kyle-lohseBy Roberto Ruiz

Season after season, at-bat after at-bat, the Brewers have thrown away golden opportunities to bring another pennant back to Milwaukee. As the Brewers continue their journey to capture their second division title in four years, let’s look back at previous years for clues for what to watch for.

In 2011 they posted the best record ever in Milwaukee, going 96-66 behind strong seasons from Ryan Braun, Nyjer Morgan, and Prince Fielder. Bolstering their pitching corps with Zach Greinke before the season brought high hopes to a franchise that didn’t have too many years to hang their hats on. Still, when the playoffs rolled around the Brewers lost the gusto that made them the favorites heading in. After being pushed to 5 games by a scrappy Arizona Diamondbacks team, the Brewers advanced to face their hated division rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals had proven to be a thorn in the side of the Crew, and this series was no different. The stronger, confident Cardinals beat the Brewers in 6 games and advanced to win the World Series. Collectively, Brewers fans for the first time started to accept the fact that maybe, just maybe, the Cardinals had our number.

Riding the high of a strong 2011 was not enough for the 2012 Brewers. The team started slow and ended up trading Greinke mid-season. After giving up on advancing to the playoffs, the Brewers started winning again, finishing with a record of 36-23 in the months of August, September, and October. The pressure of proving 2011 was no fluke proved to be too much. Star first baseman Prince Fielder had left after no-showing against the Cardinals and went on to moderate success for the Detroit Tigers. Frankly, the Brewers sorely missed his bat protecting Braun in the lineup, and the starting pitchers did not live up to the lofty standards set the previous season.

2013 was a lost season, as the floundering Brewers were forced to restock after using up their farm system in previous years.

That brings us to 2014. A season that only the hardcore fans believed would be a positive year for the Crew. The future certainly looked bright with potential young stars in Carlos Gomez, Jean Segura, Scooter Gennett, and Wily Peralta. Still, young players tend to regress after a strong first season, and only Gomez had a significant amount of time in the majors. The Brewers have been at the top of the division since April 5th, which is no small feat for such a young team. Gone is the swagger that was once present in spades with Rickie Weeks, Fielder, Braun and Morgan. Newly arrived is a quiet confidence from Jonathan Lucroy, Braun, Aramis Ramirez, and Scooter Gennett. To be honest, though, Gomez provides enough swagger for any team. This team started strong and now looks to finish strong in a division stacked with perennial contender St. Louis, and upstart Cincinnati.

So can they do it?

The Brewers have, frustratingly, been the untamed team that tries to do things their way. The players swing at balls in the dirt, and balls thrown just below their hairline. They leadoff with home-runs, not walks. This is not the M.O. for the Cardinals.