Lyssa BeyerBy Nick Halter and Jake McCormick
Nick Halter: Well, baseball season is just underway, which means the Milwaukee Brewers fans still have hope. Could this be the first year the Crew makes the playoffs since 1982? I must admit Milwaukee is a NL Central contender. But what does it really mean to contend in Triple A? Could you imagine if the Minnesota Twins had the chance to beat up on the Astros, Cardinals, Pirates and Reds all season?
Jake McCormick: Call the Central what you want, I’ll take a division title and the playoffs over third or fourth in the AL Central, which is a division the Brewers went 7-5 against last year. I think if you were talking about the Twins of 2005 through 2007, you could contend with the Brewers and Chicago Cubs, but I think this is a year to allow a young Twins team to grow and rebuild its position players and starting rotation. Where do you actually see them finishing this year, considering every team in the division upgraded in some way except for Minnesota?
NH: When have the Twins ever been a team to make vast upgrades in the off-season? They develop their talent at the minor league level. But also, their moves went under the radar this winter. Delmon Young is going to be a stud for a long time. Carlos Gomez looks like he is finally going to fill the leadoff spot and could someday cover ground in centerfield like Tori Hunter used to. The pitching rotation is young but full of talent. We choose to do things in small doses. We would never pay $10 million for a washed up closer.
Yes, the AL Central has added a bunch of big names. But I said it before the season started: The Tigers are not for real because of lack of pitching depth. The White Sox and Royals improved, but they still aren’t contenders. Cleveland is well-balanced and young, making it a legitimate World Series contender. But the Twins could finish second or third in the division. The only difference is that they are set up for the future with their prospects. Unlike the Brewers, they aren’t playing in a two- or three-year window.
JM: Yeah because $47 million over four years for a closer older than the Brewers and also facing a decline is much more worthwhile, especially if they decide to trade him by the All Star Break. The Brewers have spent the past 10 years or so building up talent in their farm system through drafts and trades similar to those the Twins have made recently, although not as high on the blockbuster scale. Now, with Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun, JJ Hardy and Corey Hart in the field and Yovani Gallardo, Carlos Villanueva and Manny Parra rounding out the pitching staff, the Brewers have a solid core of starters all 25 years old or younger.
Just exactly how big would the Twins window be? As a small market team, I hardly see them with more longevity than the Brewers, considering they are obviously more stingy with money than the new Milwaukee owner is. Minnesota is right where Milwaukee was positioned when they started sporting “preparing for the future” slogans whenever a star player was traded. Now that the future is finally now and from what I’ve seen so far this season, I don’t see why the Brewers can’t make it to October.
NH: The problem for the Brewers isn’t that they don’t have a great core of players right now. I love Fielder and Corey Hart. Braun is a beast at the plate and Gwynn Jr. and some of the pitching staff look really promising. But none of those guys are locked up in long-term deals. It is easy to talk about the Twins letting go of players like Hunter and Johan Santana, but until you see how it is when Fielder, Hart and Braun have their hands out looking for big contracts you can’t say much. We have Morneau inked to a six-year deal and Cuddyer and Mauer have four-year contracts. The only project is to sign Young long term. Unlike previous years, we will be able to afford that soon. Why?
Think about this: Miller Park’s attendance has barely beat out the Metrodome since 2001. Miller Park is amazing. The Dome stinks. Can you imagine the revenue the Twins will have in 2010? So inking Young to a big contract won’t be as hard as it was to sign Hunter or Santana.
Here is my question to you: Why sign Mike Cameron? Gwynn Jr. is perfect for the Brewers. He provides speed and agility both as a leadoff hitter and outfielder. Why bring in a guy with a checkered past who is only signed through the season to stunt Gwynn’s growth? I know Milwaukee loves homeruns, but think about the future.
And please don’t compare Eric Gagne to Joe Nathan. Nathan is coming off three consecutive great seasons and has shown no signs of letting up. Ask Red Sox Nation what it thinks of Gagne.
JM: Considering the product on the field in the past six years, it should be surprising that the Brewers beat out the Twins in attendance. Baseball is the ultimate fair weather fans’ game because teams are virtually out of the playoff picture with over 80 games to go sometimes. The Pittsburgh Pirates, who have a great stadium but terrible team, don’t draw because their stadium is nice. Just like with Miller Park, the new Minnesota stadium will increase attendance for the first two years then it will plateau back to normal when the euphoria wears off.
I’m not as worried about resigning Fielder and Co. now that Bud Selig isn’t in control anymore. The Brewers’ new owner, Mark Attanasio, and general manager Doug Melvin have already shown they’re willing to pay money for players they feel fit well into Milwaukee’s team structure. All of their veterans, like Jason Kendall and Gagne, aren’t signed for more than two years, and Attanasio has repeatedly said he is intent on keeping the team’s budding stars around for a long time.
The one big mental thing the Brewers lacked last year late in the season was veteran leadership. Sheets was hurt and Johnny Estrada wasn’t much of anything. With Kendall, who sparked the Cubs late last year, Gagne, who was in an unfamiliar setup role in Boston and is now 100 percent closer, Cameron and Gabe Kapler, the Brewers have multiple players with experience in playoff and pressure situations to help the younger players grow. Plus, I love Kendall batting ninth, which suits a team like the Brewers extremely well. After years and years of selling the farm, I’m just happy to see a front office doing everything it can to keep the team together for more than one year.
NH: I wouldn’t get in the habit of trusting what owners say about signing players. You will only set yourself up for disappointment. Is Attanasio willing to go dollar-for-dollar with the Yankees or Red Sox for Fielder?
Either way, I am looking forward to the six games the Twins and Brewers play this year. I think it is a fun rivalry with a lot of likeable players. I would have no problem with a Twins-Brewers World Series someday.
JM: I think for the first time in a long time neither team will be able to overpower the other and it should result in some good baseball. I root for both teams when they aren’t playing each other and the fact that they used to be in the same division keeps the rivalry interesting every year. I’ll be looking forward to revisiting a border battle this summer with a couple of teams that have slightly different looks than they did a year ago.
Halter is a senior print journalism major and editor in chief. of The Spectator. McCormick is a junior print journalism major and news editor of the Spectator.
