A Storm Brewing

The 2011 Milwaukee Brewers have finally broken from the middle-of-the-pack. By Andrew Muckell     

Flickr/jimcchou

     The famous racing sausages, a daily tradition at Miller Park, have brought great amusement to fans since 1990. Mid-sixth inning, five sausages line up by the visiting dugout, run behind home plate, and finish before the home dugout. The competing frankfurters symbolize the Milwaukee Brewers in the past two decades: They run hard at the beginning, trip over each other seconds into the race, and slowly jog to the end in front of a laughing crowd. 


     The Brewers have continually been middle-dwellers in a National League Central often dominated by the St. Louis Cardinals; however, due to MVP-worthy seasons from 1B Prince Fielder and LF Ryan Braun, the Brew Crew is poised to make noise this October. With Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum added to the rotation this year, Milwaukee sports the second best record in the National League with 94 wins and 66 losses. The team ERA trumps the second place Cardinals by 0.11 points, who trail by six games. Impressive performances by RF Corey Hart and starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo have ensured the team’s lordship over the Cards, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Houston Astros. 
     The Brewers’ first challenge in October will be the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-Backs rank higher in RBIs and runs, but Milwaukee has more wins, a higher overall batting average and home run total, and a lower team ERA. Nonetheless, one must not underestimate Cy Young Candidate Ian Kennedy and his teammate Daniel Hudson. Nonetheless, even if the Brewers are successful in the first round, the club will meet its match in the National League Championship Series against, most likely, the league-leading Philadelphia Phillies or the Atlanta Braves. 
     Regardless of what the next month has in store for Milwaukee, the team has already turned jeers into cheers. Braun’s division-clinching HR on September 23rd inspires a generation of Brewer fans that have grown pessimistic, and although the forecast seems cloudy and unpredictable, Fielder and Braun pack the thunder, and Greinke and Gallardo the lightning. 


News and notes around the NL Central
The St. Louis Cardinals, despite having the league’s highest team batting average and home run total, are fighting for a chance at the post season. Only one game out, Albert Pujols and the Red Birds go into the last two games of the season pursuing the Atlanta Braves. 


Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds continue to struggle through a .500 season. The poor starting rotation, consisting of Dontrelle Willis, Bronson Arroyo, and Edinson Volquez is not supportive of the team’s good offense. 


After an exciting run before the All-Star Break, Andrew McCutchen and the Pittsburgh Pirates sank back into the background. The ball club’s collective batting average, home run count, and RBIs in the second half of the season rank in the bottom two in the league. 


The Chicago Cubs rotation has been ranked the third worst in the National League this year, and after the All-Star break they’ve batted a horrendous .247 with only 257 RBIs through September 27th. 


The Houston Astros have officially lost 100 games this season. The ’Stros woes attest to the team’s league-highest ERA and third-worst fielding percentage.