Kuzul

Baseball is designed to trick you. It is the game of lazy summer days and endless tomorrows. Stay even keel and do not overreact to one game because the season is long. Above all, consistency is cherished.   

Then suddenly and without warning it is September.   

And managers who continue to manage as if it is May do not stay managers very long.

Ned Yost learned this the hard way back in 2008 when, in one of the most brutal sackings in memory, the Brewers, who would earn the NL wild-card slot, whacked him with just 12 games left.

Now, we’re about to find out if the lesson took.

Click Ahead to Other Topics

• Playing truth and consequences in Philadelphia
• Looking for answers? The Dodgers have them
• The Mariners take to the skies, again and again
• No one should underestimate the Padres’ new GM
• Tigers’ bullpen may get boost at the perfect time
• Have the Yankees found their new star closer?
• Paul Goldschmidt still making his mark on D-backs 
• An intriguing look at baseball’s need for speed

It was a riveting weekend in both Kansas City and Seattle, where a couple of sexy Cinderella stories sustained serious cracks in their glass Nikes. Cracks that were preventable had their managers been more aggressive in pulling the rip cord.

With one key win over Oakland already in the bag from Friday and a sold-out Safeco Field howling Saturday night, Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon watched closer Fernando Rodney’s epic meltdown a few beats too long, and the series got away from the Mariners.

Yost, meanwhile, had a horrendous day Sunday as the Royals’ fade continued.

Exactly how and why reliever Aaron Crow was left in the game long enough to serve up a Daniel Nava grand slam that obliterated a 4-3, sixth-inning lead for the Royals demanded an explanation.

“It’s frustrating that we were one out away from getting to Kelvin Herrera with a one-run lead,” Yost told reporters in Kansas City. “That was frustrating.”

Wait. That’s the explanation?

You’re the manager. You’re the one who can make things happen.

Why wait that one more out to bring in Herrera? Why not just summon him for Nava? Especially because Crow’s numbers this year are worse against left-handed batters than righties?

“Aaron Crow’s inning is the sixth inning,” Yost replied. “Kelvin’s is the seventh.”

Quite simply, at this time of year and under these circumstances, that reasoning is just not good enough.

Among the very best ways to blow games, blow leads and, ultimately, blow whatever good collateral a club has built to this point in the season is by steadfastly refusing to recognize that you need to maximize every moment. There comes a point when you owe it to your team to go with the hot hand, specific roles be damned.

Crow came into the 4-3 game with one out and two on. He walked Yoenis Cespedes to load the bases, then fanned Allen Craig.

Bases loaded, two out, Yost said he wanted a strikeout in that situation, of course. But Crow’s five strikeouts per nine innings is a career low. How pedestrian is Crow this season? That 5 K/9 is down from his 9.4 K/9 when he was an All-Star in 2011.

After Crow whiffed Craig…well, Herrera’s K/9 is 7.8.

But it wasn’t Herrera who was warming in the pen. It was mop-up man Louis Coleman.

The wait for the seventh inning—and Herrera—was on.

Until Nava stepped up next and rendered it moot. By Monday morning, a half-game lead in the AL Central as of last Thursday had become a one-and-a-half game deficit.

Winning teams and winning managers seize the moment when the finish line is in sight. They go for the jugular right now.

One of Joe Torre’s greatest assets when he managed the Yankees was that at the first scent of blood when the leaves began to change, he went for the kill. Mariano Rivera may have been a one-inning closer most of the time from April through September, but from 1997 through 2008, according to Torre’s book The Yankee Years, Rivera scooped up more postseason saves of six outs or more (12) than the rest of baseball combined (11).

During that same time frame, Rivera “obtained at least four outs in 79 percent of his postseason saves, more than triple the incidence of such heavy lifting by all other closers combined (25 percent).”

Granted, this isn’t October, and there are no Mo Riveras out there. But the larger point remains: A winning manager recognizes winning moments down the stretch. The problem with closers is that sometimes games are won and lost in the sixth inning. Or the seventh. It is not always the ninth, and this is not a new development.

In Seattle on Saturday night, it happened to be the 10th, when McClendon called on Rodney to start the top of the frame in a 2-2 game.

But after starting Coco Crisp 0 and 2, Rodney walked him. Then, after a sacrifice bunt, Rodney intentionally walked Josh Donaldson. Then came another walk to Alberto Callaspo.

Bases loaded and one out, it would have been one heck of a predicament to hand another reliever. But it was clear Rodney, who tied the Mariners’ franchise record for saves with No. 45 a night earlier, couldn’t find the strike zone with a guide dog.

Catcher Michael Zunino brilliantly saved him from a couple of would-be wild pitches that would have scored a run. But after striking out Brandon Moss, Rodney threw four straight balls to Jed Lowrie to force in what would be the winning run.

Yoervis Medina was warming in the pen but was left there.

“You stick with your closer, but you don’t want him to throw too many pitches,” McClendon told Seattle reporters. “That’s why Medina was up.”

Rodney threw a total of 32 pitches—22 of which were balls.

It might not have been too many total pitches for the night. But it was entirely too many balls to allow him to continue.

Now the Mariners, like the Royals, are playing from even further behind, falling from a half-game back in the wild-card chase as of last Thursday to two games back as the sun rose Tuesday morning.

Yeah, this game is sweet and innocent as spring gives way to the carefree days of summer. But in September, baseball can turn devious very quickly.

2. American Idiot Part I

Even when Jonathan Papelbon is going good, his four-year, $50 million contract is still bad.

Or, at this point, awful.

He deserved every bit of the seven-game suspension he received Monday for grabbing his crotch in an obscene gesture directed at Phillies fans Sunday who were booing him and, yes, helping to pay his overrated freight. He had, of course, just blown a save—only his fourth in 41 opportunities this season.

Umpire Joe West deserved a suspension as well for grabbing the crotch-grabbing closer by the jersey. No word as to why West eluded punishment.

As for Papelbon, he met with Ryne Sandberg for 20 minutes or so before batting practice in San Diego on Monday and, according to the Phillies’ manager, adamantly maintained he was simply “adjusting” his equipment.

“The biggest thing he indicated to me from what happened [Sunday] is whether it was poor timing on the field or whatever, he had no intent of giving any type of signal or gesture when he left the game,” Sandberg said.

Did the manager believe him?

“It’s not my job or position to believe him,” Sandberg said.

Remember when we talked about baseball with the Phillies at this time of year?

3. American Idiot Part II

The Dodgers emerged from San Francisco over the weekend with a commanding three-game lead in the NL West with only 13 games to go and with a swagger that would make Green Day proud.

Regarding Clayton Kershaw’s chances to rack up the NL MVP award in addition to the Cy Young…

“If someone even tries to mention someone else, they’re an idiot,” slugger Adrian Gonzalez told Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.

Regarding talk of clinching the division…

“Still too close. Only an idiot would say it’s over,” Gonzalez told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.

In non-idiot news, the Dodgers punched out 24 hits in Saturday’s 17-0 slaughter of the Giants. Last time that happened in a Dodgers-Giants game?

4. Men of the Sea, but successful frequent fliers, too

In the midst of an enormous seven-game stretch with Oakland and the Angels, perhaps the Mariners have things right where they want them: Starting with Monday night’s series opener in Anaheim, Seattle plays 11 of its last 14 games on the road.

Road-field advantage? You bet: Seattle, entering the week, was 38-40 in Safeco Field and 42-28 on the road. The .600 road winning percentage is best in the American League and second in the majors to the Dodgers’ .608 (45-29).

The Mariners have clinched their first winning season on the road since 2003, when they went 43-38.

By the time the M’s finish this trip to Anaheim, Houston and Toronto, they will have logged roughly 5,662 air miles this year through three different time zones. And however they finish in the standings, the Mariners will lead MLB in air miles.

5. A.J. Preller pulls on his Friar’s clothes

Young A.J. Preller had barely pledged the San Diego Padres’ fraternity as their new general manager before sharpshooters started shrugging off the endorsement of Rangers general manager Jon Daniels.

The two were roommates at Cornell before growing up and drawing up the Rangers’ World Series blueprints in 2010 and ’11. You bet that’s part of what attracted a downtrodden Padres’ organization searching for bluer skies over its baseball beaches to Preller.

When the final handshakes were done on the deal, Daniels told Padres president Mike Dee exactly what he thought. “You just made a hell of a hire,” the Rangers’ GM said.

“People may pass that off as, ‘He was your college roommate,’ ” Daniels told B/R the other day. “You know what? I’ve got a lot of college roommates that I wouldn’t hire to run a company.

“I’m glad the Padres are not in our division.”

They will win, Daniels promises. And, again, while it’s easy to slough off the Rangers and their thoughts at 57-92, this is a team that was ambushed by an extraordinary raft of injuries this year. Whatever the Rangers’ record at the moment, no front office has been smarter, sharper, more savvy and more in sync over the past few years than Daniels and Co., who have been so good they actually at times even diverted attention away from the Cowboys in the autumn.

Preller’s job is a big one: Looking at the Padres as presently constituted, the only everyday player who should be invited back for 2015 is second baseman Jedd Gyorko, who has had a disappointing sophomore campaign. Otherwise, the Padres should non-tender both first baseman Yonder Alonso and shortstop Everth Cabrera and look to move outfielders Cameron Maybin (who is owed $15 million through ’16 with an option for ’17) and Will Venable (signed next year for $4.25 million). Yasmani Grandal is not the answer at catcher.

At least he’s in a good place with San Diego pitching. Though with Ian Kennedy a free agent after next season, he likely will explore deals there this winter.

Preller is not known as a schmoozer. In fact, there are a surprising number of scouts and executives who really don’t know him. But that’s mostly because he’s always working and has spent an inordinate amount of time in the Dominican Republic.

“Even people here with the Rangers said to me, ‘I’m skeptical; how do you think he’s going to handle the media, and ownership?'” Daniels said. “I think he’s going to handle them well. A.J. didn’t do those things not because he couldn’t, but because he didn’t see it as part of his job.

“I think people are missing the boat if they think that’s going to be an issue for him. He’s passionate and knowledgeable about the game and about building an organization. And it’s easy to talk about things if you’re passionate and knowledgeable about them.”

6. Motown’s Secret Weapon?

It is not going to affect the Tigers in Minnesota this week, or their showdown series in Kansas City this weekend, but Anibal Sanchez was slated to begin throwing off of a mound Monday.

And that could be big news in October.

On the disabled list since early August with a strained pectoral muscle, Sanchez does not have enough schedule left to rebuild his stamina to start in October. But given the exasperating Tigers’ bullpen, a postseason return could be huge for Detroit.

This is a guy who won the AL ERA title last year. His sudden availability to start the sixth inning, or the seventh, could turn things sharply in Detroit’s favor.

Of course, Sanchez also is a guy with just one career relief appearance on his resume.

Still, remember what a boost Tim Lincecum gave the Giants’ bullpen during their ’12 World Series run. Sanchez’s health very much remains a key for Detroit in the postseason…but perhaps not in quite the way you might think.

7. Shades of Mariano Rivera?

There’s no getting around the fact that it’s been a disappointing season for the Yankees and it’s verging on getting worse just as soon as they’re officially eliminated.

Then there is Dellin Betances bringing exactly what Joe Girardi’s team needs: Fresh, young talent that will play. On Sunday night, as pointed out by stats guru Bill Chuck, he tied the legendary Mariano Rivera for most strikeouts in a season by a Yankees reliever at 130.

As Chuck notes, Betances reached the 130 mark in just 86.2 innings. When Rivera did it in 1996, he needed 107.2 innings.

Obviously, this is not to say that Betances is better than Rivera, or even in the same league. For one thing, Rivera wasn’t a strikeout pitcher—his cutter allowed him to pitch to contact. So let’s see how long Betances sticks around and what he accomplishes.

But for an organization desperate to get younger talent, this is a glimmering light.

8. Snake eyes

Despite finishing second in last year’s NL MVP voting to Andrew McCutchen, Paul Goldschmidt mostly remains under the radar.

So as a public service, either to Goldschmidt’s value or to the woes of the Diamondbacks, here’s this:

Because of Goldschmidt’s fractured left hand, he has not played since August 1. Yet he likely is still going to finish the season as the D-backs’ leader in home runs (19), runs scored (75) and doubles (39). As it is, Miguel Montero (71) just passed Goldschmidt (69) for the team lead in RBI.

9. Look at those guns

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the new fall TV season is cranking up. But I’m finishing now with a rerun: If you missed it last week, Danny Knobler’s opus on The Radar Gun Revolution is absolutely worth reading. Just fascinating. Check it out here.

9a. Rock ‘n’ Roll Lyric of the Week:

Paging Jonathan Papelbon…

“I turn on the tube and what do I see

“A whole lotta people cryin’ “Don’t blame me”

“They point their crooked little fingers at everybody else

“Spend all their time feelin’ sorry for themselves

“Victim of this, victim of that

“Your momma’s too thin; your daddy’s too fat

“Get over it”

—The Eagles, “Get Over It”

Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. He has over two decades of experience covering MLB, including 14 years as a national baseball columnist at CBSSports.com.

Follow Scott on Twitter and talk baseball @ScottMillerBbl.

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MLB award talk is heating up here with just a few weeks remaining in the 2014 regular season, and this year’s crop of MVP candidates in both leagues should bring about some good debate.

In the American League, the storyline is Mike Trout once again, as he looks to finally take home some hardware after finishing second to Miguel Cabrera the past two years.

Over in the National League, it’s a wide-open race once again. The past two NL MVP winners Andrew McCutchen and Buster Posey are both viable candidates, but everyone may be chasing the game’s best pitcher Clayton Kershaw at this point as he has put together a season for the ages.

What follows is a look at the case for each of the top MVP candidates to take home the award this season. Only players with a legitimate shot at receiving first-place votes were considered “top candidates,” and included is also a look at players who just missed the cut and why.

Begin Slideshow

Actor Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad—famous for his role as Walter White (chemist-turned-high school chemistry teacher-turned-methamphetamine manufacturer)—put on a one-man recreation of baseball’s postseason in this new commercial for MLB on TBS.

Cranston, looking for a new challenge in his career, finds inspiration from the one and only Bugs Bunny. The six-minute video can be seen in full above.

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If it feels like it’s been a while since the baseball-consuming world has been captivated by Yasiel Puig, that’s because it has. As much as the Los Angeles Dodgers star has emerged as a must-watch, can’t-take-your-eyes-off-him talent through his first two seasons in Major League Baseball, Puig has been oddly absent from headlines and highlights of late.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing given his more than occasional lightning-rod status, except that this lack of Puig lately is very much tied to his downright struggles in the second half. Things have taken such a turn since the 23-year-old earned his first All-Star nod for a dynamite first half that it’s almost as if one of baseball’s brightest stars and most polarizing figures has…vanished.

To show just how stark the drop-off has been, here’s a look at Puig‘s numbers both pre– and post-break:

Obviously, Puig has played only about half as many games since the Midsummer Classic, but even taking that into account, he went from MVP-caliber production from March through mid-July to abruptly performing like a useful utility infielder who knows how to get on base but lacks any pop.

Heck, after going homerless in the Home Run Derby, Puig has hit exactly one out in the two months since.

It’s hard to believe a player can have such divergent halves of the same season.

All of this has led to speculation about how the Dodgers should handle Puig down the stretch as they spend the final two weeks of the regular season trying to hold off the San Francisco Giants in the NL West.

Sure, sitting Puig for a physical and mental break isn’t a bad idea. This is still his first full year in the majors, and there aren’t nearly as many games in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, so he’s never played this much in one season. There’s merit to giving some time to Andre Ethier and Scott Van Slyke, as well as top prospect and September call-up Joc Pederson, as manager Don Mattingly has on occasion.

“The season is long, and it wears you down,” Mattingly said to Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles at the end of August. “It’s part of learning to regulate yourself here, as far as rest or anything else…I think Yasiel‘s really emotional, and it’s hard to be really emotional and play 162.”

Not to mention, Puig has been through plenty of changes, adjustments and transitions in 2014, both on the field and off. He’s been moved around in the batting order as well as in the outfield, and he’s also dealing with the drama and fallout from the ongoing developments surrounding his scary journey to escape Cuba and get to the United States.

Puig‘s struggles have led some, like Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times, to suggest that the Dodgers should give even more time in center field to Ethier:

OK, enough. Enough waiting for the Golden Boy to become an overnight sensation or last year’s overnight sensation to get going again.

The idea is to win right now. In September with a pennant on the line. It’s not time to experiment.

You don’t keep playing Joc Pederson, called up nine days ago, and hope he starts tearing up the majors the way he did Triple-A. You don’t keep sending out Yasiel Puig every night when he’s hit .209 since July 31, which also happens to be the last time he hit a home run.

It’s time to start Andre Ethier in center again.

…The Dodgers just can’t keep waiting and hoping for Puig to get it going. He’s batting .151 (10 for 66) in his last 18 games. This is his first full season in the majors and he’s going through the worst slump of his career.

Maybe he’ll respond to some time off. I know [Dodgers manager Don] Mattingly prefers a set outfield but right now it’s not working. And right now is when it needs to work.

This is obviously a divisive topic—is anything involving Puig not?—and so it’s not surprising that others, like Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com, would argue for sticking with Puig in the hopes that he’ll regain his form:

The problem with Puig right now: His power has simply disappeared, and that’s a dangerous development for [the] Dodgers…It is not, however, a development that ought to prompt Don Mattingly to bench his slumping star, because the truth is that Dodgers still need Puig if they’re going to live up to the World Series expectations that accompany their Major League-leading payroll.

…Whether the Dodgers like it or not, in light of recent results, Puig is still the key to their offense. Even if his power is down, he’s capable of getting on base to create opportunities for Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp. If Puig is hurt, rest him. But if he’s fatigued, test him… Calls to play Andre Ethier over Puig are misguided, because Ethier‘s offensive struggles are of the season-long variety, whereas Puig‘s are a more recent development.

There are indeed other dangerous bats and capable hitters on the team with that record $235 million payroll.

First baseman Adrian Gonzalez, outfielder Matt Kemp and shortstop Hanley Ramirez fall into the former category, and outfielder Carl Crawford and third baseman Juan Uribe fit into the latter. Second baseman Dee Gordon, meanwhile, uses his speed and leadoff role to help set the tone.

But Puig is a huge piece, perhaps more important than any other. If he doesn’t get right, the Dodgers will be a lot less dynamic, a lot less explosive, especially since he’s spent the majority of the time batting in the second spot in L.A.’s lineup.

“It’s time to get him going,” Mattingly told J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News. “The biggest thing is that we need him. Everything we’ve tried to [do] so far has been trying to get him going, trying to take pressure off him in different spots. When he’s going good, we’re a better team.”

Because of that, and because of how intense and emotional Puig is, the idea of benching him just doesn’t make sense. There’s too much downside, and it’s not as if Puig doesn’t know he’s not playing well.

“I have to get out of this in the 15 or 16 games that remain,” he said to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. “If I don’t get out of it now, I don’t know if I’ll get out of it for the playoffs.”

As incredible as Puig was as a rookie last year, he was exposed a bit in his first October. While he came up big with eight hits in 17 at-bats and five runs scored in the NLDS victory over the Atlanta Braves, Puig lost it against the St. Louis Cardinals‘ staff in the championship series.

He went just 5-for-22 (.227) with 10 strikeouts and only one walk on his way to posting a 14-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 41 playoff plate appearances overall. With another October on tap, Puig will need to be better than that if the Dodgers are going to get back to the Fall Classic for the first time since 1988.

After all, the postseason is when the top pitchers and hardest throwers are ready to shut down even the best bats.

Puig should continue to start as September wraps up to find his rhythm and success once again. But if he doesn’t turn things around—and soon—he very well could be on a short leash in October when every at-bat is crucial, especially for a star player.

Then again, Puig needs to make the most of every at-bat right now, because over the second half, he’s looked and played like anything but a star.

Statistics are accurate as of Sept. 15 and are courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.

To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11

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The Los Angeles Angels are cruising toward October. And now, they know for sure that they will be playing in it, after becoming the first team in MLB to clinch a playoff berth on Monday night.

ANGELS IN THE PLAYOFFS! Angels are 1st team to clinch postseason berth after 8-1 win over Mariners. pic.twitter.com/J7Ut4lACYc

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 16, 2014

C.J. Wilson certainly isn’t surprised that the American League West front-runners are sporting the best record in baseball.

“This is the team we’ve felt like we’ve always had,” Wilson said in a conversation with Bleacher Report.

As the 33-year-old admits, it’s taken the club a while to reach this point. The Angels have inked a collection of prominent names to lucrative contracts in recent years but haven’t made a trip to the postseason since 2009. That means that big expectations are nothing new for the squad.

“The target on our back, I think as soon as Albert [Pujols] came over here there was a target on the Angels’ back. That’s the way I look at it,” Wilson said.

This year, Pujols has clocked 36 doubles and 26 home runs while driving in 97 runs. Aside from all the production that the 34-year-old has been providing on the field, he’s also been dispensing wisdom in the clubhouse.

“I think Albert, having won a couple of World Series, is probably one of the best guys you could have in a locker room,” Wilson said. “He’s a commanding presence, and if he gets up and says something, everyone’s going to listen. He has the respect of everybody. He’s one of the best players of all time.”

Center fielder Mike Trout is another Angel who could eventually enter into that conversation.

“He’s one of the best players that I’ve ever seen,” Wilson said of the 23-year-old.

The veteran doesn’t think Trout will have any trouble stepping up to the challenge of playoff baseball.

“[He just has to] make sure he doesn’t try and hit the ball 700 feet and hit a home run every time,” he said.

Wilson pointed to the energy that Trout and the rest of the team’s rising stars offer as a crucial component of Los Angeles’ success.

“I think the biggest thing is that we have enough young guys that are really good,” he said. “They’re just so excited. It’s their enthusiasm that really carries us.”

It also doesn’t hurt that everyone on the roster gets along.

“We get on the bus and we joke, we’re funny in the clubhouse, everybody’s having a good time in the dugout. And that’s the kind of vibe that you need to have where if you have a loss you just, everybody shakes it off.”

The team has also managed to shake off the loss of one of the best pitchers in he AL. On August 20, Garrett Richards’ season came to a crashing halt when the starter tore his left patellar tendon while covering first base in a game against the Boston Red Sox.

“I think any time you lose a pitcher, especially a guy that’s got the kind of stuff that Garrett has, your chances take a little bit of a hit,” Wilson said.

“Little” is the key word. Since then, the Angels have continued to roll right along.

“But it’s a team sport, and the starting pitchers, no matter how good or bad they are, only pitch once every five days,” Wilson said. “Garrett got hurt, and it was almost a blip on the radar.”

One reason that the Angels were able to put that loss behind them so quickly is that the team literally never skipped a beat. Despite the fact that Richards was injured in the second inning, the Angels ended up stomping the Red Sox 8-3.

“That gave us a lot of confidence because we’re like, ‘Okay, our season isn’t over because the pitcher with the lowest ERA got hurt. We can still go out there and win. We still have everyone else that can go out there and play.’ ”

Rookie Matt Shoemaker definitely fits that description. 

“If you look at his stats on their own, they stand out. He’s a fantastic pitcher,” Wilson said.

The 27-year-old scooped up the AL Pitcher of the Month and Rookie of the Month honors in August after going 6-1 with a 1.31 ERA in seven outings. On the year, Shoemaker owns a 16-4 mark with a 3.04 ERA.

Wilson believes that Shoemaker’s diverse array of pitches will make him a dangerous arm when the postseason arrives.

“He’s got a really good split finger, which a lot of guys don’t throw anymore, and he’s also got a really good sinker.

“I think those two pitches in October play really well because you are used to seeing guys all year that are four-seam fastball, fire-baller guys.”

Another key factor in overcoming the loss of Richards has been the front office’s ability to bolster the bullpen via trade.

“We got really lucky,” Wilson said. “Jerry Dipoto our GM brought over a bunch of really good relief pitchers this year and those guys have been huge contributors.”

No move looms larger than the acquisition of closer Huston Street. Of course, the Angels weren’t the only AL West club that was working the phones this summer. The Oakland Athletics landed Jeff Samardzija, Jason Hammel and Jon Lester among others before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Plus, Oakland added Adam Dunn on the final day of August.

As Wilson explained, there’s no point focusing on what their division rivals are up to.

“You can’t control what the other teams do. We’re only doing what we’re capable of, which is winning the games that we play in.”

The Angels did just that in a decisive four-game sweep over the Athletics at the end of August in Anaheim.

“We’ve been fortunate to beat Oakland head-to-head a couple of times, but we had a hard time playing at their place. So, when we play them at home we feel like we do pretty well. When we play them at their place, we lose close games sometimes,” Wilson said.

The Angels and Athletics are set to face off in three-game set at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland from September 22-24. While the Angels’ 10.5-game lead ensures that the series won’t have any impact on how the AL West race plays out, Wilson knows that the team hasn’t seen the last of the Athletics.

“We’re going to have to beat them at some point,” he said. “We’re going to have to beat them at the end of the season or maybe in the first round if they’re the wild-card winners.”

Whomever the Angels end up facing in the postseason, Wilson recognizes that crunch time is rapidly approaching.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s against Jeff Samardzija or Felix Hernandez or Max Scherzer, we just have to go out there and beat those guys. If we don’t beat those guys, then we lose and our season is over.”

Still, Wilson likes the Angels’ chances.

“I think what we have right now is a very special team and that’s why everyone is really excited. Because we all know that this is a great chance for us to do something historic for the city and for the organization.”

As Wilson and the Angels prepare to make their playoff run, the lefty has also been making an impact off the diamond through the Head & Shoulders Season of the #Whiff campaign.

“It’s great. Being a pitcher obviously, getting whiffs is part of my job,” he said. “We’re trying to raise money, get kids out there that wouldn’t necessarily get a chance and I think that’s the best thing…As a baseball player, knowing that you can give back to your sport and the future of your sport is a huge motivating factor for me.”

Last season, Head & Shoulders donated over $140,000 to the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program by encouraging fans to tweet #whiff every time their favorite pitcher racked up a punchout. This year, Head & Shoulders will donate $1 for every strikeout in 2014, and the seven MLB teams with the most #whiff tweets each month (fans simply tweet #whiff + [team Twitter handle]) win donations for their local RBI leagues.

If you want to talk baseball, find me on Twitter @KarlBuscheck. 

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For so long it was the same trio of franchises bullying their way into perennial October positions. This happened for two decades, and other teams hardly ever had anything to say about it.

The Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox took to dominating their respective East divisions from the mid-1990s through last season. And the supremacy was virtually exclusive to those three with rare exception.

That is all changing now, and Beltway baseball is to thank for breaking the trio’s chokehold on the American and National League East divisions.

Orioles and Nationals win. An all-Beltway World Series remains as possible as any combination.

— Dave Brown (@AnswerDave) September 16, 2014

The Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles lead their respective NL and AL Easts by big margins and can clinch both titles as early as Tuesday. And with two weeks to set up their rotations and get ailing players some rest before the games really start to count again, a Beltway World Series has gone from a dream to a serious reality.

This Mid-Atlantic utopia could start early next month if both teams end up with home-field advantages in the Division Series, which they both currently have by holding one of the two best records in their leagues. It is possible that Nationals Park and Camden Yards could host four postseason games from Oct. 2-4, with both venues being live Oct. 3. 

As Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post wrote Monday: “The Nationals’ and Orioles’ dual excellence, then, could lead to an early-October extravaganza, a weekend of baseball unlike any the region has experienced.”

That is because the Braves, Yankees and Red Sox had both divisions in their clutches for seemingly the entire time since baseball went to six divisions in 1994—there were no divisions winners that first season because of the strike. Starting in 1995, the Braves won 11 consecutive NL East championships, and they won their 12th last season.

That run, together with a combined 16 division titles for the Yankees and Red Sox, means that trio has won 28 of a possible 38 division championships since 1995, and there has not been a single postseason in that time that didn’t feature at least one of those clubs. Together they won nine combined World Series titles.

This season, unless something miraculous happens between now and Sept. 28, will be the first time since 1989 that not one of those clubs is in the playoffs.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter was there for the start of that run as manager of the Yankees in 1995.

“There’s no sadder time than the end of a baseball season when you’re not in it,” Showalter said, via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. “And there’s no more exhilarating time than when you’re in the hunt in late September. I’ve been on both sides of it.” 

The Orioles and Nationals both made the playoffs in 2012, but at that time they were both seen as upstart clubs. Because the Nationals were without ace Stephen Strasburg—he was shut down by the organization because of an innings limit—and the Orioles didn’t have the pitching to sustain a real run, they weren’t seen as serious threats and both were eliminated before the League Championship Series. 

This time things are vastly different. 

“I guess you could say that we kind of expect it a little more now,” Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche told Kilgore. “Two years ago, it was almost like – I don’t know if you’d call it a shock. But it was like, ‘Wow, we must be pretty good.’ Now, I think we’re a pretty established team.”

The Nationals are healthy and Strasburg, after some scuffles during the season, is pitching like one of the best in the league. The Orioles are pitching just enough to take advantage of a shutdown bullpen, and their prodigious power is a threat to any opposing pitching staff, even without the suspended Chris Davis.

Together these teams are changing the face of baseball in the East divisions, and they each have sustainability. The Orioles have the resources to keep their best players, unlike the once-threatening Tampa Bay Rays, and the Yankees and Red Sox don’t look like they’ll be serious contenders anytime soon.

In the Senior Circuit, the Nationals could run their division for years if the Braves continue to slip and the New York Mets, Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies don’t figure out how to lift themselves above .500.

“The tea tastes sweeter, the ketchup’s better, things look better than they normally look,” Showalter told The Baltimore Sun‘s Eduardo A. Encina. “I woke up the other day and there’s a little crispness in the air, the leaves are starting to fall a little bit, there’s a little color starting to come in. It’s that time of year. It’s good to be alive.”

For the baseball teams of the Beltway, it could seem like that for the foreseeable future.

Anthony Witrado covers Major League Baseball for Bleacher Report. He spent the previous three seasons as the national baseball columnist at Sporting News, and four years before that as the Brewers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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There are guys who hit home runs, and then there are home run hitters. For most of his superlative career, the Detroit Tigers‘ Miguel Cabrera has landed squarely in the second category.

He’s a beast, a masher. A hitter opposing pitchers genuinely fear. A hitter you assume is going to launch one every time he takes a cut.

Like the cut he took Monday night against the Minnesota Twins. Facing right-hander Casey Fien in the top of the ninth with the Tigers up 7-6 following a Torii Hunter go-ahead home run, Cabrera added some insurance with an arcing liner over the left-center field wall. 

The result? An 8-6 Detroit victory.

It’s the kind of at-bat Tigers fans have come to expect from Cabrera. During a recent rough patch, though, those expectations weren’t being met.

Between Aug. 3 and Aug. 31, a span of 27 games, Cabrera didn’t hit a single home run. Overall, he managed just one blast in the entire month of August.

That’s after he belted 44 home runs in each of the last two seasons, winning a Triple Crown and a pair of MVP trophies in the process.

Manager Brad Ausmus confirmed to MLB.com‘s Jason Beck that Cabrera has a bone spur in his right ankle, which could account at least partly for the fizzling pop. 

As John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press put it:

In the first half of the season, Cabrera hit a lot of long drives that came down just short of the fence. The thought was that he was still recovering from his offseason core muscle repair surgery, and that in the second half he’d be strong enough that those long drives would start going over the fence. Instead, the opposite has happened.

Needless to say, anxiety was high in the Motor City. The Miggy worry meter was teetering between “elevated” and “freak out.”

Then, just like that, the calendar flipped, and so did Cabrera’s power switch.

He smacked a pair of home runs Sept. 1 in Cleveland. He repeated the feat Sept. 6 at home against the San Francisco Giants. In all, Cabrera hit five home runs in a seven-game stretch and has six in September.

The Tigers, not coincidentally, are winning. Detroit, 84-66, is 10-4 in September and has reclaimed first place in the American League Central, carrying a 1.5-game lead over the upstart Kansas City Royals into play Tuesday.

As they race toward October, the Tigers would like nothing more than a red-hot, long-ball-launching Cabrera leading the charge.

“What I did was fine,” Cabrera told Brian Dulik of MLB.com after his Sept. 1 outburst against the Indians, which came as part of a 12-1 Detroit victory. “But we won, so that makes it even better.”

Cabrera has been more than fine this season. Even with his August swoon, his .313 batting average, 23 home runs and 102 RBI put him at least on the edge of the American League MVP conversation.

But with his recent power surge, the Tigers must be thinking big things.

This is the team that made the deal of the deadline, netting ace left-hander David Price in a blockbuster three-team swap. The team that walked up to the doorstep of glory in 2006 and 2012, only to fall just short.

Cabrera is still noticeably hobbled. As he rounded third Monday following his back-to-back jack, he stepped gingerly, slowing to a shuffling jog. 

And the Tigers still have question marks, including in the starting rotation, despite the Price trade.

But Cabrera returning to form, provided the ankle cooperates, could propel Detroit to the front of the AL playoff scramble. A locked-in recent Triple Crown winner can mask a lot of flaws.

Either way, it’s got to be nice for the Tigers faithful to see Miggy being Miggy. And swinging like a bona fide home run hitter.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. 

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Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jonathan Papelbon will begin serving a seven-game suspension during Monday’s contest against the San Diego Padres.

MLB Public Relations reported the news of Papelbon’s punishment:

The Phillies released the following statement concerning the incident (h/t D.J. Short of Hardball Talk):

The Phillies fully support the decision of the Commissioner’s Office, which has exclusive jurisdiction for on-field player behavior. By Major League Baseball rules, the Phillies have no authority to make official judgments about activity which occurs on the field or to determine the appropriate penalty for misconduct. We apologize to our fans for the actions of our player yesterday.

Philadelphia fans booed Papelbon during a 5-4 loss to the Miami Marlins on Sunday. He was brought in to close out the game but yielded four runs in the top of the ninth, drawing the ire of those in attendance at Citizens Bank Park.

Frustrated by his play and the reaction it drew, Papelbon made an unfortunate gesture in response by grabbing his crotch. Second base umpire Joe West then ejected the closer for his conduct.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports has more details: 

USA Today‘s Jason Wolf documented Papelbon’s explanation of the incident, along with his interaction and history with the man who tossed him:

[West] basically came over and said I that did an inappropriate gesture and I had no clue what he was talking about. That is when I got upset. I had no idea what he was talking about. I had no explanation. I was still obviously pretty heated from what had just transpired. Me and Joe we go way back. We don’t see eye to eye a lot of times.

Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe weighed in after Papelbon denied any derogatory intent:

Papelbon has a 2.10 ERA and has converted 37 of his 41 save opportunities in 2014, so he isn’t having a bad season by any means. However, Joel Sherman of the New York Post provides some interesting insight into the situation:

With his contract guaranteed for 2015 and a vesting option for 2016, perhaps the Phillies may explore trade options for their All-Star reliever. This episode from Papelbon and the apparent friction between him and the organization could see him in another uniform to start next season.

There is no denying Papelbon’s talent and steady success on the mound. In all but one of his seasons as a pro he’s had his ERA under 3.00. It will be interesting to see how Papelbon’s gesture impacts his value on the trade block. If he doesn’t get a strong endorsement—public or private—from Philadelphia, it will be hard for the Phillies to sell him no matter how good he is.

At age 33, Papelbon should still have a few quality years left in him before he declines. A team on the precipice of contention could always use someone like him to slam the door in decisive games.

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1. Atlanta Works to Save Its Season

Not that the Atlanta Braves offense has gone quiet, but the library just called asking them to please make a little more noise.

A team that has spent a total of 86 days atop the NL East this summer suddenly is in a three-team scramble for one playoff slot. What’s that, you say? There are two NL wild-card slots? True enough. But you can award one of those to the San Francisco Giants or Los Angeles Dodgers, whichever team fails to win the NL West.   

That leaves one slot for the taking among one team (Pittsburgh) close to getting its mojo back thanks to MVP Andrew McCutchen, one club (Milwaukee) that appears to have a serious death wish and one (Atlanta) that right now couldn’t find its bats if you spotted it a GPS and a limo ride to the Louisville Slugger plant. Meantime, a Marlins club that just dusted the Braves lurks on the wild-card fringes.

Click Ahead to Other Topics

• Can Tony La Russa protect D-Backs from themselves?
• Personal matter deprives game of one of its best men
• Freddie Freeman comes up empty again vs. the Fish
• Exam time awaiting surprising Royals in playoffs 
• Price has not been right since trade to the Tigers
• The inherent unfairness of handling umpire warnings
• One reason for Mets fans to not give up on season yet
• The Captain flashes his defensive skills off the field

The Braves have been shut out in four of their past nine games and five times total during a 6-9 stumble over their past 15. The epitome of a streaky offense during the past couple of summers, Atlanta’s next hot stretch with the bats will be its first in a long while: Since Aug. 15, the Braves rank 22nd in the majors in runs per game (3.64).

“It’s been a challenge, it really has,” Braves hitting coach Greg Walker tells Bleacher Report. “When we’re hitting, you fall in love with us. But when we’re not…”

When they’re not, lost weekends like the one just spent losing two out of three in Miami pile up more harshly than B.J. Upton’s critics.

Clearly, it doesn’t take ol’ Captain Outrageous himself, former owner Ted Turner, to ascertain that the Atlanta lineup as presently constituted is fatally flawed: There are simply too many free swingers and not enough on-base guys. It takes a brave man to watch these Braves fan: Only the Cubs (1,291 whiffs) and Marlins (1,270) have struck out more than Atlanta (1,221) in the NL this summer.

Upton (163 strikeouts) ranks fifth in the NL, brother Justin Upton (146) is seventh, Chris Johnson (145) eighth and Freddie Freeman (129) tied for 12th. That makes for a lot of empty swings through the heart of manager Fredi Gonzalez’s lineup.

The diminishing returns are obvious: While the Braves have spun their wheels offensively since mid-August, their pitchers have produced a 2.88 ERA (second in the majors) and limited opponents to a .218 batting average (tied for first in the majors).

This was a team that was supposed to have issues on the mound when Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy went down for the season during spring training.

Instead, the Braves have pitched well all summer, but their 13 shutouts overall is tied for second-most in the NL with the Giants, Phillies and Reds. The woeful Padres lead the pack at 18.

Looking for production anywhere he can find it, Gonzalez promises to “ride” four-hole hitter Evan Gattis the rest of the way. Gattis, the popular El Oso Blanco (The White Bear), has swatted a career-high 22 homers, making him only the second catcher in franchise history to club 20 or more in each of his first two full seasons. Catcher Earl Williams (1971 and ’72) was the first.

So expect to see Gattis log plenty of innings behind the plate as the Braves scramble to keep what once was an inspirational season from turning bitterly disappointing.

It is not going to be an easy task. But it won’t be as difficult as fixing this flawed roster, which is how general manager Frank Wren will be spending his winter. B.J. Upton has three years left on his disastrous five-year, $75.25 million deal. Working to dispatch that contract alone likely will keep Wren dialing his telephone through the holidays.

2. Tony La Russa’s Chief Task: Boxing Out the Owner

Firing general manager Kevin Towers was the easy part for Tony La Russa, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ chief baseball officer.

Now comes the difficult part.

For La Russa to completely change the culture in Arizona and put the Diamondbacks on a winning path, his biggest challenge is going to be the construction of a firewall between owner Ken Kendrick and the D-Backs’ baseball operations folks.

Kendrick’s meddling and over-involvement in personnel decisions has been an open secret for years. And as those years pass, the names change in the GM’s office (Josh Byrnes, Kevin Towers, TBA) and in the manager’s seat (Bob Melvin, A.J. Hinch, Kirk Gibson), but one common link remains.

Outfielder Cody Ross and starter Brandon McCarthy signed with Arizona as free agents in December of 2012, and according to Bleacher Report sources (and first reported by Sports On Earth’s John Perotto), both signings were pure Kendrick over Towers’ objections.

Kendrick also was publicly critical of both outfielder Justin Upton and shortstop Stephen Drew before they were traded, damaging the D-Backs’ leverage by telegraphing that both players were short-timers who were not going to be brought back to Arizona.

One source within the Diamondbacks’ organization describes the owner as someone who always has been quicker to second-guess than offer many positive solutions up front.

La Russa already has mentioned nine people as potential GM candidates: Larry Beinfest (former Marlins GM and president), Allard Baird (Red Sox executive, former Royals GM), Gary LaRocque (Cardinals director of player development), Billy Eppler (Yankees assistant GM), Ray Montgomery (D-Backs scouting director), Hal Morris (Angels director of pro scouting), Tim Purpura (former Astros GM), Dave Stewart (Matt Kemp’s agent and former ace on La Russa’s Oakland clubs) and DeJon Watson (Dodgers assistant GM).

Yes, he is a key hire, but La Russa now faces many of the same challenges former Orioles GM Andy MacPhail faced in Baltimore with Orioles owner Peter Angelos: Keep the owner’s role a positive one, and convince him to hire smart baseball folks and let them do their jobs.

More and more it is becoming clear that it is no mere coincidence the Diamondbacks were a part of October in three of seven seasons under old owner Jerry Colangelo but in only two of 10 years under Kendrick.

3. Ron Washington: Godspeed

On Ron Washington’s baseball tombstone will be the story of how Eric Chavez, in 2004, presented the then-Athletics infield coach with his just-earned Gold Glove award in appreciation for Washington’s expert tutelage.

It is the fervent hope here, however, that Washington’s baseball tombstone is nowhere close to being erected. He is one of a kind—kind, genuine, old-school, passionate, funny and caring—and there is little to say right now except a prayer that whatever the issue that caused Washington’s sudden and stunning resignation last week, he’s able to handle it deftly and return to the game.

Naturally, the knee-jerk reaction was to wonder whether he had a relapse after testing positive for cocaine a few years ago. Rangers GM Jon Daniels adamantly said this was not a drug issue at Friday’s press conference.

No further details have emerged, and Washington, 62, disappeared just as quickly as the Rangers’ stunning announcement appeared. Here’s wishing him all the best, and wishing baseball the good fortune to see him again soon.

4. Freddie Freeman Smells Like Fish Against Marlins

Longtime Marlins advance scout Joe Moeller has been at it since 2002 for the club, contributing greatly to the team’s ’03 World Series title.

Nothing short of another championship will compare to that, of course. But the partnership of Moeller and the Marlins produced this phenomenon this summer: Braves All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman batted .135 (10-for-74) against them over 19 games, the worst average ever in a season against the Marlins (minimum 60 at-bats), according to STATS, LLC. Freeman cracked two homers and struck out 21 times.

5. The Kansas City Times Are Changing: Just Ask Steve Busby and Paul Splittorff

Be careful if you’re expecting the Kansas City Royals to fold down the stretch, as many apparently are, because of their inexperience.

One important aspect of this club is that young, core members such as Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Danny Duffy, Aaron Crow and others have won together at nearly every level of the minors.

This is a throwback team that has grown up together, learned together and knows it again will win together.

Manager Ned Yost told B/R a fascinating story about all of these prospects three years ago, in Kansas City in June of 2011. The story comes from when he attended his first Royals organizational meetings in January of 2010.

“I’ll never forget those meetings,” Yost told me then. “I wanted to know from our minor-league staff which kids are impact kids. They gave me name after name—Moustakas, [Mike] Montgomery, Salvador Perez—and finally I said, ‘Wait a minute. Are these impact kids, or kids you like?'”

The answer came back: impact kids.

Yost said that in all of his years in the game, he’s only seen a farm system that rich twice: in 1991, when he was in Atlanta’s organization and the Braves were poised for that run of 14 consecutive division titles, and when he managed Milwaukee from 2003 to 2008.

Part of the intrigue of watching how the Royals handle themselves down the stretch also will be watching Yost, whom the Brewers unceremoniously dumped with just 12 games left in the ’08 season because they thought he was wound too tightly as they were slumping and nearly blew a sure playoff slot (they wound up winning the NL wild card).

He made a colossal misstep by ripping the Royals’ own fans a couple of weeks ago. Hey, as much as they’ve put up with from an organization that hasn’t played a postseason game since 1985, they deserve a break.

The Royals are in the midst of an enormous series in Detroit this week after a one-for-the-ages weekend series in Yankee Stadium: In taking two of three, they finished off their first winning season against the Yankees since 1999. And in defeating the Yanks 1-0 and 2-0 during the series, it marked the first pair of shutouts the Royals have completed against the Yankees in the same season for the first time since 1975.

Granted, the Yankees aren’t what they once were.

But neither are the Royals. And for that, it’s about time.

6. And in Detroit…

The Tigers now have lost four of the seven games David Price has started for them.

Count ’em.

It’s still difficult to judge whether Detroit or Oakland has been more disappointing since July 31. But clearly, the Tigers are missing something without Austin Jackson, and the Athletics are missing something without Yoenis Cespedes.

Nominations are open.

7. The Problem with Umpire Warnings

Even giving the benefit of the doubt to the umpires and assenting that Dodgers manager Don Mattingly and ace Clayton Kershaw (who was not pitching; he was watching from the dugout) should have been ejected on a hot Sunday afternoon in Dodger Stadium, things never should have gotten to that point.

Yes, Oliver Perez hit Andre Ethier with a pitch immediately after Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp had clubbed back-to-back homers.

Yes, there is hella bad blood between the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks.

But Perez hit Ethier with a soft, 79 mph curveball.

Plate umpire Scott Barry was the man who immediately leaped to warn both benches, and if you thought Perez was headhunting in that situation, well, then…you, too, can be a major league umpire.

The problem with warnings is that, invariably, the other team is placed at a severe handicap because it can no longer pitch inside. Even if the pitcher accidentally hits someone, it’s an automatic ejection at that point.

There are times when things absolutely get heated and dicey. But there are other times when umpires need to do a far better job of reading a situation than they do. Sunday was one of those for Barry.

8. Juan Lagares Rocks

This guy gives Mets fans something to watch down the stretch. He is one sensational outfielder and a terror on the bases.

Beep, beep…

9. “Hello? Derek? Do You Have Prince Albert in a Can?”

Now this is how you handle unwanted calls…

9a. Rock ‘n’ Roll Lyric of the Week

Sending this one out to the Athletics and Tigers…

“We had a thing 
“We had a vibe 
“I made it like 
“A nine to five 
“Planned the wrong future through 
“I lost the job of loving you”

— Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, “I Lost My Job of Loving You”

Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. He has over two decades of experience covering MLB, including 14 years as a national baseball columnist at CBSSports.com.

Follow Scott on Twitter and talk baseball @ScottMillerBbl.

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Pop quiz, hotshot: Which Major League Baseball team has spent the most days in first place during the course of the 2014 season?

Here’s a hint: Check the picture up top.

Yep, it’s the Milwaukee Brewers, who surprisingly sat atop the National League Central with at least a share of the lead from April 5 until Sept. 1.

That amounts to 159 total days in which the Brewers led their division. The same Brewers who have since imploded to the point where they’ve gone from longtime leader to out of the playoffs entirely if the season ended Tuesday.

As that table shows, Milwaukee (74-70) isn’t the only former division front-runner that has fallen out of first. The Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics also have hit hard times, but the Brewers are in much worse shape going forward.

For one thing, the NL Central once again features three teams pushing and shoving against each other to get to October. After the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds became the first trio to make it to the playoffs from the same division in 2013, the Cardinals and Pirates are both in the thick of things—and ahead of Milwaukee—again this year.

That only makes the Brewers’ path more challenging.

Secondly, well, there’s this rather discouraging tidbit from the club’s play-by-play man Joe Block:

Note that Block’s tweet came from Sept. 5, at which point Milwaukee actually was in postseason position. Obviously, that’s no longer the case, which goes to show just how bad things have gotten.

It’s gotten so bad that the players called a closed-door team meeting Sunday, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes:

A sloppily played 9-1 loss to St Louis at Miller Park left manager Ron Roenicke disappointed and the players apparently alarmed enough to finally talk it over. The Brewers have lost 14 of 17 games to go from first place in the NL Central to third place and also out of the two wild-card spots.

“You know what, a sense of urgency is something that we need to get ahold of, as a team, as a unit,” said Jonathan Lucroy. “Something like that kind of wakes you up. We got punched in the mouth today. It’s about time we woke up from our little trance we’ve been in and get moving forward.”

If the meeting had an impact, it hasn’t happened yet: Milwaukee dropped Monday’s game to the Miami Marlins, 6-4, to extend what has been a season-altering poor stretch.

What has gone so, so wrong for the Brewers after everything was going so, so right for much of the season?

For starters, there’s that brutal nine-game losing streak from Aug. 26 through Sept. 4, during which they lost the final two games (and the series) to the lowly San Diego Padres and were swept in another three-game set by the Chicago Cubs, who remain in last place in the Central.

When the Brewers finally won, beating the rival—and now NL Central-leading—Cardinals last Friday, Sept. 5, they stopped the bleeding only temporarily. The Cards took the final two games and the series to put Milwaukee a season-high five games back.

The nine-game skid got most of the attention, but it was really only the nadir of a stretch in which Milwaukee has lost 15 of its last 18 games since Aug. 20, dropping them now six behind St. Louis in the Central and 1.5 in back of the Pirates for the second wild-card spot.

In that time, the Brewers have been outscored by a tally of—get this—111 to 56. In other words, they have been giving up twice as many runs as they’ve scored for nearly three full weeks.

With things that bad, the Brewers were lucky to win the three games they have.

That also goes to show that the team has been struggling in just about every facet of the game lately.

The once-potent offense, sparked by Carlos Gomez, pushed by Ryan Braun, Aramis Ramirez and Lucroy, and propped up by Khris Davis and Scooter Gennett, has fizzled. While Gomez spent a week nursing his way through a sprained wrist, Braun has been battling his own various ailments.

But no one on the team has hit much over the past month, as the club ranks in the bottom half in the sport in everything from runs scored to batting average to on-base percentage.

On the pitching side, the rotation that was so consistent for four-plus months has been anything but. Kyle Lohse (8.20 ERA in his past four starts), Wily Peralta (7.20) and Yovani Gallardo (5.95) have fallen off. Matt Garza made it back from an oblique injury that cost him a month—only to put up a three-inning, six-run stinker his first time out. Top prospect Jimmy Nelson hasn’t provided a lift either, with a 4.81 ERA since being inserted into the five-man rotation midseason.

If not for Mike Fiers, who has been a revelation since being brought back up in early August, things would be (gasp) even uglier.

Even the bullpen has been shaky, too, after being among the best in the game early on. Each of closer Francisco Rodriguez (2.58 ERA versus 4.02 ERA) and key left-handers Will Smith (3.09 versus 6.48) and Zach Duke (1.18 versus 5.65) have pitched significantly worse in the second half than they did in the first.

Make no mistake—there’s talent on the Brewers, and that could be enough to get themselves up off the floor and back to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

What they don’t have, however, is much in the way of depth. The organization’s minor league system is among the worst in baseball, having rated as either the worst or second-worst in all of baseball entering 2014 by each of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN (subscription required).

Beyond that, rather than bring in some reinforcements, general manager Doug Melvin chose to stand pat at the trade deadline, aside from the minor move to acquire veteran outfielder Gerardo Parra. Then again, perhaps Melvin would have done more had he not been hamstrung by a lack of coveted prospects.

The Brewers, however, are not done, even if it’s felt like it as they’ve gone 21-27 since the All-Star break. On the contrary, they’re still very much in the hunt, but each loss carries more weight and more impact at this stage because of how the season has been spiraling.

Given the Cardinals’ six-game lead in the Central and how poorly Milwaukee has been playing, it’s just about impossible to see a scenario where the Brewers regain first place with only three weeks left. The focus, then, has to be on the more reachable wild card.

If they fall short there too once the season is over, it’ll be amazing to think the Brewers spent the longest amount of time in first place in all of baseball—159 days and no longer counting—but that, in the end, it wasn’t long enough.

Statistics are accurate as of Sept. 8 and come from MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs.com, except where otherwise noted.

To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11

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