The Brewers will battle the Phillies in the first round of the playoffs starting tomorrow in Philly. The Brewers will have to outhit the Phillies to win this series as Ben Sheets is out with a elbow injury. Yovani Gallardo will start the opener tomorrow against Cole Hamels and that is not a good matchup for the Brewers. Gallardo has good stuff but he has only started 4 games this season due to injury. C.C. Sabathia will follow Gallardo in the rotation and the Brewers better hope he brings his A-Game because last season he was ripped by the Red Sox. Still, in 17 starts with the Brewers, Sabathia is 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. It’s up in the air as to who will pitch in game #3 and #4 for the Brewers. The Brewers have a lot of power but they whiff a lot which sometimes kills rallies. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun are the Brewers’ top two hitters but J.J Hardy, Mike Cameron and Corey Hart all have good power.

PREDICTION FOR SERIES: PHILLIES IN 4 GAMES

J.J. Hardy proved that his 2007 season was not a fluke as the turned in another good year in 2008. Hardy has played in 141 games this season for the Brewers and he is 160 for 554 (.289 avg, .835 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 24 homers and 73 RBIs. Hardy has now established himself as one of the Brewers’ core players for the future.

The Brewers have fired Ned Yost after the team started September with a 3-11 record. The Brewers have dropped into a tie with the Phillies for the National League Wild Card with a 83-67 record. The Brewers are now 7.5 games behind the Cubs in the N.L. Central, so it’s Wild Card or bust and they didn’t think Yost was the man for the job. Yost was the manager for the Brewers for six years and he was 457-502 (47.7%). Yost definately wasn’t a battle tested manager for playing games that matter but the timing is very strange. Plus they hired Dale Sveum to replace Yost as the manager and he has never managed in the majors. It will be very interesting to see how this works out.

The Brewers have lost Gabe Kapler for the rest of the season with a torn muscle in his right shoulder. Kapler played in 96 games for the Brewers this season and he was 69 for 229 (.301 avg, .838 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 8 homers, 38 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Losing Kapler will hurt the Brewers’ bench as he played quite well for them this season.

The Brewers have designated outfielder Laynce Nix for assignment. Nix played in 10 games for the Brewers this season and he was 1 for 12 (.083 avg, .237 OPS) with 1 run scored. Nix never really found a niche in Milwaukee as he never really ever moved up the depth chart. Nix played in parts of three seasons for the Brewers covering 30 games in which he was 9 for 59 (.153 avg) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. Some team will give Nix another chance but it was time for the Brewers to move on.