Oh how the mighty have fallen

You all remember the Milwaukee Brewers last year. All year they were just out of the playoff race and suddenly, they traded for Carsten Charles Sabathia (C.C. to you and me). Sabathia came into Milwaukee and went 11-2 with an ERA of 1.65 and seven complete games.

Sabathia pitched so well, he got Milwaukee to finish with a record of 90-72, good enough for the NL Wild Card and the Brewers first playoff appearance since the 1980's.

Unfortunately for the Brewers and their fans, they were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, but in their eyes, the season was still a victory. They were finally seen as real contenders and a team that could not be simply looked over as a team that couldn't compete.

Then, the off season came and not only did ace C.C. Sabathia leave via free agency, #2 starter Ben Sheets almost went to Texas via free agency, before they realized his shoulder was injured and even if he wanted to leave, he could not because he needed surgery and probably would not be able to pitch this year.

With Sheets not signing with a team, his Type A free agent status would not net them two draft picks. To make matters worse, with the Yankees signing of Mark Teixeira, the Brewers would not receive a 1st round draft pick for Sabathia, they would only receive a 2nd round and a supplemental round pick.

The Brewers used the off season to sign Braden Looper and re-sign Mike Cameron and signed Frank Catalanotto a couple months into the season. Not really the overhaul you would hope for when you lose your ace and your #2 starter who just had a year where he posted an ERA of 3.09.

The Brewers pitching staff, thanks to the wonderful return of young ace Yovani Gallardo, pitched above what was expected of them for the first two months of the season and gave fans hope that the Brewers could compete this year. They, then began pitching as they always have. Fans wanted to make the playoffs again and management was doing their best to make some moves.

They were connected to both Jake Peavy and Roy Halladay, but could not get the job done. A team that was one big move away from being a contender again was not stuck trading for only Felipe Lopez and David Weathers. They also recently claimed Doug Davis off of waivers, but they do not expect a deal to get done.

On top of all of this, their young stud of the past two years JJ Hardy has slumped miserably. The man who hit .277 with 26 homers in 2007 and .283 with 24 homers in 2008 has hit .229 this year, and was sent to AAA. The Brewers top prospect, Alcedis Escobar is now the SS and if you ask me, JJ Hardy will not be seen in a Brewers jersey next year (I expect a trade to the Red Sox)

Also, Bill Hall, the man who can play an above average 3B and hit 35 homers only a few years ago, has slumped so terribly that he is hitting only .201 and got designated for assignment, even though he is still owed over $8 million dollars next year.

On top of all of this, the team also recently fired their pitching coach.

So, the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers were the wild card winners and thrust back into the playoffs for the first time since the 80's .

The 2009 team, well, lets recap.

-They only received one 1st round draft pick when in all reality they should have received three. -They lost out on two aces during the trade deadline that they were going after.
-Their prized 26 year old shortstop has slumped so bad he has been sent to AAA and may never start for them again.
-They claimed a decent pitcher off waivers that even they do not expect to be able to sign.
-Their pitching coach got fired.
-Their 3B has performed so poorly, he and his $8.5 million 2010 contract were simply let go.

Currently the Brewers sit at 3 games under .500 and 7.5 games out of first place. 2009 was an amazing, exciting and fun season for the Brewers and it was fun while it lasted (and a few solid moves can make them contenders in 2010) but for the time being, the only fun you're gonna get in Milwaukee is if your clogging up your arteries with one of their many fine cheese-based food products.