Welcome to Saturday Scorecard. The Hot Stove edition today is dedicated to former Brewers radio announcer Jim Powell, who grew up watching horrendous Atlanta teams from a lonely bleacher seat at Fulton County Stadium. Now, the kid with the transistor radio, scorebook and bag of peanuts will call the action from the Braves broadcast booth. Best of luck, Jim.

Onward...

Trevor Time: Toward the end of the County Stadium era, there were days when the Brewers would have been happy to draw 10,000 fans to a game.

More than 10,000 showed up for their "On Deck" event Saturday at the Midwest Airlines Center. In addition to autograph and photo sessions, clinics and other activities, the team introduced new closer Trevor Hoffman to the local media.

The 41-year-old right-hander signed a free-agent deal worth $6 million after spending the past 15 years with San Diego.

Hoffman, regarded as a Hall of Famer on the field and in the clubhouse and community, answered a variety of questions. Here are a sampling of his remarks:

On coming to Milwaukee: "Getting an opportunity to be the new kind on the block again is invigorating. I'm excited about the opportunity that's been presented to me to be a part of something positive and feed off the post-season momentum that you all had an opportunity to taste last year.

"I'm excited about being here."

On the Wisconsin weather: "My wife is from Buffalo, N.Y., so we're a little familiar with single-digit temperatures. Having San Diego as home for a while, it doesn't take long before your blood thins out. I think Doug (Melvin) said earlier, 'The cold weather is invigorating.' I've been invigorated."

On his theme song, AC/DC's "Hell's Bells": "It took a life of its own in 1998. The music department in-house (at Qualcomm Stadium) said 'Hey, Hoffy, we've got, I think, a pretty decent song.' At the time, it was important to come in with something loud. I said 'Whatever you'd like to do will be fine.'...

"The song seemed to stick. it's probably ironic that we're here. It was kind of a spinoff of the movie 'Major League,' at the time, it seemed to fit.

"It's something that's been a lot of fun."

More on the song: "It's not to fire opponents up too much. It's to fire me up and my home crowd. I'm hoping everyone enjoys it. It's part of the routine. It allows you to focus on what the job at hand is. It's part of the theatrics of the game and the ninth inning, which is great. I have a job to do. Part of that is finding a routine. At times, you find solace in certain parts of where that song goes and knowing where you're supposed to be at on the field. (You throw) a certain number of pitches, if the umpire doesn't hurry you up. I think everybody will have a good time with it.

"Why Milwaukee? It was something that fit. The things that I was hearing were music to my ears. When you leave your home -- whether it's Pittsburgh or Kansas City or, in this case, San Diego -- it can be an hour-away drive or a four-hour flight. You're still leaving your home destination. I'm looking forward to setting down some roots for awhile here. I've heard nothing but great things about the community and the fans."

On who he talked to about Milwaukee: "(Brewers' centerfielder and former Padres teammate) Mike Cameron was a big factor in letting me know a lot of the things I was hearing were valid. Coming from him, a true professional and a guy who plays the game hard. Those were some good things."

On his relationship with Brewers outfielder Tony Gwynn, Jr.: "It's been a relationship that has been long-standing. When I first walked into Qualcomm in 1993, Anthony -- and I know I'll get used to saying 'Tony' -- was a 10-year-old boy following real close behind his father. You could see at an early age his desire to learn as much as he could about the game. You could see the bond that he and his father had. You could see it develop in the sanctity of the clubhouse. Obviously, he turned into a major league ballplayer himself. I'm the first guy that's going to have an opportunity to play with both (Gwynn and his father). It's exciting. it's going to be awesome to have him as a teammate."

On losing a kidney as an infant: "I lost a kidney at six weeks of age. (My mother) just kind of told me 'Drink a lot of water and stay away from contact sports.' You're not going to see me up north in any Packers camp running into any of those guys. Maybe a little BP for them. I definitely appreciate the fact that there are children out there that are going through similar ordeals that aren't quite as lucky as I've been. I'm aware of how blessed I really am."

On clubhouse leadership: "Hopefully, I can show some of the things I've been able to do. I can grab hold of guys and say 'Let's go down this road together' and ultimately have success on the field."

On meeting his new teammates during the weekend: "You get a sense that people like where they're at. When you're comfortable in your place, it allows people the freedom to go out and do the things they're good at."

Tourism Department: Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said acquiring Hoffman could lead other players to consider Milwaukee.

"We always wanted to make Milwaukee a destination for ballplayers," Attanasio said. "Starting in terms of the city itself. Coming from California much the way Trevor did, I fell in love with the city and I felt if we could create a winning atmosphere here we could effectively sell to ballplayers.

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Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by Red_5 on Jan. 26, 2009 at 10:26 a.m. (report)

Drew, Your last two Brewer posts had not talk backs at all. Nobody had anything to say?