Major League Baseball

Brewers avoid another long postseason wait

Published Sep. 25, 2011 12:36 a.m. ET

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Doug Melvin's bold offseason moves helped Milwaukee earn a playoff berth for the second time in four years.

Now back in the postseason, the Brewers are hoping to stick around for a while.

Melvin, who became Milwaukee's general manager in 2002, acquired 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum over the span of two weeks in December by trading away the top talent in Milwaukee's farm system. The bolstered starting rotation played a key role in the Brewers' first division title since 1982.

Once Melvin got the OK from owner Mark Attanasio, he pounced.

''When Greinke and Marcum became available, we said we had to go for it. We had to put our thinking hats on, act quickly, be prepared,'' Melvin said. ''Mark gave us the ability to go out and push our payroll to 90 million or whatever it is. Who cares.''

The Brewers also kept free-agent-to-be Prince Fielder instead of dealing him, setting up a ''win now'' scenario. And it paid off.

Next up, the Brewers are hoping to secure home-field advantage for the first round. They will be all set if they finish ahead of Arizona in the standings.

''Home-field advantage would obviously be huge because of what it's like to play here,'' Brewers right fielder Corey Hart said. ''Hopefully things go our way. We're going to push and try to get it done.''

If Milwaukee and Arizona are tied at the end of the season, the Diamondbacks hold the tiebreaker because they won the season series 4-3. The loser almost certainly will be headed to Philadelphia.

Milwaukee's terrific record in Miller Park has been a major factor in its run. The Brewers entered Saturday's game against Florida with a major league-best 53-23 home record and will be the only postseason team to have a losing record on the road.

That's why the Brewers are focusing on the final days of the regular season, ignoring the lingering smell of champagne and carpet cleaner in the clubhouse Saturday, along with a stray pair or two of goggles.

''Last time the Brewers got to the playoffs, I got to witness it, but from the opposing clubhouse. I can remember being back in the clubhouse when they clinched, having it sound like you were in the middle of the infield it was so loud,'' Brewers third baseman Casey McGehee said. ''For three years I've been anxiously awaiting a chance to hear that again. It was incredible to be in the middle of it and just kind of taking it in. It was unbelievable.''

Milwaukee secured the NL Central title when Ryan Braun hit a three-run homer in a 4-1 victory over the Marlins on Friday night, and the Cubs beat the Cardinals 5-1 in St. Louis. The Brewers had to wait more than 20 minutes for the end of the Cardinals' game before the party began.

But Melvin and Attanasio had a plan for this team from the start.

''(They) did an unbelievable job of putting this team together,'' rookie manager Ron Roenicke said. ''I knew that core group. I knew we had a good team, but I knew we had some holes. But Doug addressed that.''

Melvin also added depth in the offseason, bringing in Nyjer Morgan, Mark Kotsay and reliever Takashi Saito. His final big move was trading for Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez at the All-Star break.

''We knew we traded for good, quality pitchers,'' Melvin said. ''Pitching is the name of the game. Then we got K-Rod at the All-Star game and our next move was to just tell Doug Melvin to get the hell out of the way and let them play.''

The moves have left a big impression on Melvin's team.

''Doug has the ability and the freedom to go after what he wants,'' Brewers starter Randy Wolf said. ''In 2010, it wasn't a good year for us. In the offseason, to get a guy like Marcum, to get a guy like Greinke by trade, not free agents. They weren't in the bidding war for Cliff Lee, but to get guys like those two pitchers, it's pretty remarkable.''

And they're two reasons why Milwaukee believes this postseason run will last longer than four games, like 2008 did. The Brewers snapped a 26-year playoff drought that season, but needed a furious rally in the final week and a Mets collapse to win the NL wild card.

''In '08, we were so excited just to get there,'' Hart said. ''I don't think we really thought we'd go to the World Series, we were just so excited to make the playoffs. This year, we have a team that feels like it's not just getting there, we feel like we can do some good things when we get there.''

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