Give me a reason to stand by this team

[Warriors76]

I've had it. I'm taxed, man. I put so much energy, emotion, time...and money, into this perennial loser. They have done nothing to deserve any of the things I mentioned. I am not old, but I'm not 8 either. They have not made the playoffs in my lifetime. Their last winning season came when I was 6 years old. Now I know you probably think at 21 years of age, how much could I have put into this team? Well, I am not a millionaire, but I would say that at least half of the money I have earned in my life has gone towards the Brewers. I am a college student and I have a 20 game pack. That is not easy for me to afford. I have to make sacrifices to buy those tickets. When will it become worth it? How much longer do I have to wait? My dad started taking me to games at County and it was okay then, it was cheap and he was buying. I expected losses.

 

I even went down to Wrigley tonight, hoping to witness the first game of a turnaround. No such luck. I've been hearing about our future for like six years now. Where is it? We have three pretty good young players. Then we have Weeks who looks like a AAAA guy. An "ace" that can't stay healthy. A horribly overpaid piece of garbage in Bill Hall...and even though we seem to have done a nice job building a lineup, where are the PITCHERS?! We have an oft-injured guy with ace stuff and four mediocre/terrible starters. A pen with young guys who have been anything but impressive.

 

I'm beginning to think our "future" is just a gimmick that gets me to renew my tickets. Do you really think this team can compete with the Cubs next season with another FA season of doing nothing. You know the Cubs will get some huge name pitcher or A-Rod or some stud bat. What will we do? We'll probably stand pat or overpay for an average player...meanwhile, we'll lose a player or two, say Jenkins and Cordero, and replace them with like Gabe Gross and Seth McClung? What are we doing? It's getting old. I don't have much energy left.

[PlayerHader]

Leave if you want. It's gonna be sweet when everything comes together either this year or the next few.

[bigbrewkahuna]

What things are going to "come together" this year as you predict? Highly curious about statement.

[Warriors76]

And that, Milwaukee, is exactly what I'm talking about.

 

How many more times do I (we) have to hear that same tired line. I heard that when we won 56 games, I heard that when we drafted Rickie Weeks. I heard that when we went 81-81, I heard it before this season, and here we are...same damn place, under .500 in September...hearing the SAME OLD LINE, again.

[Brian the Automator]

If we knew "when" it was going to happen, we'd put money down in Vegas and get rich.

 

No one can answer this question.... seems like more of a vent. I'm 30 years old, and will wait as long as it takes. You don't have to be happy about it, but that's just the way it is when it comes to sports teams. You can choose not to follow them, and become a bandwagoner if you want. I can certainly see why people would do that, but I'm a diehard, and there's nothing I can do to change that fact.

[craigharmann]

Brian, I am SOOOO with you on that point! I've been a Brewer fan all my life, and I remember back when the Packers won the Super Bowl. I wasn't the biggest Packer fan, but I was walking around college (I went to a college in Nebraska) proud for the next few months afterward. When the Brewers come together, which we don't know when it will happen, I don't know what I'd do. Probably not pee my pants, but pretty darn close. We're close and we know it. It may not be this year, but these guys are coming together. When have we been able to talk about the Brewers being ANYWHERE close to the division lead in the last 10 years? 15 years? It's been a while, and I'm enjoying that part of it. We matter and the next month plus, win or lose, WILL be fun, exciting and interesting.

[pretendastronaut]

If you can't look at this team and see its loaded with incredible talents that happens to not be playing well in the stretch this season, then you may as well jump ship. Maybe it never pans out, but it sure looks promising, no matter how frustrating these past 2 months have been.

[Samurai Bucky]

If you can't look at this team and see its loaded with incredible talents that happens to not be playing well in the stretch this season, then you may as well jump ship. Maybe it never pans out, but it sure looks promising, no matter how frustrating these past 2 months have been.

Are you saying that the reason that the Brewers have collapsed is because of the manager, lack of maturity, or something else? The Brewers do have some great talent, but do you think it is possible we may have overestimated the incredible talents?

 

[pretendastronaut]

No I don't think we've overestimated their talent, but it's possible we overestimated what they can do this year. I don't understand all the fans that harp about how horrible of a team we are. We're not a horrible team, we're a pretty decent team, playing pretty horribly. There's a difference.

[unsanitary999]

If you can't look at this team and see its loaded with incredible talents that happens to not be playing well in the stretch this season, then you may as well jump ship. Maybe it never pans out, but it sure looks promising, no matter how frustrating these past 2 months have been.

Are you saying that the reason that the Brewers have collapsed is because of the manager, lack of maturity, or something else? The Brewers do have some great talent, but do you think it is possible we may have overestimated the incredible talents?

 

I blame the starting pitching, which has been unlucky this year, outside of Claudio Vargas.

There is nothing wrong with the rest of our talent. I have high hopes for '08, and I still am feeling an outside shot at the postseason.

[Tbadder]

There are no reasons to stand by them, that's why we do.

[dannyjnoonan]

I love my Brewers like I love my children. Not because they're good, but because they're mine.

[Thurston Fluff]

If I didn't give up on a team that lost 106 games why would I give up one one that is one game under .500. I've always been one to look for the positive things mostly becuase I find no joy in ranting and raving about how my team sucks. What I see is a team with the ability to be good that has yet to fulfill that potential. It's lot more promising situation than it has been in the past. Even good teams have seasons where things just don't pan out. For instance Az and Mil both have teams with young talented players with some vets mixed in. Az had seven players who are playing well above their career norms and three who are performing below. The Brewers have three playing above and eight below. Why that happens is anyone's guess. I don't think it has much to do with the manager or coaches since some of those same players played for the same ones previously. It's the nature of the game. Some years the players just produce better or worse. Does anyone really think Eric Byrnes will hit 66 points above his career norm every year for the next five years? But with him and others having career year type seasons with relativly few guys underperforming they are winning. The same will happen with any team who has good talent over an extended period of time. Some seasons will be disappointing and some will excceed expectations. Unfortunately this season seems to be one that is underperforming.

Am I frustrated? Am I disappointed? You bet. Does that mean I no longer care or stop following the Brewers? Not a chance. It would be easier for me to take out my own liver than to stop following the Brewers.

[JohnBriggs12]

Stand by them because man for man, they still have the best lineup in the division, if not the entire NL, and once they get a manager with an inkling of how to manage, they should win even with marginal pitching.

[BrewCrewRising]

There are no reasons to stand by them, that's why we do.

If I didn't give up on a team that lost 106 games why would I give up .....

 

Precisely. (awesome quotes by the way)

 

I have to admit, I actually once tried to wean myself from the Crew. I started college in Minnesota in 1987 and tried to be happy for the Twins and even try to like them, but it just didn't take.

 

Living in Chicago the past few years, I tried to be happy for the White Sox (but didn't really root for them), and my Grandpa was a White Sox fan even, but in the end I just didn't care.

It was with no other team that I went with my dad to my first game when I was 6. It was no other team I saw in Game 5 of the 1982 World Series. Call it imprinting. Call it naive loyalty. But the only team that sustains my love for the game, for better or for worse, are the Brewers.

 

I wish they would win something sooner or later, and I wish they would have won last night so I could have shut up those lousy Cubs fans, but if I were a fan of the Crew because of the promise of winning, I would have bailed long ago.

 

I do think better times are ahead though.

[davego]

What is the alternative? For me it would be a heck of a lot eaiser to get divorced, quit my job or move. I hate the Brewers, and yet...Will be back for more.

 

Root for another team, for me, would be like going to another families' Christmas.

 

This is how it is, this is how it has always been. So say we all...

[patrickgpe]

this last month has been very frustrating, but i know that i love baseball and i would think everyone on the board does to. I have been going to games for 19 season, i am not going to let a bad month of august cause me to give up.

[Diskono]

If I didn't give up on a team that lost 106 games why would I give up one one that is one game under .500.

Exactly how I feel. If I could watch every game (and even get excited about it!) in 2002, I sure as hell can this season. For Brewers standards, this is a pretty good year...at least we don't have an outfield of Mark Smith, Alex Sanchez, and the amazing Mouton twins.

 

[SeriesFinale]

I'm with everyone else about sticking with them (I don't know any other way) but dear God I can't wait for this season to be over because this collpase is 10x as wrenching to me as slogging through 2002 and 2003.

[Crew2323]

I can't give you a reason why you should stand by this team. All I can give you is my reason for why I stand by them. Right now I hate this team with a passion, but I continue love them with all my heart. I don't know how else to describe it. Yes, they make me incredibly mad when they blow leads and lose 8 game division leads, but they also make my chest stick out a bit farther too when they win a hard fought game. I'm darn proud to be a Brewer fan, and will continue to be even if they miss the playoffs this year. I'll continue to proudly wear my Brewer hat and other apparel, and do so with great pride. Like a previous poster said, I can't imagine bleeding, sweating, and crying for any other team then the Milwaukee Brewers. If I did, I'd feel guilty, almost as if I cheated on my wife. And I'll never do that. The Milwaukee Brewers are deeply rooted in my heart and always will be. When they lose, I'm upset. When they win, I'm ecstatic. But I will never be able to replace the joy that following this team gives me year in and year out. They are a part of me for good.

 

Just my .02

[TooLiveBrew]

It's really really hard to keep in mind the following:

 

Prince Fielder: 23

Rickie Weeks: 24 (and seriously, stop venting on the one guy who HAS been hitting!)

Ryan Braun: 23

J.J. Hardy: 25

Corey Hart: 25

Carlos Villanueva: 23

Yovani Gallardo: 21

Manny Parra: 24

 

It's not that they all aren't good (or great) ballplayers. And it's not that age alone is an acceptable excuse. It's just that - man, these guys are good enough to fight for a playoff spot now. You want a reason to stand by this team? Add 3 years to each of those ages, and then tell me what you think. Honestly.

 

Every single name on that list is younger than me, and I have yet to entrench myself (recent college grad) on a career path. Growing & maturing doesn't happen overnight, and just because you get the call to the bigs doesn't mean it's gonna come without some very hurtful growing pains. I still stand by this team in 2007, and will continue to do so for as long as I live. The only thing about the 'now' & forseeable future, is that things are only going to continue to get better. Call me a blind optimist, but I prefer the notion that I'm making a relatively well-informed decision. It's not like those players are all performing at a lights-out rate, and we're still losing.

 

We have a core of players 25 or younger. Add in Hall, who isn't much older (and has slipped below what I think is a reasonable estimation for average output this year), and take each guy at his average output for the next 3-4 years, and I know we're going to see October soon. It may yet be this year, you just absolutely can never tell until it's really over.

[bucksman4]

It's easy to say be patient....these guys are young. The fact is we are young and WERE winning at the beginning of the season...and winning a lot of ballgames, young or not.

 

I can't even recall the countless number of threads and posts over the past few weeks through our collapse of fans saying "don't worry" and "everything will be okay" thinking we're somehow going to win this division by losing game after game. We could only stick on neutral for so long without the Cubs or Cardinals passing us by...get this...winning games!

 

I had my best and worst experiences as a baseball fan at Wrigley Field this year. Earlier in the season I saw the extra innings 5-4 win where Villanueva held strong for 4 scoreless innings, Prince hit 2 HR's and Jenkins made a game saving catch in LF to send the game to extras. And then yesterday, I sat in row 3 on the Field Box level and watched the train wreck firsthand. At this point, I'm just looking for somebody, anybody to pass the Cubs and shut those fans up.

[SeriesFinale]

The Brewers will never have another winning season, much elss make the playoffs, and be contracted in 15 years. Is that what people want to hear?

 

You've got to buy into hope, and the youth and talent on this team, along with Mark A. at the helm, are as good of reasons for hope as any, despite how the season is petering out.

[naivin]

Since we have already worked on one song today...how about another?

 

 

Sometimes its hard to be a Brewer fan,

Putting all your faith in just one team

You'll have good times, and they'll have bad times

Losing games that you don't understand.

 

But if you love them you'll stick with them,

Even though it isn't too much fun.

And if you love them oh be proud of them,

'Cause after all they're very young.

 

Stand by your team, give them large crowds to play to,

And warm applaus and cheers too,

When games are lost and painful.

 

Stand by your team, and show the world you love them.

Things aren't as bad as they may seem. Stand by your team.

 

Stand by your team, and show the world you love them

Things aren't as bad as they may seem. Stand by your team.

[lumberrule]

Its hard to argue with anyone right now who is upset or frustrated with this team right now.

Yes, the core of this team is young. But they're still good...they've showed us how good they can be with their play earlier this season.

What's frustrating many fans, including me and the original poster, is that the management of this team has pointed at THIS time period (2007-2009 or so) as the time when the Brewers should be rising. Fact is, they are regressing. That's what we as fans have been told. Remember, for the most part, it was the fans in the surrounding 5 counties of Milwaukee that built Miller Park...the one missing piece towards the Brewers becoming competitive again. Here we are, in 2007, and we're still waiting for the FIRST winning team in Miller Park.

Back in June when they were 14 over .500, all this team had to do was play AVERAGE the rest of the season to make the playoffs. .500 ball. That's it. The fact that this group of players could not do that is very disturbing to me. These guys have all won at every level of the minor league's they've been at...its not like they've been playing on losing clubs their whole career. Our manager was able to watch one of the best managers of all time for a decade or so - a guy who, year after year, cradled a young talented pitching staff to divisional title after divisional title - yet, he seems to have no clue on how to handle this pitching staff, or the "pulse" of this pitching staff. Our owner has told us that the resources are there money-wise for this team to improve itself, yet we really haven't done a whole lot to improve ourself over last year...Jeff Suppan really is nothing more than a right-handed Doug Davis who makes $10 million a year.

I guess my main point is this...every year, there's an excuse on why this team isn't winning. The Brewers can't use the fact that this team is young as an excuse. All they had to do was play .500 baseball for 4 months. They haven't.

I do sometimes wonder...what if we hired Bob Melvin instead of Ned Yost?