The Milwaukee Brewers take on the Philadelphia Phillies Wednesday afternoon, but before we all get caught up in the playoff hoopla, let's take a look back at some of the moments that made the regular season so spectacular.
This is only one man's list. I chose what I felt were the Top 10 moments of the season.
#10 - June 14, 2008: Branyan hits pinch-hit homer to force game into extras
The Milwaukee Brewers are in a pinch, literally. Joe Nathan, Minnesota's stellar closer, is on the mound with two-outs and has the Twins up by one run in the bottom of the ninth. Ned Yost goes to his power source on the bench, Russell Branyan.
At this time, Branyan had been swinging an insanely hot bat. He had hit a home run in four straight games only a week before, so Brewers fans felt something special was going to happen.
Branyan laid off a curve for a ball, but swung wildly at a nasty slider. He then got a fastball right down the heart of the plate. As soon as The Muscle made contact with the ball and watched it fly, you knew it was gone. Miller Park burst into cheers, hugs, and high fives. Yost played his cards right. Russell Branyan tied the game on a mammoth two-out, pinch-hit home run off one of the elite closers in the game. I remember jumping up and down in front of the TV, cheering with my father as we watched Branyan calmly trot around the bases. Tie game.
Unfortunately, the Crew was unable to capitalize on the momentum of Branyan's homer and fell to the Twins 9-4 in thirteen innings. That was back when the Brewers thought Julian Tavarez was a good idea.
#9 - May 18, 2008: Braun speaks out
After a devastating and demoralizing sweep at Fenway against the Boston Red Sox, Ryan Braun addressed the media with such candor that it caught everyone off-guard. He said, "I almost felt like this series, we didn't expect to win. We were competing; I know everybody tried hard. But it's not about
trying hard. You've got to expect to win. I almost feel like we never
really expected to win any of these games. I just kind of had that
feeling."
Ned Yost and most of the Milwaukee Brewers had been playing it cool up to that point. Even after the Crew had fallen into last place in the NL Central in May, many of the Brewers personnel were saying that everything was okay. Everything was going to work out in the end. Not Ryan Braun. He knew the listless Brewers needed a spark, and this marked the point in the season where Braun became one of the vocal leaders of the clubhouse. He called for an attitude adjustment in the clubhouse, and the team responded.
After all, the Milwaukee Brewers are now in the playoffs in the same season they held sole possession of last place in the NL Central. Things turned around quickly after Ryan said what everyone was thinking.
#8 - August 10, 2008: Kapler's walk-off against the Nationals
In a thirteen inning affair with perhaps the worst team in baseball, Gabe Kapler sent the Brewers fans home happy with a walk-off shot against Luis Ayala.
Kapler proved that everyone will forget about an 0-for-6 night at the plate if you hit the game-winning home run with your seventh at-bat of the contest. Milwaukee's outfielder, who was retired and coaching minor league baseball just last season, turned on an inside fastball on a 2-2 count. He made great contact with the ball, but it began to hook towards the left field foul pole. Would it stay fair or foul?
Needless to say, the ball found the bleachers in fair territory. The Crew won the game and continued on their torrid stretch of baseball in the month of August. Kapler's home run seemed to signify how Milwaukee was going to win games down the stretch. There was solid pitching all around, but the offense stayed quiet just long enough to make fans nervous. As a group, the offense has a flare for the dramatic. Kapler showed that against the Nationals on August 10th.
#7 - August 31, 2008: CC Sabathia's Controversial one-hitter
Was it an error, or did Andy LaRoche earn the hit on a swinging bunt?
Whatever your feelings towards the controversial call, it is impossible to deny the fact that CC Sabathia spun an absolute gem against the Pittsburgh Pirates that day. He struck out 11 hitters, all while making the light-hitting Pirates look helpless against his nasty cutter/slider.
Ned Yost and the Brewers petitioned Major League Baseball to reverse the call, but to no avail. Brewers fans across the country screamed for the call to be overturned (as it truly was an error). Many call it a no-hitter regardless of what the MLB has to say. Either way, it was a great moment for the Crew. Sabathia showcased his dominance on a national scale -- at least, after the game was over it became a national topic -- and Milwaukee asserted its control over Pittsburgh in general.
#6 - September 15, 2008 - Dale Sveum replaces Ned Yost as Brewers manager
I will take this moment with a grain of salt. Let me explain.
This is not a great moment because Ned Yost was the reason for Milwaukee's demise down the stretch. He may have caused some of the tension in the clubhouse to spill over into games, but he still led the team to a fantastic record when Sveum took over the reigns. It is easy to overstate how much of an impact a manager has on the outcome of a game.
While Dale Sveum's presence may not matter too much on paper, the transition marked a change in the Milwaukee Brewers as a whole. The team responded with adrenaline and enthusiasm towards their new skipper. Their record in the final couple weeks shows that. The Crew won 7 out of their final 8 games to take the NL Wild Card from the New York Mets.
How's that for a change in momentum in the clubhouse?
#5 - July 21, 2008 to July 24, 2008: Brewers sweep Cardinals in St. Louis
What a fantastic series this was for Brewers fans.
There were big home runs galore from Bill Hall and Ryan Braun, while the Cardinals showed why they were never going to be serious contenders for the NL Wild Card. Ryan Franklin and their bullpen blew multiple games in that four-game sweep by the Brewers. At the time, it gave the Crew a pretty big cushion over the Cardinals, but that unfortunately dwindled after their early-September swoon.
Not to mention this series also caused the Cardinals to absolutely despise the Brewers. They were upset that the Crew untucked their shirts after a victory -- good LORD...not the shirts! They also had problems with Ryan Braun showing up Ryan Franklin by watching his game-winning home run for a little too long. That was a legitimate gripe, in my opinion. I did like Ned Yost's response to the entire situation though. If the Cardinals didn't like how the Crew handled their business when they won, the Cardinals should just beat them. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
Remember that fight between Carlos Villanueva and Albert Pujols? How about those sleeping dogs, Albert? Yeah, that threat really had some bite behind it...
#4 - September 25, 2008: Ryan Braun walks-off in Grand fashion
Jesse Chavez couldn't find the strike zone to save his life and just walked Craig Counsell to load the bases for Ryan Braun.
After falling behind 2-0 to Braun, Chavez came back with back-to-back gutsy fastballs on the outside corner to get the count back to 2-2. Chavez then made his mistake pitch to Ryan, a hanging slider. Braun jumped all over it and clobbered the slider into the deep left field bleachers. It was Milwaukee's first grand slam of the season, and it was Braun's first walk-off homer as a big leaguer.
Ryan yelled enthusiastically to his dugout and held up his bat in celebration while running to first base. The Brewers faithful at Miller Park couldn't have yelled any louder after the ball left Braun's bat. Fans jumped up and down celebrating with strangers next to them. That grand slam made Milwaukee's postseason dreams more of a reality. The goal seemed within reach, especially if Ryan could get locked in again at the plate.
Again, it set the stage for more dramatics down the stretch.
#3 - July 6, 2008: Milwaukee trades for CC Sabathia
The city of Milwaukee was in a fervor all day once CC Sabathia was officially introduced as a Milwaukee Brewer.
The Crew gave up quite a haul to get the left-handed ace, but he has proven to be well worth the price. Doug Melvin and Mark Attanasio made the move because they decided 2008 was the year to make a serious run at an NL Central pennant and the postseason. The pennant didn't turn out as planned, but the Brewers were able to make it to the playoffs.
This trade has to go down as one of the most beneficial moves in recent memory. In the past couple weeks, CC has pitched three straight games on three days rest and is set to make that a fourth consecutive start. The big southpaw literally has strapped the Milwaukee Brewers on his broad shoulders and pitched them to October. In his final start, he threw over 100 pitches in a complete game win.
What else can you say about Sabathia? He told his agents to stop calling the Crew about pitching him too much on too little rest. The guy is a class act and simply wants to win. He wants to make the World Series, no matter what it takes. CC was Milwaukee's co-ace when first coming to the Brewers, but he has now taken up the mantle of the ace of the staff. The Crew goes as he goes.
CC brought in the revenue as well. Thousands of people bought Sabathia t-shirts and jerseys. Thousands of people bought tickets for the remaining home games of the season. Thousands of people tuned into Brewers games on FSN that normally wouldn't give the Crew a second thought. There are simply not enough superlatives for CC Sabathia. He brought the Crew to the playoffs. The Brewers Nation and myself cannot thank him enough.
#2 - September 28, 2008: Braun hits the go-ahead, two-run shot against the Cubs
Talk about a flare for the dramatic.
Only three days after ending the Pirates game on a walk-off grand slam, Ryan Braun was back to his old tricks, but this time against the Chicago Cubs. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Braun centered on a Bobby Howry fastball that made its way into left-center field. Seth McClung raced into the bullpen, jumping and cheering, while holding the home run ball up in the air. Ryan Braun celebrated and jumped up and down after rounding first after giving the Brewers the lead 3-1 against the hated Cubs in the regular season finale of the season.
Braun's contract extension early in the season (which almost made this list) looks better and better every day. He is great with the media, but better with the bat. No one can deny that he doesn't have a penchant for clutch hits. He, along with CC Sabathia, almost single-handedly brought playoff baseball to Milwaukee. I will be very interested to see what he can do against Philadelphia Wednesday afternoon.
#1 - September 28, 2008: CC forces Derrick Lee into a 4-6-3 double play
CC Sabathia checked Ryan Theriot at first base. The big left-hander jammed Derrick Lee with a 95mph fastball in on the hands.
The ball slowly trickled to Ray Durham at second. Durham made he easy flip to J.J. Hardy at short who brushed the bag with his cleats and threw a perfect bullet to Prince Fielder at first base to end the game.
Playoffs. October baseball. 26 years of frustration is over.
Sabathia stood on the pitchers mound pumping his fists and screaming in celebration, as the Brewers players spilled from everywhere to mob their ace pitcher. The champagne showers had to wait until after the Mets lost to the Florida Marlins, but the postseason in Milwaukee became a reality the second that baseball was in the glove of Prince Fielder. Brewers fans everywhere watched with a lump in their throat and a tear in their eye as the long awaited return to October baseball was becoming a reality.
26 years is over. The Phillies are next. Can the Milwaukee Brewers create a Top 10 that will be more impressive than this list in just a couple short weeks? Let's hope the Crew is able to get by Philadelphia and see if that can come true.
These moments made me appreciate what a terrific season Brewers fans had in 2008. There were ups and downs, but the team and the fans made it through together. Let's enjoy the postseason together as well.
Go Brewers!