25 Brewers in 25 Days - 2013 Season Recap - Overall

I really don't want to do this. Let's get that out of the way from the start. I'm a big Milwaukee Brewers fan and I'll sit and talk baseball until my voice is hoarse, but I don't really care to write about it anymore. Get a couple shots of whiskey in me (sorry rum, I've moved on) and that might change. But unfortunately back in March I was excited for the 2013 season and I wrote up a player by player preview called "25 Brewers in 25 Days" that I've been doing since 2010. I do have fun making predictions and seeing how well I know the players on this team but after the disaster of a season that was 2013, I just want to turn the page and move on. Who wants to look back at this train wreck? With train wrecks you usually can't look away and you feel ashamed of yourself for even looking in the first place. I'm no different than any other Joe. Or Scott. Did I watch nearly every game on TV or listen to them on the radio? Of course. Did I follow every pitch and listen to every postgame show on Sportsradio 1250 WSSP? Damn right I did. I love me some Tim and Sparky. Did I have a good time going to games this year? That's a given. Thanks to being a season ticket holder of a 20 game pack, I went to not only those games but also a handful more. And almost every time I was there I was wearing a sombrero and drunk as the day I was born. 

And speaking of being drunk, I must have been when I made the overall predictions for the 2013 season. I'll openly admit that I'm kind of a of a homer and tend to look at this team through some pretty sudsy beer goggles. I tend to be overly optimistic because I want to see them win. I also tend to spend my money like a gentleman in a strange town plowing through ladies of the night, especially when it comes to gambling. When I was in Las Vegas in March I put $50 on the Brewers to have a winning season because the over/under was 80.5 games. I figured there was no way they would have a losing record. They weren't that bad, right? Little did I know that 2013 would be one of the worst seasons in recent memory. Sure, I've been through worse seasons as a life-long Brewers fan, but aside from 2009 there wasn't another year where the expectations were so high and then came crumbling down like a banshee. I guess there is no better time than the present to take a look at my predictions for the 2013 season and see how totally wrong I was:

• The Brewers will finish will a record of 86-76 which will be good enough for 2nd in the division (with Cincinnati 1st, St. Louis 3rd, Pittsburgh 4th and Chicago 5th) but not good enough to make the Playoffs. They will compete for the 2nd Wild Card all the way until the end but end up missing it by 2 games. The Brewers finished at 74-88, which had them at 4th. Thank God for the Cubs, who finished in last place. St. Louis won the division at 97-65, Pittsburgh was in 2nd at 94-68 and Cincinnati was 3rd at 90-72. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati won the NL Wildcards and the Brewers ended up 23 games back in the division and 16 games back in the Wildcard. They never competed thanks to a 6-22 record in the month of May.
• The Brewers will send 3 players to the All-Star Game at Citi Field in New York City - Ryan Braun, Jonathon Lucroy and Yovani Gallardo. As you know, Ryan Braun was injured for most of the year and was pretty awful at the plate. And then he admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. Jonathon Lucroy had an awful first couple of months but then rebounded to have a fantastic season. But it was too late to be in consideration for the All-Star Game. Yovani Gallardo had his worst year statistically but finished strong. I was wrong on all 3 of them representing the Brewers in the Mid-Summer Classic. Instead Jean Segura and Carlos Gomez made their first All-Star appearances. Both deserved it and I hope this isn't the first time they hold this honor.
• Brewers fever will continue to sweep over the state of Wisconsin and we will draw over 3 million fans again, which is amazing considering our market size. Thanks to the slow start and awful May, they didn't draw 3 million fans. But they still drew 2,531,105 for an average of 31,248 per game, which is outstanding considering the kind of season we had. Even more amazing was that they drew more fans than playoff teams like Pittsburgh, Oakland, Cleveland and Tampa Bay. They also fell just a few thousand behind other playoff teams like Cincinnati and Atlanta. Brewers fans once again showed they love and support for their team, which makes me proud to be one of them.
• I bought 2 tickets in a 20-game pack, so the Sombrero will once again dominate TV broadcasts as we continue to start the Revolution in the Left Field Bleachers. I don't think we ever got on TV. I know we were on the Scoreboard Screen once or twice, but I don't recall anyone lighting up my phone or Facebook wall with "Holy Shit! Iceman you were on TV!" this season. That's alright though. Although it was a step back in the Sombrero Revolution it just means that we will have another shot next year. I renewed my 20-game pack even though I can't really afford it. Fuck it. We're all going to die someday. There's nothing I love more than going to Brewers games. Might as well do what I love as long as I'm still alive.

That's just the beginning of this look back at the 2013 season. I hate myself already for doing this. I wish that I could just leave it be and not even talk about this team anymore. I wish that I wasn't so morbidly obese so much so that it prevents me from ever being able to kiss a girl. Fuck! When Lord, when!?! When's going to be my time!?! Probably when I pay more attention to the opposite sex and less attention to 25 dudes who don't give a fuck about me. I don't see that happening any time soon because I was born a loser and I'm destined to die that way. That's why it's fitting that I'm a Milwaukee Brewers fan. We've had a team for 43 years and our most celebrated accomplishment is losing a World Series in 1982. I'm in too deep. I might as well stick it out just in case they decided to win one during my lifetime. And since I already started this piece of shit, I guess I have to roll with this one as well. So check back soon for my breakdown of the Infield, Outfield, Starting Rotation and Bullpen. I'll do my best to at least make it an entertaining read. That's the best I can do. Fuck it.

 - pookon -

www.pookon.com
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Movember - Movement of the People

I decided to join the Movember Movement. This idea came into my mind somewhere around October 20th when my brother James was in town. He's been one of the loyal readers of this blog and we had a very meaningful and deep conversation in the precious moments we were able to spend together. Life has thrown us a few curve balls and both of us have reacted differently. I'm very open and honest with my feelings through various mediums while he only shares his feelings with those close to him. I don't have a problem with that. To each their own. We all deal with things differently. There is no right or wrong, only Zuul. One thing that my big brother wants for me is to be happy, and he is concerned for my physical and mental well being. If you've read everything that I've written during October as part of the Pickle the Day experiment, you should be worried too. My life is kind of  a mess. But that doesn't mean that it has to be. I've had a plan to turn my life around. I've had this plan for a very long time. It is well thought out and has a simple step-by-step process to follow in order to get me to be Living the Dream instead of just #LivingTheDream. Trust me, it makes sense. He asked me why I haven't started this plan yet. I told him that I needed two things - a goal and a push. I have that goal now. It will be revealed at the end of the month. Sorry again for the tease. And here is the push - Movember.

For the last 13 days or so, I've had a plan to better my mental and physical health. I decided that November would be a perfect time to do this. During this month I pledge to do a few things and the first of which is to take better care of my body by regulating what goes into it. This means eating less, eating the right kinds of foods, consuming less alcohol and sugary drinks, taking vitamins and drinking more water. For this month I'm going to do my best to stay away from things like candy, snack foods, fast food, soda or anything that is unnecessary for the body to survive. I'm not going to say that I can completely do without it. That's impossible. I'm human. And a fat human at that. It'd be like a monkey going without bananas. Moderation is the key. I need to be smart about it. I need to understand that I'm not perfect and I'm probably going to screw this up at some point. But I must be smart about it. I must think before I do and stay true to my promise. I am capable of doing anything that I put my mind to. It's amazing what you can achieve when you want something so bad. I want to be healthy in body and in spirit. I want to be like you. I want to be one of the normies.

Exercise is the next step. I don't do it nearly enough. There's some kind of number that is floated out there of recommended amount per day but I'm going to ignore that. Why? Because I know what I can and can't do. Look, walking for longer than a few minutes makes me tired and out of breath. How am I supposed to handle 45 minutes of brisk movement? I'll start small and increase it from there if I know I can handle it. My goal is to exercise in some way for 30 minutes per day to start off. Any kind of movement will do. I sit at a desk for 8+ hours a day and when that is done I go home and sit at my computer. This lack of movement is literally killing me as we speak. I don't have to do a lot but I have to do something. I've tried to go to the gym before. I'm one of those suckers that pays a monthly fitness membership but never goes to work out. You know how much money I spend on that shit? I need to stop wasting money and taking advantage of those opportunities. This is for the greater good after all. The world is a better place with Scott "Iceman" Reck living in it, and I should stick around for a while and try to realize that.

My mental health is the 3rd thing that I need to work on. I have to start thinking positively and not feel like a worthless piece of shit. I'm a great person who is helpful, has a good heart and mind and has plenty of wonderful things to share with the world. I'm funny, creative, kind and loving. I'm not the asshole that I paint myself out to be. I am a positive and worthwhile part of the lives of the people who exist around me. I'm lucky to be a part of their journey and they are lucky to have me be a part of theirs. Life is a beautiful thing. Every day that we wake up we are given a chance to write another chapter in our story. We are given the chance to turn it all around. To make up for the wrongs that we may have done and to better ourselves going forward. We only get one shot at life. For the most part I think that I've wasted 32 years. Sure, there's been some pretty sweet things along the way (how many people do you know that have been the star of a documentary?) but my life has been nowhere near what I expected. So it's time to at least put myself in a position to live up to those expectations. It's time to chase some dreams. It's time to work towards some goals. It's time to start living. It's time to move on. It's time to get going. What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing. But under my feet baby, the grass is growing. It's time to move on. It's time to get going.

And now we get to the Movember part. I didn't intend for it to be a factor. I was already planning on making November a health month for myself, but then I decided that as long as I was going to help myself, why not try and help other people as well? If you aren't familiar with Movember, here is some information from their website: 

Campaign Strategy & Goals:

We will get men to grow moustaches and the community to support them by creating an innovative, fun and engaging annual Movember campaign that results in:

• Funds for men's health program investment

• Conversations about men's health that lead to:

- Greater awareness and understanding of the health risks men face

- Men taking action to remain well

- When men are sick they know what to do and take action

Program Goals:

Living with and Beyond Cancer

Men living with prostate or testicular cancer have the care needed to be physically and mentally well.

Staying Mentally Healthy, Living with and Beyond Mental Illness

• Men are mentally healthy and take action to remain well

• When men experience mental illness they take action early

• Men are not treated differently when they experience a mental illness

Men's Health Research

We will fund innovative research that builds powerful, collaborative teams that accelerate:

• Improved clinical tests and treatments for prostate and testicular cancer

• Improved physical and mental health outcomes for men

So yeah, I'm clean shaven today (November 1st as I was writing this) and I'm going to be growing a mustache for the entire month. I promise you that this is going to get weird. I might have to steer clear of schools, day cares and toy stores because I'm going to look the part. I have a hard enough time growing a decent beard or goatee, so a mustache has always been out of the question. But it is for a good cause, not just for myself but for all mankind. Cancer is very real and very scary. I pray to God I never know that first hand. I'm all for giving what little money I have to help us figure out a way to at least help people deal with this life changing illness and hopefully someday figure out a way to cure it. It's a dream worth fighting for. With every day that goes by we learn more about the human body and the World in which we live in. I'm not necessarily for playing God or going against God's will (I'm a believer in that God decides when it is our time to die) but why should we have to suffer if we don't have to? People weren't meant to live lives in pain and in sickness. We are supposed to be happy and filled with joy. We are meant to be free. I'm all for that.

I realize that this is a lot to take in. This is what happens to me at 3 in the morning when I can't sleep. While you're off counting sheep or having Adventures in Slumberland with Little Nemo, I'm sitting awake and coming up with all these crazy ideas. But are they really so crazy? Many people all over the World do things like this, so I know I'm not alone here. If you want to join my cause, I encourage you to do so at my Movember page. Here is the address:

http://us.movember.com/mospace/8200465

If you don't feel comfortable putting in your credit card online or only want to contribute couch change or a couple of bucks, just toss it my way the next time you see me and I will add it online. And if all you want to do is offer some support to me for my efforts to better my physical and mental health, you can do that as well. I'm not asking for anything. I already have the love and support of countless family and friends who help me out on a daily basis. And I understand that money is tight. I have student loans that I will never pay off even if I keep working until the day that I die. I get it. But I'm also not going to stop you if you want to support a good cause. It's your life. You get to choose what you want to do with it. That's one of the greatest things about it. I have decided to try something new. I have no idea what will happen, but I'm willing to take the risk. What's the worst that could happen? I stand nothing to lose here. Well, unless you count looking like a creeper with a goofy mustache losing. I don't even know how I come up with this stuff. My mind is a twisted place. But if even a little bit of good comes out of this crazy idea, then it isn't so crazy, right?

 - pookon -

www.pookon.com
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https://www.facebook.com/MilwaukeeIceman