9/07/03 - Cubs (Wood) @ Brewers (Davis)

[squarepusher]

1:05 PM, CST

TV: none

Radio: WTMJ 620

 

Hey, the Brewers have a game today too!

 

Brewerfan.net / Statfox matchup info:

www.brewerfan.net/matchup.jsp

 

Doug Davis Player Profile:

www.brewerfan.net/ViewPlayerProfile.do?playerId=600

 

Yahoo! Sports preview:

sports.yahoo.com/mlb/preview?gid=230907108

 

FoxSports.com preview:

www.foxsports.com/named/FS/MLB/preview?gameId=230907108

 

CBSSportsline.com preview:

www.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/preview/MLB_20030907_CHC@MIL

 

Milwaukeebrewers.com preview:

milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mil/news/mil_news.jsp

 

EDIT: Changed the starting pitchers to the correct ones.

[endaround]

So will the number of Brewer fans be over/under 1000 at today's game?

[batman]

I'll be there... my guess is that this one will have about 15k "Brewers fans", of which a good percentage will probably be better described as "non-fans". The other 30k will be obnoxious, stupid, annoying, arrogant, incompetent, (insert descriptor here) Cubs fans.

 

I hate Cubs fans.

 

~Bill

[endaround]

15k during an afternoon game on opening day of Packer season? I doubt it.

[AJAY]

Chicago Sun Times reported that Dusty Baker is planning to put more lefties in the Cubs lineup because they seem to have more success against Doug Davis.

 

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/other/ajay.jpg

[squarepusher]

Brooks Kieschnick gets the start in LF?:

 

 CHICAGO CUBS MILWAUKEE AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI Tom Goodwin LF .291 1 8 Scott Podsednik CF .319 6 44 Tony Womack 2B .234 2 22 Keith Ginter 2B .275 12 38 Sammy Sosa RF .293 33 90 Brady Clark RF .311 4 36 Aramis Ramirez 3B .268 21 89 Richie Sexson 1B .268 37 107 Randall Simon 1B .273 13 62 Brooks Kieschnick LF .316 5 9 Ramon Martinez SS .293 3 33 Wes Helms 3B .256 19 58 Doug Glanville CF .167 0 1 Eddie Perez C .267 9 43 Damian Miller C .236 8 35 Bill Hall SS .256 3 13 Kerry Wood RHP .113 2 6 Doug Davis LHP .083 0 0 (11-11, 3.56) (2-0, 0.93) 1:23 PM ET 

[Al the Thinking Man]

I think that's great, Brooks may not be an OBP man, but he can hit with power. He may well be the best offensive option.

[clancyphile]

Hey, who knows, a little work with Butch Wynegar and Brooks could turn out to be a solid hitter/LF.

[batman]

That was one of the most horrible games I've ever been to. I can't remember the last time I left a game early, but I was gone after 8 innings this afternoon. I was embarrassed to be a Brewers' fan... not only because the team laid down for the Cubs, but also because the stadium was literally 95% Cubs' fans. And I honestly don't think I'm overestimating that figure.

 

What an absolutely awful day to be a Brewers' fan. It will be a sweet day when it's the Brewers sweeping the Cubs at Wrigley en route to a playoff appearance of our own.

 

~Bill

[Frisbee Slider]

I too was there...Bill, you might not have there to see/hear it...but when there's 35,000 Cubs fans chanting "sweep, sweep", it's well...embarrassing, yeah. Oh well, they support their team....so it's hard to fault them.

[SoCalBrewfan]

Wait...I thought Doug Davis was unbeatable. There must be some mistake.

[batman]

Wait...I thought Doug Davis was unbeatable. There must be some mistake.

 

Blasphemy, SoCal! He's our number two starter, remember?

 

http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif ,

~Bill

[hawing]

"That was one of the most horrible games I've ever been to. I can't remember the last time I left a game early, but I was gone after 8 innings this afternoon. I was embarrassed to be a Brewers' fan... not only because the team laid down for the Cubs, but also because the stadium was literally 95% Cubs' fans. And I honestly don't think I'm overestimating that figure.

 

What an absolutely awful day to be a Brewers' fan. It will be a sweet day when it's the Brewers sweeping the Cubs at Wrigley en route to a playoff appearance of our own."

 

 

 

So, do I win the martyr of the weekend award for being at both Saturday and Sunday's games? On Saturday I was part of the Kenosha night crowd and that section was not so badly skewed toward Cubs fans.

 

But Sunday...ugh. Our usual section (TB 417) was about 75% Cubs fans, which I think was representative of the rest of the crowd; and between the "visiting" fans' extreme fervor and the speed with which Milwaukee seemed to hand over the game (no, YOU win, we insist)...it was an ugly, ugly day for the home fans.

 

Obnoxious is a good word to describe many Cub fans, in ways already described in the last few game threads. They cheer at *anything* Cub related. Every fly ball is a home run in the making. When Robb Edwards revealed today's attendance and said, "The Brewers and Chicago Cubs thank you for attending today's game," they cheered again upon hearing the name. If someone had announced, "MLB bats are made of *wood*," they'd have thought it was a tribute to Kerry Wood and gone nuts.

 

There is no question that any sellout is healthy for the Brewers' bottom line. But it is embarrassing to achieve it like this. It'll be sweeter when the Brewers clinch a postseason berth with a MP sellout that's actually mostly Brewers fans.

 

At least the weather was great. There, I thought of something nice to say.

[Mike2k33]

Obnoxious is a good word to describe many Cub fans, in ways already described in the last few game threads. They cheer at *anything* Cub related. Every fly ball is a home run in the making. When Robb Edwards revealed today's attendance and said, "The Brewers and Chicago Cubs thank you for attending today's game," they cheered again upon hearing the name. If someone had announced, "MLB bats are made of *wood*," they'd have thought it was a tribute to Kerry Wood and gone nuts.

 

This is my major complaint with them. That and the total lack of respect for anything that has to do with any other team. I don't think I have ever heard the word "gay" so many times in my life. They used that word for everything that had to do with the Brewers. Mark Smith, the grass, the foul pole, the bathrooms, the scoreboard, Bernie, and oh yeah, me.

[hawing]

...the total lack of respect for anything that has to do with any other team.

 

Yup. My exposure to very large crowds of other MLB teams' fans is admittedly limited, but being happy for your team's success does not have to mean ripping on every facet of your opponent.

 

I'll actually root for the Cubs, after today, if only to keep the Astros and especially the hated Cardinals out of the postseason (that and my significant other grew up a Cubs fan, the good kind) - but many of the fans who visited this weekend don't deserve a winner.

 

And another thing! (my last rant of the night): NO one violates the no-smoking rules in Miller Park as flagrantly as Cubs fans. I admit that wasn't a majority of the visiting fans, but it's just another irritation (literally).

[burniebrewer]

If you can think of a negative, it applies. I only hope that when we are a playoff-type team in a couple (?!) of years that we are not a bunch of flatland jackas*es like them. My apologies to the censors, but Chicago fans are what they are: big-mouthed as**oles. I try to be "cool", but those people are at the bottom of the evolutionary totem pole. Fine, win the division and lose right away. Whatever. Those clowns cheer every pop-up as though it were leaving the yard. I hate 'em allhttp://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/mad.gif http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/mad.gif http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/mad.gif http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/mad.gif . Go anybody but them!

[Mike2k33]

The ONLY way I'd ever root for a Cubs win is if we needed help to clinch a playoff spot.

 

And this is a little off topic but, Wrigley Field is so overrated. That place is cramped, dirty, cold, and you have to go to the bathroom in a pig trough(welcome to the 20th century Cubs fans). The only cool part of Wrigley is the ivy on the wall, and even that's not that great. I'd rather have the luxury of urinals, a nice videoboard, and plenty of parking.

[molitor fan]

completely overhaul the ushering at Miller Park. My earlier experience at the park during a Cub game made me realize that the doddering geezers that appear to hate their very existence should not be ushers - especially at Cub games, as the soulless cretins that race up from the Chicago suburbs can get away with murder.....I for one think it is abominable that a Brewer fan should literally feel intimidated in his own park.....if Mr. Payne really wants to make a positive impression amongst Brewer fans in regard to the Cub series issue, he must find a way to change the hostile environment the Brewer fans have been experiencing at their own park at the hands of our ungracious visitors from the south.

[homer]

I had the good fortune to score the hot tub out in right center for the game on Friday (I read the trivia question if anyone cares) and I was called gay about 14,000 times by passing Cub fans. I still think that Twins fans are worse, however.

[SenatorShriv]

I was at a party the other night and a friend started ripping on the crew, so naturaly I got a bit defensive and stuck up for my team. I mentioned "the streak" and how much harder the team was playing this year, and the minors, and new management, etc... After a lengthy but effective rant, I realized the game was still on, and flipped on a TV To my horror I saw Cubs fans DOMINATING the crowd, and making a mockery of the brewers and miller park. I was really embarrassed and ashamed for the first time in a long time. My buddies aren't going to let me hear the end of that one for a long time.

[Mike2k33]

I don't understand why some people are getting upset over this. If you didn't expect Cub fans to out number Brewer fans on a Sept weekend when the Brewers are way out of it and the Cubs right in the middle of it, then you didn't see any Cubs/Brewers games in Milwaukee, ever.

 

There has ALWAYS been at least 25% Cubs fans at all past games here. That goes for County Stadium games as well. The thing is, more and more Cub fans are realizing how easy it is to get up here, and for some, Miller Park is closer and/or easier to get to than Wrigley. The number of Cub fans that cross the border grows each year. It may get worse before it gets better.

 

As for ushers, they need to get new blood in there, literally. These ushers are almost as old as most NFL refs. Maybe they could hire more security type personnel and have them double as ushers. Bottom line is, the old people must go.

[jaybird2001wi]

Excuse me, but wasn't it me who first complained about the amount of Cub fans this series and how we are being intimidated? I was the first that posted it in the game thread yesterday.

Well anyway, as I said before... the Cubs got away with a ton this series. The Brewers got spanked by the Cubs, and we got spanked by the Cub fans. There should be no excuse why we couldn't have drawn more Brewer fans. The state of Wisconsin fan base is a total joke. Here we draw more interest in a Packer pre-season game than a Brewer regular season game. The media should also be to blame for completely ignoring this whole matter. They have not once reported the amount of Cub fans in any reports on TV. Maybe if the media would have taken the Brewers 10 game win streak more seriously instead of "Packers Blitz" or "Packers Extra" we wouldn't be in this mess. In Chicago, they don't have most of their newscasts dedicated to the Bears or even the Cubs for that matter. Wisconsin is a total joke, if the media wants to be taken seriously they need to stop with the insane Packer coverage, broadcast and print wise. If the Brewers wanted to be taken seriously, they should have done more to retaliate after Sexson getting hit by Juan Cruz. They only hit Alex Gonzalez, big deal... Gonzo retaliated himself... and nothing happened after that.

It is sickening right now, my friend is an usher at Miller Park and said this was the worst series he has worked in his five years with the Brewers. Ulice Payne needs to wake up and smell the coffee, we got embarrassed in our home turf. And we did nothing to defend ourselves. Pathetic and pitiful.

[mothershipconnection]

The state of Wisconsin fan base is a total joke. Here we draw more interest in a Packer pre-season game than a Brewer regular season game. The media should also be to blame for completely ignoring this whole matter.

That's just what's naturally going to happen when one of your teams is among the most storied franchises in sports and the other has been crap since most can remember. But the media bias in WI is nothing compared to what we have down here: Cowboys, Cowboys, Cowboys. They seriously believe that the Cowboys are going to win the superbowl... this year. It's ridiculous since they suck as bad as last year, but have an accomlished coach to lead them to a slightly less embarassing degree of poor play. Or maybe the bias seems greater because I hate the Cowboys and their fans as much as anyone who's expressed anger in this thread hates the Cubs and their pack of traveling losers.

[Mike2k33]

Maybe if the media would have taken the Brewers 10 game win streak more seriously instead of "Packers Blitz" or "Packers Extra" we wouldn't be in this mess.

 

Yeah the 10 game streak was nice, but are we in the playoffs because of it? Like I said before, the only way the Brewers are going to draw more fans is if they contend. Winning 10 games in a row in late August while being 20 games under .500 is NOT contending. Last time I checked, the Packers have been in contention every year since the early 90s. I'm not saying they deserve 90 different shows a day, but they probably deserve more coverage this time of year.

 

Ulice Payne needs to wake up and smell the coffee, we got embarrassed in our home turf. And we did nothing to defend ourselves.

 

What exactly should Ulice have done? He can't control what's going on in the field. Retaliation? I think that should be left to Tony LaRussa and all the other people who still think it's 1963. Retaliation should only happen if someone is clearly hit intentionally. I'm not convinced that Juan Cruz threw at Sexson intentionally.

[RobertR]

It's amazing how quick sentiments turn around on this team. Heading into the weekend, people were pretty happy.

 

We'll see how this team finishes up. The rest of the schedule is very difficult. It will probably help place the winning streak in context.

 

Robert