Oh, bother. As they shuffle the game's deck and jockey for position this winter, here go the Milwaukee Brewers again, playing the Slesinger family while the conglomerates go on playing the Walt Disney Co.
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| Craig Counsell is a nice addition to the Brewers, albeit a bit expensive.(Getty Images) |
Now this isn't to say the moaning, groaning, game-losing, lump-taking, black cloud-drawing, payroll-slicing Brewers are about to become embroiled in a lawsuit against, say, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees for withholding royalties. But as Bud Selig's team -- scratch that, he has them in trust, wink, wink -- awaits the game's new revenue sharing plan to kick into full gear, they are fighting perhaps the biggest battle in club history for a valuable commodity called credibility.
Engulfed by 11 consecutive losing seasons and suffocated by an ugly winter in which Ulice Payne is now out as president after a tenure that was shorter than your basic Eeyore sigh, it's back to the sketch pad for the Brewers. While most other clubs look to build -- ranging from sweeping architectural projects such as Boston's acquisition of Curt Schilling and the Yankees' dealing with Gary Sheffield -- and, possibly, trading for an ace pitcher like Kevin Brown -- to the Chicago Cubs' signing of setup man LaTroy Hawkins -- the Brewers are reducing their payroll to $30 million.
Fans are livid, the franchise now appears as regularly on the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's editorial pages as on the sports pages and everybody wants to see the Brewers' books audited. So much for the promises of a new ballpark making things rosy.
"I keep telling people what we should have done is leave the old park up while we built the new park and played in the old park and froze our butts off until our young kids were ready to move into the new place," general manager Doug Melvin said this week, only half in jest.
Fortunately for the Brewers' present and future, when Melvin pulled the trigger on the Richie Sexson deal Monday, he was able to get more than simply Piglet in return. Everybody and their pets knew that the Brewers board of directors had a gun pointed at the GM's head to reduce the payroll, yet Melvin still was able to finagle a stunningly good package of players from Arizona in return.
New for '04 in place of Sexson and a couple of minor-leaguers are second baseman Junior Spivey, infielder Craig Counsell, first baseman Lyle Overbay, catcher Chad Moeller and left-handers Chris Capuano and Jorge De La Rosa.
"Milwaukee did great," marveled one industry insider. "I think Milwaukee did great."
"I think they did fine," a National League scout said. "Counsell is way overpaid, but he's still a good player. Spivey is an athlete -- he can play. Overbay is young and he can put the bat on the ball -- he's sort of a poor-man's Nick Johnson. De La Rosa is a definite prospect, Capuano's OK and Moeller can catch.
"They filled a lot of holes. Maybe not with tremendous players, but if I'm Milwaukee, I make that deal in a New York minute. They filled a lot of holes with guys who are going to be around for a couple of years."
The problem, of course, is that in a New York minute, the Yankees are signing relievers Flash Gordon and Paul Quantrill and George Steinbrenner is reeling in Sheffield (and however that turns out with recent reports of a snag in the talks, Sheffield and Steinbrenner agreed verbally on a three-year deal several days ago). And Boston is fitting Schilling for new double-knits and negotiating with closer Keith Foulke.
It has been happening for years, only now it's more sharply pronounced and more sharply defined. The big guys come in and steal the little guys' honey, leaving the Milwaukees of the world to find their own way through the deep, dark, 100-acre woods.
The past three weeks have produced some of the ugliest days in Brewers history. Yet Melvin, a highly respected baseball man and good guy who is only a year into one of the most thankless gigs in baseball, is getting along just fine. It's all in the perspective, whether you're a turtleneck-decked Steinbrenner sitting across a table of steaks from Sheffield discussing millions, or whether you're Melvin and Payne dealing with a panicking board of directors.
"From my perspective, I'm fortunate, there are only 30 GM jobs in the business," said Melvin, the GM in Texas from 1996-2001. "And from the fans' standpoint, the fans should be appreciative to have a major-league franchise, because it is one of only 30 in the country.
"The GM job has challenges, and I always spin it backwards to talking about baseball. We can talk about the budgets and the labor deal, but in the end, I'm not sure people want to talk about that.
"It's been difficult for the fans, but we're going to stay with our plan in recognizing it's not the right time to spend money until we get better. It was tough to trade Richie. But I've been there before. I traded Juan Gonzalez, and he was a two-time MVP.
"Richie isn't the first star player, and he isn't going to be the last one, who leaves a city and leaves the fans disappointed."
Hands tied, Melvin couldn't go into 2004 affording both Sexson and outfielder Geoff Jenkins. Removing Sexson's 45 homers and 124 RBI from the lineup will be tough, but really, it isn't exactly as if the Brewers have won with him. There are children in elementary school throughout Wisconsin whose lives have not coincided with an above-.500 finish from the Brewers.
"Last year, the (NBA's) Bucks traded Ray Allen, and he was a very popular player," Melvin said. "From the fans' standpoint it's, 'Hey, why is it that when we get good players, we can't keep them?'
"But I say, 'Who was the last good player the Brewers had and didn't keep?' And it goes back to Paul Molitor."
Surely, those elementary school-aged kids throughout Wisconsin still awaiting a baseball winner have read about him in some of their history books.
"Seattle had Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez and moved them," Melvin said. "Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome were in Cleveland. Pittsburgh, with Brian Giles. Atlanta had to trade Kevin Millwood for one player last year. You end up having to make deals. It's part of the environment we're in. The money part is real. Clubs are going through difficult times. I think it can recover, but a lot of clubs are suffering from the bad contracts we've done in the past. And we've all done 'em."
Slowly, the Brewers' farm system seems to be flourishing. Part of the thinking with Sexson was, with Prince Fielder -- Cecil's kid -- looking good in the bushes, the Brewers didn't need to lock up a first baseman for the next five or six years. Besides Fielder, the Brewers are counting on shortstop J.J. Hardy, second baseman Rickie Weeks and outfielder Anthony Gwynn -- son of former Padres great Tony.
"One thing the Brewers have is flexibility," Melvin said. "I don't have one penny committed to next year's payroll. We're getting a clean plate."
That's surely what many Milwaukee-area fans are afraid of. The Brewers have embarked on rebuilding projects several times over the past decade, committed to young players, planned for the future ... only to see those young players get hurt, or flame out, and watch that future turn stormy.
Melvin doesn't plan on trading Jenkins as of now, and though he has already fielded calls inquiring about Spivey, he isn't planning on a quick turnaround on any of the players he acquired this week from Arizona.
Of course, these are the Brewers, and plans are always fluid.
Meanwhile, in the wake of Payne's departure, if the Brewers are breaking any sort of promises made to Melvin, the GM isn't saying.
Asked if he feels misled in any way, Melvin said, "Not at all."
"I knew the challenges coming in here," said Melvin, who was hired on Sept. 26, 2002. "Hey, I was in Texas when we had a $90 million payroll. I enjoyed myself when we were in the middle of the (payroll) pack there from '96-'99. ...
"I've been on both sides. This part is fun, because it can be more rewarding."
Melvin said he remembers former Kansas City GM Herk Robinson telling him long ago, "If you're going to end up in last place with a $40 million payroll, you might as well be at $20 million and build it back up."
Over the past decade, the Brewers have tried all shapes and all sizes. They've lost with a $49 million payroll and they've lost with much lower.
"We have to get this organization to where the environment is attractive enough so that players want to come in and play here," Melvin said. "(Manager) Ned Yost and his staff are turning it around. We're not there yet, but we're making steps."
The Houston shuffle
The fact that the Yankees continue to sniff around the trade market with Los Angeles' Kevin Brown and Montreal's Javier Vazquez, and the free-agent market with Bartolo Colon, is making at least a few baseball people think that the return of Andy Pettitte isn't necessarily a lock.
"That tells me one thing: They're not confident that they'll re-sign Pettitte," one major league executive said this week regarding the Yankees-Dodgers talks over Brown. "I think Pettitte will go to Houston. I think Houston's got a hell of a chance to get him."
John Kruk Geographical Moment of the Week
The phormer Phillie was so phun -- and phunny -- that we consider it a life-enriching experience when we come across anything that reminds us of the phenomenal Krukie.
Which is why we couldn't help but smile the other day when we happened upon a fresh new quote from none other than Britney Spears on the perks of being famous.
"I get to go to a lot of overseas places, like Canada," the blond pop temptress said.
Which, of course, brings us right back to Kruk's rookie year in San Diego in 1986, when the Padres' team bus was rolling toward Wrigley Field. Kruk gazed out the window toward Lake Michigan and wondered what ocean it was.
Jenny Craig and Arizona
While the Diamondbacks have shed Schilling, they're hoping pitcher Elmer Dessens sheds a little weight.
Listed at 5-feet-10 and 198 pounds last year, Dessens crept up a little above that, and the Diamondbacks think it might have adversely affected him in the late innings. Dessens, who finished 8-8 with a 5.07 ERA, and his agent conversed with Arizona GM Joe Garagiola Jr. toward the end of the summer about an offseason conditioning program, and Garagiola says the reports are good.
"The thrust of it was how he would start a game and, through the first four or five innings, he'd run through the lineup three-up, three-down," Garagiola said. "Then, at the 75-pitch mark, in the fifth or sixth inning, it was like he ran into a brick wall.
"He's determined that he's going to address it this winter, and get stronger, so he can carry his same game another 25 pitches."
Short hops
- While Shannon Stewart remains one of the premier players in free agency, it remains a buyer's market. Among the outfielders available are Stewart, Mike Cameron, Jose Cruz Jr., Juan Gonzalez, Reggie Sanders, Kenny Lofton and Rondell White.
- Having now failed in their attempts to snag starter Pat Hentgen and reliever Tom Gordon, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, with money to burn, are setting their sights on a proven hitter such as Gonzalez, Sanders, White or Cruz.
- Foulke will be the first major domino to tumble in this winter's closers and late-innings relief specialists. While Foulke decides between Boston and Oakland (with the New York Mets also in the running), Seattle and the Chicago Cubs have been in frequent contact with free-agent closer Eddie Guardado. Minnesota, who would like to retain Guardado, opened negotiations with him on Monday. "That's what I hear," Guardado said this week, "once either Foulke or somebody signs, the dominoes will go."
- Though the process has dragged out so long and remained so far under the radar that many have forgotten there is even a search, Dave Miley remains the favorite to get the Cincinnati manager's job sometime in the next few days. Former White Sox manager Jerry Manuel is one of the finalists.
- No habla Ingles? No problem! The Orioles have hired an instructor of English and cultural literacy who will assist in the education of Latin American players in the organization. A very wise move, and a position that should be standard in every organization to help facilitate things, given the continuing globalization of baseball.
- What is this, an outtake from VH1's I love the '70s? HBO on Wednesday night will broadcast a documentary The Rebels of Oakland: The A's, the Raiders, the '70s and, seriously, if it's as good as the network's look at the 1968 Tigers and the effect they had on a race riot-torn city, it is must-see. The documentary will revisit the turbulent era in the city's history and the cocky, winning teams that inhabited the Oakland Coliseum.
- The recent release of his CD Greatest Hits 2 marks a very welcome return from Bob Seger, who unfortunately has been semi-retired in recent years. What does this have to do with baseball? Not much, but it's a chance to lobby for the release of what's said to be a killer cut locked away in the Seger vaults titled Can't Hit the Corners No More, an intriguing song about a struggling, aging pitcher. No, far as we know, it's not based on the life and times of Jack Morris or David Cone. Seger once said he had Catfish Hunter and Mark Fidrych in mind.
- Baseball -- and the sportswriting business in general -- lost a good person when Bob Wolf, a long-time sports writer in Milwaukee and, in later years, for the Los Angeles Times, passed away last week from complications resulting from a stroke. Wolfie, as he was known, had that exceptional quality that so many of us find difficult to retain through advancing years and grown-up problems: He never lost his passion for life, or his enthusiasm for sports. Sleep peacefully, Wolfie.
