You know what sucks?

• It's supposed to be an NL Central-versus-AL East year. But the only AL East teams the Cubs get to play are (lucky them) the Red Sox and Yankees. Meanwhile, the Cardinals play every AL East team EXCEPT the Red Sox and Yankees.

• And guess which three AL East teams the Brewers get to play? Just the three nobody would want to play -- the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees.

- Jayson Stark

The MLB Blackout Policy

Apparently the Brewer game this Saturday against the Rockies, which starts at 6:10 CST (7:10 EST) will be blacked out because Fox is moving several National games into the Saturday prime time slot, and they have exclusive rights to broadcast games. At least, that's what I read here, via here.

That's pretty annoying. I'm not even sure what the national game is, but if you're a Brewer fan I'm sure you don't care what it is if the Brewers are playing at the same time.

I have a question for Fox and for MLB. This is your blackout policy, quoted directly from the FAQ portion of MLB.com. I have emphasized some important language:

Due to Major League Baseball exclusivities, live games occurring each Saturday with a scheduled start time after 1:10 PM ET or before 7:05 PM ET and each Sunday with a scheduled start time after 5:00 PM ET, will be blacked out in the United States (including the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands). In addition, in the event of extraordinary circumstances that produce a programming conflict, the above blackout windows may be subject to change. If you are an MLB.TV Premium subscriber outside of the United States, each of these games will be available as an archived game as soon as possible after the conclusion of the applicable game. If you are an MLB.TV Premium subscriber within the United States or an MLB.TV subscriber in any territory, each of these games will be available as an archived game approximately 90 minutes after the conclusion of the applicable game. Archived games are not available through MLB.com Gameday Audio.

7:05 EST is 6:05 CST. The Brewer game on Saturday starts at 7:10 EST/6:10 CST. In my admittedly crude understanding of space/time, 7:10 EST is later than 7:05 EST. Therefore, given the language above, MLB would only be justified in blacking out this game in the event of "extraordinary circumstances."

I am not of the opinion that Fox wanting a few prime time games = extraordinary circumstances.

So MLB, I would like for you to explain to the good people of Milwaukee why exactly they will not be able to watch their team play on TV on Saturday. (And if that blackout extends to MLB.tv, I'd like you to explain to me why I cannot watch my favorite team play on Saturday.)

"Aggressive Approach"

Few words strike as much baseball fear into me as "new aggressive approach," but to be honest I didn't expect it too have too much impact. The first thing that comes to mind is just more stolen base attempts/caught stealings/wasted outs. That's stupid and sucks, but in the grand scheme of things it's not that bad and lots of teams do it.

The Brewers though, seem to be taking a more aggressive approach in a much more damaging facet of the game: at the plate. Last year the Brewers were 5th in the NL in walks. They were patient, they got guys on (4th in OBP), and they drove them in with power (3rd in slugging).

This season the Brewers are 3rd LAST in walks. In fact, the bottom 3 teams in the NL in walks all reside in the NL central. See below:

NL Central BBs -

STL - 123
Cin - 121
Pit - 120
Mil - 91
Chi - 87
Hou - 83

Note the giant dropoff from 3-4.

The Brewers aren't hitting for quite as much power, but there is not the marked dropoff there (still 6th in slugging). And it will probably also surprise many of you to learn that this team barely ever strikes out (only 3 teams strike out less frequently).

No, this team is swinging at ton, and mostly at bad pitches. They are putting weak balls into play on a regular basis. There's no reason to throw strikes to anyone on the team because most of them will swing at anything.

Some of this you expect with guys like Yuni ad Gomez getting regular time, and Ron Roenicke did himself no favors by batting either player higher than 7th at any point, but it's not just those 2. You don't drop 10 spots in walks based on two people (especially considering that Gomez was on the team last year, and Yuni replaced a free-swinging Alcides Escobar).

It looks to me as if the strategy on the team has fundamentally changed. No longer do they work counts to get a good pitch. I do not believe I have seen a Brewer take a pitch on a 3-1 count this tear. It's probably happened, but I have yet to witness it, and I watch a lot of games.

This team needs to get patient, and they need to do it now. I hate the idea that "aggressive" is something to aspire to in baseball. That it's some manly attribute that helps you win games and that players are all namby-pamby wusses that need coaxing into aggressiveness.

Aggressiveness is easy. It's the default. Going up there and taking hacks is what guys do naturally.

Patience is difficult, and patience is what they need.

This is also just one problem. They also appear to be stupid and bad at defense, but I'm not sure they can fix that. They CAN take a different approach. Keep an eye on their walk total. If they're not in the top 5 by the end of the year, they'll be bringing up the rear of the NL central.

100 Years Dead and Never Surpassed

When I was a little kid, my family used to travel up to visit my grandparents in Dodge County. We'd go to Juneau and watch my dad play Legion ball, watch ball games with my moms' dad and play in the park. Great little town. I haven't been back in years but the thing that always stands out to me is the yearly Addie Joss Days festival. Joss grew up in Woodland, but is celebrated in Juneau. There was a Legion tournament and clowns and...well, I was a little kid so I remember it as going to a great big carnival. In reality it was probably just the tournament and some barbequing and maybe a ride or two on some years. They don't run the festival anymore and in fact, Juneau doesn't even have a Legion ball team anymore but I can trace my love of the sport, and more importantly the sports' history, to those perfect days.

Anyway, I think I post something similar every year on this date, because to me there will never be a more important baseball player than Addison Joss. Son of a cheesemaker, feller of Rube "The Ringer," and pioneer not just in baseball but in writing about the sport. Addie Joss is an important figure, a legendary figure really...sadly no one seems to remember the legend anymore. Fact is, this state has never produced a better professional athlete and I doubt it ever will. Addie Joss was an all time great and he should be celebrated throughout Wisconsin.

Do yourself a favor, read King of Pitchers.

John Steigerwald is a bigger moron than you think.

If you've been on Twitter in the past 2 hours you've probably read this truly horrifying column in which Pittsburgh columnist John Steigerwald:

1. Asserts that a fan who was recently beaten within an inch of his life for wearing a visiting jersey is responsible for his condition because he wore said jersey.

2. Spells the fan's name incorrectly.

3. Claims that "drunks" are at fault while simultaneously pointing out the high price of beer at the stadium.

4. At the end of the column, seems to advocate violence in the form of Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton intentionally throwing at Barry Bonds.

Now, this column is horrible and ridiculous on it's own, but a quick glimpse into the man's past reveals that he has a habit of saying crazy, stupid, moronic things:

America is becoming more feminized all the time. Women getting involved (overly involved) in their kids' teams, Very few male elementary school teachers. You hear stories about tag being forbidden on school playgrounds. Effeminate men are celebrated (ever seen Adam Lambert and the fuss that was made over him?). I have a chapter in my book explaining why I would rather have the Three Stooges babysit my kids than Mr. Rogers because Mr. Rogers --who was a better person than I could ever hope to be and did a lot of great things--was a sissy. You're no longer allowed to discourage boys from being "sissies" because that would make you "homophobic". The country will get softer and softer the more we depend on the nanny state to take care of us.There are people in power now who want to take care of us from cradle to grave and they can't find their way to the supermarket. I'm a big self reliance guy and there's less and less of that going around every day.

So, men at ballparks are increasingly drunken thugs, but America is also being sissified by PBS. Got it.

The man seems to specialize in incoherent drivel. He also seems like a genuinely bad guy.

Tweeting a bit today

Rather than have an open thread, I'll just be over on Twitter. The handle is @BadgerNoonan.

4/5 Let's Get A Win Open Thread!

Look at this murderer's row! Paul said it best earlier: no team has ever missed Corey Hart more. Hopefully I was the bad luck. This is the first game I won't be at, which means it is time to win!

Weeks
Morgan
Braun
Fielder
McGehee
Kotsay
Counsell
Kottaras
Gallardo

Personally, I would hit Gallardo 6th in this lineup.