262-679-3612.

 

Get your game face on and join us this winter in Phoenix from January 31 to February 7th.

 

I look forward to seeing you in Phoenix,

 

Bill Schroeder
Fantasy Camp Director

The second half begins in the "Queen City," Cincinnati, Ohio. The Brew Crew begins the home stretch trailing the Cardinals by 2.5 games in the Division and 4 games behind the Giants in the Wild Card race. Here are some things I'm focusing on for the broadcast:

 

The Crew boasts a 23-15 record vs. Central; 5-3 vs. Reds, and are .500 on the road at 21-21.

 

The Brewers are 3-8 in July and have dropped six of their last seven road games. However, if history is our guide, the last two seasons have produced very good second half starts (Seven straight after the break in '08; five of seven in '07).

 

Stats Inc. tells us that the Brewers have averaged 7.67 runs and hit .307 as a team while winning five of their last six games against the Reds. Milwaukee has outscored the Reds, 19-5, in the first two innings of games over that span.

 

After losing two in a row and seven of their last 10 games, the Reds have fallen to three games below .500 for the first time this season.

 

Prince Fielder's 78 RBI in the first half are a new franchise record. The Home Run Derby champ is on a pace to set franchise records in RBI (126 - Cooper) and Walks (99 - Burnitz).

 

More from Stats, Inc.:

Prince Fielder has increased his batting average each month this season, improving from .234 in April to .305 in May, .363 in June and .382 so far in July.

 

Casey McGehee is batting .359 in Brewers losses this season, the highest such mark by any player in the majors (minimum 75 PA). His average is just .278 in Milwaukee wins.

 

At the other extreme, Joey Votto is batting .425 in Cincinnati victories this year, the highest such average in the majors (minimum 75 PA). He's hitting .271 in Reds losses.

 

 

And now for some questions:

How do they determine the footage distances on the outfield walls? Is it from home plate to the top, bottom, or just the wall. Thanks.

- Ryan in Greenfield.

 

All distances are acquired by a laser measuring device from home plate to a parallel point on the wall. Home Run distances are also done this way. The Media Relations department has a detailed "topography" of Miller Park with hundreds of measurements. Once the ball lands, they can accurately determine home run distance.

 

Is the method of calculating the attendance the same for each Major League team? Where can I find the Milwaukee Brewers attendance online?

- Jim, Middleton

 

Yes it is, Jim. The number does not come from actual seats in the seats, it comes from all tickets purchased. The official attendance is announced in the latter innings of the game and is always attached to the official boxscore...which can be located online under the "Scoreboard" section of Brewers.com.

 

Has anyone hit a ball thru the open panels and completely out of miller park?

- justdave, back home on washington island

 

Not in my time in Milwaukee and of those I polled who have seen just about every game there, the answer is no. I did see Rickie Weeks hit one off one of the motorcycles above the Harley Davidson Deck in left center. I feel it had enough distance to carry completely through the panels and out of the ballpark if not for the sweet "Hog" on display! 

 

When players are traveling for extended periods, how does their laundry get done?  They obviously need quite a few sets but does the laundry get done on the road or all sent back to Milwaukee?  Even when they are home, how is this all managed? Just curious.

- John

 

John, clubs used to hire an outside service to do laundry but these days, all company issued clothing (uniforms, workout gear, etc...) gets handled immediately after the game right there in the clubhouse. The clubhouse personnel (5-10 people) have it down to a science. Everybody has a specific group of items that all end up in industrial washers and dryers on site. There is even a guy in charge of scrubbing grass/dirt stains before wash. Players throw their garments in the appropriate pile and off it goes. It's usually all cleaned, hung up and ready for use within a few hours. As for personal laundry on the road, the hotels offer dry cleaning services but "re-purposing" is sometimes acceptable.

 

Thanks for the questions and enjoy the second half!

-BA

Recently, we received a note from Dennis Waterman concerning the sound quality for Brewers TV. Since it seems like a common problem in some markets, I decided to post FS Wisconsin's response to Dennis' question below:

 

-BA

 

 

Gentlemen--

 

I have sent this to various places a couple of times, but nothing happens.  Hopefully you can address it.  AGAIN today the CROWD MIC is MUCH LOUDER than the announcers.  We can barely hear Bill and Brian over the crowd noise.

 

Dennis-

 

Thanks for your note. This is not the way we produce the telecast or how we send the show to fans.  The problem is something typically found when the cable company in a given area accidently mixes together two different audio channels -- one intended for viewers and the second that local stations use to run highlights without hearing our announcers.

 

The second channel of sound, called "natural sound," is accidentally overlapped by the cable operator.  We've been in touch with the cable provider in your area with how they can correct this problem.

 

Thanks for letting us know and for watching Brewers baseball.

 

Joseph Maar
Coordinating Producer
FOX Sports Wisconsin