by Michael Rosenberg

Updated: July 10, 2008, 7:32 PM EST 78 comments

add this RSS blog email print

A few years ago, the Brewers' fan base — a group I fondly think of as the Drinkers — never would have believed that. But these are heady times in Milwaukee, and heady times for Major League Baseball.

All of Bud Selig's dreams are coming true. Actually, I can't say that. The man might have some really wild dreams, and frankly, I don't even want to picture that. But all his dreams about parity are coming true.

Tampa Bay has the best record in baseball. Ten teams have a better winning percentage than the Yankees, who are four games out of a playoff spot. The Red Sox and Cubs spent decades fighting over the "lovable loser" label; now they are sending more players to the All-Star Game than any other teams.

Of the 30 teams, 23 either have a winning record now, or had one in 2007.

And then there is the Sunday news that Sabathia is a Brewer. I don't know what this means for Milwaukee. Yes, Sabathia was terrific last year, but he has a (park-adjusted) ERA-plus of 109 this year, and 100 is the league average. Pretty much everybody outside of the Sabathia family agrees that Johan Santana is a better pitcher than Sabathia, and the Mets are struggling with Santana. That's not Santana's fault, which is my point: One starter can only do so much.

So we don't know what CC can do for the Brewers.

But I know what this means for baseball. It means that another city's fans can wake up believing their team has a chance, which is all a reasonable fan can really ask. And it means that this season, like the last few, is a many-horse race.

If you believe in crazy things like the standings, the most likely World Series matchup is Tampa Bay against the Cubs. Who could possibly declare a favorite in that matchup?

You could see Milwaukee make the playoffs, which would mean an absolutely electric atmosphere at Miller Park, because Milwaukee is that kind of town, and it's way overdue. Here is what you will not see: A bunch of teams trying to unload salaries at the trade deadline. That just doesn't happen anymore. Even the Marlins wait until after the season to panhandle.

Maybe the most amazing part of all this is that everybody is trying to win.

That might not seem like much. But think about it: Within the last 10 years, fans in Minnesota, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, among others, questioned whether their ownership even cared. Now three of those teams have playoff hopes, and the fourth, Pittsburgh, has a new general manager, which should give fans some hope.

For the last decade, Pittsburgh and Kansas City could have fought for the title of Most Irrelevant Franchise, but neither was inclined to fight, even for that. Now Kansas City has a decent young core and at least a little hope.

If you look at the bottom of the standings, you might see colossal disappointment, or pathetic failure, but you won't find many owners canceling their team's hopes due to lack of interest.

The Mariners might be the worst team in baseball, but they made that Erik Bedard deal in the winter and are on a firing spree. They're trying. Colorado, another team with an awful record, is coming off a World Series appearance. The Indians have been terrible but are defending AL Central champs.

And up near the top of the standings, Milwaukee just swung a major deal, well ahead of the trade deadline, to boost its playoff hopes. Enjoy that sentence, Brewers fans. Enjoy every word of it.