Saturday will be a telling day in Roenicke era for Brewers

It might be hard to fathom, at first, but Saturday night's tilt with the Reds for Ron Roenicke and the Brewers will be very telling how how much the skipper, just one game into his tenure and his managerial career, has rubbed off on his team.
You would normally see the team take on some of its manager's qualities through the course of the season, but with the way Thursday's game unfolded, Saturday should have some signs all over it to show us how much the players are buying into Roenicke's formula as manager.
The game was going according to plan until the bottom of the ninth inning derailed everything and swung against the Brewers in Roenicke's debut. I know baseball players are programmed to forget what happened the day, but in the first game, with a new manager, with (maybe unfairly) high expectations surrounding the team, players have to know the skipper has their back.
As I wrote yesterday, Thursday was just one game of 162. From the players perspective, yes they had the spring to get used to their new manager, but at the same time still weren't in games that mattered. The off day today had to be spent at least having the conversation with Axford telling him he's still the guy. And telling Casey McGehee that he made the play he though was right.
For McGehee, Roenicke already showed him he had his back by coming out to argue the call. Something that makes him stick out even more after just one game as the manager. He was out arguing two calls Thursday. Something that maybe the previous manager of the team does not do. He showed he stood behind his players until the end.
Some will say he wasn't so stern after the game. Well, to that I say the game was over and in the game of baseball, it was already lost. Yes, it was a heartbreaker, but it was nothing to jump off a bridge over. As the guy leading the team, his demeanor, even at the Major League level, could be picked up by the players. If he's not too down by it all, they won't be down that much on the game and can move forward with the season.
The one thing about Roenicke that has stood out the most has been his transparency and honesty when asked about certain situations. He doesn't waste the media's time and was hardly putting on a sherade after the game Thursday after the loss. He truly was ready to move on. He will go back to Axford in the ninth inning. He did not dance around the fact that the baseline rule he went out to argue was too close to make a call. The umpire made a call and stuck with it. There was nothing more Roenicke could do.
The sun will come up Saturday morning, and the Brewers will play Saturday night. After being proven right with a couple moves that saw Carlos Gomez hitting second in the batting order and Wil Nieves catching on Opening Day, Roenicke can only hope to have that same magic for Game 2 of the season. This time, let's hope it lasts for nine full innings, not just 8 and a half.

It's late on a Friday night and the Nussie Hunter can only think about what the weekend holds. There are two great events going on, besides the Brewers games, in the Final Four and Wrestlemania. The WWE is known for having some of the hottest women in the world working for them. The Bella Twins are no exceptions. Just look at them. There's not only one, but two of them. Yes, I follow them on Twitter and they're funny, too. You can see more of them (and the rest of the amazing WWE Divas) on WWE.com, here.

Stepping back from the ledge after Day 1 of Brewers season

There were a lot of things to digest from the first Brewers game of the season Thursday. It's safe to say though, the one that sticks around the most was the sick-to-your-stomach feeling left after closer John Axford allowed four runs in the bottom of the ninth to let what looked like a sure win, slip away.
Initially, yes, I was upset and disappointed. Yes, Axford has had a rough spring and this outing only adds to the chaos that has been his month of March. I am a little concerned, but following how he handles himself, I'm confident he can work out of it and get back on track.
What I don't understand are the people who automatically jumped off the proverbial bridge calling Axford washed up and putting him in the same sentence as Derek Turnbow. It's one game people. Yes, he got some pitches up and gave up a big home run (how odd does a shot to right field look to a right-handed hitter?), but this is 1/162 of the season. It's hardly the end of the world.
Now, it sounds like I'm being a tad hypocritical, but think about it for a second. Yes, I was encouraged by what Yovani Gallardo was able to do on the mound in his six solid innings. The top five spots in the order all got hits for the Brewers (while only Wil Nieves got a hit for the rest of the order). Rickie Weeks had a home run (as the first Brewer to lead off the season with a homer) and a double. Ryan Braun was on base four times and was absolutely crushing the baseball. All of that is great. But I'm also not thinking they are all amazing.
Axford will tell you he has room to improve. Heck, so will Kameron Loe, who gave up a homer himself, and so would Casey McGehee, who was part of a wild play that kept the game alive for the Reds in the ninth. But, those guys have earned a few chances and I'm confident their overall body of work for this season will be very solid and this will have just been a bump in the road.
Don't get me wrong, getting this win would have been great for the Brewers psyche. After going 3-11 against the Reds last season, the Brewers desperately need to turn things around against the team that won the NL Central last season and has plans of doing it again this season. Going into their stadium on Opening Day and playing as convincingly as they did for 8 and a half innings would have had to send a bit of a message to the Reds.
Baseball isn't like football where you can live and die with every game. This one will have to be nearly forgotten and put in the rearview mirror for the Brewers. The best part of it all is, there's a game Saturday and Sunday, giving them a chance to put it behind them and move on. That's what makes this game great.
Please, put your jump to conclusion mats away people!!!


With Opening Day upon, that has to mean Wrestlemania is very close, too. In fact, it's Sunday. It's one of those things you have to take in every year and appreaciate the entertainment that is WWE. It's so good. This year, Shawn Michaels is getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. I have to think he is going to have a hand in keeping the Undertaker undefeated at Wrestlemania. Here's more of the brainchild of Vince McMahon in photos from the good folks at Sports Illustrated.

Time to jump right into the Nussie Hunter portion of today's post. I was checking out Coed Magainze today and came across a Nussie I probably should have known sooner. Her name is Rali Ivanova. She's a Twitter star, judging by the amazing TwitPics she posts. So much so, the good folks at Coed posted a TwitPic gallery of hers. Damn! Here's a sample and you can check out the rest, here. Oh, and don't forget to check her out on Twitter. I just followed her!