New Brewers owner enthusiastic
MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers' new owner is quickly learning that this is no
ordinary business investment.
"I probably shouldn't be hanging on every half-inning," Mark Attanasio said
Monday, hours before Opening Day at Miller Park. "But for now, I am."
He was hanging on every Russell Branyan home run on Monday, when the slugging
third baseman hit a pair of long home runs to help the Brewers open their
fifth season under the Miller Park dome.
The bunting was out, the stands were full and the players were lined up along
the foul lines, but this was no ordinary home opener.
For one, third baseman Jeff Cirillo was back in a Brewers uniform, and drew
the biggest ovation during pre-game introductions. Catcher Damian Miller was
also back, playing his first game at home for the team he cheered as a kid.
But the most important newcomer was not in uniform. Attanasio, 47, stepped
onto the field to a nice round of applause while his father, Joe, sang the
National Anthem, then settled into the seats next to the Brewers dugout.
"I said to my dad that maybe he could sing, 'Take Me Out To The Ballgame' at
some point," Attanasio said. "He started practicing to sing the National
Anthem on Opening Day without my knowing it.
"My dad's been behind me and supportive of me my whole life. He won't say it,
but if in some way this is a dream fulfilled for him, I'm happy to help
achieve this."
It was a happy ending to a whirlwind few months for Attanasio, a Los
Angeles-based investment banker whose $220 million bid to buy the Brewers
from a group headed by Major League Commissioner Bud Selig -- the
longest-tenured ownership group in the game -- was accepted last October.
Attanasio was formally approved by MLB in January and he attended Opening Day
in Pittsburgh last week and caught a game over the weekend in Chicago.
Does his arrival signal a "new look" for what has been a struggling franchise?
"I think the first goal is not so much 'look,' per se, but to put a
competitive team on the field and start winning some games," Attanasio said.
"Baseball management is really in tune with that. Players are in tune with
that. We're going to do everything we can."
He got down to business on Sunday night, when Attanasio and his fellow
investors assembled in-person for the first time in a left field corner
meeting room at Miller Park. Attanasio's spokesman confirmed that the group
includes four holdovers from the Selig group -- John Canning Jr., Stephen
Marcus, Harris Turer and David Uihlein Jr. -- and newcomer David Lubar,
president of Milwaukee-based Lubar & Co. Inc. and chairman of the Lake
Express high-speed ferry. There are also a number of California-based family
and friends with stakes in the club, whom Attanasio has declined to identify
to this point.
It was essentially a get-to-know-you session for the club's incoming brain
trust.
"The Milwaukee 'posse' was well-experienced and knew the ropes, and the L.A.
guys were trying to find their way around the ropes," Attanasio said. "The
Milwaukee guys, for example, educated the L.A. guys on how important Ben
Sheets is to this organization."
That's priority No. 1 for the Brewers, and it was articulated, according to
Attanasio, by Marcus. General manager Doug Melvin and assistant GM Gord Ash
have kept a tight lid on negotiations with Sheets' agent, Casey Close, and
Attanasio met with Close at a Scottsdale, Ariz. hotel last month to relay his
vision for the franchise.
The Brewers are talking about an extension for Sheets through 2008. The ace
right-hander would otherwise be a free agent after the 2006 season. In
Sunday's meeting, owners discussed options for an insurance policy on a
potential Sheets contract, which could be worth upwards of $10 million per
season.
"One of the benefits of this first meeting was to get everybody on the same
page," Attanasio said. "That was successfully accomplished."
Monday was also special for Miller, who grew up rooting for the Brewers in
West Salem, Wis., and had more than a dozen family and friends in the crowd.
"It's a chance to come down here and drink beer," Miller cracked. "Typical
cheeseheads."
West Salem is about 200 miles west and north of Milwaukee, and Miller
attended a number of games at County Stadium, but never an Opening Day.
"I was one of those kids who didn't come to the park to get autographs," he
said. "I watched the players. I always sat at County Stadium in right field,
right by the bullpen. I watched the pitchers and catchers, watched guys
running on and off the field."
He was especially interested in Robin Yount, now a Hall of Famer.
"He ran hard to first base no matter if it was a ball back to the pitcher,"
said Miller, who doubled and scored on Branyan's first home run. "That stuff
stuck with me a little bit."
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