WI State Senator to Milwaukee Brewers: Fuck You

Okay, I’m paraphrasing, but only a bit, and you can’t tell me they don’t deserve it. For those of you who don’t live in Wisconsin, let me back up a bit.

About ten years ago, the Milwaukee Brewers were one of the most comically shitty teams in baseball (a condition that persists to this day). They were also owned by one Bud Selig, then-interim Commissioner of Baseball (now the real thing), which some people seemed to think was a potential conflict of interest, but nevermind. Anyway, one day, Bud & Co. came to the state legislature, hat in hand, appealing for a grant - free taxpayer money to build a new stadium. You see, they said, the reason that the Brewers blow so bad is because they have to play in such a ratty, ramshackle firetrap of a park; once they get a new place, look out! The team will improve, more people will come to see ‘em, they’ll spend more money in Milwaukee and surrounding areas, people will get richer and state government will get more tax money than they put in in the first place!! A lot of legislators recognized this “reasoning” for the retarded scam that it was, but alas, not enough: they narrowly approved a 0.1% sales tax for Milwaukee (and some surrounding counties) to raise a projected $160 million for the new field. A lot of voters saw through this as well, and at least one legislator lost his seat as a result. For a more detailed account of all this go here, although I wonder why this poor person’s editor made them end it on an inspirational, ‘heart-warming’ note (Note: the link doesn't seem to work when I put it up here, so, if you wanna read the article in question, C&P this: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brew/mpark/mar01/miller25032201.asp).

Guess what? Even with the new stadium, the Brewers mysteriously still suck as bad as they ever did. Late last year, they were forced to cut their payroll, which foreclosed on any possibility that they’d be able to afford that super-team Bud had been promising for the last ten years. Plus, that $160 million that the people of southeast Wisconsin were supposed to raise has ballooned to $650 million.

So now what happens? This week, it was announced that Selig was gonna sell the team for $200 million to Mark Attanasio, some guy from LA.

State Sen. Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) is probably my favorite person in Wisconsin politics as he has two qualities I look for in any elected official: a stubborn dedication to his principles (some of which I do not share) and a willingness and ability to rhetorically stomp the nutsack of the sweet-talkers who crowd his profession. He’s been grousing about the Brewers scam since it first hit the scene, and the latest wrinkle did not find him in a forgiving mood.

"State taxpayers contributed to the book value of the Milwaukee Brewers, so they are entitled to a share of the proceeds from the sale of the team, state Senator Michael G. Ellis said today.
"...
"'There are two things that make up the value of a baseball franchise - the quality of the ballclub and the playground it plays in,' Ellis said.
"'Since 1995, the book value of that club rose from about $70 million to its reported sales price today of $200 million. I can assure you, Mark Attanasio is not paying $200 million for a team that's batting .247. He's not paying $200 million for a team that could well lose more than 100 games for the second season in a row.'"

Ouch. Anyway, read the whole thing.