Sometimes, I wish I was a Brewer fan.

[cubbieinexile]

Oh and I think the Brewers are going to regress next year. Part of me thinks terribly and another part thinks only slightly below .500.

[erik316wttn]

The Selig-driven Brewers pushed fans away from 1993-2004 by cutting payroll, jetising players, and embarrassing the strong fanbase by allowing such crap to take the field every summer.

 

Mark Attanasio really has his stuff together. He's a smart business man that will let Melvin take care of all baseball operations. This is a VERY very young team. The possibilities are endless with Weeks, Hardy, Fielder, Hart, Cruz etc... the scary thing is that the Brewers still have one of the best farm systems in baseball. Pitching is on it's way up, and even if it stalls, they have the mass of talent to make trades and raise salary for it.

 

As a lifelong Brewer fan who has never been on board to see a winning season (I started watching in '95) , I've never been this excited. The city and state is buzzing about this team. We've always had a strong fanbase... it bothers me that some think that we're fair weather fans. We're not... but there's only so much Selig you can take, you know?

 

There's one thing Mark A. has to do to make Miller Park a constant sellout in 2006. Bring back the glove log. That logo IS Milwaukee baseball.

 

Have a good winter and we'll see you in spring Cubs fans, you better bring it. :wink:

 

Well the Brewers that we know right now is a Selig team, the minor leagues is a Selig created system. Any if not all of the success the Brewers achieve in the next few years is going to be largely because of Bud Selig and what he did for the Brewers.

 

I cannot give Selig good grades because as a Commish and as a Wisconsin taxpayer I can't stand him. But as the owner of the Brewers he hasn't done a bad job. He hasn't done a great job but with the limitations that is the Brewers market he has done alright.

 

The Brewers even in the 90's could develop players their problem was that they could not afford them. The team was swimming in debt and I think no owner could have avoided that in the 90's with the exploding salaries. The only way he could have competed is if had a lot of his own money and he used it to finance a team. I cannot fault him for not doing that, its a poor business decision to do that.

 

I agree. Look at the talent they had that they couldn't afford....

 

Sheffield, Molitor, Bichette, Cirillo, Vina, Matheny, Sexson, Burnitz, etc. That's a heck of an offense right there, if you take them when they were at thier best with the Brewers. (or, the potential that they found shortly after they left Milwaukee)

 

And they do need to bring back the white and blue pinstriped jerseys with the yellow and blue glove. THAT is classic Brewers right there. I miss those uni's.

[erik316wttn]

Oh and I think the Brewers are going to regress next year. Part of me thinks terribly and another part thinks only slightly below .500.

 

Regression wouldn't shock me terribly. With a young team like that you're bound to have some growing pains.

 

But five years from now, barring monumental stupidity, they'll be one of the best teams in the National League.

[delroy lindo]

Of all the things to wish for...Brewers fan? What in the world is stopping you?

[goonys evil twin]

As a lifelong Brewer fan who has never been on board to see a winning season (I started watching in '95) ,

 

Ah, a young pup I see.

[erik316wttn]

If the Brewers make the playoffs in a few years I want tickets. I'm only about 40 miles from Miller Park, and have never been to an MLB playoff game before.

 

Of course, if the Cubs made the playoffs, or the World Series, I'd sell any and all of my worldly possessions for tickets at Wrigley.

[cubbieinexile]

I doubt that the Brewers will be much of a threat in 5 years, especially in the NL Central. There are just too many teams with too much resources ahead of them. A lot of things would have to change if the Brewers want to be able to hold on their players.

 

The Brewers have some young players but they have a lot of players that are not going to be here soon. Which means either their minor league system is going to have to keep churning out good players or they are going to have to get good players via the trade or free agency. I don't see the Brewers being able to do that consistently over the next 5 years. If Weeks and Fielder pan out like they hope then they are going to get expensive real quick.

 

They are going to either have to develop or pick up through trade and free agency the entire outfield within the next couple of years. That is going to be expensive and difficult. And of course they will always need pitching. Third base and catching will be needed and they need SS, 2B, and first base to pan out. A lot of ifs involved.

[erik316wttn]

I doubt that the Brewers will be much of a threat in 5 years, especially in the NL Central. There are just too many teams with too much resources ahead of them. A lot of things would have to change if the Brewers want to be able to hold on their players.

 

The Brewers have some young players but they have a lot of players that are not going to be here soon. Which means either their minor league system is going to have to keep churning out good players or they are going to have to get good players via the trade or free agency. I don't see the Brewers being able to do that consistently over the next 5 years. If Weeks and Fielder pan out like they hope then they are going to get expensive real quick.

 

They are going to either have to develop or pick up through trade and free agency the entire outfield within the next couple of years. That is going to be expensive and difficult. And of course they will always need pitching. Third base and catching will be needed and they need SS, 2B, and first base to pan out. A lot of ifs involved.

 

If attendance keeps going up, they'll be able to lock up those players. Lock them up to long-term extentions soon so you can form a good core.

 

You can win as long as you keep butts in seats. Brewer fans will pack the stadium every home date if they can see a winner. They'll have enough revenue.

[cubbieinexile]

The Brewers payroll is 27th and at 40 million dollars. It can only go up from here. From this point on as their payroll gets higher they get less money from revenue sharing which means it has to be offset by other forms of revenue. Things that won;t change no matter what are Radio and TV revenue. Which makes up a huge slice of the pie. So the trick will be to match the growth in that revenue with the rising cost of good players.

 

So for instance if Weeks ends up costing 8 million dollars in 4 years not only do they have to increase their revenue by more then 8 million but also they have to replace the revenue sharing money they would recieve by having the lower payroll. So in the end after you factor in the lost revenue sharing and the cost of doing business you are looking at least an increase of 12 million dollars just to break even on an 8 million dollar salary.

 

In all reality the Brewers in order to compete in a few years will have to at the very least double their payroll which means they will have to increase revenue by around 50 to 60 million dollars. I don't see them being able to do that.

[erik316wttn]

The Brewers payroll is 27th and at 40 million dollars. It can only go up from here. From this point on as their payroll gets higher they get less money from revenue sharing which means it has to be offset by other forms of revenue. Things that won;t change no matter what are Radio and TV revenue. Which makes up a huge slice of the pie. So the trick will be to match the growth in that revenue with the rising cost of good players.

 

So for instance if Weeks ends up costing 8 million dollars in 4 years not only do they have to increase their revenue by more then 8 million but also they have to replace the revenue sharing money they would recieve by having the lower payroll. So in the end after you factor in the lost revenue sharing and the cost of doing business you are looking at least an increase of 12 million dollars just to break even on an 8 million dollar salary.

 

In all reality the Brewers in order to compete in a few years will have to at the very least double their payroll which means they will have to increase revenue by around 50 to 60 million dollars. I don't see them being able to do that.

 

Well, then they'll have to take the Oakland model.... get the most out of your young players, and trade them for prospects when their value is highest.

[cubbieinexile]

I doubt they could do what Oakland did. Unless the Brewers can develop 3 very good to great starting pitchers it is going to be extremely unlikely that they can keep their salaries down and compete at the same time. Not to mention that it is already apparent that they are not going to follow the A's model.

 

Next year the Brewers are going to have about 30 million tied up in 5 players, around 38 million and 6 players if the pick up the option on Cirillo which I don't think they will.

[erik316wttn]

I doubt they could do what Oakland did. Unless the Brewers can develop 3 very good to great starting pitchers it is going to be extremely unlikely that they can keep their salaries down and compete at the same time. Not to mention that it is already apparent that they are not going to follow the A's model.

 

Next year the Brewers are going to have about 30 million tied up in 5 players, around 38 million and 6 players if the pick up the option on Cirillo which I don't think they will.

 

If they can trade Jenkins they'll be ok.

 

If they trade some of thier good offensive players in a few years, maybe they'll find a Mulder/Hudson/Zito in the prospects they get in return.