A common conception in baseball is that spring is a time when every team has a chance. And, amid Major League Baseball's current era of competitive balance and big spending, in which parity prevails and record revenue is being generated -- and shared, to the benefit of small-market teams like the Milwaukee Brewers -- that has never been more true.
A common conception in sayings about seasons is that spring is also a time of rebirth and renewal, of change and new beginnings. And, for a club that last year spent 150 days in first place but suffered a historic late-season collapse and painfully missed the playoffs -- the Brewers again -- that is certainly the hope.
The 2015 season is one of change for MLB, as the league has exceeded $9 billion in profits for the first time, ushered in new rules and, most significantly, transitioned to a new commissioner. The Brewers, too, hope this season is one of change -- and not just from spring to summer -- as they try to move from playoff contender to playoff competitor, without moving backward to no-chancer, as many in the media have predicted them to be this year.
And on that eagerly anticipated baseball holiday called Opening Day, with the league's former commissioner on hand in Milwaukee, where the scent of grilled bratwurst mingles with the sense of optimism that annually accompanies the end of winter, there was already plenty that had changed.
Gone was the familiar pitcher who had started the last five Opening Day games for the Brewers, as Yovani Gallardo had been traded to Texas in January for three young players. Gone was the risk of the owner being sent to the emergency room before the game, as Mark Attanasio said Monday -- unlike "a couple years ago" when he "hopped the fence" -- he simply dealt with the "good" type of frustration of having to wait to get in to his team's crowded ballpark. Gone, too, were outfielder Ryan Braun's patented warmup swings after every pitch, as the new pace-of-play rules limited how often players could step out of the batter's box. And, tragically, gone was Joe Attanasio, as the father of team owner Mark who traditionally sang the national anthem on Opening Day had died in January. The absence of his father was particularly difficult for Mark, one of many members of the organization wearing a "Joe" pin, who said before the game he had "mixed emotions" about the day.
"My dad loved baseball, loved the Brewers, loved the community here," Attanasio said. "And I wanted to do something that would honor him but represent his emotion and be a positive thing. He was a man who liked to have a good time and he'd want us all to have a good time today, so we try to present things today in that light, in that spirit."
Therefore, Joe's baritone was not gone. For the national anthem, following a moment of silence, his rendition from 2014 was replayed on the video screen and loudly throughout the stadium, as Mark and his family stood next to the name "Joe" etched in the dirt behind home plate. It was a touching moment before a game that quickly got out of hand for the Brewers.
Starting pitcher Kyle Lohse gave up four runs in the first inning, and Milwaukee lost, 10-0, to Colorado on Monday. It was a far cry from last year's Opening Day, when Gallardo pitched the Brewers to a 2-0 win over the Braves that kicked off a season in which the team would hold first place from April 5 to Aug. 31. Of course, that was 2014.
Three-hundred and sixty-six days later, Attanasio said the key to a successful 2015 season was not changing something the Brewers had had particularly good fortune with the last couple years.
"I've said to everybody, for us it's about health this year. We were in first place for 150 days (last year), so that means we had a good team. If we can stay healthy we're going to compete," Attanasio said. "We are routinely in the lower numbers in terms of (disabled list) days, and that's both planning and then how you manage after you plan. So we'll need good health."
But while the Brewers hope it's a year of transitioning from just being atop the standings much of the year to actually being in the postseason, the owner sounded as much cautious as he was optimistic about his team's chances in a loaded NL Central.
"It's a really tough division. Last year in the National League you had six teams, which we were one, that were at .500 or better, and nine teams that weren't. I'd say in our division this year, we have five teams that could be .500 or better," Attanasio said. "I'm hopeful. I'm mindful. It is a very competitive division; any one of these teams, including ours, could end up in the postseason."
Monday's performance was not one befitting a playoff team, however. The Brewers, shut out with no extra-base hits, committed three errors. It was an unusually poor defensive display from manager Ron Roenicke's team, even though his players are still allowed to employ their oft-used defensive shifts. New commissioner Rob Manfred has brought up the possibility of banning the shifts, another rule change and one that Roenicke said he would not be particularly fond of seeing implemented.
"I'm OK with some changes. The shift thing, not so much," Roenicke said before Monday's game. "That's been going on for a long time. We're over-shifting, more than it's ever been. But there's always been shifting for different players."
Nevertheless, on a day when much had changed since the last time the Brewers played baseball at Miller Park, Roenicke acknowledged the need for the league to evolve, especially in exploring ways to produce the type of offense desired by fans.
"I like little changes. I think the game is played for the fans," he said. "We weren't talking about this 15 years ago. We were talking about it the other way -- 'There's too much offense, and how are we going to get back to some close ballgames again?'
"Things change all the time. The pitching's better, the arms are better. Fastball velocity has gone way up. There's some little things I think they could do to help it out."
Deciding which things to change and which are not worth the trouble for baseball is no longer the responsibility of Bud Selig. The former MLB commissioner, original Brewers owner and Milwaukee native was in attendance -- at least for a little while -- on Monday to throw out the first pitch.
Selig successfully tossed the ball to Attanasio, who was catching, on the fly, which aroused a cheer from the crowd. He said afterward he'd spent the previous few days warming up his arm, so as to avoid embarrassment, and he hoped to have the same success later in the day in Arizona, where he was also scheduled to throw out the first pitch, which would be a historic two-first-pitch first. Selig said he had to make sure his throw was decent, or Brewers announcer Bob Uecker would "never forgive me."
"Uecker left a message on my machine that he's coming out with a radar gun to see how fast I can throw," Selig said laughing. "And then (Attanasio) told me he was the catcher and he was worried I was going to throw a knuckleball. I said I wouldn't know how to throw a knuckleball.
"But it was very emotional; it meant a lot to me, seeing the No. 1 in Miller Park. . . . I can't express how much that means to me."
That was another change unveiled Monday, as Selig's number became the latest to be retired by the Brewers, an honorary No. 1 displayed next to Hank Aaron's 44 in left-center field. Also new to the stadium was the Selig Experience, a state-of-the-art attraction dedicated to the former commissioner. Selig said he was honored and noted that the museum would not likely include a leaky roof to let in rain, as his original ballpark office had.
In addition to helping out a bit with baseball matters and teaching at universities, Selig said he'd been working on his book. Besides sharing the story of initially hiring Uecker as a scout before quickly moving him to the broadcast booth instead ("He was the worst scout in baseball history -- legendarily bad -- and every one of his scouting reports had mashed potatoes and gravy spilled all over it"), Selig said writing the book warmly reminded him of the history of bringing a team to Milwaukee and the passion of Brewers fans.
"No matter where I've been, and I've been all over the world, there's just something about Milwaukee. I remember, I told my students the other day in Madison, I look back and people have forgotten how (it took) five and a half years to get a team (and) the odds were stacked against us -- insurmountable, they really were," Selig said. "My daughters used to ask me, how come you kept going? I just had a feeling. I got passed over by the American league, got passed over by the National League, and still we ended up with a team.
"And I said this before and I'll say it again, everywhere you go people talk about their fans are the greatest -- and you should (say that). But when you look at a market like this and you see what we draw for baseball, amazing. These fans are just as good as they can be."
Late in the team's forgettable Opening Day loss to the Rockies, those fans were shown a tribute video to the Wisconsin Badgers basketball team, which was to play Duke in the NCAA tournament national championship Monday night. Fans cheered loudly, sang the school's fight song "On Wisconsin" and did the famous "Jump Around" dance.
Selig, a Wisconsin alum, said he planned to watch from Phoenix after hopefully throwing out another successful first pitch.
"It's great. I'm proud of the Badgers. Proud to be a Badger," he said. "I watched all their games. It's a great story. It's great for the university, it's great for the state of Wisconsin, and I'm hopeful for tonight."
Attanasio, too, said he was happy to play the undercard to the Badgers headliner on the state's exciting day of sporting events.
"Nothing makes me happier," Attanasio said. "It's so hard to compete and win in anything in sports these days. (Badgers coach) Bo Ryan and that program, the way they've put things together, in my mind, done things always the right way, and the emphasis on teamwork and execution, we'll all be watching them tonight, that's for sure. I love it."
Attanasio also reflected on the emotions of the day, with Selig throwing out the first pitch at an Opening Day in which his father wasn't there and other things were different.
"I have a lot of mixed emotions about that, because on my very first Opening Day, Bud was the commissioner and my dad was singing the national anthem, and now my dad has passed away and Bud has handed the baton to Rob Manfred, who's gotten off to a very good start as commissioner."
Amid all the other changes -- some good, some bad and many unknown -- for baseball and the Brewers this season, Attanasio, when asked if Selig had offered to buy the team back now that he was retired, smiled and mentioned one involving Selig that he was excited about.
"He did promise to come out to a few more games this year, which we'll look forward to having him at," Attanasio said. "He's had a suite here for the past few seasons, and he'll be using it more this year."
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