COMMENTARY

It’s simple math: Greinke had to go

— Anyone in this locale who appreciates baseball, the possibilities of human nature or both is going to miss Zack Greinke.

Although he was a Milwaukee Brewer for just 19 months, Greinke was one of the greatest pitchers in franchise history. Not only that, he hit and fielded his position as well as any pitcher I’ve seen in this generation. A natural athlete who can play any game, he’s mastered the sport from which he makes his living. He gets it.

As an interview subject who honestly speaks his mind and almost never falls into typical cliche babble, he was an absolute joy to have around for people who do jobs like mine.

As a combination of sheer talent and free thinking, no one quite like Greinke had passed through this town since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. And it may be years before another professional athlete like that does again.

All that said, Greinke had to go.

Baseball isn’t set up for a smallmarket franchise to have more than one $100 million contract on its payroll. The Brewers are fortunate to have Ryan Braun, last year’s National League MVP, locked up for the rest of his career.

They were also remarkably lucky to have CC Sabathia and Greinke for a blinking of the eye, and it was worth everything the Brewers gave up to have two of baseball’s best pitchers long enough to make the playoffs twice in four years.

But here is the only thing that matters going forward: On one side of a scale, place Alcides Escobar, Jake Odorizzi, Lorenzo Cain and Jeremy Jeffress.

That’s a lot. It’s what the Brewers gave Kansas City in December 2010 to get an American League Cy Young Award winner, one of the primary pieces that made the franchise’s only National League division championship possible.

On the other side of the scale, place Jean Segura, Johnny Hellweg and Ariel Pena. That is what the Los Angeles Angels gave the Brewers for Greinke.

If it eventually balances or tips in the Brewers’ favor, they will have lost nothing for the pleasure of having Greinke for a season and a half. They will have gained a playoff appearance and a lot of good memories for maybe the most loyal fans in the game.

The only question is whether Doug Melvin got the best return possible for the best pitcher on the market. That we’ll see in the next few seasons.

The tendency is to trust Melvin in these matters. In 2008, he was bold and aggressive enough to land what was then the finest pitcher available in Sabathia. With the resources of the game’s smallest market, he did it again a little more than two years later to get Greinke.

Melvin pretty much cleaned out the farm system to do it, but things must work in such cycles for the Brewers to have a chance to win every now and then.

Now, the cycle must begin anew.

Melvin had to get a shortstop because he gave up Escobar and J.J. Hardy, now two of the best in the American League. Segura, a former Arkansas Traveler, is said to be a great one, and he’d better be. If he is, Segura closes one gaping hole up the middle. The Brewers still must find a center fielder.

They are also turning over their pitching staff, which makes it vital for at least one of these prospects to make it to the rotation really soon. Yovani Gallardo, Mike Fiers, Tyler Thornburg and Chris Narveson are something to work with in spring training, but one of the new guys must grow up in a hurry.

If you are a Brewers fan, you never want to see the team go through a painful year like this one. It would have been worse had Greinke stayed the entire season without the return Melvin received from the Angels.

I would believe Greinke if he said it wasn’t all about the money. He isn’t a last-dollar kind of guy, but he does want to win big, and he wasn’t going to accept a contract extension from the Brewers. That’s understandable.

Nor were the Brewers in a position to have a $20 million-a-year pitcher on their payroll, no matter how good Greinke is. Financially, only a few markets in baseball are equipped for the risk that comes with a long-term pitching contract. The Brewers aren’t, and never will be, one of them.

Be grateful for the time Greinke was here, because it was some kind of ride. And if these young guys can play, look forward to the possibility of the natural cycle of small-market baseball played at a higher level repeating itself.

Sports, Pages 24 on 07/29/2012

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