I believe the third pro sports event I attended was Twins at Milwaukee in County Stadium. (The first two were Metrodome Twins games.) That was a pretty cool place. We sat in the upper deck, first base side. Roy Smalley hit a homerun. This might be the game. (Cripes, I attended a Blyleven CG and didn't know it? The score and month jives with my memory.) Anyways, the Twins won, and I think there was fireworks afterwards. The only outdoor MLB game I attended until I got to Yankee Stadium as a 27-year-old.
Since then, the Brewers have changed leagues and uniform designs (twice: once bad, once okay). One of these years, I'll have to get out there for one of these interleague games.
The Twins will face Chris Capuano, Dave Bush, and Claudio Vargas.
(Capuano '07, '06, '05; Bush '07, '06, '05; Vargas '07, '06, '05)
I don't know why Capuano didn't get a 2007 mugshot taken or why the team didn't use a previous picture. The new Bush disappoints me. Vargas is some proof that more facial hair is better. Even a thin connected beard is better than a goatee. None of the Brewers had a black underbill for his photo.
The two other starters are 2000 Olymic Champion Ben Sheets and 2006 MLB Champion and former Royal Jeff Suppan.
(Sheets '07, '06, '02; Suppan '07, '06)
Does Sheets look Like Kubel to anyone else? If anyone could find me a Royals-Suppan mugshot, I'd be much obliged.
Johnny Estrada does most of the catching, but former Twin Damian Miller gets about a quarter of the starts.
(Estrada '07, '06, '05; Miller '07, '06, '05)
I don't remember any "look" for Estrada when he was with the Braves, but he's definitely working on something cool here the past two years. I believe he even wears his socks high and uses real stirrups. How cool to have your backup catcher buy stadium naming rights. Should the Twins name the new ballpark "Redmond Stadium"? How about "Heinz Field"? Seeing any picture of Miller in a Twins uni would be cool, because I wasn't paying enough attention when he was on the team (1997).
Former and future Royal Tony Graffanino gets half of the Third Base duties. Pitcher Elmer Dessens was traded from the Royals on the same day as Tony was last year.
(Graffanino '07, '06-KCR, '06, '05, '04, '02; Dessens '07, '06)
Graffanino was claimed off waivers by the Royals from the BoSox right before the season started. He does not seem pleased this year.
The other regular third baseman is 2001 MLB Champion Craig Counsell.
(Counsell '07, '06, '05, '03)
Two former Twins are off the active Roster. Canuck Corey Koskie is on the DL. Aussie Grant Balfour is in AAA.
(Koskie '07, '05-MIL, '02, '01, '98; Balfour '07AAA, '07, '06, '04, '01)
That Koskie '98 (or whenever) is the oldest mugshot I have found so far. The '05 is an off-season photoshop from a Blue Jays original. I couldn't find the '03 or '04 Koskies. The AAA team that Balfour is pictured with is the Nashville Sound.
Two Hall-of-Famers sons are on the team, Tony Gwynn Jr and Prince Fielder. (Well, one HOFer and one just famous.) I have also included undated photos of their fathers, Tony Gwynn and Cecil Fielder, for comparison.
(Gwynn Jr '07, '06; Gwynn Sr; Fielder P '07, '06; Fielder C)
The Brewers should trade for more HOFers' sons. All I can think of is Houston minor-leaguer Koby Clemens.
Fun pictures of the bullpen: closer Francisco Cordero, former closer Derrick Turnbow; Brian Shouse, and Matt Wise.
(Cordero '07, '06, '99; Turnbow '07, '06, '05; Shouse '07, '06, '05; Wise '07, '06)
Turnbow has a great, sloppy look, like he just doesn't care, like he might cut his own hair. He's what I picture Sidd Finch might look like. Given his name, Shouse's '06 makes me think "Souse." I'm not a fan of the Amish goatee, and although I usually support more facial hair, Wise looks better this year.
To things I forgot to mention:
1. Thanks, SBG, for the new multiple-upload plugin. Makes this process a lot easier.
2. Notice Tony Gwynn's undershirt. "No Fear" and his number. No MLB or Padres logos.
Gwynn could never get away with that now, that's for sure.
How about Balfour? Smile, no smile, smile, no smile, smile. I'm betting no smile in 2008. Or maybe a smile for an MLB shot and a no smile for the AAA shot.
Even the missing 2002 and 2003 pics fit that pattern.
The Brewers should trade for more HOFers’ sons. All I can think of is Houston minor-leaguer Koby Clemens.
Off the top of my head, no minor leaguers jump to mind (Toby Gardenhire?), but you could field an outfield of Moises Alou, Ken Griffey Jr., and Barry Bonds. You could also add Tony Pena Jr. if you are avoiding the HOFers. Jerry Hairston Jr and his brother Scott had a father (Jerry Hairston) and a grandfather (Sam Hairston) who played in the bigs.
Former and future Royal Tony Graffanino gets half of the Third Base duties.
Ha. Nice. And probably true.
If a Brewer's player was looking to score some weed, I'd send him down to the bullpen...
Nice as always, Mak. Looks like your relievers photos and captions are shuffled, though (Shouse/Turnbow). Wonder why the Brewhas didn't benefit from the nice lighting that other '07 mugshots seem to have?
I carpooled for many years with a Shouse; believe they might be distant cousins.
Always loved the '05 Turnbow; what I pictured he'd look like in the headlights of an oncoming car. He needs to get together with fellow longfaces Jay Gibbons and John Buck for a family photo.
The ordering has been fixed, but I almost broke the inernets in the process there.
Learned something to keep that from happening in the future.
Nice as always,
MakAMR.The proper response to Nice as always, Mak was "Thanks, brianS".
uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
You were just a semi-randomly chosen person to whom gratitude is being misappropriated.
I'll take whatever kudos I can scrape up. Even if they aren't really mine.
Oh cr@p! Sure, AMR, you can fix your screw-ups, but mine stay out there for
posteriorposterity.As amended:
Even after accounting for the legitimate stars (Bonds, Griffey Jr, Alou) and young kids (Fielder, Gywnn) mentioned already, you can still put together a halfway decent starting lineup and bench. Well, one that could beat the Nationals, anyway:
Lineup
2b - Robinson Canó
SS - Bobby Crosby
RF - Nick Swisher
LF - Chris Duncan
CF - Gary Matthews, Jr.
1b - Adam LaRoche
DH - Daryle Ward
rC - Jason Kendall
3b - Andy LaRoche
Bench
IF - Scott Spiezio
2b - Josh Barfield
3b - David Bell
OF - José Cruz, Jr.
bC - Sandy Alomar, Jr.
The rotation and bullpen are both severely undermanned and underwhelming, though:
Rotation
SP - Tony Armas, Jr
SP - Brian Bannister
SP - Jaret Wright
SP - Darren Oliver
Bullpen
RP - Justin Speier
Terry Francona (son of Tito) is the manager, naturally.
Nice dig, C-Hayes! (both the research and the Nats swipe.)
that Koskos '05 looks like they photoshopped a hat on top of a real mugshot. Yikes.
Yeah, that '05 Koskie baby needs treatment for jaundice.