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It’s the same message his father used to deliver before games. It’s the same thing the Milwaukee Brewers’ interim manager scrawled on a clubhouse board Sunday.
“Give ’em Hell.”
CC Sabathia sure did. So did everyone else.
Now Prince Fielder and these blue-collar Brewers, the guys who untuck their shirts after each victory to acknowledge a job well done, get to move on.
“Something special has happened,” Sveum said just before getting on a bus to fly to Philadelphia for Game 1 on Wednesday afternoon. “We want to continue it throughout the playoffs and hopefully get 11 more wins.”
Next up, the Phillies, who were swept out of last year’s playoffs by Colorado.
Quite a way for the Brewers to start October, after such a shaky start to September that included a 3-11 stretch and cost manager Ned Yost his job.
“I sent Ned an e-mail,” general manager Doug Melvin said just after the Brewers clinched. “Dale’s done a wonderful job these last 12 games in a tough situation with the pitching the way it was. (But) this is a big part of Ned, too.”
On Monday, Melvin still hadn’t heard from Yost, whom he picked to run the Brewers six years ago and who had promised to be celebrating wherever he ended up.
“I haven’t heard back from Ned, but I plan to hear back from him. I don’t know if he’s traveling and he went away for a few days or whatever. I’ve talked to Ned a couple of times (previously),” Melvin said.
With Sveum taking over, the Brewers reached the postseason for the first time since 1982.
“We didn’t take the direct path that everybody wanted us to take, but we took the fun path,” said infielder Craig Counsell, who grew up in the suburbs of Milwaukee and won World Series rings with Florida and Arizona. “We made it exciting.”
It was a long time coming, and thousands of fans came out for a rally sending the Brewers off.
Milwaukee hasn’t seen the playoffs since MVP Robin Yount (now the bench coach) hit two home runs on the season’s final day win the AL East. That squad also saw manager Buck Rodgers replaced with Harvey Kuenn as “Harvey’s Wallbangers” reached Game 7 of the World Series.
This season looked lost so many times, including May 1 when Yovani Gallardo tore a ligament in his right knee hurdling a baserunner in Chicago.
Melvin lamented he’d no longer have his promising young righty to form a 1-2 punch with ace Ben Sheets.
But Melvin focused on finding the best rental after years of building a farm system that produced a lot of homegrown talent.
On July 7, Melvin landed Sabathia from the Indians for four prospects in what looks like one of the best midseason trades ever.
Sabathia (11-2, 1.65) has been dominant in every way, throwing seven complete games with the Brewers and winning 14 of his 17 starts. In his past three, he’s thrown 335 pitches — all on short rest.
Sabathia looked get stronger in each of his starts as the game went on, striking out 11 against Pittsburgh on Wednesday before a four-hitter in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over the Cubs.
In the final inning, Sabathia was still hitting mid-90s mph on the radar gun, and nearly hit a homer himself in the sixth with a long foul ball.
“We’re never going to give up,” shortstop J.J. Hardy said.
Without the larger-than-life lefty, these Brewers would have fallen far short and nearly played themselves out of the postseason race anyway.
After being the second best team in the NL most of the season, Milwaukee lost four straight to the Cubs to end July and four more in Philadelphia that erased what was left of a 5½-game wild card lead entering September.
But these Brewers kept bouncing back behind Sabathia and just enough power when it counted.
“It’s been a crazy week, crazy month, crazy year for that matter,” said Ryan Braun, who hit the tiebreaking homer with two outs in the eighth. “We really had to overcome a lot to get to this point. A lot of different guys contributed.
“It is really special. Nothing was given to us. We haven’t played great this month, but great teams find a way to overcome that and win tough games,” he said.
Sveum, who played in Milwaukee until 1991, waited for his chance to help the franchise that drafted him in the first round in 1982.
“This is a dream come true,” said Sveum, who parlayed his pitching staff perfectly down the stretch after being the oft-criticized third-base coach in the 2004 Red Sox championship run. “It’s just a fantasy world right now.”
It sure helps to have Sabathia, who keeps adding zeros on the scoreboard — and to his potential payday once free agency begins — with each trip to the mound.
But Sheets, who started the All-Star game and is the longest-tenured Brewers player, might not get that chance despite years of toiling on terrible teams. Sheets says he’s likely done for the year because of a bad elbow.
But Gallardo is back, scheduled to pitch Wednesday’s Game 1 after throwing 67 pitches over four innings on Thursday in his first start since May 1.
“I love that they’re giving me the opportunity to go out there,” Gallardo said.
Sabathia will pitch Thursday’s Game 2, his fourth straight start on three days’ rest, and could return on full rest for a potential Game 5, if necessary.
“This is big because the city’s been starving for this. Everybody’s excited,” Sabathia said. “This is unbelievable.”
