Tag Archives: homeruns

Where would we be without Casey McGehee?

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I can't say that I've ever actually believed in Casey McGehee. You look at his career in the minor leagues and you just don't see the player that we see everyday. In 2005 at Triple-A Iowa he had 497 at-bats, hit 12 homeruns and had a .774 OPS. That was the best season he ever had in the minors. Last season he hit 16 homeruns with a .859 OPS in only 355 at-bats and was the Brewers 3rd most valuable player. It didn't seem right. It seemed like a fluke, it was like if someone told you that after all these years of terrible programming Tyra had suddenly became a great talk show. That isn't to say that Casey was the minor league equivalent to Tyra, but that's about how much sense it made.

Yet here we are, 2010 and Casey is still doing it. He currently leads the Brewers in homeruns, RBIs, people saying what a great guy he is and looking like some guy that'd be in my softball league. He also ranks second in OPS, batting average, doubles and hits. As well as third in jerseys worn at Miller Park. (Seriously, those things are everywhere.) The point is that guys who are doing what Casey McGehee is doing aren't supposed to be guys like Casey McGehee. They are supposed to be studs like Jason Heyward of the Braves, you're supposed to see them coming. They aren't supposed to be guys claimed off waivers that make the team out of spring training. I'd love to set the Doug Melvin haters straight and credit him with this move, but honestly even he didn't see this coming. No one did (especially Tyler). Continue reading »

Rickie Weeks: All Star

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I take my All-Star ballot pretty seriously. When I am casting my All-Star ballot I consider who is the best this year and who is the best historically. Ichiro gets my vote every time because he is a first ballot Hall of Famer and an All-Star game without Ichiro is like sex without waffles. As much as I may personally hate Alex Rodriguez for being a tremendous douche, I normally vote for him because he is the best at his position. However, when it comes to my favorite players I am a bit bias. I voted for Mike Cameron last season, every time and despite him being injured at the time of voting I voted for Rickie Weeks every time. The All Star Game is a time for your favorite players, hopefully the best players to shine on the biggest possible stage and that's why this year I say we vote Rickie Weeks on the team.

I know that people have mixed feelings about Rickie Weeks. He's a letdown for a #1 pick, he's injury prone and he's not that good of a defender. That's fine, you are all entitled to your opinion but the truth is you can't ignore the facts. You're not CNN (joke © Al's Ramblings). Before he got injured last season Rickie Weeks was the Brewers MVP. In just 37 games he hit 9 homeruns and had an OPS of .857. He was on pace for a monster season. His detractors said that it was just a fluke, but so far this season he has picked up right where he left off. While these early season numbers that shouldn't be taken too seriously, it's hard to ignore his two homeruns and 1.046 OPS. If this was a movie now would be about the time that Morpheus says that "he is starting to believe." Rickie Weeks is figuring this out and he is making a huge difference in this Brewers lineup.

Will this last forever? I don't know. Will he still be a Brewer in a couple seasons with Brett Lawrie playing the same position and hitting well in the minors? I don't know. What I do know is that so far this season he is one of the few bright spots on the team and I think it's about time we reward him for it. Hell, we rewarded Corey Hart for it and he wasn't nearly this good. (Yeah, I said it.) How do we reward Rickie? How can we possibly let Rickie Weeks know that we appreciate everything he is doing? How can we let Rickie know that we like him, we really really like him?

WE ARE GOING TO MAKE RICKIE WEEKS AN ALL-STAR Continue reading »

10 Best Brewers of the Decade

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waynesworldtoptenI like to read hastily put together lists that make people angry. Just today I read a list of the best 10 TV shows of the decade that somehow included Modern Family despite it only having aired like six episodes. What a joke, right? Always in search of links and angry comments I decided today would be a good day to put together my own hastily top ten list. Enjoy. Continue reading »

Brewers Decade in Review: 2001

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george w bush brewers opening dayAs the decade comes to a close we thought it would be a good idea to look back on what it all meant for the Milwaukee Brewers and their fans. It's the Brewers Decade in Review. SPOILERS: Some of it is good, a lot of it was bad and most of it was forgettable. Just like every decade except for the 80's. The 80's were awesome.

The 2001 Opening Day was probably the most anticipated Opening Day in Milwaukee Brewers history. You couldn't drive on I-94 without seeing it, you couldn't turn on the TV without hearing about it and you couldn't make love to a man or woman without accidentally screaming it's name. The presence of Miller Park lingered over everything. At least that's how I assume it was, I was living in Seattle in 2001 watching Ichiro lead a team to 116 wins eating copious amounts of salmon and drinking five gallons of latte per day. Yet I couldn't help but notice what was going on back home and feeling sorry for everyone. A whopping 2.8 million people came to see the new place that season and the Brewers rewarded them by winning their first game there. a game that had President George W. Bush throwing out the first pitch. It would prove to be the high point of the season. In the next 161 games they went 67-94.

The story of the season was the offense. Like all the Selig era teams they could hit homeruns (3rd in the league) and not do much of anything else except lose. Eight players hit ten or more homeruns that season. You'd think with a lineup like that they would have an above average offense and with this group, you would be wrong. They weren't good.

There was, however, a few bright spots. Continue reading »