Well, the Brewers were eliminated today by the San Diego Padres 6-3. If at the beginning of the season you would have told me that the Brewers would finish in 2nd place and have a .500 record or better, I would have been happy. However, when the Brewers had an 8-1/2 game lead on the division after the All-Star game and were 14 games over .500 at more than one point during the season, expectations understandably were raised. That, coupled with the division going to the irritating Chicago Cubs makes it all the worse.Now, I want to see the Brewers actually finish over .500 and make the Padres earn a place in the post-season. I'll be very disappointed if the Crew roll over and play dead the last two games.
Or is it Ben Prior? Or Ben Dover? Ugh. Ben Sheets is hurt again. Injured his groin. He's fragile enough to be a Cubs starter. I really don't know how a baseball player injures his groin. If you warm up properly, you shouldn't have any trouble. Yet, Sheets always finds away to get hurt.Ironically, Sheets got hurt on the same day that the Cubs' Mark "The Porcelain Doll" Prior was shut down for the year. Unfortunately, Sheets' injury allowed the Cubs to salvage the final game of the series against the Brewers today. He had shut them down for three innings before coming out and his no-name replacement got lit up. But Milwaukee is still in first place. Hopefully, Sheets won't miss too much time. He's still the Brewers' ace at least he would be until the next injury.When asked about the decision to shut Sheets down after three innings, Mark Maddux, the Brewers pitching coach commented that a groin isn't something you want to mess with. Really? I spent much of my single life doing just that.For more on Sheets' injury, click here.
After trailing most of the game, the Brewers rallied for 2 runs to tie the score 4-4 in the 8th and then won on a Prince Fielder home run in the 12th inning. The Cubs threatened several times after the Brewers had tied the score but some timely fielding kept the game alive until Fielder could win it.Because closer Francisco Cordero had been used extensively over the weekend, Derrick Turnbow, came on in the bottom of the 12th for the save. After giving up a bloop single to Derrick Lee to lead off, Turnbow popped up Aramis Ramirez, struck out Jacques Jones on a pitch in the dirt and got Mark DeLaRosa to strike out looking (on a questionable outside strike). It should be noted that the umpire had been giving the outside strike all night to both sides.So, the first place Brewers take game one of the series and continue self-proclaimed Cy Young Candidate, Carlos Zambrano's, frustrating season. Although the "Big Z" pitched well, the bullpen's inability to hold the lead stole his chance for the win. My heart breaks.
While in Milwaukee for Easter weekend, Kerry and I also visited my dad's grave and laid a lily. We also went to a Menomonee Falls subdivision my dad built model homes in back in the late 1980s and early 90s. It was kind of difficult to find since I haven't looked for the subdivision in over 15 years. But after overshooting and doubling back, I recognized the subdivision name on a decorative entrance rock. The entrance now has a set of traffic control lights at the intersection with the main roadway that didn't used to be there. That's probably what though me off on the first pass by.
Above is the Bedford Cape. This home was a 2,900 square foot 4 bedroom design. It was one of my dad's larger models. Probably the largest that he had commercial success with. It's one of my favorite models because I sold it pretty much without even trying. One Sunday afternoon, a family came up from Palatine, Illinois looking for a house because the dad had been transferred. It was almost 5:00 p.m. and I had plans for the evening so I shot them a brouchure and told them I'd be around somewhere closing up. When I got back to the kitchen they were sitting down at the table and asked me if they could right a contract for the full listing price. Easiest money I ever made.
Two doors over was the Williamsburg II, a 2,500 square foot Victorian design with a great room concept. I don't have any fun stories about this house. Interestingly, it looks a bit like the Granger model that Kerry and I are building. But that's to be expected since they're both Victorian designs. At the time, I didn't appreciate the Williamsburg II. I understood its simplicity and functionality but didn't quite get the charm of its design. Especially with the nice front porch area (again, kind of like what Kerry and I chose). I guess dad knew what he was doing, huh?
On the corner down the way is the 2,020 square foot Westminster Royale. This was one of my dad's "Step Up" ranch designs for families that had out grown the smaller "New Edition" line of 3 bedroom 1,445 square foot ranches This too was a 3 bedroom, greatroom ranch (but with larger rooms, obviously). A sunroom was attached to the rear of the kitchen. A side view showing the sunroom is also shown here. 
This was always one of my favorite designs and worked extremely well with a deck.
Finally, about a block away was the Kensington I model. Similar to the Williamsburg in square footage (maybe a tad larger) but with a loft over the greatroom. I always thought it was an innovative design but I don't think my dad or I sold more than a couple of them.
Brings back memories, of course. But also kind of gave us an idea what a new subdivision like the one we're buying into can look like after 15 years.I forgot about the Arlington model. It was 2 or 3 doors north of the Kensington but I totally forgot it was there until my sister mentioned it. So I didn't get a picture. Based on a Texas design, it was a big, freaking ranch. Almost 2,700 square feet. Huge basement. Too huge, actually. It required so much masonry that it simply wasn't something that would be very marketable. It pushed its price into the area where people would be looking for customized designs. I didn't care much for it because (a) I never sold one and (b) I've never been a big fan of the hip roof design.
Happy Easter everyone. No, no bunnies or eggs here. Not that I won't be eating chocolate ones for the next week or two.Weekend was full of fun and adventure. We signed up with a real estate broker to sell the condo on Saturday. He bemoaned the condo market right now but did like the upgrades we put into the place. We then went to see Wicked in downtown Chicago at the Ford Oriental Theater. It was a very good show. It wasn't Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, but it was very enjoyable. Some catchy tunes but probably not a soundtrack that I'll run out and get.We then drove up to Milwaukee Saturday evening. Stopped in Kenosha at The Chancery for dinner. I had the "Friday" fish fry which they now serve all week. It used to be all you can eat fish and fries but no longer. The breading isn't as good as it used to be either but it's still very good. Kerry had a good piece of tilapia and some onion cheezy soup. She thought it was good.Sunday, we went to my Mom's (and her husband, Gerry's) non-denominational church's Easter service. I'm still not a big fan of the informal service structure and contemporary music. I still kind of think it's a "follow the bouncing ball" service. And one song had a refrain: "What a Savior!" And I couldn't but help think of Russian comedian Yakoff Smirnoff and his catch-phrase: "What a country." We then went back to mom and Gerry's place and had a ham sandwich and fruit plate brunch before Kerry and I went down to Miller Park to watch the Brewers take on the Cubs. After dropping the first two games of the series, the Brewers got off to an early lead and then held on despite a Cubs rally in the 6th inning. The Brewers put the game away in the 8th to win 9-4 but the game was a lot closer than it needed to be.
Numerous pundits are picking the Milwaukee Brewers as a darkhorse contender for the National League Central Division in 2007. Does this mean the Brewers will be surprisingly good or the division is just going to be surprisingly bad. Well, with the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals and perennial contenders the Houston Astros suffing serious attrition to free agency the way got a whole lot easier. The Pittsburgh Pirates will struggle to sniff .500 and the Chicago Cubs, well, they're the Cubs. I don't care how much money they spent in the off-season.
The Brewers on the other hand have a solid starting rotation (assuming Ben Sheets stays healthy), a reliable closer and, if Derrick Turnbow can handle the "demotion" to set up man and continue to pitch like he has in Spring Training, the Brewers could make the game short for their opponents. The Brewers infield has been called the best young infield in baseball by ESPN (although this was before 3B Ryan Braun was sent down to the minor). Even with journeymen infielders Tony Granffanino and Craig Counsell platooning at third, the infield should be a definite strength this year. And if Braun can figure out how to field the position, he could be back this year. Heck, even Roger Dorn figured it out.
Now that Geoff Jenkins and Kevin Mensch appear to have stopped bitching about their potential platooning in right field, even the outfield situation seems to be firming up. Corey Hart may be an emerging star in left and Jack of All Positions Bill Hall will provide exceptional pop in centerfield.This could be the year to finally go above .500 and make a real run at the playoffs. I don't expect the Brewers to be the Yankees or Red Sox but some consistent hope would be nice. My usual mantra of "Just finish ahead of the Cubs" isn't going to be enough this year.
Finally, I just want to acknowledge one of the best designed logos in sports history: 
Well, the Brewers were eliminated today by the San Diego Padres 6-3. If at the beginning of the season you would have told me that the Brewers would finish in 2nd place and have a .500 record or better, I would have been happy. However, when the Brewers had an 8-1/2 game lead on the division after the All-Star game and were 14 games over .500 at more than one point during the season, expectations understandably were raised. That, coupled with the division going to the irritating Chicago Cubs makes it all the worse.
