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Here come the Milwaukee Brewers - The BrewCrew come into the postseason red hot having won 8 straight heading into Thursday's Game 1 of the NLDS with the Colorado Rockies from Miller Park. Included in those 8 consecutive victories was a sweep of the Cardinals in St. Louis that all but stuck a fork in the Cards' postseason hopes. Then they finished off the season by sweeping the Detroit Tigers in Miller Park - including an 11-0 blowout on Sunday that forced a 1 game tie-breaker in Chicago with the Cubs for the NL Central.
Chicago held a 5.0 game lead in the division at one point in early September over Milwaukee. They went 16-12 in the final month of the season so no one can really say they choked the division away. It has more to do with Milwaukee going 20-7 (including the tie-breaker game with the Cubs) to close out the final month of September. The 11-2 stretch to finish the season of course was a huge boost. Heading into the tie-breaker on Monday, the last time the Brewers had sat atop the division by themselves was July 12th.
With that backdrop, it was easy to see how the Brewers came into the tie-breaker on Monday extremely fired up at the prospect of stealing the division and all of the prizes that went with it (NL Central Crown, best record in the NL and home field). It is also easy to see how the Cubs may not have been nearly as excited since they were hoping to not have to play in the game to begin with. The game being at Wrigley, seemed to give Milwaukee even more motivation to get the job done and deny the Cubs their third consecutive NL Central crown.
Maybe the Brewers faithful were extra motivated to invade Wrigley for a change, since it has been well-documented and publicized about how the Cubs' fan base travels up I-94 in droves for years and turns Miller Park into "Wrigley North". Cole Hamels seemed to spark something when his labor day comments seemingly irked the Brewers fanbase - “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."
Hamels had just participated in his first Brewers-Cubs game in Milwaukee after being traded to Chicago in July. While both teams shrugged off the comments (and rightfully so - both teams have a tremendous amount of respect for each other), one now has to wonder if the Brewers-Cubs "rivalry" can now be classified as one without a doubt. Whatever the circumstance, Chicago Cubs fans travel very well, and will probably always make their presence known in Milwaukee, but it should be pointed out that the Brewers' usually draw very well for a "small market club" and with Milwaukee going into Chicago on Monday and pulling out a 3-1 victory, maybe this actually has arrived as a true "rivalry".
Rivalry or not, what is not for debate, is the impact that one day in late January had on the trajectory of the Brewers' future and this season in particular. That was the day that Milwaukee signed Lorenzo Cain and traded for Christian Yelich. Cain won a World Series with the Royals, started his career in Milwaukee, and gave the Brewers something they desperately needed - a lead off hitter that could get on base, run well, and play a great defensive centerfield. Cain provided exactly that as he finished the season hitting .310 with a near .400 on-base %. He stole 30 bases, and could very well be in line for a golden globe award after another stellar defensive season. It's exactly what Milwaukee's power stacked lineup needed - and some. Cain is the high-energy tone-setter, and Christian Yelich is the machine that's making it all work.
Yelich basically carried the Brewers down the stretch and almost single-handedly lead them to the NL Central Crown. He was just named the NL Player of the Month, after a September in which he hit an absurd .352 with a .500 on-base %, and an OPS of .807! He tied for the MLB-lead for homers in the month with 10. And fell just 1 HR and 1 RBI shy of winning the NL's first Triple Crown since Joe Medwick won it with the Cardinals in 1937.
He tied for the MLB-lead for homers in the month with 10. And fell just 1 HR and 1 RBI shy of winning the NL's first Triple Crown since Joe Medwick won it with the Cardinals in 1937.
During the decisive 8-game winning streak to close the season, Yelich put together a hot streak like no other. He's hit .458 (11-24), with an insane .581 On-base %, adding 4 HRs and a whopping 17 RBI, running away with the NL MVP in the process.
While Yelich has carried the offense down the stretch with his incredible close to the season, the whole lineup has gotten in on the mix. Even young shortstop Orlando Arcia, who was the most inconsistent hitter in the lineup throughout much of the season (.236 avg/ 3HR/ 30RBI in 119 games) had a career-high 4 hits in the division tie-breaker game Monday.
Travis Shaw followed up his breakout 2017 season in which he hit 31 HRs and drove in 101 by hitting 32 HRs and driving in 86 this year. His average dipped by 32 points to .241, but the power numbers were still there. First baseman Jesus Aguilar forced his way into the lineup with a breakout season producing a .274/.352/.539 slash-line while finishing amongst the league-leaders with 35 HRs and 108 RBI while being named to his first All-Star team. Of course there is still Ryan Braun. While he only hit .254 and struggled early in the season, Braunie put together a decent final month of the season as well and contributed 20 HRs and 64 RBI for the year.
Deadline additions Mike Moustakas and Jonathan Schoop made for plenty of infield depth and added pop and provided two experienced post-season players that helped contribute down the stretch as well. The fact that a guy who hit 30 HRs last year in Domingo Santana lost his starting job in the off-season showed the kind of depth that David Sterns was able to arm manager Craig Counsell with for a late-season push. Even with all of the depth and different options available, we haven't even discussed the Brewers greatest weapon - their bullpen.
The depth available has proven to be exceptional - especially as of late. The Brewers bullpen led all of baseball in September ERA at 2.08. Well ahead of the next closest team. On the season, Milwaukee's bullpen logged a lot of innings (610 2/3 relief innings) good for second in the NL behind only the last-place Padres. They finished the season with a 3.52 ERA - behind only the Cubs. The September usage- and results - were even better.
After 2017 All-Star closer Corey Knebel struggled early in the season, he lost the closer job and spent some time at AAA working on some things and getting healthy. Jeremy Jeffries stepped into the role and ran with it - finishing the season with a 8-1 record, 15 saves, and a 1.29 ERA over 76 2/3 innings, good for 8th most among relievers in the NL. He fit right in with the other power arms of the bullpen. Back to Knebel, who was just named NL Reliever of the month, and has been virtually un-hittable since returning from his stint in the minors and was especially dominant over the final week of the season - He made 5 appearances and struck out 14 of the 20 batters he faced while tossing 5 scoreless innings. He finished the season with 88 k's over 55 + innings. Corbin Burnes and Joakim Soria (who has 220 career saves and a 2.88 ERA over 11 seasons) provide quality depth as well and then their is Josh Hader.
Hader has been a strikeout machine, registering an insane 143 strikeouts over just 81 1/3 innings, while only walking 30. Hader posted a 2.43 ERA for the season and a 6-1 record. Furthermore, he was often used for multiple innings and registered a 6-out save against the Cubs in the tie-breaker game to secure the Central. He finished second in the NL among relievers in innings pitched with 79 1/3.
All of it adds up to a team that is surging right now, playing their best baseball, and has depth available all over the board. They own the clear favorite for MVP in the absolutely scorching Christian Yelich, and very well may own the manager of the year in Counsell, and Executive of the Year in GM Stearns. That may just be the beginning of the accolades however, as the playoffs get started and the BrewCrew have their sights set-on much more... Watch out here come the Brewers!
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