The Brewers have made the playoffs numerous times in the last few seasons, but one thing that has never happened is a first round bye. Since the premiere of the new expanded postseason, the Brewers have always had to play in the first round, and it's never been very easy for them. Pretty much every time, they get matched with a team that has more momentum than they do. It happened in 2021, despite a 95-win finish, with the Braves. And it happened in round 1 last year, courtesy of the red-hot Diamondbacks.
The Brewers have consistently finished in 1st, have built a team that withstood some major departures this year, and have crafted an entirely new young core. And because of the Dodgers and Phillies having better records, that all could be for nothing again if the right team squares up with them.
I cannot help but feel bad for the Brewers, because they just seem to have the worst luck imaginable. They've been so close to glory, going back to 1982, or even as recent as 2018. And they always meet someone who's just better. And that's how the story ends every time. And this is a very good Brewers team, solely because the depth that has been building for years has given this team a new and improved sense of security. Even without Christian Yelich, this team's outfield, consisting of Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell and Blake Perkins, is undoubtedly the best defensive outfield in the majors. All of these guys have some pop at the plate, and they're all really trustworthy in the field. Garrett Mitchell right now is the best of both worlds, as he's an excellent outfielder AND he's got an .830 OPS. Between then and Brice Turang, that's a lot of truly exceptional defense going on, and that doesn't go ignored. This team was not always defensively sound, and not always on the same page, and now they are, barring some one-dimensional outliers [but hey, Rhys knows how to compete].
With a better team, it's honestly going to come down to the matchup. As it stands right now, there are two possible outcomes. If things stay as they are, the Brewers will play the Mets, which is something that the Brewers could honestly win, even if the Mets' momentum is intimidating. If the Mets do lap to second, that means the Brewers would play the Diamondbacks, which would be a repeat of last year. On paper, the Brewers are better than the D-Backs, but that also could have been said last year. The D-Backs have made a lot of human mistakes down the stretch, and could hold themselves to a shorter postseason run, but do the Brewers want to get comfortable again? And then the unlikely third option is that the Braves somehow work their way back in, and if that's the case the Brewers need to hope that momentum doesn't last all of October or else they'll be the first of many victims.
Logic dictates that this could be the year the Brewers return to a division series and work their way back up. I'd like to think that happens this year, but I've also been wrong before. So all I can do is hope that this is the team that makes the change.
Coming Tonight: He struggled with his aim throughout, but he never struggled with strikeouts.
The poor Brewers. Hopefully they can at least make it through the Wild Card round this year. They never really seemed super intimidating to me, though I'm not quite sure why. Of course, their defense is stellar. They have he second lowest ERA in the NL (3.70, and without Corbin Burnes), and a good offense. This is an extremely well-balanced team that I would think has a shot. Only time can tell, I guess.
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