A Lucky Bounce Off the Roof

Brewers' fans are proud of the retractable roof at Miller Park. They often wonder why newer parks are built without the feature.

This season, the roof has allowed to team to suffer fewer rainouts than many other teams. That means they don't have to contend with as many late-season doubleheaders.

And now the Brewers have another reason to like stadiums with roofs. Pennants are often won by the team that gets a lucky bounce or two. 

After being swept at home by the St. Louis Cardinals, the Brewers looked like they might be headed for a rough September, after all. Then, last night in Houston they looked lost at the plate until a bit of luck jumpstarted the offense.

With the Crew trailing 2-0 in the seventh inning, Corey Hart came to the plate with two out and a runner on first. A high pop foul looked like an easy play for the third baseman. Easy, that is, until the ball struck a support beam on the retractable roof. Instead of the third out, the ground rules mandated it was just a foul ball. Hart singled and the Brewers were on their way to an 8-2 victory.

Add to that the Cardinals' 11-8 loss at home to the Reds and the lead was back to 8.5 games with the magic number reduced to 16.

It's safe to say The Brewers are thankful that the Astros decided to include a roof on their stadium.

The Run Continues

At the beginning of the month, I wrote how there's nothing more exciting in sports than your favorite baseball team going on a hot streak. Little did I know that the Brewers were only at the start of an epic run: They'd won 27 of 32 games coming into Tuesday's game with the  hated St. Louis Cardinals.

Those are same Cardinals that Milwaukee always seem to be chasing. Now it's the Redbirds and their cantankerous manager, Tony La Russa, who are desperate for some wins. In fact, they need a lot of wins to even make a dent in Milwaukee's 10.5 game lead.

As exciting as that early run was, the chance to bury a bitter and put away the division before the second week of September takes the joy up several notches. Going into the season, I thought the Brewers had a chance to win the division, but I never imagined they'd be so far ahead, building the biggest lead in the team's history.

The off-season moves to shore up the pitching staff—bringing in Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke—have paid off. And then Doug Melvin, the club's general manager, took a bold chance in trading for New York Mets' closer Frankie Rodriguez. Not only was he able to rework a problematic contract, Rodriguez accepted his less-glamorous role as 8th-inning man.

That move shored up the bullpen and the team has ridden good pitching, timely hitting and some lucky bounces to the upper echelon of the National League.

It's been nearly three decades since Milwaukee has had a team playing at this level. The excitement just keeps growing.

Cardinals Easy to Hate

Is there any team easier to hate than the St. Louis Cardinals? I've written about their manager before, but on Tuesday night the team's catcher joined the dishonor roll.

The Cardinals seem to have a corner on arrogance and bad behavior. It starts at the top, of course, with Manager Tony La Russa. His constant whining and attempts at gamesmanship are tiresome. If there were a picture in the dictionary for "crank" it would be of him. 

He and his team seem to have a problem with every team in the league. A window into his true thoughts came after Tuesday night's game when he called the fans "idiots" before taking it back. I think we all know who the idiot is. And during the sereis he accused the Brewers of dimming the lights on an LCD board when the Cards came to bat. The umpires said they hadn't noticed anything.

If they are not throwing at hitters and then denying it (see Ryan Braun Tuesday night), the Card like to claim the other team cheats in some ways. But don't worry, the holier-than-thou Cardinals play strictly by the rules and it's just so unfair that no one else does.

La Russa's not the only offender. The newest member of the Evil Cardinals Club is Yadier Molina. His rage at the home plate umpire Tuesday night was inexcusable. His suggestion that the ump bumped him first is absurd. Hopefully, his outburst will cost him 10 games and put his team further behind the Crew. Good guys don't always finish last.

There is a positive side to all this of course. Nothing makes sports better than a winning team and a bitter rivalry. Was there anything better than the Packers beating the Bears in the NFC title game? La Russa's teams are always competitive and loathsome at the same time. Nothing will be better than beating them for the division. 

Best Double Play of Year? U2

The playing field at Busch Stadium was completely
resodded following U2's  July 17 concert.

Best double play pulled of this year? The surprise winner is U2. The band had a hand in two games played in different states. Not bad.

The first part of the twofer occurred earlier this year when the Florida Marlines moved their home series with the Mariners to Seattle to give the band time to set up. Since Marlins games are sparsely attended, I guess the team figured they'd get more out of the concert and their share of the away gate.

U2's second out was apparently recorded Monday night in St. Louis where the Houston Astros had a bad game stumbling and falling while chasing a few fly balls hit by the Cardinals. The explanation for all the pratfalls wasn't just that the Astros are a bad team (worst in baseball by far), but that the field was a mess after a U2 concert. (There was nothing in the story that explained if the Cards also had problems.)

Who knew that all the grass on a field is pulled out to prepare for a rock concert. For me, it brought back memories of when Milwaukee County Stadium hosted rock concerts for the first time. It was 1975 and the Rolling Stones headlined a show with the Eagles, Beach Boys and Rufus.

After the concert,  the criticism was loud that the field had been ruined. I remember the Milwaukee Journal running photos of the outfield. Damage was clear. But then it was pointed out that damage from Green Bay Packers game was more widespread. The controversy died out and more concerts were held over the years. (I never attended any but I don't think it was the greatest venue to see a show. Unless you were sitting on the field, I would think the sight lines would be pretty bad.)

But surely the double play U2 pulled off in St. Louis and Miami will go down as a nice bit of band trivia for fans to talk about.

Cards' La Russa Hard to Like

UPDATE: The Brewers swept the Cardinals this weekend and I was right: it is oh so sweet to beat Tony La Russa's team.

Tony La Russa will be managing in his 5,000th game tonight when the St. Louis Cardinals visit Milwaukee in a key early series with the Brewers. Only Connie Mack, who sat on he bench in his suit for 7,755 games, managed more.

That La Russa has made out the lineup card so many times over more than three decades is a testament to his ability. He took the Chicago White Sox to a division title, the Oakland A's to three pennants and a World Series title, and the Redbirds to two pennants and a title.

None of the teams he has managed have been accused of overspending. La Russa has chosen his coaches well, especially Dave Duncan, who seems to have a magic potion that turns suspect pitchers into stars.

And yet La Russa is difficult to like. Part of it, I am sure, is that he has never managed my teams. But it's more than simple partisanship.

Let's Stop the Violence

Players were injured in 1974 when Cleveland fans were sold
beer at 10 cents a cup (yes, that was really cheap, even then).

It's been reported that Los Angeles police arrested a suspect in the severe beating of a Giants' fan on opening day outside Dodger Stadium. Let's hope they have the right man, as well as anyone else involved in the ugly incident.

But there's more work to be done. Unfortunately, violent behavior by fans happens all too often. It's not just limited to baseball, but the sport needs to do more to address the problem. Most of the problems that get publicized happen when fans intrude on the field.

The beating on opening day put the spotlight on the fans. I have followed my team to many stadiums. Most of the comments sent my way by opposing fans were good-natured. A couple times they were, at the least, disrespectful. Usually those fans were drinking copious amounts of beer.

I never felt personally threatened. But I was at a playoff game between the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals when things started to get out of hand. It started with a fan in a Cards' hat and jersey taking his seat. Comments and epithets were hurled his way. He took it in stride.

Don't Laugh, it Hurts

Vince Coelman could run, but he
couldn't escape the tarp.

There have been a lot of injuries in the news lately; from questions about New Yankees pitcher Bartolo Colon's  unusual surgery to Ike Davis, the first baseman of the Mets, who incurred two injuries in a collision while chasing a pop-up.

I started me thinking about some odd injuries over the years. One I always remember -- although I have to admit I find no evidence of it on Google (does that mean it didn't happen?) -- was what happened to Cesar Cedeno, a fine, if injury plagued, player for the Houston Astros in the 1970s. 

Cedeno, as I recall, was chewed out for not running out a ground ball. He evidently took the lesson to heart. The next time he hit a grounder, Cedeno took off for first. Too fast, maybe. As his foot came down on the bag he crumpled to the ground with a bad leg injury. I'm not sure exactly what lesson Little Leaguers should draw from this incident.

Vince Coleman didn't even make it to game time before he was injured during the 1985 National League Championship Series. It was prior to Game 4, when Coleman went out to stretch. He was oblivious to the fact that the machine to retract the tarp was set in motion. Unfortunately, Coleman's leg was in the way. Not good for a man whose greatest attribute on the diamond was speed. St. Louis fans might not have been laughing, but the everyone else was as Coleman missed the World Series.

Curt Simmons, a top pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, is one of a number of players who suffered freak injuries far from the ballpark. In 1953, he managed to slice off part of his big toe while mowing the lawn. He missed just a month and won 16 games that season. Baseball Digest noted that he switched to steel-tipped shoes while caring for his lawn.

Managers Ready to Rumble

Lou Piniella on a rampage.

I thought it was only fair to follow up yesterday's post about Joe West, baseball's worst umpire, with a look at some of the managers who have caused the men in blue to reach for the Rolaids.

In recent seasons, Bobby Cox, who retired after last season as manager of the Atlanta Braves, was king of the tirades. In fact, he's the career leader in ejections. For my money, Ozzie Guillen is the king now. He's bombastic on the field and seems to have no filter between his brain and mouth off the field. Lou Piniella's tirades were scary, if only because you feared for his health as the veins popped out of his head.

There have been a lot of managers who enjoyed kicking dirt, throwing bases and caps and generally making a spectacle of themselves. Leo Durocher is the first I remember who was celebrated (or castigated) for his fiery temper. Leo the Lip had a somewhat checkered career that included stops as a shortstop with teams including the St. Louis Cardinals' colorful Gashouse Gang and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

As a manager he was set to lead the Dodgers during Jackie Robinson's inaugural season. But the commissioner suspended him for "the accumulation of unpleasant incident" deemed "detrimental to baseball" just before the regular season started. Some see the suspension as the result of a feud Durocher had with Larry MacPhail, a New York Yankees' executive. Either way Durocher will be remembered for his temper and "nice guys finish last" mentality.

In the 1960s and 1970s, managerial tirades brought to mind two men: Billy Martin and Earl Weaver. Both were winning managers and both were famous for arguing their cases vociferously. Weaver is a YouTube hit. Martin was bombastic back in his days managing the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers. He could be caustic off the field. When he was fired and rehired by George Steinbrenner during their long-running soap opera, it was like watching a train wreck. You wanted to look away but just had to keep watching.