Dear Ken Macha
True Stories (52-53)
When there's no good news to write, Ken, sometimes you've got to make it up.
Aug 3rd, 2009 by Rob Vosters
A Bitter Pill To Swallow (49-49)
You may not want to hear it, Ken, but it's time to temper fans' trade expectations. And maybe your playoff chances.
Jul 26th, 2009 by Rob Vosters
Restless Trade Syndrome (47-45)
There's more trading-deadline hysteria as the Brewers finally make a move. Plus, Prince Fielder shows his true colors and Frank Catalanotto's battle for the rights to an ironically bad 80's song.
Jul 19th, 2009 by Rob Vosters
It’s All Downhill From Here (45-43)
As we cross the official mid-point of the season, let's stop and congratulate a few of the most-deserving Brewers from the first half of the season. Join me, Ken, in the first-and-potentially-last-ever presentation of the Dear Ken Macha Mid Season Awards.
Jul 12th, 2009 by Rob Vosters
Respect Your Elder
Writers and sports radio hosts spend so much time speculating on who the Brewers should trade for, who should be benched and who isn't performing right. Yet when their opinions are confirmed in a moment of extreme candor it's such a shock to their sensibilities that it suddenly becomes more than a statement of truth -- it becomes a flagrant act of disrespecting your elders. The media-created outcry over the comments even prompted your boss, Doug Melvin, into the fray, which only fueled the fire. Yet, surprisingly, his comments, which actually could be taken as disrespectful and patronizing (“I’ll be glad to have Ryan help if he wants to. I’ll give him a badge and he can be my deputy.") were accepted without sparking another round of the bogus flamewar.
Jul 8th, 2009 by Rob Vosters
Bummerfest! (40-35)
The slightly greasy aroma of fried foods; the muffled rumble of motorcycles and fireworks echoing in the night; the same interchangeable headliners year after year. Do you know what all this means? It's Summerfest, Ken -- can you feel the excitement? You may not realize it, Ken, but the musical acts at Summerfest have a lot in common with your players. Let's examine a few of those happy and not-so-happy similarities...
Jun 29th, 2009 by Rob Vosters
Help Wanted (37-32)
Even with our very own C+C Hit Factory -- Counsell and Casey McGehee -- continuing their gritty ways, the lack of production from the lower half of the order has put you in a pickle, Ken. Do you look to add another bat to the lineup or do you focus on quality starting pitching, hoping it provides just enough momentum to propel the Brewers into the playoffs? In order to help you help us, Ken, I've compiled a quick summary of the potential players Doug Melvin refuses to acknowledge the Brewers are considering.
Jun 21st, 2009 by Rob Vosters
Little Chicago (34-29)
As more than half of the Sunday crowd stood up and cheered for Mark Buerhle after he hit his first home run since high school, I saw the cliche'd writing on the wall: Milwaukee is destined to become a defacto territory of Chicago. It's really not that bad, Ken. Yes, it's going to take some adjustment, but why fight that which we cannot control.
Jun 14th, 2009 by Rob Vosters
Greater Expectations (33-24)
Standing just a few games past the one-third mark of the season, weeks like the past one that will begin to frustrate fans exponentially more as the calendar turns toward September. No matter how common they are during the season, they're the equivalent of abandoned swimming pools for mosquitos, breeding nothing but rampant speculation and trade rumors.
Jun 9th, 2009 by Rob Vosters
Red, Red Whine (30-20)
Certain rivals have been whining an awfully lot lately about the Brewer's winning ways. This week's letter to Ken Macha congratulates him on his managerial acumen in getting under other team's skins and for helping fans save money when getting girl drink drunk.
Jun 1st, 2009 by Rob Vosters
When It Rains, It Pours (27-18)
Dear Ken Macha, Since I last wrote to you, Ken, there’s been a bit of a cloud hanging over the team. First, Rickie Weeks’ wrist injury sidelined our perpetually on the brink — and finally turning the corner — second basemen for the rest of the season, dealing a significant blow to our offense. Then, J.J. Hardy became a prime candidate for a backiotomy. All of a sudden, the marginal reserve players that you thought would be sharing the bench with you all summer long are actually needed in the field, leaving you all alone with Willie Randolph and your handy Palm Pilot 1000. To top it all off, Doug Melvin traded away our beloved Tony Gwynn, Jr. for an outfielder named Jody. It was unfortunate that this wave of injuries occured during a particularly rough road trip through St. Louis, Houston and Minnesota. What started out so promising in St. Louis slowly devolved into an exercise of extreme torment in the TerrorMetrodome. If it’s any consolation, Ken, the Twins scored 20 runs against the White Sox the day before the Crew served up 11 to them. Considering Twins’ phenom Joe Mauer is making Ryan Braun’s hot streak from a few weeks ago look mediocre in comparison, holding them to 6 runs the next two games surely was a moral victory if there ever was one. Nonetheless, you were swept in particularly ugly fashion. Fortunately, the week that was did provide a few rays of sunshine. Mat Gamel was recently called up from Nashville and in his first start provided an impressive 3-run home run and made an amazing play at third. Sure, he followed up that play by making an error on a more routine ground ball, living up to his legend as the second coming of Ryan Braun. Even though he cooled off a bit during the Twins series, his presence on the team gives the Miller Park sound crew a reason to play “Camel Walk” every time he walks. In fact, there hasn’t been a more appropriately related song for a player since the little known “Rixey Jig,” named for Cincinnati Red’s pitcher Eppa Rixey’s provocative (for the 1920’s) strikeout dance*. Yovanni Gallardo also provided a ray of sunshine for your already nicely tanned face. After a very un-Yovanni like outing in Houston, Gallardo once again looked sharp in a Memorial Day pitcher’s duel against the Cardinals, leading to this letter’s deep thought (Ken, imagine The Wonder Years’ Daniel Stern is reading the following): Perhaps the most concerning aspect of the recent losing streak was the poor performance of our usually potent pitchers. Two thirds (10) of the team’s victories (15) in May have been in games where our pitching allowed 3 runs or fewer. This takes pressure off the offense, which tends to push too hard when it’s behind early in games. While it’s unreasonable to assume we’re always going to get a quality start from our starting pitchers, it’s important to realize how beneficial our pitching […]
May 25th, 2009 by Rob Vosters
Ransom! (23-14)
Superb job, Ken! The number of losses in the subject line of this letter hasn't changed from 14 all week. That's quite the impressive fact considering the Pirates were the only team you'd swept until the Marlins came to town.
May 18th, 2009 by Rob Vosters
