An Open Letter to Mark Attanasio, in 414 words or less (starting now)…
Dear Mark,
Let’s be honest, things have gotten a bit out of hand.
It’s been a tough year for us Brewers fans, and I’m sure nobody takes it harder than you and your staff. While I trust that you are doing everything in your power to change course and right the ship, I’d like to address some serious concerns I have about the direction of this organization.
Wednesday evening, on an FSN broadcast that I’m sure very few people tuned into attentively, you sat down for a chat with Bryan Anderson and Bill Schroeder to talk about your struggling club. You discussed in depth the concept of the “fan experience” and the idea that it wouldn’t be fair to the fans to sell off all of your talented players.
Really?
The player specifically discussed was Francisco Rodriguez, who is the lone star on this struggling team. K-rod is the Brewer’s most valuable trade chip, potentially providing a solid veteran arm to a number of playoff-caliber teams that have struggling bullpens. How can you justify keeping a 33-year old reliever on a team that only gives him a chance to close games twice a week?
This may come as a shock, but there is nobody left in this city that is going to Miller Park expecting to see quality baseball. Nobody.
Your organization has done a fantastic job creating a Major League party that is worth spending money to attend, but let’s not kid ourselves: people are coming to games for Miller Lite, parking lot parties, and Hank bobblehead dolls, not baseball.
Nobody is scoreboard watching because, quite frankly, nobody cares. This team was never good enough, and it’s becoming more apparent that your club knew that. Doug Melvin said this week that the organization believed this was an 82-win team before the season began. Since when did .500 baseball become the goal?
Please, Mark, I’m begging you. Sell. Sell every and anyone. Gamble on high upside prospects. Be honest with the fans about the process and how long it will take.
When you’re 20 games under .500, nobody cares about a 3-2 win; most of us are too buzzed to stick around for the ninth anyways. It’s not about this year, anymore. We don’t need wins right now.
We need championships. We need October sellouts. We need moments we will never forget.
A positive “fan experience” can only come with winning baseball. Everything else is just smoke and mirrors.
Sincerely,
A very bored baseball writer.