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04-12-2004, 04:58 AM
MILWAUKEE -- As fans poured into Miller Park for the Brewers' 34th home opener, beers were $4.50, bratwurst went for $3.75 and hope and faith were free.
Milwaukee, aching to see .500 ball for the first time in more than a decade, welcomed home a 3-1 Brewers club coming off a series of surprising offensive outbursts against the Cardinals in St. Louis. A standing room-only crowd watched the new-look Brewers face the Houston Astros.
"We can be a good team, and I think we've proven that in Spring Training," said newcomer Craig Counsell, who grew up in Milwaukee. "Obviously, the season hasn't really started yet, but we proved that in the first series. The important thing for this team is to keep getting better."
Before fans can believe that, Counsell said Brewers players have to buy in, too.
"Even though it's early, I think it's important for us to know that of we play good baseball, we're going to win," he said. "That's what happened in St. Louis. It's an important mindset for us to have, an important belief to have."
Manager Ned Yost's expectations for this year's team?
"Just give us your best effort, your talent will get us the rest," Yost said. "Come out, give the fans their money's worth. Play your best, play your hardest. Whatever comes from that, we take. It's hard to put expectations on it."
Twenty-six years after his first Brewers home opener, Counsell came full circle. This time, instead of an eight-year-old sitting in the stands at County Stadium, he was a 33-year-old standing along the foul line at Miller Park.
"I've skipped school every year since I was eight years old to come to Opening Day," Counsell said.
Sixto Lezcano hit a game-winning home run in his first opener, in 1978, and Counsell wasted no time getting into the box score this year. After Craig Biggio led off the game with a soft single, Counsell took the relay from second baseman Junior Spivey and completed a double play to retire No. 2 hitter Adam Everett. He fielded Jeff Kent's grounder two batters later and flipped to Spivey to end the top of the first inning.
Geoff Jenkins is the Brewers' biggest star, but Counsell drew much of the attention on Friday. He grew up in nearby Whitefish Bay, Wis., and his dad, John, worked in the Brewers community relations office for a decade.
Counsell will get plenty of attention from local fans and reporters all season.
"I kind of welcome some of it," he said. "It's fun for people I know and people I grew up with. It's easy once you get to the stadium to just turn those off."
Old faithful: Brewers fans got their first look at five newcomers in the starting lineup: Counsell, right fielder Ben Grieve, catcher Chad Moeller, first baseman Lyle Overbay and Spivey.
But they also got a first look at Jenkins since he signed a contract extension that could keep him in Milwaukee through 2008.
"I just thought that we a much better club going into the season and that we were set up to become a better ballclub," Jenkins said. "The pieces were starting to fall into place."
Jenkins will make more than $8.5 million this season, about 31 percent of the team's Major League-low $27.5 million payroll. Jenkins, Yost and others have refused to use money as a crutch.
"You deal with it," Jenkins said. "We're not going to get Kevin Brown. It's just not going to happen right now. We just can't worry about that. We just have to go out and play.
"You can't cry about the conditions or the player you don't have or pitcher you don't have. Right now, we're a young team, but I think we're a skilled team."
Party at the park: The Brewers made a number of additions to the "Miller Park experience" this season.
New speakers were added to redirect speakers from the previous sound system. According to the team, the new arrangement produced better overall sound quality and more depth in its initial trial.
The general look of the interior of the park also changed with the installation of navy blue outfield pads, replacing the blue pads originally installed for the 2002 All-Star Game. The wall in front of the press box was also repainted Brewer blue, and blue replaced the formerly green padding along the wall behind home plate and the dugout railings.
In the minors: Three of the Brewers' top four minor league affiliates won their season openers on Thursday night.
At Triple-A Indianapolis, solid pitching performances from Victor Santos and Matt Wise (1-0) paid off when Chris Magruder homered and outfield prospect Corey Hart went 2-for-4 in his Triple-A debut as the Indians won, 2-1.
Double-A Huntsville beat Montgomery, 5-4, on the strength of homers by Ryan Knox and Kade Johnson and five no-hit innings by left-handed starter Matt Ford on his 23rd birthday. Lou Palmisano was 2-3 with a double and two RBI as Single-A Beloit beat Quad City, 7-6.
The only affiliate on the wrong end Thursday was Advanced Single-A High Desert, which lost to Lancaster, 7-3. Glenn Woolard, acquired late last month in a trade with San Francisco, allowed two runs in four relief innings with four strikeouts.
<a href=http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/images/2004/04/09/lvlx79Op.jpg><img src=http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/images/2004/04/09/lvlx79Op.jpg border=0></a>
Craig Counsell leaps over Hoston's Craig Biggio to turn the double play.
Milwaukee, aching to see .500 ball for the first time in more than a decade, welcomed home a 3-1 Brewers club coming off a series of surprising offensive outbursts against the Cardinals in St. Louis. A standing room-only crowd watched the new-look Brewers face the Houston Astros.
"We can be a good team, and I think we've proven that in Spring Training," said newcomer Craig Counsell, who grew up in Milwaukee. "Obviously, the season hasn't really started yet, but we proved that in the first series. The important thing for this team is to keep getting better."
Before fans can believe that, Counsell said Brewers players have to buy in, too.
"Even though it's early, I think it's important for us to know that of we play good baseball, we're going to win," he said. "That's what happened in St. Louis. It's an important mindset for us to have, an important belief to have."
Manager Ned Yost's expectations for this year's team?
"Just give us your best effort, your talent will get us the rest," Yost said. "Come out, give the fans their money's worth. Play your best, play your hardest. Whatever comes from that, we take. It's hard to put expectations on it."
Twenty-six years after his first Brewers home opener, Counsell came full circle. This time, instead of an eight-year-old sitting in the stands at County Stadium, he was a 33-year-old standing along the foul line at Miller Park.
"I've skipped school every year since I was eight years old to come to Opening Day," Counsell said.
Sixto Lezcano hit a game-winning home run in his first opener, in 1978, and Counsell wasted no time getting into the box score this year. After Craig Biggio led off the game with a soft single, Counsell took the relay from second baseman Junior Spivey and completed a double play to retire No. 2 hitter Adam Everett. He fielded Jeff Kent's grounder two batters later and flipped to Spivey to end the top of the first inning.
Geoff Jenkins is the Brewers' biggest star, but Counsell drew much of the attention on Friday. He grew up in nearby Whitefish Bay, Wis., and his dad, John, worked in the Brewers community relations office for a decade.
Counsell will get plenty of attention from local fans and reporters all season.
"I kind of welcome some of it," he said. "It's fun for people I know and people I grew up with. It's easy once you get to the stadium to just turn those off."
Old faithful: Brewers fans got their first look at five newcomers in the starting lineup: Counsell, right fielder Ben Grieve, catcher Chad Moeller, first baseman Lyle Overbay and Spivey.
But they also got a first look at Jenkins since he signed a contract extension that could keep him in Milwaukee through 2008.
"I just thought that we a much better club going into the season and that we were set up to become a better ballclub," Jenkins said. "The pieces were starting to fall into place."
Jenkins will make more than $8.5 million this season, about 31 percent of the team's Major League-low $27.5 million payroll. Jenkins, Yost and others have refused to use money as a crutch.
"You deal with it," Jenkins said. "We're not going to get Kevin Brown. It's just not going to happen right now. We just can't worry about that. We just have to go out and play.
"You can't cry about the conditions or the player you don't have or pitcher you don't have. Right now, we're a young team, but I think we're a skilled team."
Party at the park: The Brewers made a number of additions to the "Miller Park experience" this season.
New speakers were added to redirect speakers from the previous sound system. According to the team, the new arrangement produced better overall sound quality and more depth in its initial trial.
The general look of the interior of the park also changed with the installation of navy blue outfield pads, replacing the blue pads originally installed for the 2002 All-Star Game. The wall in front of the press box was also repainted Brewer blue, and blue replaced the formerly green padding along the wall behind home plate and the dugout railings.
In the minors: Three of the Brewers' top four minor league affiliates won their season openers on Thursday night.
At Triple-A Indianapolis, solid pitching performances from Victor Santos and Matt Wise (1-0) paid off when Chris Magruder homered and outfield prospect Corey Hart went 2-for-4 in his Triple-A debut as the Indians won, 2-1.
Double-A Huntsville beat Montgomery, 5-4, on the strength of homers by Ryan Knox and Kade Johnson and five no-hit innings by left-handed starter Matt Ford on his 23rd birthday. Lou Palmisano was 2-3 with a double and two RBI as Single-A Beloit beat Quad City, 7-6.
The only affiliate on the wrong end Thursday was Advanced Single-A High Desert, which lost to Lancaster, 7-3. Glenn Woolard, acquired late last month in a trade with San Francisco, allowed two runs in four relief innings with four strikeouts.
<a href=http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/images/2004/04/09/lvlx79Op.jpg><img src=http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/images/2004/04/09/lvlx79Op.jpg border=0></a>
Craig Counsell leaps over Hoston's Craig Biggio to turn the double play.