#231 A Different Brew

My beloved Milwaukee Brewers clinched a division title on Sunday. I was ecstatic, bouncing around in celebration before picking up Lanie and Mia and Tess and kissing them one-by-one. In the first twenty seasons of my life, the Brewers did not win the division even once. Now they've won three times in the last eleven seasons, including twice in the last four years. It has been absolutely wonderful. The Brewers are more than just a sports team to me. They're my favorites. Their success brings me joy in a way that my teams in sports can't quite match. I often internally refer to the members of the team by their first names—Corbin, Willy, Josh, and so on—almost like they're members of my own family. After six months of games, the players pretty well feel like family.

This year's Brew Crew has worked differently than the other successful Milwaukee teams in my lifetime. Previous good Brewers teams have batted very well and used offense to cover up less intimidating starting pitching (though the 2011 squad boasted a few high quality starters as well). This year's offense hasn't been much better than decent on its best days, but the starting pitching is phenomenal. Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta all looked like Cy Young contenders for a while, and Burnes still has an extremely good case to take home the trophy. Meanwhile Adrian Houser and Eric Lauer have been sneakily good since the All-Star Break. (Poor Brett Anderson has battled minor injuries quite often and hasn't been as dependable as the others, but he's still been far from terrible.) The Brewers aren't World Series favorites, but with an elite starting rotation—plus a formidable bullpen—they certainly have a chance to go where no Brewers team has gone before. So when our postseason starts in ten days, I'll be watching when I can and rotating through all my Brewers gear for as long as the ride lasts. Claws up, Milwaukee. October is coming.

Grace and peace,

BMH

P.S. Lanie and I crossed off another ice cream cone statue: