The (1st place) Brewers have added a Thanos glove to their bell ringing.

YES. Love this. Love all of this. Would love all of it more if it meant the Brewer offense could score 4-6 runs per game more consistently, but still, love the comradery this builds in the clubhouse.

In fact I hope they just keep adding more and more stuff to ‘The Gauntlet/Bell’ theatrics. By September I want any Brewer player who hits a home run to put on the Thanos glove, grab a Thor Hammer, throw on the Loki Horns helmet, a Captain America shield, and an arc-reactor. Just get such an elaborate costume together that the player is exhausted by the time they get to the bell. Not only would it be entertaining for Brewer fans, you just KNOW it would ruin the day of the stodgy old Cardinals fans. Imagine winning the division in St. Louis while our guys are dressed like they raided a Marvel prop closet. Mainline it into my veins.

Overall a great weekend for the Crew. That’s a REALLY good Blue Jays team and they were able to take the series on Sunday. The offense finally broke out and the bullpen is finally getting healthy. Gustave and Gott both returned, Rowdy Roddy Tellez burned his former team, and the boys looked fresh as hell in the City Connect jerseys. Obviously a 4-3 homestand isn’t anything that people are scheduling parades for, but this part of the schedule has been brutal both in terms of quality of opponent and in terms of road/home game splits. They were able to navigate it while also dealing with a ton of injuries and they came out of Sunday alone in first place. Two tough games in Tampa tomorrow and Wednesday before the schedule eases up a bit with 10 straight against the Pirates and Cubs. Woodruff and Wong are both back on Tuesday so that’s good news as well.

PS: Speaking of Wong, I assume he’ll be in the bottom half of the lineup on Tuesday and Wednesday as he works himself back, but you’ve got to wonder if they keep Yeli in the leadoff spot going forward:

Eye emoji, eye emoji, eye emoji. Look, you’d love to see those power numbers come back, but in lieu of that, those numbers will play just fine. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but he seems to have really taken to that leadoff spot. This has been his most productive stretch (almost three straight weeks) since probably the three weeks before he broke his kneecap in the fall of 2019.

Double PS: Happy Giannis Day:

2013 Jon was surprisingly optimistic about Giannis. He was NOT optimistic about the team still being in Milwaukee, and he struggled spelling, ‘Antetokounmpo’:

I do honestly remember thinking that even though I had never heard of the kid before, THAT was what the Bucks needed to do at #15. High risk, high reward. Draft a lottery ticket and hope he becomes an MVP-type player that can drag you out of mediocrity (at best). But even with that thought process, who would have thought that nine years later he would have TWO MVP trophies, a DPOY award, and most importantly, a ring and a Finals MVP trophy. And that the Bucks would be able to get a new arena based almost solely on optimism about his future (and tax payer dollars, a lot of those too). It’s NUTS to think about. The arena, the Deer District, the financial viability of the franchise, the playoff runs, the title, it’s because of the hard work of a ton of people, but if they don’t make that pick in that spot nine years ago today, none of it happens. NONE of it. A destitute franchise took a gamble on a rail thin 18-year old kid playing in the Greek B-league, and he turned into the best player in the NBA, the hardest working player in the NBA, and the most likable superstar in the NBA. It honestly still feels like a fever dream to the diehards like myself.