I am talking about our beloved Milwaukee Brewers of course. True, they clinched their first division title in 29 years this past Friday night, however, with only two games remaining, they cling to a precarious one game lead over the fast charging Arizona Diamondbacks. Ron Roenicke has said he wants to give his everyday players as much time off as possible, yet still compete during the final series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Why is holding off Arizona so important? A 55-24 record, that’s why. That is the Brew Crew’s home record this year, their best in franchise history. Holding on to the #2 seed in the National League would guarantee home field in the NLDS. Perhaps just as important, the #2 seed would ensure that the Brewers would not have to see a Philadelphia team that knocked them out of the playoffs in four games in 2008. That same Philadelphia team took three of four from the Brewers at Miller Park just a couple of weeks ago.
So while Ryan Braun was given a “half day” last night, and other everyday players such as Weeks, Hart and Fielder may see some extra time off, (ANY time off for Prince is extra time. The man has played in every game for the last 56 years.) keeping that lead over Arizona is paramount.
A final issue the Brewers are facing is their rotation. Shaun Marcum has struggled most of the year at home (including last night), while Zack Grienke is 10-0 at home, with the Brewers not losing a single game he has started at Miller Park. Yo has been consistent home or away, but he and Grienke have similar pitching styles, so it would not be wise to have them pitch back to back games in the playoffs. Finding out where the Brewers are playing will allow Roenicke to adjust his rotation to how he sees fit.
When the dusts settles and the Brewers play their first playoff game this coming Saturday, one can only hope it is at home, and against an Atlanta Braves team that is doing just about everything it can to NOT reach the playoffs.
Jake
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