Welcome to Saturday Scorecard, where we love the pomp, ceremony and spirit of Opening Day but honor the diehards who filed into County Stadium for Game 2 and enjoyed their own personal seating section and vendor.

The notes runneth over today. Let's get to it...

Year of Weeks? Outside of beleaguered relievers Derrick Turnbow and Eric Gagne, Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks has been a lightning rod for fans who expected more given his draft position and obvious physical talents.

It's too early to say that Weeks has "flipped a switch," but his play in the team's thrilling 4-3 victory over the Cubs Friday at Miller Park should silence the critics for now.

Manager Ken Macha isn't complaining.

"What I've seen from rickie, he's played pretty well," Macha said. "He pretty much won the game. if that's taking some lighting, he can take a lot of that this year."

Gotta wear shades: The Brewers entered the ninth inning with three hits. Asked if the shadows/glare presented a problem, Ryan Braun did not hesitate.

"Miserable," he said. "This is definitely the worst place to hit in baseball for a 3 o'clock game. I think guys on both teams were really struggling, especially when you've got guys on the other team with good velocity. It definitely doesn't help, but they have to deal with it just like we do."

The Cubs had nine hits in the game, so they apparently struggled less.

In addition to squinting at the plate, Braun had to battle the sun in left field, which seemed to be one of the tougher spots on the diamond.

"The shades are difficult, especially at that time because the sun is right on you," he said. "Everybody kind of had trouble picking the ball up off the bat. As an outfielder, I waited to see an infielder react and took my first step and hoped I was headed in the right direction."

Location, location: The first thing you noticed in the Brewers clubhouse on Friday was that the locker assignments had changed. Former manager Ned Yost wanted his coaches to dress in the "general population," so that they could mix with the players.

Under Macha, the coaches have returned to their own private locker area across from their conference room and next to the managers office. The trainers, who had been using that room, now occupy the lockers just inside the door. The first locker, closest to the door, belongs to Bob Uecker.

Closer Trevor Hoffman, who is likely headed to the Hall of Fame, has his own corner near the hallway toward the shower. That space previously belonged to Billy Castro and Mike Maddux.

The "prime" locations belong to veterans like Hoffman, Craig Counsell and Jason Kendall.

Another subtle change: Unlike Yost, who would wait for questions, Macha likes to begin his post-game press conferences with an opening statement. When he walked into a silent media auditorium on Friday, Macha quipped: "Did some dignitary walk in?"

Fantasy Island: Brewers interim closer Carlos Villanueva is making some fantasy baseball owners happy. In two outings, Villanueva has recorded a save and a victory. He's retired all six batters he's faced, striking out three.

No complaints: The Brewers got home in the wee hours Friday morning, then had to scramble through the opening day traffic to get to work.

"I think it took me two hours to get to the park today," Corey Hart said. "I was playing catch up all day. I didn't get to eat. I didn't get to stretch and do the things I wanted to do. Obviously, I got here... That's just part of baseball, trying to overcome things."

Macha agreed.

"That's just part of this gig," Macha said. "When you are a professional baseball player, you play games at night and you travel and you get in late."

After playing Sunday night on ESPN, the Cubs return to Chicago and play their home opener at 1 p.m.

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Posted by Reader on April 11, 2009 at 8:09 a.m. (report)

Good stuff. Go Brewers!