Wouldn't It Be Nice?

Shoeless Joe: Man, I did love this game. I'd have played for food money. It was the game... The sounds, the smells. Did you ever hold a ball or a glove to your face?
Ray: Yeah.
Shoeless Joe: I used to love travelling on the trains from town to town. The hotels... brass spittoons in the lobbies, brass beds in the rooms. It was the crowd, rising to their feet when the ball was hit deep. Shoot, I'd play for nothing!

- Field of Dreams, 1989

Much has been written lately about how the Brewers will be unable to keep Ben Sheets and CC Sabathia next season when they reach free agency. I know this is true, because teams are paying ridiculous money for pitchers these days.

It seems to me more and more that players are forgetting why they started playing baseball in the first place. All they care about is their payday. (see Prince Fielder temper tantrum back in March) It really makes me wonder, how much money does one person actually need?

Ryan Braun knew how much more he could make if he went year to year, but he wanted to make a commitment to this team and the fans in this city, and I applaud him for that. It's not often you see that kind of integrity in sports, especially in a kid his age. He has slowly replaced Prince Fielder, at least in my opinion, as the leader of our Brewers, and he has become the face of the franchise. I, for one, am proud of that, and of Ryan. I can't think of a better representative.

He said it best when questioned about the fact that he could have made tons more money. "What can't I buy with that much money?"

Sadly, it seems more and more players care less about winning and for whom they play, than they do about how much money they are going to get. Francisco Cordero bolted to the Reds for a mere $3 million. I say mere because that's peanuts when you're talking $44 million. Now look at Cordero. There is no All-Star appearance for him; no record setting saves; hell there's barely any appearances for him because the Reds stink. But he's getting paid. He's getting paid to sit on the bench and pick splinters out of his butt.

Wouldn't it be great if players showed a little bit of loyalty to a team and/or a fan base? Milwaukee has sold out every single game since CC came on board. That says something.

Personally, I would want to play for a good team, a team that actually has a shot at doing something special for the next few years. But of course, no one is banging on my door offering me megabucks to play a child's game.

Seriously though, in the grand scheme of things, what's the difference between $85 million and $120 million? Yes I can do the math and say $35 million dollars. But what in God's name can you get with $120 mil that you can't get with $85 mil?

So that's my rant for the day. I'll be sending out some good vibes for the Brewers as they take on Houston again tonight, and hoping and praying that a little bit of Shoeless Joe, or at least Ryan Braun, will rub off on Ben and CC. Go Brewers!