Look, I’m not going to pretend I’m a baseball expert, or even that I follow the game all that closely. In fact, until last year when the Milwaukee Brewers got off to a fast start at the beginning of the season, I was pretty much just a casual fan, which is why I rarely blog about it. But let me say I am excited as hell today.
Why? Because for the first time in 26 years, the Brewers are takers instead of givers. The Brewers are actually making a trade for a stud that benefits them instead sending one to another team for their playoff run.
Face it, the Brewers have been Losers! Capital L, exclamation point, for most of their years as a Milwaukee franchise with a small blip around 1982 when they won the AL Pennant and went to the World Series.
Last year, with their young exciting roster they sniffed the post-season, but management didn’t pull the trigger on bringing in any help to put them over the hump.
This year?
C.C. Sabathia, baby.
The Brewers finally have a great farm system, one envied by the rest of the league, with tons of young talent from which they can make deals like this. Again, something they haven’t had since the late 70s, the last time they were the envy of the league.
And at the moment, the Brewers are in the Wild Card hunt and only 3 games behind Division Leader and the team with the NL’s best record, those most hated Chicago Cubs.
What to do? Bring in the AL’s strike-out leader and last year’s AL Cy Young award winner to give you a much needed boost in the pitching department. Put him in the rotation with Ben Sheets, All-Star, and Manny Parra, who has an 8-2 record so far this year, and create a virtually unstoppable trio.
The Brewers give Sabathia something he was lacking in Cleveland. Run support. Many of his losses came because the Indians couldn’t score. Milwaukee is scoring. Big time. And even when they aren’t scoring, Milwaukee is still winning the close games and leads the league in games decided by only one run.
I haven’t been this excited about baseball, ever. And I haven’t been this excited about a trade involving a home team since the Green Bay Packers brought in Reggie White. And before that when the Milwaukee Bucks brought in Oscar Robertson.
So it’s been a few decades since I’ve had anything to be pumped about.
Let’s hope that, like Robertson and White before him, Sabathia will bring home a championship.
Upon Reflection 