Brewers’ one-for-all attitude was key in surging to postseason.
When you’re running a baseball team, there’s no such thing as having too many good players.
When you’re one of those players vying for playing time, it can be a different story sometimes.
That was the situation the Milwaukee Brewers faced after adding third baseman Mike Moustakas and second baseman Jonathan Schoop before the July 31 trade deadline, as well as veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson at the Aug. 31 waiver-trade deadline. Manager Craig Counsell had more “regular” players than lineup spots, forcing him to pick and choose his starters on a nightly basis.
Rather than cause conflict, however, the Brewers developed an all-for-one attitude that helped push them to the National League Central crown, with a 20-7 record in September and eight consecutive victories to close the season, including the game No. 163 showdown with the Chicago Cubs.
“(Counsell) has had a tough job, I think,” said Travis Shaw, who went from everyday third baseman to seeing more action at second base with the infield overload. “He has had a lot of guys, a lot of options, especially in the lineup. And he has to keep everybody happy.
“I think he’s done a good job of that. Mixing and matching with different matchups and keeping everybody fresh and keeping everybody in there, it’s a lot harder than people think.”
As for adopting the right attitude as players, Shaw said, “I think everybody knew once they made those acquisitions that there were going to have to be some sacrifices. Everybody they picked up is an everyday player but there just wasn’t enough spots.
“(Counsell) did a good job of kind of communicating that with us as soon as it happened, that it’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve, and there’s some days you’re not going to play. But I think everybody realized that it made us a deeper lineup, a better team, and internally there was no grumbling. Nobody was upset.
“Just, if you’re in there, do what you can. And if you’re not in there, you’re probably going to get in there at some point, so be ready.”
No one was happier that conflicts were avoided over playing time than Counsell, who commended his players for their selfless approach.
“It started really in the off-season when we acquired Christian (Yelich) and Lorenzo (Cain) and kind of what it did to Jesús Aguilar to start spring training (in terms of making the roster),” Counsell said. “Guys were going to have to make some sacrifices.
“The next big sacrifice that was made was Travis, when we acquired ‘Moose.’ Travis said, ‘I’m happy to play second base. Let’s go. I want to do it. Let’s get out there and start working right now. So, he was the first one that kind of started it and said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do whatever you want.’ That makes it easier as an example for everybody to follow.”
A different point of view
While the Brewers and their fans obviously have been delighted with the way Game 2 starter Jhoulys Chacín has thrown the ball this season — he entered with a 15-8 record, 3.50 earned run average and a major-league leading 35 starts under his belt — a close friend of his has been rooting for him from afar.
Until Friday, that is.
Carlos González, who started in right field for the Rockies, joined the Colorado organization in 2008 and started getting his first real taste of the major leagues in 2009 — the same year Chacín broke in as a young reliever with the team.
They remained Rockies teammates through 2014 while also sharing the commonality of being from the same hometown of Maracaibo, Venezuela.
“Jhoulys and myself, we played a lot of years together,” González said. “We’re really close friends. We always wish each other the best. But tonight, I’m going to pull for myself more than anything.
“I know his family and my family back home, they’re going to be watching us. I feel like over the years I can say that Maracaibo is the biggest Rockies town more than Milwaukee because (Andrés) Galarraga and all the years that I played here. There’s a lot of fans who support our team.
“Jhoulys used to play for us, and I don’t think they make that switch so quick. They’re going to be on my side today.”
González and Chacín both established themselves as bona fide majorleaguers with Colorado — González went on to be named an all-star three times in a five-year span from 2012-’16 and Chacín twice started 31 games and finished just short of pitching 200 innings around that same time frame.
Their paths diverged late in spring training in 2015, when Chacín was released by the Rockies after missing most of the 2014 season with a rightshoulder issue.
While González’s own productivity has waned due to age (he turns 33 on Oct. 17) and injury, Chacín is now pitching maybe as well as he has in his entire career.
He pitched for five different organizations from 2015-’17 before signing a two-year, $15.5 million free-agent deal with the Brewers last Dec. 21.
“He’s showing the young version of Chacín when he was with us, winning almost 15 games as a rookie and dominating the league, and he got back to that level,” González said. “He should feel really happy because he worked so hard to get back to this point.”
Miley to start Game 3
After going with a bullpen day in Game 1 and starting Chacínon short rest in Game 2, Counsell is going the more traditional route with left-hander Wade Miley in Game 3 on Sunday in Denver. Miley actually will be pitching with a week of rest before that assignment.
Counsell said the only possible change would be if Miley were needed to pitch out of the bullpen in Game 2. Miley missed half the season with groin and oblique injuries but was quite effective in his 16 starts, going 5-2 with a 2.57 earned run average.
Starting Miley against the Rockies — especially at Coors Field — is a challenge because Colorado was the topscoring team in the majors against lefthanders (258 runs), with a .799 OPS.
But, thanks in large part to developing a cutter, Miley has been solid against right-handed hitters, limiting them to a.240 average, three home runs and a .645 OPS. That’s not far off his splits against lefties (.225/0/.605).
“Look, I believe in Wade Miley, and I believe in Gio Gonzalez and getting outs,” Counsell said. “Wade has been really good against right-handed hitters this year, so I’m very comfortable with it.”