Brewers decide they're past due

You can live off the past for so long, and then you're just selling history.

In Milwaukee, the past is 1982. Those Jim Gantner bobblehead dolls are cute, but every nod reminds you that the Brewers haven't won since 1982.

"It's nice to unlock your tradition," Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said, "but you'd like some of your own to celebrate."

So Attanasio, in his third year, decided to play for 2008. The Brewers won the grand prize in this year's trade deadline sweepstakes Monday, acquiring CC Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians for four prospects, and Milwaukee went nuts.

"It's almost a disbelief," Attanasio said by telephone from Milwaukee. "It's been so long people can't believe something good is happening."

In L.A., that past is 1988. The Dodgers are selling history all season, celebrating their 50th anniversary in Los Angeles, but Kirk Gibson borders on irrelevance to the generation of fans born after Ronald Reagan left the White House.

The Dodgers passed on Sabathia, opting once again to put their faith in a core of young players nurtured for four years now. The Dodgers are in an awkward spot, waiting for the kids to succeed, antsy for the kids to succeed. They wouldn't trade Matt Kemp for Sabathia, the right call, and Kemp alone would not have gotten the deal done.

The Brewers left their major league roster untouched. They traded four minor leaguers, including slugger Matt LaPorta, who could play first base for the Indians as soon as next season. The Dodgers offered various packages of minor leaguers, but the Indians wanted an impact position player close to ready for the majors, and the Dodgers don't have anyone in their farm system even close to LaPorta.

Ned Colletti, the Dodgers' general manager, would not discuss specific players but said he could not have completed a deal without disrupting the major league roster.

"We'd be filling one hole and creating two others," Colletti said. "That's not something we're interested in doing."

As if to prove the point that a starting pitcher is not the Dodgers' greatest need, Hiroki Kuroda pitched a one-hit shutout against Atlanta on Monday night. And, had the Indians said yes to their offer of minor leaguers for Sabathia, the Dodgers would have lost the prospects they'll probably need for what Colletti calls the top priority, a trade for a shortstop.