Wild Card Speculation (Latest: 10 Game September Roadtrip)

[And That]

It would be great to have a Brewers vs. anyone playoff series.

[brewtank34]

4 out of the top 5 teams in the WC standings are NL Central teams. Gotta love that! Who say's the NL Central is weak?

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

It would be great to have a Brewers vs. anyone playoff series.

Yes, but my point was that a Milwaukee vs Chicago playoff series would be the biggest sporting event in the area in a very long time and would get a lot of attention nationwide. It would be great for Milwaukee baseball.

[razzzorsharp]

So your saying there's a chance....

 

Honestly, I try not to think about the big picture as last season took too much out of me. I know that sounds really weird but God, were my hopes really high last year.

[endaround]

If you want to feel a bit sick right now: So the Brewers at this point have a 1 in 5 shot at the playoffs. At the same time last year it was about a 4 in 5 shot

[Bucky Rules]

I'm the first to admit that if the Cubs continue to win every single home game they have left on their schedule, and continue to play around a .500 clip on the road, they'll be impossible to catch. But, if the Brewers continue to keep pace with the Cubs, something they've been able to do over the past 3+ weeks of the season when the Cubs have actually played their best baseball, they are undoubtedly the wild card team. I'm still holding out hope that as the Cubs move into the unkind part of their schedule that the Brewers can chip a game or two off the Cubs' lead and set things up for an interesting August/September. Something else to keep in mind that the two teams Milwaukee is chasing (Cubs & Cards) play each other a TON the rest of the season, and the Brewers play them both alot as well. If Milwaukee can end up with even slight winning records against both teams, there's no doubt that really increases their chances at overtaking one or both of them.

I'm glad somebody took a step back and said this. There is absolutely no reason to just cash in the division and start thinking about the wildcard at this point. The Cubs will come back to earth. Their schedule will see to it. And we have plenty of h2h matchups with them.

[And That]

If the Brewers get in to the playoffs, I just hope they play the team struggling the most at the time. If it's the Cubs, great. If it's any other team, great. If the Cubs are playing hot I'd rather not play them in the first round. It would be good for the rivalry, but the best thing for Milwaukee baseball after getting into the playoffs would be winning a playoff series.

[logan82]

TuesdaysWithRillo wrote:

Yes, but my point was that a Milwaukee vs Chicago playoff series would be the biggest sporting event in the area in a very long time and would get a lot of attention nationwide. It would be great for Milwaukee baseball.

Only if the Brewers win.

 

I have no problem with winning the wild card since a wild card team makes the WS almost every year. Of course I am not going to hope for a wild card until the division is out of reach.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

If the Brewers get in to the playoffs, I just hope they play the team struggling the most at the time. If it's the Cubs, great. If it's any other team, great. If the Cubs are playing hot I'd rather not play them in the first round. It would be good for the rivalry, but the best thing for Milwaukee baseball after getting into the playoffs would be winning a playoff series.

Yes and if we beat a hot team like the Cubs and stopped their possible end to a 100 year drought that would be bigger than anything you just said.

[And That]

Yes and if we beat a hot team like the Cubs and stopped their possible end to a 100 year drought that would be bigger than anything you just said.

All playoff victories count the same. I care about the Brewers. I don't really care who we beat en route to where we're going. The Cubs are just another team. And I don't know why you'd want to play a hot team over a struggling team. Should the Brewers try to prove something and request to play a team of All-Stars each game? Of course not. I'll take the easier team over the tougher team 100 times out of 100.

 

About the only reason I give more than a second thought to the Cubs over say the Astros or Pirates is they're in close proximity and easy to make fun of.

 

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

All playoff victories count the same.

That's looking at things from a pure numbers/robotic perspective. As a person who loves to talk sports and recall its history, I wouldn't look at it that way. Can you honestly say that beating the Phillies in a series would be exactly the same as beating the Cubs? If so, I respect that, but I'm just really far away from that viewpoint.

 

I don't know why you'd want to play a hot team over a struggling team.

The same reason I'd rather have more challenging tasks at work rather than easy ones. The benefits and rewards are way better if you conquer the bigger challenge. I was rooting for the Celtics to be in the NBA Finals and I am an avid Lakers fan. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I still think it was great to see history repeat itself and see the 2 greatest teams in NBA history play against each other.

 

From a historical perspective, Brewers vs Cubs would be a lot bigger than any other series and would reap bigger rewards if we won. From a numbers perspective, you are very correct.

[And That]

As a person who loves to talk sports and recall its history, I wouldn't look at it that way. Can you honestly say that beating the Phillies in a series would be exactly the same as beating the Cubs

Yes. And I even like to talk sports and recall its history.

 

The same reason I'd rather have more challenging tasks at work rather than easy ones.

 

Getting in to and participating in the playoffs is a big enough challenge. There is challenging yourself, and there is pushing your luck. Easier team please. If the Brewers win the World Series this year and happen to beat the Cubs in the divisional round, in the future no one will be saying: "Remember that year when we beat the Cubs in the divisional round?????"

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

in the future no one will be saying: "Remember that year when we beat the Cubs in the divisional round?????"

No one? Really? I bet I will be. Especially to Cubs fans. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[TooLiveBrew]

TWR...

 

"The same reason I'd rather have more challenging tasks at work rather than easy ones. The benefits and rewards are way better if you conquer the bigger challenge."

 

Why root for other teams' injuries?

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Why root for other teams' injuries?

It's part of that whole "rivalry" and "hate your opposing" team thing.

[TooLiveBrew]

So you want to beat the toughest competition as long as it's not a rival?

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Lol. I want to play the Cubs because they are our biggest rival and for the reasons of my previous posts. I also have no mercy for them when they have injuries.

[And That]

So would you rather:

 

a)See the Brewers play the Cubs in the playoffs, assuming the Cubs are the hottest team in baseball at the time; or,

b)Find out all the Cubs suffered broken legs right before the playoffs were to begin.

 

The two seem very contradictory to me.

[Brawndo the Thirst Mutilat]

Rillo, I think TLB's got you on this one.

 

Why not just admit that the joy in potentially beating the Cubs (whether for the division or in the playoffs) comes from schadenfreude, ressentiment, a lust for revenge (We'll get you for last year!!!), and plain, good ol' fashioned hatred?

 

I know that's what does it for me. The "ah, for a worthy adversary!" stuff has always felt to me like it was a rationalization, necessary because (let's face it) the aforementioned qualities aren't exactly what Lincoln had in mind when he referred to "the better angels of our natures".

[logan82]

Why root for other teams' injuries?

It's part of that whole "rivalry" and "hate your opposing" team thing.

No, it isn't.

 

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

So would you rather:

a)See the Brewers play the Cubs in the playoffs, assuming the Cubs are the hottest team in baseball at the time; or,
b)Find out all the Cubs suffered broken legs right before the playoffs were to begin.

The two seem very contradictory to me.

I wasn't making a general rule about always wanting to play hot teams. That's where you are mistaken on my viewpoint. I was saying that beating the Cubs while they were hot would be more rewarding than beating a struggling team. The reason I want to play the Cubs is for the historical/cultural perspective. That is the general rule you can use since that's what it seems you are trying to form here.

Trying to attack an opinion by forcing them into a general rule is a decent strategy, I guess.

[And That]

I wasn't making a general rule about always wanting to play hot teams.

I didn't say you were. I specifically mentioned the Cubs in both possibilities. Now, would you rather play them hot or see them mangled?

 

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

I didn't say you were. I specifically mentioned the Cubs in both possibilities. Now, would you rather play them hot or see them mangled?

It would be more rewarding to beat them when they are hot. If they were mangled I would have no mercy for them.

[And That]

It would be more rewarding to beat them when they are hot.

So you'd rather play them while they were healthy? That doesn't really jive with your lust for opponent injuries.

 

[Dragonbait]

You guys realize the ONLY way we play the Cubs in the playoffs is in the Divisional Championships right? I'll take that in a heartbeat.