If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my five years of writing weekly Brewers recaps, it’s that a 162 game regular season is an absolute eternity. The MLB regular season takes place over more than half the year. There are going to be good and bad story lines that play themselves out – it’s just the nature of doing something for that amount of time. I’ve also learned to appreciate the streakiness of baseball; good players are going to play poorly, average players are going to get white hot. At the end of the day, it comes down to consistency and getting hot at the right times.
You’d think I would have learned over the course of five roller coaster seasons how to keep my cool, but apparently that wasn’t the case. I lost it last week – I don’t know if it was because the Brewers were playing the Cubs or because the Cardinals were suddenly back in the playoff hunt after looking seemingly dead before the All-Star break; but if you asked me whether I thought the Brewers had what it took to contend in the NL Central, I would’ve laughed sarcastically in your face before retiring to my bedroom to cry.
Well you know what they say, time heals all wounds. Despite the Brewers losing a pair of frustrating games that exposed real weaknesses of this ball club, they went 4-2 this week, winning both home series against the Reds and the Pirates. And while they haven’t gained ground in the Central, or separated themselves from the pack in the NL Wild Card chase, I’m ending this week in a good place.
I’ve heard many readers were distraught to find that I had lost hope last week, but I’m back, baby, and I’m here to give you four solid reasons to stay optimistic about the Brewers as they enter the last week of the regular season and prepare to play meaningful September baseball.
1. They’re playing meaningful September baseball.
Look, I know that we as a fan base need to move past the idea that we’re “just happy to be here”. That’s a losing mentality.
This will be just the sixth time in my lifetime (I’m 28) that the Brewers have ended the month of August above .500 (2018, 2017, 2015, 2011, 1997, 1992). Over those 28 years, the Brewers have appeared in the postseason just twice – the least amount of playoff berths for any franchise over that time period.
This is uncharted territory us as Brewers fans, and while we have a right to want and expect our team to perform at a high level, we need to remember that this is one of the better teams we’ve seen the Brewers put together over the past three decades. More than anyone, I need to remember this after the tough losses – which there will be more of over the next five weeks.
2. The offense is doing its job.
When you’re supposed to have a high powered offense, losses like Saturday night’s 9-1 pounding by the Pirates are maddening. And while I’m all for getting upset in the moment, baseball is a game that has to be viewed through a long-term lens.
The Brewers entered today’s game leading the NL in batting average (.270) and tied for third in the NL with 31 home runs. If you look at the week, the Brewers scored more than five runs in four of their six games. That’s a good thing- the Brewers are 35-4 this year when they’ve scored more than five runs.
3. They haven’t clicked yet.
The story for this team before the All-Star break was the bullpen, which ranked in the top of the majors in nearly every relevant statistical category. Their performance has fallen off significantly since the break – their bullpen ERA is the second worst in the NL. The starting pitching has been average all year; they rank 8th in the NL in starter ERA (3.93) but 4th in opponent batting average (.234). But they also rank 3rd in the NL in quality starts with 71.
Yes, the bullpen has been terrible over the past month, but remember what I said in my opening monologue: baseball is a game of streaks. Who’s to say that they don’t have another hot streak in them? If the bullpen can get hot again, the starters can stay the same, and the offense can continue playing the way they’ve played this past week, the Brewers are going to make the playoffs – even if the offense throws a goose egg on the scoreboard every now and again.
4. Help is on the way.
One of my favorite things about the game of baseball at the major league level are the September call ups: when any team can move as many players as they’d like from their 40-man roster to the now expanded active roster. Expanded rosters give managers more weapons to navigate the game with, and as the games get more and more important, the strategy changes. As a fan, I think it’s a ton of fun to watch.
I haven’t been the only one to notice (and comment about) how the Brewers have looked tight since the break. They seem to have lost their edge. The clubhouse that was once lighthearted and stock piling wins before the break seems to have lost a bit of their identity. Want to help a team put a funk in the past? Flood the locker room with old familiar faces.
I expect the Brewers to call up many more players than in years past. Keon Broxton, Zach Davies, Corey Knebel, Domingo Santana, and Tyler Saladino should all be locks to get the call in September. That’s three bats, a starting pitcher, and a bullpen arm. They’ll also call up a third catcher (either Christian Bethancourt or Jett Bandy), Brandon Woodruff will get a look, and I think they’d be foolish not to call up Nate Orf, who’s batting .299 in AAA Colorado Springs. That’s a lot of new blood!
There’s no better way to put a mediocre August behind you than increasing the number of active players in a Brewers uniform by 32%.
We’ve got five weeks left, folks. We might as well enjoy them instead of driving ourselves crazy over the shortcomings of this team.