Pookon's Ill Blog

Monday, October 22, 2012

"7 in 7" - Go Bananas - Day 4 / Drive to Stay Alive - Episode 1

I really don't have anything of value to say today man. It was a very boring and average day in the life of one Mr. Scott A. Reck, Esquire. I had several cahnces to do something with my life today but I chose not to. I have no idea why because I was actually in a fairly good mood today as I went about my business. That's rather odd for a Monday as I'm used to feeling pretty down that my freedom has been stolen away from me by my white-collar job. But I was told never to bite the hand that feeds me so I'm not going to turn this into a job bashing session. You're welcome. You probably have your own shitty job to complain about and don't need to hear about mine. I'm still going strong with this banana thing and I found out today that it is an actual diet. I rarely reveal stuff about my personal life at work because it's none of their business but I let it slip that I was going bananas. My coworker then told me that she knew about this kind of thing and had tried something similar in her youth. I then had to tell her that this wasn't about losing weight (although I could stand to drop a couple hundred pounds) and that I was just going bananas. Of course she didn't understand. Very few people do. That's why I seclude myself within the confines of my home so I don't bother anyone. Leave them alone and hopefully they leave me alone. I am saddled with a lifetime of solitude thanks to my actions and behaviors. Or it could be by personal choice. Who knows man.

But even though I don't have a lot to say in text form I did have a lot to say in my new personal podcast which I'm going to title "The Drive to Stay Alive." It will be recorded in my car whenever I feel like doing it and it will basically be me trying to find myself or figure some shit out on my way to and from work. I call it that because I'm trying to find a reason to stay alive. A reason to live. Before you get concerned let me make this clear - I don't want to die and I would never do anything intentionally harm myself. I just don't have a purpose in life and I think it is in my best interest to find one. It will all make sense if you listen below or save a copy to listen to at a later date.

Right click and save as to download Drive to Stay Alive - Episode 1: http://pookonco.ipower.com/music/dtsa1.mp3

I've said all that I could for today. Sorry if you came here expecting the crazy that I promised on Day 1, but as I explain in the podcast I haven't felt crazy so I can't act like I am. This experiment is a whole lot different than I expected it to be and I'm hoping that tomorrow I will be able to provide some more uplifting content. But I can't promise anything man. I don't even know what kind of surprises that life will present me tomorrow so I can't prepare for what may happen. Instead I'm just gonna roll with the changes and stay flexible man. Have to be ready to take on any challenges or situations that life throws at me. Because we all know that life has an assortment of pitches but always throws the one low and outside that you can't handle. But will I swing and fail trying to be the hero or will I take the walk and get on base allowing the next guy to drive me in? And why does everything have to revolve around baseball? Why can't I focus on something else that I have more control over? Or even a sport that I actually play and not just sit around and watch as an overly critical analyzer. I'm lost now man, so I'm gonna go out and find myself even if I have to search for the next few years. But with no map, no sense of direction and only a compass, how am I ever going to find anything? You just put Jack in the Shack, right?

Bananas Consumed: 10

- pookon -

www.pookon.com
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com
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https://twitter.com/pookondotcom

Sunday, October 21, 2012

"7 in 7" - Go Bananas - Day 3

I wanted to quit so bad today. I have nothing against bananas and water but life requires more variety than that. That's why there are so many options in this world when it comes to food and drink and basically everything else. You do have a choice in life and more often will make the choice that benefits yourself. Sure, there are many times where your sacrifice yourself fr the greater good or to save, protect or help out your family/friends, but for the most part we are individuals who make decisions that benefit ourselves. Or I could be wrong. I guess instead of speaking for the entire human population I will have to just go on record as saying these are my personal feelings. I spend an awful amount of time alone and I have never been in a serious relationship. Other than taking care of either one of my cats, I only have to make choices for myself and I am the only one that reaps the rewards or suffers through the consequences.

Which comes back to this quitting idea. I'm kind of a quitter and kind of not. It depends on what it is really. When it comes to jobs I've worked at one (Miller Park) for 10 years and the other (Mark Travel) for 5, so I don't really know how to leave a job anymore. I move to a different house or apartment (and even back home once) every year since I left for college in 1999, so one can say that I can't commit to one place and quit my community and neighborhood and don't stick around long enough to make a house a home. Granted I don't have anything tying me down and the biggest reason why I moved so much was that my roommates were constantly changing but I still never planted any roots. While that is fairly common for young adults in college I'm not in that demographic anymore. Being 31 years old and 6 years removed from college I should have planted some roots somewhere with someone and settled down, but I quit before it go to that point. And as far as relationships go I quit them even before they start. In face I don't even go out and look for someone because I guess I'm afraid of quitting on them or them quitting on me. I always tell myself that I'm going to eat healthy and work out so I don't live like a sad sac of shit for the next 20 years and die alone of a heart attack at 50 with nothing to show for a life. But then after a few weeks or months I quit because it becomes difficult and time consuming. I touched on it a little before but the real reason I'm a quitter is because I'm afraid.

I'm afraid of Terror Dogs. Shit. Of course I am! Everyone is. Just like at that mutt and tell me that you wouldn't turn and run in fear of getting mauled. I've been afraid of these things since I was a little kid and they used to torment my dreams until I was well into my teens. And even though I'm still pretty terrified by this beast at 31 years old and supposedly an adult, this is not what I fear the most. Terror dogs are not real. Although I would lose my shit if they suddenly were real. Happiness is real. And for some reason I'm afraid of being happy. I could change my life for the better and love myself so I could allow myself to be loved by others. I could look for a new job and try to better myself and do a job that I actually care about and not one that I mindlessly plod through. I could think before I talk and not be a giant asshole to people. I could do many things to help myself out as my time on this planet keeps dwindling. But forever reason I don't commit to doing anything because I'm afraid. And for the life of me I can't understand why.

I'm sure that it has something to do with the fact that I love to be negative. I often make discouraging comments about myself that should be self-deprecating in the style of Bob Uecker or Rodney Dangerfield but in my case they just come off as sad instead of funny. I constantly need something to criticize or complain about because I always see the glass as half empty. I tend to look at what I don't have instead of focusing on what I do. I compare myself to other people in all aspects of life like relationship status, amount of money, looks, intelligence, sense of humor and all of the little things. It's terrible. I'm more unique than most people I know. With all due respect of course. I have a lot of good things going for me but for whatever reason I don't see the picture. Must be closing my eyes or some shit. Or I'm blind. I don't know man. But it's got to change if I want to not be hanging out alone every night. It's getting rather old and my bed's getting really cold. Cause it's fall and everything. Look I don't know where I'm going with this and I'm just rambling now. Weird too because I haven't had any alcohol in like 3-4 days or something. Must be the bananas kicking in. Good Lord I hope so. I'm ready to go bananas.

I don't know if I explained anything properly today nor am I aware if I made my point on here. But the main thing is that I did it and every second I spend on here trying to talk about some real or nonsensical shit is a second away from focusing on the food and booze in my house that is constantly calling my name. Those bitches don't shut up too. And who the hell is Guy LeMontepass?"

Bananas Consumed: 7

- pookon -

Saturday, October 20, 2012

"7 in 7" - Go Bananas - Day 2

I don't usually say this so don't think I'm going to make a habit out of it. Sometimes it's good to be a fat guy. For 2 days now I have had nothing to eat except for 5 bananas and I don't feel different in any way. I guess I have plenty of reserves to work off before my stomach starts feeling hungry or my body gets week. But I've made sure to drink plenty of water and actually sleep for a change. Maybe that's why I feel better. I also haven't had any alcohol, caffeine or junk food in the last 48 hours. So maybe it's just my body cleaning out all the toxins that I constantly put into it and I feel normal for once. I know it's just 2 days into this little experiment but I'm starting to feel like instead of going crazy, I might actually be returning to what society calls normal. I don't feel odd or like I'm traveling through multiple dimensions at once like I often do at work. And to think I almost quit last night because I called this thing stupid. It may still be stupid and ill advised by Doctors, but I can't give up on this because I need to see if I slip into insanity. I need to find out if I have a breaking point when it comes to food and alcohol. Because those are 2 of the things I love the most.

I eat too much. That's why I have 2 chins and people said that I look like Jonah Hill before he went and got all skinny before doing 21 Jump Street. Food is awesome. I eat all the time when I'm not hungry because it tastes so damn good. I figured out today that I eat just to eat or because I'm bored and never because I am hungry. I also eat too much. I used to be able to put away a whole frozen pizza or a box of Kraft Dinner but these days I struggle with it. I must be getting old and my body is slowing down or some shit. But even though my stomach says no my foolish pride says yes and I munch down on the food and take care of business. And then I lay around sick for the rest of the night with a belly ache. So maybe I should learn something from this adventure. Maybe I should just wait until I get hungry to eat. Maybe I should try portion control. Just like Prince used to tell me. Wait, he wasn't speaking about only eating the recommended amount of calories for a healthy diet? That song was about Pussy Control? Well at least I got the eating part right. Hi-o!

I know that I don't drink enough water because I'm too busy drinking other things. And before you start letting your imagination run wild I can assure you that I'm not sitting on top of my garage drinking ram's piss doing some high altitude training. Because we all know that if you can drink ram's piss, then fuck, you can drinking anything. But I don't drink just anything. I drink rum, and lots of it. Sometimes I do switch it up with some whiskey but it seems like I'm always drinking something. I wouldn't consider myself an alcoholic because it's not like I need it to survive and for the most part I don't get all worked up on or off of it. I might just be making excuses but I've seen alcoholics and I wouldn't put myself in that class. But then again isn't the first sign that you have a problem is denying that you have a problem? I don't know man. I'm a liar. I can't stop lying about regular stuff that a normal person would tell the truth about. I can't help it. So I may be lying. I may not be. It's the bananas talking man. I swear!

So not much happened today that signaled my descent into madness. I fear I may never go bananas. I'm used to doing crazy shit that no one else understands so at this point I don't even bat an eye when someone questions my actions that may seem a little bizarre. Maybe I can't go insane because I already am. Perhaps I don't recognize the madness because I'm always mad. And I also probably can't recognize chaos because my world is enveloped in it every single day. I don't even pretend to understand what the hell is going on with my life but I certainly don't need someone telling me that God is the answer. And I don't need a lecture about everything that is wrong with me when I already know what those are. Give me answers, don't point out the problems. I got plenty of problems right now. Problems like thinking it's a good idea to eat nothing but bananas for a week in attempt to lose control of reality and spiral towards an unrelenting doom. Who would want something like that? Better yet, who would intentionally do that to themselves? That's how I know I'm already mad. Most people have some kind of kooky idea and laugh it off, never daring to try it because they know the outcome. Well I'm trying it even though I probably know how this will end. I'll give you a hint. It'll end like every other day of my life - I'll be sleeping alone. And living alone. And being alone. That's because I'm too busy trying to drive myself crazy instead of letting a woman do it. That line will for sure get me laid tonight. What girl doesn't want to hear that?

Bananas Consumed: 5

- pookon -

Friday, October 19, 2012

"7 in 7" - Go Bananas - Day 1

Back in March I decided to try and change my life. I was going through a depressing rough patch and I figured it would be easy to turn it around by thinking positively and setting achievable goals. I picked a small task to accomplish or something to focus on and I gave myself a week of time to do it. Some things were as simple as not watching TV or Movies for a week so I could focus on writing. One week I decided to become a Vegetarian so I could know what it was like to be my sister Jenny. Perhaps the best one I did was where I donated money to different charities and explained why I did them. If you don't remember them or if you never read them you can check those articles out on the right side of the page under Pookon's Ill Labels under the category "7 in 7". The reason that I bring those up is because for the most part they were all serious and I intended to actually change my life for the better by trying new things or refraining from doing things that were holding me back or bringing me down. This episode of "7 in 7" is nothing like the other ones. But that is what makes this one so good.

I'm about to go bananas. Literally. Although I did intend to use it as a metaphor as well. For the next week I'm not going to eat anything except for bananas and I'm not going to drink anything except for water. I know going into this that this is extremely bad for my body and I probably won't make it a week. But seeing as I put my body through worse things such as daily cocktails, sugary snacks and no exercise I think my body can handle this. If it hasn't given up by now it certainly won't give up this week. But I can assure you (for those of you at home who are concerned about my health and well being) that if my health is compromised and I start feel ill due to the effects of eating nothing but bananas I will stop. I hate to be a quitter but this experiment is about going crazy, not hurting myself.

And that's the reason behind going bananas. It's not just about eating the delicious yellow fruit for a week. I'm seriously losing my mind here. Life is, for lack of a better way of saying it, fucked up. Ever since Timmy died I haven't been right. Of course not. How does one person lose their brother and their best friend and come out of it without having problems? But my issue is that I don't really deal with them for the most part and a year and a half later I'm going crazy. I've sunk into a level of madness that consumes me and prevents me from going to sleep at night. But here's the thing - I don't have any problem sleeping. It's not like I have insomnia or anything or a condition that prevents me from sleeping. It 's the fact that I don't want to. I'm afraid of what happens when I sleep. I'm afraid of my dreams. As you are probably well aware I am a highly creative person. While this ability does allow me to do a lot of good like come up with entertaining lines and ideas as well as write some pretty random passages on this blog it also allows me to go to some pretty dark places. When I am conscious I can usually block out the bad thoughts and images but when I am asleep I am helpless to stop it. I've had some pretty upsetting dreams, ones that made me wake up in the middle of the night crying. I have the ability to conjure up some of the most upsetting things that would occur in my life. Yes these are just dreams, but what if these are visions of things to come? What if I am suffering through premonitions of a future yet to come? What if I can't stop it? These are the things that scare me the most.

Chaos begets chaos, and in an effort to drive myself to the edge I am undertaking this experiment to work out some of the issues that have been plaguing me for some time. Every day as I slip further into insanity I hope to explore the very things that are holding me back and preventing me from living a "normal" life and fitting in with the rest of society. I don't expect any change to occur when all is said and done but I do expect to start to deal with this shit which has hindered me for some time. So in essence this really isn't about eating bananas at all; this is about finding the truth and having to face it for the first time in my life. You can't live in a world filled with nonsense and lies. Eventually everything that you have been running from catches up to you, pins you down and wails on you. That's what happens when I sleep. But when I am awake I can fight back. I'm not sure what to do and even if I can win this battle, but I certainly will try. Wait. Yoda said do or do not... there is no try. I will do it.

This is Day 1. Insanity begins here. When I start to lose it in a few days you can trace it back to this starting point. But make sure that you do follow along with me on this blog and on my Twitter account if you want to sit in the sidecar on the descent into utter madness. I have no idea where this is going to end up. All that I know is that if this is anything like my wicked dreams, then buckle up because we're in for one fucked up and terrible ride.

Bananas Consumed: 1

- pookon -

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

What's Brewing in the Crewbicle? - Week 26 - Houston Astros / San Diego Padres

The Brewers went 6-4 on their final roadtrip of the year and returned home with a 80-76 record. With 6 games left to go against the awful Houston Astros and the hot San Diego Padres they would certainly finish above .500, right? That would ensure a "winning" season and would allow us to sleep a little easier. I never sleep easy because I'm cold and alone in a Queen size bed, but let's not make this about my girl troubles again. With the worst team in the Major Leagues in town and your #1 (Gallardo), #5 (Estrada) and #3 (Fiers) pitchers on the mound it was a given that they would win the series without even breaking a sweat. This should teach you to not take things before they are given to you. Stealing is bad. In some Middle Eastern countries they chop off your hand if you steal unless a street rat and his monkey pass you off as their mentally insane sister. His hot mentally insane sister that I'd want to bang. So what. I think Jasmine is hot. Get over it. I'd show her a whole new world if you know what I mean. Cartoons and humans can get together. If it worked in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Cool World then it can work here too. Sadly all my knowledge of the world comes from the movies and I need a girl in my life bad. Read bad. But we said we wouldn't talk about my girl troubles. We? Who is we? How many people are there in my head? If the answer is more than one then I have more problems than girl problems. But speaking of problems, let's talk more about the Brewers/Astros series.

You would think that an 80 win team would be able to easily dispatch a 51 win team. But noooooooooo. They had to go and completely fall apart in what should have been an easy series that would have pushed them above the notable 81 win mark. For those of you now familiar with baseball (and if you aren't, then why are you reading this? Who has the gun to your head? I didn't hire him I swear...) there are 162 games in the regular MLB season. You win half and you finish at .500. Less than that you are a losing team and more than that you are a winning team. Sounds pretty easy, right? Most people would rather be winners than losers because winners get to go home and fuck the prom queen. Stanley Goodspeed is a winner because Carla was the prom queen. And me? I didn't even go to prom. Why are we back on women? Geez I have a one track mind. But after all the mostly downs of the 2012 season a winning record was achievable and very important to get to, and Houston seemed like the right team to do it against. But alas the 2012 Brewers keep finding ways to screw it all up and they really put together a lackluster effort this weekend. They should be embarrassed with their performance. I hope they don't perform that poorly in the bedroom because there would be a lot of disappointed women. Man do I know what that feels like... OK. That's enough. Moving on.

Friday September 28 - Sunday September 30. Milwaukee Brewers vs Houston Astros at Miller Park. Games 157 - 159 of 162. 3rd Place NL Central, Eliminated from the Playoffs. What a disgraceful series. What a terribly awful way to treat your fans, on fan appreciation weekend no less! This recent surge got the Brewers right back into the thick of it but then they go and get themselves eliminated from the playoffs by losing 2 of 3 to the Houston Astros who had 51 wins (compared to 105 losses) on the year. And you didn't just lose too. You got spanked hard like you stole candy from the store or pushed your sister down on the concrete. Game 1 on Friday was rough because Gallardo had owned the Astros in his career but I guess minor league Astros don't count. And the Brewers rallied back but the HR given up by Loe in the 9th ended up being the winning run and they fell short. On Saturday (Game 2) they had a 9-0 lead in the 9th but Livan Hernandez gave up 5 runs on 3 homeruns and will likely finish the season with a plus 6 ERA. Why was he even on this team this year? Was there no other option? But they won and St. Louis lost to keep their elimination number at 1. The loss Friday night and Cardinals win dropped it from 3 to 1. And then Game 3 on Sunday I was right and the Brewers won't make the playoffs in 2012 as they turned in a pitiful whimper to go out quietly in front of 38,000 fans. I hate being right. But it just goes to show that for the most part I know this team because I invest so much time and effort into knowing who and what they are. Way to waste your life pal. Astros 7, Brewers 6. Brewers 9, Astros 5. Astros 7, Brewers 0.

They were able to grab one win against the Astros where they should have grabbed three but like Rafiki tells Simba, that doesn't matter... it's in the past! This thing really got a little Disney heavy now didn't it? I bet I'm gonna argue that Nala in the Lion King was hot. Not as a kid. As an adult. Pervert. C'mon. If you were a guy cartoon lion are you really telling me that you wouldn't hit that shit lion-style? You don't have to admit it to me but don't lie to yourself. Ok someone reel me back in. This has gotten too weird. Damn you box wine! With a winning season on the line the Brewers needed just one of the last three games to finish with 82 wins which would be miles ahead of where I thought they would finish back in August when they were 12 games under .500. But they did that one better by finishing at 83 wins and they nearly made it 84 and a sweep by getting off to a 6-0 lead in Game 3. But then the Achilles heal of the Brewers snapped and hurt them one last time for good measure. The bullpen couldn't hold a 6 run lead and in the final game of the season Brewers fans were treated with a scalding reminder of why there would be no Playoff baseball in Milwaukee this October. But all things considered 83 wins was still a good thing.

It sucks that we had to readjust our expectations midseason and how I couldn't help my realistic side take over during much of the season. The brain definitely won out over the heart this year and I apologize if I sounded a little negative. But I couldn't help it because I saw how this all played out. Truth be told I didn't see this hot streak coming that would put them back in the playoff run but I knew that they wouldn't make the Playoffs. Somehow I always knew. Damn it man. I do hate being right. I wanted so bad to be wrong about this team and for everyone to rub it in my face. But the problem is that I've lost the will to dream and hope for the best after what happened to me personally in 2011. Hard to accept happiness and the possibility of the joys in life when so many bad things have happened. So that's mostly to blame for my attitude this year. I've lost the ability to think positively. What's the point? We'll see if I can ever get that back, but in the meantime check out my take on the San Diego series.

Monday October 1 - Wednesday October 3. Milwaukee Brewers vs San Diego Padres at Miller Park. Games 160 - 162 of 162. 3rd Place NL Central, Eliminated from the Playoffs. I've been doing these for an awfully long time (I wrote the first one on April 9th) and I've said a lot this year. You might argue that I've said too much. What can I say man - I'm a passionate die hard Brewers fan. But the question is - how do I end this thing? This series against San Diego is the final one of the 2012 season. Game over man. Game over! Game 1 was huge because it assured a winning season, which was important to me. I bet others agree but all things considered (injuries, streaky offense, bullpen blowing saves and lack of team identity until August) a winning record means something. 83 wins is a huge step back from 96 and so is missing the playoffs when you won the NL Central and made it to the NLCS. But it isn't as bad as it could be. Game 2 featured a futures lineup (or "B" lineup) featuring Taylor Green, Jeff Bianchi, Logan Schafer and Tyler Thornburg but they still all got the job done. That's a good sign for next year. Game 3 was a perfect example of why this team will be sitting at home watching the playoffs - The Brewers led 6-0 after 3 innings but the bullpen gave it all away and then some. And that's how our season ends. The very thing doomed the last game was what doomed their season. Sure there were some good times and memorable moments, but this season will go down as one of those "what if" ones like in 2009 + 2010 where they lacked quality starting pitching. What if we had a good bullpen? We'd probably still be playing baseball. Brewers 5, Padres 3. Brewers 4, Padres 3. Padres 7, Brewers 6.

So that wraps up the Brewing in the Crewbicle here on the blog for the 2012 season. I don't know if I am going to do it again in 2013 because it was a whole lot of work. I like writing and I love the Brewers so it's not work work but it still takes a good amount of time and effort to crank these things out. I could complain some more but you don't want to hear that. But I would like to hear from you if you are still reading this shit. Did you enjoy this? Do you want me to keep writing these things? Did you actually read any of this? Am I just wasting my time working on this when I should be out exercising and looking for the future Mrs. Reck? Am I just some drunken idiot who thinks he knows his shit but in reality is way off base? Let me know. Seriously let me know. Email me, leave a comment below or contact me via phone or Facebook. I rarely get any feedback so it always seems like I'm doing this shit just for me. While that works for the stuff I post on Pookon.com, which when all is said and done will be the story of my life, this stuff is for lack of a better word pointless. I'm not going to look back on this years later and be like look at all the good memories of the Brewers seasons as I recapped them on my blog. Since I don't get paid for any of this I have to do it out of love, and it has come to a point where I don't love it so much any more. So then it comes down to this - if I'm not doing it for me, then who am I doing it for? It has to be the readers. The fans. You and your Mom. If I don't have any fans then I'm done. So if you want it, you better let me know. Thanks.

So that will wrap up the weekly Brewers coverage here on the Blog. I will be revisiting the 2012 seasons soon as I do my recap of the season where I compare my preseason predictions from my 25 Brewers in 25 Days series to their final numbers. That's one of the things that I promise will continue regardless if anyone reads it because I am fascinated with my knowledge of this team and to see how close I can get to figuring out their final line stats in March. Of course I can't predict injuries or trades and I don't take into account possible off years, but if the person plays up to their potential then I usually can nail it right on the head. I spend a lot of time with the Brewers each summer and I know this team inside and out. I work or attend nearly every home game and I watch almost every away game on TV. Sure life often gets in the way and over the past 2 summers I have readjusted my priorities but still I find a way to keep tabs on my team. But with that having been said the end of the season still hits me like a shot to the gut because I am suddenly faced with the absence of something that had been with me since early March when Spring Training games started. Leaving Miller Park on that final day of the season is very hard and I often take my time leaving the ballpark. I snapped the picture that you see above as a reminder of what I will be missing until April. As always it is going to be a long and cold winter.

So check back in the next few weeks for my 25 Brewers in 25 Days wrap-up where I will have a more complete overall consensus of how I felt about the 2012 season. It's been about 2 weeks since the Brewers season has finished but I haven't worked much on stuff like this because I've been going through a little detox on laying low. When the Brewers are in town I can work 10-15 hours on top of my 40hr a week job which can get pretty taxing at times. And then I try to plan things with friends and family around my schedule which makes for a long summer. I'm not complaining here because I wouldn't have it any other way. Hell I've been working at Miller Park for 10 years now so I kind of bring this on myself. Basically I'm just saying that I was tired and I needed like 2 weeks off. I got it. So now I'm back. Check back often for some of the most messed up shit you'll read from someone that you've actually been in the same room with. Unarmed too. You brave motherfucker. Just like the Little Toaster...

- pookon -

www.pookon.com
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/MilwaukeeIceman

Monday, October 08, 2012

What's Brewing in the Crewbicle? - Week 25 - Washington Nationals / Cincinnati Reds

The Washington Nationals are the best team in the National League. That's nice that at least one organization in D.C. is doing something right. Zing Barack Obama! Zing U.S. Senate! Zing The House of Representatives! And Zing the Department of the Interior who makes sure that the carpet matches the drapes. Wait no... I didn't mean to Zing them. I love them. Where can I apply for that job? So Zing just about everyone in D.C. except for the guy who gets to do the pantie checks. That's about as political that I will get on this blog because I don't know shit about politics. I just don't pay attention and I just don't care. So let the hate mail stream in for me not doing my civic duty. Heh heh. Duty. But I do know something about baseball and I know why the Nationals are that good - pitching and a good enough offense. The Nationals had statistically the 2nd best rotation in the entire MLB and the 3rd best bullpen in the NL. As far as the offense goes it was the 4th best in the NL. When you couple those together you get something more beautiful than Gosling and McAdams in The Notebook. Not that I know anything about that romantic shit or anything. But I do know that this series was HUGE if the Brewers wanted to make up any ground in the Wild Card race. But a 4-gamer on the road against the best team in the NL is pretty much the worst thing you can ask for if success is your goal. They have been on an improbable run over the last month plus but it all ends here. Sadly the Brewers have less of a chance at winning this series than Democrats and Republicans have a chance of working together to bail this country out of the shitter. Your move Washington.

Friday September 21 - Monday September 24. Milwaukee Brewers vs Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Games 150 - 153 of 162. 3rd Place NL Central, 3 Games Back of 2nd Wild Card. In any other week, any other year, any other moment except for this you would be perfectly fine with the Brewers splitting a 4 game series on the road against the best team in baseball. But this isn't any other time, this is the last 2 weeks of the 2012 season and every win can make us and every loss can break us. St. Louis gets to play Houston again while we play Cincinnati next. That's not fair. 2nd best vs. absolute worst. But that's how the schedule plays out man. They are 3 games out and could be 3 1/2 after tonight. With 9 games left they needed to do better than 2 of 4 against Washington. That sucks to have to be perfect because this is anything but a perfect team. Look at the 2 games they won - Game 1 was an improbable come from behind win that had "special" written all over it and Game 3 also saw them rally late to go ahead for the win. But the problem here was that Games 2 and 4 were absolute clunkers both for the offense and pitching. Hell, throw the defense under the bus as well. And it all goes back to the biggest issue of 2012 - inconsistent They went on this amazing run but needed to do it to salvage the season. The only reason this won't be a total loss is because we will finish above .500. It's a small consolation prize but it will never be as good as what the other guy got. Brewers 4, Nationals 2. Nationals 10, Brewers 4. Brewers 6, Nationals 2. Nationals 12, Brewers 2.

I hate the Cincinnati Reds. Not as much as I hate the St. Louis Cardinals or the Chicago Cubs but I still hate them. I hate the city of Cincinnati and I hate Great American BallPark. If I have it my way I will never go back to either one. So that (and the fact that it was a Tuesday - Thursday series) is why I wanted no part of the last road series. I also hate Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Skips O'Donnell (Aroldis Chapman) because they always seem to straight up murder us. Well, without all the blood and killing and whatnot. I still remember the game on Opening Day 2011 when Axford gave up 4 runs in the 9th including a 3-run walkoff homerun to Ramon Hernandez to blow the save and start the season off on a really bad note. Thankfully the Brewers rebounded in 2011 and as you know went on to win the NL Central and make it to the NLCS. They did it again in Game 3 of this series and once again jumped all over Axford in the 9th, but this time it was more devastating because it was in game #156 and not game #1. The stakes were so much bigger this time around and this will be the game that ended all hope of making the playoffs. At this point you can't afford to lose a game, let alone a series. This one hurt a whole lot because I was fighting the urge to throw my heart back in the ring. Had they won this series they would have been still in it with an on paper easy homestand featuring Houston and San Diego. With St. Louis playing Washington and Cincinnati to close out the season it was now or never, and the Brewers chose never. It is fitting though that the bullpen did us in during the game that ended up costing us the most, much as they have done for the entire season. It figures.

Tuesday September 25 - Thursday September 27. Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds at Great American BallPark. Games 154 - 156 of 162. 3rd Place NL Central, 4 Games Back of 2nd Wild Card. Now I've really run out of things to say because Game 3 was such a crushing defeat it knocked the wind outta me. This was such a huge series to prove to the world we were serious contenders for the Playoffs this year. Of course we've known all along (if you've been following this blog) that I thought they never had a chance but with this month plus hot streak they were looking to prove me wrong. Losing Game 1 was big because the Cardinals (as expected) beat Houston. But then we rebounded with a huge win while Houston blanked the Cards 2-0. We were sitting at 3 1/2 on Thursday (the Cards were off) with a chance to get to 3 games back. I told my cousin BK3 that is the Brewers won this game, they would make the Playoffs. But Axford coughed it up with a 1-0 lead by giving up a solo homerun, a single and a triple ALL WITH 2 OUTS and now we're 4 back with only 6 games to play. One game doesn't sound like a lot but it is huge. We need to go 6-0 and St. Louis could go 3-3 and we fall a game short. So realistically we need them to go 1-5. Sounds impossible, right? It damn near is. This sucks. Although I have been negative all year, I would have gladly eaten my words. With or without ranch. Reds 4, Brewers 2. Brewers 8, Reds 1. Reds 2, Brewers 1.

Like I said, up next we have Houston and San Diego to close out the 2012 season at home. At 80 wins they need just 2 out of the next 6 to finish with a "technically" winning record and end the season on a semi-positive note. The season is now over (has been for about a week as I am writing this) but I will try to keep it positive on the way out, because with all that has happened this year it is mighty impressive that we are even in the Playoff conversation. I for one am ready to be done with these wrap-ups so that I can move on with my life and talk about something else for the change. I love the Brewers and everything but these things have consumed my life for the entire summer. Sure I've had some fun along the way and have come up with some pretty random and ridiculous stuff on here but I need to start talking about a different topic. I have so many ideas swirling around in my head but not enough hours in the day to write them down and explore them. This may be a good thing though because some of them are evil thoughts and will lead me down a very dark path. But we will or won't explore those in the next few weeks because Week 26 is my last "What's Brewing in the Crewbicle" article of 2012. Lord help us all.

- pookon -

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email: pookondotcom@gmail.com
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Tuesday, October 02, 2012

What's Brewing in the Crewbicle? - Week 24 - New York Mets / Pittsburgh Pirates

I don't understand why the New York Yankees make the playoffs every year while the New York Mets always seem to underachieve and fall short. They are both in one of the largest media markets and populated cities in America. Is it the ownership and management? Is it that one is located in the Bronx while the other is in Queens? I have no idea but I think there has to be something with the fact that the Mets play in a city called Flushing and their team always seems to swirl around the bowl down the drain every August and September. 2012 would be no different. The Mets are 20-40 after the All-Star break at the conclusion of this series, so I can understand how frustrated Mets fans must be. Although Brewers fans are certainly disappointed with how the team has fared overall in 2012 at least they are putting together a nice little run in the 2nd half to at least finish with a respectable record. But you want to know what? I'd still sadly trade franchises with them. I love my Brewers to death and I'm going to be a lifelong fan no matter what, but at least they have won a World Series. No wait - they have won 2 World Series Championships (1969 and 1986) and last appeared in the World Series in 2000 (which they lost to the Yankees). Every fan in Milwaukee knows that 1982 was our only World Series appearance and we lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. That's it.

Sadly I think I would trade my die-hard loyalty to my franchise for one that has won a World Series because I feel like it would make me feel like a winner instead of the loser that I have been for 31 years. I shouldn't bail on my team like that but I feel like I will die long before the Brewers win a World Series. Oh well. I guess I was born a loser and I will die a loser. No. Fuck that. I don't want to be a Met. I don't want to be a Marlin. I don't want to be a Phillie. I don't want to be a Blue Jay. I don't want to be a Royal. I don't want to be an Oriole. I don't want to be a Twin. I don't want to be a Yankee. I don't want to be a Dodger. I don't want to be a Tiger. I don't want to be a Red Sox, White Sox or any kind of Sox. I don't want to be a Giant. I don't want to be an Angel. I don't want to be an Athletic. I don't want to be an Indian. I don't want to be a Diamondback. I don't want to be a Red. I wouldn't even want to be a Pirate. I certainly don't want to be a Cardinal. And I most definitely don't ever want to be a Cub. I will accept being a Brave (but only the Milwaukee one) but I AM A BREWER. I love beer and the city that invented it, and we don't take no bullshit from anyone!! I promise you right now that I am not going to die until I see my Brewers win a World Series. I better be eternal like Highlander or some shit because modern baseball (despite the revenue sharing and wild card format) still does favor the large market teams when it comes to actually winning a championship. Ah well. I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon, so let's just take it one year at a time, ok? 2013 World Series here we come!

Friday September 14 - Sunday September 16. Milwaukee Brewers vs New York Mets at Miller Park. Games 144 - 146 of 162. 3rd Place NL Central, 2.5 Games Back of Wild Card #2. The Brewers need to win almost every game from here on out for the rest of the season if they want to remain in the playoff talk. Before we go there let me clear this up - I don't think they'll make the playoffs. I think it'll just be a case of too little too late because the odds are stacked against them even though they technically still have a chance. But they certainly did their part by taking the series against the Mets. A sweep would have been magnificent, but you can't sweep every team. The offense wasn't enough to bail out Fiers and Parra in Game 1 but that kind of thing happens. Even though the Brewers are averaging like 6 runs on this current hot streak, they only managed 3 on Friday. Marcum turned in yet another short start (4 innings, 4 ER) on Saturday but the offense bailed him out. Last time that will happen. At least I hope so. I don't want Marcum back next year. Sunday was the most impressive game of the series. Brewers #1 prospect Wily Peralta went 8 innings giving up only 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk and stuck out 5. He has been nothing short of amazing since taking Mark Rodgers' spot in the starting rotation. Those 2 pitchers, with the emergence of Michael Fiers, gives me a lot of hope for next year because the offense is returning mostly intact. This rebuilding may take less time than I figured. The future is bright Milwaukee. Mets 7, Brewers 3. Brewers 9, Mets 6. Brewers 3, Mets 0.

I've been a little bit behind on this whole What's Brewing in the Crewbicle series that I've been working on during the 2012 Brewers season. Sorry. I'm trying to catch up here (it is October 2nd as I'm writing this) so that I have my last post right around the time that the season ends. And then I can start working on my year end wrap-up where I compare my 25 Brewers in 25 Days preseason predictions to the actual statistics and see how well I know my Brewers. But that will come in the next few weeks. But why do I bring this up? Since I'm posting one of these Crewbicle articles every 2-3 days instead of once a week as planned it seems like I am constantly writing about the Pittsburgh Pirates. Did we play them every week over the last month of the season? It certainly seems like it because I've run out of Pirate jokes. Why does it take pirates so long to learn the alphabet? Because they can spend years at C! What's a horny pirate's worst nightmare? A sunken chest with no booty! Why is pirating addictive? They say once ye lose yer first hand, ye get hooked! Aaaaarrr! I'll be here all week until I set sail. Looks like I haven't run out of Pirate jokes. That's because it is impossible. Pirates rule, although I do have a little bit of sympathy for the Pittsburgh variation. They have fallen hard, most;y at our hands over the last few weeks. After this series they are now below .500 at 74-75. Just a month ago (on 8/20) they were 12 games over .500, leading the 2nd Wild Card by a half a game and heading towards the playoffs and a winning record for the first time since 1992. Instead they are now spiraling out of control and heading towards their 20th consecutive losing season. As someone who sat through 13 of those (Milwaukee Brewers seasons 1992 - 2005) I feel their pain. I know I said this at one time either in person or here on the blog - I want to see the Pirates end that streak, but I don't want it to come at the Brewers' expense. That having been said this sweep over the Pirates helped us climb 5 games over and we sent them walking the plank at 1 game under. Ah well. Ye were a good mate to sail the 7 seas with Pittsburgh. Ye will be missed.

Tuesday September 18 - Sunday September 20. Milwaukee Brewers vs Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Games 147 - 149 of 162. 3rd Place NL Central, 2.5 Games Back of Wild Card #2. It's really hard to get excited about a sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates. First of all they're playing so poorly they might as well pack it in and call it a 20th consecutive losing season. Secondly it has come to the point where anything else would be a complete failure. St. Louis played the AAA Round Rock Express posing as the Major League Houston Astros so you know they would sweep them. The Brewers need a sweep of their own just to stay 2 1/2 games back. Now that sucks. As good as we've played over the last 30 games it's still not enough because St. Louis just can't and won't lose. So nothing excites me right now because I know the outcome. And it's too little too late unless the Cardinals fall apart. The Brewers do get an "A" for effort though and not quitting, especially in Game 3 when Fiers just didn't have it and we had to use 7 pitchers to get through 9 innings. The offense put up 5 runs in the 8th and 9th to come from behind and take the series. The other 2 games were just your standard good team over a bad team dominance. Just like old times. Did you see that? I called the Brewers a good team, something I've struggled with saying all year. I believe I said it once but put a footnote that they had a fatal flaw - the bullpen, which has fixed itself as of late. So we are back to being the team we were supposed to be. It's about time. Brewers 6, Pirates 0. Brewers 3, Pirates 1. Brewers 9, Pirates 7.

The roadtrip continues with a brutal 4 game series against the best team in the NL, the Washington Nationals and then concludes with a 3 game series against the 2nd best team in the NL, the Cincinnati Reds. These next 7 games will make or break our playoff run at the 2nd Wild Card. Unfortunately we all know the end result, but will that stop you from coming back here in a few days to see what I thought about that series? It better not. But at this point I'm convinced that I am talking to myself around here because who in the world has the time to sit back and read this shit? No one. Then why do I do it? Because I love the Brewers and I love to write. If I didn't do this or something similar than I'd probably go crazy. I already don't sleep longer than 5 hours a night because my brain works on overtime from the hours of 10pm - 2am and I just have to do something with it so I don't drive myself crazy. And I don't want to go crazy. You wouldn't like me when I'm crazy. The world just can't survive that. So instead of unleashing this mind on the world I instead chain it to this blog. You're welcome.

- pookon -