Each Sunday evening we will review our favorite and least favorite events of the previous week, and share our perspective on how the team is doing. Please enjoy responsibly.
Cheers! (Best event/news of the week)
Metal Detectors for First Series Less Horrible Than Anticipated: After the test run at last September’s Hank the Dog bobblehead game, I was sure MLB-mandated metal detectors would lead to long lines, add 15 minutes to the time it takes to get into the stadium, and generally ruin the ballpark experience. After attending all three of the Rockies games, I was pleasantly surprised at how efficient this nasty business turned out to be. I believed that an Opening Day crowd would be more than the metal detectors could handle, but that was not my experience. In fact, when I walked in about 40 minutes before first pitch there was no wait at all. On Tuesday and Wednesday nights, the wait wasn’t out of the ordinary.
Maybe that’s because an Opening Day crowd tends not to enter all at one time, and Tuesday-Wednesday crowds in April are relatively light – the weekend crowd (in particular the Rob Deer bobblehead seekers today) might have had a different experience. But considering how I dreaded these awful metal detectors, it was a relief they weren’t as bad as I had feared. They’re still unnecessary, won’t make anyone safer, and are an unpleasant signifier of creeping fascism, but at least they’re less miserably inconvenient than they could have been.
Buzzkill (Worst event/news of the week)
One of the Worst Opening Days Ever: The start to the 2015 season was exceptionally bad. Even though it’s just one game out of 162, it’s a broil to begin the championship season with such a lopsided loss. When the Brewers lost 11-5 to the goddamn Cardinals on Opening Day 2012, that wasn’t even as bad – the Brewers had an early lead, and St. Louis didn’t really break it open until the late innings. On Monday, Colorado put up four runs before the Brewers even came to bat. The eventual 10-0 defeat wasn’t just bad, it’s among the worst Brewers openers in franchise history:
[I]n 1973, opening the season in Baltimore, the Brewers lost to the Orioles 10-0; and the worst season opener of all time, how about the Brewers first game in Milwaukee, ever. In 1970, the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers and their first game as the Brewers, and in Milwaukee, was a 12-0 defeat by the hands of the California Angels.
It may not have been the worst opener ever, but it’s the worst in over 40 years. Seeing a rare sporting event in person isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Have One on the House (Brewers player who deserves a drink)
Jimmy Nelson: After starting the season winless, the Brewers needed a strong outing from the fifth spot in the rotation. Nelson delivered the best start of his MLB career – seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts. The only other time Nelson started a game without a giving up a run was a May 2014 spot start in Miami. (Fun fact: Nelson defeated Randy Wolf.) Although Adam Lind has launched his Brewers career with a bang, Nelson won my heart this week with his best pitching performance yet.
Time to Sober Up, Pal (Brewers player who made me want to drink)
Francisco Rodriguez: The numbers don’t lie. Last year, K-Rod’s rate of home runs surrendered was worse than both Marco Estrada and 2009-era Braden Looper. It would be unbearable to think that’s the new normal for K-Rod, so optimistic fans chalked it up to a statistical anomaly in an otherwise strong 2014 season. And then he comes in Wednesday against the Rockies in extra innings and coughs up the go-ahead homer. At least the terror doesn’t take 20 minutes these days.
Back on the Wagon (Thoughts on the week ahead)
The first trip to St. Louis of the year is always daunting – since the Cardinals have made short work of the Brewers over the years, it’s hard not to feel like we’re walking into heartbreak with this series. The opportunity to spoil St. Louis’ home opener tomorrow is delicious, but how likely is that when Brewers starter Matt Garza may be prone to tipping his pitches? At this point I have a full blown inferiority complex when it comes to the goddamn Cardinals. Please don’t get swept, please don’t get swept, please don’t get swept…
Then on to Pittsburgh, the team that put up six runs in the ninth inning to blow open today’s game, rubbing salt in the wound to cap off a disappointing Opening Week. Christ, I had to watch Lee Tunnell give the post-game interview on Brewers Live today. That’s no way to go through life. Anything can happen in this sport, so there’s no reason to be too frustrated after a 1-5 start with 156 left to play. Besides, think about how much worse 0-6 would feel right now heading into St. Louis to face Adam Wainwright. “It could have been worse” seems like a healthy attitude to take after one week.
(Image: Tom Lynn/Associated Press)
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