At least for now, the Brewers have found their winning ways and it couldn’t have happened at a better time.
Carloads of Flatlanders are preparing to head north tonight in yet another effort to turn Miller Park into a home field for the Chicago Cubs, who open a three-game series with the Brewers tonight.
Forget all the hubbub about “taking back Miller Park," this is an opportunity for the Brewers to take a small, but very meaningful step toward establishing themselves as a legitimate post-season contender, as opposed to merely being the best team in baseball’s worst division.
The Cubs, who boast a $100 million payroll and spent about $300 million over the winter to build what was thought to be a playoff team, are in shambles. The players haven’t been able to beat anybody on the field and have been beating each other in the dugout. Manager Lou Pinella is sitting in the corner until further notice thanks to his run-in with umpires Saturday at Wrigley Field.
Now is the time to go in for the kill.
There is nothing more dangerous than an underachieving team finding some sort of unexpected spark. The incident last week between Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett, as well as Pinella’s explosion could be just the type of spark that the Cubs need to get their act together. They did, after all, stave off a sweep by smashing the Braves, 10-1, Sunday.
Still, if the Brewers hand it to the Cubs this week, it could go a long way in demoralizing their rivals, sparking the fan base and building a lead in the National League Central. The Brewers are 32-25, 7½ games up on the 23-31 Cubs. In between those two teams stand St. Louis and Pittsburgh, but if anybody in the division has the talent to make a late charge, it’s the Cubs. Taking two, or even a sweep, would build a 10-game lead.
Adding to the series will be the obvious passion in the stands, but a budding rivalry on the field. To be certain, the I-94 series means more to Brewers’ fans, who have dealt with Chicago fans looking down on them for years. But in the Brewers’ clubhouse, these match-ups have taken on added importance, aside from the regular desire to beat your closest geographic rival and a divisional opponent, some fuel was added to the fire during the Cubs’ last visit to Milwaukee.
Zambrano, the Cubs’ volatile starter, took what the Brewers perceived as a shot at them after Chicago beat Milwaukee, 6-3, in April. In essence, he said that the Brewers weren’t as good as other teams in the division, and that gave him greater room for error. With the right-hander slated to start the series finale on Wednesday, the Brewers haven’t forgotten what he said.
“The difference was the ball club,'' Zambrano said. ''In Cincinnati, they're better hitters than in Milwaukee. I don't say that the Milwaukee Brewers are nothing, but the offense of the Cincinnati Reds is better. With [the Reds'] Ken Griffey and all those guys, when you make a mistake, you will pay for that. Sometimes you make a mistake with Milwaukee, and sometimes they miss it, which is good.”
While it’s not the worst thing written about the Brewers in recent years, it raised some eyebrows in the home clubhouse and that’s not a bad thing. The Brewers are, after a long wait, the team with the target on their back. Despite a recent slide, they’re still sitting in first place with the potential for the first playoff berth in 25 years looming off in the distance.
Taking care of business against the Cubs this week could play a big part in reaching that goal.
