Brewers Sold for over $180 Million!!
Well, I never thought anyone in their right mind would want to buy our “12-losing-seasons-and-counting” Brewers, but they did. There was even competition for it! The team accepted a deal from LA investor, Mark Attanasio to buy the team for close to $200 million. 
Not only am I excited about the fact that the Seligs are finally going to be out of Milwaukee baseball, but it looks like we have a smart, savy baseball fan that is taking over the team. This guy is in his mid-40s and can afford to buy a baseball team? This just goes to show that Attanasio has got some clout in the business world and knows what he’s doing.
There has been worries around Brewcity that the new owner would move the team, but I just don’t see that happening. Not only do we have a 30 year lease with Miller Park, but Attanasio has been rumored to want to find a group of local investors to become minority owners. What a great way of showing that he wants to keep the team here–get the locals involved.
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel columnist, Michael Hunt, wrote a pretty good letter to Mark Attanasio today and made a few really good points/suggestions to our new owner.
Welcome to Milwaukee, Mr. Attanasio. I hope this is just the beginning of a WINNING relationship.
Now go spend some money. 
you know i wish they brought back the harley for pitching changes. its so f’n stupid to have a piece of crap dodge pick up f’n truck driving around the field. show us the real deal damnit!
Comment by Neill — 9/28/2004 @ 4:10 pm
It would be even better if they stayed with the beer theme during pitching changes and had Bernie do a beer bong or something every time there is a pitching change.
Comment by Tim — 9/28/2004 @ 8:36 pm
Read Moneyball by Michael Lewis for another view of what it takes to be a winning team. Surprisingly, it has little to do with buying big-ticket sluggers. Billy Beane turned his Oakland A’s into winners by buying minor league players that nobody else wanted. Selig was particularly dimwitted about what it takes to be a successful franchise.
Comment by Heraldblog — 9/29/2004 @ 12:40 pm
Is it just me, or does Attanasio have a striking resemblance to Tom Crean?
Comment by Tara — 9/29/2004 @ 1:07 pm
Here’s a review of Moneyball:
Michael Lewis deftly inserted himself into the A’s front office to find out how a professional baseball team with a $40 million payroll can win 102 games and consistently 90 or more wins in subsequent years and compete with teams like the New York Yankees who have payrolls exceeding $130 million.
What he reveals is that by approaching baseball in a more rational, analytical way and doing away with all the traditional conventions, you can compete with anyone who doesn’t do the same. Too many GMs and coaches are seduced by speed, home runs, and batters who swing at bad pitches when the simple truth of it is that in baseball the most precious thing you have are your three outs per inning. Anything that risks losing one or more of those outs is something you should avoid. As a long-time fan of the game, it’s hard for me to swallow some of the anti-traditional things Lewis describes in this book. But the proof is in the pudding as they say and the A’s success over the past several years is hard to argue with.
The focus of the book is A’s GM Billy Beane, a former A’s player himself who had a world of talent but could not transform that talent into a Hall of Fame career. He didn’t have certain intangibles that are needed. Beane now recognizes those talents in the players he drafts, recruits and trades for. Beane’s obsessive personality and unorthdox ways make for interesting reading. He’s a man who seems horribly tortured by the game and yet thrives on his success in the game as well.
There are excellent mini-biographies in the book including one on A’s first baseman, Scott Hatteberg, a Red Sox catcher who was thought all but done with baseball after he ruptured a nerve in his throwing arm. The A’s reclamation project recognized a diamond in the rough and brought him aboard to train him as a first baseman, mostly so they could benefit from Hattie’s shrewd batting.
Chad Bradford, the A’s middle relief pitcher with the unorthodox pitching style and uncanny ability to get outs, is also profiled. A’s minor league phenom Jeremy Brown, a former University of Alabama catcher who broke all sorts of NCAA records but wouldn’t get a look from most pro teams, is also profiled. You get the sense from this book that there IS no traditional upbringing for a pro baseball player. The A’s unusual collection of “misfits” all came from different backgrounds and most have taken a rather odd path to success.
This book is a great insiders look at a pro baseball team and how they approach the game from a very unique perspective. The most fascinating thing of it is, the A’s didn’t invent what they’re doing at all. They’re exploiting baseball wisdom that was anyone’s for the taking for the past 30 years. You just need to know where to look.
If you’re a baseball fan or just someone who can appreciate creativity and ingenuity in a world that promotes imitation, you’ll enjoy this book.
Comment by Heraldblog — 9/29/2004 @ 1:09 pm