Brewers Carry 2018 Magic into Start of 2019 Season

All photos of 2019 Brewers Home Opener available on Flickr.

Last week Thursday was my first regular season game attended in the month of March as the Brewers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 in their home opener at Miller Park.  It was the first Brewers home opener victory in 5 years and brings my record up to 5-7 in openers attended.  A forecast in the 50s and a day off of work with no kids spelled an early start to tailgating for me, my wife, my brother, and sister-in-law.  Opening Day is always the best tailgating day to see how over the top some people get with their setups after a long winter of anticipation.  I did not see the usual truck hauling the pay-per-squat Port-a-John, but there was a couple next to us that literally bolted a tent into the ground and brought their own smoker.  With the elaborate smorgasboard they had and their eagerness to talk to all passersby, it was pretty clear they got stood up by some friends but were making the best of it.  Before we let things get too out of hand, we made sure to make it inside in time to see the starting lineups and what we assumed would be the unveiling of the 2018 NL Central Champion banner.  Much to our disappointment, the banner was already displayed and no mention was made about it in any announcement during the game.

After a few years of improvements ranging in scale, this year was more the status quo at Miller Park.  Mr. Attanasio clearly had spent enough money in the offseason renovating the spring training facility and fielding the highest opening day payroll in franchise history to make any substantial improvements to Miller Park, and I don't blame him.  There were a few token concessions additions this year, but the only one worth noting is a switch from Korbel Brandy to Central Standard, a local craft distillery.  Although Wisconsin has a national reputation for cleaning out entire metropolitan area's worth of Korbel for any major road sporting event, it was refreshing to see the switch to support the local distiller to keep up with the craft beer influx in the ballpark over the last few years.  With Double Old Fashioneds in hand, we made our way up to our usual club seats for the game.  We spent about 5 innings in our seats down the RF line, and the remainder of the game amongst the chaos that is the SKYY Lounge.

As I mentioned, the Brewers came away with a 5-4 win on Opening Day.  The Cards got the scoring started in the 2nd with back-to-back homers by two of the most quintessential Cardinals hitters, Kolten Wong and Harrison Bader.  Leave it to St. Louis to have their 7-8 hitters, who would most likely be utility players in 75% of the league, hit bombs.  Moose Tacos got a run back with a jack in the 2nd, and then Christian Yelich picked up right where he left off in the 3rd with a 3-run homer.  Thursday would be his first of 4 consecutive days homering to start the season, which set a franchise record and ties the all-time MLB record.  Pitcher Jhoulys Chacin, unquestionably the ace of the staff last year, pitched into the 6th and added a homerun to boot.  Speaking of players the picked up where they left off, Josh Hader through 21 consecutive fastballs over 2 innings of work to pick up his first dominant save of the season.

The Brewers would go on to take 3 of 4 from the team I think will take 2nd in the division and picked to win the 2nd wild card.  It was not an easy series, but the entire team (with the possible exception of Orlando Arcia) seems to have rekindled the magic they had in September and October last year and brought it into this season.  It was evident the effect that returning the entire starting lineup has on the chemistry and grit of this team.  The weekend left me with 3 major things to watch for the season:
1.  Will Jesus Aguilar approach anything even close to the season he had last year?  My money is on no but I hope he can prove me wrong.  With top prospect 2B Keston Hiura lurking in AAA and Shaw's ability to play 1st, Aguilar may be destined for a platoon role by mid-season.
2.  The young rotation.  I feel pretty good about Burnes and Woodruff in the rotation, I think they'll both take major strides this year.  But I am nervous about Peralta in the rotation.  I don't see how someone who throws 90% fastballs and barely has a usable 2nd pitch can survive in the rotation.  If and when Nelson rejoins the team, I would hope he returns to the bullpen where he is best suited.
3.  Ryan Braun (or whoever hits 3rd in the lineup) needs to step up and have a huge year.  It was already clear even from just these 4 games that Yelich will be getting the Barry Bonds/Bryce Harper treatment all season, so the guy who hits behind him will have to pick up a lot of slack.  Braun had a couple of clutch hits and 4 RBI over the weekend, and you could literally see his astonishment on TV when the Cardinals continually walked Yelich to get to him.  Still maintaining that trademark confidence in his age 35 season, combined with a launch-angle swing overhaul, might give the fans one more exciting vintage Braun season in the twilight of his career.

The 2019 Championship Campaign is off and running!

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 4/1/19:
Brewers 3-1; 3 @ Reds, 3 v. Cubs, 3 @ Angels
Twins 2-1; 2 @ Royals, 3 @ Phillies, 2 @ Mets

2019 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 0
Peter - 4