Michael Trzinski

While the past seven years of Brewers baseball has seen a lot of success, they haven't been able to push through in October. Image courtesy of © Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel While the past seven years of Brewers baseball has seen a lot of success, they haven't been able to push through in October. After losing to the Cardinals in 2011, the Brewers fell into a funk, missing the playoffs for six straight years (2012-2017). During that gloomy stretch, Milwaukee slogged to a record of 466-506, an average of 78 victories per season. Manager Ron Roenicke, who finished second in the voting for NL Manager of the Year in his rookie campaign of 2011, saw his Brewers team struggle to earn 83, 74, and 82 wins, respectively, in the next three seasons. In 2015, Milwaukee was languishing in fifth place in the NL Central with a record of 7-18 on May 3 when Roenicke was fired and Craig Counsell took over. In 2017, Milwaukee won 86 games and finished second in the NL Central, an improvement of 13 games over the previous season. They would nearly match that improvement in 2018, when the team posted a 96-67 record, beating the Chicago Cubs in a one-game tiebreaker to take the NL Central crown. 2018: So close The Brewers finished the season strong, coming from third place as the calendar flipped to September, winning 19 of 26 games to finish in a first-place tie in the NL Central with Chicago, setting up a ‘winner-take-all’ match on Monday. October 1. The Brewers scored two runs in the eighth and partied at the ‘Friendly Confines’ after a 3-1 victory, sending the club to the NLDS, where they would face Colorado. Milwaukee swept the three-game series, outscoring the Rockies 13-2, including two shutouts. Next up for Milwaukee in the NLCS was Los Angeles. The teams split the two games at Miller Park, each contest a one-run game. The Dodgers fared better at Chavez Ravine, winning two straight after a 4-0 Milwaukee win in Game 3. The teams jetted back to Brew City, with LA leading three games to two. The Brewers were dominant in Game 6, evening the series with a 7-2 win, and were getting ready to put plastic up in their locker room. But all the Brewers could muster in Game Seven was a first-inning home run by Christian Yelich. Kenley Jansen and Clayton Kershaw dispatched the last seven Milwaukee hitters, including five by strikeout, to take a 5-1 win and move on to the World Series. The Dodgers would lose to the Boston Red Sox in the Fall Classic in five games. 2019: One and done in Washington The Brewers started hot in April, winning seven of their first eight games, and then cooled off. On July 5, they found themselves in first place in the NL Central, with the pesky Cubs lurking a half-game behind. But after losing five of the next six, the Brewers dropped to third and would bounce between second and third the rest of the year, ending in second, two games behind St. Louis, with a mark of 89-73. The Brewers traveled to Washington, DC, to face the Nationals in a one-game Wild Card contest (NLWC). The Brewers built a 3-0 lead on home runs by Yasmani Grandal and Eric Thames and took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning. Ace closer Josh Hader had two outs and two on in the eighth, but then a single, walk, and another base hit by Juan Soto added up to three runs and a 4-3 Nats lead. Daniel Hudson pitched the ninth and earned the save for Washington, and once again, the Brewers were eliminated from post-season play. Washington won the NLDS, swept the Cards in the NLCS, and defeated Houston in seven games to win the Series. 2020: Covid strikes down the season For the first time since 1995, the major leagues did not play a full season. The Coronavirus shortened the season to 60 games, during which Milwaukee went 29-31, finishing fourth in the NL Central behind champion Chicago, the Cardinals, and the Reds. Playing Los Angeles in one of the four NLWC series, the Brewers were swept in the best-of-three series. Clayton Kershaw struck out 13, allowing only three hits in eight innings to close out the short series in Game Two. After beating San Diego (NLDS) and Atlanta (NLCS), the Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays in six games to grab another World Series. 2021: Will Smith haunts his old mates The Brewers dominated the last four months of the season, leading the NL Central for all but six days beginning on June 1. On September 12, Milwaukee had a dominating 14-game lead on the rest of the NL Central but played listlessly the last three weeks of the campaign, going 6-12. They still won the division by five games over St. Louis with a record of 95-67. In the NLDS, the Brewers got knocked out of the post-season by the Atlanta Braves, three games to one. Former Brewer southpaw reliever Will Smith saved all three games for the Braves. And once again, the team that ended the Brewers’ season was the team that held up the Commissioner’s Trophy that signified the world champion of baseball. The Braves beat the Dodgers in the NLCS and then took out Houston in six games in the Series. Milwaukee lost at all three levels in the playoffs in the last 15 years and came close in 2018. As of August 24, Milwaukee is in first place this year and has a 3.5 game lead over Chicago and Cincinnati. We’ve been here before and have faced heartbreak so many times. If the hitting can catch up to the pitching, is Milwaukee good enough to make a long run through the post-season? Only time will tell. View full article

Anyone who is a Wisconsin sports fan will probably remember the benchmark of the second iteration of Milwaukee baseball--the 1982 Brewers. In the brief 54-year history of the Brewers, only a handful of teams are mentioned when two or more Brewers fans get together for a brat, a beer, and to talk Brewers baseball. Image courtesy of © Rick Wood / USA TODAY NETWORK Anyone who is a Wisconsin sports fan will probably remember the benchmark of the second iteration of Milwaukee baseball--the 1982 Brewers. In the brief 54-year history of the Brewers, only a handful of teams are mentioned when two or more Brewers fans get together for a brat, a beer, and to talk Brewers baseball. If you want to travel further back in time, set your ‘wayback’ machine to October 1957 when the Braves were all the rage in Brew City, beating the Yankees for the World Series crown. But that’s a story for another day. The ‘82 campaign was a magical year that Brewers fans will never forget. It was the only time the team reached the World Series, and to even get to the American League Championship Series (ALCS), the Brewers had to beat Baltimore on the final day of the regular season, owing to three straight losses that weekend to the O’s to bring the season to a ‘winner-take-all’ match-up on Sunday, October 3. Robin Yount hit two homers and a triple. At the same time, late-season acquisition Don Sutton allowed only two runs in eight innings in a 10-2 Milwaukee victory, propelling the team to the ALCS against the formidable California Angels. After dropping the first two games in Anaheim, Milwaukee came back home and took three thrilling games at County Stadium to advance to the first World Series in franchise history. The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Brewers in the Fall Classic, four games to three. It has been argued by some that a season-ending injury to Hall of Fame closer Rollie Fingers was enough to cost the Brewers a Series title. But in truth, he probably could have made the difference in Game Two, in which the Cards pulled out a 5-4 win. But most of the other contests were blowouts one way or the other, or Brewers wins. The Brewers have made six post-season appearances since that extraordinary season 41 years ago. Milwaukee came close before losing a pair of National League Championship Series (2011, 2018), two National League Divisional Series (2008, 2021), and two Wild Card series or games (2019, 2020). Here is a brief summary of those seasons, each one an arrow in the heart of Milwaukee baseball fans. 2008: CC Sabathia becomes a Milwaukee hero In early July, Carsten Charles (CC) Sabathia, Jr. was traded from the Indians to Milwaukee for four players. It was arguably the best second half by a pitcher in Brewers history. He went 11-2 with an ERA of 1.65 and lost a no-hitter on a bogus call by the official scorer in a game at Pittsburgh on the last day of August. His 17 starts included seven complete games and three shutouts, both of which led the National League. In half a season! That is domination. Milwaukee won 20 of 27 games in August and then struggled in September, going 10-16. They finished second in the NL Central, trailing the Chicago Cubs by seven-and-a-half games, but qualified for the wild card spot. The Philadelphia Phillies won both games at home in the NLDS, including hammering Sabathia in the second game. Dave Bush kept the Brewers alive with a 4-1 win in Game Three, but the Phillies were too much for Jeff Suppan in Game Four, as the Brewers dropped a 6-2 decision. The Phillies would go on to beat Tampa Bay for the World Series title. 2011: The Cardinal jinx continues The Brewers started the season 0-4 but fought their way to the top of the NL Central in late July and never looked back, finishing with a mark of 96-66, six games ahead of St. Louis, who would get its revenge later. Milwaukee beat the Diamondbacks, taking three of five games in the Divisional Series. The Brew Crew won two games at home before Arizona returned the favor back in Chase Field, sending it to Game Five at Miller Park. Nyjer Morgan (Tony Plush) singled in Carlos Gomez in the bottom of the 10th for an exciting 3-2 win. Next up: the St. Louis Cardinals for the NL pennant. The two teams went back and forth in the first five games, with the Cards holding a 3-2 edge. But St. Louis got off to a fast start in Game Six, scoring four runs in the first inning on the way to a 12-6 victory, sending St. Louis to the World Series, where they beat the Texas Rangers in seven games. PART TWO: Four straight years in the playoffs (2018-2021), coming soon! View full article