Brewers Video
There's a rhythm and comfort to seeing baseball played every day. It's a unique security blanket where you can find a screen or speaker producing the familiar ambiance of the ballpark. The danger of its frequency lies in the unfair analysis of a player or team in a single game or week, where some overvalue a slump or a pair of losses.
So when the Brewers dropped a couple of one-run contests to the Cubs, some (many?) viewed it as a travesty or a sign of the apocalypse. Social media was abuzz with negativity. Sure, the Brewers have the third-best record in the NL while the Cubs are a below-.500 club, but these games and the series are specks on the MLB calendar. If you need more proof of that, the 22-27 Pittsburgh Pirates just swept the 34-17 Los Angeles Dodgers (second-best record in the NL) in a recent three-game set in Los Angeles.
In the words of Bill Veeck, "Baseball is not meant to be gulped. It's meant to be savored." Let's look at a larger portion of the cup and its contents instead of the last couple of swigs.
Before their thrilling 5-4 comeback over the San Diego Padres, Milwaukee had just finished 6-5 on a three-city road trip where they played 11 games in 10 days. The Brewers had to travel to the West Coast first as they took two of three games over the 30-21 Padres. Next, they came back to the Midwest to take on the rival St. Louis Cardinals in a four-game set, which they split. St. Louis is currently 29-22. Finally, up to Chicago with a series-opening doubleheader en route to a four-game split.
Considering the travel, playing more games than there were days, and the high quality of the first two opponents, a 6-5 mark deserves kudos for a healthy team. Now take into account the banged-up roster the Brewers have been dealing with, and suddenly, their performance shines brighter, especially as they notched another win Thursday.
- Starting shortstop Willy Adames did not play during the road trip and has missed the last 18 team games.
- Typical right fielder Hunter Renfroe only played in the first four innings of the road trip.
- Due to injury, starting pitchers Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff combined to pitch just four innings on the trip.
- Closer Josh Hader, while not hurt, missed the first three games of the trip because of a family emergency.
Talk about dealing with adversity during a rough stretch of games. It took big-time efforts from several other players, such as Devin Williams, who pitched in all three games in San Diego, picking up a pair of saves there and a hold in Chicago. Offensively, Jace Peterson has gone 8-for-16 with two doubles, two triples, one home run, eight RBI, and four runs in the last six contests. His game-tying triple in the ninth on Thursday is the most recent example of his heroics. Those two players aren't the only ones increasing their impact, but they have played vital roles.
How about some more perspective on the Brewers' recent play? Milwaukee has three games left as part of a challenging stretch of 18 games in 17 days. That creates a demanding physical and mental strain on the team. Simply staying above the .500 mark across the 18-game span - especially with their injuries - would be an accomplishment. The Brewers are 9-6 with one weekend to go.
That brings us to the whole picture, with the Brewers sitting at 33-20, tied for the best 53-game start in franchise history. They've done it while playing 32 of the contests on the road (60.4%), including two, three-city journeys between May 6 and June 1.
Those couple of defeats at Wrigley Field should do nothing to detract from the Brewers' fantastic start when factoring everything in. Ignore the haters who argue that Milwaukee has taken advantage of weak teams, too. The Dodgers are 27-16 against clubs with a .500 record or worse. The New York Mets are 26-12 against the same group, while the Brewers are 26-14. You can only play who is on your schedule, and you can't pick your division. Take the NL East, which has four teams with losing records. Milwaukee hasn't had any extra advantage in the scheduling department.
And while the opposition will undoubtedly get more difficult in the future, the Brewers will enjoy far more home games where they are 15-6 to open the season. Assuming better health and some trade deadline deals, no one will remember two random nights in Chicago, especially when Milwaukee is making a postseason run toward a World Series ring.
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