What should Brewer fans be watching for? What are some maybe pain points or some things that the Brewers are making sure are high on their scouting report when they're looking at the Rays?

Well, starting pitching is really good, especially the first two guys.

Drew Rasmussen has quietly been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year and probably one of the best pitchers in the American League.

He's been an absolute beast in the postseason, so he's going to be a challenge in game one.

And then Freddy Peralta.

We all know plenty about Freddy, and he has found his form.

He has been really good.

Have people come up to you and shared these stories of their lifelong or their father or grandfather's connection to the Brewers?

What should Brewer fans be watching for? What are some maybe pain points or some things that the Brewers are making sure are high on their scouting report when they're looking at the Rays?

Well, starting pitching is really good, especially the first two guys.

Drew Rasmussen has quietly been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year and probably one of the best pitchers in the American League.

He's been an absolute beast in the postseason, so he's going to be a challenge in game one.

And then Freddy Peralta.

We all know plenty about Freddy, and he has found his form.

He has been really good.

Have people come up to you and shared these stories of their lifelong or their father or grandfather's connection to the Brewers?

Mm.

He was out in the sixth inning, but that's not the same guy that I think they're gonna face in the World Series.

So, uh, the first two guys are, are really good.

Griffin Jax, ig- Nick Martinez, very accomplished pitchers.

They can be a challenge too.

I think the Brewers can have a little bit of a, a, a advantage when you just compare the two bullpens.

But you worry about that Rays lineup.

Okay.

What should Brewer fans be watching for? What are some maybe pain points or some things that the Brewers are making sure are high on their scouting report when they're looking at the Rays?

Well, starting pitching is really good, especially the first two guys.

Drew Rasmussen has quietly been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year and probably one of the best pitchers in the American League.

He's been an absolute beast in the postseason, so he's going to be a challenge in game one.

And then Freddy Peralta.

We all know plenty about Freddy, and he has found his form.

He has been really good.

Have people come up to you and shared these stories of their lifelong or their father or grandfather's connection to the Brewers?

How does

it all work? So when I was hired initially, this is my 11th year.

So when I was hired initially.

you know, you of course was, was the voice of the brewers and he was starting to cut back on his travel.

So really I was the third guy when I first got hired in 2016 and I just did whatever he didn't do, which was, I think my first year about 65, 66 games out of the one 62, he was still doing like 100 games and he was, you know, in his, in his almost into his mid eighties at that point.

Uh, I think he was 82 my first year.

So, uh, that grew over the years.

When did you notice that? How do you notice that most most obviously from the inside?

What's the week look like for the guys?

Yeah, they'll be at the ballpark.

They'll get their work in, right? Some of those guys will go uh to the trainer's room for a little bit because everybody's a little bit sore and and and been through a long grind of a season and and then they'll go out and take ground balls they'll take bp pitchers will throw sides uh and then you'll probably see some sim games as well there's to try to get some guys some live abs and get some pictures some competitive situations as well.

So it'll be a little bit of everything.

They're pretty good at this.

They've done this a lot the last two years where they've had layoffs.

They had a long layoff at the end of the regular season last year before the NLDS began against the Cubs.

As a broadcaster and from your perspective, would you rather go to Cleveland or Tampa when you talk restaurants, hotels, running paths, that sort of thing?

What's the week look like for the guys?

Yeah, they'll be at the ballpark.

They'll get their work in, right? Some of those guys will go uh to the trainer's room for a little bit because everybody's a little bit sore and and and been through a long grind of a season and and then they'll go out and take ground balls they'll take bp pitchers will throw sides uh and then you'll probably see some sim games as well there's to try to get some guys some live abs and get some pictures some competitive situations as well.

So it'll be a little bit of everything.

They're pretty good at this.

They've done this a lot the last two years where they've had layoffs.

They had a long layoff at the end of the regular season last year before the NLDS began against the Cubs.

As a broadcaster and from your perspective, would you rather go to Cleveland or Tampa when you talk restaurants, hotels, running paths, that sort of thing?

What's the week look like for the guys?

Yeah, they'll be at the ballpark.

They'll get their work in, right? Some of those guys will go to the trainer's room for a little bit because everybody's a little bit sore and been through a long grind of a season.

And then they'll go out and take ground balls.

They'll take BP.

Pitchers will throw sides.

And then you'll probably see some sim games as well to try to get some guys some live ABs and get some pitchers ready some competitive situations as well.

As a broadcaster and from your perspective, would you rather go to Cleveland or Tampa when you talk restaurants, hotels, running paths, that sort of thing?

What's the week look like for the guys?

Yeah, they'll be at the ballpark.

They'll get their work in, right? Some of those guys will go to the trainer's room for a little bit because everybody's a little bit sore and been through a long grind of a season.

And then they'll go out and take ground balls.

They'll take BP.

Pitchers will throw sides.

And then you'll probably see some sim games as well to try to get some guys some live ABs and get some pitchers ready some competitive situations as well.

As a broadcaster and from your perspective, would you rather go to Cleveland or Tampa when you talk restaurants, hotels, running paths, that sort of thing?

Lane, how do you think that Pat Murphy is managing this NLCS series versus the Dodgers differently than he did last year? In the future, though.

Yeah, I don't know if he's doing anything drastically different.

I think that what he's been able to do is get his team unlocked offensively.

And they just couldn't get unlocked last year against the Dodgers.

They scored one run in all four of those games.

I was going back and looking at some of the games from last year today, actually, and And you forget that game one was 0-0 going into the sixth.

And Quinn Priester had thrown four scoreless innings coming out of the pen in that game before Freddie Freeman hit that home run.

But also there's a part of me that wants us to come back to AmFam and have the Brewers win at home just so the fans have that just to experience at AmFam.

Lane, how do you think that Pat Murphy is managing this NL- NLCS series versus the Dodgers differently than he did last year?

Yeah, I don't know if he's doing anything, um, drastically different.

Uh, I think that what he's been able to do is get his team unlocked offensively.

And, you know, they just couldn't get unlocked last year against the Dodgers.

They scored one run in all four of those games.

And I was going back and looking at some of the games from last year today actually, and, and you forget that game one was 0-0 going into the sixth, and Quinn Priester had thrown four scoreless innings coming out of the pen, uh, in that, in that game before Freddie Freeman hit that home run and, and, and then, uh, off Chad Patrick, and then, and then the, the Dodgers ended up winning that game two to one.

That, that feels like a long time ago in that series because of what happened after that.

[laughs]

Lane, how do you think that Pat Murphy is managing this NLCS series versus the Dodgers differently than he did last year? In the future.

Yeah, I don't know if he's doing anything drastically different.

I think that what he's been able to do is get his team unlocked offensively, and they just couldn't get unlocked last year against the Dodgers.

They scored one run in all four of those games.

I was going back and looking at some of the games from last year today, actually, and And you forget that game one was 0-0 going into the sixth.

And Quinn Priester had thrown four scoreless innings coming out of the pen in that game before Freddie Freeman hit that home run.

And then off Chad Patrick.

uh i guess i'm curious lane just from your standpoint like i thought about this where i'm like okay i'd love to see the brewers sweep the dodgers just in the same way that the dodgers did last year to the brewers but also there's a part of me that wants us to come back to amfam and have the brewers win at home just so the fans have that just to experience at amfam

Lane, how do you think that Pat Murphy is managing this NL- NLCS series versus the Dodgers differently than he did last year?

Yeah, I don't know if he's doing anything, um, drastically different.

Uh, I think that what he's been able to do is get his team unlocked offensively.

And, you know, they just couldn't get unlocked last year against the Dodgers.

They scored one run in all four of those games.

Yeah, I was going back and looking at some of the games from last year today, actually, and, and you forget that game one was 0-0 going into the sixth, and Quinn Priester had thrown four scoreless innings coming out of the pen, uh, in that, in that game before Freddie Freeman hit that home run and, and, and then, uh, off Chad Patrick, and then, and then the, the Dodgers ended up winning that game 2-1.

That, that feels like a long time ago in that series because of what happened after that.

Yeah.

Oh.

I wouldn't say that I'm...

I wouldn't say that I'm very nervous.

Um, I just...

You just take these things one game at a time, to be honest with you.

I know that's very, very cliche, but the Brewers can't clinch the NLCS tonight.

They can only put themselves in that much better of a position.

What do you expect from the crowd out there? Will it be a factor?

What's the mood like? What's the feel? How are the guys doing? Are they loose? Are they quiet? What was the bus like?

Yeah, no, I mean, I'm on a different bus than the players, so I can't speak for the players, but all of the broadcasters are loose and ready to go, and we're excited to be here.

Look, I think this group understands what's still ahead of them.

You know, they have gotten off to as good of a start in this series as you could hope for, and that's an awesome thing, but there's work left to do, and I think they get that.

I don't think there's any... let up, you know, it's going to take still a very good effort to win this series.

And you've put yourself in a premium position, and that's as well as you could do up to this point.

But there's still work left.

What do you expect from the crowd out there? Will it be a factor?

What's the mood like? What's the feel? How are the guys doing? Are they loose? Are they quiet? What was the bus like?

Yeah, no, I mean, I'm on a different bus than the players, so I can't speak for the players, but all of the broadcasters are loose and ready to go, and we're excited to be here.

Look, I think this group understands what's still ahead of them.

You know, they have gotten off to as good of a start in this series as you could hope for, and that's an awesome thing, but there's work left to do, and I think they get that.

I don't think there's any... let up, you know, it's going to take still a very good effort to win this series.

And you've put yourself in a premium position, and that's as well as you could do up to this point.

But there's still work left.

What do you expect from the crowd out there? Will it be a factor?

Okay.

I wouldn't say that I'm, I wouldn't say that I'm very nervous.

Um, I just...

You just take these things one game at a time, to be honest with you.

I know that's very, very cliche, but the Brewers can't clinch the NLCS tonight.

They can only put themselves in that much better of a position.

And so, um, that's where it's at.

What do you expect from the crowd out there? Will it be a factor?

Mm-hmm.

Like, especially in a five-game series where momentum can swing quickly, um, every game feels like there's a, a heightened sense of urgency.

But the Brewers have Miz and a home crowd in their back pocket still, and they went through this last year.

The Cubs, you know, to their credit, took care of the Brewers for those two games at Wrigley and sent that series back to Milwaukee, and I think that experience benefits the Brewers here.

Whether they finish it off tonight because they're like, "We don't wanna go through that again," or they get on a plane tomorrow facing a game five and be like, "Look, we've been here before, and we've got the best pitcher in baseball starting tomorrow," or Friday, yeah, it'd be tomorrow night, in that situation.

So I, I think the Brewers have a...

They're still in the premium position here.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Like, especially in a five-game series where momentum can swing quickly, um, every game feels like there's a, a heightened sense of urgency.

But the Brewers have Miz and a home crowd in their back pocket still, and they went through this last year.

The Cubs, you know, to their credit, took care of the Brewers for those two games at Wrigley and sent that series back to Milwaukee, and I think that experience benefits the Brewers here.

Whether they finish it off tonight because they're like, "We don't wanna go through that again," or they get on a plane tomorrow facing a game five and be like, "Look, we've been here before, and we've got the best pitcher in baseball starting tomorrow, or Friday, yeah, it'd be tomorrow night," in that situation.

So I, I think the Brewers have a...

They're still in the premium position here, and even if they don't get it done tonight, they're still in the favorable position 'cause they're going home and they've got Miz.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Right? Like, especially in a five-game series where momentum can swing quickly.

Um, every game feels like there's a, a heightened sense of urgency.

But the Brewers have Miz and a home crowd in their back pocket still, and they went through this last year.

The Cubs, you know, to their credit, took care of the Brewers for those two games at Wrigley and sent that series back to Milwaukee, and I think that experience benefits the Brewers here.

Whether they finish it off tonight because they're like, "We don't wanna go through that again," or they get on a plane tomorrow facing a game five and be like, "Look, we've been here before, and we've got the best pitcher in baseball starting tomorrow," or Friday, yeah, it'd be tomorrow night, in that situation.

So I, I think the Brewers have a...

Mm.

Do you believe in the baseball gods? Do you believe in baseball karma? Because I do think that sometimes, some years, everything will go your way, and then other years, everything will go against you.

Yeah, I I really don't.

And I think that's a minority opinion within baseball.

But I I believe players win games.

And yeah, there's some weird bounces and things that happen.

There's there's these uncontrollables in the game of baseball, maybe more so than other sports, because every ballpark has different dimensions, unique features and different.

just things that can happen over the course of the game.

But what are some ground rules of different stadiums that you kind of get a kick out of or that you enjoy?

Do you believe in the baseball gods? Do you believe in baseball karma? Because I do think that sometimes, some years, everything will go your way, and then other years, everything will go against you.

Yeah, I really don't.

And I think that's a minority opinion within baseball.

But I believe players win games.

And yeah, there's some weird bounces and things that happen.

There's these uncontrollables in the game of baseball, maybe more so than other sports, because every ballpark has different dimensions, unique features, and everything.

Just things that can happen over the course of the game.

But what are some ground rules of different stadiums that you kind of get a kick out of that you enjoy?

Mm-hmm.

Like, especially in a five-game series, where momentum can swing quickly.

Um, every game feels like there's a, a heightened sense of urgency.

But the Brewers have Miz and a home crowd in their back pocket still, and they went through this last year.

The Cubs, you know, to their credit, took care of the Brewers for those two games at Wrigley and sent that series back to Milwaukee, and I think that experience benefits the Brewers here.

Whether they finish it off tonight because they're like, "We don't wanna go through that again," or they get on a plane tomorrow facing a game five and be like, "Look, we've been here before, and we've got the best pitcher in baseball starting tomorrow," or Friday, yeah, it'd be tomorrow night in that situation.

So I, I think the Brewers have a...

Mm-hmm.

Lane, is Miz off-limits tonight?

I don't know.

Uh, tha- that's one of the questions I've been throwing around in my brain all day long too.

Um, I, I would guess yes.

I, I, I would be surprised if the Brewers were willing to hand him the ball tonight in some spot, but I, I would never rule anything out in the postseason, right? I, I just, I, I just wouldn't do it.

But he's lined up to start Game 5, and the Brewers are still in a premium position here.

You know, I know that they didn't get the sweep last night.

How does the pitcher and success in performance indicate where Murph might move guys around in tonight's lineup?

Lane, is Miz off limits tonight?

I don't know.

Uh, that, uh, that's one of the questions I've been throwing around in my brain all day long, too.

Um, I, I would guess yes.

I, I, I would be surprised if the Brewers were willing to hand him the ball tonight in some spot, but I, I would never rule anything out in the postseason, right? I, I just, I, I just wouldn't do it.

But he's lined up to start game five, and the Brewers are still in a premium position here.

You know, I know that they didn't get the sweep last night.

How does the pitcher and success in performance indicate where Murph might move guys around in tonight's lineup?