Having fun yet?
The Milwaukee Brewers can’t quite decide how to feel as they hang awkwardly in this NL Central turtle race with the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.
“Obviously, you would like to have an eight-game lead going into September,” veteran Brewers outfielder Geoff Jenkins said. “But why would that be fun? We just have to keep battling, and hopefully we can get on a hot streak and [the Cubs] are not.”
The Brewers, who had spent 125 days in first place, surrendered the lead to the Cubs on Friday night. They snapped a five-game losing streak Saturday, but suffered a crushing loss Sunday at Miller Park. They blew an early 5-0 lead and lost 7-6 to the Reds. Milwaukee starting pitchers are 2-10 with a 6.90 earned-run average in the last 20 games.
Manager Ned Yost, who saw his team jump out to a 24-10 record to begin the season, insists he is enjoying watching his enigmatic club. The Brewers are 39-51 since that auspicious start.
“I’m having a hard time staying away from the stadium,” Yost said. “I’m here by 10 [in the morning], waiting for them to get here. It is fun.
“For these young kids, this is kind of the first time they have been through this,” said Yost, in his fifth season as the Brewers’ manager. “You can see that when things are going really well, they are relaxed. When things are tough … you know, they are really, really trying hard. But for the most part it’s a blast.”
Miller Park has been sold out for 26 games this season, attracting fans for more than the Sausage Race.
“The expectations from our fans are probably the same as the expectations we have,” Yost said. “We haven’t played over .500 ball in the last 13 years. We feel that we are capable of doing it. We want to win this division. We feel we can compete with the Cubs and we can compete with the Cardinals. The Cardinals got right back in [the race] quickly, and the Reds are playing pretty well now. So things happen quickly, especially in this division.”
The Brewers and Cubs face each other in one more series, a three-game set beginning Aug. 30 at Wrigley Field.
“We can’t worry about that,” Jenkins said. “We have a ton of games to play before we play the Cubs. Obviously, [fans] are looking forward to that. But we’ve got a dogfight on our hands. We have three teams who are going to battle each other to the end. Why would you have it any other way?”
Jenkins hit a three-run homer Saturday night to the delight of Milwaukee fans, many of whom are growing skeptical of their team’s chances to win the division.
“It’s hard to be good all of the time,” Jenkins said.
Yost apparently has his eye on the Cubs as the team to beat in the division.
“The Cubs are a very, very solid team. They have veteran leadership on that team,” Yost said. “They have a great coaching staff and a great manager. They have a lot of good things going for them too.”
The Brewers own the best home record in the National League with a 40-25 mark. They begin a nine-game, 11-day road trip Monday to Arizona, San Francisco and Chicago. Milwaukee is 23-36 on the road.
“It’s kind of good that there is some pressure,” said Brewers All-Star first baseman Prince Fielder, who has 38 homers. “Without the pressure, it wouldn’t be fun. You want to be on your ‘A’ game every day.”
“We had a little rough patch here and hopefully we can break through now and just get on track,” Jenkins said. “We are the same team that has won all year and done a great job. We are right in the thick of things. … It’s not like the season is over because we had a bad stretch. It is there to be had.”
While Cubs fans have been waiting since 1908 for a World Series title, the Brewers have never won one, losing their only appearance in 1982.
“I’m happy that [the young Brewers] haven’t been here through all of the rough times that I’ve had, and what this organization has been through,” Jenkins said. “But we need to recognize that this is a chance of a lifetime. This is what you dream about, to have a postseason run and get to the playoffs and do some damage. We definitely need to step up.”
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fmitchell@tribune.com
