Why the Milwaukee Brewers WILL Make the 2014 MLB Playoffs

Editor's Note: The Sports ReKap is happy to announce that Chris Linskens will now be a full-time contributor to the show and writer for our blog. Chris will be focusing on Milwaukee sports but also dabble in some national stories. Be sure to check out his show, The Gray Area, on Marquette University Radio starting in September. Here is his take on why the Milwaukee Brewers will make the playoffs this year.

             Have you ever looked at a Major League Baseball team and asked yourself, “Where the hell did they come from?” That might be what you thought when you saw the Milwaukee Brewers grab a 10-2 record to start the 2014 season. Even on this fifth day in June, the Brewers have the fourth best record in all of baseball, giving them the lead in the NL Central division by four games over the St. Louis Cardinals.

            Even though I sit and utilize my new apartment’s balcony for the first time, (yeah I’m excited about it) the winds of doubt seem to blow “gently” into my ear from those around me on Marquette’s campus. All I can do is smile like LeBron after Lance Stephenson blew on his face (what was that??) on national T.V. though, right? 35-25 isn’t too bad.

I have no doubt in my mind that the Cardinals will make a late-season push; this I am confident about. Hell, maybe the Pirates or Reds will throw their names into consideration for the division crown. I would assume that would only be after the Pirates improve on their 2-8 record this season against the Brewers. However, I’m not as concerned as some skeptics, (haters) may be at this point in the season. How’s that eye feeling, Travis Snyder?

Milwaukee’s starting pitching staff has been solid to say the least, putting up a combined 3.59 ERA. Not to leave out how well the Brewers are hitting, did I mention Ryan Braun, Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez are hitting for a combined .314 Batting Average? Now I did and you are welcome kind reader, here come more stats.

The stat geeks at Baseball Prospectus, (the people that track everything from home runs to the number of times Donald Sterling has mentioned his sex life publically) have given the Milwaukee Brewers a 65% chance of making the playoffs this year. That looks good on paper, but the MLB season also has 162 games in it, not 59. One third of the season down, two more to go!

Enough about numbers, stats and sabre-metrics though, I’ll give you some food for thought. Guess how many beers deep I am into my PBR case and Kap might even give you a free burger. Aramis Ramirez has been out since May 11, so just keep in mind that the Brewers have done this for close to a month without one of their better players. They get him back sometime into their eight-game road trip, during which the Brewers are playing three teams that all have losing records.

Let’s compare this to the Cardinals for a moment. What are they doing these days with their 31-29 record? Well, they are starting a seven-game road trip in which they will face teams with a winning record five times. Things look good on the short-term side of things.

Long term, there are likely more bonuses in store for the Brewers. Khris Davis will likely continue to blossom into a strong, young power hitter. In his past 13 games, Davis has improved his batting average by 41 points (from .218 to a respectable .259), has hit four out of his nine home runs on the season and has struck out just six times. Also, Jim Henderson, the natural closer for the Brewers will come off the shelf at some point this season, giving a boost to an already powerful bullpen.

This all might come from a point of extreme optimism for some people, but I don’t really care. No other team in the NL Central (besides the Cardinals) really gives me anything jaw-dropping to look at collectively as a team. Besides, I’m well into my 3^rd beer, hope you had a fantastic Wei-Chung Wang Wednesday yesterday! Feel good about the mysteries in your life, or as Al McGuire once said, “The only mystery in life is why kamikaze pilots wore helmets”.

Agree or disagree with Chris' optimism, leave a comment below the link.

The Sports ReKap with Nick Kapetan and DJ Vogt as well as The Gray Area will both begin airing once again in September.

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Be sure to visit Sobelman's this summer, the official sponsor of The Sports ReKap, and try their array of mouthwatering burgers. Visit their website: http://www.milwaukeesbestburgers.com/

It is still over 10 months away but please start considering joining a Relay For Life team at your school next year. For more information on how to join a team at Marquette please contact Kristen Krawczyk at kristen.krawczyk@marquette.edu

The Sports ReKap is happy to announce the additions of Chris Linskens, Matt Barbato, Kevin Clancy, and Brendan Garrity as full-time contributors to the show. If you want to be a part of the show this year email Nick at nicholas.kapetan@marquette.edu.