Well it's official. El Caballo is gone. News leaked out this morning that Carlos Lee had rejected a four-year, $48 million deal late last night. I guess he didn't want to stay in Milwaukee after all. Or perhaps $12 million a year just wasn't enough. Or that fifth year was the straw that broke the horse's back. At any rate, Carlos Lee has been traded to the Texas Rangers, along with Nelson Cruz, for Kevin Mench, Francisco Cordero, Laynce Nix and minor leaguer Julian Cordero. On the positive side, at least he was traded out of the National League.
One of the hosts of a local sports radio show was after Mark Attanasio's head this morning, and seemed to get really annoyed with all the callers who didn't agree with him. I hate to tell you, dude, but I don't agree with you either. Yes, we all know that Mark has a lot of money. But it's not his job as the owner to personally finance the entire payroll for our team. And even if it was his responsibility, I would have a hard time committing to Carlos for five years. He's not known for his hustle in the outfield, and he's only 30. How quick is he going to be in three years? Four years? Five years? If we played in the American League, absolutely, five years, done. Carlos would be DH bound. But I agree with Doug Melvin and Mark Attanasio, and wouldn't have offered five years either.
Yes it really sucks that we're losing one of, if not our best, offensive producer. But Bill Hall isn't too far behind Carlos in home runs, and Bill, Geoff Jenkins and Prince Fielder are all have respectable RBI numbers.
One of the sports radio callers this morning said that certain things have to fall into place in order for a team to make a run for the playoffs, and those things haven't fallen for the Brewers this season. The team has been plagued by injuries that depleted the bullpen and middle infield. Then there was the bullpen meltdown and the revolving door starting rotation. I can only imagine where we might be if we'd had JJ Hardy all season. What could we have done if we'd had Ben and Tomo all season? Or hell, even if we'd had at least one of them?
We'll never know, obviously. I honestly think contention this year was possible, had we had our full roster healthy. Yes I'd still love to make a run for October, but at this point I'd almost be happy with a winning season. Baby steps, you know?
The Cincinnati Reds are in town, again, for the biggest series of the season for the Brewers. Previously it was thought that this series would be the deciding factor in whether Carlos would stay or go, but now it's become about any kind of run for the postseason. If the Brewers have any chance at all, they have to sweep the Reds. There is no other option.
Tomo Ohka faces off against Eric Milton tonight, the same matchup we saw in Cincy on Sunday. Tomo got the win in that game, throwing eight outstanding innings to lead the Crew to a 4-1 victory. I'd love to see an encore performance tonight. Until next time, go Brewers!
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