The Brewers plan to expand their Fan Appreciation Weekend to show their appreciation for firefighters and police officers in the community, and those in New York and Washington D.C. who have shown such courage since the Sept. 11 tragedy.
Commissioner Bud Selig will address the crowd Friday night in a pre-game ceremony that will include plenty of patriotism and togetherness.
Similar ceremonies have been held around baseball this week. Friday's game will be the first at Miller Park since the tragic day.
Ben Sheets, who pitched the U.S.A. to the Olympic Gold Medal last September, will start on the mound, in his first start since coming off the disabled list with shoulder problems. You couldn't find more of a red, white and blue guy to be the starter.
The Fan Appreciation activities will continue Saturday with trips, prizes and even cash awards given away to lucky fans.
There will be increased security at Miller Park. Fans should expect to get any bags checked. You probably would be better off leaving backpacks and other larger bags at home.
The Brewers are asking fans to arrive early so they can be in their seats for the pre-game ceremony on Friday.
A Class Guy
The Brewers said an official goodbye to ticket manager Bob Voight with a reception Thursday night. Voight is moving to San Diego to be a beach bum for a while until what he decides he should do now that he has grown up.
Seriously, Voight has always been an upbeat, great guy and a class act. I first got to know him when he coached high school basketball and was the head coach at UWM. He also served as an assistant coach under Rick Majerus at Marquette.
Bob then managed to switch sports and get into baseball. His promotions and hard work had a lot to do with the Brewers expected 2.8 million in attendance this season.
In his parting speech, Voight talked fondly of the late Al McGuire, the Brewers organization and Milwaukee. Bob always has been a half full, rather than a half empty kind of guy. In his case, it pertained to attendance at a stadium rather than a glass.
Good luck, Bob. You made a big contribution to the sports scene in Milwaukee.
Player of the Week
Rookie Ruben Quevedo lost this week, but once again pitched very decent baseball. In seven outings, the righthander has not given up more than three runs in any one performance.
Play of the Week
Jamey Wright grooved one to the Cardinals' Albert Pujols in the third inning Tuesday night and the result was a three-run homer that put the Brewers hopelessly behind at 6-1.
Goat of the Week
Wright, who gave up six runs on five hits in three innings and now has a 1-7 record since the All Star break.
Review and Preview
The Brewers were swept by the Cardinals and really weren't even competitive. Sheets will be limited to 60-70 pitches Friday night, but it will be good to see the rookie All Star on the mound again.
Fan Appreciation Weekend is always fun, even though it won't be the last weekend of baseball at Miller Park. The games rescheduled because of the terrorist attack will be played Oct. 2-7 at the park.
Gregg Hoffmann writes The Brew Crew Review column on Mondays and Fridays and maintains a special Brewers' news and message board on OMC.
