Milwaukee Wisconsin, Miller Park. Not exactly a hot bed of baseball. I have never heard anyone refer to Milwaukee as the baseball capital of anything. Usually Milwaukee is where players go to retire during the season. In fact, the Brewers are known more for the sausage races during the game than they are for their ball players. So when the Arizona Diamondbacks went to Milwaukee, the games had all the excitement of cleaning the pool.
But in the winter of 2003-2004, something strange happened. Arizona began to retool. They traded Curt Schilling to Boston and went Christmas shopping for a big bat. And where else would you go to get an extra large bat but Milwaukee. In one fell swoop, the Diamondbacks got themselves the largest hitter they could find, Ritchie Sexson. All six foot eight inches of first baseman. Jerry Colangelo must have forgotten for a moment that he was dealing in baseball and not making a trade for the Phoenix Suns. Now on the Diamondbacks they have a center and a power forward. This big bat came with a big price. The Diamondbacks traded nearly half the team or so it seemed. Gone were second baseman Junior Spivey, shortstop Craig Counsell, first baseman Lyle Overbay, catcher Chad Moeller, pitcher Chris Capauno and pitcher Jorge de la Rosa. With one trade, they got rid of 8 players featured in the 2004 Diamondbacks team calendar.
So when the Diamondbacks played the Brewers tonight, it was hard to tell who exactly was the home team. Moeller, Overbay, Spivey and Counsell were all in the line-up for Milwaukee. I have expected Bob Brenly to walk in the wrong dugout. It must have been odd for him to exchange line-up cards at the plate before the game. He must have wondered whether he just had a 2003 Diamondbacks line-up in his back pocket. The Brewer-backs did not disappoint, they out hit the 2004 Diamondbacks and showed a lot of emotion. It was clear they each felt they had something to prove.
Personally, I can’t wait for the Diamondbacks to leave Wisconsin. My scorebook is a mess. I can’t tell which side was the home team and which side was the visitors.
0 Comments