Something strange was happening before Friday’s home opener at Miller Park.
Milwaukee’s manager wasn’t scowling at members of the media. He was joking with them.
“I don’t know why they want me on TV so much,” new skipper Ken Macha said. “I’d be a frightening picture…”
This was near the end of Macha’s pregame press conference, and as he left the room, he had some parting words for everyone: “Enjoy the game.”
Friendliness from the Brewers’ manager. What a departure.
After years of former manager Ned Yost’s contempt for most media types, you’d come to expect an adversarial experience at Brewers press conferences. If Yost didn’t care for somebody’s question, he’d stare holes through them and brush them off with one-word answers. There was a defensive aura to everything.
Perhaps it was justified. Yost was a polarizing figure in Milwaukee, and he absorbed lots of punishment from the media. You can only take so many punches before the smile turns into a glare.
Nor was Yost paid to be cordial. He was paid to win ballgames, and had he done so with more frequency, he’d still be the manager.
But there’s something to be said for the rapport between coaches and the people who cover them. If it’s good, it can mean an extra year or two on the job, as the media will be slower to pounce. But if that rapport is contentious, the leash gets that much shorter, and the criticism that much sharper.
Had Yost won a few more friends, maybe he wouldn’t have needed to win quite so many games.
Macha hasn’t been around long enough to make enemies with anybody. Still, he doesn’t seem like the enemy-making type.
The 58-year-old Macha has the feel of a reassuring, grandfatherly figure, a distinct change from Yost’s role as the cantankerous uncle. And if Macha’s approach spills over into the clubhouse, then you’re looking at a much more relaxed Brewers team this season.
Macha’s interaction with his team is vastly more important than his relationship with the media, and that honeymoon is also off to a good start. Early reviews from Milwaukee’s players are positive, not just regarding Macha’s personality, but his honest and straightforward communication style.
Third baseman Bill Hall calls Macha “a personable manager,” saying he’s already gained the team’s respect.
“I feel like this whole clubhouse has responded to Macha well,” Hall noted. “Obviously he’s said all the right things to everybody. He just comes up to you and tells you how it is, what your situation is.”
Hall made a point of adding that the compliment of Macha wasn’t a dig at Yost. “I don’t think anybody here has any ill feelings for Ned,” Hall said.
But Macha and Yost are obviously cut from different cloth, and Macha’s may be more suitable for a maturing Brewers team. Yost deserves a lot of credit for helping shepherd Milwaukee from the 100-loss desert to the brink of the postseason promised land. Now we’ll find out if Macha can follow up on the promise.
At the very least, he’ll tell a few more jokes along the way.
Soup’s Off
Has Jeff Suppan become more suited for pitching horseshoes than pitching horsehide? The statistics are startling.
His first two performances would raise red flags on their own (7 2/3 innings, 0-2 record, 12.91 ERA). Especially Sunday’s meltdown that included six walks, three of them with the bases loaded. But as Tom Haudricourt points out,Suppan’s troubles go much deeper than a pair of early-season games.
Since last September, including his playoff disaster, Suppan has started eight games and delivered an 0-6 record with a 10.13 ERA. Under normal circumstances, that would earn somebody a one-way ticket to Triple-A. But Suppan is owed $12.5 million in both 2009 and 2010, which complicates things. He gets paid that money whether he’s in the starting rotation, in the bullpen, at Triple-A Nashville or on a beach in Bermuda.
If Suppan’s struggles continue – and at this point, there’s no reason to believe they’ll subside – the Brewers will face some tough decisions. What happens when it’s the end of May and Suppan’s ERA is in the company of airplanes – 7.47, 7.67, etc.? Do you turn him into a $25 million middle reliever? Do you send him to Nashville so that he can try to work things out without hurting the big-league club? Because you certainly can’t keep running him out there every fifth day. Hope may spring eternal, but it won’t get anybody out.
Ballpark Bucks
So maybe the Brewers can’t afford to keep a player like CC Sabathia and his $160 million contract. But there are advantages to being a Brewers fan, and chief among them is affordability.
Baseball’s latest Fan Cost Index from Team Marketing Report lists the 2009 Brewers as Major League Baseball’s fifth-most affordable game day experience.
Milwaukee trails, in order, only Arizona, Pittsburgh, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (or whatever their name is these days) and Cincinnati. According to the survey, the average cost for two adults and two kids to attend a Brewers game is $145.92, a 3.1 percent increase over 2008, but well below the MLB average of $196.89.
The index is calculated by combining a club’s average ticket prices for two adults and two kids with the cost of the following: parking for one car, two programs, two ball caps, four regular hot dogs, two small beers and four small soft drinks.
Milwaukee’s average ticket price was $20.98, seventh-cheapest in the bigs (Arizona led that category at $14.31). The MLB average is $26.64.
When it comes to premium ticket costs, Milwaukee’s an even better bargain, checking in at $38.65. Only Colorado is cheaper at $36.50, and only five other teams come in at less than $50. The MLB average is $96.93, a number that’s no doubt skewed by the New York Yankees’ average of $510.08 for premium tickets in their new billion-dollar stadium.
Incidentally, the most expensive baseball experiences according to the Fan Cost Index belong to the Yankees ($410.88), Boston ($326.45), the Chicago Cubs ($305.00), the New York Mets ($258.97) and the Chicago White Sox ($224.11).
Take a look at those Cubs and Brewers numbers again, and you’ll know part of the reason why Miller Park is…
Still Wrigley North
Officially, the Chicago Cubs had their home opener on Monday against Colorado. Unofficially, it’s a different story.
Once again, Miller Park was invaded by Cubs cronies over the weekend. Though Brewers backers held the vast majority of seats at Friday’s home opener, that wasn’t the case for Saturday and Sunday. At most, it was a 60-40 split in favor of Brewers fans, though some observers estimated a 50-50 ratio.
If Brewers fans aren’t going to take back Miller Park from Cubs cohorts during Opening Weekend, you have to wonder if they ever will.
RIP Harry Kalas
We lost a legendary sports voice and a genuine gentleman of the game on Monday afternoon. Philadelphia broadcaster Harry Kalas collapsed and diedjust before doing a Phillies-Nationals game. He was 73 and known for his deep and slow-paced rhythmic calls by football and baseball fans alike. Philadelphia mourns, yes, but also celebrates his life.
I met Kalas in the press box dining room at Miller Park during the 2008 playoffs. He was friendly and gracious, and during the whole conversation, I thought it was an NFL Films highlight.
“We lost our voice today,” Phillies President David Montgomery said.
And nothing will truly replace it.
Does golf simply move to slow for you? Training with Tim has the radical solution.
And tune in every Tuesday morning during the 6 o’clock hour when I join Doug Russell and Mike Wickett on SportsRadio 1250 AM for Tuesdays with Howie. You can also find the segments in their Audio Vault.
