Mark Attanasio is fast-becoming a rebel with a cause.
The owner of the Milwaukee Brewers looks nothing like a troublemaker, at least not when he’s at the ballpark. He’s got those studious glasses and the not-quite-styled mop of black hair. He’s a proud graduate from the David Letterman school of fashion, which calls for wearing sneakers in public. He treats neckties like nooses, shunning them whenever possible. His voice isn’t booming and tilts to the nasal side of the spectrum. He’s always calm and collected, even when firing a manager. You just can’t find an ounce of antagonism on him, even with an electron microscope.
Still, Attanasio built his fortune as a money manager, and you don’t make that omelet without breaking some eggs. So maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised that Attanasio is getting noticed for stirring Major League Baseball’s pot.
Twice in the past month, Attanasio has made news by publicly advocating for an MLB salary cap. And in baseball circles, you’d draw less fire for saying Mickey Mantle wore a girdle.
The first time came after Mark Teixeira’s signing pushed the New York Yankees’ offseason free-agent bill to $424 million. That’s $200 million more than Attanasio shelled out to buy the Brewers in 2005.
“At the rate the Yankees are going, I’m not sure anyone can compete with them,” Attanasio wrote in an e-mail to Bloomberg News. “Frankly, the sport might need a salary cap.”
At the time, Attanasio’s statement could’ve been shrugged off as heat-of-the-moment emotion. After all, part of New York’s shopping spree included CC Sabathia, and few people like Sabathia more than Attanasio. Perhaps not even Mrs. Sabathia. Because Attanasio would’ve paid the guy $120 million to stay, a ridiculous contract for the small-market Brewers.
And the Yankees responded to Attanasio’s comments in typical Yankee fashion – with upturned noses and snobbish disdain. “Sour grapes,” said Yankees president Randy Levine. “And speaking of grapes, go peel me one, Mark.”
OK, I made up the last half of the quote. But five bucks says Levine was thinking it.
Last week, however, Attanasio proved his salary cap musings were no passing fancy. On the eve of this week’s owners’ meetings, he didn’t back down from the idea.
In fact, Attanasio is sounding more and more like he wants to be the standard-bearer for small-market owners everywhere. Once he spoke up, other small markets like Houston and Oakland and Pittsburgh echoed his views.
But advocating for a salary cap in baseball paints Attanasio as nothing short of a full-fledged revolutionary activist. Because not only is he going up against big-market clubs like the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox and your friendly neighborhood Chicago Cubs, but he’s also staring straight down the barrel of the players union’s big guns.
Union chief Donald Fehr wants a salary cap as much as you want Donald Fehr’s hairdo. He knows that every time the Yankees break the bank for one player, the new precedent raises everybody else’s salary, too.
So small-market teams like the Brewers get pulled along for the ride, and while recent history shows that those teams can still compete with the big boys, it’s obviously not a level playing field. Having a bigger payroll doesn’t guarantee victory, but it sure does increase your chances. Owners (and players) in other sports have realized this, and they’ve been rewarded not just with parity, but greater labor peace.
“I would ask, if it’s such a bad idea, what sport doesn’t have a salary cap other than us?” Attanasio mused.
Good question. And the answer is European soccer, which absolutely dwarfs baseball in terms of the economic disparity between its teams. (But the salary cap bandwagon is picking up steam over there, too.) So maybe Attanasio should ask his fellow owners if they want to have more in common with the English Premier League than the NFL.
Does Attanasio have a sound argument? Of course. Will his proposal gain any traction? Sure. Just as soon as Rush Limbaugh votes for a Democrat.
Still, you have to love Attanasio’s gumption. The man’s shown he’s not afraid to make waves, either by trading for Sabathia or trading jabs with fellow owners. That bodes well for Milwaukee’s baseball future.
The Capers Caper
Good news! Somebody actually wants to coach Green Bay’s defense.
After being spurned by high-profile candidates Mike Nolan and Gregg Williams, the Packers finally landed a defensive coordinator. And by all accounts, they got a good one in Dom Capers.
How do we know Capers is good? Because the New York Giants were also interested in him, and the Giants know a thing or two about defense.
Moreover, the Packers will let Capers install his 3-4 defensive scheme, which means there will be some interesting personnel decisions on the horizon.
But they’d better get it working fast. After going 6-10, Packers fans have all the patience of a 6-year-old at Disney World.
Super Stunner
Biblical scholars are worried, because the end times must be near, and they cite the Book of Acts as proof.
“The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, and the Arizona Cardinals shall advance to the Super Bowl.”
Yes, the Cardinals, who haven’t known success since they played in Chicago, who were heretofore known as the team that made Detroit look good, are one win from a championship ring. And don’t be surprised if they get that win, because they’ve got at least one edge on Pittsburgh.
Remember, before he took over as Arizona’s head coach, Ken Whisenhunt was a longtime assistant with the Steelers. So was Russ Grimm, who joined Whisenhunt as Arizona’s assistant head coach. Together, they’ll have plenty of insight into Pittsburgh’s schemes and personnel. Maybe enough to pull off one of the biggest shockers in NFL history.
See Rudy Dunk
What does Joe Alexander have in common with John McCain? They both lost their election bids.
Yes, Rudy Fernandez, and not Alexander, was voted into the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest. Seejoedunk.com reports the sad news. So Alexander has to settle for having a better ad campaign.
Note to self…
Bring own security guards when covering basketball in Providence, R.I.
And now that Marquette has survived this, is there anything the Golden Eagles can’t overcome?
And finally…
Sit down for this one.
Men’s Fitness just ranked America’s fittest and fattest cities. And Milwaukee placed 11th.
But not on the list you’d expect.
Milwaukee’s the 11th-fittest city in the nation? Has Men’s Fitness been to Miller Park?
Tune in every Tuesday morning during the 6 o’clock hour when I join Doug Russell and Mike Wickett on SportsRadio 1250 AM for Tuesdays with Howie. You can also find the segments in their Audio Vault. And don’t forget to check out our new fitness column, Training with Tim.
