The Brewers position is looking very shaky. They are clinging to a playoff spot in the “If the season ended today...” scenario, but there are several factors that I don’t think work in their favor. 1. The Brewers have been treading water for a few months and have lost ground to every one of the other playoff contenders except for the Nationals. The bullpen that was so strong for much of the season is now fading. 2. If you believe the grades that the supposed experts give out, the Brewers did less to improve themselves at the trade deadline than any other playoff contender. So, it may be difficult for the Brewers to stop the downward trend as they play nothing but contenders and the improved Reds the rest of the way. 3. The Diamondbacks and the Dodgers did the most to help themselves, and I think those teams are both likely to pull away from the Brewers. Their starting pitcher rotations are vastly superior to the Brewers, and now that the Brewers bullpen is fading those 5 inning starts aren’t going to cut it. The Hamels acquisition may prove to be the move that pushes the Cubs to the best record in the league. 4. The Nationals have underperformed all year, but they are showing signs of pulling it together. They and the Phillies and Braves have the advantage of being in the same division as the Mets and Marlins, and they all have multiple series against those teams the rest of the way. 5. My gut feeling is that the best the Brewers can realistically hope for is to pull out the last wild card spot in a battle with the 3 teams from the east and the Rockies. When they first added the second wild card team I said that it hardly feels like your team was in the playoffs if they lose as the road team in the wild card game. I still feel that way: for me the biggest thrill in the Brewers getting to the playoffs comes from being able to attend at least one home playoff game, as I have in each of their other playoff appearances.