MIAMI – Colin Rea spent parts of three seasons with the Brewers.
You know, that team that refuses to relinquish its grip on the NL Central.
So who better than Rea to explain how it is that the Brew Crew is so effective, so dominant?
Take it away, Colin.
“I don’t know,” Rea said with a laugh last week. “I’m still trying to figure that one out.”
It seems the mystery of the Brewers’ secret sauce – not to be confused with Milwaukee’s beloved “Secret Stadium Sauce” – will remain unknowable.
And unbeatable, at least for the Cubs. At seven games back in the division standings, they are still mathematically able to catch their rivals, but they face tough odds on that front, with the conversation around their postseason destination now geared toward the wild-card round.
There are another three games between the two teams this week in Wisconsin. They split a four-game set last week at Wrigley Field, with the Cubs looking at times like the clear No. 2 and at others capable of avenging their 2025 playoff elimination at the Brewers’ hands.
The ultimate goal for this Cubs team is to win the World Series, and it doesn’t matter how they get there. If they must do it as a wild-card team rather than a division-winner, so be it.
But those Brewers, man.
“They never give up,” lefty starter Matthew Boyd said after facing the Brewers last week. “They play all facets of baseball very well. They play good defense. They control the running game. They’re in the strike zone. … They control the strike zone at the plate offensively, as well.
“That’s why the Central has ran through them over the past few years. They’re a very good ballclub, top to bottom. We know it firsthand. It’s not that we don’t know. It’s always a welcome challenge when you get to face them, too.”
The wild-card standings are far from settled. As of right now, the Cubs have a half-game lead on the Phillies for the NL’s top spot. Winning that race could position them for another NLDS date with their division rivals.
The Cubs have talked of last year’s October outcome serving as fuel for their fire this season, and while they’ll take whatever path gets them to the end of the postseason, a stop in Milwaukee would offer a shot at revenge.
Of course, the Cubs haven’t been able to clear the Brewers-sized hurdle yet.
Was there progress last week? Certainly, the record-setting nine-homer performance was a positive. And the Cubs dealt fireballer Jacob Misiorowski his worst start of an otherwise immaculate campaign.
The Cubs can counter the Cy Young favorite Misiorowski with the MVP favorite in Pete Crow-Armstrong, though despite finally reaching base with a couple walks last week, PCA is hitless in a dozen at-bats against “The Miz,” who he’ll see again Tuesday.
“Finally got on base. Still oh-fer,” Crow-Armstrong said last week. “I’ve never seen anything like [him]. We continue to kind of give him the business, a little bit. He always finds a way to give it right back.
“That’s a fun guy to go compete against. He’s pretty much the surefire Cy Young. I look forward to seeing him in Milwaukee next week, too. He is ‘the dude.’”
As all-around awesome as the Brewers have been this season, the Cubs aren’t ready to concede anything. They think they’re pretty awesome, too, and though the standings say what they say, they still started Sunday as baseball’s best offensive team and baseball’s best defensive team.
It’s the kind of combination – should the pitching deliver, too – that could lead to something big in October.
“I have no doubt that what this team is capable of is really, really special,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said Friday. “Defense is our calling card, but we’ve scored the most runs in the league.
“When our guys execute pitches, whatever’s asked of them to do, we’re kind of a force, right? If we do that consistently this month, we’re going to be in a good spot.”