Milwaukee Brewers News Clips Monday, February 8, 2016
MLB.com Brewers’ single-game tickets go on sale Feb. 27
Journal Sentinel Day 7: Brewers’ camp is a home run in every way Brewers tout hometown roots of manager Craig Counsell in new TV ad
http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/163924240/milwaukee-brewers-game-tickets-on-sale-feb-27 Brewers’ single-game tickets go on sale Feb. 27
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com | February 7, 2016
MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers will begin selling individual game tickets at 9 a.m. CT on Feb. 27 as part of their annual "Arctic Tailgate," the club announced Friday.
While some fans purchase tickets via Brewers.com from the warmth of their home or office, others will brave the elements at Miller Park. The Famous Racing Sausages, Bernie Brewer and former Brewers players will be on hand to greet fans waiting in line for tickets, the first 2,000 of whom will receive a T-shirt.
Participants will be allowed to set up camp outside the ballpark prior to noon on Feb. 25. No hand-made or hand- built shelters, or shelters made of cardboard or wood, will be permitted. Shelters with a footprint greater than 100 square feet are not permitted unless otherwise approved by the Brewers. Miller Park power sources are not available for public use, and gas generators are not permitted on the property. Only state-approved gas/propane heating/grilling units with fuel-valve turn-offs and self-contained charcoal/wood units are permitted; provided, however, that they be a minimum distance of 25 feet from the building or shelters. The Brewers reserve the right to remove any shelter, items or individuals from the property.
As in past seasons, the team says only a small supply of Opening Day tickets will be available for sale, and only in person at Miller Park. While supplies last, each fan can purchase up to four tickets to Opening Day.
Meanwhile, through Feb. 15, fans can visit Brewers.com/opportunity to register for an advance sales opportunity for Opening Day and for a presale of weekend games at Miller Park this season.
The Brewers offer demand-based pricing in almost all seating categories (excluding all-inclusive areas, suites and the Uecker seats). Beginning with the first day of individual game sales, pricing for all 81 home games is subject to change. More information regarding demand-based pricing is at Brewers.com/tickets.
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/brewers-camp-is-a-home-run-in-every-way-b99664553z1-367942581.html Day 7: Brewers’ camp is a home run in every way
By Gary D’Amato of the Journal Sentinel February 6, 2016
Phoenix — Mike "Grasshopper" Martin epitomizes what Brewers Fantasy Camp is all about. He's got a good job as vice president of manufacturing for Baxter International, but his first love is baseball.
Martin, of Lakewood, Ill., didn't win the baseball player gene pool, so for 12 consecutive years he's taken a week of vacation to live the dream. Fantasy camp puts him in catcher's gear behind the plate and in the batter's box at Maryvale Baseball Park.
In a game last week, he drove in his team's winning run with a walk-off single.
"It was my first walk-off hit since I was 12," Martin said. "I got carried off the field. That doesn't happen at Baxter. You can't buy that stuff. It's just fantasy camp but in the moment you feel like a million bucks."
I came to the camp unsure about the whole fantasy baseball thing but I must say, after sharing a clubhouse for a week with 83 other guys and bonding with 13 teammates over nine games, it's been one of the best experiences of my life.
Larry Pedrazoli of Racine, one of my teammates, is a 22-year Air Force veteran who fought in the Gulf War.
"When you're in the military and you're depending on the guy next to you, there's a camaraderie that lasts forever," Pedrazoli said. "Next to the military, this is No. 2. Everybody has each other's back. I'd go to war with any one of these guys."
If that sounds like hyperbole all I'd say is you'd understand what he meant if you were here. A week ago I didn't know a thing about any of my teammates and now I consider them friends.
The games are a blast but the best stuff is what happens in the clubhouse — the joking and needling, the high-fives and knuckle-bumps, the crude humor, the commiserating over injuries and called third strikes.
"I've told people that when you put 80 guys in a locker room, I don't care if they're 8 or 80, the same stupid stuff happens," Martin said. "It's Y chromosomes gone wild. It's arrested development. I love it."
My team's coaches, Jim Gantner and Steve Woodard, did a great job making us competitive without spoiling the fun. It's a fine line to walk, especially for former major-leaguers who are accustomed to seeing the game played the right way.
After finishing the "regular season" with a 4-4 record, we played for third place Saturday at Maryvale Baseball Park, the Brewers' spring training home. It was as close to the bigs as any of us is ever going to get — player introductions, walk-up music, our names on the scoreboard when we batted.
Other than Bob Skube's dog doing what dogs do on the infield grass while we lined up for our team photo, it was pretty close to the real deal.
I'm proud to say Gantner's Woody beat the Dauntless Warriors, 9-2, to finish third in the six-team league. I lined a two-out, two-run single to right-center in the second inning that put us up, 4-1. Like Martin said, it's just fantasy camp, but what else can you do in life that will result in 13 guys thumping you on the back?
In my second at-bat, I struck out looking, but I'll go to my grave swearing the last pitch was ball three, low and away. I gained a new appreciation for how hard baseball is when you do it every day for a week. Obviously, major- leaguers are young, fit, athletic and talented, but it's beyond me how they can play a 162-game schedule. I'll never again scoff at a player who requests a day off.
A couple days ago, I ran into former Brewers general manager Doug Melvin and he asked me if I was sore. Other than both hips, my lower back, both hamstrings, both shins and my right Achilles' tendon, I was just fine.
Our catcher, Mark Courchane of Madison, played after dislocating his left thumb. Bill Morley of Muskego, one of our better hitters, stayed in the lineup after badly straining his hamstring. A left-hander, he would smash balls into the gaps and hop one-legged to first base. What a gamer.
Steve Gilboy of Cambria, who played for Storm Damage (coached by Jerry Augustine and Mike Caldwell), was hit by a pitch early in camp and broke his hand. Do you think he went home? Of course not. He kept playing.
Martin summed up the week:
"The three things we all have in common is that we love baseball, we love the Brewers and we're all knuckleheads. Nobody aspires to be a fantasy camp lifer, but it's more addictive than any drug out there."
Now, I've just got to figure out how to get back here next year.
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/368033051.html Day 7: Brewers’ camp is a home run in every way
By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel February 8, 2016
The Brewers tout the hometown roots of manager Craig Counsell in a new television ad for the 2016 season.
In the ad titled "Born a Brewer," Counsell is seen walking around the village of Whitefish Bay, where he grew up. Counsell's father, John, worked for years in the Brewers front office and the son spent a lot of time at County Stadium in his youth. So, he indeed grew up with the Brewers.
"Just like you, I was born a Brewer. This is my first love, my passion, my responsibility," Counsell says in the ad he narrates.
Counsell went on to a long major-league career, including two stints with the Brewers, the second of which covered his last five seasons. After he retired, he joined the club's front office and then was tabbed as manager when Ron Roenicke was fired one month into the 2015 season. His background indeed gave him a unique perspective of the franchise.
Few managers know a franchise and a city the way Counsell knows the Brewers and Milwaukee, which is the effective message presented in the ad. And, with the club in the early stages of a rebuilding plan that is expected to lead to tough times in 2016, it makes sense to focus instead on the man in charge on the field of that process. asked anybody is just be honest. Let me know what your plan is and I’ll work accordingly.’ ”