What Would Ron Do ...

The Brewers deserved to win last tonight's game - up until the 11th. Heck - with the Reds SS dropping an easy pop-up and a HBP - we really should have just won.

But they blew it - and deserved too.

The Brewers just didn't seem to hustle. Games like last night make the rest of the world's assessment seem true (the rest of the world says the Brewers are just the best of the crappy teams).

All those years the Twins made the play-off with a strategy like ours ... except they hustled. Ron Gardenhire would let 'em have it if they didn't. In public - on the bus - in their hotel room.

Back to the game ...

11th inning

JJ Hardy hits a routine pop up behind 2nd base - DROPPED by the Reds. JJ gets first - but looking at the replay: had he been hustling: he gets 2nd.

Next play - he scores on Braun's single. Instead he only got 2nd.

11th inning again ...

Johnny Estrada doesn't hustle down the line - and the Reds turn the 1-2-3 double play (pitcher, to home plate to first base). If he had hustled and beat the throw - the bases would have been loaded when Jenkins got HBP in the next at-bat. Again we would have scored.

We're not the Twins of the past few years ... they hustled or Ron Gardenhire kicked their butts. Ned needs to embarrass one of these loafers like Billy Martin did to Reggie Jackson back in '77.

If he won't do it - I sure hope a veteran like Damian Miller steps up.

Saturday Morning Quarterback

I buy officially licensed MLB clothing.

I see the banner ads behind the batter.

In other words - I have paid my freight as a baseball fan and deserve to do some arm-chair quarterbacking (is there a baseball metaphor as good as this one? I cannot think of one).

Carlos Villaneuva walks three batters in a row with 2 outs to load the bases. They weren't close 3-2 counts that ended up as walks. There was something like 5 or 6 balls in a row.

He was in trouble. He was left-in.

Why? This isn't triple A Milwaukee baseball anymore. The Cubs won. We needed to win to keep our 3.5 game lead. We have an 8 game road trip ahead (including a double-header).

I wanna hear Ned say YEAH, We're in a pennant race and I'm watching the scoreboard.

Why?

Because it's the truth. It better be ... otherwise leaving Villaneuva in was resorting back to last year's "let them develop" mentality.

If we don't make the play-offs by a game ... remember Friday 7-20-07.

Bonus Coverage

Before I sleep on tonight's Brewers loss and get mad (I'm too tired to be mad right now) ...

Derrik Turnbow versus Barry Bonds was cool.

It's too bad it had to be with a 'couple of ducks on the pond" ...

But a 99 mph fastball did the trick.

Okay - Ryan's Klesko's RBI single down the right-field line that immediately followed sucked.

But it will be the Bonds at-bat everyone is looking at tomorrow.

** 4 walks given up by Milwaukee pitching scored. I am going to be in a bad mood tomorrow.

Behind The Music

Kudo's to the Plain White T's - there really is a Delilah. Great "behind the music" story. Double click on the picture to make it large enough to read.

First Half Report Card Time

Here we go with the rest of the season for the crew. Technically they are past the half-way point, but today begins the 2nd half ... kind of they way Memorial Day begins summer. Here is my assessment of each moving part of the puzzle:

FIRST BASE: A+

We could not ask anything more of Prince. MVP in the clubhouse, the field, the team and so for the National League. Thank goodness for "Billyball" or Prince would be an Oakland Athletic.

SECOND BASE: D+

This is Ricke Weeks spot and he has been a disappointment. He defense got better (but not kudo's for fielding your position like an average big leaguer), but his batting average is atrocious and he seems to be this year's rally killer. When he is up when we need a hit - it's not there. The only reason I gave the position a + is that when Tony Graffinino or Craig Counsell is playing that position - they seem to shine: Only when playing that position.

SHORT STOP: A

JJ Hardy is having a career year - ALREADY! He's great with the glove and clutch hit. I also like the way he works pitchers (ala the All Star Game).

THIRD BASE: A-

The minus is only for the first month when Counsell and Graffinino were splitting time. That would have been a D for sure. But Braun may turn out to be the MVP for the Crew this year. Considering he's a rookie and was thrown right into the 3 hole - he gets my highest grade: The Ralphie A++++.

LEFT FIELD: B-

Jenkins is his typical hot and cold. He's not a drag on the team batting 7th - leave him there. Mench never saw a pitch he didn't like to swing at! I would give Mench a B and Jenkins a C, so let's settle on B-.

CENTER FIELD: B-

This one pains me - because Bill Hall is my favorite Brewer. I think he could be a franchise player. I think he would be the first to say the whole moving to center field thing is no excuse for a drop-off at the plate. If we didn't compare him to last year - we would be a whole lot happier. But we have too. We need Billy to either hit more dingers - or make more contact. A home run drought combined with a lot of K's really hurts. I sure love the effort he gives in the field.

RIGHT FIELD: A

Corey Hart rules! I still with we could play "Sunglasses At Night" when he comes to bat! He hits, runs and fields like a lead-off guy. He just doesn't look like one. Looks can be deceiving. I get the feeling he may be one of the smartest players on the squad too (again - deceiving looks). He just has great instincts.

CATCHER: A-

Johnny Estrada is a big streaky - and that is the only reason for the minus. He's an amazing asset for the Crew behind the plate and Damian Miller may be the best back-up catcher in the league. What a HUGE difference from the Henry Blanco, Chad Moller days.

BENCH: B+

Tony Gwynn Jr. may be my second favorite Brewer. I want more Gwynn more often! I'd give him an A for his .300 + average as a non starter and amazing talent in center field. I like Gabe Gross - but only as a pinch hitter. Graffinino and Counsell are okay as subs.

STARTING PITCHING: B+

Sheet is finally having his career year. Soup has been a disappointment - but still a solid # 3 guy in the National League. It's Cappy that's gotta have a spectacular 2nd half to get this number up.

BULL PEN: A-

Coco looks tired - and I hope Ned didn't over use him: but we have to expect he will still be as effective. Turnbow has gotten rid of (or at least quieted) those voices in his head. Shouse is a good one man choice - and Matt Wise is sort of like old reliable.

Are You A Jerk At Work?

Fun little quiz - unless you fail ...

Answer each one of these questions true or false. . . and give yourself one point for every time you answer "true".

*#1.)* You feel surrounded by incompetent idiots. . . and you let them know the truth every once in a while.

*#2.)* You were a nice person until you started working with the current bunch of jerks.

*#3.)* You don't trust people around you, and they don't trust you.

*#4.)* You see your coworkers as competitors.

*#5.)* You believe that one of the best ways to "climb the ladder" is to push other people down or out of the way.

*#6.)* You secretly enjoy watching other people suffer and squirm.

*#7.)* You're jealous of your colleagues and find it's hard to be genuinely happy for them when they do well.

*#8.)* You have a small list of close friends and a long list of enemies. . . and you're equally proud of both lists.

*#9.) *Sometimes, you just can't hide your contempt toward the losers at work.

*#10.)* You find it's useful to glare at, insult, or even, sometimes, yell at some of the idiots at work. . . otherwise, they never seem to shape up.

*#11.)* You take credit for your team's accomplishments. . . I mean, you should, they'd be nowhere without you.

*#12.)* You like lobbing "innocent" comments into meetings that have no purpose. . . other than to make the person on the receiving end humiliated or uncomfortable.

*#13.)* You're quick to point out other people's mistakes.

*#14.)* You don't make mistakes. . . when something goes wrong, you always find some idiot to blame.

*#15.)* You constantly interrupt people because what you have to say is more important.

*#16.)* You're constantly buttering up your boss and other powerful people, and you expect the same treatment from the people you manage.

*#17.)* Your jokes and teasing can get nasty sometimes. . . but you have to admit, they're pretty funny.

*#18.)* You love your team, they love you. . . but you're all constantly at war with the rest of the company. You treat everyone else badly because, if they're not on your team, they don't matter or they're the enemy.

*#19.)* People seem to avoid eye contact when they talk to you, and they often become very nervous.

*#20.)* You have the feeling that people are always very careful about what they say around you.

*#21.)* People keep responding to your e-mails with hostile reactions, which often escalate into LOTS of angry e-mails back and forth.

*#22.)* People don't want to tell you personal information.

*#23.)* People seem to stop having fun when you show up.

FIGURE OUT YOUR SCORE:

21-23 POINTS (answered "true" to 21 to 23 questions): You are DEFINITELY a jerk at work. It's time to take a big step back.

15-20 POINTS: You are PROBABLY a jerk at work. Think about how you're treating people, and try to calm down.

10-14 POINTS: You MAY BE a jerk. Sometimes you are. . . it's erratic.

5-9 POINTS: You AREN'T a jerk...but occasionally you have mood swings or snap at people.

0-4 POINTS: You are NOT a jerk. You're probably beloved around the office, and around any place you've ever worked

I watched some of the LIVE EARTH show over the weekend and enjoyed many of the performances. But I hear how many people have a negative feelings toward the whole show. To me it's just music - but I totally understand the hypocrisy.

To me, what celebrities think is irrelevant - just as irrelevant as whether they like Hillary or Obama. Or which 90210 kid was seen at the national convention.

What are real folks wondering when Bo Jovi's on stage for Live Earth?

They're wondering how many of this weekend's performer's flew commercial airlines to the event? When was the last time any of them checked a bag? They answer is very few ... and not for a long time.

They see all of the dazzling lights and wonder how many kilowatts it's all eating up?

They read in Salon about edicts saying that limo's were to be hidden - so bloggers couldn't publish pictures.

But it wasn't always this way.

At first, we all were stunned and impressed with Michael Jackson's "USA For Africa. Mellencamp blew us away with his farm-aid. You could see the man's passion - those were HIS people he was helping. It was personal.

But since Farm-Aid #1, there hasn't been a single "cause" concert that captured the public's imagination. I don't know if we're all that smarter. But we are not surprised that Akon had to be educated on what being "green" means ... or that Sting flew in a private jet.

Do you realize how much waste would be saved if the entire CD manufacturing process was scrapped for digital downloads?

Less waste. Less profit for Sheryl Crow (CD's are HUGE mark-up items)

No wonder so many musicians like politics - they make great bedfellows!

In my household, we are as green as we can be. Not because some hypocrite who just flew home in a private jet encouraged us to be ... but because we care about our kids future.

We always check our bags too. No use in cramming stuff in the over-head bins - right?

Mr. Fielder Goes To Washington

After the disasterous trip to Pittsburgh, the Crew needs a big weekend in DC. We need some good 'mojo' going into the break - remember what has happenened the past 3 years after the break?

BTW: Ripping things off in sports is not big deal. The Braves ripped off the "chop" from Florida State. The Nat's ripped off our sausage race with the racing presidents.

I gotta tell you - I think this one is awesome: I laugh every time I see it.

The racing sausages have the heritage and are the standard for mascot racing. But the Nat's get kudo's here for taking an idea and making it fit their city and fan base.

What's In A Label?

I had to post this e-mail exchange with a listener - that was more like an IM session:

Dear Mr. Walker - I read today WKTI switched to Top 40. When did you do that?

Dear Kelly - We flipped to Top 40 in 1974.

Dear Mr. Walker - Why would someone say you flipped to Top 40 if you didn't?

Dear Kelly - You'll really have to ask them.

Dear Mr. Walker - It was another station quoted in the newspaper.

Dear Kelly - Again, you'll have to ask the other station.

Dear Mr. Walker - Did the newspaper ask you?

Dear Kelly - No - and please call me Bob.

Dear Bob - I am a media student and this has all peeked my interest. Sorry to be a pest, but I am trying to understand why the paper would say you flipped to Top 40 without even calling to ask you.

Dear Kelly - Again, you will have to ask them. If you want to check for yourself, check with the magazines that cover radio. We have always been a top 40 station for adults. What changes is the music that qualifies as top 40. This is nothing new. When WKTI began playing REO Speedwagon and Journey, there were people who screamed "That's Rock!". When we started playing big top 40 hits like Let the Music Play and Like A Virgin, there were those who screamed "You've flipped to Dance!" In the 90's when we started playing Spin Doctors and Third Eye Blind, there were those who screamed we had flipped alternative.

With today's blend of hits coming from a variety of artists like Rob Thomas, Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, and Gym Class Heroes - the best common label is top 40. There is just such a great variety of sounds for us to play.

BTW: If you did check Billboard or R&R (Radio and Records), you will see they classify our play-list as Hot Adult Contemporary.

I like Top 40 better.

Thank you for taking the time to claify this all - Kelly.

John Tesh on 'KTI

The first time I heard the John Tesh Radio Show, I was on vacation in Colorado. My wife and I were listening in the car. We got to our destination - and waited in the car. John was talking about bad investments that amateurs make - because they just seem to make sense. We wanted to wait and see how many we had made (fortunately - only one).

The next break, he talked about how to order a steak in a restaurant to make sure you get the best cut.

Later in the show, he talked about helping your kids through the loss of a family pet.

When I got home, I began listening more and more to the show on-line. I think John may be one of the most compelling people on the radio and we are thrilled to be adding him to the line-up at 'KTI. He will be on Sunday - Friday nights from 7 until midnight, with the Retro Pop Reunion moving to Saturday night at 8.

You probably have never heard the show and may have the initial reaction I did - John's a new age guy who plays jazz. He may be - but now on his show.

The John Tesh show is all about bettering yourself. John has a huge staff of researchers and writers and he only chooses to talk about the facts that he personally finds interesting.

As for music, we play our own music - so everything stays the same there.

The show is slugged as "music and intelligence for your life," and it starts tonight @ 7.

New Rule

If you've ever seen Bill Mahr's show on HBO, you know he does a very funny segment called "New Rules." He is making up rules he would like to see in society as absolute.

I've got one for the Brewers this season:

NEW RULE

If Derrik Turnbow issues a lead-off walk - take him out immediately. He doesn't have it.

Maybe it's working out of the stretch ...

Maybe it's the runner distracting him off first ...

Maybe it's the voices in his head ...

That lead off walk usually scores. Often, it's a game altering run like today against the Royals.

The Mystery Of The Missing Mast

From the mailbag at wkti.com:

I have been to several of your live events and seen your broadcast van. Why is the mast never up when you are broadcasting?

Great question! Our van will be the last one we ever own with a tall mast that can be raised to beam a signal back to the station.

We no longer need to send our signal back to Radio City on a two-way radio. We use a digital phone line called an ISDN line. If you come to our mobile studio's at Summerfest, State Fair, or any of the other big events this summer - you won't see the mast up. We don't even have to bring the van - we can bring one of the other vehicles. Our on-site control board feeds the signal from the microphones right into the ISDN line.

An ISDN line has to be specially ordered and installed at the location. Back at Radio City, we use a special ISDN digital modem to dial the number - just like you would dial your home phone. With a modem at each end, the digital signal goes live and is excellent broadcast quality. ISDN broadcasting can be on the expensive side - but we think the quality is worth it.

You are probably familiar with the work of ISDN even if you have never heard one of our live broadcasts. Most sports teams use the same technology to send the game back to the flagship station when the team is on the road.

Our ISDN set-up allows the people on location at Summerfest, State Fair, etc to communicate with the producer back in the control room. It's pretty cool!

The Guys in The Truck RULE!

Don't ever underestimate the value of a great producer.

While on vacation I caught the Cubs-Padres game on WGN-TV. Before the end of the inning with Derrik Lee going after Chris Young - they had a graphic up on the screen showing each of the players and their reach. It was great because it was immediately obvious that Young was going to kick his butt. Derrik underestimated his opponent's reach.

Man - that is superior producing. Kudo's to the Superstation.

Was It True Genius?

I am on vacation right now, but had to post this Sopranos e-mail forwarded to me by a friend. I admit, I watched the episode on the DVR after midnight as I had been out all weekend long. I was tired and having trouble following it.

So the point would have been that life continues and we may never know the end of the Sopranos. But if you pay attention to the history, you will find that all the answers lie in the characters in the restaurant. So here is what has been found out.

The guy at the bar is also credited as Nikki Leotardo. The same actor played him in the first part of season 6 during a brief sit down concerning the future of Vito. That wasn't that long ago. Apparently, he is the nephew of Phil. Phil's brother Nikki Senior was killed in 1976 in a car accident. Absolutely Genius!!!!

David Chase is truly rewarding the true fans who pay attention to detail.

The trucker was the brother of the guy who was robbed by Christopher in Season 2. Remember the DVD players? The trucker had to identify the body.

The cub scouts were in the train store.

The black guys at the end were the ones who tried to kill Tony and only clipped him in the ear.

Here's where the genius comes in: When Tony's walking in the diner, you see the camera focus on him, then it switches to his perspective, and you see him looking at the booth he's gonna sit at ... Then the camera switches back to Tony's face, then it once again switches to his perspective, and it shows him looking at the door and looking at the people come in.....

Every time the door opens the Chimes sound.......

Carmela walks in, Chimes, AJ walks in, Chimes, this while Meadows tries to parallel park, still trying to get inside the restaurant....

At this point the camera switches back to the trucker who goes in the bathroom......

Then it goes to a scene where Meadow finally parks and starts running in the diner....

The doors about to open, Tony looks up....

And No Chimes......................

No Music............

Everything just goes black...............

In one of the early episodes of the Sopranos, Tony's talking with Bobby about what it must feel like to die. Bobby says "at the end, you probably don't hear anything, everything just goes black"Part of that was revisited in the second to last episode during the last seconds of it, when Tony's about to go to sleep and he flashes back to the memory of him and Bobby on the boat ... "You probably don't hear anything everything just goes black"

So in the end, the Journey song was playing, the chimes on the door sounded but when Meadow came in, the guy in the trucker hat came out and killed Tony.

It's the reason you don't hear, or see anything when he died....

It was from his perspective.... and everything went black, then the credits rolled.

True Genius.

Okay - but I heard chimes when Meadow walked in ... did you? Unless the author was talking about a chime when the door opens ... and a chime when it closes. There was only one short chime - then fade to black.

Picture Day!

Yesterday was PICTURE DAY at Radio City for Mathew, Erin and AJ. You'll see the final product soon enough. Here is what my camera phone caught behind the scenes ...

First -up: Mathew gets made up (and finds it surprisingly fun)

Didn't AJ say men should never wear make-up? I had to wait until his eyes were closed to shoot this one ...


Mathew's not really a control freak ... but he did have to control the make-up session.

Gettin' all girly ...

Now ... who will stand where?

Now the colors coordinate ... and we're ready:

What a handsome bunch.

Thanks!

Thanks for all of your e-mail regarding the last post. I honestly didn't think many people read these blogs. But we are booked for the rest of the month and well into July.

Can't wait to have you all meet Mathew, Erin and AJ. Thanks again!

Do we need tour jackets?

Somehow I figured once we got Mathew, Erin and AJ in place, things would get back to normal - meaning I could get back into a routine. Well that hasn't happened yet.

So many people have written in to welcome the new show that we decided to reciprocate your well wishes in person. It started yesterday, and we're pretty much booked all this month bringing lunch and/or snacks to people who have called or written. Yesterday we made the rounds at a Miller's H.Q. - they could not have been more welcoming, setting up Mathew, Erin and AJ with all the Miller swag they could want (and some cool Miller retro Brewers hats).

We still have a couple of open days this month. If you would like to meet and welcome the new team, e-mail me at bwalker@wkti.com.


Also - thanks to Vince Vitrano from TMJ-4 for writing about his experience with our new show:

http://www.todaystmj4.com/bloggers/vitrano/7785906.html

No Hope

When was the last time you saw something so ulgy ...

So disturbing ...

The image lingers in your mind for days ...

I'm still not over it.

On Sunday I was pulling into a Wal-Mart parking lot following a car full of people (looked like at least 6 people inside this early 90's Pontiac Sunbird.) As the car turned toward the open part of the lot I saw something I never imagined still happened in 2007.

Somebody threw an entire fast-food bag full of discarded burger wrappers and soft-drink cups out the window.

Using the parking lot as their personal trash can.

What kind of person does this?

I don't care who you are ... how you were raised ... who wronged you in the past ... how much or how little money you make ...

That's just plain wrong - and everyone knows better.

Seriously - how can you justify taking up space on this planet when you throw your trash out your car window?

Touching other people's discarded food trash is pretty disgusting to me. But leaving that litter on the parking lot was just wrong. My young son saw it happen too and wanted to help, but I would not let him grab the stranger's trash. I took a spare plastic bag we had in the car, picked up the trash and walked all of the 20 or so steps to the giant trash containers outside of Wal-Mart - then quickly headed to the men's room for a scrubbing.

I know there are crimes committed that are much more heinous - but again: what hope does this person have of being a contributing member of society?

None.

Follow-Up

My last post was on radio singles (versions of songs that labels re-mix to add more punch, shorten the song, or sometimes 'rub' out words). Someone made an excellent point in a comment that I wanted to bring out for discussion.

The song to which we referred, Nickelback's "Rockstar," has two words in it that radio station's would be fined for airing. Both words refer to the same part of the human anatomy and would not pass the FCC's rules.

Is that right?

Should radio stations like KTI take a stand?

Are the FCC rules a good thing?

This is the law of the land. Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? I would love your comments.

The Single

From the mailbag - This is probably the most recurring question I hear throughout the year.

I bought the CD and the version is different than what you play on KTI. How can I get your version?

When many artists record CD's, they may have an idea about which songs they want to release as a single (meaning a single CD, or single track to iTunes). After they have recorded the CD, they may hear something they wish they had done - or even realize the song needs a little more "punch." Before they release the single (which may be months later), they will go back into the studio and possibly edit the song - or remix it - or even add a harmony track.

The end result is sometimes called the single version ... or radio edit.

One of the biggest out-cries I remember hearing was with Creed's "With Arms Wide Open." Early versions of the song didn't have the strings that made the single so cool.

Another change they may make is to 'rub' out dirty words or even shorten the song. I have had plenty of people ask me why we clipped the bad word out of Nickelback's ROCKSTAR. We didn't clip 'em. Instead, we are playing the radio edit.

You may ask why???? The song is obviously making fun of the rock star lifestyle and I think the words are necessary to tell the story. But we are not comfortable with the derogatory term that rockstars call the women that follow them around - and it is prominent in the CD version.

It has nothing to do with Don Imus and his use of the word.

I just think the word has no class. Milwaukee has more class than that.

As far as getting the version we play - check iTunes or visit a real music store. They usually have a CD single secion. Also try Amazon and other cool music sites.