Over/Under on complaints about MMP in the IGT

[Phenomenal Smith]

As an Astros fan, one of the things I find hilarious is how y'all people gripe about our stadium - even when you freaking win! So, I'm wondering how many "this stadium is a bandbox" type comments you guys will post in the IGT for today's game.

[RightFieldCoder]

Personally, I like the hill and flagpole in center field. I don't consider the stadium a "bandbox" (that designation is for GAB in Cinncy), but I do see why some people don't like the Crawford box cheap HR. Fenway has it because of space constraints, Houston did it on purpose. The only thing I don't like about the stadium (besides the number of loses the Brewers have there) is the name. I say you should be stuck with Enron Field for 20 years :p

[berniebrewer4life]

Just because we win doesn't change the fact that you guys have a rediculously short left field porch. Oh, and i'd put the over/under to around 4.

[Glennron]

I personally think the stadium design is pretty stupid, but it's also pretty silly to complain when the Brewers get the same advantage with the weird set-up in left field.

[sargennm]

I don't think the majority of the comments are complaints as much as people still find it a little shocking when you see non-HR swings scream out of that stadium. Considering the Brewers seem to live and die by the HR, I rather like the ol' bandbox.

[rluzinski]

So, I'm wondering how many "this stadium is a bandbox" type comments you guys will post in the IGT for today's game.

 

I guess it depends on how many 295 ft HRs are hit this afternoon. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

The stadium is pretty cool in an amusement park funhouse kind of way. I see the little train and the slide/hill in CF but where's the revolving barrel?

 

Minute Maid Park has a huge CF but still gives up over 10% more HRs than an average park. Lot's of cheapies, which is understandably annoying when the other team is getting them.

[jjfanec]

People were not really complaining about the Astros having an advantage or anything. The comments were made throughout the game, and a lot of them were made after Corey Hart's last home run where it looked he just reached at the ball and it went out.

[JohnBriggs12]

The stadium is a farce really and frankly I feel sorry for Astro fans Phenom Smith. You're not watching quality baseball in that park. Houston natives Clemens and Pettitte aside, what FA pitcher would want to pitch there?

 

How do you even evaluate players? Abercrombie hits a fly ball off Villanueva that wouldn't get near most warning tracks and it's a double there. Biggio no doubt extended his career by playing there and having the ability to hit 330 foot flyball HRs. Conversely Morgan Ensberg got so messed up and pull conscious playing in Houston that he's worthless now.

 

One thing I do like about the park. You have well-heeled and well dressed patrons sitting behind home plate and not all off in boxes somewhere. I get annoyed watching behind home at Miller Park and seeing overweight guys or gals in tee shirts waving to their friends at home. I know Milwaukee is working class and all and that's great, but you'd think the people forking over the bucks for those seats would want to project a better image.

[davego]

That hill in CF is just dumb.

 

John makes a good point about the seats behind home plate.

[joepepsi]

Bob and Jim were talking up the stadium in last night's broadcast. The only sorta negative comment they made was how HUGE the ballpark was. It sure looks giant on TV. I've never been there but it looks nice on TV. Teams can pretty much construct the playing field however they want. If the Brewers wanted to build a short porch in right or left they shoulda done it.

[steve267268]

What exactly do you find hilarious about our comments? The fact that we don't like your stadium, win or lose, means that our negative feelings on the matter are not influenced by our losing there. The stadium is a circus. If Vegas had a baseball team, their stadium wouldn't be that wacky. Regardless of how i feel about the train, it's not the problem. The problem is a left field "porch" that my little sister could hit one into. It's the hill in center field with a flag pole sticking out of it. Honestly, how did this design pass? It's garbage.

 

Hey, how about that shot Pujols hit off of Lidge in the playoffs? That was out in ANY park!

[rluzinski]

I've been to Minute Maid and thought it was a beautiful park. I don't even really mind the hill or train. Those short HRs are just silly, though.

[sheethead]

Could you please help me understand the word y'all so that I may better understand the post and respond accordingly?

 

I think "y'all" is a contraction of the words "you" and "all," but I am not 100% sure. That pic had me rolling for a good 3 minutes. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

 

I get annoyed watching behind home at Miller Park and seeing overweight guys or gals in tee shirts waiving to their friends at home.

 

This seemed a tad elitist. I can see the angle, but did you have to document it so blatantly? What's wrong with wearing tee shirts in the diamond boxes? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[JohnBriggs12]

The hill is a neat feature. I'm old enough to remember Crosley Field in Cincinnatti. They had an incline in the OF which served as a substitute for the warning track. Of course that had a purpose of preventing the OF from crashing into the wall, whereas the hill in Houston is mainly a gimmick.

[jwill535]

If the Brewers wanted to build a short porch in right or left they shoulda done it.

Reference the picnic area and Corey Patterson's HR against Gagne.

 

[owbc]

It's not just us, everybody hates that ballpark.

 

I don't even mind the hill. It's so far away that it doesn't make much of a difference. But the flagpole? Maybe it was fine in 1940 to have a flagpole in the field, but why would the home team want to risk their CF running into it while trying to make a play. Not the mention the Richie Sexson 440 ft. triple...

 

I don't really mind the Crawford boxes either. They are too close to the field, but it isn't 290 feet like everyone says. However, the wall that extends beyond that is really pointless. There's a vertical yellow line painted on concrete. How is that even possible? Why should it be a HR if it bounces off one side and a double if it bounces off the other side. Isn't the point of a HR to go over the fence? Instead, it's like hitting targets on a wall.

[tomwopat]

Best pinball machine to host a baseball game ever.

[brwrsfan]

Could you please help me understand the word y'all so that I may better understand the post and respond accordingly?

 

I think "y'all" is a contraction of the words "you" and "all," but I am not 100% sure. That pic had me rolling for a good 3 minutes. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

 

I just can't let this pass. I was in Houston in early May for the series, and I have to have this question answered. I can fully understand the phras "y'all" as it clearly combines "you and all" and I'm sure at some point all of us have said "You all.....something".

 

BUT...I heard numerous individuals in Houston use the term "y'alls". What are they combining there?!?! "You" and "alls"???? When has anyone ever said..."You alls....anything"???? Sorry to rant, but it drove me absolutely crazy down there!

 

EDIT: Apparently I can't quote correctly...my bad.

Fixed. - Toby

[RU Rah Rah]

It's really strange, visually, to watch balls hit into the outfield there. The OF walls just come into your field of vision so much more quickly. Corey caught a couple of bloopy little fly balls last night that almost had him on the warning track. It was weird to watch -- kind of like softball on TV.

[brewjihad]

I don't mind the quirky parks so much- the hill in center is kinda neat- but it seems counterproductive to have those extremes. A guy can hit a 420 foot fly ball to dead center and have it caught, while Jason Kendall can serve one into the corner there like he did last night. That park would drive me crazy if I was a fan of the Astros. So, really, I don't mind the cheap homers but why have the short porch and then the huge centerfield?

[rluzinski]

So, really, I don't mind the cheap homers but why have the short porch and then the huge centerfield?

 

Because if they had a normal CF witht hat short porch, they would give up more HRs than any other park in the league.

[brewjihad]

Because if they had a normal CF witht hat short porch, they would give up more HRs than any other park in the league

 

I see what you thought I meant there, but I was trying to say that a bit more balance is in order. Here's my point- the unique left field arrangement and the centerfield hill are fine by me, but the leftfield fence should be longer and centerfield should be closer in. Some people don't like the park's layout, but I just have a problem with the dimensions. Does that make sense?

[davego]

If the hill had a point, as previously mentioned, I'd get it. However, just randomly placing hazards on the field (flag pole, too) seems very mini-golf-like. Just feels pretty pointless.

[endaround]

It was part of Selig's "nobody really likes baseball so lets add stuff!" park building binge. He's the one who granted the waiver.

[zzzmanwitz]

I am definitely in the "don't really like the stadium but doesn't really care either way camp." I do love that pole in CF though... and so does Richie Sexson.