Reds Preview

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