Opinion
Brewers what’s right with MLB
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Lately baseball has been under fire, especially since the controversy over steroids in the game has come to the forefront and cast suspicion on some of the game's best players. I'll admit, though I am an avid baseball fan, even I have been disappointed and disenchanted with steroids and other problems with the game, and especially the way they have been portrayed in the media.
My frustration came to a head last week when, on a whim, I flipped to a show on ESPN2 titled "Bonds on Bonds." I have never hid my dislike of San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds and therefore wasn't surprised with the myriad of reactions I experienced — mainly disgust due to the fact that I believe a player like Mr. Bonds is bad for baseball's image and personifies a lot of what is currently wrong with the game.
And, unfortunately for baseball fans, ESPN and the national media seem to have a love affair with Mr. Bonds and a tendency to cover every little thing he does, which really detracts from some of the great stories in the game today.
As I switched over from the Bonds pity party and over onto Fox Sports, my anger and irritation turned into pure joy as I watched one of the many bright spots in baseball that has, in my opinion, not garnered the media attention it deserves: a solid, young, exciting Milwaukee Brewers team that went 5-0 to start the season. In a game that has been plagued with money-grubbing free agents with no team or fan loyalty, strikes and steroids, the Brewers are definitely a team to admire and look up.
Though, as a lifelong Brewers fan, I may be extremely biased, it is undeniable that the Brew Crew is an exciting, uplifting story during a time when baseball is attempting to rebuild its image and escape steroid stigma. After rebuilding the team from the farm system up by drafting young talent like Ben Sheets, Rickie Weeks, Bill Hall, J.J. Hardy and Prince Fielder and trading for and signing key players such as Carlos Lee, Damian Miller, Doug Davis, Chris Capuano and Derrick Turnbow, the Brewers have finally come into their own and are playing baseball the way it ought to be played.
There is no huge $100 million payroll, arrogant mega stars, media whores or clubhouse cancers that threaten to ruin team chemistry, but instead just an exciting mixture of solid veterans, role players and young kids fresh from the Brewers farm system, working hard and playing tough, gritty baseball. The Brew Crew, coming off of a season where they signed one of the best pitchers in baseball to a long-term contract, finished with a .500 record and broke a 13-year losing streak, has surprisingly started the season with one of the better records in baseball.
The Crew is finally showing long-suffering and dedicated fans and the media that they are ready for the spotlight, playing baseball the way the game should be played. And the Brewers aren't the only current feel-good story in Major League Baseball. Teams like the Detroit Tigers have also stuck out early in the season. And though I'll concede it's still extremely early in the season and the shine may fade off our Milwaukee Brewers and other breakout teams as the season wears on, it's nevertheless a fun story to follow throughout the season for people who long for the return of entertaining, exciting and, most importantly, steroid-free baseball, and a story that should garner the attention of ESPN and other sports media.
So when will the national media catch on? Why is it still focusing so intently on steroids, Mr. Bonds and a bunch of other overpaid whiny players to the exclusion of all the great things going on in the game? Though I'm not naíve enough to believe that they'll ever stop covering Mr. Bonds' lurid, juicy story, I truly believe it's time for them to start covering the revival of baseball, the gradual return to the kind of baseball our parents and grandparents hold dear, a baseball that wasn't all about steroids, multi-million-dollar contracts, personal stats and selfish guys with no loyalty to fans or team, but about a team of guys on the field playing a game they love, who are devoted to their city and dedicated to playing their hearts out for the fans.
Stories about small-market teams like the Brewers, who play every game hard, have inspired their fans and have slowly developed them into contenders are what national sports media should be focusing on. This — and not hours upon hours of Mr. Bonds and his steroid drama — is what's best Major League Baseball and its image. So, I hope ESPN and other sportscasters break off their Bonds love affair and start to cover the real stories in baseball. In other words, less Bonds, more Brew Crew. Go Milwaukee.
Janell Wise (jwise@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in political science and journalism.
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Wow does this writer not understand baseball. The Brewers are much improved, yes, that is true. But this writer does not understand baseball.
How much money do you think Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy and Prince Fielder will be making in 5 years? Guess upwards of $ 8 million a year. See, baseball has a system where players earn a bit more every year for their first 4 or 5 years in the big leagues. It's called arbitration. The Brewers will have exclusive bargaining rights for a few years, and then they'll have to pony up and pay these guys what their worth. Odds are, they'll be able afford to keep one of them (my guess is Weeks) along with Sheets, whose big pay day is real soon. Fielder will be DHing in the AL after spending four years being the worst fielding first baseman in baseball. Interestingly, Hardy will hit the free market right about when Jeter is 36 or so, which is usually too old to play SS. Don't be surprised to see Hardy be a Yankee.
In other words, I can't stand all this "small market clubs do it the right way" thing. Yeah, so when the Seligs were underspending year in and year out and screwing over your fans, they were doing it the "right way". You know what the right way is? The way that wins. There are a lot of different ways to do it that are evident right now. If you have $200 million to burn, there's the Yankee way. There's the Oakland A's "Moneyball" way. There's the Red Sox way, which is a mix of the two. And there are several other ways too. But there is no "right way." And the right way especially has not been pointed out by the Brewers. They had one .500 season in the past 13 years! Congratulations. That's the model I want my team to follow.
What media are you watching that has a love affair with Bonds?? I don't think one ESPN analyst has ever been quoted as saying anything positive about him. And the Brewers star player, Carlos Lee, was ran out of Chicago because he was a club house cancer who most people hated as a team mate. Start watching baseball and stop being an all out homer.