No, not the super efficient green windows. I’m talking about our playoff window. I remember being able to walk up to Miller Park for just about every game in the early 2000s and get a really good seat (Ok, buy a cheap seat but walk down to great seats). Beer was cheaper, but the quality of the game being played on the field was bad. I remember the mantra of the front office during the times of multiple 90 loss seasons. For those of you that don’t remember or were too drunk during this period of time, it was “Wait till our prospects develop. The Brewers are going to build an elite farm system“. And by all accounts they seem to have done pretty damn well. (Thanks Jack Z… we miss you)
We were constantly told, “Just wait.” The Brewers drafted a kid with a funny first name–P something–Fielder (2002), Hardy (2001), Weeks (2003). We tried to be patient. We then added young guys like LaPorta (2005), Braun (2005), Escobar (2003) and Gamel (2005). We saw how our farm system got us Hall (1998) and he seemed to be working out well at the time. All we had to do is simply wait till these players developed, and if they became anything close to their ceiling we should have been sitting pretty. I bought into this belief; it’s the only way a mid-market team can survive right?
Now before you tell me the obvious, some players flamed (Hall), some players took a little more time to develop (Weeks), and some got traded away (LaPorta)–but over all the team has a great base of young talent. But, something scary and horrifying is just around the corner (and I’m not referring to the end of the world in 2012). In just about every scenario, this is the last year this crop of talent will be together. The biggest assumption is that Fielder will no longer be a Brewers in 2011 due to the Boras effect (we have to move him when he’s still valuable). The team will have lost a crucial piece in Fielder/Braun duo. Fielder will no longer be protecting Braun, Braun will see more junk and well–as you can see–offensive production will suffer. This round of young talent is singing its swan song. And what do we have to show for all this amazing cheap talent? One playoff birth.
But Sgt, that was the first time in 26 years, you are an idiot.
Will we ever use one again?
I may be an idiot, but I’m well aware of the length of the drought. I almost cried after clinching–I was in shock. I only drank three beers while tailgating game 3 of the NLDS because I didn’t want any of Miller’s finest products clouding my memory. I will never forget how electric it was to watch Bush pitch in the NLDS and how the entire city of Milwaukee hung on every pitch. Then game 4 came, and Suppan finally got a chance to show why we over-paid for him. Finally, after getting ripped on for 2 years by the fan base, Doug’s master plan was finally about to come together. right? It was time for our big game pitcher to pitch in a big game. I hate to bring up repressed memories, but that didn’t work out too well. Remember that lead off home run? I turned to my buddy Josh and said “Well, it was fun while it lasted“. As the fans’ hearts began to break, they took solace in the fact that one run didn’t take us out of it. Then the third inning came and Suppan dug a hole he couldn’t recover from. Philly never looked back. That ended my first, and maybe last, playoff series of my life. And what’s worse, Sheets was run out of town. Way to burn those bridges, Doug.
This brings me back to my point. Have we missed our window? I am going to say yes we have. The fan base bought like crazy in 2009 in the hopes that maybe the team can string together good years. The team lost CC and Sheets…we waited for solutions…and have yet to cease waiting. Instead of a quality pitcher with upside, we get Braden Looper. Our rotation stinks worse then my ass after a night of drinking PBR. Does 2010 look better? Not to me, due to our salary constraints and the wasted $25M for Hall/Suppan/Looper we just simply can’t afford to fix the problems. Doug’s mismanagement of our club’s resources have left us in a horrid situation. 2010 looks to be the swan song of our current group of players, and we simply have to wait till the newest crop of players develop. All we can do is hope that Doug doesn’t lock us up into another Suppan contract for someone like Doug Davis for 5 years. Yes, we can be worse in the NL at pitching–we can slip to dead last over the Nationals in team ERA. Things can get worse kids.
Maybe 2012 or 2014 we can make a run… assuming that world doesn’t end and Mark makes the decision we are all waiting for. The removal of DM. Till then, get used to being rejected by the baseball gods. I really hope I’m wrong, I really hope that some how we win big this year. But it looks like the players are going to have to do it with out the help of a good GM. Best of luck guys. I’ll be pulling for you, and I look forward to both Fielders and Brauns outbursts regarding the situation of pitching. Even an average staff gets us semi-close to the post season. Can we fix it with at most 16 million to sign one SP (maybe 2) and fill our holes? Seems unlikely to me.
Enjoy the swan song of Fielder/Braun, we saw one of the greatest duos in baseball. And remember who let it all slip away.
Now before you tell me the obvious, some players flamed (Hall), some players took a little more time to develop (Weeks), and some got traded away (LaPorta)–but over all the team has a great base of young talent. But, something scary and horrifying is just around the corner (and I’m not referring to the end of the world in 2012). In just about every scenario, this is the last year this crop of talent will be together. The biggest assumption is that Fielder will no longer be a Brewers in 2011 due to the Boras effect (we have to move him when he’s still valuable). The team will have lost a crucial piece in Fielder/Braun duo. Fielder will no longer be protecting Braun, Braun will see more junk and well–as you can see–offensive production will suffer. This round of young talent is singing its swan song. And what do we have to show for all this amazing cheap talent? One playoff birth.
But Sgt, that was the first time in 26 years, you are an idiot.
I may be an idiot, but I’m well well aware of the length of the drought. I almost cried after clinching–I was in shock. I only drank three beers while tailgating game 3 of the NLDS because I didn’t want any of Miller’s finest products clouding my memory. I will never forget how electric it was to watch Bush pitch in the NLDS and how the entire city of Milwaukee hung on every pitch. Then game 4 came, and Suppan finally got a chance to show why we over-paid for him. Finally, after getting ripped on for 2 years by the fan base, Doug’s master plan was finally about to come together. right? It was time for our big game pitcher to pitch in a big game. I hate to bring up repressed memories, but that didn’t work out too well. Remember that lead off home run? I turned to my buddy Josh and said “Well, it was fun while it lasted”. As the fans’ hearts began to break, they took solace in the fact that one run didn’t take us out of it. Then the third inning came and Suppan dug a hole he couldn’t recover from. Philly never looked back. That ended my first, and maybe last, playoff series of my life. And what’s worse, Sheets was run out of town, opting to take ZERO money then accept arbitration from the Brewers. Way to burn those bridges, Doug.
This brings me back to my point. Have we missed our window? I am going to say yes we have. The fan base bought like crazy in 2009 in the hopes that maybe the team can string together good years. The team lost CC and Sheets…we waited for solutions…and have yet to cease waiting. Instead of a quality pitcher with upside, we get Braden Looper. Our rotation stinks worse then my ass after a night of drinking PBR. Does 2010 look better? Not to me, due to our salary constraints and the wasted $25M for Hall/Suppan/Looper we just simply can’t afford to fix the problems. Doug’s mismanagement of our club’s resources have left us in a horrid situation. 2010 looks to be the swan song of our current group of players, and we simply have to wait till the newest crop of players develop. All we can do is hope that Doug doesn’t lock us up into another Suppan contract for someone like Doug Davis for 5 years. Yes, we can be worse in the NL at pitching–we can slip to dead last over the Nationals in team ERA. Things can get worse kids.
Maybe 2012 or 2014 we can make a run… assuming that world doesn’t end and Mark makes the decision we are all waiting for. The removal of DM. Till then, get used to being rejected by the baseball gods. I really hope I’m wrong, I really hope that some how we win big this year. But it looks like the players are going to have to do it with out the help of a good GM. Best of luck guys. I’ll be pulling for you, and I look forward to both Fielders and Brauns outbursts regarding the situation of pitching. Even an average staff gets us semi-close to the post season. Can we fix it with at most 16 million to sign one SP (maybe 2) and fill our holes? Seems unlikely to me.
Enjoy the swan song of Fielder/Braun, we saw one of the greatest duos in baseball. And remember who let it all slip awayNo, not the super efficient green windows. I’m talking about our playoff window. I remember being able to walk up to Miller Park for just about every game in the early 2000s and get a really good seat (Ok, buy a shit seat but walk down to great seats). Beer was cheaper, but the quality of the game being played on the field was bad. I remember the mantra of the front office during the times of multiple 90 loss seasons. For those of you that don’t remember or were too drunk during this period of time, it was “Wait till our prospects develop. The Brewers are going to build an elite farm system”. And by all accounts they seem to have done pretty damn well. (Thanks Jack Z… we miss you)
We were constantly told, “Just wait.” The Brewers drafted a kid with a funny first name–P something–Fielder (2002), Hardy (2001), Weeks (2003). We tried to be patient. We then added young guys like LaPorta (2005), Braun (2005), Escobar (2003) and Gamel (2005). We saw how our farm system got us Hall (1998) and he seemed to be working out well at the time. All we had to do is simply wait till these players developed, and if they became anything close to their ceiling we should have been sitting pretty. I bought into this belief; it’s the only way a mid-market team can survive right?
Now before you tell me the obvious, some players flamed (Hall), some players took a little more time to develop (Weeks), and some got traded away (LaPorta)–but over all the team has a great base of young talent. But, something scary and horrifying is just around the corner (and I’m not referring to the end of the world in 2012). In just about every scenario, this is the last year this crop of talent will be together. The biggest assumption is that Fielder will no longer be a Brewers in 2011 due to the Boras effect (we have to move him when he’s still valuable). The team will have lost a crucial piece in Fielder/Braun duo. Fielder will no longer be protecting Braun, Braun will see more junk and well–as you can see–offensive production will suffer. This round of young talent is singing its swan song. And what do we have to show for all this amazing cheap talent? One playoff birth.
But Sgt, that was the first time in 26 years, you are an idiot.
I may be an idiot, but I’m well well aware of the length of the drought. I almost cried after clinching–I was in shock. I only drank three beers while tailgating game 3 of the NLDS because I didn’t want any of Miller’s finest products clouding my memory. I will never forget how electric it was to watch Bush pitch in the NLDS and how the entire city of Milwaukee hung on every pitch. Then game 4 came, and Suppan finally got a chance to show why we over-paid for him. Finally, after getting ripped on for 2 years by the fan base, Doug’s master plan was finally about to come together. right? It was time for our big game pitcher to pitch in a big game. I hate to bring up repressed memories, but that didn’t work out too well. Remember that lead off home run? I turned to my buddy Josh and said “Well, it was fun while it lasted”. As the fans’ hearts began to break, they took solace in the fact that one run didn’t take us out of it. Then the third inning came and Suppan dug a hole he couldn’t recover from. Philly never looked back. That ended my first, and maybe last, playoff series of my life. And what’s worse, Sheets was run out of town, opting to take ZERO money then accept arbitration from the Brewers. Way to burn those bridges, Doug.
This brings me back to my point. Have we missed our window? I am going to say yes we have. The fan base bought like crazy in 2009 in the hopes that maybe the team can string together good years. The team lost CC and Sheets…we waited for solutions…and have yet to cease waiting. Instead of a quality pitcher with upside, we get Braden Looper. Our rotation stinks worse then my ass after a night of drinking PBR. Does 2010 look better? Not to me, due to our salary constraints and the wasted $25M for Hall/Suppan/Looper we just simply can’t afford to fix the problems. Doug’s mismanagement of our club’s resources have left us in a horrid situation. 2010 looks to be the swan song of our current group of players, and we simply have to wait till the newest crop of players develop. All we can do is hope that Doug doesn’t lock us up into another Suppan contract for someone like Doug Davis for 5 years. Yes, we can be worse in the NL at pitching–we can slip to dead last over the Nationals in team ERA. Things can get worse kids.
Maybe 2012 or 2014 we can make a run… assuming that world doesn’t end and Mark makes the decision we are all waiting for. The removal of DM. Till then, get used to being rejected by the baseball gods. I really hope I’m wrong, I really hope that some how we win big this year. But it looks like the players are going to have to do it with out the help of a good GM. Best of luck guys. I’ll be pulling for you, and I look forward to both Fielders and Brauns outbursts regarding the situation of pitching. Even an average staff gets us semi-close to the post season. Can we fix it with at most 16 million to sign one SP (maybe 2) and fill our holes? Seems unlikely to me.
Enjoy the swan song of Fielder/Braun, we saw one of the greatest duos in baseball. And remember who let it all slip away.
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