Welcome to Saturday Scorecard. We'll keep things brief so that everyone can hurry to the nearest Taco Bell to get ready for Wednesday's taco giveaway:
I Don't Know's on third: Major League Baseball frowns on clubs making major announcements during the World Series.
Hiring a third base coach hardly constitutes a major announcement.
But, the Brewers need to fill the spot left vacant when Nick Leyva was punted after the season. Leya certainly wasn't at fault for the team's failure to win the division. When he was dismissed, the conventional wisdom held that the Brewers were going to promote Frank Kremblas to fill the spot.
That made sense.
Kremblas has had success as manager with Class AAA Nashville and has a history / rapport with young players like J.J. Hardy, Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, Corey Hart and Ryan Braun. A lot of fans, disappointed with manager Ned Yost's performance, consider Kremblas as a possible successor. That aside, bringing Kremblas to the big-league staff would allow the Brewers to promote manager Don Money from Huntsville, where he has done an outstanding job with the Class AA club, to Nashville.
Everybody wins, right?
Not so fast.
There has some been speculation in some circles that Money is being considered for the big-league job ahead of Kremblas. Earlier this week, a well-placed source told us to keep an eye on an outside candidate. The source indicated that the Brewers valued National League experience and that candidate in question had strong ties to general manager Doug Melvin.
That leads us to think that Jerry Narron, who was fired as manager of the Reds on July 1, could end up coaching third for Milwaukee next season. Narron coached and managed under Melvin in Texas.
If Narron doesn't get the gig, it's possible that the Brewers will go outside the organization for this hire, then give Kremblas and Money salary raises in order to maintain the strong production at the upper levels of the system.
Quick studies: Marquette coach Tom Crean addressed a group of fans recently in Chicago and pointed out that the team's talented trio of juniors -- Dominic James, Wes Matthews and Jerel McNeal - all expect to graduate after the summer following their junior seasons.
That just might be more impressive as Marquette's lofty pre-season ranking. The Golden Eagles are highly regarded in the Big East and they're going to generate some heat with their Dwyane Wade line of Converse shoes and clothing as well. Word is that they'll unveil a retro jersey that could become an instant hit.
Separated at birth? We haven't had much use for those "look-a-like" things since we noticed Brewers draft pick Geoff Jenkins' resemblance to Brett Favre back in 1995. It's our duty to point out that Crean resembles Newsday football writer / ESPN commentator Bob Glauber, whose brother, Bill, is a reporter for the Journal Sentinel.
A true friend: The Capital Times ran a terrific story on Badgers football player Ben Strickland, who gave up his scholarship for friend and teammate Steve Johnson.
Catching on? The Brewers have struggled to develop quality catching prospects, but Adam McCalvy of brewers.com reports that a few are doing well this fall.
Bowl-o-rama: For the second time in three years, Miller Park is the site for the United States Bowling Congress Masters tournament finals on Sunday. Four lanes were installed along the right-field line.
"Bowlfest," an exhibition that will run from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, will precede the event.
Bucking the odds? We won't make an official Bucks prediction until Wednesday, but we're leaning toward a 42-40 regular season and a No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Star power: Look for Deanna Favre to appear in the opening montage of "Monday Night Football." The wife of the Packers quarterback is creating a lot of attention for breast cancer during her promotional tour for her memoir "Don't Bet Against Me."
A Rock and a hard place: We are very comfortable with our World Series prediction -- Red Sox in five. Colorado got hosed by having to wait a week after sweeping the NLCS.
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
