With first place in the National League Central at stake this week at Miller Park, the entire city of Milwaukee is buzzing over the Brewers' huge four-game series against the Cubs.

Mark Loretta hasn't lived in Milwaukee since selling his riverside condo six years ago, but he understands the excitement.

Loretta began his big-league career with the Brewers in the mid-1990s, just as Milwaukee's long-simmering stadium debate came to a head.

The eloquent infielder became an unofficial spokesman for players in the debate, even though he and many of his teammates privately doubted whether they would be around to play in a new ballpark.

Loretta was around when a tragic crane collapse killed three ironworkers in 1999, delaying the opening of the stadium by a year. When the Brewers played their final game at County Stadium on Sept. 28, 2000, Loretta was the starting shortstop. He got chills when Hall of Famer Robin Yount handed him the County Stadium flag during the post-game ceremony.

On April 6, 2001, Loretta helped greet President Bush at the inaugural game at Miller Park. With a month left in the 2002 season and the Brewers stumbling toward a franchise-record 106 losses, Loretta was traded to Houston in a deal that brought Wayne Franklin and Keith Ginter to Milwaukee.

After stints with San Diego and Boston, he's back with the Astros, who took two of three games from the Brewers this weekend. Houston's division title hopes faded weeks ago, but Loretta didn't mind talking about the ramifications of the Brewers-Cubs series.

"It's going to be exciting," he said. "It's definitely what they had in mind when they built this ballpark.

"The energy level this weekend was as good as I've ever seen it here. This building (Miller Park) can feel a little dead at times because of the way it looks and the roof and stuff. But, it has been awesome this weekend.

"Even with all the (Brett) Favre stuff going on, I know that is big, but this is huge, too. The Cubs series is going to be electric."

Although the Brewers didn't experience a lot of success during Loretta's tenure, which spanned from 1995-2002, he always thought of Milwaukee as a solid baseball town and is not surprised by the current outbreak of Brewer Fever.

"Just from talking to some of the guys who had been around in 1992, they said that was an exciting time," Loretta said. "And the guys who played in the early '80s always talked about how crazy it was back then.

"I always felt this was a great baseball town."

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