A year to the day that the Brewers staved off post-season elimination with a thrilling 4-1 victory at a juiced Miller Park in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, they finished off a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in a meaningless game that brought an end to the 2009 campaign.
What a difference a year makes.
The Brewers surprised many by moving into first place early in the season and staying atop the National League Central for much of the first half, despite nasty slumps from Bill Hall and J.J. Hardy.
Milwaukee was in good shape, thanks to its starting rotation. The starting five worked deep into games, led the league in quality starts and provided enough gumption for the Brewers' offensive attack -- paced by Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun -- to do some serious damage.
After the all-star break, though, things quickly fell apart. The skid actually started a little before the break, as the Brewers lost 25 of 32 games beginning July 1. Things went downhill thanks to the rotation's meltdown and injuries to Jeff Suppan and Dave Bush.
Making matters worse, the Brewers had little help available in the minor leagues and weren't able to pull off a move at the deadline to shore up the rotation.
Disappointment aside, Ken Macha will be back in 2010.
Macha met with general manager Doug Melvin during the weekend in St. Louis and Melvin, as expected, informed the skipper he would be back next season. Melvin also added a team option for 2011, which showed support from the GM and also prevented Macha from wearing a "lame duck" tag. "I have confidence in him," Melvin told reporters before Sunday's game. "I think he's a smart baseball guy. The qualities that made me believe he was the right guy when I hired him showed up."
Macha wrapped up his first season as Brewers manager with a 80-82 record, the first losing season in his managerial career.
Macha was Melvin's original choice for the job that went to Ned Yost in 2003 and signed a two-year deal last winter without an agent. Coming into the season, Macha had to adjust to a settled-in and tight-knit roster of young position players and a starting rotation that was missing its top two performers from a year ago.
He drew the ire of fans by regularly juggling his lineup. Rumors of a distance between him and the players began to grow as the year progressed. Still, Melvin thought Macha deserved another year and Macha was expecting to return.
"I'm fine with what happened," Macha said. "I told Doug to do whatever he thinks is best."
Said first baseman Prince Fielder: "It's cool. We have a manager we know."
Additionally, Melvin also extended invitations to bench coach Willie Randolph, hitting coach Dale Sveum, first base coach Ed Sedar and third base coach Brad Fischer.
Sveum and Randolph signed two-year contracts before the season and are both expected to be candidates for open managerial positions this winter.
Kyles, Bosio not retained: Melvin did not offer contracts to pitching coach Chris Bosio or bullpen coach Stan Kyles. Bosio took over for Bill Castro, who was fired in August. Kyles was in his first season as the team's bullpen coach and was the pitching coach at Class AAA Nashville from 2005-'08 Melvin said both men would be considered for other positions within the organization.
Principal owner Mark Attanasio said recently that team will pursue a top-level pitching coach and Melvin is making that his top priority heading into the offseason.
There has been speculation that the team will pursue former Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson, whom Macha worked with in Oakland and Randolph employed with the Mets.
Decisions to make: It's going to be a very, very busy off-season for the Brewers' brain trust. Melvin will need to do something to improve on the dismal performance from the starting rotation and decide what to do with pending free agents like Jason Kendall, Mike Cameron, Craig Counsell and Felipe Lopez. It's almost a given that J.J. Hardy's time with the Brewers organization will come to an end this winter and Corey Hart could follow.
It was quite a season for the first baseman. Fielder signed a two-year deal prior to spring training and was off-and-running. Fielder beat hometown favorite Albert Pujols and St. Louis native Howard for the Home Run Derby crown at the All-Star Game at Busch Stadium and finished the season near the top of every major offensive category.
While the 46 homers and impressive RBI total will draw the headlines, the .299 batting average is important to Fielder. He had a chance to finish at .300, but Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa called for an intentional walk in the 10th inning Sunday.
"I don't even think he knew what the stats were at the time," Macha said of LaRussa. "He was trying to win the game."
200 hits for Braun: Braun became the fourth player in team history to record 200 hits in a season when he homered Saturday against the Cardinals. He joined Cooper (three times), Paul Molitor (twice) and Robin Yount (the last Milwaukee player to do so, in 1991) as the only Brewers to accomplish the feat.
With a stolen base in the seventh inning Sunday, Braun also became the second Brewers player to finish with 20 steals and at least 30 home runs in one season.
Hoffman open to return: Even though he'll turn 42 on Oct. 13, Trevor Hoffman isn't showing many signs of wear and could be back with the Brewers next season.
He blew his fourth save of the season Sunday at St. Louis but still finished with 37 saves in 41 chances. He posted a 2-1 record and 1.70 ERA in 54 total appearances, during which opponents managed just a .186 average.
Melvin has gone on the record as saying he'd like to have Hoffman back and the future All-Star has expressed his happiness with the franchise and the city.
"I think I've made my feelings on that pretty clear," he said after the Brewers' final home game.
After the team wrapped up the season in St. Louis, Hoffman suggested that an encore was more than just a possibility.
"We're in discussions," Hoffman told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy after the game. "I think we're close to getting something done."
Hoffman's on-field performance was outstanding and he energized Miller Park crowds every time "Hells Bells" sounded at the start of the ninth inning. At the same time, his impact of the locker room can't be understated. He was a very positive veteran influence on a maturing team.
He's now recorded 14 seasons with at least 30 saves and holds the major league record with 591.
Gamel to play winter ball: Third baseman Mat Gamel will get some extra work this winter while playing in the Venezuelan Winter League, which gets underway the day after Thanksgiving. He'll be joined there by minor-league teammate Adam Heether.
Just before he heads to Venezuela, Gamel will marry his girlfriend, Julianne. The two had their first child during Spring Training.
Surgery for McGehee: After getting another opinion last week, Casey McGehee has opted to undergo surgery on his ailing right knee. McGehee met with orthopedic expert Richard Steadman while the team was in Denver and Steadman recommended a procedure to remove loose fragments in his knee.
Despite knee issues that limited his action even after he worked his way into the starting lineup. McGehee played himself into Rookie of the Year consideration -- though winning the award is unlikely, considering the Brewers spent most of the second half free-falling out of contention.
He hit .301 this season with 16 home runs and 66 RBI, despite being a bench player for the first few weeks of the season.
Team physician William Raasch will perform the surgery Tuesday.
Looper, too: Braden Looper will also undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. Looper told reporters Saturday that he began feeling discomfort as far back as spring training.
The right-hander has a $6.5 million mutual option for next season. The Brewers are expected to exercise their end of the deal, which would give Looper three days to accept or become a free agent.
In 34 starts this season, Looper went 14-7 with a 5.22 ERA. He also allowed a career-high 39 home runs.
On the farm: The Brewers have five players participating in the Arizona Fall League, including first-round draft choice Brett Lawrie. All five are playing with the Peoria Javelinas, who open play a week from Tuesday.
Injury report: The Brewers sent 10 players to the disabled list in 2009. Those players missed a combined 500 games. David Riskie led the way with 152 games followed by Rickie Weeks, whose left wrist injury kept him out of 123 contests.
Quick hits: Hoffman's last two blown saves both came against St. Louis.... Braun and Pujols are the only players in major league history to hit 30 or more home runs in each of their first three seasons.... Melvin and Macha, along with assistant general manager Gord Ash, will meet with the media on Wednesday at Miller Park.... Despite getting knocked around in his last two outings, Jeff Suppan was allowed to start Sunday in order to extended his streak of seasons with at least 30 starts to 11.... Craig Counsell started at second base Saturday, his 90th start of the season. Hitting that milestone earned the veteran an extra $100,000 bonus.... The Brewers used 45 different players this season (22 position players, 23 pitchers).... Milwaukee went 21-26-6 in series play. The Brewers recorded 10 sweeps and were swept seven times.... The Brewers are one of just three teams with winning records at Busch Stadium, which opened in 2007.... Fielder's two home runs Sunday have him five multi-homer games this season and 17 for his career.
Right around the corner: The Brewers open the 2010 season in 183 days against Colorado at Miller Park.
Final leaders: (Offense) AVG -- Braun .320; HR -- Fielder 46; RBI -- Fielder 141; Strikeouts -- Cameron, 154. (Pitching) Victories -- Looper, 14; Losses -- Gallardo/Suppan, 12; IP -- Looper, 194 2/3; Strikeouts -- Gallardo, 204; Walks -- Gallardo, 94.
National League Central standings (Final): 1, St. Louis, 91-71; 2, Chicago, 83-78 (-7½); 3, Milwaukee, 80-82 (-11); 4, Cincinnati, 78-84 (-13); 5, Houston, 74-88 (-17); 6, Pittsburgh, 62-99 (-28½)
