By Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published May 15, 2010 at 3:04 PM Photography: Allen Fredrickson

Welcome to Saturday Scorecard, where sign-stealing is encouraged -- as long as we aren't in an election cycle.

On to the notes...

Comeback trail: The bright spot of the day for the Brewers took place before the game. Hall of fame broadcaster Bob Uecker visited the ballpark for the first time since undergoing heart surgery.

Uecker raved about the care he received from the staff at Froedert Hospital. He thanked the fans for their overwhelming support. And, he provided a few laughs.

"I started driving," he said, "in my garage, just to get a feel for it again."

Uecker said he is walking two miles a day and feels strong, but his doctors want him to hold off returning to the booth so he can continue to heal internally.

Uecker expects to be back doing home games at some point in June and will travel when the doctors permit. Asked about a timetable for his career, he said: "I'm asked that a lot of times, about cutting back a little bit. I'll know when it's time for me to cut back. I will. I'm not hanging around here to win any medals or anything. It's all I know how to do. Nobody's going to have to tell me when it's time to pack it in. I'll know."

Mounting frustration: The home clubhouse at Miller Park hasn't been a happy place lately. After a deflating loss to Philadelphia on Friday night, two of the Brewers' key players were refreshingly candid about the situation.

"I think I gave myself trouble today," losing pitcher Randy Wolf said. "It's embarrassing the way I pitched. I couldn't execute. I was behind everybody. When you do that against a bad big league team you're in trouble. When you go up against a lineup that's one of the best in the National League, you're definitely going to have a bad day.

"No excuses. I was terrible today."

First baseman Prince Fielder, who hit one of three homers off Jamie Moyer, took a veiled swipe at the club's pitching woes.

"I guess we need to get more timely hits. Yup, we just have to keep getting more hits. Just try to outscore the other team. That's all we can try to do and unfortunately we came up a little short."

Sign of the times: The Brewers were not concerned about Philadelphia stealing signs on Friday. The Phillies created headlines when bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer was caught on camera using binoculars this week in Colorado. The Rockies got indignant. The Phillies scoffed. New York Times correspondent Pat Borzi was on hand Friday night to cover the story.

Jim Edmonds, who was Billmeyer's roommate with Class AA Midland in 1992, and Ken Macha, who was an Angels bench coach when Billmeyer was the bullpen coach in Anaheim, both said that Billmeyer wasn't stealing signs.

"I don't want it to die down, though," Edmonds said. "I want him to keep getting heat about it."

The consensus among baseball people is that Billmeyer was doing some "sightseeing" in the stands.

Iron men: At least one Milwaukee team can win at home. The Iron outlasted Utah in overtime, 56-55, to improve to 5-1 overall. The game was televised by NFL Network.

The Iron won the coin toss after regulation and elected to kick off. After the Blaze (1-4) scored on its first possession, Milwaukee answered with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Chris Greisen to Tiger Jones. GReisen thenhit Nate Forse for a two-point conversion that won the game.

LARRY KING LOUNGE
Just wondering -- did the Flyers pull off the greatest comeback in recent sports history, or did the Bruins commit one of the greater choke jobs of all-time?... I've got to admit, I'm getting a little psyched for the World Cup... What's with the techno music at sporting events? I know we have to move beyond "YMCA," but can we find a happy medium?... Brewers manager Ken Macha is "old school" and he's very patriotic. Macha would prefer to have his players standing at their positions during the national anthem. The folks running the Brewers pre-game operations feel differently... Packers rookie tackle Bryan Bulaga took batting practice before the Brewers' Saturday game. Bulaga, who played baseball through his junior year of high school, hit 14 BP home runs, while the Brewers players looked on from the side, cheering him on. Wonder if a contract offer could be coming... Comedian Larry the Cable Guy was also on-hand during pregame workouts Saturday...  Ned Yost was a good choice for the Royals. People forget that he walked into a hopeless situation in Milwaukee and created a sense of, well, hope. The fans in Kansas City are thirsty for that... Alex Rodriguez's climb up the home run charts would be a lot more fun if he wasn't so rich and tainted by steroids... Did you realize that 24 of the Brewers' first 36 games have surpassed the 3-hour mark? That's the highest in the majors... No matter where he ends up, LeBron James is going to make incredible money this summer. He won't, however, be able to buy back the respect he lost in Game 5 against Boston... If the Phillies get their closer situation ironed out, we could be looking at a National League dynasty. Two straight pennants is impressive. Three is borderline insane... Tiger Woods doesn't need a swing coach; he needs a life coach... I couldn't stand those powder blue uniforms back in the 70s. Now, I think they're kind of cool... Can the Brewers win a game of Rickie Weeks doesn't get on base a couple times?... Haven't visited Ryan Braun's restaurant yet, but friends say the food is solid... My friend, Bill Arnold of "Beyond the Box Score" points out that today is the 69th anniversary of the start of Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak; it didn't end until July 17... Ed Burmila of ESPN.com notes that since 1969, 21 men have orbited the moon but, since 1871, only 19 men have thrown perfect games in the majors.

 

Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.