Pins and Needles...

So, this week has been filled with some highs and lows for the beloved Brew Crew. We swept through the Nationals like they were nothing, then met the Reds at Miller Park. We took game 1 in dramatic fashion, then proceeded to forget how to hit, pitch, and field in the remaining two games. Playoff hopes are fading and the inevitable is possibly going to happen.

I have been going back and forth with the trade deadline approaching, on one hand Prince Fielder is a premier power hitter that would be hard to replace on a top offense. On the other hand he could bring possibly some much needed pitching help as long as Doug Melvin doesn't screw it up. But before a game this week, Fielder gave an interview about the rumors of being traded. One comment that was said hurt the most.

“It’s part of the game, so I expect it. The only reason I’d be a little down is because I’m leaving the guys I came up with. Other than that, it’s a business. That’s the only thing I’d miss, is my teammates.”



Really Prince...the only thing you would miss is your teammates? Hmmm, not the 3 million fans that have come through the gates to see you. The people that embraced the fact you didn't want to be your father. The same people who bought your jersey and wear it proudly, the same guys who stick up for you when they call you Princess. That comment he made for some reason stung me personally, and while it is a business and it shouldn't have, there is something to be said for your favorite player on your favorite team basically not acknowledging he would also be leaving the great fans of Milwaukee behind.

I collected cards as a kid like a lot of us, however I stopped collecting for many years. Prince Fielder is the reason I came back to the hobby. I have autographed cards, an official game used autograph bat my brother gave me as a college graduation present, jerseys featuring his name. I went toe to toe with Boston fans inside Fenway Park that were relentless in calling him fat and useless as a first baseman. I never had more fun walking around the city of Boston wearing my retro Fielder jersey listening to the Red Sox fans giving me a ribbing for wearing it in their city back in 2008.

I had planned on collecting Prince even if he was/is traded during this trade deadline or before the end of 2011, however now I'm stuck. Maybe I take the comments out of context, but would a simple "I will miss the fans of Milwaukee" comment really been that hard to throw in there. He wouldn't even have to have meant it, we wouldn't know the difference.

I just know now that when I watch him play, I will look at him and my collection of him much differently. I just want the trade deadline to be over already. So I ask, anybody else have a hard time collecting their favorite player if they are no longer on their favorite team?

Down under...

Living in Oshkosh, every year we have the honor of hosting the EAA AirVenture Celebration. It is widely regarded as one of the largest aviation airshows in the world. The city is crazy busy with traffic, and as a retail communications associate (fancy way of saying I sell cellular phones), I get a great chance to meet people from all over the world that are hoping to pick up some phones that work for them for the week or so.

Because people from all over the world come here, I get the variety. Some are interesting and some are not, today I had an interesting one. This gentleman came to me like the others asking me to setup a cheap phone for him to use while he was in the United States. His accent made me think about one guy and one guy only for some reason:



Dave Nilsson!

The gentleman I was helping setup a phone for was from Australia, and since it takes a bit of time to setup a phone I thought I have to ask him if he knew anything about Dave Nilsson. I asked and his eyes just lit up with pride as he told me how Dave Nilsson was almost like a rock star in Australia during his playing days. He told me about how proud baseball fans in his country were when Dave decided not to come back to the States to play ball, instead he stayed to play for the national team in 2000 and 2004.

Imagine an All-Star in 1999, not coming back to cash in on that performance. This gentleman told me about everything Dave has tried to do to promote the game in Australia, how he is a great ambassador for the game for them. I sat and listened and inside I was just as proud because Nilsson was signed as an amateur free agent in 1987 by Milwaukee. He played in over 800 games and like I said earlier was an all star in 1999. He hit .309 that year and hit 21 bombs. When he was announced as an injury replacement for the team, he became the first Australian to become an All Star.

It was neat how two complete strangers from different countries bonded for a few minutes while activating a phone over a former Milwaukee Brewer prospect and an Australian legend!

One swing...

With one swing of the bat tonight, Ryan Braun showed us once again why he is the face of the Milwaukee Brewers. After John Axford blew his first save, the Hammer comes through in the bottom of the 9th and drills a shot off the base of the left field wall. Scored as a RBI double, the Crew wins 4-3!!!!

I have to admit I have neglected my Braun collection as of late, mostly saving money for wax purchases and box breaks. I gotta get back on that horse and pick up more Braun auto's, relics, and numbered cards.

Anyway still in the process of scanning some 1993 Stadium Club series 2, just had to share my excitement from the game tonight!

Card Shop Stories...

So a few days ago we made a trip across the lake to check out another card shop we have never been to, needless to say it was so so. Not many singles but they did have a whole lot of wax. As I was reminded while in the store, don't go crazy because my birthday is coming up and you never know what might be waiting for me. So instead I picked up 5 packs of series 2 Topps, and went over to my favorite part of the store. The 25 cent up to 2 dollar junk wax bin. I couldn't resist and picked up 6 packs of different cards. Let's start with 1993 Topps Stadium Club Series 1:



Topps tells me to look for special 1st day production cards in this set and my cards cards are high definition premium photography! I would analyze these cards myself, however Topps did just a great job on the back themselves I will just share what they wrote.



299Members Choice Larry Walker "Walker is a complete player who may be on the verge of becoming a perennial All-Star. At 26, Walker is just approaching his prime."
200 Frank Thomas"Big Hurt could walk away with the 1993 MVP award"
47 Pete Incaviglia"Pete is excellent swinging at the first pitch"
205 Alejandro Pena"Pena is brutal on lefties"
239 Moises Alou"Moises is a great leadoff hitter"
172 Mark Lemke"Mark puts up great numbers in August"
104 Randy Tomlin"Randy has never lost in April"
233 Jose Rijo"Jose was very effective down the stretch"
88 1st Day Production Craig Wilson"Craig does well in the clutch"



232 Geno Petralli"Geno performs very well against groundball pitchers"
276 Mariano Duncan"Duncan loves to play during the day"
89 Melvin Nieves"Melvin hit best last season as a left fielder"
93 Jeff King"Jeff is an excellent third baseman"
260 Jeff Brantley"Jeff pitches very well as a starter"
114 Chico Walker"Chico mashes the first pitch"

Ah, good times back in 93'...stay tuned for 1993 Topps Stadium Club Series 2!

My Rant

So normally I don't get too overworked up about things. I kinda let everything come to me and analyze the situation before I react one way or the other. Tonight is one of those situations that I needed to think about. My emotions never get too high or too low cause I learned a long time ago that life is not fair, no one ever said it was going to be.

HOWEVER, I SAY GO TO HELL TOPPS

I read a post over at A Carboard Problem that got me steamed. Apparently Topps is going to give people who crack packs at the National a chance to get a Strasburg Heritage card. I guess this card will be numbered to 999. Thank you Topps for basically giving the finger to those who put time and effort into putting a set together that they like.

I'm one of those guys that likes Topps Heritage. 2010 was the first year I didn't just buy singles here and there of the guys I collect, rather, I bought 5 hobby boxes, countless blasters and rack packs trying to finish a Heritage Set for the first time. After busting these boxes when the product was released I still was close to 200 cards short of just the base set. I have a 300 count box sitting here full of the doubles and triples I pulled from those boxes.

I wasn't put off by that even though 5 boxes from the same case should not have been that badly put together. Instead I hunkered down and bought more retail, I bought lots off of ebay, drove around the state of Wisconsin looking for card shops that had common boxes that included Heritage. I hunted down the short prints, paid through the ass for dice back and other variations. Bought the "Yankee" short print cards of the set. I wanted a COMPLETE set of 2010 Topps Heritage...and now....Topps gave me the finger.

Sure, this "new" Strasburg addition to the set will hit the bay and we all will have a chance to bid on one. However, as a recent college grad I'm not rich. I'm still trying to find that first real job where I can put my degree to use. I have put off even thinking of law or grad school with the hopes of paying down the student loans I already have. The crazies will bid this card out of reach for guys like me. It feels like all the time and effort put into building this set was for nothing, because no matter what anyone says...to me this will now feel like an incomplete set without the Strasburg. In my mind something will be missing, and now I feel like why did I even bother?

Thank you Topps for the swift kick straight in the groin...I understand you are in the business of making money and will play this hype for all you can. I know you think that since you are the only game in town you can screw with collectors. Congrats on that, you have done a good job. I was thinking about trying to put together my first Allen and Ginter set, I thought it seemed like a good project, that is until you find another way months down the road to throw another Strasburg bullshit card into that set also. The mini won't be enough for you.

I remember my parents giving me this advice growing up, "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me" NEVER AGAIN TOPPS

A Great Trade

Recently my girlfriend and I had each busted a blaster of Allen & Ginter, and we should have traded boxes. She loves Allen & Ginter for the wacky, goofy, off the wall, and historical cards. I basically just want the Braun and Fielder cards from the set and subsets. We decided to do a little trade, she got my Christopher Columbus mini, my Uranus mini, and a couple other "non" baseball cards. I got:



This Day in History Ryan Braun TDH55

Born November 17th, 1983...this day in history the "Heidi" game is played.
"Locked in an important see-saw battle, the Jets led the Raiders 32-29. Going into the final minute -- and then enthralled tv viewers suddenly were switched to the movie Heidi, what they missed were two Oakland touchdowns. NBC received so many calls of complaint, its switchboard blew"

Awesome card, sweet trade...thanks sweetheart!

Not intentional my ass!

So, manager Bobby Cox who I greatly respect has decided to tell us that the balls that have hit the Milwaukee Brewer stars the last few days have not been intentional. Sorry Bobby, but this guy is not buying it. I don't remember the Milwaukee Brewers showing any Atlanta Brave pitcher up in any game this series, but I think 1 Brewer pitcher needs to step up and protect our hitters. Macha is too soft to order something like that, so I say...

If they want to hit these guys:



Then the next time this guy comes to the plate:



Or how about this guy Atlanta:



They take a Braddock or Coffey 90+ fastball right between the shoulder blades because they decided to step up and fight back.

Macha wants a suspension

Random Thoughts...

Do you ever think back to a time where a childhood hero just rips your heart out, even if it is only for a couple years? A few posts back I stated that I collected Deion Sanders and the "Crime Dog" Fred McGriff. Well, I found my nickname Fred McGriff card and it got me to thinking about how much I loved this guys game up until the trade deadline in 2001.

On July 16th of 2001, Fred McGriff did something that made me happy. He invoked his no trade clause to stay in Tampa after they tried to trade him to the Chicago Cubs. Hooray...he wasn't going to go play with the mortal enemy of my Milwaukee Brewers, or so I thought. Unfortunately 11 days later he ripped my heart out and ended up in Chicago and my collection of the "Crime Dog" stopped. I feel bad cause I really wanted him to hit 500 homers but he fell 7 short and is tied with Lou Gehrig on the all time list with 493.

I have been thinking about this topic a lot lately because of Prince Fielder and his numbered days in Milwaukee. Prince is a huge part of my baseball card collection and if he were to go to the Cubs or Yankees, I don't know if I could still collect him anymore. He is by far my favorite Milwaukee Brewer, however as Brett Favre should have learned...most fans are fans of the name on the front of the jersey or helmet, not the name on back!

Anybody else have a situation similar?

So I Broke Down...

So today I caved after a trip through Walmart walking past the card aisle. Normally I do very well just walking by, thinking to myself, if I saved this 20 I can put it towards a hobby box or some singles later. However, after reading all the hoopla over 2010 Allen & Ginter, I decided to purchase a blaster and see what I get.

Pack 1

309 Casey McGehee (SP)
19 Tommy Hanson
131 Tyler Flowers
210 Chris Johnson
Mini 240 (Ad Back) Aaron Hill
This Day In History: CC Sabathia

Pack 2

8 Miguel Tejada
217 James Shields
273 David Dejesus
145 Jim Thome
Mini LO11 Lords of Olympus Uranus
This Day in History: Josh Hamilton

Pack 3

144 Stuart Scott
143 Jorge Posada
123 Mariano Rivera
333 Roy Oswalt (SP)
Mini 341 Jon Garland
This Day in History: Jonathan Broxton

Pack 4

30 Rafael Furcal
198 A.J. Pierzynski
194 Nyjer Morgan
292 Chris Pettit
Mini SSS1 Sailors of the Seven Seas Christopher Columbus
This Day in History Derrek Lee

Pack 5

Checklist 1/4
347 Orlando Cabrera (SP)
65 Andre Ethier
274 Nick Markakis
135 Ken Blackburn
Mini 273 David Dejesus
This Day in History: Billy Butler

Pack 6

69 Clay Buchholz
164 Kyle Blanks
195 Sergio Santos
54 Tony Hawk
Mini WB4 World's Biggest Tree
This Day in History: Jake Peavy

Pack 7

305 Kelly Johnson (SP)
296 Barry Zito
33 Bengie Molina
286 Revolving Door
Mini 127 (Ad Back) Albert Pujols
This Day in History: Troy Tulowitzki

Pack 8

118 Eric Young Jr.
253 Adam Moore
270 Max Poser
148 Anne Donovan
Mini National Animals King Cobra
This Day in History: Francisco Rodriguez





I understand why people love A&G, it seems like a fun set. However there are just a few too many cards in the set that turns me off to it. First, pulling a Stuart Scott card kinda annoyed me. I can't stand his "personality" on ESPN to begin with, I can't understand what he has done to get a baseball card of himself. GAG! A mini card of the world's largest tree?! Ok topps, if you think that makes for a good card congrats!

I do like the Sailors of the Seven Seas, and the Lords of Olympus set. I like the cards, I think it seems like a solid purchase. Design seems to be simple and pretty much the same as the last few years. It just kinda has a classy look to it which makes me happy. Also, in my blaster I did not have any problems with damage to the cards, maybe if I got a hobby box it would be different. Will I buy more...maybe...do I want to buy more...not really.

Last of the Card Show Loot

Hello,

Just wanted to post the last of the card show loot, these are a few of the singles I picked up. Overall I ended up spending about 20 bucks and got a few cards I didn't have and a few that I have wanted. There were a couple /facepalm moments at the card show though. Normally I like to get myself a hobby box or two for something to open, but here is what I was working with...

2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces the gentleman wanted $90 for it. Really? Blowout just had a sale each box 30 bucks a piece. No thank you sir I will pass.

2010 Topps Heritage, after busting 4 boxes and buying singles of the Short Prints I'm still 33 cards short of the set. However I have probably close to 300 doubles so if anybody is working on the set let me know. Anyway, I thought what the hell maybe pick up a box try to finish off the last 33, for $125 a box I passed. I paid $75 a piece for all 4 I bought earlier.

2010 Bowman....even after all "good" hits have been pulled the wax dealer still wanted close to 400 for a hobby, not even a jumbo. I saw the boxes (he had 2) and I wasn't going to even ask after seeing the prices of the others. Another dealer told me the price he was charging, we then proceeded to have a chat about how outrageous his prices are and how he is lucky to even sell a few packs at the shows.

Anyway, no boxes for me to crack like my girlfriend...just a few singles:



I haven't purchased any 2010 Finest, I simply didn't think the value was worth the money. This is the first Finest card I have purchased this year. 241/299 Ryan Braun. I like it, the background is blue...it works.

The second card is Prince Fielder Spectrum Jersey numbered to 199. I have lots of refractors and auto's of Prince, not many jersey cards so I figured let's get one. It has a clean design that I like, and it looks nice in the collection.



Topps All-Star Prince. I have a version that is not numbered and saw this, figured for a buck why not get the numbered version. Not the greatest card, but one that will fit in the collection just fine. Don't worry about the big black 5 on the scan, it's just on the penny sleeve. Forgot to change it and put the card in a new one!

These last two are cards that I saw at the end of the show and still had some coin in my pocket. I love this guy, he defines Milwaukee and I have posted on him before. I paid two bucks a piece for these, that might be too much but oh well, it's Mr. Baseball!




I did pick up a few Brewer mixed "grab packs", one because I needed the Alcides Escobar RC that was on the front. The other because there was a 1989 Topps Robin Yount that I did not have for some reason. The dealer was cool and sold me both of those packs for a buck. Can't beat getting around 50 Brewers for a buck.

All in all I enjoyed the show. Didn't have the same feel as Gonzaga Hall in Milwaukee but a mall show usually doesn't. There were like 10 tables and each person minus the table I spent my 20 bucks at seem to think their cards were worth 2 or 3 times what I could get them on eBay for. I bet next month I will go back and see the same 2008 Masterpiece box for 90 again.../sigh

Card Show Loot Part 2

Hello, back for Round 2 of the card show loot my girlfriend picked up on Saturday. She was willing once again to share a few of her favorite cards from the show so let's show them off again!




Brett Favre, who?! The future of the Green Bay Packers is in very capable hands with the young quarterback from Cal. For all the crap he took about Favre, it has to be said he handled it with class. Very excited to see what #12 can do again this year, and can't wait to watch Favre choke away another year for the Vikings!



This cool little card/book brings back great memories of Hall of Famer Reggie White. White came to the Packers and our world changed for the better! Finally Green Bay was relevant in the nation sports world again, free agents actually wanted to come here. If Reggie White could come to cold little Green Bay, it was ok for Santana Dotson, Sean Jones, Keith Jackson, Eugene Robinson, and all the other veterans that helped get us over the top. While some of those guys were traded for, they still wanted to be part of something special. And something extremely special did happen, Reggie White took over the Super Bowl sacking Drew Bledsoe a total of 3 times.



RIP Reggie White, you are truly missed here in Wisconsin!

Finally some more Packers from the grab bag she wanted to share:





I'm so happy she collects cards with me, it was a lot of fun going to the show with her, watching her look at all the cards. I think she picked out some good ones, easily guys you can root for! She has started quite the collection and it will be fun for me to keep taking her to shows!

Card Show Loot part 1

Earlier I wrote about my girlfriend and her first hobby box purchase, I'm extremely proud of her for her snap decision on purchasing something she would enjoying opening. Let's go to the cards and check out her favorite ones:

2009 Topps Mayo Football



Nice...even though he plays for the Giants I'm sure her soft spot for him has to be the fact he is a former Wisconsin Badger!



Ryan Grant, a powerful runner who seems to get better as the year goes on. I'm a huge fan because he is a former Golden Domer, and I'm a homer for Notre Dame!



Maurice Greene and her first hit! Gotta be happy with an autograph of a man who has won some medals!



One of her favorite Packers, Greg Jennings. This receiver came out of nowhere from a small college in Michigan and has solidified his #1 status in Green Bay.



Aaron Kampmann, the Jacksonville fans will love him. Probably won't find a harder working football player in the league, it's a shame the Packers played him out of position. Would have loved to keep him in Green Bay!



Her second hit...Heyward-Bey. What can you say about him?! Hopefully his hands can catch up to his feet and he turns into a good wideout in the NFL. Maybe a new quarterback in Campbell will make him better!

Finally...she purchased another card off a table and got a good price on it.



An Upper Deck Icons Jordy Nelson Autograph. Nelson and James Jones have been pushing Driver for more playing time, and the thought is he could really break out in the offense this year. With Rodgers spreading the ball out, his size and speed can help create match up problems for many teams!

Well, that is all for this post and card show loot. I'm extremely happy she wanted to share some of her favorite cards from her box break, even though I'm more of baseball guy it's neat seeing her excited about cracking wax. Check back soon for more card show loot she got, and for what I picked up!

Card Show!

Hey guys/gals,

Today I got a chance to go to a local card show with my girlfriend, it was her first trip ever to a card show and I gotta say she handled herself well! I'm running behind but I will post later about the loot we picked up when I get home from work.

Oh one more thing, she bought her very first hobby box! So i'm stoked to find out what she pulled!

Until later!

A better fan experience

So next year the Milwaukee Brewers will unveil this:



A new state of the art high def scoreboard that they say is a bit bigger than the one at Yankee Stadium. The idea is to enhance the fan experience at Miller Park. Well Mr. Mark Attanasio, if you really want to "enhance" the fan experience next year at Miller Park I have one simple suggestion for you.

GIVE US A BETTER PRODUCT ON THE FIELD!!!!!!

It's simple, very very simple. You could have the scoreboard from Texas Stadium and while it may be fun to look at, the novelty would wear off if fans were subjected to a 15-2 pounding over and over again.

I had some cards I wanted to post tonight, however the suckfest at Miller Park tonight drew all the energy out of me, oh well...maybe tomorrow!

*Image taken from http://www.jsonline.com/*

Million Card Headache

GRRR...nothing against New York Yankee fans, I wish my owner could spend money on my team the same way your owner does. However, I really REALLY hate the Yankees! This million card code was pulled out of a Series 2 pack today. I should have known I would redeem it and get a Yankee, why you ask? Well, this pack consisted of: Derek Jeter, Joba Chamberlain, Robinson Cano, and for giggles they threw in a former Yankee Melky Cabrera.

I understand New York is a huge market and it will always be represented well in products but if I'm going to get a New York pack, why not make it a Met pack. I don't like them any better then the Yankees, but I also don't get that puke feeling in the back of my throat when I see their cards dominate my packs!

Topps: 2 Me: 0 in this Million Card Giveaway battle


*I know the randomness of buying packs, no worries, this pack just caused a rant to come out*

Just enough to shake your head, then stand and clap!

Before I start my post, something happened tonight that was just enough to make me shake my head. Now I never paid much attention to the topic before cause I never found myself buying any retail cards, that is until tonight. With the girlfriend with me, tonight we decided to take a look at what cards a local Walmart had. Not a big A&G collector myself, we wanted to see if any retail made it's way to our city just to pick up a few packs and take a look at what the cards first hand. Then "he" came walking up...

The 55 year old bald man on his cell phone having a fake conversation cause he is too embarrassed to grab the packs in front of us. You know the type, that guy who has never left the basement and his mother still folds his underwear. Anyway, we start moving away from the cards cause there is no A&G, and he pounces. I walked out of view and on the way back around watched him take each pack out of the feeder, stack them nicely and begin to feel. The sad this was, he was doing it to Nascar cards...now I don't mean to offend anybody who likes Nascar, but come on...Nascar?!

I finally got to sit and watch for the first time ever in my life, a pack searcher doing his thing live. I felt like I was at the zoo viewing an exhibit about an animal in the wild. "Notice how the hungry animal stalks his motionless prey as his senses are on high alert for other hungry animals in the area."

He gave those poor Nascar cards quite the work over, it was so bad that I felt violated and needed to take a shower after witnessing that...I still feel dirty! I wish I had my camera handy and could have taken a picture of this douche. Nascar cards man...really? You really had to feel each pack of Nascar cards...good god!

Anyway, that was just enough to make me shake my head. While this was enough to make me stand and clap!



GEOFF JENKINS TO RETIRE A BREWER!!!

As always a classy guy, who deserved the 2008 World Series ring he got with the Phillies. I had the pleasure of meeting Jenkins many times and each time he would take the time to talk with the fans, discuss baseball and his thoughts on the season. He was a homegrown Brewer who came up through the tough times in Milwaukee. I wish he was able to stay a Brewer but we were going young. I will have a better post of Geoff later when he retires, he deserves better then being stuck on a page with the Nascar pack searcher!

These are the things that are just enough to make you shake your head, then make you stand a clap!

4th of July cleaning..

I normally always have Sunday's off and always seem to use them as lazy days where I don't do much. I watch movies, maybe take a nap, but most of the time I go through a box of baseball cards I haven't seen in awhile then talk about them non stop with my girlfriend who seems to enjoy it, or she just could be too polite to say she doesn't.

Now for anyone that has come here and read a post or two of mine knows that I am a Milwaukee Brewer fan. My collection mainly revolves around current Brewers and former Brewer greats. However, because we had the Milwaukee Braves prior to Bud Selig getting the Seattle Pilots to the Midwest, I also have a soft spot for the Atlanta Braves. I have a collection of Milwaukee Brave players that I have recently started to kinda honor baseball past in Milwaukee.

Now I have no doubt that somebody somewhere in the blogosphere has touched on 1993 Triple Play baseball, but I found an old card in the box on Sunday that brought back memories of cracking junk wax packs. Other then Milwaukee Brewers, I collected two other players. I traded friends, bought from dime boxes, searched rummage sales for this guy:



That's right...Prime Time himself, Mr. Deion Sanders. In 1989 Sanders not only hit a homer but he also scored a touchdown in the same week, THE SAME WEEK! Of course he is not a HOF baseball player by any means, but I was 8 and he was cool! Sanders has a career .263 AVG with 186 stolen bases. He was brash and cocky but had blazing speed and a fun nickname. Hey it worked for me as a kid, I was suckered in!

Seeing this card made me wonder what happened to my other nickname Triple Play card, the "Crime Dog" Fred McGriff.

Let's hope he gets it this time!

You know we all have that one friend that hasn't quite grown up yet. He/She could still be reliving those college frat parties that just never seemed to end. You want to reach out and be like "come on bud...we are 30 now...time to relax a bit", however they just keep grinding and partying. We wait by patiently hoping they someday get it.

Well hopefully Jeremy Jeffress is on the right road to recovery. Mr. Jeffress is a power arm prospect in the Brewer farm system who seemed to like recreational drugs more than baseball. Jeffress had to serve a 100 game suspension for his 4th positive drug test, however he seems to be back. Living in Oshkosh and being very close to Time Warner Cable Field in Appleton, Wisconsin where the Brewers minor league affiliate the T-Rats play, I got a chance to really see this kid play. And man he can throw heat.

Mr. Jeffress was promoted to High A Brevard County today and placed on the 40 man roster again after pitching in 5 games, giving up no hits and only walking 3, while striking out 14. These kids couldn't touch the former 2006 1st rounder! Impressive stuff!

Hopefully Brewer nation will wrap our arms around him, let him know we are behind him and watch him mature not only into a great player, but more importantly, a better man! Brewer fans...get your Jeffress cards now! :)