| 17 February 2010
It's mid-September at Miller Park and the Brewers are playing the Cardinals. The two teams are neck-and-neck for the division lead. It's the bottom of the ninth inning and the Brewers are down by one. Ryan Braun is standing on second after a single up the middle and a badly thrown ball on a poor decision by the second-baseman. Prince Fielder is standing at the plate.
The Question
What are Brewers fans hoping for right here?
The Fans
- Travis is a 22-year old Marquette student sitting in the rightfield bleachers - the Miller Lite Beerpen - wearing an unbuttoned, pinstriped Prince jersey, drinking his fifth Lite of the game and eating his third Italian sausage.
- Frank is a 47-year old second-shift factory worker whose been going to Brewers games off and on since Paul Molitor's rookie year. He celebrated on Wisconsin Avenue with the team after the 1982 World Series. He's sitting in the leftfield loge outfield seats (right in the sun!) and drinking a High Life.
- Jason is a 29-year old administrator who has only lived in Milwaukee for the last 5 or 6 years. He loves watching an exciting young team and is happy to get his 20-pack every year. He tends to read sabermetrically-inclined blogs, but still appreciates someone like Ichiro!. He's sitting in the upper deck, right behind home plate, drinking a Lakefront Riverwest Stein.
The Answer
There's no doubt about it - Travis is hoping for Prince to swing out of his socks on the next three pitches. A home run into the bleachers will not only mean a Brewers win (more reason to celebrate at Fridays!) but a chance to catch the ball (nevermind that his hands are full with beer and sausage). Anything else from Prince will be a disappointment to Travis.
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Frank's a little more tempered. He's excited at the way this inning has developed, and he can't wait to drive home listening to Ueck talk about how the Brewers pulled this one out, but he's not getting too excited. A home run from Prince or a double to the wall would be great, but that strike out/ground-out combo is just too easy to predict. He'll take what he can get, and just be thankful for a good game.
Jason is standing on his feet in the upper deck, trying not to drop his scorebook. He's thrilled at the chance to see another walk-off from Prince - those rightfield bleachers are just so tempting - but he knows that the Crew just need to keep this rally going. A walk, a base-hit, a double - just about anything that isn't an out will do for him. After all, the more runners on base, the more pitches Franklin throws, the more batter he faces - they all mean more chance to see the Brewers pull it out. As he stands and cheers, Jason repeats, "Just get a hit, Prince. Just get on base. We'll keep it going from there."
So what fan are you? Chances are, if you're reading this blog, you're most like Jason. Believe me, though, the Franks and Travises of the world exist - especially in a city like Milwaukee.
But why have I set this elaborate scene? There's been a lot of talk these last couple of days about what the Brewers are going to do with Prince before he heads off to free agency after next season (not this season). Many people are saying that it's in the Brewers best interest to get the most value they can out of Prince via trade, since the team won't be able to afford him in two years. But others are afraid that the team just can't do that because the fans, who have come out strong for the team these last few years, won't accept it. Both sides have their points.
The way I see it, the Brewers, as an organization, are in the same scenario I just laid out. With top-notch young talent like Prince and Braun on the team together for only one or two more years, and with the playoffs and the World Series in their (optimistic) sight, the club is standing at the plate with a runner on second and one out, trailing by one. This decision on what to do with Prince is their at-bat. Do they swing for the fences and stick with Prince for the next two years, come hell or highwater? Or do they take what they can get and try to keep the inning alive by getting some talent in return for Prince?
It's a tough decision, especially when your city is filled with Travises and Franks. But there are enough Jasons out there (even if they don't all read sabermetrically-slanted blogs) who understand that the game can be won with singles and doubles as well as with home runs.
I hope the club does the right thing when the time comes, but it's much too early to know what or when that'll be. The game hasn't even started yet, so it doesn't make much sense to talk about the ninth inning strategy. Let's just see how things play out over the next few months and hope that the whole discussion becomes moot.
