Senior Viewpoint

The 2008 edition of the Milwaukee Brewers are winners. A playoff berth, 90 victories and record attendance tells the story. Only 2 teams go to the world series. The other teams end their season early, like our Brewers and our neighbors, the Cubs and the White Sox.

We can be proud of having a great owner, great management and a great ballpark.

We can see a bright future with one of the youngest teams in baseball and a farm system that produces quality baseball prospects. 

And above all we have great baseball fans of all ages who have something to cheer about.

The makeup of the 2009 Brewers will be determined in the coming months. To be sure there will be some changes in personnel.

Free agent players are a risk and come at a high price as we have learned.

C.C. Sabathia is a must to keep and our management knows that the price will be high. But C.C. is a proven leader and would give the Brewers a pitching ace for years to come.

There will be replacement players, maybe a key trade and a host of young prospects making a serious effort to make the roster.

But, before changing the lineup management must be sure that the replacement player is better than the one he replaces.

To return a now veteran lineup in the infield of Fielder, Weeks, Hardy and Hall, and the outfield of Braun and Hart and finally giving Gwynn his chance, and adding some improvement is pretty solid. Keeping Kendall behind the plate and most of the bullpen is wise. There are enough talented starting pitchers on the expanded roster.

Go Brewers.

The Brewers come home Saturday and the celebration begins to welcome the first playoff team in 26 years. Although, the home team is 2 games down the atmosphere will be much different for them. Many players return to their homes and families and will get the support they need from their loved ones and friends. The extra day off, today, will give the players a chance to get some rest and relaxation before they head for Miller Park on Saturday.

Let the game begin and let the hunger for the taste of victory dominate the desire to win once more.

This is no time to say wait until next year. This is the time to win the next 3 games and with the superb talent at hand our Brewers can and will succeed.

Saturday is the day that our team will brush off the woes of the past and play the game of the day with a zest that has never been seen before.

There is no room for criticism or finger pointing. Baseball is a team game and each athlete on the roster has to be prepared to perform at the highest level of excellence.

To be an underdog is to accept and meet the challenge by doing what they do best. Don't press to hard and the hits will come in droves.

Never say never and show your families, friends and fans that the 2008 Brewers are special.

Somewhere in Miller Park on Saturday  my Son and I will be cheering our own major league team.

The Phillies are now in our house and the Brewers will not let us down.

Today,Wednesday, October 1, 2008, was the first Brewers post season game in 26 years. The Brewers late rally in the 9th inning fell short as the Phillies starting pitcher was almost flawless, and the Brewer bullpen was solid.

But again the Brewers lack of ability to drive in runs was very costly. Watch their new manager make some changes in the batting order to get back to "small ball", and not hope against hope for home runs.

The decision to start a pitcher just coming off rehab may haunt the Brewers although the opportunities were present to overcome that.

My observation is that the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers have enough fire power to win playoff games and go to the World Series with their front line pitchers and a little luck.

The odds are on our side tomorrow with C.C. on the mound and hopefully better weather. Home run hitters don"t do well in the rain but the bunt is hard to handle and leads to runs.

Well, my chance to be at Miller Park is Saturday.

The Milwaukee Brewers revisit the major league playoffs 26 years later, since 1982 when the likes of Young, Molitor and Fingers were household names, at least for the sturdy fans. Now in 2008 the Brewers names of Braun, Sabathia and Hardy, to name a few, are household names, at least for the sturdy fans whose support helped make it a reality.

Those fans whose unwavering support helped the Brewers win a wild card berth and a chance to get into the world series are to be commended for not giving up, for not having doubts and for not complaining when it does not go well.

Look in the eyes of the youngsters and see the sparkle and excitement. 

Now everyone else can join in the celebration and in their own way cheer on the Brewers to the ultimate victory.

It is true that not everyone is a baseball fan but we have a big time major league team who carries the name of Milwaukee and Wisconsin all around the world.

 So, its on to the playoffs and hopefully to the world series.

The Brewers are nearing the end of a good baseball season both for the fans, the players and management. This is a young team that has tasted adversity and are battling back from it. The talent is certainly there and the recent change in leadership will give the players an opportunity to know where they stand.

When Harvey Kuenn was the manager the Brewers were most successful because he was a veteran major league all star, a local product and was in tune with the players.

But baseball is baseball and the goal is to score more runs than your opponent.

A nervous or anxious player cannot perform under pressure. Players must be relaxed, confident and have focus on every move they make on the field.

Most of all the players need big time fan support not only at Miller Park but from the entire state in every form possible, including the press.

There will be enough criticism and coaching from within the team.

This is the time for everyone in the Brewer network to openly show their support for a team that is so very close to the goals we want them to achieve.

After all, this is our one and only major league baseball team.

No more boo birds at the game.

Term limits for elected officials has long been a topic of discussion, from federal to state to local public offices. My research includes JSONLINE which is a valuable source.

The focus of this article is on local public offices starting at the top.

JSONLINE relates that in Grafton, WI. 71% of the voters in 1994 favored an advisory referendum for term limits, and on April 1, 2008 Fondulac,WI. voters decided by 62% to keep term limits. In 1994 Cedarburg, WI. voters approved an advisory referendum on term limits 2-1.

There have been arguments pro and con on the subject of term limits.

Historically, term limits or rotation in office dates bach to the American Revolution, and before then early civilizations such as Ancient Greece and Rome.

The President of the United States of America is subject to term limits by means of the 22nd Amendment to the US CONSTITUTION in 1951.

There are local municipal governments who have adopted term limits, and in the City of Brookfield there is no term limit for the highest office of Mayor.

Every vote counts in the upcoming elections for federal, state and local offices on the ballot. Local government has made it easy and convenient to register and vote which is all they can do. It is the decision of the residents to take advantage of the most precious right in our great country.

A simple phone call or a visit to city hall is all that it takes to register and under certain circumstances to even vote by absentee ballot.

Before you vote be sure to be informed of the qualifications of the candidate of your choice, and not just rely on rumors or bogus information.

Your vote is the result of the honest efforts by candidates who seek public office and risk being targets of the press , the media and special interests.

Voter apathy is the most serious obstacle a candidate faces. Some people criticize candidates and demean their character and fail to vote.

Voting is the only way to participate in an election with the guarantee that you made a difference in the final outcome.

We cannot have a representative government unless the electors select the representatives.

Regardless of your partisan or personal beliefs please make it a high priority to vote.

BROOKFIELD NOW publishes municipal salaries for 2006, and for the City of Brookfield, one can only assume are now higher than the 2 years old survey.

A number of persons, excluding the police and fire departments, who work at city hall are very well paid.

Of course, these loyal employees are considered the elite of city government and their skills are judged by someone to be deserving.

At least 9 employees are paid over $90,000 annually and this amount presumably does not include fringe benefits which may not have been included in the survey, and should be revealed.

The salary figures probably do not include special allowance , if any, for transportation, gasoline, meals, conventions, meetings, social gatherings, golf outings, memberships, luncheons, dinners, and other expenses that the city determines are related to the job.

The survey only stated "job title", and omits job descriptions and accountability.

Based on the assumption that these salaries are set by city ordinance or some other methodology, it is fair to say that the city taxpayers have nothing to say.

Oversight seems to be absent as is some type of public venue to determine performance.

There must be more information made public because the public has the right to know.

After all, taxpayers foot the bills.

I remember as a youth the elders reminded us to "mind your manners". That's the way it was and that's the way it should be regardless of our situation.

Emily Post wrote the blue book of social usage entitled "ETIQUETTE". The original edition was copyright in 1922 and is preserved in the Library of Congress, Catalog number 55-7589.

Chapter 1, "The True Meaning of Etiquette", contains  quotes by Emily Post, such as "integrity includes not only honesty but a delicacy of motive and fairness in appraising the motives of others", and "loyalty means faithfulness not only to friends, but to principles".

The famous book consists of 54 Chapters , and in each one she writes about a different subject matter.

Chapter 4, "The Use of Names and Titles", has this statement: "First names used in public was in such bad form that even young women and men who had known each other all their lives and habitually called each other by their first names, spoke to each other as "Miss" or "Mister" when with strangers.

In Chapter 6, Ms. Post writes "don't chatter" and "don't pretend to know more than you do. To say you have read a book and then give evidence that you have understood nothing of what you have read, and "no person of real intelligence hesitates to say, I don't know".

There is a special section on how to address certain important persons and she instructs that an Instructor (teacher, professor), is properly addressed as MR. or DR. (may I add also, MRS. or MS.), if that would please Ms Post.

I am impressed with the manners of the young and adult persons in our community and am sure their manners would please Ms. Post, who says in her book, "graciousness and courtesy are never old-fashioned, though their expression does change."

In order to keep my readers better informed I am including information about traffic law changes in Wisconsin that have been recently amended or changed.

Effective July 1, 2008, these changes are related to how points are determined by DMV and how point reduction is applied. No changes are being made as to how points are assessed. (Trans. 101).

1. Completion of Point Reduction School may be used to reduce points assessed against a drivers license that has already been suspended.

These are existing traffic related laws to keep you better informed.

1. DMV does not maintain records of violations for ATV drunk driving, motorboat drunk driving and snowmobile drunk driving. DNR keeps records of those offenses.

2. Laws regulating operation of motor vehicles on a highway apply on sidewalks as well as on the roadway.

3. DMV runs a computer program twice a year to purge unneeded items from drivers records.

4. Administrative Suspensions must be purged if the underlying OWI is dismissed.

     (Source: Wis. DOT Office of General Counsel).

On another subject, a Municipal Court citation may under certain circumstances become a permanent law enforcement record, in a non-traffic case.

We have the Brewers, Badgers, Bucks, Packers, Golden Eagles,Waves, Admirals, Panthers and many more local sports teams to enjoy and support.

The greater Milwaukee area is darn lucky to have major league sports and big time college sports.

Then why does the local media emphasize crime rather than sports and human interest stories ?

Television news and weather are disturbing when more prime time is given to crime rather than sports and other positive happenings in our society.

Some attention is given to sports but the personal comments of the TV anchors are not needed as many of them never wore a uniform.

We as sports fans do not need sports announcers second guess the team owners, managers and coaches to form a learned opinion. We can do that ourselves.

The sports media has a long history of good accomplishments but we just don't care what they think about our beloved teams.

No to crime reports. Yes to sports reports.

Today, Thursday, I went to the game with my Chicago friends  who were delighted with their cubbies. And well they should be because the outcome was a total Cub victory in 4 games.

The Cubs have a very good team and and excellent manager who gets the most out of his players and relies on conventional baseball strategy to win.

 Conventional baseball strategy includes a bunt, a stolen base, a hit and run and a pinch hitter.

The Brewers have a young and talented team and a manager who relies on his players to play sandlot baseball and does nothing to help them score runs. Teams need to score runs and the home run is not always the answer.

The game started with a no brainer bunt situation for the Brewers but instead the manager called on a weak batter to hit away.

The result was a lost opportunity to take an early lead.

This kind of decision has been the hallmark of the Brewer manager all season.

He is afraid to make a decision and is reluctant to replace a player so he doesn't hurt his feelings.

Brewer management has to decide on having a leader or a friendly guy to manage our team to a championship.

Enough said, now lets play ball.

Today, Thursday, I went to the game with my Chicago friends  who were delighted with their cubbies. And well they should be because the outcome was a total Cub victory in 4 games.

The Cubs have a very good team and and excellent manager who gets the most out of his players and relies on conventional baseball strategy to win.

 Conventional baseball strategy includes a bunt, a stolen base, a hit and run and a pinch hitter.

The Brewers have a young and talented team and a manager who relies on his players to play sandlot baseball and does nothing to help them score runs. Teams need to score runs and the home run is not always the answer.

The game started with a no brainer bunt situation for the Brewers but instead the manager called on a weak batter to hit away.

The result was a lost opportunity to take an early lead.

This kind of decision has been the hallmark of the Brewer manager all season.

He is afraid to make a decision and is reluctant to replace a player so he doesn't hurt his feelings.

Brewer management has to decide on having a leader or a friendly guy to manage our team to a championship.

Enough said, now lets play ball.

Today, Thursday, I went to the game with my Chicago friends  who were delighted with their cubbies. And well they should be because the outcome was a total Cub victory in 4 games.

The Cubs have a very good team and and excellent manager who gets the most out of his players and relies on conventional baseball strategy to win.

 Conventional baseball strategy includes a bunt, a stolen base, a hit and run and a pinch hitter.

The Brewers have a young and talented team and a manager who relies on his players to play sandlot baseball and does nothing to help them score runs. Teams need to score runs and the home run is not always the answer.

The game started with a no brainer bunt situation for the Brewers but instead the manager called on a weak batter to hit away.

The result was a lost opportunity to take an early lead.

This kind of decision has been the hallmark of the Brewer manager all season.

He is afraid to make a decision and is reluctant to replace a player so he doesn't hurt his feelings.

Brewer management has to decide on having a leader or a friendly guy to manage our team to a championship.

Enough said, now lets play ball.

I have been a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers since they were a AAA team playing at Borchert Field at 8th and Chambers. I remember one game when then owner Bill Veek was greeting the fans at their seats and he came over and sat next to me and we chatted about the Brewers. It was a thrill and to think the owner asked me for my opinions. I was only 8.

The American Association Brewers had their icons such as Tedd Gullic, Charley Grimm, Ken Keltner, Joe Just, Hal Peck, Heinz Becker, Casey Stengel, Jackie Price(and his pet snake) and many others.

The Brewers then transformed to the Braves at County Stadium led by such greats as Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette, Johnny Logan, Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron.

The Braves moved to Atlanta and after a period of no baseball a new franchise was born, the Milwaukee Pilots, to become the new Milwaukee Brewers playing in the American League and now the National League.

Historically player trades have been made over the years, some of which led to championships.

For example, the Braves traded for Hall of Famer second baseman, Red Schoendinst. The Brewers acquired Hall of Fame pitchers, Don Sutton and Rollie Fingers.

Our present Brewers have traded for C.C. Sabathia and Ray Durham.

Time will only tell but during that time Brewer Fever is at a high pitch and fan support is needed.

The Brewer chances are better than good, thanks to a great owner and many talented players.

I will be at one of the Cub games with an old friend who is from Chicago and a Cub fan. What's better ?

This is my personal list of the movie films that I recommend for both entertainment and content value.

1. Casablanca. An insight into foreign policy during the World War II era.

2. Yankee Doodle Dandy. A biography of the famed songwriter and playright, George M. Cohan, during the World War I era.

3. Pride of the Yankees. The true story about, Lou Gehrig, a great athlete and person.

4. Gunga Din. Based on a poem by Rudyard Kipling, with superb acting about the British empire in India.

5. Gone With The Wind. A historical drama about the challenges during the Civil War.

6. Animal Crackers. The Marx Brothers at their zany best.

7. Tora Tora. The events leading up to World War II, and the attack of Pearl Harbor.

8. Citizen Kane. The rise and fall of a giant .

9. Inherit The Wind. Clarence Darrow portrayed as the lawyer who defended a teacher accused of teaching the theory of evolution.

10. Young Man With a Horn. Kirk Douglas is a very talented musician seeking fame and fortune.

I have always been a motion picture fan and have many other favorites.

Relax and see a movie.

The recent retirement buzz about Packer football hero, Brett Favre, reminds me that retirement is not easy.

For some people retirement is well planned and is very fulfulling and for other people retirement is not well planned and leaves a void in their life.

For Brett Favre, retirement had been on his agenda for some time and each time the subject came up he changed his mind.

But, this year he made it very clear to the national media and expressed his emotional inner feelings and made it final.

The Green Bay Packer front office completely relied on Brett's final decision and went ahead and drafted 2 talented college Quarterbacks. By naming Aaron Rodgers the starting signal caller it became time to move on.

Some Packer fans held out hope that their hero would somehow return, regain his old form, and lead the Packers to a Super Bowl championship.

Brett and his agent know what his contract says. Both are well aware that the Packers are moving on and do not want to repeat the agony of Bart Starr playing beyond his physical limitations.

I have been a Green Bay Packer fan since as a youth when my parents took me to State Fair Park, where I saw such greats as Don Hutson, Johnny Blood, Buckets Goldenberg, Arnie Herber and Cecil Isbell.

The odds are against Brett returning and winning the Super Bowl so let us move on with 3 talented quarterbacks and a very good team.

The Green Bay Packers are a team with a proud tradition that has a chance to challenge the contenders, even without Brett, and have the opportunity to once again become a dominant force.

Lou Gehrig , New York Yankee first baseman, in 17 seasons, had a lifetime slugging percentage of .632, a record 23 grand slam home runs and 4 home runs in one game. With an amazing lifetime batting average of .340 and his 493 lifetime home runs and 4 home runs in one game, he never reached the $80,000 annual salary of Babe Ruth.

Gehrig's top salary was $39,000 per season and he never negotiated, it is said, and never had an agent. Lou simply accepted what was offered and he was grateful for it.

Lou was not a natural baseball player, his first organized sport was football, but his never ending practice sessions made him the greatest first baseman in baseball history.

During his career the Yankees won the American League pennant and the World Series 3 times.

Lou played with colds, fevers, lumbago, concussions and fractured bones while setting his iron man records, and he had at least 5 more productive seasons left in him when tradegy struck home.

It was on May 2, 1939 when Lou told Yankee manager, Joe McCarthy,to take him out of the game because he could not help the team anymore. Lou, himself, conceded that his once super athletic body could not function anymore.

Later into that last game , alone in the dugout, he wept and the streak ended at 2,130 consecutive games.

The disease that paralyzed him was diagnosed as amyothropic lateral sclerosis, and he became the victim of the incurable disease with 2 years to live.

Lou Gehrig never considered himself a hero, but his records included 6 all star games and most valuable player 4 times, with an all time World Series batting average of .361 and 10 home runs in 7 World Series, more than enough to have him inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

In his farewell speech in Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939, before a capacity crowd, there was not a dry eye,when he said,"when you have a Father and a Mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body---it's a blessing. When you have a Wife who has been  a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed---that's the finest I know. So I close in sayting that I may have had a tough break but I have an awful lot to live for".

It all began while at Columbia University, N.Y., in 1923 a baseball scout saw him play and signed Lou to a contract with the New York Yankees with a bonus estimated at $500. Lou played in the minor leagues for part of that season when the Yankee parent team called him up to be their first baseman for an injured Wally Pipp. That was the start for Lou of what would lead to13 consecutive years and 2,130 consecutive games earning him the title of "Iron Man of Baseball".

Lou Gehrig was always a gentleman, very shy and quiet, and was nice to everyone. He was extremely patient with the kids who swarmed around him for his autograph, and was know to disappear at times only to be found coaching, umpiring or playing on a sandlot baseball field with some kids.

Later in life when the dreaded disease ravaged his powerful body he worked out to the limit of his endurance trying to continue his baseball career while his strength rapidly deteriorated.

During most of his days with the Yankees he was completely overshadowed by the compelling figure of George Herman Ruth, The Babe. It is said that Lou and Babe although they hit back to back in the lineup, Lou no.3 and Babe no. 4, were not good friends even though their team was winning championships and world series.

Then came the trade and virtual retirement of Babe Ruth and Lou was named Team Captain in a new era that saw Joe Dimaggio emerge and the "Bronx Bombers" were born. That team even made fans forget the infamous "Murderers Row" led by the one and only Babe Ruth.

Lou Gehrig was a poor boy who conquered life's handicaps, never thought of himself as someone special, was brave and gallient to the end when at age 38 his life was over. He never wore a hat, a vest or overcoat until his dutiful wife, Eleanor, insisted. He was not a drinker a troublemaker or a publicity seeker, and was devoted to his mother and his wife.

The Baseball statistics that led him to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. , were and some still are out of the reach of any player today.

His lifetime batting average of .340 over 17 years in todays market would certainly earn him more money than Lou could ever imagine. In 13 seasons Gehrig averaged 147 runs batted in a season, a fete that neither Aaron, Mantle or Mays never reached, even in one season.

My boyhood hero and my adult baseball hero has been and now is the great LOU GEHRIG.

As a youth I read the book "LOU GEHRIG, A QUIET HERO", by Author Frank Graham, and I saw the movie "Pride of the Yamlees".

My interest in Lou Gehrig became a burning desire to learn more and more about the "Iron Man of Baseball".

Over the years I have collected Lou Gehrig memorabillia and cherish my collection.

Henry Louis Gehrig was born in New York City on June 19,1903 and died on June 2, 1941 in Riverdale, New York. His playing height was 6' and weight was 200 lbs. He grew up the son of immigrant parents who could hardly make ends meet and after graduation from high school where he excelled in sports, he enrolled in Columbia University to study engineering.Instead of becoming an engineer as his devoted and hard working mother wanted, while at Columbia he was a success in football as a scholarship fullback. He went out for for the baseball team as a pitcher and first baseman and attracted the attention of sports fans and professional scouts.

His parents, Heinrich Gehrig and Christina Fack were not destined to become wealthy. His father was mostly out of work and not in good health, and his mother was his inspiration and his companion (at one time she traveled with the team and was the unofficial chef), and she was his best fan.

Lou married Eleanor Twitchel, a socialite from Chicago where he met her while playing there, and she became the love of his life and was with him at the end.                

It was on July 4, 1939 at Yankee Stadium where Lou made his famous speech on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day, when he said,"Some people will say I had a bad break but today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth". There are many other versions of that speech when Lou was forced to retire because of a then little known disease now called "Lou Gehrig Disease".