In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Lucas and Oates start by remembering Ryne Sandberg, who passed this week at the age of 65. A Hall of Famer with 10 All Star Team invites, 9 Golden Gloves, and hundreds of stolen bases, Oates calls him a quiet professional. He wasn’t particularly showy and not a loud mouth, he was a linchpin in a group of players who helped revive the Cubs. He even had a game named after him, the Sandberg Game back in 1984, when he famously helped the Cubs beat the Cardinals in extra innings. He was a player that everyone could respect, even Brewers and Cardinals fans. That’ll be on display Tuesday night, when the Brewers hold a moment of silence in his honor ahead of their game against the Cubs.

Speaking of the Brewers, they made their first big move ahead of the trade deadline on Monday by acquiring catcher Danny Jansen. A Wisconsin native, Jansen attended Appleton West High School before being drafted to the Blue Jays in 2013. His addition means that means that Eric Haase is going to have to go. He caught lightning in a bottle last year, but this season just hasn’t been working out for him. Add in the fact that William Contreras is the type of guy who doesn’t like to sit out, he just doesn’t fit in with the team.

The trade deadline is just days away now, and the one big question on everyone's mind is: will the Brewers get their power hitter. The big name being thrown around is Eugenio Suárez, but can they actually make that kind of move? Lucas says no way, but Oates thinks that they’ll be at least trying. They better try at the very least, if the team is truly serious about getting more than a few games into the postseason.

Finally, moving away from baseball, a former Badger Football player is getting a big payday: Jake Ferguson has signed a $52 million four-year extension with the Dallas Cowboys. He is now the highest paid tight end in Cowboys franchise history, and hey, he deserves it. He’s being rewarded for a great career. He has a big catch radius, he runs well, he’s smart and he’s competitive. Sure, tight ends might not be the most recognizable names on the roster, but they are beginning to be paid like they should be better recognized.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Oates is away on assignment, so former Wisconsin State Journal Sports Editor Bill Brophy joins Lucas to talk about what everyone is talking about these days: the Brewers. As of recording on Tuesday evening, the Brewers are on an 11 game winning streak and currently hold the best record in all of baseball. At 60-40, they have also overtaken the Cubs NL Central leaders after months of chasing. Brophy gives the credit to Pat Murphy, who he calls a true old school manager. He isn’t afraid to sit guys out when they aren’t doing too hot or have a conversation with them about changes that need to be made. Just look at Joey Ortiz, who before the All Star Break was struggling to hit the ball and is now starting to find contact after changing up his stance.

The Brewers have a lot of great athletes top to bottom, even if they are still lacking a real power hitter. Even without that power hitter though, their starting rotation is strong enough that as long as they can get a few on the board they have a real chance at winning. Brophy was sent to Arizona during spring training this year, so he got a chance to see some of the relatively unknown names that now make up the lineup, including Jacob Misiorowski. Did Brophy think he would turn into The Miz, a star so big he gets recognized buying toilet paper? No way, he says. Even he was taken by surprise by his performance in the majors so far. Then you add in Brandon Woodruff, who seems to have gotten even better after his surgery, and the Brewers might have one of the best pitching rotations in baseball.

Still, they need that big bat, and with the trade deadline just around the corner some names have been thrown around. But then who do you replace? Lucas thinks Caleb Durbin will have to be the one to go. He’s been a good asset at 3rd base, but if someone needs to go it’ll likely be him. Is there a lot of baseball yet to be played? Of course there is. As Pat Murphy put it, it’s still July. But for now, Brewers fans can celebrate a little bit at the very least.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, the MLB Home Run Derby was Monday night to mixed reviews. Cal Raleigh won the event and remains one of the top hitters in all of baseball. It was a family affair for the Big Dumper, with both his father pitching to him and his brother catching behind him. Over 20 years ago, the event was held at Miller Park in Milwaukee, and none other than Tom Oates was there (he has the newspaper column the next day with his byline to prove it). In addition to almost getting nailed with a fly ball during batting practice, Oates made some prophetic statements after the 2002 on the state of steroid usage at the time. Thankfully, that part of the sport has mostly cleared up.

Tuesday night was the All Star Game (taking place after the recording of this podcast), and Brewers pitcher Jacob Mizerowski is continuing to make headlines with his addition to the team. The problem is that this time, most of the headlines are negative, with people agree that a pitcher with only five starts under his belt made it to the All Star Game. Oates understands the anger a little bit, after all some players try their entire career to be asked to join the game. But at the end of the day, the All Star Game is a TV show, not a game that will decide who’s going to the playoffs. If the fans want to see the Miz (guess what, they do), then why not have him in the game!

Meanwhile, the rest of the team in Milwaukee is staying red hot, putting the most wins on the board before the All Star Break in their entire franchise history. Both Lucas and Oates admit, they’re a little surprised. Go back a handful of episodes on this very podcast, and you’ll find them wondering whether or not the team did enough in the offseason. They didn’t make any big, splashy moves, but that doesn’t seem to matter. They have one of the best pitching teams in all of baseball right now, and even if their hitting isn’t on fire it’s still clearly doing enough. Oates gives the kudos to the front office, for everything from team culture to player acquisition and development. They’ll be just one game behind the Cubs coming out of the All Star Break, and hopefully they make some splashy moves then.

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.