Notes: Spring broadcast schedule, Robertson

PHOENIX -- The Brewers on Thursday announced a spring broadcast schedule headlined by 18 radio broadcasts as Bob Uecker celebrates his 50th anniversary of the voice of his hometown team.

Besides the radio broadcasts, 12 games are scheduled for television and five will air exclusively on brewers.com via webcast, with a combination of the team’s broadcasters calling the action.

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"It's been a long wait, but the return of Brewers baseball with fans in the stands is right around the corner," Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger said in a statement announcing the schedule. “We know how excited our fans are for baseball to be back, and we all look forward to watching and listening to Brewers games when we can’t be there in person.”

The first game of the 2021 Spring Training schedule, Sunday at the Chicago White Sox, will be broadcast on 94.5 FM ESPN in Milwaukee and statewide on the Brewers Radio Network. Uecker’s spring debut will come Tuesday, when the Brewers play their first home game against the A’s, airing locally on 620 AM WTMJ as well as the statewide network. Uecker is expected to call most Brewers home games thereafter, the team said, with partners Jeff Levering and Lane Grindle picking up the rest of the calls.

The first TV game will air on MLB.TV and FOX Sports Wisconsin, via FOX Sports San Diego, on Wednesday as the Brewers and Padres meet in Peoria, Ariz. (That game will also air on radio at 94.5 ESPN.). Fans will hear the Brewers’ own television broadcast team -- Brian Anderson, Bill Schroeder, Levering and Sophia Minnaert -- beginning the next day, March 4, when the Brewers host Cleveland at American Family Fields of Phoenix. The Brewers’ television broadcast crew will call 10 games; two TV games are from the other team’s feed.

No more armchair GM
Daniel Robertson was one of baseball’s top-rated prospects when the A’s traded him to the Rays in 2015. A year and a half later, he was in the Majors. The year after that, he logged a .262/.382/.415 slash line in 340 plate appearances. His arrow was pointed up.

Then came 2019. The Rays’ offseason trade for Yandy Díaz blocked Robertson’s path to everyday duties at third base. When Robertson struggled at the plate early in the season, he was demoted to the Minors in favor of Mike Brosseau, who capitalized on the opportunity. Robertson spent most of ’20 at the Rays’ alternate training site before they sold his contract to San Francisco.

The Giants non-tendered Robertson in the offseason, and he signed with Milwaukee with an eye on a starting infield position. Again, what appeared a clear opportunity has become clouded by the Brewers’ subsequent acquisitions of Kolten Wong and, even though he is back on a Minor League deal and must win the third-base job, Travis Shaw.

Robertson is finished playing armchair GM. If he fits the Brewers as a multi-positional player, so be it.

“I know it’s a cliché, but man, I’ve buried myself in a hole trying to figure out who’s playing where and what and this and that,” said Robertson, 26. “In 2019, it was a debacle, man. I came into spring hoping to wrap up one position. We brought some guys in, and just the thinking of who’s where and this and that, it messed with me. I had to see the other side of it to not let it affect me, and, obviously, I’ve had to put in some neurological work to get over that hump.

“But I’m at a point now where I’m just kind of worrying about unselfishly what I can control and just go from there and just be ready for whatever opportunity presents itself over the course of a season. I’m at a point in my career where I’m going to just have fun, enjoy it, not take it for granted and not beat myself up over the little things I can’t control like who’s playing third, who’s playing short or how do I fit into the equation.

“I’m here for a reason. Obviously, they know I can help the team win, and I’ll be ready to do that.”