Those who love analytics will tell you that the Milwaukee Brewers wouldn’t be in the World Series without an embrace of the spreadsheet over the eye test.
Those who prefer what they see on the field over what they view on a tablet will inform you that Milwaukee wouldn’t be where it is without an old-school manager like Pat Murphy who insists that his guys do fundamental, intangible things well.
Call this an instance where both things can be true.
As the Brewers prepare to open the World Series Friday night against Tampa Bay, it will be more than their first appearance in MLB’s championship round since 1982. It will be the validation of an organization that has built to this level for just over a decade but didn’t truly hit its stride until losing its manager to the North Side of Chicago and hiring one that’s better.
Craig Counsell’s departure for the Cubs after the 2023 season was discussed and cussed from Brown Deer to Sturgeon Bay. But Milwaukee didn’t have to leave its clubhouse to find his replacement – Murphy, who was the bench coach during Counsell’s last eight years on the job.
All Murphy has done is win 293 regular season games, three National League Central titles and (perhaps) three NL Manager of the Year awards. All that would pale in comparison to the franchise’s first World Series.
How the Brewers do it can be applauded by anyone that has half a brain, which probably excludes the sport’s current commissioner. That’s another story for another time, specifically when Rob Manfred institutes the lockout he believes is necessary to insure competitive balance.
If he would just bother to look at the product he runs, he’d find that competitive balance playing for that hunk of metal he despises. Milwaukee and Tampa Bay spend carefully but wisely. Neither has a top 15 payroll; neither needs it.
They have smart guys running the club – amazing how smart wins in just about anything in life – and mostly smart guys on the field. But the Brewers should be favored after winning the National League title, getting by San Diego in four and then sweeping the FOX Dodgers in four.
It’s no secret how Milwaukee did it – pitching and more pitching with some surprising power tossed in for good measure. Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Harrison and Robert Gasser have started effectively. Relievers like Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill have routinely shut down opponents for as long as five innings some games.
That bullpen could be crucial in the World Series. Ashby, DL Hall and JoJo Romero are all lefthanded. One of Tampa Bay’s few weaknesses is hitting lefty relievers. That sounds like a matchup created in cheesehead heaven.
Less likely is a continued power surge. The Brewers are good offensively but blasted the second-fewest homers of anyone during the regular season. Naturally, they’ve belted 10 in the postseason as the likes of William Contreras, Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell have found the range.
There’s a reason Milwaukee won 103 games this year, more than anyone in the game. The world is finding out about it this October. And the Brewers will unleash one more celebration when Megill fans Richie Palacios to end Game 6 with a 4-3 Milwaukee win.
Presumably, Bob Uecker will call the final out from the ultimate front row seat upstairs.
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