They're Milwaukee's finest
Strong player development to go with a couple of timely trades and free-agent signings have the Brewers on top of the majors
''There's a political rally,'' the left-handed starter said in the Milwaukee Brewers' clubhouse Wednesday. ''And some guy is apparently running for office. And they need baseball players.''
Sounds, um, interesting? Well, that's the scene for the episode of ''The Young and the Restless'' that Capuano and two of his Brewers teammates, J.J. Hardy and Bill Hall, have been asked to appear in this month.
Who knew Hollywood had heard of the Brewers? Or of Milwaukee?
The Brewers beat the Washington Nationals 3-1 on Wednesday for their sixth victory in a row, capping a 9-1 homestand. They are 24-10 and lead the Cubs by 6½ games in the National League Central, a serious lead this early in the season.
The Brewers have the best record in baseball. And now they're about to appear on soap operas, and Sports Illustrated has been around. The Brewers' front office is hoping for the team's first SI cover in 20 years. They haven't had a winning record since 1992 and haven't made the postseason since 1982.
''It's not like it has been in the past,'' said Hall, sounding awfully grizzled for someone who's 27. ''My first year here, we had 106 losses. This is what we've all been waiting for, I guess.''
I can't say the Brewers are for real. It's too early to be sure.
They have a young core of players in Rickie Weeks, Hardy and Prince Fielder who sort of grew up together. They got free-agent starting pitcher Jeff Suppan from the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. They have no obvious major flaws, though more starting pitching would help.
And they have a lock-down, slam-dunk closer in Francisco Cordero, who earned his 15th save Wednesday, his sixth in six days. He has given up one run this season.
''I gave him my word,'' manager Ned Yost said, ''that I wouldn't pitch him tomorrow.''
The Brewers are off today.
They are about to become a national feel-good story, the story of whether the little guy can win.
Their $68 million payroll isn't puny, but it doesn't hold up with the big boys. Meanwhile, through one-fifth of the season, the Brewers are winning and the New York Yankees are buying Roger Clemens in desperation.
''The Cubs are going to be hanging around us all year,'' Brewers reliever Derrick Turnbow said. ''They won't go away.''
Did you notice anything about what he said? The Brewers think they're going to be around all year.
How are they doing this? Well, first they got rid of Selig family ownership. Then they built a team using something the Cubs never have had:
A plan.
This is a homegrown team. Turns out, you can draft players, develop them and have them succeed in the majors. Who knew? Weeks, Hardy and Fielder, the top three in the order, are 24, 23 and 24, all draft choices. Fielder has 10 homers, and Hardy, a shortstop, is an early MVP candidate.
General manager Doug Melvin -- to be fair, hired by the Seligs -- has been the magic man.
Left fielder Geoff Jenkins, in his 10th season in Milwaukee, has been with the Brewers through thin and thin, in bad times and bad.
''You don't ever go into a season without thinking you have a chance,'' he said. ''At the same time, they always used to fill spots with journeymen. This year, when they signed Suppan, that was important.''
The Brewers seem genuinely excited, loose and together, teasing each other as they walk past in the locker room.
Now the schedule gets tough. They visit the New York Mets on Friday, where the national and New York media await. This might be their coming-out party.
It's always good to see the little guys do well. This is probably the only way a small-market team can do it today, through a strong minor-league system, filling in needs with a few free agents. But that requires an awfully high success rate with prospects.
The Brewers traded Carlos Lee last year because they knew they couldn't afford him. The Houston Astros gave him $100 million. And the Brewers got Cordero and enough savings to buy Suppan.
The Cubs were criticized for their big-spending approach, though they should have been praised. Building and buying don't have to be an either/or thing in a big market. But the Cubs have failed on the building half and were stuck with gaping and immediate holes to fill.
''There's nothing wrong with assembling a team if you have the resources to do it financially,'' said Capuano, who's 5-0. ''You can buy a whole team, like the Diamondbacks did in '01.''
But Capuano said there's something to be said for camaraderie. And in the Brewers' case, many of these guys have ridden the bus together through the minors, learned the game together, learned how to be together.
''The Yankees have got the best talent around,'' Capuano said. ''And they're scuffling to be consistent.''
The Brewers still run the sausage race after the sixth inning. Bratwurst won Wednesday. Everyone still seems a little too nice, a little too white-picket-fence.
And Yost can say, ''We're not here, there or anywhere. It's May.''
But little Milwaukee is going big-time.