Pressure's off as Yost-less Brewers unravel
MILWAUKEE - Not too long ago, the three-game series between the Cubs and Brewers that starts tonight at Wrigley Field figured to go a long way in deciding the NL Central title.
Well, you can forget that.
The division has been decided with the Cubs now 8 games ahead of the Brewers with less than two weeks to go following Monday's 6-1 win over Houston at Miller Park.
With their magic number down to 6, the clincher for the Cubs could happen as soon as Thursday should they sweep the Brewers.
"We've talked about it and we'd love to be able to do it at home," Mark DeRosa said. "Last year we did it in Cincinnati and it was just as sweet, but for the home fans to enjoy it at their ballpark would be special for them and the players."
The Brewers, who once looked to be a sure thing for at least the NL wild card, have played their way into big trouble - so big that manager Ned Yost was fired on Monday afternoon and replaced on an interim bases by third base coach Dale Sveum.
"The club is just not performing close to the way they performed earlier," Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said. "This was, I guess, the only thing we thought had a chance of jump-starting the club."
The Brewers are tied with Philadelphia for first place in the wild-card standings after blowing the 5-game lead they had on Sept. 1 by going 3-11.
The final straw for Melvin and Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio was the four-game sweep at the hands of the Phillies over the weekend that saw Milwaukee outscored 26-10. The Brewers have been outscored 75-38 in September.
"We were in control of our destiny and we're no longer in that position," Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun said. "It's not other teams playing good. It's us playing bad."
Alfonso Soriano said the Cubs can't be concerned with what's going on in the Brewers' clubhouse.
"They have a very good record and a very good team, but we don't know how they're going to play now with a new manager," Soriano said. "The Mets, they fired Willie (Randolph) and the team played better. It depends how the players want to play, you never know."
The Cubs have won four in a row after dropping eight of nine, and they've done it in dramatic fashion with two 1-run wins in St. Louis, Carlos Zambrano's no-hitter on Sunday and Ted Lilly's 1-hitter over 7 innings on Monday.
"The no-hitter and being part of history is special, but I think the big thing for us is to win four games in a row after we struggled so bad," DeRosa said.
The now desperate Brewers have aces CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets lined up to face the Cubs tonight and Wednesday. But that's how it was back in late July to start the four-game series in Milwaukee that the Cubs ultimately swept, turning a 1-game hold on first place into a 5-game bulge.
The Brewers haven't been closer than 3 games since then.
"I hope we have the same feeling and play the same way," Soriano said.