The Brewers are finished

What did you do last weekend? You’d probably say, I watched the Badger or Packer football teams, maybe went out to a nice dinner or went to a pumpkin patch or apple orchard with your family. One thing I think a majority of Wisconsinites are no longer doing on the weekends or even weeknights is watching the Milwaukee Brewers.

The team that played the role of our spring darlings, that helped usher in the summer season, is now obsolete for most Wisconsin sports fans.

Why might that be? I mean, they are in the midst of a playoff race, just 1.5 games back of a Wildcard spot at the time I was writing this so why is there an overwhelming amount of disinterest in what this team is doing?

The simple answer is football is back and that supersedes any other sport. Another reason is the current state of the Brewers. I’ve written in this space before how the Brewers are at an automatic disadvantage because of the lack of a salary cap in Major League Baseball. This rings true even more so when the playoffs roll around. The current teams that have clinched a playoff birth are the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians. Out of those teams, only the Guardians are not in the top 12 in league payroll totals.

This shows that if teams spend more money, they will be rewarded with a playoff spot more often than not.

That’s why Milwaukee will always be a spring baseball team until they are willing to spend the money to make a championship roster. The Brewers need one of two things to happen. The first, be bought out by an owner who is willing to spend the money necessary to reach the Wolrd Series. Second, they would need the owners to agree on a salary cap system for the MLB. It’s also why towards the end of summer and into fall, Wisconsinites shift their focus to football to fill their sports void.

The trade deadline deal that the Brewers made to send Josh Hader to the Padres hurt the Brewers’ chances to make it to the postseason in hindsight. I wasn’t as negative towards the trade as some people but the repercussions of the trade have been felt in the fan base, clubhouse and standings. On July 30, the Brewers held a four-game lead in the NL Central standings. Last night, they fell to 7.5 games back in the division race and watched their rivals celebrate on their home turf.

As the Cardinals beat the Brewers on Tuesday night and celebrated clinching the National League Central title at American Family Field in Milwaukee, the season that could have been turned into a season that probably won’t be.

Speeding

Through

L

ife