Well, folks, we made it to Labor Day. Only four weeks remain in the MLB regular season and your Milwaukee Brewers own a half game lead for the first spot in the Wild Card game. They’ve won 7 of their last 10, and their previous four series. While they remain five games back of the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs, they’ve got six chances to trim that number over their next ten games. Summer is officially over: it’s time for meaningful September baseball.
If you’re a weekly reader of the Sunday Cycle, then you know just how all over the map I’ve been this season. I kept my steady composure through the first half of the season, but like many fans, my patience was tested this August as we watched the Brewers stumble a bit as the games got more meaningful. It would be fair to say that I lost my cool on more than one occasion, but I never gave up. I remain steadfast in my Opening Day prediction that the Brewers would make the postseason for just the third time in my life.
I wanted to try something a little bit different this week, which I have the liberty to do; ah, the perks of being The Squeaky Curd’s longest tenured non-equity holding writer on staff.
The Brewers have 24 games left- each one of them critically important. So important, that fans (myself included) tend to forget that these games are just 1 out of 162. Are the results more important now than they were in April? Of course they are. But if good players have bad games, or vice versa, it’s not really smart to overreact in either direction…
But sometimes I can’t help it.
To prove that point, I’m going to break the rest of this article into two pieces. I’ll write one of them now, at 10AM, and the other immediately following today’s divisional showdown vs the Cubs at Miller Park. Let’s see how I handle the stress of facing the first place team in the division, who’s fanbase will undoubtedly pack a lot of the seats in Miller Park with bumbling drunken idiots. My heart rate is spiking just thinking about it.
Monday, September 3rd- 10:02AM
I’m cautiously optimistic about the Brewers right now. In fairness, it’s hard not to be. Along with the Cardinals, they’ve created a two game cushion between them and the rest of the pack in the NL Wild Card race by consistently winning series. They’ve got 24 games remaining- 6 are against the Cubs, 3 are against the Cardinals, and the remaining 15 are against teams that aren’t going to make the playoffs. They’ve won their previous four series, and they’re raking on offense.
If you had any doubt whether David Stearns was wavering on going all in on the 2018 Brewers, you can check that take at the door. Stearns made three trades in the final 48 hours of August to try to add depth for the postseason push. He brought in a much needed reliever in Xavier Cedeño, a bench bat and a veteran presense in Curtis Granderson, and as predicted by this Sr. Writer, he finally added his starting pitcher: Gio Gonzales.
None of these, at least on the surface, are likely to be game changers. Curtis Granderson will steal some pinch hit at bats from the struggling Eric Thames, allowing Craig Counsell to leverage Keon Broxton for defense and speed instead of relying on him for offense. Zavier Cedeño gives the Brewers bullpen another arm and a fresh face- something much needed considering their epic fall from grace after the All Star break.
Gio Gonzales will likely replace the struggling Junior Guerra and start 5-6 times over the next four weeks, but we have to be realistic in our expectations with him. Could a change of scenery and a postseason chase bring out the best in Gonzales like it has Cole Hamels in Chicago? We can certainly hope so, but we’ve also got to acknowledge the fact that Gio has struggled this year. He owns a 4.57 ERA and the lowest strikeout to walk ratio (1.8) since he became a full time starting pitcher. It all comes down to which Gio Gonzales we’re going to get- the 2018 version, or the 2017 version, where he went 15-9 with a 2.96 ERA- his best clip since finishing third in the Cy Young award voting in 2012. Regardless of what ends up happening, I appreciate the moves from Stearns- it’s sending the right message to the clubhouse at the right time: “the rest of this season is on you.”
So, where do I stand with just under three hours remaining until first pitch on this muggy Labor Day morning? I’d say I’m cautiously optimistic. The Cubs look really really good as of late, and while these six games represent a tremendous opportunity for the Brewers to get back in the NL Central picture, losing a big chunk of these could suddenly have them on the outside looking in for the NL Wild Card. These are season defining games- every one more important than the last. I’m thrilled that the Brewers will come into the game riding a bit of momentum for their series win, but I’m also still waiting for the Brewers to come through in the clutch when it counts- something I haven’t really seen since 2011.
Regardless of the outcome, today’s game is just 1 out of 162. No matter what happens today, the Brewers will still own a playoff spot at the end of play today. There’s absolutely no reason to overreact.
Monday, September 3rd- 4:20PM (lol)
THE BREWERS ARE GOING TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES!
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK FOLKS!