The Brewers are a little bit behind last year in terms of attendance and there are lots of explanations why.

Rick Schlesinger, the team's executive vice president for business operations, pointed out in a newspaper interview last week that by this time last year the Brewers had already played the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs.

Schlesinger, who comes from a family of car dealers, pointed out that the Cubs games are coming up and that ticket sales will jump accordingly.

Great -- we're depending on Chicago fans to boost our attendance.

Schlesinger went on to say, "If the team is playing exciting baseball at home, we are bullish on our attendance."

Well, it might be something else missing besides the Cubs. What's missing is fan passion.

There are two ways to generate passion among fans. The first is to be so good that you take their breath away. The other way is to be so bad that they can't stop complaining.

Let's take a look at our Brewers.

We are rapidly approaching the all-star break in baseball, a time of fun, excitement and hope that Bud Selig won't declare the game a tie.

It is also traditionally a stock-taking time.

Fans take a look at their team and take stock, wondering whether the team has lived up to expectations, has provided value for the fan dollar and has established a presence.

If we accept the premise that we all expected something special from the Brewers this year, then we also have to agree that this team is a sad disappointment. If we think we had a so-so baseball team that would lose about as many games as they would win, then we are probably satisfied with the performance of this team.

Because the Brewers are, as difficult as it is for fans to swallow, an average team in a sea of average teams.

A truly outstanding team has about a .600 winning percentage, give or take a few points. A lousy team has about a .400 winning percentage, give or take a few points.

In the National League this year, 12 of the 16 teams are between .600 and .400. The Brewers are one of those teams, with a winning percentage that continues to hover around .500. Very, very average.

I keep on reading and hearing about all those young players who are the stars of tomorrow. Well, you'd think that if you are going to be a star of tomorrow you'd show some sign of it today.

The only star of tomorrow who has made a dent among National League statistical leaders is Prince Fielder who is among the top 20 in home runs.

Go up and down the stat leaders are you are amazed by the absence of Brewers. Sure, other teams have no presence either, but that just makes the point that the Brewers are nothing special and belong with the majority of teams who are just okay.

Carlos Lee is a home run and RBI leader. Chris Capuano is a solid pitcher. Derrick Turnbow has lots of saves.

That's it. Three players who have a significant presence among the elite of the National League.

You aren't going to generate much excitement with only three players knocking on the door of leadership.

That's our Brewers. Win one, and lose one. Win two and lose three. Win three and lose two. Lose six, win five.

And that's the problem with being so exceedingly average.

It makes you yawn instead of scream.

15 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by OMCreader on June 26, 2006 at 9:52 a.m. (report)

eaglescout said: hey "unbelievable", you don't really believe your own drivel do you? here is what you propose- fans should stay away from the ballpark so the owner will pay for higher priced players. if people stay away from the ballpark where does the revenue come from to pay these players?

Posted by OMCreader on June 25, 2006 at 5:13 p.m. (report)

Kenneth said: The Brewers have the same problem most so-so teams do, they can't play on the road. If they would have swept the Royals like they should have this weekend, we'd be only FOUR games out of FIRST! Now, we sit six back and go to Wrigley to battle th Cubs for 4. Great teams rise up, average teams struggle until they improve. We'll get there. Maybe after the break and after Okha and Sheets return.

Posted by OMCreader on June 24, 2006 at 6:03 p.m. (report)

unbelievable said: I never cease to be amazed at the blinders worn by Brewer fans. Even the Packers get criticized by their fans. But Brewer fans think that tomorrow is here today and that the team is in a wild card race. Someone throw some water on this fire. These people are nuts, and the worst kind of fans. Good for the team support, but bad for progress. If you can draw fans with a mediocre team and a small payroll, what's the incentive to increase the payroll and try to win. It is all about money. And if blind fans like this keep it up it will never improve.

Posted by OMCreader on June 24, 2006 at 11:26 a.m. (report)

Ken said: As someone correctly mentioned, attendance is actually ahead of last year for all non-Cubs games compared to the non-Cubs games of last year. Once the Cubs come to town, the overall attendance figure will be ahead of last year. Last season the Cubs came very early and that inflated the numbers. The fact that our total attendance is a tad behind last year is more a matter of scheduling rather than lower fan interest. We also have fewer marquee dates against the Cubs and no games against the Yankees like we did last year. Despite that, attendance will be higher this year. Ticket prices are also higher this year too, and it is great to see fan interest is stronger than previous years. The Brewers sold 300,000 more tickets by opening day this year compared to last year. I think there is plenty of interest and people are talking about the wild card again.

Posted by OMCreader on June 24, 2006 at 8:42 a.m. (report)

ffrrank said: way to go steve. that sure sounded like a passionate response. i can't stand people who blame writers for their opinions. look at the facts. attendance is down this year. DOWN. there must be a reason or two.