With a win tonight the Milwaukee Brewers can clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2011. The biggest reason can be traced back to Thursday January 25th, 2018 when Milwaukee GM David Stearns not only signed free agent centerfielder Lorenzo Cain, but also traded a package of prospects to Miami for outfielder Christian Yelich. With those two moves Stearns signaled that the Brewers re-build was ahead of schedule and the team was ready to make a playoff run this year. We thought we knew what we were getting with both. But no-one could forsee that kind of season that Yelich has put together. If there were any doubts who the NL MVP should be, his performance down the stretch should make it clear. Reporter Adam McCalvy has covered the Brewers for mlb.com since 2001 and he dug into the numbers. What he found is fascinating. Not only is Yelich dominating in the old fashioned stats like batting average, on-base plus slugging and slugging percentage. He has also risen to the top in the math-driven formulas that many say are a better breakdown of success. He is first in WAR (wins above replacement) and also weighted runs created, weighted on base average or park adjusted OPS. Since the All-Star break Yelich has led the NL in average, home runs, extra-base hits, RBI's, slugging percentage, OPS. fWAR, wOBA & wRC+. He has hit 21 homers since the break which is more than he ever hit in an entire season. If if you don't know what all those abbreviations stand for, don't worry about it. Just realize that what we have been seeing is something special. And that's the other thing, he passes the eye test. Meaning that when Yelich is coming to the plate, you arent going to the bathroom or the concession stand or the refrigerator to grab another beer. Plus he has played all three outfield spots this season and hit for the cycle twice. Watching the Brewers return to relevancy has been fun. And you certainly can't discount the contributions of Cain, Jesus Aguilar, Travis Shaw, Josh Hader and Jeremy Jeffress…but Christian Yelich is certainly the teams MVP, and if the voters don't screw it up, should be the League Most Valuable Player as well.
The last time the Brewers made the playoffs their starting lineup was Jonathon Lucroy, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Yuniesky Betancourt, Casey McGehee, Ryan Braun, Nyjer Morgan and Corey Hart. The starting pitchers were Randy Wolf, Yovanni Gallardo, Shawn Marcum, Zach Greinke and Chris Narveson. John Axford had 46 saves. And current manager Craig Counsell played in 104 games and had 233 abs with 31 RBIs. Braun is the only player from that team still with the Brewers and he may be heating up at the right time. He had two homers last night and has three for the week.
Bob Uecker sat in on the Fox Wisconsin TV broadcast last night and also has been on this final roadtrip of the season. Former Brewer beat writer Drew Olson, now a radio guy in Milwaukee, asked on Twitter whether this could be Uecker's last season in the booth. It would certainly take some getting used to if it is. You might think being the everyday broadcaster of a major league baseball team would be a great gig…and in some aspects you would be right…but like any other job, it can become a grind, and after 46 years and some health scares over the last few years you could see the end coming soon.
UWSP and Milwaukee South grad Terry Porter will be inducted into the WBCA Hall Of Fame this Saturday.
Things to annoy you today:
The pill that cures Hepatitis C is a 12 week regimen called Sovaldi. In India the cost is $4 per pill…in America it $1000 per pill.
Why do these guys lie about stuff that is so easy to look up? Kavanaugh said he was of legal drinking age back when he was reportedly a regular sloppy drunk at Georgetown Prep. Thats a lie…the drinking age was 21 in Maryland at the time.
If you would have been asked in 1988 who would be in prison in 2018, Bill Cosby or Donald Trump, what would you have answered?
Quotes Of The Day
“People looking back at this moment will not be able to believe that a country with $21 trillion in debt, with the greatest levels of income disparity that we've seen since the Gilded Age, would find as its solution $2 trillion in tax breaks for the rich.”-Beto O'Rourke
“FBI investigation is standard procedure. That's what Anita Hill got. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford wants standard procedure. Republican Senators are lying when they say they can't give Dr. Ford standard procedure. Every Republican senator is lying about that.”- Lawrence O'Donnell
“If you don't understand the concept of white privilege, substituting the word Kavanaugh for white might help.”-Lawrence O'Donnell
“The literal isolated fact that Kavanaugh has “HAVE YOU BOOFED YET?”on his yearbook page & also claimed he spent high school focused on service projects and church should be a disqualification on the basis of being incredibly full of shit.”-Jia Tolentino
“Three weeks ago, Kavanaugh was credibly accused of perjury. This is a felony. He is a career liar.”-David Greenwald
“I feel like we're all in a super shitty Escape Room with really obvious clues like “vote” and “believe women” and “don't put children in cages.”-Natasha Rothwell
“Any attempt by the White House to subvert or manipulate law enforcement should be resisted. Rather than resigning, officials should stand their ground and wait to be fired. Resisting abuse of presidential authority is not a policy difference;its about adhering to the rule of law.”-John Brennan
“Asshole Culture has carved out a very clear, unsavory role in American film, literature and life. Entitled, wealthy bros who take what they want, treat everyone around them like shit and then rise to positions of power is practically a cliche it's so common.”-David Rothkopf
“Do people realize Kavanaugh hasn't even said *once* “I made some mistakes in my youth”? This is a man who knows exactly what he did and how bad it was—and has refused to even broach the subject in public for fear of deserved judgement. Only some brave women are forcing the issue.”-Seth Abramson
“Donald Trump gets all the attention, but on one has done more behind the scenes than Mitch McConnell to undermine our institutions, torpedo the traditions that make our system work, and shred all civility from the American process.”-Pat Cunnane
“Evangelicals spent centuries warning us about the coming of the antiChrist. When he finally showed up…they elected him POTUS.”-Bishop Talbert Swan
“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice, and lying and greed. If people all over thw world would do this, it would change the earth.”-William Faulkner
Songs Of The Day (Happy Birthday to Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music. He turns 73 today
