No Longer a “Sound” Option

The Brewers’ former AAA affiliate, the Nashville Sounds, endured some growing pains through their 10-year tenure with Milwaukee.

In their inaugural season with the Brewers, the Sounds won a Pacific Coast League championship, but as the saying goes, “What have you done for me lately?”

This year’s Sounds finished 10-games over .500 for the first time since the 2010 club, which also finished with a 77-67 record, but both of them failed to qualify for a playoff spot.

The Brewers players endured 10 years playing in the crumbling Greer Stadium, and the franchise was happy to join the Sounds in the groundbreaking ceremonies for their new stadium set to open for the 2015 season.

Now they find themselves settling for a location in Colorado Springs where the distance and weather could be detriments throughout the season.

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It is evident that Brewers GM, Doug Melvin, was convinced that their AAA team would be staying in Nashville and playing in the new stadium. The Brewers were ready to deliver on their promise of fielding a competitive team with slugger Jason Rogers leading the offense in 2015.

Eventually, power prospects such as Nick Delmonico could have bolstered the lineup. While prospects are never a sure thing the Brewers system looks better now than it has in a few years, and should have provided a good 2015 to Nashville. Instead, Nashville moved silently in the background and closed a deal with the Oakland A’s, who have been a pitching developing factory.

This comes after the Sounds owner has publicly stated that they had let the Brewers know of their intent to look at other opportunities, which is the opposite of what Brewers management has said of the situation.

The way things transpired left a sour taste on the mouths of Brewers’ executives. Players will now have to travel twice as many miles from Colorado Springs; Nashville was only 565 miles away, logistically that was an advantage.

The Colorado Springs Sky Sox play at Security Service Field; at 6,531 feet above sea level it is the highest elevation of any professional baseball stadium in North America. It also only seats 8,500 fans and is facing east of the Rocky Mountains. And while stadium itself has undergone improvements, none of them compare to what a new facility would have offered the Brewers organization.