September 2009
What Life Is Like Out Of The Race
I was born May 25, 1986, four years after the Milwaukee Brewers had come within a game of winning a World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. The 80′s were good to the Crew, with a playoff appearance in 1981, an Americal League Pennant in 1982, and “Team Streak” in 1987. For the decade, the franchise went 804-760, a .514 winning percentage. Those are pretty good numbers for a franchise with an all-time winning percentage of just .474.
But growing up, I was raised a Brewers and Cubs fan (blasphemy in today’s world), but at the time, they played in opposite leagues, there was no interleague play, and they were never going to play each other in the World Series. When interleague play began, it still only gave the two teams a few opportunities to play each other, so I was able to manage. Then came 1998 and the Brewers switched leagues and were now all of the sudden battling the Cubs in the same division.
I still attempted to stay a fan of both teams up until 2005. Through the Crew’s first seven seasons in the National League, they had zero winning seasons, while the Cubs had made a couple of postseason appearances (1998, 2003). Since they were never both good at the same time, it made it somewhat manageable to root for them both. In 2005, the Brewers finally broke their string of losing seasons, posting an 81-81 record. With the improvement of the Brewers, I had a choice to make. Being from Wisconsin, it was an easy pick to go with the Brewers for good and completely abandon the Cubs.
I’ve seen a 106-loss season, 12-straight losing seasons and 14 without a winning one. Second half collapses and an unusually exciting race to a .500 year. In 2007, I got my first real taste of a playoff chase (I hate it when analysts and others call it a pennant race, because it’s not), but alas a second half collapse left the Brewers two games behind the dreaded Cubs in the division and on the outside looking in. Then came 2008.
2008 is the season I’ll always talk about. Where I watched those games the final week of the season, where I watched the NLDS, the phone calls I made, the feelings I felt. For the rest of my life, I can watch (or listen to Uecker’s call) of Ryan Braun’s 8th-inning home run against the Cubs on the final day of the season. It gives me goosebumps whenever I think about it. The tension when the playoffs started, and how fast those four games went (were they even played?) It seemed like Game 1 began and a few hours later Game 4 was ending. I want those feelings back. I got that taste of playoff fever, and now having to live without it this year is torture.
This year the Brewers had too many questions, too many key injuries, too many holes in their staff and lineup. Losing two staff aces was too much to overcome, and key players like JJ Hardy and Corey Hart took steps back. Rickie Weeks finally began to develop into the player people thought he could be, and then another injury ended his season.
Now it’s September, the Crew is sitting at 75-77 and are eliminated from postseason contention (they were mathematically eliminated Tuesday night), but in all actuality, they’ve been out of the race for a month. I still watched, but sometimes it was too much. Their starting pitching so regularly left the team down five, six, even seven runs down to start games and even with a potent offense they still could not make it a game. I don’t want to become a spoiled fan, because I realize the difficulty the organization has to compete year in and year out. We’re not the Yankees, Red Sox, or Cubs. But that run last year has shown me what life was like in the race, what it felt like to clinch on the final day of the year, and with that missing this year it’s become tough to watch the team play.
I still follow the team, albeit nowhere near as close as last year or earlier in the season. But now I pay more attention to what individual players are doing, not the team. I want Ryan Braun to get 200 hits (185 and counting), I want Prince Fielder to lead the league in RBI’s (currently up by two), and I’m still attending one more game this year (my fifth) and I want to get to hear “Hell’s Bells”. That’s how I’m coping, how I’m trying to fill the hole. It’s a sufficient replacement, something that will get me through, and I’ll never abandon the team, but it hurts watching these final weeks with nothing to look forward to but next year’s Spring Training.
Goals For The Rest Of 2009
At 70-75 and a mere 14.0 games out of the division lead and 12.0 games out of the Wild Card, the Brewers’ postseason hopes are all but mathematically gone. The Crew has seven games remaining on the road with a ten-game homestand mixed in as well to close out the season.
So what is there to really root for these final three weeks? A few players have some individual accomplishments they can reach, and the team can still shoot for a non-losing season if they can finish 11-6 or better. Their goal should be to finish 4-3 on the road and 7-3 on their final homestand which would be enough to get their record to 81-81.
As for the players themselves, here are some things fans can watch for players to reach through the final seventeen games.
For pitchers, Yovani Gallardo can look to finish the year over .500. He’s currently 12-12, and after last night’s win, is now second on the team in wins. Along with trying to pick up a couple more wins, Gallardo is now also just three strikeouts away from 200 this season. Respectable goals for his first season as an ace.
As for the hitters, Prince Fielder is currently tied with Cecil Cooper for the most RBI’s in a season with 126. Fielder is also just two walks away from 100 for the year, a stat that shows just how much of a feared hitter he has become. Prince sits at 39 home runs, so a 40-homer season is all but a foregone conclusion. Fielder also sits at 157 hits, and I would say his individual goal would be to get to 175 this year. That’s just 18 hits over the final 17 games, and 175 hits plus 100 walks is quite an accomplishment for the big fella.
Ryan Braun leads the team in hits, batting average, at bats, runs scored, stolen bases, and doubles as well as second in home runs, RBI’s, and triples. He currently sits at 173 hits and for a while it looked like Braun might have been able to reach 200, a feat that has only been accomplished six times in Brewers history. He’s cooled off a bit as of late, but he still can reach 190-195 hits with a strong finish. He also has 29 home runs, so the goal of 30 is very feasible.
A few players are just about to the 100 hit plateau for the year in Jason Kendall (97), Corey Hart (99), and Casey McGehee (92).
It’s been a lost season, and this time of year is now a bit tougher to watch after last year’s exciting run to the playoffs. But we as fans must push on. This is our team and we should support them through thick and thin. Even though their magic number to be eliminated has now dwindled to three for the division and five for the Wild Card, this team is still capable of excitement.
Coming next week: An early look at the possible 2010 Brewers.
The 2009 Brewers Marathon
I’m sure most people familiar with baseball have heard the expression, “The season is a marathon, not a sprint.” In 2008, the Brewers successfully finished their marathon in 4th place in the National League, clinching the Wild Card and qualifying for the postseason for just the third time in franchise history. If you take the Major League Baseball season (162 games) and divide it by 26 (miles in a marathon), one mile equals about six games.
Currently we’re in the middle of mile 23, and the Crew has faded fast from the front of the pack. So let’s look back to how the were after each mile of the season.
(Mile – Games – Brewers Record – Place in NL)
Mile 1 – (1-6) – [2-4] – T-12th: They must have tripped in the pack at the start, as the Crew struggled out of the gate, taking one of three from both the Giants and Cubs. The season got off to a rocky start when Ken Macha named Jeff Suppan his Opening Day starter and the Brewers proceeded to lose 10-6. The only bright spot was Yovani Gallardo’s first start of the season, a 4-2 win in which he hit the go-ahead 3-run homer off of Randy Johnson.
Mile 2 – (7-12) – [4-8] – T-12th: Six more games and another 2-4 stretch, this time against the Reds and Mets. After a lackluster series against Cincinnati, the Crew played well in New York despite winning just one game. In a trend that would become all too familiar, Gallardo pitched brilliantly against the Mets, yet the team lost 1-0.
Mile 3 – (13-18) – [8-10] – T-11th: The Phillies and Astros got the Brewers going for their first winning mile of the season, posting a 4-2 record. This is the point of the marathon season that the Crew began to get into a groove, and started making their push towards the front of the pack.
Mile 4 – (19-25) – [13-12] – T-7th: A 5-2 mark made the Crew 9-4 over their last two miles, and helped them jump from tied for 12th in the NL into a tie for 7th. A visit from the Pirates is what really got the Brewers going, as they swept the Bucs to run their winning streak over Pittsburgh to 15. Not trying to be redundant, but the 15th win came once again in 1-0 game with Gallardo pitching, and this time, he hit a solo home run in the 7th for the only run of the game.
Mile 5 – (26-31) – [18-13] – 3rd: Once again, playing the Pirates seems to be the best diet for a successful Brewers season. After a two-game sweep in Pittsburgh (running the streak to 17!), the Crew split a two-gamer in Cincy and took the first two games in Chicago against the Cubs. Currently at this point, the Brewers were in one of the four playoff positions.
Mile 6 – (32-37) – [23-14] – 2nd: For the first time in the 2009 season, the Brewers were atop the NL Central, and just two games behind the Dodgers for the best record in the National League. However, as we would learn, there were still twenty miles to go, plenty of time for the Brewers to falter.
Mile 7 – (38-43) – [26-17] – T-2nd: After this mile, the Cardinals had caught the Brewers and were now tied with identical 26-17 records atop the division. After a 4 mile stretch in which the Brewers posted a 19-6 record, they went just a mediocre 3-3 in Mile 7.
Mile 8 – (44-50) – [30-20] – 2nd: Over the past few seasons, the Brewers have become known for starting out fast to begin the season before struggling in the second half. Over the past two miles, I had begun to get a sense of the Brewers just treading along trying to stay afloat above everyone else in the National League. They were just 7-6 in their past 13 games, and we’re clinging to a one game lead in the division.
Mile 9 – (51-56) – [33-23] – T-2nd: This time when another team caught the Brewers for second place, it was the Phillies out of the East. Despite going just 3-3 again, the Brewers expanded their lead in the division to two games.
Mile 10 – (57-62) – [34-28] – 3rd: With 100 games remaining in the season, and coming off a 1-5 mile, the Brewers still held a 0.5 game lead in the division. But ever since the Twins series in Mile 7 the Crew just didn’t seem to be the same, and their play began to suffer. There wouldn’t be many more highlights this season.
Mile 11 – (63-68) – [37-31] – T-3rd: The highlight of this mile was the three-game sweep of the Indians in which the offense put up 30 runs, including winning the opener by a softball score of 14-12. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun combined to drive in 11 of the 14 runs in that game. The scary thing about that series however was the fact the pitchers allowed 25 runs to the Indians.
Mile 12 – (69-75) – [40-35] – T-3rd: In a interesting switch, the Brewers went from tied for third with Philly, to tied for third with Philly, St. Louis, and Colorado, and a half game back of 2nd place and San Francisco. When currently watching the Brewers and thinking about how disappointing this season has become, I’m surprised to see that they were still in first in the division after 75 games. Just under halfway through the year, and they were in the thick of it. The fall would begin soon, and it was a steep one.
Mile 13 – (76-81) – [43-38] – T-3rd: The halfway mark of the year came on the Fourth of July, and the Brewers still remained in first in the division, tied with St. Louis. But after starting the season 23-14, the Brewers were a pedestrian 20-24 since then.
Mile 14 – (82-87) – [45-42] – 6th: Here is where the fall began, and look how quickly it happened. After being in either 2nd or 3rd place for the past nine miles, the Crew quickly dropped to 6th, and was now on the outside looking in at the playoffs. However the All-Star break was coming soon, and the Brewers had one of the easiest schedules ever put together after, so a run towards the top was sure to come, right?
Mile 15 – (88-93) – [47-46] – T-7th: The drop continues, as the Crew was now tied with Atlanta and Houston for 7th in the NL. But now instead of fighting for the division lead, the Brewers were struggling just to stay above .500.
Mile 16 – (94-100) – [49-51] – 10th: Oh how the mighty have fallen. The final two games of this mile were lowlighted by being outscored by the Nationals 22-9 in the first two games of a four-game series. The fans were starting to get cranky, as the Brewers were failing to take advantage of a cupcake schedule.
Mile 17 – (101-106) – [53-53] – T-8th: A glimmer of hope? More like false hope. The Crew did manage to come back and take the final two games from Washington, but it was too little too late. This team was doomed.
Mile 18 – (107-112) – [55-57] – 9th: Finally it appeared the Brewers had settled into the spot they would hang around in for the rest of the year. Also the taste of winning baseball was just about over, as the Brewers would be under .500 for the rest of the year (to-date).
Mile 19 – (113-118) – [58-60] – 9th: Honestly, what is there to talk about? This team gave up 28 runs to the Padres (the worst offensive team in the NL) in at three game series. The end of this mile was the beginning of a three-game sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the same team the Brewers had a 17-game win streak against.
Mile 20 – (119-125) – [61-64] – T-9th: Over the next few weeks (miles) the Brewers and Astros will engage in a battle of back-and-f
orth for the coveted 3rd place in the NL Central. The Brewers days as a serious contender for the postseason in 2009 are over.
Mile 21 – (126-131) – [64-67] – 9th: For the fourth mile in a row the Brewers remain in 9th place. There were no trade deadline moves to help jump start this team, and the fans as well as the rest of the players seemed to be beginning to prepare for next year already. JJ Hardy did make his return to the game after his 20-day stint in the minors to push his free agency year back to 2011 and make him more appealing for a trade this winter.
Mile 22 – (132-137) – [66-71] – 10th: We’re just about caught up to where this season currently stands, and the Brewers once again appear to be dropping a bit in the race. Have the officially been eliminated? No, but they are creeping closer every day.
Mile 23 – (138-143) – [66-73*] – 10th*: Here is the mile we’re currently running. The Crew have dropped the first two games to drop a season low seven games under .500. They’re now two games behind Houston for 9th, and the schedule is now beginning to get tough again. I am seriously questioning whether this team will win 75 games this year.
The Brewers have been anywhere this year from 2nd to a tie for 12th. But currently sitting in 10th makes those days in 2nd or 3rd feel light years away. The playoffs appear to be just a pipe dream this year, so here’s to hoping the team can catch fire to end the year and maybe make a push for a winning season.
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