Inside the Records

[jaybird2001wi]

This season may mark our third consecutive over-.500 campaign. But many fans do not know the true meaning of this string of success from a franchise perspective. If this team holds on for the remainder of the season, it could be the second longest string of consecutive winning seasons in franchise history.

The Brewers did not post its first ever winning season until the 1978 season by winning 93 games. They continued the streak until 1983. But there was a strike-shortened 1981 season, so there is question of whether to include that season with the streak.

But there were merely two other streaks consisting of just back-to-back winning seasons (1987-88, 1991-92). But what does all of this mean to the current Brewers? Well, with all of these facts considered, could this team be one of our best, if not the best in franchise history?

There are several parallels between the two different eras. This team has a few players making its way through the team record books and a franchise player in Ryan Braun. During the post-Yount era marked a depressing part of the franchise where we had musical chairs of "franchise" players.

In addition, we have been setting attendance records which were not as prevalent and fierce as the 1980's teams. Could this team be the most exciting team in history or are we just in Good Luck mode?

[owbc]

It's just too early to tell.

 

They started 26-15 in 2007 and only finished 83-79.

 

Obviously, there are a number of differences between the two teams--the 2009 team is essentially the 2007 core team with more experienced players and a more experienced coaching staff. This year they are beating up on the division rivals, in 2007 (and even 2008) they feasted off of the bottom feeders. The 2007 team couldn't win on the road. The 2007 team didn't draw walks and depended too much on home runs. Johnny Estrada was the catcher in 2007 and Turnbow was still around.

 

There will be at least one more 4-9 stretch this year, but you just get the feeling that this year is different. They might not be the best team on paper, but there is still time to make a trade if they have to. Losing Weeks will hurt in the long run, but they still have plenty of offensive weapons. The World Series talk will undoubtely come up, especially if they extend this winning streak or open up a big lead in the division.

 

My attitude is just to ride the wave. We don't know if the great play will continue or end tomorrow. The postseason is essentially a crapshoot, the key is just to get there and let things happen. They only need to go another 12 or so games above .500 the rest of the way.

[logan82]

We just beat up on 2 teams(Cubs,Cardinals) with many injuries. I say kick'em while they are down and hope we get a big enough lead to end up on top at the end of the year. I still think the Cubs are a better team than we are and the Cardinals are about as good as we are. This good feeling will all go away when we have a bad streak. Reading the in game threads we still see people worried even when we are up 5+ runs in many games. As a fan base, I think we are still waiting for the rug to be yanked out.

[pebadger]

The thing that has impressed me most about this team is that they have very consistently avoided the pitfalls that have snared them in the past, at least since game 2 of the series in Philadelphia). many fans are pessismistic by nature, and they often have at least anecdotal evidence to back up that feeling. But since this streak started, a lot have guys have showed something in terms of succeeding in situations where they had more often failed earlier on in their careers. Even in situatinos where it looks like things are snowballing in a bad way (e.g., the Gamel error inning in STL, or the first last night which was shaping up to be one of the prototypical combination bad/unlucky Bush innings) this team has overcome in ways they most often didn't in the past. Some of that is good breaks, but a lot of it is simply the kind of good baseball that needs to be played, and which you are used to seeing good, veteran (not necessarily old, but veteran) teams make.

 

Like in poker, in the long run you just need to play a whole lot of hands, and then learn from them. The Brewers are getting to the point where they have done both, and are showing it.

[Invader3K]

One nice thing is that in the past, I think the Brewers almost "played down" to teams that were beneath them talent-wise, or that were struggling. Now they seem to have something resembling a killer instinct, where they know they can win, and aren't just trying not to lose badly. It's refreshing.