What a Debut!

By: Big Rygg

(And what do we do to cover for Rickie Weeks?)

First and foremost, allow me to say “Welcome to the Show, Mat Gamel!”

Yes, I know (as you should, if you don’t) that Gamel made his official Major League debut last…

A Change Has Been Made

By: Big Rygg

Mat Gamel is on his way to Milwaukee to join the 25-man roster. Brad Nelson, who has struggled mightily this season as a pinch-hitter and spot starter, was outrighted to AAA Nashville. In order to get to Nashville, Nelson will have to clear waivers…

Vote for Big Rygg!

Hey everyone!

Our very own Big Rygg is involved in a
contest on a local sports talk radio station. If he wins, he gets to host his very
own two-hour show on the air in June (on a Saturday). But, he can’t win the whole thing if he doesn’t make it out of the first round.

Never Say Never

By: Big Rygg

As first reported by me, it looks like the Milwaukee Brewers may have made an additional inquiry when ironing out the Tony Gwynn for Jody Gerut deal yesterday.

Will “Hell’s Bells” toll in Miller Park this season?

By: Big Rygg

When you think of the statistic known as “Saves”, what comes to mind first? Is it that there are very few closers in the Hall of Fame? Is it that the all-time single seasons Brewers team Save record…

September 2009: Personal Milestone Time

By: Big Rygg

September 2008 was a time for celebration for both the Milwaukee Brewers and their fans. A playoff berth, the team’s first since appearing in the 1982 World Series, was clinched on the final day of the regular season and…

A Play-By-Play of My Night (short excerpt)

By: Big Rygg

This post will be short and sweet. Here is a recap of a small chunk of my evening.

Ryan Braun is at the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning after Trevor Hoffman unfortunately blew a save.

NL Central Organizational Leaders

by South Side Rob

The following, are the top 5 hitters and top 5 pitchers for each team in the NL Central regardless of the level of play so far this season. Some teams are in line for instant help waiting down on the farm and some teams would be in big trouble if…

Vote Big Rygg!

By: Big Rygg

Hey everyone. The time has come to vote for me again. Please head over to the contest page and Sports Radio 1250’s website and scroll to the bottom to find my match up.

At Least They Got It Right In The End

By: Big Rygg

Yeah, the Brewers lost today. It was an annoying game in which the Brewers got their first hit in the 1st inning, loading the bases in the first thanks to a couple of walks, but were unable to push a run across. Heck, they…

Just a reminder…

The weekly podcast has been available since Sunday. Feel free to bookmark the link to the site so that you can always get immediate access to the latest podcast.

BRAND NEW PODCAST!

By: Big Rygg

It’s been a long time coming ladies and gentlemen, but a brand new Brewer Nation podcast has been recorded and posted for your listening pleasure.

Cary and I recorded this on Wednesday evening and therefore we are outdated in our…

Put That in Your Flask and Let it Make You Pass Out at a Red Light, LaRussa!

By: Big Rygg

Tony LaRussa and the St. Louis Cardinals have made no bones about the fact that they don’t like the Milwaukee Brewers’ brashness nor their postgame celebration…

36 Hours

By: Big Rygg

It has been a long off-season.

I want you to think about those words for a few moments. Think about them and allow yourself to feel them. What do they say? What do they mean? How do those words make you feel?

Brewers/Cardinals Breakdown…

by South Side Rob

The Cardinals are selling newspapers and raising the media attention this weekend by questioning the behavior of the Milwaukee Brewers. As much of a mismatch the Marlins were at home against the Crew, the Cardinals are playing much worse as the numbers will…

Open Season at the Hot Corner

By: Big Rygg

I know that this news is a couple of days old already, but I wanted to make sure it got touched on here at the Brewer Nation.

As I’m sure you’re well aware by now (or just in case you aren’t) Bill Hall will miss…

Brewer Nation Podcast

By: Big Rygg

Remember when I told you to watch this space for a big announcement? Well, here it is…

The Brewer Nation is finally taking yet another step in it’s global domination by offering what will be a weekly podcast during the 2009…

Spring Training — Game 1 — Milwaukee vs. Oakland

Today is the first full game of the spring. You might not recognize half the names after the 5th inning, but competitive baseball is about to be played again.

Brewers, Hardy Again Avoid Arbitration

The Milwaukee Brewers have avoided an arbitration hearing with J.J. Hardy for the second time by agreeing to a one-year deal worth a reported $4.65 million. If accurate, this would represent a raise of exactly $2 million for the starting shortstop.

Picking Up Where We Left Off

By: Big Rygg

The Brewers are finally back at home after starting the
season by playing 12 of their first 18 games on the road. Perhaps a little
surprisingly, the Brewers are 6–6 in those 12 games but only 2–4 at home during
that same stretch.

Gut Check Victory

By South Side Rob

Just a Monday night contest in Pittsburgh. I worked and watched the game at the same time. The game went pretty fast for the first 7 innings. Gallardo pitched ok but the Brewers were playing short-handed without Braun and Bill Hall had went down with an injury to his hamstring…

Brewers, Wolf Agree to Three-Year Deal

By: Big Rygg

The report is “breaking” all over the internet (let’s be honest…the explosion of Twitter has been a ton of fun for the Winter Meetings this year so far) that free agent starting pitcher Randy Wolf has officially agreed to a…

Quick Hops: Non-Tenders, Counsell, Rumors

By: Big Rygg

Plenty to talk about as I roll out a new title here. When I have several things to discuss and I choose to put them in one post instead of several, it’ll be called “Quick Hops” as I hop from topic to topic. Oh, and if…

NL Central Weekly Winners

by South Side Rob

Week 6 Batting (5/11 thru 5/17)

• Jerry Hairston — Reds — 108 pts.
• Brandon Moss — Pirates — 104 pts.
• Prince Fielder — Brewers — 102 pts.

Brewer Nation To Start Roto League !!!

by South Side Rob

I’m leaving town and will be back on Monday to give as many details as I can jot down at that time.

What I do know is that this will be a rotisserie league and NOT a fantasy league. Also, once your team is selected, that’s it. There will be…

Brewers Play Part of ChiSox from Major League

By: Big Rygg

For anyone that has seen the iconic, timeless, awesome movie that is Major League, you know that the Indians defeated the Yankees in a dramatic one-game playoff in order to advance to the post-season.

One For Their Last One

By: Big Rygg

For all of the talk about the last several games played at Citizens Bank Ballpark by the Milwaukeee Brewers, things have changed..

No longer have the Brewers lost their last seven games in a row in Philadelphia (including…

NL Central Weekly Winners

by South Side Rob

Week 5 Batting (5/4 thru 5/10)

• Ryan Braun — Brewers — 206 pts.
• Miguel Tejada — Astros — 143 pts.
• J.J. Hardy — Brewers — 142 pts.

Weekly Podcast Available

By: Big Rygg

The weekly Brewer Nation “podcast” is available for download. I know that we keep sending you back and forth between sites, but hopefully that will be ironing itself out here in the near future. The file will probably be available on both sites…

Lamb Released, McGehee 6th IF

By: Big Rygg

In a move that will surprise no one that’s been listening to our podcasts, Mike Lamb was released today. There are some waiver specifics that I could get into, but why bother? The point of this post is that the door is now wide open for…

Yankees looking at Bill Hall ???

by South Side Rob

Just like everyone else, I will tell you that I heard this from a source I do not wish to name. Could it be true? Possibly. With Alex Rodriguez recovering from recent surgery, he is not expected back until late May at the earliest. My source told me…

Should the Brewers Look To Trade for Ichiro ???

By South Side Rob:

There are a few things that fit for this to actually become reality over pure fantasy. 1st, Ichiro is a professional lead-off hitter. 2nd, he’s left-handed. 3rd, he’s stuck on a team that has a new manager in Don Wakamatsu and…

Latest Podcast Available for Download

By: Big Rygg

Hey all!

The latest edition of the Brewer Nation podcast is available for download from the usual location:

Where For Art Thou, Offense?

By: Big Rygg

What a night for the Milwaukee Brewers…and I mean that in a negative way.

Save for back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches by Prince Fielder and Casey McGehee, the Milwaukee Brewers were unable to muster any…

Opening Disgrace…

by South Side Rob.

There was some good, some bad, and a lot of ugly. Some quotes after the game:

• “We just didn’t pitch very well.” — — Ken Macha.
• “When you get [Lincecum] out of the game…

New Podcast!

By: Big Rygg

The latest edition of the Brewer Nation Podcast is available for download. We also have decided on a new host for the file, so don’t worry that the URL is a bit different from the previous file.

NL Central Weekly Winners

by South Side Rob

I finished a program so I can look into both the batting and pitching logs. With that, I should be able to post the Brewer Nation NL Central batter and pitcher of the week. I’ll list the top 10 for each week but the player on top is your winner for that week. Any…

Heartbreak City

by South Side Rob

After losing 2 of 3 in San Francisco, the Brewers came home for their home opener and hung around just enough to take game 1 against the Cubs in dramatic fashion 4–3. In that game, Braden Looper made his Brewer debut and threw the ball very well in my opinion. He established his…

Well I’m on my Way…

By: Big Rygg

So have we finally seen enough? Wait…wrong question. We definitely have. Allow me to rephrase…

So…have they finally seen enough?

Brewers/Marlins Breakdown…

by South Side Rob

I know the first game of this series is already in the books with the Brewers winning 6–3, but I’m going to try to give the Nation a series preview before each series. I will display the performance points per game over the last 7 days for the hitters and the…

So Let’s Do This Thing Called “Breaking It Down”

By: Big Rygg

Unlike some people and places, I don’t like to analyze many things at the spur of the moment when a little thought is warranted.

You Don’t Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression

…and in Felipe Lopez’ case, who needs one?

By: Big Rygg

Good Lord does Mike Burns need the Dave Bush treatment from a couple of seasons ago under nervous Ned Yost.

Miller Time now Trevor Time

The Milwaukee Brewers have found their closer.

Reports are coming through all the major sports news media outlets (except, oddly, for SI.com) that the Milwaukee Brewers have come to an agreement on terms with free agent relief pitcher Trevor Hoffman on a…

Waiting to Exhale…

By: Big Rygg

My return to the written word this week begins with an update for those of you that may not have heard.

Ryan Braun exited the televised Brewer/Padre game this evening after being struck on the right thumb by a line drive. Braun…

Baseball’s Best (Year To Date)

by South Side Rob

Thanks to the great people over at Baseball-Reference.com, I built a workbook that tells me (number-wise), who is having a great year but not just at the major league level; all the way down to the low A ball (I don’t think rookie ball starts until after…

9 Game Roady

By: Big Rygg

As I write this, the first game in New York is tied 4–4 in the bottom of the 7th inning. Mitch “Irish” Stetter (my own nickname for him, but feel free to adopt it) has just been removed from the game after allowing Mike Rivera to show why so many professional…

NL Central Weekly Winners

by South Side Rob

Week 7 Batting (5/18 thru 5/24)

• Miguel Tejada — Astros — 154 pts.
• Ryan Braun — Brewers — 97 pts.
• Albert Pujols — Cardinals — 92 pts.

Lots to Catch Up On…

…so let’s get going.

By: Big Rygg

Hey Brewer Nation! Thanks for dealing with our collective hiatus from the written word over the past couple of weeks. It’s been a crazy length of time for both South Side Rob and me. Suffice it to say that…

Opening Day Is Upon Us!!! (or is it…?)

By: Big Rygg

First, let me say that our weekly podcast (a lengthier one than normal, hence the delay) has been readied for download and is available at:

Holy Crap…

By: Big Rygg

If it’s been said once, it’s been said 1,000 times as it relates to baseball…

“Things even out in the end.”

We’ve had a few gems in the pitching duel department this year, to be sure. Well, tonight we had a good old…

Pujols As Petulant As Anyone, Just Smarter About It

By: Big Rygg

Here’s fair warning, and you’ll already know the result here before you finish reading, but this blog could go one of two ways. It might be a three paragraph post just to prove my point, or it could…

Brooks Hall Interview Transcript

By: Big Rygg

Hey everyone! The Brewer Nation podcast team was fortunate enough to be joined earlier today by the Milwaukee Brewers’ 4th round draft pick from the 2009 First-Year Player Draft: Brooks Hall.

If You Want Something Done Right…

(…just change your name to Yovani.)

By: Big Rygg

This just in: Yovani Gallardo is good.

What a game! As I’ve made clear before, I love me a pitchers duel. Today was one of those days that…

News and Notes

By: Big Rygg

There are two newsbites that I want to make sure I touch on.

First, Corey Hart agreed to a one-year contract for $3.25 million that avoided what was looking like the first arbitration hearing in the Doug Melvin era as general manager.

Aces Anything But Wild…

By: Big Rygg

Now that was a pitching duel.

I know that there are a lot of baseball fans out there that love a game like that which took place today in New York at Yankee Stadium. That game featured a 14-run inning and total combined…

Milwaukee Brewers Sign Five, Including C Zaun

By: Big Rygg

The Hot Stove season in baseball can be a very exciting time. It’s the first real baseball-heavy stretch of time in the sports media since the end of the World Series and, chance are, the first time you’ve…

Listen to Big Rygg on the Radio @ 11:05am

By: Big Rygg

Hey everyone! I have been given the opportunity to be on the radio tomorrow (technically later today, Sunday, July 19th) morning just after 11:00am.

Oh, What A Night!

By: Big Rygg

Now here is the other side of the coin when I was speaking about Yovani Gallardo’s start against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park. A 15–3 drubbing of the Cincinnati Reds is just what the doctor ordered for Manny Parra and the rest of the Milwaukee…

NL Central Weekly/Monthly Winners

by South Side Rob

Week 4 Batting (4/27 thru 5/3)

• Mike Fontenot — Cubs — 140 pts.
• Albert Pujols — Cardinals — 108 pts.
• Ryan Theriot — Cubs —…