Wednesday's Frosty Mug
by Kyle Lobner on Dec 1, 2010 10:09 AM CST
in Milwaukee Brewers News
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PrintSome things to read while maintaining a healthy attitude.
We're one day away from the deadline to tender arbitration-eligible players, and the Brewers still haven't tipped their hand regarding their plans. There's plenty of speculation out there, though:
- Tom Haudricourt has divided the eight eligible players into three tiers, with Joe Inglett, Carlos Villanueva and Todd Coffey on the "possible non-tender" line.
- Jaymes Langrehr of The Brewers Bar would tender everyone not named Todd Coffey.
- Jim Breen of Bernie's Crew says keeping Coffey around wouldn't be the best use of the Brewers' money, but he could still be effective in 2011.
I guess you can count this as one vote for "keeping everyone:" Miller Park Drunk presents a plan for the Brewers to go all in next season.
No "go all in" plan is complete unless it includes signing Derek Jeter, though. TOTALLY FAKE BASEBALL CARDS has his Brewer card (and one for 29 other teams) ready. (h/t BBTF)
Projection season continues as Dan Szymborski unveiled the Brewers' 2011 ZiPS projections yesterday. There's a lot in there and I won't spoil it all here, but I will say I think he's a little high on Mat Gamel, Alcides Escobar and Marco Estrada and probably a little low on Lorenzo Cain, Chris Narveson and Kameron Loe.
Ryan Braun's Waterfront Grill hasn't been as successful as he was probably hoping for, and now it's closed temporarily to implement "changes to its menu, its management team and its interior." (FanShot) I asked this in the comments of the FanShot but I'll ask it again here: Has anyone actually been there?
Braun's Lake Geneva restaurant is still open, and he'll be there on Saturday once he's done serving as the Grand Marshal in the city's Christmas parade.
Around baseball:
Astros: Avoided arbitration with catcher Humberto Quintero, who will earn $1 million in 2011.
Cardinals: Acquired infielder Ryan Theriot from the Dodgers for pitcher Blake Hawksworth, and signed pitcher Brian Tallet.
Blue Jays: Reliever Jason Frasor accepted the team's offer of arbitration.
Giants: Signed shortstop Miguel Tejada to a one year, $6.5 million deal.
Rangers: Signed Japanese reliever Yoshinori Tateyama to a one year major league deal with club options for 2012 and 2013. Also, reliever Frank Francisco accepted the team's offer of arbitration.
I have a quick correction from yesterday's Mug: Jorge De La Rosa's contract, which I had reported as a three year, $30 million deal, is actually a two year, $21.5 million deal with both club and player options for 2013. If either side exercises the option then the value of the deal will actually be $31.5 million.
If you hadn't already guessed, that's much more than JDLR is worth. Buster Olney is reporting, though, that it wasn't the highest offer he received.
As of late last night, the deadline for free agents to accept arbitration from their former teams has come and gone. Aaron Gleeman of Hardball Talk notes that it was a somewhat uneventful deadline, as only two of 27 players accepted their teams' offers. He also notes that six of the last seven players to accept offers in this situation have been relievers, exposing a flaw in the compensation system.
Fixing the flaw Gleeman mentioned would be one easy adjustment to the compensation system, but Dave Cameron of FanGraphs thinks we should scrap the system altogether.
Discussion continues on plans to expand the playoffs. It's probably still safe to assume the format will change in 2012, but Jeff Passan of Yahoo makes a strong case against the adjustment.
It's only fair, though, that we also present the other side. It's About The Money makes the case that, while many people don't favor this plan, it wouldn't actually be "bad for baseball."
Another day, another set of Rule 5 draft previews: Pro Ball NW has a look at five more potential candidates, and Bucs Dugout has the list of 25 players Baseball America is previewing behind their pay wall.
The argument for and against public funding of sports facilities is one that we'll likely always have with us, and it's my opinion that there are strong cases to be made for and against it. The Cardinals and the city of St. Louis appear to be adding some fuel to the anti fire, though: The Cardinals may or may not be meeting contractual terms they agreed to when the city of St. Louis built them the new Busch Stadium, and the city doesn't appear interested in finding out.
I haven't seen any updates on Ken Macha's plans for 2011, but at least @notkenmacha is still around, weighing in on current events.
Happy birthday today to:
- Helena Brewer Shea Vucinich, who turns 22.
- 1990-91 Brewer Julio Machado, who turns 45.
- 1988-90 Brewer Tom Filer, who turns 54.
- 1976-82 Brewer pitching coach Cal McLish, who would have turned 85.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to the bank.
Drink up.
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hate
Too close for missiles, I’m switching to Ueck.
I have actually been to Braun's restaurant
I thought it was a nice place, good location, and food was actually alright. What threw me off was how ritzy it looked though, and its not exactly super cheap. It’s not exactly what you’d expect when you go into an athlete’s restaurant: lots of art and fancy looking tables, etc.
To compare it to something kind of similar, I’ve also been to Bobby Valentine’s bar and restaurant in Connecticut. Signed player pictures on the wall, baseball cards of players spanning from the 70’s to the 90’s underneath your table glass, more a pub look…needless to say, I think Bobby had a better grasp on who his patrons would be than Braun did, and Bobby V’s is also right in Greenwich, CT where the average house could fit mine inside of it 4 times.
"I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for three-thousand dollars. That bothered my dad at the time because he said he didn't have that kind of dough." - Ueck
I threw in the last part because I feel like that city would be into a place like Braun's
In any case, I think Braun should go for more of that sports bar type look, not four star restaurant.
"I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for three-thousand dollars. That bothered my dad at the time because he said he didn't have that kind of dough." - Ueck
by GormanBraun28 on Dec 1, 2010 10:25 AM CST up reply actions
I think that if he's going to attach his name to it, he needs to make it a sports bar.
Patrons will be expecting it to be sort of tacky and have all sorts of memorabilia. If he wants to go with a more contemporary, pricy place, he probably shouldn’t put his name on it. Maybe he could call it RB8, or just call it Riverfront. And it sounds like the food wasn’t that good, so if he wants to go with the more pricy place, he’s going to need to provide better quality.
http://www.mlbsoup.com
Or not attach his name to it at all
Michael Jordan had a place in Chicago when I lived there called 160 Blue or something like that. Very nice place, great food, big time business dinner crowd, and his name was nowhere to be found. It was just known that it was his restaurant. He also had the bar food, tacky place right off of downtown as well. Both places failed, not surprisingly. Restaurants and bars are typically a money losing enterprise.
RB's Waterfront
“Most athletes have a restaurant that ends up being a sports bar,” Braun said in a USA TODAY article, discussing the two restaurants he opened in Wisconsin. “I wanted a contemporary place. A little L.A. A little Miami. A little New York. I wanted this to be more of a lifestyle restaurant, one representative of my personality.”
I went there this summer. I had a good time (probably because I spent the day at Miller Park drinking and then continued on with the drinking at RB’s). The food was pretty decent and the service was good. It wasn’t awesome but it wasn’t terrible either.
Then again, I once paired PBR with sushi so maybe I have lower standards than the average Brewer fan.
by Hangwith'em Rach on Dec 1, 2010 11:38 AM CST up reply actions
Braun's
Not a bad place. Felt out of place when I first walked in, very swanky. Waitstaff was nice, but felt they were kinda jerks at times as well. Food was very good(I had a burger, wife had portabella sandwich, and friend had pizza.) Price was $30 for all of us. I’d go back, but might go more if it had a sports theme.
by Mr. McGehee on Dec 1, 2010 11:47 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
Well, Braun still hasn't cleared things up
We now know that he decided to have his restaurant as “contemporary” and “lifestyle” because, hey, that’s representative of his personality. Fair enough. However, it’s a bit of shame though that he didn’t take the same understated approach to his fashion design…
"I hope your name is Rick"
I think the Remetee takes that exact same approach to lifestyle and identity
Probably one reason that niether is working out well in Blue Collar Milwaukee.
It definitely has a "doomed to fail" air to it
It doesn’t really seem like a good fit for Milwaukee. The restaurant business is said to be one of the toughest and I have a hard time believing the industry was expanding when he decided to go through with the operation.
It’s great he tried to go for a different feel, but I think the comments above about attaching his name to it are spot on. The crowd that would go there because his name is attached to it aren’t necessarily the same people that would be interested in the restaurant. One would think he would have the wherewithal to do a little market research before expending the money on a new restaurant.
Minecraft is like digital Legos. I like digital things and I like Legos. I am now addicted to Minecraft.
perhaps it's not making it because we are suffering through the biggest economic downturn in awhile
Just a thought. It’s not like Milwaukee is a culinary wasteland. You can see a lot of high quality stuff all around the area, especially downtown. But reading saberilliterate’s review, I’m pretty sure I don’t want high quality food served on a construction paper table cloth.
"That's not a weird stat. Rickie is a run-scorer," Yost said. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter," Yost told reporters. "See, you guys have no concept. He's a run-scorer. So there's nothing weird about it. That's what he does."
Economics are not a factor
Good Restaurants will always prosper. It is the bad ones that will fail as soon as the economy takes a downturn.
Waterfront is closed because the service sucked. It only stayed open as long as it did because of Braun’s name.
by Saberilliterate on Dec 1, 2010 1:43 PM CST up reply actions
good restaurants will survive due to their reputation. if somebody is only going out to eat twice per year, they are going to go to a place they know and love, rather than try some new unknown restaurant.
http://www.mlbsoup.com
by tcyoung on Dec 1, 2010 2:32 PM CST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
If bad restaurants fail when the economy
Takes a downturn, then come there are still Chilli’s and Applebee’s around?
Goooooo-mez!
by Drew C on Dec 1, 2010 6:54 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Some people like cucumbers better pickled.
and Brinker and Darden are very well run restaurant companies.
"If we want to sign a Type A free agent, we would lose a second-round pick, but we don't have a way to get picks back. Our whole Draft process needs to be redone."
~Doug Melvin
by Charlie Marlow on Dec 1, 2010 8:09 PM CST up reply actions
I think it's because
They have bars with TVs and the masses don’t care about good food just the illusion of entertainment.
Goooooo-mez!
by Drew C on Dec 1, 2010 9:54 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
IDK
I would also add Outback to the list of questionable restaurants.
I haven’t been inside a Chilli’s in 5 years. And I have only been to Applebee’s twice in the last few years and that was for beer and ‘pub’ food.
The only reason that I can think of for them to be open is cheap food and lots of advertising
by Saberilliterate on Dec 2, 2010 8:58 AM CST up reply actions
I'd agree with you on bad service killing restaurants
it only doesn’t kill them if the food is so great that it makes up for the service.
and, yeah, the Wisconsin food scene is getting better all the time, but it also makes customers a heck of a lot more demanding in what they expect out of a restaurant if they can just go to the next one down the street and get better service and better food.
I think that you can also blame Food Network and Gordon Ramsey. The restaurant education that the general public has received from those two has elevated expectations for any non-franchised restaurant.
by Saberilliterate on Dec 2, 2010 8:56 AM CST up reply actions
and for the record, my wife still talks about those onion rings every few weeks. The were so good.
And I still am p-off’d that I wasn’t pretty enough to sit on the patio
by Saberilliterate on Dec 1, 2010 4:22 PM CST up reply actions
It would have been a worse blow to the ego
If they’d made you sit inside while letting your wife out on the patio…
"I hope your name is Rick"
by MrLeam on Dec 1, 2010 5:15 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs
"We have one seat available on the patio for you, ma'am, next to this gentleman."
“You, sir? Let me see if we have an opening in the basement.”
Now that's great tasting chicken!
by Kyle Lobner on Dec 1, 2010 8:26 PM CST up reply actions 3 recs
aww man
prom all over again
BCB: Pointless Exercises in Devils Advocacy
by Jeo on Dec 1, 2010 8:58 PM CST up reply actions 5 recs
You're right
Obviously Braun was thinking the same with his restaurant as with Remetee. Well, at least if the review of his restaurant referring to “clashing design elements, art work seems out of place” is correct…
"I hope your name is Rick"
Interesting quote from him
I get what he’s trying to do, bring a little bit of what he likes. I guess when you think of Milwaukee baseball, and I think we can all agree, most average Brewer fans are the type of people who want that sport bar atmosphere and greasy bar food.
Not to say his place was bad (although the waitress screwed up both mine and my friend’s drink orders), but certainly much different than I expected.
I’m curious what the renovations actually entail, maybe a move toward the more pub-type look? Kind down-class (not sure if that’s a word/term) it a little? Who knows, but as has been said, these places don’t really last unless its the talk of the town.
"I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for three-thousand dollars. That bothered my dad at the time because he said he didn't have that kind of dough." - Ueck
by GormanBraun28 on Dec 1, 2010 12:16 PM CST up reply actions
"I can you can count"
If you can, toucan
Too close for missiles, I’m switching to Ueck.
Probably the reason the place is failing
Yeah I know your post is sarcasm. But if a place’s sole goal is to have “beautiful people” as the servers, its probably not paying too much attention to the finer points like the actual quality of the food, or that service provided.
For my money, I dont care what the people look like who serve me, as long as the food is good and the service is good.
Just simply:
“8”
"I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for three-thousand dollars. That bothered my dad at the time because he said he didn't have that kind of dough." - Ueck
by GormanBraun28 on Dec 1, 2010 12:18 PM CST up reply actions
Füd
I never use a big word when a diminutive word would suffice.
by TheJay on Dec 1, 2010 12:52 PM CST up reply actions 6 recs
It almost looks like a Yiddish word too
It’d be perfect
"I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for three-thousand dollars. That bothered my dad at the time because he said he didn't have that kind of dough." - Ueck
by GormanBraun28 on Dec 1, 2010 1:10 PM CST up reply actions
there's a food blog called that
for the DC food scene. Me, I just think of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, none of which I really want in my dining experience.
I don't think he'd risk calling it that...
given the possibility he’d end up inwittingly getting involved if there’s ever a re-run of the infamous MC Eiht vs DJ Quik hip-hop war of the mid-90s.
"I hope your name is Rick"
by MrLeam on Dec 1, 2010 1:01 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
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NL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cincinnati
|
25 | 19 | .568 | 0 | Won 6 |
|
St. Louis
|
25 | 20 | .555 | 0.5 | Lost 1 |
|
Houston
|
21 | 23 | .477 | 4 | Won 3 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
20 | 24 | .454 | 5 | Lost 2 |
|
Milwaukee
|
18 | 26 | .409 | 7 | Won 1 |
|
Chicago
|
15 | 29 | .340 | 10 | Lost 9 |
(updated 5.25.2012 at 3:41 AM CDT)
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