Hamels: Cubs-Brewers not a rivalry
MILWAUKEE — Cole Hamels says he knows rivalries, and the Cubs vs. Brewers doesn’t fit the criteria.
After an intense 4-3 loss to the Brewers on Monday before a before a Chicago-centric crowd of 44,462 at Miller Park, the Cubs left-hander threw some shade at Milwaukee, suggesting the town is not ready for prime time.
“I know the rivalries I’ve had in the past, you can definitely feel it,” Hamels said. “When you have majority Cubs fans in the stands, I don’t know if that’s a rivalry yet. They’re not going to like me for the comment, but you can look at the ticket sales. I think when they start getting a little bit closer and their fans sell out, I think that’s kind of the understanding.
“But Cubs fans travel well and they were representing us pretty well. … It’s no [knock on] who they have in the dugout. They have great players. And I know those guys want to win. But in this great game of baseball you want to see the fans in the stands, and obviously that’s where you feel it the most. To be able to see the Cubs fans travel in the masses they do, it’s great to see.
“I was able to see that in Philly when we would come down and play Washington. … That’s just kind of the nature of where it is. It’s probably not going to sit too well with them, but I think they probably observed it just as well as I did.”
There was no disputing the fact Cubs fans took over the park on a rainy Labor Day afternoon. The pilgrimage up Interstate 94 has been going on for years, and Milwaukee has grown accustomed to hearing Ryan Braun get booed every time he steps up to the plate here. On Monday, the boos started when his name was announced during lineup introductions.
Even Chicago native Curtis Granderson, acquired by the Brewers on Friday, said he had a lot of friends who are Cubs fans coming up for the game. He knows the Cubs have some built-in advantages of a big-market team but said it doesn’t mean anything at this time of year.
“In terms of the money and TV and stuff, that’s obviously something they do have,” he said. “At the same time it doesn’t make you a favorite or make one team an underdog. You still have to play between the lines. The money and the TV adds to popularity, which is something the Cubs have done an amazing job, like the Dodgers and Yankees, making sure they’re recognizable. But it doesn’t make them any better than anyone else.”
The invasion of Cubs fans annoys Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, who tried to fix the problem last winter by approving a presale of tickets to Cubs-Brewers games for Wisconsin residents only. But that apparently didn’t work either.
In truth, Attanasio really should thank Cubs fans for putting money in his pocket, even if he prefers to hold on to it instead of investing it back into his team. Other than Braun and Lorenzo Cain, the rest of the Brewers players make chump change, relatively speaking. It’s a credit to Manager Craig Counsell that he gets so much out of this bunch, which has more heart than talent.
The Cubs were able to pick up Hamels and Daniel Murphy for the stretch run because they were able to absorb part of their hefty salaries. The Brewers could’ve claimed Murphy but passed, like every other NL team.
“I think there were [reasons] for each particular team that made them say no,” Counsell said. “Unfortunately [for us] he got to the Cubs. … He’s making a considerable bit of money, I think. That’s not nothing. That’s out of my realm, but it’s a factor.”
Monday’s series opener was a made-for-September treat, with comebacks, ejections, another Javier Baez MVP moment and a wild, walk-off finish on Kris Bryant’s snap decision to try for a double play instead of getting the runner at the plate.
“Just funny how baseball works that way sometimes,” Bryant said. “It was a tough way to lose, but give credit to them.”
The Cubs and Brewers have five games left in the season series, and could meet again in the division series, a delicious scenario that could test Milwaukee’s ability to prevent the invasion of the ballpark-snatchers.
If that doesn’t work, building a wall at the Illinois-Wisconsin border may be its only hope.