Well I've been meaning to post something for a couple of weeks now (but feared jinxing the team -- plus I just might be a one-man cheering section) -- but hafta say that it's actually fun to watch and follow the Milwaukee Brewers thus far this season!

-- They're over .500 (ok -- sure, only by a game, but they haven't been this far into a season since like, I dunno, 2001?)

-- Cutie Ben Sheets broke a 25-year-old club record by striking out 18 Braves yesterday.

-- Lyle Overbay is the hottest hitter in MLB -- hitting safely in 17 straight games -- collecting 34 hits in that stretch. He also leads the NL in doubles.

-- The other "Brewerbacks" -- the Arizona players acquired in the trade of Richie Sexson -- Spivey, Counsell, and Grieve -- are performing admirally.

-- The Brewers made up a 5-0 deficit in the ninth inning on Wed. vs. the Expos -- and went on to win in extra innings -- the second largest comeback in franchise history.

-- One name: my man Scotty Podsednik. Easy on the eyes -- plus he's one of the NL leaders in steals.

-- They now travel to Puerto Rico to play Los Expos this week -- who knows -- may come away a few more games about .500??

[ May 17, 2004, 07:05 AM: Message edited by: DCBucky ]

I was looking for a Brewers thread to post about Ben Sheets. He was an automated pick on my fantasy baseball team, and I had no idea what he looked like until I saw him on Sports Center last night after his eighteen strikeout performance. SA - WOON! He is a total hunkahunkaburninlove!! Oh, yeah, he's a good pitcher, too.

And even though it's only May--and we all know standings don't really matter until July--who would have thought the Brewers woyuld have a better record (19-18) than San Francisco (15-23) or Atlanta (17-19.)

~Adam

For anyone interested in the details of baseball economics, the results of two independent audits of the Brewers' books were released a few weeks back. The team was responding to criticism from 10+ losing years in a row, plummeting attendance and PR problems when the player payroll was again slashed and the popular Ulice Payne was dumped as club president. One audit was conducted by the state legislature; the other by the Milwaukee business community.

The biggest finding: universal surprise and relief that the Seligs were NOT using the team as their own cash cow. To the contrary (an ESPN special had pegged it at millions of dollars), their salaries were in line with other MLB compensation.

The second biggest finding: (duh) the gate has to be the major source of revenue -- and for more people to come to Miller Park, the team has to win more (duh).

Win, and they will come.

Commentary by Milwaukee Journal's Dale Hoffman :
"Most of us have had cars at one time or another that we couldn't afford to get rid of because we spent so much money keeping them running. That's the picture these reports give us of the Brewers' ownership. We loved those wrecks, and they had to love the team, but there's a limit."

Well it had to be too good to be true -- Brewers back to their old tricks. Three weeks ago they were seven games above .500 and in the midst of the wild card race. They've since lost 9 of their last 12 games -- almost all I think to NL Central rivals -- and have fallen to .500. And they're on to Houston to face Roger Clemens tonight.

Pitching is still terrific -- Victor Santos and Ben Sheets in particular. But the batting just sucks. They've scored but 14 runs since the All Star Game.

Well Scott Podsednik may be turning things around -- has lifted his average by some 5 points in the past few games -- but he's still some 50-60 points below where he was last year.

Article in the USAToday says that the Brewers have the lowest payroll in the majors: $27.5 million, far below the league average of $69 million, and only a fraction of the Yankees' $184.2 million. The highest paid player is Manny Ramirez at $22.5 million, only $5 mil. less than the entire Brewers team. Despite this, the Brewers are only 6 games below .500. That's pretty good value.

The season's over -- well it was over for the Brewers by mid-August. But things look better for next year:

1) Bye-bye Seligs. The Brewers are being sold to Mark Attanasio. I think the new blood will help.

2) The Brewers got what they paid for with the low $27.5 million payroll -- but some bright spots: Lyle Overbay led the league in doubles; Scott Podsednick in steals, even though Scotty suffered from an awful sophomore slump. The payroll will go up to $40 million next year (still low, of course)

3) Part of the bigger payroll comes from the fact that the team drew over 2 million fans to Miller Park. That's more than the AL Central champs Twins had!! (it helps that 10 of the home games were against the Cubbies and their ticket-starved flatland fans just an hour or two away -- but the Brewers are happy to take their money!)

And the Bucky household's very happy since the Brewers will be making a visit to DC to play the DCExpos.