Before coming to Milwaukee, I’d heard about the water damage that was suffered at Miller Park but I had no idea the extent of it until I got here. Pieces of drywall were missing throughout the service level of the ballpark as certain areas were flooded with nearly a foot and a half of water in the wee hours of Friday morning.

A huge pat on the back should go to the Brewers and their staff for getting the ballpark in working order in time for this series. All new carpeting was in the visiting clubhouse and there was also all new furniture. The club did everything it could to get things in working order. Of course not everything was back in place.There is still drywall missing at the bottom of the walls throughout the clubhouse as well, but that’s certainly understandable considering the situation.

The water damage affected the usual routine for the Brewers and the Twins. Both teams were asked not to arrive at the ballpark before 3:00 p.m. CT so the Twins usual early batting practice was canceled. There was also no batting cages or a weight room due to the water damage. Brewers GM Doug Melvin and Assistant GM Gord Ash met with the Twins on Friday afternoon to explain what was going on and assure them there are no health hazards. And knowing the difficult situation, the Twins appreciated all of the efforts being made.

“They’ve done a super job trying to get it ready for us here,” Gardenhire said. “The best they can. You just have to understand what’s happening here, which we do…It was really nice of them to come down and make themselves available for questions and reassure us about a few things.”

A couple of days ago Melvin said he called Twins GM Bill Smith to let him know what was going on with the ballpark and what to expect when the club arrived on Tuesday. While he was being serious about the issue, Melvin couldn’t help but have a little fun with Smith.

“I called Bill Smith the other day and told him [to
tell players] not to come to the park until 3 o’clock,” Melvin
said. “I told him Joe Mauer didn’t have to come until
Friday.”