For 2011 Milwaukee is The Class of The National League Central

The National League Central has been plagued by mediocrity this season. The division is home to The Houston Astros who have the worst record in Major League Baseball. The Chicago Cubs are still “the lovable losers” as they have already started the wait ’til next year campaign. Through July we saw a four team race between The Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, and Cincinnati Reds for division supremacy. The Pirates have come back to earth after being one of the best stories of the first half. The Reds have never been able to rekindle the magic they had last year en route to winning the division. The Cardinals have been ravaged by injuries, but still have found a way to hang around. Emerging through the rubble has been The Brewers.

The Brewers may be a small market team, but general manager Doug Melvin is not afraid to make moves. In 2008 The Brewers acquired pitcher CC Sabathia from The Cleveland Indians which propelled them to the playoffs for the first time since 1982. Although they lost Sabathia to free agency after the season, it gave everyone notice that The Brewers were willing to win. After two consecutive sub .500 seasons in 2009 and 2010, The Brewers have re-emerged and are poised to win their first division crown since ’82. Going back to the days of Robin Yount and Paul Molitor as they were apart of “Harvey’s Wallbangers”, The Brewers have always been known for power hitting. The current group of Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, Casey McGehee, and Rickie Weeks are keeping the tradition going. The Brewers are fourth in The National League with 131 home runs as they can go blow for blow with any hitting lineup in baseball.

The main thing that has kept The Brewers out of playoff contention has been starting pitching and Melvin has addressed this issue. Gone are the days of relying on Jeff Suppan to be apart of the rotation. The Brewers already had All-Star pitcher Yovani Gallardo to anchor the rotation, but one man is not enough. The Brewers acquired Shaun Marcum from The Toronto Blue Jays and Zack Greinke from The Kansas City Royals to further solidify the rotation. Immediately after The All-Star Game, The Brewers acquired closer Francisco Rodriguez from The New York Mets. Rodriguez has primarily been used as a setup man to closer John Axford which gives Milwaukee a tough combo to finish games. The pitching staff is third in The National League in strikeouts with 929 and fifth in opponent’s batting average at .248. These moves have helped The Brewers go from the middle of the pack to sitting in the catbird’s seat atop The NL Central.

With 41 games remaining The Brewers have a five game lead on St. Louis. They can’t take the foot off of the gas, but they are starting to emerge in the division. This may be it for Fielder in Milwaukee as the free agent to be turned down a contract extension before the season started as he is looking to cash in during free agency. The All-Star first basemen has always been known for his power, now Fielder is flirting with finishing the season with a .300 batting average for the first time in his career.

Praise has to be given to Ron Roenicke as the first year manager is getting the most out of his ball club. The first year manager has seen his squad beat up on Central Division opponents as they are 36-19 inside the division. The Brewers are 44-15 at home, but they’re going in the other direction away from Miller Park with a record of 26-36. Barring some New York Met style collapse, The Brewers should win the division. They were shown the door by The Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 who would win The World Series. For The Brewers to take that next step as an organization they must win on the road and win in October. For now they have placed themselves in position to play baseball in the fall.