As part four of four on the baseball stadium series, BSWAN and I headed up I-94 to Milwaukee on Wednesday for a Milwaukee Brewer-Chicago Cub game at Miller Park.

The 2.5-hour ride from Chicago to Milwaukee is a crappy one. Stop-and-go all the way from downtown through the Tollway, which ends basically on the Wisconsin border. And, when you do finally cross the border, the Wisconsin Fuzz is thick. Really thick. I think we saw between 8-12 cars pulled over in the speed trap between the border and Milwaukee.

We arrived at the Miller Park parking complex about 45 minutes before game time and waded through a slough of Brewer tailgaters. If there's one thing that Wisconsin does well, it's tailgating.

And, it doesn't really matter the weather. You can always bet on the Wisconsin faithful, whether it be for a Packer game at Lambeau Field, a Badger game in Madison or a Brewer Game at Miller park, to fend off rain, wind, snow and sleet to be sufficiently lubed-up and filled with grilled meats and cheeses by game-time.

The weather hovered around 55 degrees, with a rather stiff breeze coming from the Northwest, so Miller Park opted to go with "Roof Closed" for the game -- a significant disappointment, but not anything to rival the debacle in Detroilet. It's a nice feeling knowing that you're going to be watching baseball whatever the weather in Milwaukee --something I hope Minnesota considers before beginning construction on the newly approved stadium in downtown Minneapolis.

Anyway, we met BSWAN's friend Craig-Kwan-Do and another guy, SwatNicky or something, outside the gate about 15 minutes before 7 p.m. and headed inside.

Another refreshing thing about attending a game at Miller Park is the youthful energy the place exudes. I think, for the first time in many years, that I was near the mean age for a professional sporting event. And even though I slurped down 3 Miller Lites, I'm pretty sure I was far below the mean in alcohol consumption... Makes for an interesting time. I think Miller Park (appropriately named, by the way) might be the biggest bar in the state of Wisconsin -- a true accomplishment in a state with more bars than convenience stores.

Something else to keep in mind before going to a game at Miller Park: Bring cash. ATMs are few and far between. Our seats were down the first-base line -- pretty decent -- in the mezzanine level (2nd of 4 decks), and we were still forced to walk 1/2 way around the stadium to find a well-hidden cash machine.

The stadium stands unreasonably tall on the West End of Milwaukee, mostly because of its gargantuan retractable roof. It has a modern-traditional design, with large brick columns mixed with steel and glass... oh yeah -- and REAL grass -- the REAL redeeming quality of the park.

After making our way back to our seats, I was introduced to another baseball phenomena: Buck Cup. Now, I've played this game before, but not at the same, agressive level that the folks in Milwaukee play.

A quick crash-course on the rules: Participants pass a cup back and forth with each change of a batter, either depositing money into the cup or withdrawing money from the cup, depending on the performace of the batter you're assigned at random. If your batter strikes out or hits into a double-pay, you deposit $2 into the cup. If he records any other form of an out, you deposit $1, and pass the cup along. If your batter gets a single, you collect $1, a double $2, a triple $3, and if he hits a homerun, the entire spoils are yours. With this aggressive betting style, each player stands to win or lose a good amount of money. (In fact, I finished the game down $11, and my friend BSWAN scored $40, after collecting on an 8th-inning homerun worth $39. Bastard.

On any normal night, the Buck Cub Club heads to the bar to spend the pot accordingly, but since it was a school night, and we were staring a 1 a.m. ETA in Chicago, it was simply out of the question.

At least BSWAN paid for gas, a close second to a few cold ones.

The game was rather poorly played. Two highly unintersting pitchers and two mildly uninteresting teams. The game featured 14 strikeouts and 4 double-plays... Yuck.

The Brewers won in the bottom of the ninth, after a rookie Cubs pitcher gave up a leadoff double and three walks. Dusty Baker is a terrible manager.

Think about this: Heading into the bottom of the ninth tied with the top of the Brewers order coming to bat, Baker goes with a rookie pitcher with 4 full games of major league experience. Talk about a pressure-cooker. Why wouldn't Baker go with fire-baller Hawkins or another more experienced pitcher? The results were predictable, and the managerial gaffe ultimately led to a Cubs loss.

Indulged in a bratwurst with onions, some peanuts and, of course, some cold beers.

A nice mid-week excursion to pick up the spirits.

That makes six ballparks visited... and at least two more this summer in D.C. I'm getting there... But obviously, I've got a way to go.

Here's to baseball.