FanHouse MillerPark

When the Cubs were forced to play two "road" games against the Houston Astros this week at Miller Park, they saw a side of the place they haven't seen before when in town to play against the Milwaukee Brewers. Instead of using the visitor's clubhouse, the Cubs were given access to the Brewers clubhouse, and they loved what they saw.

The loved it so much, in fact, that they're getting downright blasphemous. Yep, that's right, ever since they had to return from the spacious clubhouse of Miller Park to the closet they dress in at Wrigley Field, Cubs players are starting to think it'd be nice to have a place like that of their own.

"You never want to see a landmark taken down, a place with so much history," [Jason] Marquis said. "The fans love it. That being said, the game is changing, stadiums are getting updated. There are better facilities, not only for the players, but for the fans-better food concessions, comfortable seats, better views. ...

"If I had a personal choice, I think they should knock Wrigley down and build a replica in the exact same spot to give it that same feel. The same colored seats, same ivy, same wall, and throw up a Jumbotron, but have it look like a replica of the scoreboard that's up there now, try to give it the same feel, in the same spot. I wouldn't be opposed to that."

That sounds great, Jason, but where do you suggest that the team plays while they're doing this? Marquis isn't the only Cub who wouldn't mind new digs, as both Carlos Zambrano and Jim Edmonds said they wouldn't have any problems with playing in a new ballpark either.

I visited Miller Park last weekend and didn't see much of consequence in re: Barry Bonds. Sure, people booed, but Bonds didn't do much, and the dispositions of most Brewers fans I encountered on that fine hazy Saturday were far more reserved than I would have imagined. (Except, of course, when they caught wind of my Cubs hat. That was not popular.)

No, the most interesting thing about the surroundings in Milwaukee was the sheer largess and majesty of Miller Park. I haven't been to many of the newer MLB parks, but Miller Park is by far the coolest modern stadium I've seen. It's truly an architectural marvel, when you think about it.

But it wasn't always so, which brings us to the above video. That is a crane attempting to add a piece of Miller Park's trademark shell roofing during its construction in 1999 when the crane just sort of ... well, you'll see. Incredible video, to say the least.

The Fanhouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups

Cleveland Indians (3-2) vs. Los Angeles Angels (6-3)-1:05PM Est.

The Cleveland Indians will be saying goodbye to the wonderful city of Milwaukee after this game. Or will they? Who knows? What we do know pretty is the amount of support that's showed up to see the Tribe play in Milwaukee. Yesterday's game drew 16,375 fans, more than the attendance at six other games on yesterday's schedule.


New York Mets (5-3) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (2-6)-7:10PM Est.

The Phillies finally backed up some of that trash talk with a 5-2 win over the Mets on Wednesday. Today they'll be going against Tom Glavine, and odds are he won't walk seven of them like Oliver Perez did yesterday. Filling out the battle of left-handed AARP pitchers will be Jamie Moyer. Moyer pitched well in his only start of the season against Florida last week, but gave up seven runs last season in his only appearance against the Mets.


Toronto Blue Jays (5-3) vs. Detroit Tigers (5-3)-7:07PM Est.

The Tigers finish up their 10-game road trip with a four game series in Toronto. So far on the trip the defending AL Champs have been 4-2, and Brandon Inge finally got a hit on Wednesday to bring his average up to .040. Congratulations, Brandon. These two teams opened the season against each other, and split two games with a third being postponed. The Blue Jays have won 4 out of their last five and find themselves in first place in the AL East.

Seeing as how Mother Nature really hates the Cleveland Indians, Major League Baseball has taken steps to protect the franchise from her harsh outbursts of force. The Indians will be moving indoors, to the vast expanse of Milwaukee this week.

Major League Baseball decided to move the Indians-Angels series - scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday at Jacobs Field - to Milwaukee because in Cleveland, temperatures in the high 40s are forecast, along with rain Thursday. Unofficially, the games in Milwaukee will be at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 1:05 p.m. on Thursday.

The entire series Cleveland was supposed to play against the Mariners this past weekend was postponed due to snow, and despite the odd circumstances, most Indians players are happy just to be able to play.

"This is bizarre, absolutely bizarre," Tribe outfielder David Dellucci said. "But I think we're prepared to do whatever we need to do to play a ballgame. We just want to play. Even in Little League, you have fans in the stands, mothers and fathers and some friends. We might not have many people in the stands, other than workers. You might hear the crickets in the rafters. But at least we're going to be playing baseball."

The move to Milwaukee also makes a little more sense than the possibility of moving the series to Anaheim as was discussed also. This way the Indians don't have to fly all the way across country, instead just a short jaunt to Wisconsin.

Of course, none of this would have happened if the schedule makers had any sense to begin with. As for when the Tribe's series with Seattle will be made up, there are a couple of likely dates. Both teams have July 11th off, and the Mariners will be flying from New York to Detroit then, so a possible stop in Cleveland for a doubleheader is not out of the question. Then, the final game could be made up on October 1st the day after the season ends. Unless of course, neither team is in playoff contention.

Previously at the Fanhouse:
Still No Baseball In Cleveland
The Weather In Cleveland Is No Better Today
Baseball Is Snowblind

There's lots of things that go into building new ballparks that people just assume are taken care of. I mean, you assume the thing can hold 40,000 people without collapsing. You assume the escalators will work. You assume beer will cost $7. You assume that the sewage pipes won't flow into storm sewers that empty into rivers that flow into Lake Michigan. Well, if you assumed all of those things about Miller Park, you would be wrong on the final count.

At least one sanitary sewer at Miller Park is misconnected to a storm sewer, allowing untreated human waste to flow directly into the Menomonee River and downstream to Lake Michigan, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District officials said Tuesday.

Green dye flowing out of a storm sewer on the Menomonee River confirmed at least one misconnection between a sanitary sewer from Miller Park and storm sewer lines draining from stadium parking lots less than three weeks before 40,000 fans arrive for opening day.

The improper connection allows human fecal bacteria from bathrooms on the northeast corner of the stadium to flow into the river.

The most terrifying part is that it's possible this condition has existed since 1953!

Duckett added that the problem could have been created during the construction of Miller Park, or it might be a problem connected with laterals that were built for County Stadium.

Built in 1953, County Stadium was razed when Miller Park opened in 2001.

I have to think everyone reading this has been in a stadium ballpark before. All that greasy food, nachos, and beer right into... **shudder**

(For all you panicked Milwaukee-ites, that's a picture from China, not the Menomonee or Lake Michigan. I'm just being a little dramatic.)