2026 Postseason Thread

[BruisedCrew]

The Guardians might be in trouble. 

Messick has already been used a lot and he threw around 30 pitches to get out of the first inning, including a bases loaded walk. He got out of it with only one run, but he is probably headed for a short start.

Now the guardians have to deal with Rasmussen, who has been tough in the playoffs so far.

[willie key]

Rasmussen looks out of gas.    I can’t believe he’s staying in this long 

[BruisedCrew]

I’m sensing a Rasmussen versus Misiorowski matchup  Friday night.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Cleveland is the softer matchup but at least Tampa eliminates any rainouts or 30 degree games.  

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

1 hour ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Cleveland is the softer matchup but at least Tampa eliminates any rainouts or 30 degree games.  

Agreed. Watching the Guardians pitching today, it seems like they are on fumes. Just a lot of stress up and down that roster. 

The scariest thing about Tampa is that they are SO much like the Brewers. They run a lot. They put the ball in play. They have one stud pitcher and a lot of excellent depth. If I'm looking for good news about a potential Rays matchup it's that the Brewers managed to score nearly 100 more runs and allow 32 fewer over a tougher schedule. I will say that if that's the matchup, it's going to be the best-scouted WS in a long time. These teams are going to know each other, both because of cross-pollination, and because of how good they are at information-gathering.

In terms of the Rays pitching, I think Rasmussen got a lot of help from his defense today, and Baker seems due for a let down. His velocity was down from 96 to 93 in the second straight outing today. He's saved 35 in a row. The FIP is very good, but it's a run and a half higher than his ERA (actually like 1.6). If he's in the low-90s, he's gettable. 

Peralta I could see tossing 6 scoreless against us or having to leave after 2 because he's either given up 5 runs or loaded the bases twice and thrown 65 pitches. The Rays starters, overall, are deeper, but we have two of the three best in the series, I would think. Our bullpen is also better.

I will be rooting for Cleveland tomorrow, but I've gone back and forth. I think Cleveland is clearly the lesser team, but I think we'll play weirder, flukier games against them, and I worry more about Ramirez than just about anyone in baseball in a World Series setting. I also think there's something to be said for a World Series featuring the two best-run teams in baseball. One of them deserves a ring, and certainly more than a very fun but ultimately just slightly better-than-average Guards squad.

[Playing Catch]

10 hours ago, Cool Hand Lucroy said:

The scariest thing about Tampa is that they are SO much like the Brewers.

Yeah, I don't really like either matchup. Despite their fear-factor, I "liked" the Dodgers matchup better than anyone else in the NL bracket, and felt the Yankees were also a better matchup for the Crew. The collective athleticism and ability to turn balls-in-play into outs are my big things these days, so teams like the Cubs, Padres, Rays and Guardians concern me more than the teams that FIP and slug their way to victories.

The Rays and Guardians both value run-prevention and aren't afraid to play small(er) ball. They both have a couple of studs they rely on. But I still just come away feeling like the Brewers have too many ways to beat you into submission. The Brewers can take away J-Ram, and the Rays' depth isn't quite on par with Milwaukee's. Either matchup will be a significant underdog.

[Jopal78]

I guess the Brewers lost the Willy Adames trade after all, Rasmussen has been the best pitcher in the postseason this year. 
 

21 IP, 13 H, 3BB 23 K and 3 ER. 
 

i’m kidding about “winning” trades but man Rasmussen has been something else for Tampa

[StCroixCtyBrewer]

I am quite nervous about the WS. I can’t even put my finger on why. Maybe it’s just PTSD as a fan but getting this close and losing would be as crushing a loss as a fan as I can remember, and there’s been a lot between the Packers, Brewers and Badgers.

Looking for all the optimism I can going into this series. Can’t stop thinking about it!

[jay87shot]

How much do we think the long layoff could affect our readiness come Friday? 

I don't think it affects Misi or the bullpen much, the adrenaline should get pitchers through the 1st inning at least. I can see it affecting our bats especially if we are up against Rasmussen or Gavin Williams depending on needing a game 7. Guys don't usually go 10 days or whatever it is going to be between games and come out in full stride usually.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

35 minutes ago, StCroixCtyBrewer said:

I am quite nervous about the WS. I can’t even put my finger on why. Maybe it’s just PTSD as a fan but getting this close and losing would be as crushing a loss as a fan as I can remember, and there’s been a lot between the Packers, Brewers and Badgers.

Looking for all the optimism I can going into this series. Can’t stop thinking about it!

Because it's still baseball. There isn't an angel looking out for this team and it's not going to fall into their lap if they don't play well because it's "meant to be." It doesn't matter if it's Cleveland and we are firing on all cylinders, sometimes you just lose.  Every top team probably has a stretch during the season where they got swept or went 2-4 against teams winning 45% of their games. I've learned to shrug at what happens in the playoffs rather than try to find specific things to blame, what we did wrong or what we should have done. You have to submit to the chaos and just hope it goes your way once.

If we lose, the layoff will get blamed. Or we didn't hit enough home runs. Or Miz isn't a "prime time" performer which you can just sense is the hot take waiting to come out with another "ok" start. Humans love to explain things rather than just admitting randomness occurs.

[StCroixCtyBrewer]

11 minutes ago, jay87shot said:

How much do we think the long layoff could affect our readiness come Friday? 

I don't think it affects Misi or the bullpen much, the adrenaline should get pitchers through the 1st inning at least. I can see it affecting our bats especially if we are up against Rasmussen or Gavin Williams depending on needing a game 7. Guys don't usually go 10 days or whatever it is going to be between games and come out in full stride usually.

At first I was very nervous about it but honestly Radcliffe and Hogg made good points on the podcast yesterday. The Dodgers were an emotional hurdle that this team cleared, not to mention just clearing the hurdle of getting to the World Series. If they had to play a day or two later in Game 1, that could be trouble. But they have a full week to soak it in then refocus and prep for the last series of the year. I think that’s very true. Cleveland or Tampa won’t have that luxury, especially if it goes 7.

[owbc]

6 minutes ago, StCroixCtyBrewer said:

At first I was very nervous about it but honestly Radcliffe and Hogg made good points on the podcast yesterday. The Dodgers were an emotional hurdle that this team cleared, not to mention just clearing the hurdle of getting to the World Series. If they had to play a day or two later in Game 1, that could be trouble. But they have a full week to soak it in then refocus and prep for the last series of the year. I think that’s very true. Cleveland or Tampa won’t have that luxury, especially if it goes 7.

I used to worry about the hitters but since the Trajekt machines got popular that doesn't seem to be an issue anymore. These guys are facing 100 mph pitches in the cage all week. Plus they already had a 5 day layoff for the wild card round and looked fine after that. 

For pitching, I appreciate that MLB gives the 3 off days to make the World Series a fairer match, but I have no doubt that our fresher pitching will be an advantage, especially if the series goes 6-7 games. 

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

51 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Because it's still baseball. There isn't an angel looking out for this team and it's not going to fall into their lap if they don't play well because it's "meant to be." It doesn't matter if it's Cleveland and we are firing on all cylinders, sometimes you just lose.  Every top team probably has a stretch during the season where they got swept or went 2-4 against teams winning 45% of their games. I've learned to shrug at what happens in the playoffs rather than try to find specific things to blame, what we did wrong or what we should have done. You have to submit to the chaos and just hope it goes your way once.

If we lose, the layoff will get blamed. Or we didn't hit enough home runs. Or Miz isn't a "prime time" performer which you can just sense is the hot take waiting to come out with another "ok" start. Humans love to explain things rather than just admitting randomness occurs.

For sure.

I mean, if we come out and boot groundballs and fail to situationally hit or swing through meatballs, okay. I want this team to play their best.

But they can play their best and hit line drives right at fielders. The Rays could be defensive magicians. Caminero could take a filthy Ashby sinker out to right. All that stuff happens, and it's part of the game. 

I'm just here enjoying the ride because this is about everything I could ask for as a Brewer fan. We won a pennant. We're the best-run organization in baseball. We're having the best season this franchise has ever had. For me (and others can totally differ!), it's not worth investing all the time and energy into this team if the only thing that validates it is a World Series title. 

[owbc]

Pretty wild that Freddy Peralta is on the mound with a chance to send the Rays to the World Series. There are a lot of alternate universes where he pitched such a game for us. 

[dlk9s]

Boy it will be weird if Freddy is pitching in Milwaukee AGAINST us in the World Series.

[BCF]

Guardians will come back and force a game 7 at least 

Yandy Diaz got way too cocky yesterday 

[dlk9s]

I like that the Rays wear their Devil Rays unis and caps.

[82brewcrew82]

That Rays lineup is deeper than I thought

[long ball]

Joe Posnanski wrote a blog about how the world series will be lacking star power. I do take his point. There's no ohtani and there's no judge. Those are the only two mega stars in MLB right now in my opinion, but after that... Is there a bigger star in baseball than misiorowski? I don't really think there is. 

[BCF]

18 minutes ago, 82brewcrew82 said:

That Rays lineup is deeper than I thought

Rays lineup isn’t that good. Pitching is solid though with Drew and Peralta 

[Bernies Sponsor]

Looking like it’ll be Tampa. Hindsight’s obviously 20/20, but they look scarier than LA right now. 

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Guards look done and dusted right now. 7 innings left to get off the mat, but the pitching is on absolute fumes right now. Feels like a team hitting its absolute ceiling.

[willie key]

Tampa will easily have the worst uniforms in World Series history

[BCF]

 Freddy out here throwing 99-100 mph 

[BruisedCrew]

1 hour ago, dlk9s said:

Boy it will be weird if Freddy is pitching in Milwaukee AGAINST us in the World Series.

It’s looking like that is a near certainty for this Saturday.