MARYVALE, ARIZ. -- If it's spring, it must be time for OMC's annual Milwaukee Talks interview with Brewers radio announcer Jim Powell. Entering his eighth season in the booth alongside future Hall of Famer, Bob Uecker, Powell has a unique perspective of where the team's been -- and more importantly, where it's going.
His optimistic attitude about his job always shines through, a trait that has endeared him to Brewers fans since day one. We caught up with Jim during a spring game at the Brewers facility in Maryvale, Arizona. Here's what he had to say:
OMC: Seems like I blink my eyes and another season has passed. Here we are again in Maryvale, talking baseball for our fourth annual Milwaukee Talks chat.
JP: I wish we could erase all the things that happened between last year and this year!
OMC: Today's daily media briefing recapped the 2002 season. It said the highlights of the season were the All Star Game ... and that's about it.
JP: Richie did well in the Home Run Derby, but we don't really remember anything else.
OMC: What's with all this honesty and candor coming from the Brewers these days?
JP: It's complicated, because you understand why Dean Taylor and Davy Lopes and Jerry Royster were saying the things they were. They couldn't say, "We stink, and if we can avoid 100 losses, it will be a good year for us." No one in any sport would characterize their team that way. They wanted to win desperately. They were trying as hard as they could to do it.
We could certainly see that this wasn't a great baseball team. I still think we were better than 106 losses. There are very few teams in the history of baseball that, talent-wise, should lose 106 games. Even the worst teams in baseball should win four out of 10 games. You have to go above and beyond, or down and below, to get to 100 losses. A lot of things have to go wrong. You have to have bad luck, but there's more than bad luck to it. It's more than just injuries and a lack of talent. The front office was splintered. The coaching staff was splintered. There were factions within the Brewers clubhouse, as well. You combine all those things, and you get a team that loses 106 games.
The nice thing about having a new group come in is that they have the luxury of honesty. They have the luxury of being able to say, "We're rebuilding." And people can say, "Hey, I like the sound of that." I think the one mistake that the Dean Taylor regime probably made, when they first got the job, was that you have the first couple of years window where you can say you're rebuilding -- and they didn't. A baseball team isn't like an NBA team, where you're only throwing five guys out on the floor, and you can change two players and replace 40 percent of your team. It takes a long time to rebuild a baseball team, and I think the pressure of having Miller Park about to open made them afraid to use the "R" word. This new group is telling it like it is.
OMC: When I saw you in January, I told you that as a rabid Brewers fan, this team had sucked the life out of me. But you said, "at least they're a different team." Have they gotten rid of some of the problems? And who are some of these guys out here this spring? What's it like to see Geoff Jenkins with the most seniority on the team?
JP: It's good and bad. It would be better if all the new guys were named Bonds and Glavine and Maddox. I think that having a new group of guys almost guarantees dramatic improvement. I'm not saying the team is going to the World Series or anything like that, but the pressure is sort of off. Near the end last year, the front office was trying to force kids up to the major leagues to convince people they were developing a farm season. And they did, but it's difficult to convey that to the fans. It's hard to say we may lose 100 games, but our High Desert team is hell on wheels. But the Hunstville club is going to be hell on wheels this year, so they're moving up.
In the interim, they've changed the players and the attitude in the clubhouse. That's not going to immediately translate into a .500 season, necessarily. Maybe it's my "glass is half-full" outlook on life, but I keep clinging to the notion that as many bad things have happened to the Brewers over the last 10 years, at some point everything in baseball evens out. They're gonna go 150 and 12 this year!
OMC: I like the way you think! Is there anyone to keep our eye on this year?
JP: Wes Helms is an interesting guy. We've got a couple of players that are going to be in the mix, long term, so we can take some chances on other players with 500 Major League at bats and see if they can play. Wes Helms is one of those guys with decent minor league numbers. At 26 years old, that's the age where a guy can take a quantum leap forward in performance.
Alex Sanchez last year had the big spring. It was June, at least, before I thought that he could be in a legitimate Major League lineup. I understand the kid's fast, but this was absurd. He was pulling the cycle, getting thrown out at first, second, third and home in one game. Now, I really think he has the chance to have Kenny Lofton-like career.
Jenkins is a big key. He needs to have a breakout type of year. Unfortunately, he's already hurt in camp. Two years ago, I think we would have all agreed that Geoff Jenkins had a chance to be a .280 to .300 hitter with 30 plus home runs and 100 RBI. We haven't seen that the last couple of years. If he can have that sort of form and put it behind Richie Sexson, the club looks a lot different.
OMC: How was your off-season?
JP: I had a great off-season. I played a lot of tennis. I spent a lot of time with the family. I played some video games. I watched every NFL game. My wife and I went to Lambeau Field with some good friends of ours. I haven't tailgated at a game since my freshman year of college, because I've been working football games since then. We went up there early, tailgated all afternoon, sat in the endzone seats. We had a fantastic time.
OMC: Anything new or different happening in the booth this year?
JP: We're changing the music! A new intro, new bumper. It means a lot to the fans. I haven't heard it yet; they're keeping it very hush-hush. Not a whole lot has changed, though. Bob and I are back, and hopefully we got in enough trouble this winter that we'll have some stories to tell.
OMC: Is it difficult to get back into the swing of things after a long off-season? Do you and Uecker keep in touch?
JP: We do stay in touch in the off-season, but we don't have dinner three times a week. I think that's probably good, because when we get together in the spring, it is all fresh. I feel more comfortable with Bob every year. Initially, it was "Mr. Uecker" and "Thank you, sir." Now I can use the "B" word. "Hi Bob, how are you doing?" Now I can needle him a little bit. Bob was a little reluctant to needle me sometimes, because I wasn't going to come back at him. He didn't want to sound on the air like he's beating up on me. But now I'm more comfortable and that helps our chemistry. We have a lot more fun even off the air than we do on the air in the booth. We have a great time, goofing around with Kent Summerfeld.
OMC: Can Bob still crack you up?
JP: Oh yeah, he got me into a laughing jag on the very first broadcast this year. He came into camp in a great mood. We were all relieved to get to camp. You can't forget about the 106 losses until you get to Spring Training. We're all a little bit giddy right now. Check with us again in the middle of May. Hopefully the team will be playing well. Even if not, it still won't be as bad as last year.
Last year, the team was doing so badly, we knew everybody was going to be fired. Front office people, managers and coaches were going to be losing their jobs. We work them every day, and they become our friends. In pro sports, we're accustomed to calling sports shows and telling them "this guy stinks and should be fired." But that guy also has a wife and three kids and is trying to earn a living. When your team loses 100 games, you don't just get fired, then have the Yankees calling you for a job.
OMC: What's it like to have a future Hall of Famer in the booth next to you? Does that make you a more high visibility announcer, too?
JP: It is a little bit of an adjustment for all of us because Bob is still getting used to having everybody fawn over him about it. He is embarrassed by all the attention he is getting because he really isn't someone who likes to talk about himself much. For the rest of us it is great and we are all on cloud nine. The induction ceremony in Cooperstown later this summer promises to be a momentous occasion, and I can't wait to be there.
I don't think it raises my visibility, at least I haven't thought about it that way. All I know is Bob is getting the recognition he deserves and everybody in Wisconsin is enjoying it along with him.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
