How cute. 
After getting a little taste of glory a couple of seasons back, the Milwaukee Brewers have decided to try and pull up a chair to the grown folk table atop the NL Central division.
By trading for former Cy Young winner Zack Greinke, the Brewers are now at a bare minimum will be a harder out for the Cardinals with Greinke on the bump and at the worst, could be a season long nuisance that everyone expects to fold, but just goes ahead and wins the division.
Sound familiar?
The only problem with this Reds 2.0 theory is the big black cloud that’s going to sink this promising move before it gets a chance to really blossom into something for the Brewers. And he goes by the name of Prince of Fielder.
Buried in all the Pujols hand-wringing is the fact that the Brewers are in the exact same position as the Cardinals are with their All-Star first baseman. Albeit, unlike the Cards, the Brewers aren’t under any impression that they’ll get a hometown discount and are holding out for as long as they can before dealing Fielder for a crop of prospects.
Unfortunately, every team in MLB knows that Fielder needs to get moved. And the GM’s of the teams that can afford Fielder’s next contract are done shopping for the time being, pretty much forcing the Brewers to go into 2011 with the ‘Fielder Situation’ hanging over every inch of momentum the team garners.
A fast start? Could be killed by a trade. A Sluggish April? The Fielder price gets lower and lower.
It’s an untenable situation for the Brewers. But until resolution (a trade) is made or a firm decision to keep Fielder for a one-off run and let him walk for the compensatory picks they’ll recieve- well, the Brewers aren’t going to be doing much with Greinke other than annoying the Reds and Cards by being better than they were in 2010.
Long story short- It’s a good trade and a great fit for the right-handed ace. But with Prince Fielder muddying the waters in Milwaukee, this move won’t be impactful for the Cardinals season as some would have you believe.
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