|
Looking at an overview of what the Brewers did this year it is clear that they are a sub-par offensive team with great pitching and defense.
Even in the area of team speed, the Brewers weren't as good this season. They did finish second in stolen bases but with a success rate that was just over 63%. The teams top base stealer- Pat Rondeau- was caught stealing (21 times) more than he was successful (19 SB's.) The next two- Chad Brown, who stole 16 bases and had a 67% success rate, and Bobby Erbakan, whole stole 11 with a 92% success rate- helped balance out the rate a bit. But overall the team would have been better off running less. (In fact, I kept adjusting the strategies for the team to encourage a more conservative approach in this area.)
Interestingly the team played better on the road than at home. Given that Jacksonville will have the home field advantage in the WS, this might not be bad news for the Brewers. (Although, as you will see below, the Wolf Pack were a very good home team.)
The Brewers also fared much better against right-handed pitching. And this could be a real factor in the WS as Jacksonville has only 1 left-handed pitcher on their post-season roster, and he is probably the worst pitcher they have.
You will see below that Jacksonville was a very good team in a mostly well-rounded way. They have a dynamic offense and also were very good at preventing runs with a great bullpen and great defense. Their starting staff is not terribly good and this is an area where the Brewers should have a distinct advantage.
If the Brewers hope to win this series they will need to find a way to score runs early against the Wolf Pack's mediocre starting pitching and their pitching staff will need to continue to do what they did all season against a very potent offense.
I would have to say that the Brewers are the distinct under-dog in this series. And, in fact, the SJL has been the dominant league so far in the WPK's short history, having won every championship in league history.
But, I can see a way that the Brewers could pull this off. If the Brewers do manage to win it will probably be in a long, low-scoring series. Otherwise they might find themselves being blown out quickly again as they were against the Columbus Whalers in last year's WPK World Series.
|