Sunday, May 09, 2004
To Survive, Brewers Desperately Need a Rally
Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel surveys the state of the Brewers, in the wake of the just-released financial reports. Timothy Sheehy of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce says that one of the most important facts didn't make it into the reports:
"When the Brewers came here in 1970, metropolitan Milwaukee was the 24th-largest metro area in the U.S. Today, we are 42nd. No other top-25 metro area has fallen like us."
One anonymous "sports finance expert" says the Brewers aren't an attractive investment, either:
"Even with their low payroll, it doesn't make any money. Attendance has been bad. It's just not where people expect it to be as a franchise. The team has been kind of beaten up. It's hard to get the fans back without rebuilding the payroll. And it's not a huge media market. A lot of really smart people are trying to make sense of this to sell this team."
I respectfully disagree. I think the Brewers' local reputation and on-field performance have bottomed out, making the club a good deal at the right price. Any new ownership group will likely start with less debt than the $133.2 million crippling the Selig team -- they'd have to, if Bud intends to enforce the debt rules. Milwaukee fans will give a fresh start to any owner not named Selig, and when they do, the Miller Park turnstiles will spin again. Most importantly, for the first time in years the Brewers have what it takes to improve the team on the cheap: a significant number of prospects (the Milwaukee organization is ranked #1 in the majors by Baseball America) who can replace the mediocrities and overpaid third-tier free agents who have been staples of recent Brewer lineups.
For this to work, though, the Brewers will have to overcome two potentially devastating, though false, impressions their current owner has spent the past decade spreading. If Milwaukee fans continue to believe that "payroll = team quality" and "small markets can't compete," Bud Selig will have done more than anyone else to kill major league baseball in his hometown.
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Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel surveys the state of the Brewers, in the wake of the just-released financial reports. Timothy Sheehy of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce says that one of the most important facts didn't make it into the reports:
"When the Brewers came here in 1970, metropolitan Milwaukee was the 24th-largest metro area in the U.S. Today, we are 42nd. No other top-25 metro area has fallen like us."
One anonymous "sports finance expert" says the Brewers aren't an attractive investment, either:
"Even with their low payroll, it doesn't make any money. Attendance has been bad. It's just not where people expect it to be as a franchise. The team has been kind of beaten up. It's hard to get the fans back without rebuilding the payroll. And it's not a huge media market. A lot of really smart people are trying to make sense of this to sell this team."
I respectfully disagree. I think the Brewers' local reputation and on-field performance have bottomed out, making the club a good deal at the right price. Any new ownership group will likely start with less debt than the $133.2 million crippling the Selig team -- they'd have to, if Bud intends to enforce the debt rules. Milwaukee fans will give a fresh start to any owner not named Selig, and when they do, the Miller Park turnstiles will spin again. Most importantly, for the first time in years the Brewers have what it takes to improve the team on the cheap: a significant number of prospects (the Milwaukee organization is ranked #1 in the majors by Baseball America) who can replace the mediocrities and overpaid third-tier free agents who have been staples of recent Brewer lineups.
For this to work, though, the Brewers will have to overcome two potentially devastating, though false, impressions their current owner has spent the past decade spreading. If Milwaukee fans continue to believe that "payroll = team quality" and "small markets can't compete," Bud Selig will have done more than anyone else to kill major league baseball in his hometown.
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