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 Sports ChickMay 17, 2004 Not the Crew We Thought We Knew?Marty Coultas Milwaukeeworld.com Welcome back Milwaukeeworlders. An unusually dull week for professional sports in the state of Wisconsin these past seven days, wasn’t it? Well, not if you are a fan of our Milwaukee Brewers, it wasn’t! This week I want to talk about our zestful Milwaukee Brew Crew and relive an exciting week of baseball and an even more electrifying weekend where the Milwaukee Brewers welcomed back their old team, the Milwaukee Braves. Now, the Atlanta Braves and a much better team overall than our beloved Crew, on Friday night the Brewers honored the Braves of the past in a pre-game ceremony more entertaining than the nine innings that followed. With a sentimental and touching speech by the son of the late Braves legend Warren Spahn, and a gathering of previous Milwaukee Braves players including our own Bob Uecker, the pre-game ceremony was well- planned and an impressive site to see. Honoring the Braves of the past is something the Brewers thought would bring in the weekend fans, and boy were they right on the money. With a packed house on Friday night, the Brew Crew began a series with a winning record and a day old sweep over the Montreal Expos. After sweeping the Expos in three games at the beginning of the week, the Brewers were excited to welcome the Hotlanta team with super-stars named Chipper, Andruw, and J.D. The house was at a record high since opening day with an attendance of nearly 34,000 pumped up fans. That’s when the excitement began to die. Friday night’s game was about as exciting as an overtime hockey game, but it did show us that this team may be just what Milwaukee needs to win in the very near future. With Ritchie gone and Geoff and Po taking most of the slack, a new team came to play this week. Who knew this Overbay guy had it in him? Certainly not the Indians or Arizona. With a seriously awesome hitting streak on the line and the second best batting average in the National league, Lyle has proved to Mr. Yost and the rest of us that he is a true baller. The guy can hit and do something the Crew has needed since they were the Braves five decades ago.....HIT DOUBLES. With Scottie not as hot this week as he has been, Overbay stepped up and took advantage of every pitch he got. Bill Hall also proved that he is in Milwaukee to win. His defensive strength and hitting ability is enough to defend what we all thought was a hideous off-season trade with Arizona. So, now Milwaukeeworlders, with Sheets pitching the way we all thought that he could and the team finally starting to gel as a whole, it looks like we may just have something special on our hands. We have the right staff and it is beginning to look like we have the right players. Now is the time to get the wins that eight, ten and twelve weeks from now are going to matter. With a seven game road trip ahead of them, all the Brew Crew must do is beat those Expos again, (we know they can do that), and beat those overrated Pirates in Pittsburgh. Get some rest boys, we are counting on you coming home with a winning record. Please don’t let us down! Thoughtful Gesture Gone With the Wind? Throughout last week, Bill Michaels, a local Sports reporter for an AM station in Milwaukee was promising a huge surprise for fans who came out to Friday’s at Friday’s, a promotion the station does every Friday night home-game during the season. He said it was going to be huge. With that, we were all left guessing....Was it an announcement that Sexson hates Zona and wants to return to Brew City? Was it a plea to the Selig-Pried family to renig the sale of the team? What in the world was it? Well readers, it was neither of the above, but something much cooler and FASTER indeed. Until last season, The Milwaukee Brewers along with the Harley Davidson Corporation have promised any Milwaukee Brewer player a free customized Harley Davidson if they could hit for the cycle at any home game during the season. For you readers unaware of what the heck a cycle is, it’s when a player hits a single, double, triple and homer in one game. Not a simple task to achieve. In fact it is the only task in the Major leagues accomplished less than a triple play........VERY, VERY RARE. As the seasons went on and on and on and on.... Not a single Brewer had achieved the feat. That is until Chad Moeller did it at Miller Park on April 27. The first Brewer to hit for the cycle since 1991 and only the FIFTH Brewer of all time to perfect the milestone, Moeller received no Harley. In fact, the team played a joke on the catcher and made him think he had won a bike when in fact he had not. The promo was ceased at the end of last season due to the fact it seemed the execution was not something any player in Milwaukee was going to conquer again. Well, Harley Davidson, IT HAPPENED!!!! And what an awesome achievement for an underrated player such as Chad to surmount! So, after the loss on Friday night, Chad was invited to Michael’s post-game show where he was given a gift none of us thought was coming. Mr. Moeller got a Harley. All though the promotion was no longer in tact, someone, somewhere (I think Mr. Michaels, an avid rider himself may have had a little something to do with it, but who knows.....) believed he deserved what no player in thirteen years could attain. When asked how he felt about the beautiful gift, all Chad had to say was, I seriously need to review my contract and see if I am even allowed to ride a Harley. Too funny! Well Chad, even if you cannot ride the bike, please keep it as an honor that you are well deserving of. You earned it you little cutie! Plus, chicks totally dig guys with bikes. Keep it for eye candy even if you are never going to ride it. Until next week Milwaukeeworlders, keep your ears open and your noses clean! Marty the Sports Chick
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