Latest / The Craig Way Show / Brewers' Historic Season, MLB Postseason Predictions and Storylines with Hunter Baumgardt

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Brewers' Historic Season, MLB Postseason Predictions and Storylines with Hunter Baumgardt · The Craig Way Show

0:05
Speaker 1: Rolling back on this Wednesday afternoon as the Major League
0:09
Speaker 1: Baseball playoff games continue. Of course, we've got Phillies Braves
0:13
Speaker 1: in progress here this afternoon. We've got three more wildcard
0:16
Speaker 1: series with game twos on the way here to dive
0:19
Speaker 1: in and talk about the MLB postseason with us. is
0:22
Speaker 1: a returning guest, our friend from the Milwaukee Brewers radio team.
0:25
Speaker 1: He's a reporter there with Fox Sports Radio Wisconsin. He
0:28
Speaker 1: hosts their pre- and post-game coverage as well. Hunter Baumgart,
0:31
Speaker 1: what a ride it's been for you guys this season
0:33
Speaker 1: up there at American Family Field.
0:36
Speaker 2: Jake, thanks for having me. It's been an absolute blast
0:39
Speaker 2: of a season. You know, you come into the season,
0:43
Speaker 2: they had won 97 games last year for the first
0:45
Speaker 2: time in franchise history. They had gotten the best record
0:48
Speaker 2: in baseball, came in as the one seed, got to
0:50
Speaker 2: the NLCS.
0:51
Speaker 3: And you come into this year and you think, well,
0:53
Speaker 3: the only.
0:53
Speaker 2: Way to really top that is probably to go further
0:56
Speaker 2: in the postseason and get to that World Series. The
0:58
Speaker 2: Birds have never won a World Series. They haven't been
1:00
Speaker 2: there since 82. So that was probably what you were
1:04
Speaker 2: kind of thinking going into the year. And a lot
1:06
Speaker 2: of people were like, yeah, they can be good, especially locally.
1:09
Speaker 2: It's like, yeah, they'll compete for the division, but it's
1:12
Speaker 2: hard to win 97 games. Well, they came back and
1:14
Speaker 2: they won 103. And so it's been absolutely incredible. This
1:18
Speaker 2: team is so solid top to bottom. Um, Pat Murphy
1:21
Speaker 2: is an absolute joy to cover. So boy, now it's just,
1:24
Speaker 2: can you do it in October? They got, you know,
1:27
Speaker 2: won a series last year for the first time since 2018.
1:30
Speaker 2: See what happens this year.
1:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, the words you used over the summer when we
1:34
Speaker 1: talked about the Brewers, when they really started to get rolling,
1:37
Speaker 1: was steady.
1:38
Speaker 4: This team is steady. They're consistent.
1:39
Speaker 1: You don't set a franchise record in wins without that.
1:43
Speaker 1: But the big question on everybody's mind is why can
1:47
Speaker 1: this group be the one to take it a step further?
1:51
Speaker 4: What do you kind of read into that?
1:54
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a good question.
1:56
Speaker 2: And a lot of people, you know, that I hear
1:59
Speaker 2: answer that question or talk about it are saying, well,
2:02
Speaker 2: you know, just this vibe is different.
2:04
Speaker 3: Or maybe they're.
2:04
Speaker 2: Asking players, what's the, you know, what's different about the
2:07
Speaker 2: vibe this year? Or I think even Pat Murphy was
2:09
Speaker 2: asked that yesterday when we talked to him at the workout.
2:12
Speaker 2: And vibes are great. And it's a great word. And
2:17
Speaker 2: especially like, I feel like our age group uses that
2:19
Speaker 2: word a lot and that's fine. But this team to me,
2:22
Speaker 2: why is this team different? it's not because of the
2:25
Speaker 2: it's last year was kind of a magical ride. It
2:27
Speaker 2: was the year after Bob Euchre had passed. And so
2:30
Speaker 2: there was like kind of like the Euchre magic narrative
2:32
Speaker 2: and they were also good.
2:33
Speaker 3: They won 12 in a row.
2:35
Speaker 2: They won, you know, they, they had these long winning streaks,
2:37
Speaker 2: 10 in a row, like they are 14. I don't
2:40
Speaker 2: know exactly. I can't remember exactly, but they had two
2:42
Speaker 2: really long winning streaks and that was magical. And some
2:44
Speaker 2: of the ways they are winning was incredible. But this
2:47
Speaker 2: year it kind of, all that is aside to me,
2:52
Speaker 2: This year, this team is just solid top to bottom.
2:57
Speaker 2: They have a really good bullpen. They have a really
3:00
Speaker 2: good lineup. And they have really good starting pitching. And
3:03
Speaker 2: they have really good defense. And it's just a really
3:06
Speaker 2: good baseball team. And so when people ask me that question,
3:09
Speaker 2: I'm like, this team is just a really good baseball team.
3:12
Speaker 2: They have guys at the back end. They have a top...
3:15
Speaker 2: They're one and two starters that'll start this weekend against
3:17
Speaker 2: either San Diego or Chicago.
3:19
Speaker 3: And then you've got the defense at all.
3:22
Speaker 2: Whether it's Cooper Pratt, who came up this year at shortstop,
3:25
Speaker 2: or Joey Ortiz, who then moved over to third base,
3:27
Speaker 2: is fantastic defensively.
3:29
Speaker 3: And Bryce Turing is a platinum glove winner. Jake Bowers
3:31
Speaker 3: is having a career year at first.
3:33
Speaker 2: And Luis Lara, who came up in early July, making
3:36
Speaker 2: a name for himself in exceptional defense.
3:37
Speaker 3: Or Sal Freelick, if you put him out there, gold
3:40
Speaker 3: glove winner himself.
3:40
Speaker 2: And then Garrett Mitchell, he's playing longer into the season
3:43
Speaker 2: than he ever has and showing his true potential. And then,
3:45
Speaker 2: of course, the superstar who's budding in front of our
3:48
Speaker 2: eyes in Jackson Curio, That's your lineup. And then, oh, yeah,
3:50
Speaker 2: Jacob Mizorowski, Logan Henderson's been one of the best pitchers
3:54
Speaker 2: in baseball this year. And then you have the bullpen
3:56
Speaker 2: with Emre Uribe and Trevor McGill closing it on the
3:58
Speaker 2: back end when you also have Aaron Ashby and other
4:01
Speaker 2: guys who can fill in in those middle innings.
4:03
Speaker 3: I just think top to bottom, this is such.
4:05
Speaker 2: A good team that that's why this can be the
4:08
Speaker 2: year because they're better. They're better than everybody at 162.
4:12
Speaker 2: Why can't they also be better than everybody in October?
4:14
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's that top to bottom nature of the roster
4:17
Speaker 1: of the bullpen. There are so many options they can
4:19
Speaker 1: turn to. You get a guy like Jake Bowers, the
4:21
Speaker 1: bat speed darling who all of a sudden emerges, puts
4:24
Speaker 1: it together over the course of a full breakout season.
4:26
Speaker 1: And oh, yeah, you can platoon him with Andrew Vaughn,
4:28
Speaker 1: who's hitting around 300. It's just it's just marvelous what
4:32
Speaker 1: they build and what they did this year. And yet
4:34
Speaker 1: now it boils down to best of five. and the
4:36
Speaker 1: Brewers wait for the winner of this Cubs and Padres series.
4:40
Speaker 1: I was going to ask you who you would rather
4:43
Speaker 1: face from a Brewer perspective. To me, the obvious answer
4:47
Speaker 1: is Chicago. But to you, I don't know if there's
4:50
Speaker 1: a different perspective on it just based on the way
4:52
Speaker 1: the pitching kind of maps out and honestly how good
4:55
Speaker 1: the Padres looked in all phases last night and for
4:57
Speaker 1: most of September.
4:59
Speaker 3: Yeah, San Diego is that hot team.
5:01
Speaker 2: There's always that hot team that comes in to October
5:05
Speaker 2: and they're red hot. And look, as much as the
5:09
Speaker 2: Padres are getting kind of that, they're the hot wildcard team.
5:13
Speaker 2: There's almost always a hot wildcard team that comes in
5:16
Speaker 2: that just takes the lead by storm in September.
5:17
Speaker 4: And the Brewers always run into them. The Brewers always
5:20
Speaker 4: run into them.
5:21
Speaker 3: It does seem that way.
5:22
Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, there was a point there where every
5:25
Speaker 2: team they had lost to in the, I think up
5:27
Speaker 2: until the Mets in 24, every team, so there's only
5:31
Speaker 2: been one year From what I remember, there's only been
5:33
Speaker 2: one year where the Brewers have lost to a team
5:36
Speaker 2: in the playoffs and they have not made the World Series,
5:39
Speaker 2: that team.
5:39
Speaker 3: There's only one year.
5:41
Speaker 2: So you think about that, you think about 18 there
5:43
Speaker 2: in the NLCS against the Dodgers, Nationals in 19, Braves
5:46
Speaker 2: in 21, Diamondbacks, the sixth seed in 23, the Mets,
5:50
Speaker 2: the sixth seed in 24, didn't make it all the
5:52
Speaker 2: way there, but they obviously got past the Brewers.
5:54
Speaker 3: They were the one team that didn't.
5:55
Speaker 2: Than last year on lcs against the dodgers so you're
5:58
Speaker 2: right they do seem to hit that hot team it
6:00
Speaker 2: seems they might this time depending on what happens tonight
6:03
Speaker 2: and maybe tomorrow for brewers fans that series against the
6:08
Speaker 2: cubs last year was incredibly emotional uh i think for
6:12
Speaker 2: the team it was emotional pat murphy admits that still
6:15
Speaker 2: um that they really didn't bounce back from the emotions
6:17
Speaker 2: of that five game series against the cubs because of
6:19
Speaker 2: craig council and pat murphy and not that.
6:22
Speaker 3: They don't like each other. They're actually really good friends.
6:25
Speaker 2: But, of course, Brewers fandom saw their guy go across
6:28
Speaker 2: the street to the rival.
6:29
Speaker 3: And so I say this all the time.
6:32
Speaker 2: When I walked into the building for Game 5 last
6:35
Speaker 2: year in October between the Brewers and the Cubs, it
6:36
Speaker 2: felt like the weight of the world was on that game.
6:39
Speaker 3: It just felt like the Brewers absolutely had to win it.
6:41
Speaker 2: And I think that emotion carried over a little bit
6:43
Speaker 2: to maybe the stagnant nature of their offense in the NLCS.
6:48
Speaker 2: This year, I think it'd be a little less emotional
6:51
Speaker 2: if you played the Cubs. It would still be emotional,
6:53
Speaker 2: but I think you'd learn from that last year. And
6:56
Speaker 2: the Cubs are not as, yeah, they're just not as,
7:01
Speaker 2: I still think they're maybe as good as last year.
7:02
Speaker 2: I think that bullpen is obviously has been hindering them
7:05
Speaker 2: all season long. They don't have that huge one-two punch
7:08
Speaker 2: by any means in the rotation. The Brewers went nine
7:10
Speaker 2: and four against the Cubs this year. So all that
7:13
Speaker 2: being said, I don't think the Cubs are winning the
7:14
Speaker 2: series in San Diego. And I think the Padres and
7:16
Speaker 2: Brewers are probably going to play in the NLDS starting Saturday.
7:19
Speaker 3: And it's, it's a little bit of a tougher matchup.
7:21
Speaker 3: The Padres went.
7:21
Speaker 2: Four and two against the Brewers this year in the
7:23
Speaker 2: regular season, including a sweep at Petco park. Now the
7:26
Speaker 2: Brewers didn't play well in that series. They lost two
7:28
Speaker 2: of those three by one run. So I don't think
7:29
Speaker 2: it's necessarily going to tell you all of what's going
7:31
Speaker 2: to happen if these two teams meet starting this weekend.
7:35
Speaker 2: But on the other hand, I do think that Brewers
7:37
Speaker 2: are going to have to face a hot team, but again,
7:41
Speaker 2: Brewers are really good in all facets of the game.
7:43
Speaker 2: They're going to come in rested with their guys ready
7:45
Speaker 2: to rock and roll. So I like the Brewers' chances
7:48
Speaker 2: against anybody.
7:49
Speaker 1: We're talking MLB postseason with Hunter Baumgart, Brewers reporter and
7:52
Speaker 1: pregame host with Fox Sports Radio in Wisconsin. Four wildcard
7:57
Speaker 1: series started yesterday. Four teams could be eliminated here tonight.
8:02
Speaker 1: Of the one-to-nothing leads that we see across the wildcard
8:05
Speaker 1: series right now, which one feels maybe the safest and
8:09
Speaker 1: the shakiest? Ooh.
8:11
Speaker 3: Ooh, that's a good question.
8:14
Speaker 2: As far as leads go, like teams that are up 1-0,
8:18
Speaker 2: I would say the safest is the Padres. For the
8:23
Speaker 2: Cubs to win the next two games, it is going
8:25
Speaker 2: to take. San Diego was rocking last night. The home
8:29
Speaker 2: runs right away. It just seems that San Diego is
8:32
Speaker 2: clearly going up, and it seems the Cubs are going down,
8:35
Speaker 2: and this might be the end of the Cubs season.
8:37
Speaker 2: So I would say they are probably the safest. The most,
8:41
Speaker 2: the shakiest lead, I'd probably say White Sox just because
8:45
Speaker 2: I'm like, they're fun to watch and they're a fun
8:49
Speaker 2: team to follow and kind of that underdog to root for.
8:53
Speaker 2: But I just, this is totally new to them and
8:56
Speaker 2: they're kind of, you know, figuring out their way. And
8:58
Speaker 2: so I think they're probably, I guess, the shakiest lead.
9:01
Speaker 2: I think the Yankees probably finish off the Red Sox.
9:04
Speaker 2: I think the Phillies could put, it just, it kind
9:06
Speaker 2: of depends on what happens obviously the rest of today. Um,
9:10
Speaker 2: but I think I'd say if I were to say
9:12
Speaker 2: the shakiest lead, the White Sox, simply because they're the
9:14
Speaker 2: only road team that won yesterday. And so all the
9:17
Speaker 2: other home teams have the lead right now coming into
9:19
Speaker 2: today and the Astros could win two at home.
9:23
Speaker 1: A lot of our listeners are going to be tuned
9:25
Speaker 1: into that game, which is starting in just a few
9:27
Speaker 1: minutes from now, actually. And look, the, the vibes couldn't
9:30
Speaker 1: be much worse in Houston at the moment. You've got
9:33
Speaker 1: some really slow starts in, in big games for the
9:37
Speaker 1: Astros this year, especially in game one with aj blue
9:40
Speaker 1: boss struggling the puzzling move i thought from joe espada
9:43
Speaker 1: turning the ball over to brian king in the high
9:45
Speaker 1: leverage spot early to try and keep it close that
9:47
Speaker 1: obviously didn't work out and then you've got some comments
9:51
Speaker 1: from sosa and a couple of other players post game
9:53
Speaker 1: about how the fans maybe weren't as loud weren't as
9:56
Speaker 1: raucous maybe almost calling them entitled in certain ways, but
10:00
Speaker 1: it doesn't reflect too well on either the fan base
10:03
Speaker 1: or the players who obviously didn't perform in the matchup yesterday.
10:07
Speaker 1: With Hunter Brown on the mound against Sean Burke tonight,
10:11
Speaker 1: it feels like a much bigger game than normal for
10:14
Speaker 1: the Astros, and I'm not just saying that because it's
10:16
Speaker 1: an elimination game.
10:17
Speaker 4: It kind of feels big for their trajectory as a whole.
10:20
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, there's been a lot of, obviously, Dana
10:22
Speaker 3: Brown's out.
10:23
Speaker 2: Obviously, the rumors about Espada and what's going to happen
10:26
Speaker 2: after the season and just getting in at 500. Like,
10:29
Speaker 2: there's been, it's been a really, you know, you know
10:32
Speaker 2: it better than I do, but it's just the trials
10:35
Speaker 2: and tribulations that they have unfortunately had to endure this year.
10:39
Speaker 2: And you're playing a team that really doesn't know any better, right,
10:43
Speaker 2: is playing with house money. The White Sox lost 102
10:46
Speaker 2: games last year. So this team is like, hey, we're here.
10:49
Speaker 2: We might as well win a couple of games and
10:50
Speaker 2: see what could happen. So, like, they got– obviously it
10:53
Speaker 2: was disappointing for them to be one game out of
10:55
Speaker 2: that division win because they had the tiebreaker over the Guardians.
10:57
Speaker 3: They could have had that bye.
10:59
Speaker 2: So you're playing a team a little bit with house money,
11:02
Speaker 2: and obviously they got the 1-0 series lead. I don't
11:04
Speaker 2: believe any team has come back from down 1-0 to
11:07
Speaker 2: win a wild card series yet.
11:09
Speaker 3: So that would be a first if Houston were able
11:11
Speaker 3: to do that.
11:12
Speaker 2: And I just don't know if I see Houston being
11:14
Speaker 2: able to do that Is the White Sox lead the
11:17
Speaker 2: shakiest of the four?
11:19
Speaker 1: Yes.
11:19
Speaker 3: But, man, just with.
11:21
Speaker 2: How inconsistent Houston has been. I also thought it was
11:24
Speaker 2: puzzling that they used Josh Hader. Like, I get in
11:26
Speaker 2: a game you want to keep it at three runs,
11:28
Speaker 2: but that was an interesting move as well to at least,
11:31
Speaker 2: you know, maybe not save him for maybe a close
11:33
Speaker 2: or a lead today. So, just something to keep in
11:37
Speaker 2: mind there as well. So, but, boy, it is– there's
11:42
Speaker 2: nothing like playoff baseball. And, yeah, that– Not good when
11:47
Speaker 2: you have some people calling out the fans like that.
11:49
Speaker 2: That also doesn't bode well with fans, for sure.
11:52
Speaker 4: I'm with you on the hater thing.
11:53
Speaker 1: I'd have gone with somebody else and maybe gone to
11:55
Speaker 1: him if runners were on in that ninth inning and
11:58
Speaker 1: you felt like you needed him to keep the game closed.
12:00
Speaker 1: But we'll see if Houston ends up needing him in
12:03
Speaker 1: both games two and three, should they come back and
12:05
Speaker 1: turn that series around. We've got a lot more to
12:08
Speaker 1: get to with Hunter Baumgart. Let's sneak in a break,
12:11
Speaker 1: come back, and talk more MLB postseason on 13 Under
12:14
Speaker 1: the Zone and the iHeartRadio app. Great to have you
12:18
Speaker 1: with us on this Yacht Rock Wednesday. Jay Kerman in
12:21
Speaker 1: for Craig Way. And it's great to have Hunter Baumgart
12:24
Speaker 1: with us talking MLB postseason. Hunter's the Brewers pre- and
12:28
Speaker 1: post-game host with Fox Sports Radio Wisconsin.
12:31
Speaker 4: We haven't talked about the Dodgers yet.
12:32
Speaker 1: What do you see as a potential obstacle or limiting
12:37
Speaker 1: factor for them as what the oddsmakers say is a
12:41
Speaker 1: prohibitive favorite to win their third consecutive World Series?
12:44
Speaker 4: And obviously your club is one of those obstacles, the Brewers.
12:48
Speaker 1: Yeah.
12:49
Speaker 2: I think I, it's hard to win three straight championships.
12:53
Speaker 2: So maybe that gives you a little hope. Otherwise, like,
12:57
Speaker 2: I don't know, like the, the, the attitude around the Dodgers,
13:00
Speaker 2: at least in Milwaukee is obviously quite unique because it's
13:03
Speaker 2: the small market and it's, it's kind of the, yeah, well, it's,
13:07
Speaker 2: if you lose the Dodgers kind of, it is what
13:10
Speaker 2: it is.
13:10
Speaker 3: It's annoying because you know, it's just, but that's how
13:13
Speaker 3: baseball works.
13:15
Speaker 2: Um, but I do think they're a little, I don't know.
13:18
Speaker 3: It's hard for me to say they're even a little vulnerable.
13:20
Speaker 2: Like at times this year, they've looked vulnerable, but in October,
13:24
Speaker 2: they've just shown time and time again to play their best.
13:27
Speaker 2: And this time of year, and they, they're speaking of hot, they,
13:30
Speaker 2: they were hot in September and they, they, uh, kind
13:33
Speaker 2: of cruised, uh, very well.
13:36
Speaker 3: I mean, played very well down the, down the last
13:38
Speaker 3: few weeks of the season.
13:39
Speaker 2: So, uh, it is hard for me to say, especially
13:42
Speaker 2: with the acquisition of school that, uh, They are not
13:46
Speaker 2: a favorite over whoever they play. Does home field advantage,
13:49
Speaker 2: if they play the Brewers, factor into it? That's possible.
13:53
Speaker 2: Last year, unfortunately, it didn't work out for the Brewers.
13:56
Speaker 2: In that sense, they lost game one by one game
13:58
Speaker 2: and then just couldn't recover in the series. If that
14:01
Speaker 2: goes a little differently, and Pat Murphy was actually saying
14:02
Speaker 2: that yesterday, like maybe if that game one goes a.
14:04
Speaker 3: Little differently, who knows what happens last year.
14:07
Speaker 2: So, does home field advantage play to the, I think
14:10
Speaker 2: the Brewers are in a better spot now to beat
14:13
Speaker 2: the Dodgers than they were last year. I also think,
14:17
Speaker 2: you know, and if, if, you know, if, if I'm
14:19
Speaker 2: sad in a week because the Brewers somehow lost the Padres,
14:23
Speaker 2: I think the Padres, if they're hot enough, a team can,
14:27
Speaker 2: can get hot. And especially the Padres who know the
14:29
Speaker 2: Dodgers so well could be a threat. I just, If
14:33
Speaker 2: I were a betting man, would I bet against the Dodgers?
14:37
Speaker 2: Probably not because it's just hard to do that. But
14:39
Speaker 2: it's also hard to win three straight championships. And for
14:42
Speaker 2: that reason alone, maybe it's why a team gets them
14:44
Speaker 2: this year.
14:46
Speaker 1: We're talking with Hunter Baumgart from Fox Sports Radio, Wisconsin.
14:49
Speaker 1: He hosts pregame coverage of the Brewers as well as post.
14:51
Speaker 1: You can hear it on the iHeartRadio app. Personally, I
14:54
Speaker 1: love following local broadcasts in the postseason. It captures the
14:57
Speaker 1: emotion so well, and I can't wait to tune in
14:59
Speaker 1: once the Brewers start up on Saturday. We haven't talked
15:02
Speaker 1: about the American League much, and you mentioned the betting
15:05
Speaker 1: angle of things. I kind of brought that up with
15:07
Speaker 1: the Dodgers, but I thought this was interesting. reading earlier
15:11
Speaker 1: today that the Yankees have actually moved ahead of the
15:13
Speaker 1: Rays in terms of their World Series odds after winning
15:16
Speaker 1: game one of the wildcard against the Red Sox last night.
15:19
Speaker 4: Do you agree with that? Are the Rays maybe getting
15:21
Speaker 4: disrespected here?
15:22
Speaker 3: I think they're getting a little disrespected there.
15:25
Speaker 2: I think, you know, hey, when Ben Rice hits two
15:28
Speaker 2: home runs and Cam Schlittler does what he does, six
15:31
Speaker 2: and a third 10 Ks, and then you say, oh, well,
15:34
Speaker 2: they didn't even have Aaron Judge and they might have
15:36
Speaker 2: Aaron Judge coming up.
15:37
Speaker 3: Like that, I get it. I get what they're saying.
15:40
Speaker 2: And plus they're the star studded team, right? The Rays
15:42
Speaker 2: are very much the brewers of the AL and the
15:44
Speaker 2: Yankees are very much the Dodgers of the NL.
15:47
Speaker 3: So, or, you know, yeah, yeah. I think I said
15:50
Speaker 3: that right. But either way, you get what I'm saying.
15:52
Speaker 2: So I think that's, it seems that that is really
15:56
Speaker 2: the ALCS when those two, if those two meet here
15:58
Speaker 2: in the ALDS, like it's, that's, what's unfortunate. And I
16:02
Speaker 2: do hope You know, who knows how long the lockout
16:04
Speaker 2: goes and all that happened, you know, this offseason. But look,
16:09
Speaker 2: salary cap. OK, we can figure all that out. Can
16:11
Speaker 2: we just like maybe recede after the first round? Like,
16:13
Speaker 2: can we can we do something simple to like throw
16:15
Speaker 2: that in as something we do? And I saw that
16:17
Speaker 2: they were going to discuss the playoff format and they
16:19
Speaker 2: have all these different ideas. I actually love this format.
16:23
Speaker 3: I just think. the receding would be really good, like
16:26
Speaker 3: they do in the NFL, right?
16:27
Speaker 2: If you're the one seed like the Brewers and the
16:29
Speaker 2: Phillies somehow beat the Braves or whatever it is in
16:31
Speaker 2: the American League, if the White Sox win, the White
16:34
Speaker 2: Sox should play the Rays and the Yankees or Red
16:37
Speaker 2: Sox should then play Cleveland. Like that's just how this
16:40
Speaker 2: should go. And I don't really know why they didn't
16:44
Speaker 2: do that at first. I feel like that's a logical
16:46
Speaker 2: next step to this playoff format. I love six teams
16:48
Speaker 2: getting in, but I do think that that is probably
16:52
Speaker 2: a logical next step.
16:53
Speaker 3: And that would help you know.
16:54
Speaker 2: The Rays then in their quest for a title, but man,
16:57
Speaker 2: that's going to be a good series. If that does
16:59
Speaker 2: indeed happen. It's hard for me to not pick the
17:03
Speaker 2: Yankees in that series, but that's probably because it's just
17:07
Speaker 2: the pedigree of the Yankees. But when you look at
17:11
Speaker 2: the body of work that the race have put out there,
17:13
Speaker 2: they're the number one seed for a reason.
17:15
Speaker 1: I'm kind of with you there with one exception. I
17:18
Speaker 1: think if you're a lower seed and you go win
17:21
Speaker 1: at a different opponent for the wildcard series, two out
17:24
Speaker 1: of three, you maybe deserve the benefit of the bracket
17:27
Speaker 1: opening up in your favor, having earned that. But I
17:30
Speaker 1: totally get what you're saying about the receding angle, especially
17:33
Speaker 1: in a year like we saw in the American League,
17:35
Speaker 1: where you and I were trying to pick out teams
17:38
Speaker 1: to kind of emerge from the hodgepodge. I guess Cleveland
17:42
Speaker 1: and Boston were the answers to that. We'll see how
17:44
Speaker 1: much of that translates over to this October. All right,
17:48
Speaker 1: real fast, because we've got a couple more minutes left
17:50
Speaker 1: with Hunter Baumgart here, who covers the Brewers. Who... Give
17:54
Speaker 1: me a couple players that have the most to gain
17:57
Speaker 1: and maybe the most to prove this postseason for you.
18:00
Speaker 3: Oh, for the Brewers specifically?
18:02
Speaker 4: Anybody.
18:03
Speaker 3: Oh, that's a good question. Most to gain or most
18:08
Speaker 3: to prove?
18:08
Speaker 4: Most to gain.
18:10
Speaker 1: I'm going Miguel Vargas with the White Sox. Kind of
18:14
Speaker 1: the embodiment of their team, proving they belong. Can he
18:17
Speaker 1: prove that he can be the face of a star?
18:19
Speaker 1: You can say a lot of the same about Jackson Churrio.
18:22
Speaker 1: Milwaukee maybe that's your answer.
18:25
Speaker 2: Yeah I think you know it it's it's especially fascinating
18:30
Speaker 2: coming into this offseason because of the the appending lockout
18:34
Speaker 2: and the salary cap discussion and all of that but
18:37
Speaker 2: can a small market team you know we've seen in
18:40
Speaker 2: the past obviously we it's not like small market teams
18:42
Speaker 2: never win but when you look at the actual champions
18:44
Speaker 2: especially as of late And the teams that are making
18:47
Speaker 2: it right now, it does seem like there's a lot
18:49
Speaker 2: of big market, a lot of big payrolls that have
18:51
Speaker 2: made it right. Whether it's Yankees, Dodgers a couple of
18:53
Speaker 2: years ago, Yankees or Blue Jays, Dodgers last year can
18:57
Speaker 2: a raise, can a Brewers get to the World Series
19:00
Speaker 2: and win it. And I think that that that can
19:02
Speaker 2: prove not just, you know, maybe on the player's side
19:05
Speaker 2: of things, if that were to happen. But it also
19:09
Speaker 2: proves that the formula with which they work works to
19:13
Speaker 2: win a title.
19:13
Speaker 3: And it hasn't yet.
19:15
Speaker 2: For this iteration of those teams. And so I wonder
19:19
Speaker 2: if that is kind of something to prove. As far
19:22
Speaker 2: as players go, Vargas is a very interesting one because
19:26
Speaker 2: he's kind of an emerging star and can you get
19:28
Speaker 2: it done in the postseason? It's hard for me to
19:29
Speaker 2: say that any of the White Sox have something to
19:31
Speaker 2: prove because this is their first time there.
19:33
Speaker 4: I was more saying him for most to gain.
19:35
Speaker 3: Ooh, most to gain. That's a real, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh,
19:39
Speaker 3: for sure. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I heard you wrong.
19:43
Speaker 2: That's a really good point because And a lot of
19:45
Speaker 2: these White Sox, honestly, could have a lot to gain.
19:48
Speaker 4: From from from.
19:50
Speaker 3: Advancing like that. I think Jackson Churio is becoming a star.
19:55
Speaker 2: When you talked about him with the Milwaukee Brewers and
19:56
Speaker 2: we saw his game-tying home run with two outs in
19:59
Speaker 2: the ninth inning against the Cubs a couple of weeks ago.
20:01
Speaker 2: And that's just what we're seeing and what I kind
20:05
Speaker 2: of see is the emergence of Jackson Churio in Milwaukee.
20:08
Speaker 2: is just seeing his confidence at the plate in a
20:12
Speaker 2: big situation. And that's what I can't wait for in
20:14
Speaker 2: the postseason, because he's had success in the postseason. Last
20:17
Speaker 2: year against the Cubs, two years ago against the Mets.
20:20
Speaker 2: It is postseason so far. This is his third year
20:23
Speaker 2: in the league. He's had success. And can he continue
20:25
Speaker 2: to build on that? And then the team's success will
20:28
Speaker 2: also help that as well. I think it's going to
20:30
Speaker 2: be fascinating, too, how the Yankees, and Aaron Judge's view,
20:35
Speaker 2: As well. And he is maybe the most, one of
20:39
Speaker 2: the more to prove in the AL should they advance
20:42
Speaker 2: through this wildcard series.
20:43
Speaker 3: So there's a couple of names for you.
20:46
Speaker 2: I think it's, for teams, it's just going to be
20:48
Speaker 2: fascinating because there are clearly, you know, Yankees and Dodgers,
20:52
Speaker 2: like you just mentioned, the favorites. But can one of
20:54
Speaker 2: these other small market teams, lower payroll teams overall, make
20:58
Speaker 2: it to the World Series and win it?
21:00
Speaker 3: We'll see.
21:01
Speaker 4: Your World Series prediction in 2026 is.
21:05
Speaker 1: Oh gosh.
21:06
Speaker 2: Um, I, if there's ever a year that the Brewers
21:11
Speaker 2: were going to do it, it's, it's probably when they
21:13
Speaker 2: win 103 games, uh, because it just shows how good
21:16
Speaker 2: they are. Um, so we'll go Brewers out of the NL, uh,
21:20
Speaker 2: and we will go out of the AL.
21:22
Speaker 3: Hmm. I am going to go.
21:25
Speaker 2: It's hard not to, I'm going to go Brewers Yankees
21:29
Speaker 2: in the world series.
21:30
Speaker 3: And what the heck we're going to say that the
21:31
Speaker 3: Brewers win their first world series, uh, in, uh.
21:35
Speaker 1: Six games I can get behind that a hundred percent
21:38
Speaker 1: that's Hunter Baumgart thanks so much for stopping by and
21:41
Speaker 1: joining us and good luck with the the postseason I
21:44
Speaker 1: hope it's I hope it's a fun and and long
21:46
Speaker 1: journey with lots of twists and turns I won't take
21:48
Speaker 1: a side hosting this show with Craig who's a Dodger
21:51
Speaker 1: diehard but uh I'll just say I hope to see
21:54
Speaker 1: those two teams meet in the NLCS.
21:57
Speaker 2: Yeah no that would be a that would be a
21:58
Speaker 2: blast see if the birds can get their revenge good
22:00
Speaker 2: luck to uh Hey, the Texas Longhorns, good start to
22:04
Speaker 2: the year. From those of us watching in Wisconsin, that's
22:07
Speaker 2: a good start to the year under our thoughts.
22:10
Speaker 3: But good luck the rest of the way.
22:12
Speaker 1: Big win for the Badgers as well. I know you
22:14
Speaker 1: guys have needed it with Green Bay's slow start. So
22:16
Speaker 1: sorry to end on that sour note.
22:19
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's okay. Badgers, big win. See if the Packers
22:21
Speaker 3: can bounce back. Always appreciate it, Jake.
22:23
Speaker 4: Yeah, we'll check back in soon. Thanks, Hunter.
22:26
Speaker 3: Thank you.
22:26
Speaker 4: Back with more in a moment on Sports Radio AM 1300,
22:28
Speaker 4: The Zone.