The Milwaukee Post

10 • Milwaukee County Post • October 5, 2018 MILWAUKEE | OZAUKEE | WASHINGTON | WAUKESHA M A R K E T I N F O R M AT I O N AVA I L A B L E MILWAUKEE POST • GMTODAY.COM (website) • WAUKESHA FREEMAN • OCONOMOWOC ENTERPRISE • HOMES PLUS • BROOKFIELD & ELM GROVE THIS MONTH • GREATER MILWAUKEE JOBS • MKE LIFESTYLE • LAKE COUNTRY THIS MONTH • OZAUKEE NEWS GRAPHIC • OZAUKEE COUNTY GUIDE HARTFORD TIMES PRESS • WASHINGTON COUNTY DAILY NEWS • WASHINGTON COUNTY POST L E A D I N G T H E W A Y I N C O M M U N I T Y J O U R N A L I S M F O R N E A R L Y 5 0 Y E A R S Did You Know We Are a Part of… By ANDREW WAGNER Special to the Post MILWAUKEE — There are some people, even amongst their own fan base, surprised to see the Milwaukee Brewers in this position. National League Central Division Champions, own- ers of the National League's best record and, as a result, home-field advantage for at least the first two rounds of the postseason. The playoffs? Sure, the Brewers had come close last year. They finished just a game out of the mix. But the Cubs were still the Cubs; still loaded with tal- ent, still looking to prove their 2016 drought-busting World Series title wasn't a fluke and still wearing the divisional crown atop their collective heads for a third consecutive year. And with a month to go in the regular season, it looked almost certain that the crown would remain on Chicago's north side for a fourth consecutive year. The Brewers themselves didn't see things that way. From the start of spring training, they saw them- selves more than capable of bringing the Cubs' reign to an end. "The guys in this room, they've always believed that they were going to win the division," general man- ager David Stearns said amid the raucous celebra- tion in the Wrigley Field visitors' clubhouse after Milwaukee clinched the title Monday in a one-game playoff. "You never heard talk about the wild card in this room, which is pretty remarkable since we were five games back at the beginning of September. "The guys in here kept their sights on the division. That was always their goal. It served us well to keep battling and with six games left, they believed they had a chance to make some headway." That belief never wavered, either. Not when Corey Knebel went down with a knee injury. Not when Eric Thames hurt his thumb. Not when a six- game losing streak into the All-Star break allowed the Cubs to retake first place. Not even after a 13-13 record in August dropped the Brewers five games back did they start to doubt themselves. Instead, they kept grinding out victories — 18 times, to be exact, in their final 23 games — to force a one-game, winner- take-all showdown with the Cubs for the division title. Once again, the Brewers found a way to get the job done. "We understand what we needed to do in September," center fielder Lorenzo Cain said. "Our main focus was to win series, each and every one. We were able to accomplish that and towards the end, we swept two teams and found a way to win the divi- sion. "That's what we set out to do and to actually go out there and do it, it just shows the heart and the mentality that this team has. Never give up. Continue to fight each and every day in each and every at-bat. We're going to con- tinue to do that in the play- offs." And now, they're the cream of the National League and on a mission to get to the World Series for the first time since 1982. Their work, of course, is far from done. The Brewers face the Colorado Rockies, who defeated the Chicago Cubs 2-1 in a wild Wild Card Game that went 13 innings and ended early Wednesday. The Brewers start the National League Division Series with the first two games at home before playing in Colorado on Sunday. Once again, they feel like they have a shot to get all the way to the World Series, where no Brewers team has gone since 1982. "Everybody is pitching well. Everybody is healthy," Travis Shaw said. "Our confidence is high right now and confidence is a huge thing in baseball." Now the Brewers will focus on the five-game series against the Rockies. Brewers never doubted themselves Crew had sights on division title since spring training SPORTS

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