Isn't it at least partially a mentality issue?

[Turning2]

The Dodgers are in the Brewers head in my view. At least somewhat. It happens. The Packers have (some might say "had"?) owned the Bears for decades. The Yanks owned the Twins in the early 'OO's. No doubt, LA's favored MLB son status allows them to spend on talent with impunity. That can't be entirely overlooked nor entirely blamed for their cat and mouse toying with MIL. 

However.... its not just the illegitimate "competition" which MLB Inc and the Players' Union foists upon small market fans. One star player on a team with no spending limits may make 3-4x what a star player on a small market team makes. That does not mean that the one guy is 5x as talented. At some point, it comes down to not only talent, but heart, determination, mental fortitude, and pride. They could use a little more leadership, more emotion driven by competitive indignation now and then. That's not a clubhouse cancer. That is a guy fed up with settling for being "the bridesmaid but never the bride" so to speak. This team does not have a leader everyone looks to and can count on to produce and spur the others when the chips are down against the elite payrolls. They were beat last night after the Tucker triple and Pages HR. The team has grit. That is Indisputable. They can come back from that kick to the competitive balls by the Cubs, Padres, DBacks etc... but not L.A.

The Dodgers have the best All Star pitching staff money can buy. They have a bevy of the best hitters money can lure. It's insulting and ridiculous. It's the reality of today's illegitimate MLB structure.

But you can't tell me that L.A.'s roster overall is 3-4x more talented. I doubt it's even twice as talented overall. The Brewers' Goliath conundrum with L.A. is at least partially mental. When they can't dictate the flow of the game by "drag'em" at bats, often resulting in weak infield dribblers aided by speed, bunting, forced errors and timely hitting, followed up by top defense, and solid pitching.... they are cooked.

That is overcome by pursuing a couple of reliable veteran power bats that have come from a different clubhouse culture. That requires a front office willingness to sacrifice what you can afford to sacrifice - namely... prospect capital, Milwaukee's default is to resist the age old wisdom of "a bird in hand is better than two in the bush". They have an obsessive love affair preference with young talent in the minors over proven above "warm body" MLB quality players. They know full well that most of their supposedly deep farm system will not become above average to star major leaguers. But they can afford them and use them to tease us fans along with their potential. This is how we end up with the "meh" rosters of over hyped prospects like Mitchell, Frelick, Black etc. It's effective enough to keep fans emotionally invested ("entertained"). It sells tickets, merch and overpriced concessions which keeps the ownership investors in the black and MLB INC healthy. It makes suckers out of small market fans who expect a level playing field but continue to bend over and take it because they love the game. 

We have no power or choice other than to divorce our financial support from the game that many of us love and still want to believe has integrity. Drug cartels profit handsomely, live in opulence by leveraging addiction against their clients too. 

To sum up.. the Brewers aren't mentally tough enough, are fighting an insulting set of financial tied competitive circumstances, and the unholy alliance of the MLB investors AND the Players Union laughs all the way to the bank while taking us all for the addicted suckers we are in small market America.