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Reasons why the Brewers are interesting to watch

I'm not holding out any serious hope that the Milwaukee Brewers actually will interest you. It's the Brewers, right? They are known more for their concession stands than their acceptance speeches, and for the last 30 years have matched every piece of good news with some bad ones.

So, I'm not going to try. Not really. You keep your loyalties, that's fine. However, you might be a bit interested in the Brewer experience right now, especially if you're a baseball junkie who just enjoys the longitudinal view of a franchise, so I'll explain.

1. This isn't your dad's Brewers.

The history of this franchise revolves around one season: 1982. Two years before that general manager Harry Dalton made a brilliant trade with the St. Louis Cardinals that brought them the key pieces to what might have been a world championship: Pete Vuckovich, Ted Simmons, and Rollie Fingers. Unfortunately the Cardinals were able to turn around the acquisition of Sixto Lescano into a young shortstop named Ozzie Smith, and Fingers was unable to play the postseason. The Brewers lost the series in seven games.

Everything leading up to that game was backstory, everything after was epilogue. Until now.

Horsetrader Doug Melvin has stepped down and been replaced by a young, saber-smart GM in David Stearns. In his last job Stearns helped assemble the newly-dangerous Houston Astros. Rather than hiring 'a Milwaukee baseball guy', Stearns comes in with experience from outside the system.

Stearns is Harvard educated, and he isn't tied down by old loyalties. He's the right kind of person to make tough decisions on personnel for long-term gain. This franchise has quickly started to reflect his philosophy, which is less about bratwurst and consumption, and more about net worth and production.

2. This isn't Selig's franchise.

Bud is long gone, and so is Wendy (thank goodness). If you're pining for him you can visit the Selig Experience, where his impact on the game is enshrined. No longer do you hear ownership complain that things aren't possible because they are stuck in a small market. These days the message is different: We will improve and we will be affordable, but we love our fans more than our checkbook. So far it hasn't come to the point that the fans stop coming out in droves because they aren't winning enough games. But over the next couple of seasons that test may come: Will owner Mark Attanasio be patient enough to let his talent level grow, or will he impatiently dip into free agency?

The answer may end up being: Both. There's nothing that says that you can't buy free agents when you rebuild, it's just not as cost-effective. But the Attanasio family really loves this franchise and their fans, and they have said many times that they want to field a competitive team every year. Well, fact is that this roster isn't going to produce a lot of wins this year and it could be pretty rough without a good plan to look forward to. So I expect that there will be a couple more veterans rolling in before spring to give the fans something to watch while the talent grows.

3. The talent is growing.

In the past few seasons the dismal truth was that the team's on-field talent decline was outpaced by the drain on the minor leagues. There were very few prospects to be excited about and nobody had eye-popping talent. That has changed quickly. Now you don't have to be a Brewer fan to appreciate this part: Young talented guys are exciting for everyone to watch, and if they're from a small market team they could end up being future Yankees or Dodgers anyway. So keep an eye on this list, coming to an all-star team soon:

Domingo Santana - Big, strong, 3TO plus-fielder who's MLB-ready

Orlando Arcia - Very young sharp fielder and offensive weapon at SS/2B

Brett "Maverick" Phillips - an all-tool CF they got in trade for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers

Trent Clark - Natural left-handed hitter, good speed and power in LF

Those guys are locks, and they have a supporting cast of high-ceiling talent coming up with them. Jake Gatewood, Josh Hader, Demi Orimoloye, Monte Harrison, Kodi Medeiros, Gilbert Lara, Zach Davies, and Cody Ponce could all turn into enviable pieces in the near future.

This isn't an accident. They know that there's two ways to get talent: Buy it or build it. Since they can't match the big clubs dollar-for-dollar in free agency, the most cost-effective and complete way to acquire good talent is to develop it themselves. Player development has matured, the system is continuing to acquire top talent, and the wave of players coming down the pipe has a lot more potential than any time since that '82 team. If you are just plain interested in watching the ebb and flow of franchises, you have to be excited about the path the Brewers are taking. And these guys will enjoy playing in Milwaukee, because:

4. Milwaukee is a great baseball town.

The stadium is top-notch. The fans enjoy the fun of attending a game (tailgating at Miller Park is so enjoyable some people show up just to park in the lot). And the Milwaukee media has a mature respect for athletes. You keep some anonymity living in the city, but get all the reverence and fame when you wear the uniform. The city itself is growing out of it's old-world identity and into something newer, yet Midwesternly comfortable, with room for everyone.

And the fans love baseball. They love it when the Brewers win, they love it (a little less) when they lose, they've loved it since the days of the Milwaukee Braves, they've loved it since the days of Barrel Man and the old Milwaukee Brewers (aka Baltimore Orioles).

5. It's a great division to play in, and they may rise at the right time.

The Reds are on a low, and they are having some trouble rebuilding. The Pirates may have peaked. The Cardinals are great but aging quickly, and the Cubs are just revving up their powerhouse. After the Cubs fight through the establishment to make this division their own, the team on the rise after them might be the Brewers.

They've got good management, good ownership, good prospects, and a good attitude. On top of that, they have a good fan base that knows even a bad day at the ball park is better than a good day at the office, and they're going to enjoy every game waiting for their championship season to take shape. And even if it takes a while they can relax, knowing:

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Happy holidays to everyone, hope you will all your games this weekend

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of MLBDD's writers or editors.

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