My Night At Brewers-Cubs
I took in my second Brewers game of the season Saturday night, a 12-6 win over the visiting Chicago Cubs. Here’s a recap of the days events, beginning bright and early, at about 8:00 AM.
Approximately 8:30 AM – The beauty of working a job in which you normally wake up at 2 AM, means sleeping in never lasts longer than about 7. So naturally, I was up well before 8:30, but still laid in bed until about then when Megan finally woke up. She knew I was going to the game with our friend Adam (who has a 9-pack), and that we’d be leaving around 2. Now our friend Brittany (Megan’s college roommate) is getting married in Mexico in about two weeks, so Megan and I both had tanning appointments at 11 and 12, but before those we decided to drive from Sheboygan to Grafton (about a half hour) to go to Kohl’s.
8:45 AM - We take off for Grafton, and get there about a half hour later, right around 9:15-9:20. Grafton has just built a recent shopping center, which includes places like Kohl’s (for Megan) and Dick’s Sporting Goods and Best Buy (for me). The reason I went along is because even though I have plenty of Brewers garb, there’s always room for more in my closet. So I joined Megan’s journey to see if I could find something new that I would want. Unfortunately, my trip to Grafton ended empty handed.
10:45 AM – We got back to Sheboygan and headed to Cost Cutters, where Megan had a tanning appointment at 11. We got a bit lucky and were both able to go at that time to save us a second trip back at noon. After we were done, we went to TJ Maxx, and what did I find there, some Brewers apparel I needed to have. So finally I got home and could get everything together that I needed to get together for the game at around 12:15. Adam and I were meeting our friend Zach (who had seats in Sec 115) at a park-and-ride at 1:30. I packed up my car with what I needed, picked up Adam and we were at the park-and-ride at 1:35.
2:00 PM – Another stop in Grafton for me as it was quite the cold one outside and Zach didn’t have a long sleeve shirt along. He did have a Detroit Tigers (his team) Therma Base fleece pullover along, but was looking for something for the game. We went to Dick’s again, and what did Zach buy? A Cubs shirt (just to spite the Crew). Anyways, we were to Miller Park and parked by about 3:10 or so, and the people we were meeting there to tailgate with happened to have parked just 4 cars away, which made the commute much nicer.
3:15-6:00 PM – Despite a short rain, the tailgate was a good one. It began with six of us, and grew to nine at it’s peak. For the nine of us there, we were sitting in four different sections, Adam and I in 411, Zach and Kim in 115, Katie and Curtis in 217, and Nate, Kara, and Nick in 120 (or somewhere thereabouts). We had all polished away our fair share of beer (Coors Light being the choice), so we were having a pretty good time when we got in the stadium.
1st Inning – Adam and I got to our seats just in time to see Ryan Braun’s RBI double in the first, and his subsequent steal of 3rd and score on the throwing error by Soto. Zach and I are in a heated Fantasy Baseball battle this week, and going into Saturday’s action, Zach led by about 41 points. (We finished the day tied, largely in part to Braun) So seeing Braun racking up fantasy points helped me to a much more enjoyable experience.
3rd Inning – First beer in the park for us, $15 cool, crisp hard-earned dollars. We got a text from our friend Katie (in Sec 217) about there being some open seats right by them. Now, I’m all for moving to a better seat if the park is half-full, but it was a Saturday Cubs-Brewers came, well over capacity. Section 217 also happens to be the Kohl’s Family Section, so no alcohol allowed. I sent her a text back saying we would finish out beers and then maybe head down.
End of the 6th - We milked our beers for all they were worth (when it’s $7.50 a pop, you tend to keep the purchases to a minimum), and asked Katie again if some seats were open. There were two right behind them that were open so we quick ran down to the second level. We talked with Katie for a bit behind the section before we decided we’d try and hop into the seats.
Top of the 7th – At this point in the game, it’s 3-2 Brewers, the Cubs have the bases loaded, there’s two outs, and it’s a 3-2 pitch. What did I do at this point in the game? I stood up, along with the other 44,000 fans in attendance, cheering for a big pitch. Out of the 44,428 in attendance, I guess only 44, 427 wanted to stand, as the guy sitting right behind me yelled out he would get the usher if Adam and I didn’t leave because he knew those weren’t our seats.
I know at games there are a lot of drunk fans who are loud and annoying and obnoxious. I understand someone in the family section not wanting those people around (that’s why they’re sitting in that section), but Adam and I had simply walked down, shown tickets to the usher (Katie and Curtis’) and then watched the game. We stood up and cheered with everyone else for the big pitch, and sat down during the half inning after Carlo Villanueva enticed a grounder to third to end the threat. We didn’t yell, scream, or swear at all. Yet once the inning was over, there he went to get the usher, who then came down and asked to see our tickets. We played dumb (Adam “I think we threw them away”) and were kicked back up to the 4th deck. I let the usher know that I didn’t appreciate what happened, but I went back to my seat anyway.
Now, if the guy sitting behind me was a Brewers fan (he had a light green jacket on), I’m ashamed to be associated with him. The only thing I was guilty of was sitting in a seat that had been vacant for a majority of the game. I cheered like a fan should, and sat down to avoid blocking his view once the play was over. Oh well I suppose, some people just don’t belong at a baseball game I guess.
8th Inning – It’s 9-5 Brewers now after a 6-run 7th for the Crew and then Jorge Julio proceeded to give the game right back to Chicago. The only good thing was this meant there might possibly be a Trevor Hoffman siting. I was hoping to hear “Hell’s Bells”, and after the Cubs closed it to 9-6 and made it a save situation, I’ll admit, I got excited. But despite having to wait through the “Light’s Out!” happening, the bottom of the 8th showed how poor the Cubs bullpen can be. It was like watching a Little League team that has no one who can throw the ball over the plate, and the other team just stands and watches. So after the Crew pushed three more runs across to make it 12-6, that meant no save and no Hoffman. (I guess you can’t get everything you want)
Also during the inning, some Cubs fans had moved behind us in Section 411 (In fact, when Adam and I got back to our seats after being booted from 217, someone was in ours!) We just sat down in a couple of open ones and I started chatting with a couple of kids who were rocking Cubs gear. I tried to get some high fives and a “Go Brewers!” cheer out of them, but they stuck to their guns, with one of them letting me know the “Brewers Suck!” (His dad made him say it!)
But with Jason Kendall up in the 8th, I decided to bet the little guys a dollar each that he would get a hit. Kendall gets a hit, I get a high five from both and a “Go Brewers!” cheer. He gets out, they each get a buck (which is like, 1/5 the cost of a giant pretzel). Needless to say, JK flew out to right, and I forked out a dollar each. But in
an astonishing act, showing the Brewers and Cubs fans can get along and the game of baseball is more about having fun and interacting with people, one of the kids still gave me a high five and a “Go Brewers!” any way.
After the game, Zach’s car was borrowed to jump another, and after we got our wheels back it was a quick drive back to Sheboygan, and after dropping off Adam, I was able to crash by about midnight. (Not bad for having to work at 5:30 the next morning)
An eventful day, a Brewers win, some new friends (both Brewers and Cubs fans), a couple of lost bets (although I feel I won), and a great time watching a great game with some great people! The beauty of baseball.
The Breakdown: Brewers 17 – Pirates 0
Since May 22nd of last year, the Milwaukee Brewers have yet to lose to the Pittsburgh Pirates. 17 games, 17 wins. Walk-offs, blowouts, pitcher’s duels, and softball scores, there’s been some of everything. Here’s a look back through the past seventeen.
On May 22nd, 2008, the Brewers dropped the final game of a three-game series with Pittsburgh, 8-4, preventing the Crew from sweeping the Bucs in an early season match-up.
(1-3) – The streak began on the 4th of July, in Milwaukee, with a 9-1 Brewers romp. The team continued their winning ways with a 2-1 victory Saturday, and an 11-6 sweep on Sunday.
(4-6) – In late August, the Crew had six games scheduled with the Pirates, a series in Milwaukee, and after a quick two-game stop in St. Louis, off to Pittsburgh for three more. A second straight sweep was shaping up after the Brewers took the first two games in Milwaukee by scores of 10-4 and 6-3. The sixth straight win was a bit tougher, as the Crew eeked out a 4-3 win.
(7-9) – Less than a week later in Pittsburgh, Milwaukee entered PNC Park, a place that had previously been a house of horrors for them. This series, however, completely reversed their fortunes, as they dominated the Pirates in three games, winning 3-1, 11-3, and 7-0 (The CC Sabathia no-hitter*)
(10-12) – These three wins may have been the most important of the 17. In the final week of the 2008 season, and the Crew fighting with the Mets for the NL Wild Card, the Brewers swept the Pirates yet again, thanks to two walk-off home runs, the first by Prince Fielder in the opener to win 7-5, and following a 4-2 victory, Ryan Braun’s Grand Slam gave Milwaukee a 5-1 win and another sweep.
(13-15) – Welcome to 2009, different year, same story. Despite an offense that gradually scored fewer runs game-by-game, the fifth consecutive series sweep was imminent as the Crew won 10-5, 6-5, and 1-0, the final game being the Yovani Gallardo show, as he threw eight innings of shutout baseball, and hit a home run for the only scoring in the game.
(16-17) – The streak almost didn’t reach 16, as the Brewers found themselves down 3-1 in the 8th inning of the first game of a two-game set in Pittsburgh. But then Ryan Braun, who didn’t arrive at the ballpark until the 5th inning, hit a 2-run double to knot the game at 3-3. But the Brewers bullpen gave up the lead in the bottom of the frame, before the Crew again came back to tie it and Rickie Weeks delivered the knockout punch with a 3-run bomb in the 9th to win 7-4. Following that up, in a game played with rain throughout, Milwaukee stretched it’s streak to it’s current 17 games with a 8-5 win and it’s sixth straight sweep of Pittsburgh.
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“They Would Walk 500 Miles…”
Walks. That’s the name of the game in baseball. As a batter, by taking walks you make the pitcher give you better pitches to hit, lowering the amount of bad pitches you may see/swing at and get yourself out on. As a pitcher, by throwing strikes you make the hitter beat you by putting the ball in play and getting a hit.
The Brewers as a team have a history of issuing too many walks by their pitchers and not taking enough by their batters. In 2008, the Brewers were able to walk 550 times, while their pitching staff threw 528. That’s a net gain of 1,980 extra feet on the basepaths the Brewers had over their opponents. Just under four-tenths of a mile. Baseball is a game of numbers, all fans know that. Your batting average, ERA, K/9, RBI’s, OBP, you name the stat, there is a numeric value for it.
I made myself hold off on blogging about the beginning of this season until now for a couple of reasons. First, we’re still on 19 games into the year, and the Brewers are only 9-10. I held off after they started 3-8, and even after they won four in a row over Philly and Houston, I wanted to wait just a bit longer. And even at this point, it’s time to focus on what the Crew has been doing as a team in a certain stat category, not their wins and losses. The second reason was I didn’t know what to write about. I could complain about the slow start and the team’s reliance on the longball (although it feels like they depend on that less, even with leading the NL), their shoddy pitching, that still hands out way too many walks, or even some of the questionable pitching choices Ken Macha has made this year (is Ned Yost hiding in that dugout somewhere?).
I finally found that perfect topic, and I can thank Ryan Braun for helping me find it. I noticed it in Philadelphia, when the two days after he went 5-5, Braun went 3-5 over the next two games with four walks. Braun walked 42 times all of last season. That’s an average of seven times a month. With a few days left still in April, Braun already has double that with 13. And that is where I found the key to the Brewers success.
To tie in the title of this post, walking 500 miles worth of walks in a season is impossible, but if the Brewers can walk between 10-12 miles this season, I smell some October baseball again. Last season, the Crew walked 550 times, or 9.375 miles, and won the Wild Card. They averaged 3.4 walks a game, a number they have improved upon in the early goings of this season. To date, the Brewers have walked 77 times as a team, led by Prince Fielder (14), Braun (13), and Mike Cameron (12). Corey Hart has nine walks, already a third of the total he reached a year ago. Because of these improvements, the team averages 4.05 walks a game, and are on pace to walk 11.2 miles this season, safely in the 10-12 mile range.
Braun, I feel, is the ultimate example of how taking walks will end slumps. After the first ten games this season, Braun was batting .216, yet had walked six times. When pitchers begin to realize if they pitch out of the zone to Braun, and he’ll just sit and take his walk, putting a baserunner on for Fielder, they’re going to give Ryan more pitches to hit. The proof, in the last nine games, Braun has walked seven times, gone 16-33, hit four home runs, and raised his average 127 points to .343.
The final positive that comes out of taking more walks, is the decrease in the number of strikeouts a player has. Again, looking at Braun as an example, last year, he walked 42 times while striking out 129. That’s almost exactly a 3:1 ratio of K’s to BB’s. While it is still early, while his new plate discipline, Braun’s ratio so far this year is 1:1 (13-13). When a batter is either going to take his walk or put the bat on the ball, it increases the stress put on a pitcher to be perfect in his pitches exponentially, and that is why, despite the slow start, I’m not worried about the Brewers future for this season.
The more miles they walk, the more wins they’ll get.
Remembering ’08: April 29th-May 8th
For some unknown reason, Major League Baseball decided to be cruel to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008. In 2007, the Brewers struggled to a 32-49 record on the road, and in 2008, the Brewers were able to embark on numerous three-city road trips. The first month of the season wasn’t even complete yet and the Crew was setting out on its second of such trips. This one had them traveling to Chicago, Houston, and Florida. The first trip, Milwaukee came away with a very positive 5-4 record, but as for this this one, things got ugly.
- April 29: W 10-7 at Cubs
For the first time in the 2008 season, Ben Sheets struggled, allowing four runs, three earned, and seven walks in just five innings. However, the offense broke out the big sticks, and despite not hitting a home run, put double digits on the board to help Sheets notch his fourth win.
- April 30th: L 5-19 at Cubs
A night game at Wrigley, and one the Brewers would like to quickly forget. Jeff Suppan gave Brewer fans a bit of foreshadowing to his season long struggles, as he allowed six runs in the first, on his way to giving up 11 in just 3.2 innings.
- May 1st: W 4-3 at Cubs
This game was important for several reasons. First, it was Yovani Gallardo’s last start before September, as this was the game he tore his ACL in. Second, despite being blown out the night before, the Crew responded with a win to take the series 2-1, and third, the handed Kerry Wood another blown save.
- May 2nd: L 4-7 at Astros
This game was the beginning of when things started to turn ugly for the Crew. Blowing a 4-0 lead, the team dropped the first game in Houston to bring their record on the road trip to an even 2-2.
- May 3rd: L 2-6 at Astros
Manny Parra became the second straight Milwaukee starter to allow six runs, helping turn a 1-1 ballgame into a 6-1 rout. But not to worry, the Brewers had 4-0 Ben Sheets on the hill next, meaning this losing streak would be coming to an end.
- May 4th: L 6-8 at Astros
Well, maybe not. The Brewers jumped all over Houston, leading 6-2 after four before the offense went dormant and the pitching got lit up. The Astros chipped away with two runs in the 5th and then two more in the 9th to send the game to extras. The game finally ended when Houston scored twice in the 12th on Hunter Pence’s game-winning home run.
- May 6th: L 0-3 at Marlins
I’d rather not mention much about this game. The pitching threw the ball respectably, allowing just three runs, but the offense produced…wait for it…TWO HITS!
- May 7th: L 2-6 at Marlins
Another game, another loss. Not much out of the offense again either. In typical Milwaukee fashion, after scoring two runs to cut Florida’s lead to 3-2 in the top half of the 6th, the Brewers then gave up three runs, immediately nullifying any work they had done to get back into the game.
- May 8th: L 2-7 at Marlins
The score matches the Brewers record on their road trip, ending with six straight losses after a promising 2-1 start against the rival Cubs. Following this game, I made my first “real” post on this blog, and off we went through the rest of the season.
Traveling Through Time
When I was recently on the Brewers website, I found a graphic they had featuring all four of the teams’ previous logos. I think it looks cool when you place all four logos next to each other to see the evolution of the franchise.
Baseball’s March Madness
Starting March 5, in Tokyo, Japan, the 2009 World Baseball Classic kicks off with China taking on host Japan. 16 countries will compete over the next 19 days to determine the second champion of the WBC. But what incentive does the casual Brewer fan have to watch the upcoming Classic? Does Milwaukee have any players participating? The answer to that question is yes, and a big yes at that.
Brewers All-Star Ryan Braun has been listed on Team USA’s preliminary roster, and should see significant playing time in the Classic. With Braun
The answer to both of those questions is again, yes. After doing a bit of research, the Brewers as an organization have nine players currently on provisional rosters. Each country was able to name up to 45 players to be placed on their provisional roster, which will be trimmed to 28 by February 24.
Here is a list of players currently in the Brewers organization that are listed on a country’s provisional roster.
United States of America
- Ryan Braun
Australia
- David Welch
Canada
- Brett Lawrie
- Alex Periard
- R.J. Swindle
Italy
- Mark DiFelice
- Vinny Rottino
Mexico
- Yovani Gallardo
Venezuela
- Jorge Julio
Time will tell to see how many of these nine players will make their country’s final roster, but at the moment, there are numerous possibilities for Brewers to be playing against each other. In Pool C, Canada, Italy, USA, and Venezuela all feature a player in the organization on the roster, while Pool B sports Mexico and Australia, the remaining two countries featuring Brewers players.
With Milwaukee being a small market, I got to thinking how their organization ranked among the rest of Major League Baseball in terms of number of players on provisional rosters. As it turns out, the Brewers nine players place them tied for 19th, slightly below the midway point. That may be due to being a small market, however, Minnesota actually has the most players with 19, and they’re considered a market similar to Milwaukee.
Against teams in the NL Central, the Brewers and Cardinals each have nine, the Astros 10, Pittsburgh 12, and both the Cubs and Reds 17.
So mark your calenders, March 7 is Team USA’s first pitch, and get ready to watch some baseball that actually means something, as opposed to those wonderful Spring Training games, heading into the 2009 season.
It’s ’09, So Let’s Talk ’09
Just over two months away, the Brewers season will be beginning before we know it. Since my month and a half hiatus can be considered over now, here’s a look at the big series’ of 2009.
April 10-12: vs. Cubs
After a short three-game swing in San Francisco, the Crew ratchets up the schedule in a hurry, hosting the hated Cubs for their home opener. It’s a battle between the defending NL Central Champions and Wild Card winners, both of whom were knocked out of the postseason fairly quick (although Milwaukee did last longer). Be prepared for some high energy baseball, especially with this series falling over a weekend and including Opening Day.
April 17-23: at Mets; at Phillies
The Brewers will be just nine games into the season before they head East to take on the team they beat out for the Wild Card (Mets) and then their playoff foes and defending World Champions the Phillies in a three-game set. If the Brewers are going to look to make their way to the promised land of the final eight, the Cubs, Mets, and Phillies will more than likely be their biggest challengers.
May 8-10: vs. Cubs
After getting a solid month under each teams’ belt, the Cubs and Crew renew the rivalry once again at Miller Park. These games are big for one reason and one reason only; they’re against the Cubs.
May 15-17; 25-27: at Cardinals; vs. Cardinals
In the middle of last season, the Brewers and Cardinals rivalry seemed to be raised a few notches after altercations between the two clubs and some late game heroics during a four-game sweep in St. Louis by Ryan Braun and Bill Hall. Look for similar intensity during these series like the Cubs games. These teams straight up don’t like each other.
June 12-25: vs. White Sox; at Indians; at Tigers; vs. Twins
Welcome back to the American League Milwaukee! Interleague play will engulf the Brewers for two weeks and 12 games as the Crew takes on the four teams in the AL Central who have all recently been to the postseason. Chicago went in 2008, Cleveland in 2007, and Minnesota and Detroit in 2006.
July 2-5: at Cubs
What a way to celebrate the National Holiday. The first trip for the Brewers to Wrigley takes place over the holiday weekend, a four-game set just over a week before the All-Star break. If all predictions hold true, this should be a great series between the top two teams from the NL Central.
September 14-17; 21-23: at Cubs; vs. Cubs
Reaching the stretch run, the Brewers head to Chicago for a four-game series and then a week later meet the Cubs at Miller Park for a three-game set. For reasons that have been stated above, these games will be huge.
Now while down the stretch run of the season every game is huge, these are the priliminary games to mark on your calender for the upcoming season.
C.C. Ya Later
Every Brewers’ fan’s worst yet inevitable nightmare came true this morning, when it was reported that CC Sabathia would be accepting an offer from the New York Yankees. While any shot the Crew had at signing Sabathia was slim, when the winter meetings began Monday, reports were surfacing that there was a feeling that Sabathia would re-sign with the Brewers.
But alas, it was not to be, as the offer the Yankees reportedly made (seven years, 160 million) was too much more than the Brewers could offer, and Sabathia went chasing the green. It would have been awesome to see Sabathia donning a Brewers uniform next season and beyond, but that just wasn’t in the cards.
Give credit to the Brewers organization and Doug Melvin, who showed that the Brewers were legit contenders to sign Sabathia by being the other team bidding on CC’s services.
What does this mean for the 2009 Milwaukee Brewers? Now that it looks like Ben Sheets will be departing as well, the starting rotation is in shambles a bit. Missing your top two pitchers is going to hurt any team, but the Brewers do have another ace ready to step in with Yovani Gallardo. Say what you want about Gallardo coming back from a knee injury, but anyone who misses five months and comes back to start Game 1 of a playoff series for a franchise that hasn’t made the postseason in 26 years. That’s ace material enough for me.
But what this really puts stress on is starters 2-5. At this point it looks like Manny Parra would slide into the #2 spot, with Dave Bush at #3, and then Jeff Suppan and Seth McClung or Carlos Villanueva as the fifth starter.
But this is all based on the Brewers not signing another starter before the start of next season, and now with the team out of the running for Sabathia, they may go after another one of the big name pitchers on the market to fill the void. We’ll all just have to wait and see.
The Cy Young Of The Central
On Tuesday, Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants was named the National League Cy Young Award winner for 2008. Lincecum won by a comfortable margin over division foe Brandon Webb of the Diamondbacks. Third in the voting was Johan Santana of the Mets followed by Brad Lidge of the Phillies. Where are all the pitchers from the Central? Baseball’s largest division had to produce some decent enough pitchers to get some votes in the Cy Young race, right?
In all actuality, six pitchers ended up receiving at least some votes, with the Milwaukee Brewers CC Sabathia finishing 5th with nine points and Ryan Dempster of the Chicago Cubs finishing 6th with four points. Thanks to a graduated points scale (5-3-1) Dempster actually appeared on more ballots (4) than Sabathia (3), yet CC ended up with more total points as Dempster finished third on all four of his ballots, while Sabathia notched a first, second, and third place vote.
Sabathia also finished just a point shy of Brad Lidge for 4th (10-9). That looks even more impressive when it’s noted Lidge appeared on eight ballots to Sabathia’s three. No pitcher appeared on all 32 ballots, with Lincecum being the top one at 31. Webb was on 27, Santana 23, Lidge 8, Sabathia 3, and Dempster 4.
Some pundits said that Sabathia had no chance of actually winning the award because his amazing run for the Brewers occurred through only one half of the season. Some people thought however, that it shouldn’t matter, and that nobody could match what CC did for the Crew in the second half of the season. His amazing half-season did garner one first place vote for the Cy Young, showing that one voter didn’t care he only played half a season in Milwaukee.
Sabathia may very well end up somewhere else next season, and if he does, good for him. He will forever be loved in Milwaukee and if I had my way, even if he were to leave this off-season, I would seriously consider retiring his number years down the road. For a franchise that has been in existence since 1969 and has just three playoff appearances, what CC did to lead the Brewers to the postseason this year may very well be enough to get his number next to Robin Yount’s, Paul Molitor’s, Hank Aaron’s, Jackie Robinson’s, Rollie Fingers’ and Bob Uecker’s 50 years.
The Ken Macha Machine
Dale Sveum’s/Ned Yost’s replacement was named today, and that man is Ken Macha. Macha has four year’s of managerial experience with the Oakland A’s, where he led the A’s to two postseason appearances. He finished second in the division in the two seasons that he missed the playoffs.
While I would have preferred someone like Davey Johnson, who has had more success over a longer period of time, Doug Melvin stated that he had narrowed down the candidates to three in Macha, Bob Brenly, and Willie Randolph, so it looks like Johnson never really had a chance.
I’m not disappointed in the hiring, yet I can’t say I’m overly enthused either. Macha claimed two division championships in what is possibly the easiest division in baseball to win, based on the fact you only have to have a better record than three other teams. Now he switches to baseball’s biggest and possibly most difficult division to win, in that you have to stay ahead of five other clubs.
Macha is definitely a step up from the Yost/Sveum combination. He also doesn’t have any ties to Milwaukee and can be considered an outside hire. Most importantly, he has succeeded before in a situation similar to Milwaukee. Oakland runs it’s organization similar to the Brewers, by developing players through the minor leagues.
Can Macha lead this team back to the postseason again next year, and also challenge the Cubs for the division crown? Only time will tell.
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