Milwaukee Brewers lost Christian Yelich for the season last night to a fractured kneecap. He will be out of the season and the foreseeable future. This is an obvious blow to the Milwaukee Brewers’ chances at making the playoffs for consecutive years. That’s something Milwaukee never had to happen in the history of their franchise. Brewers are one game back after their win on Tuesday night, and Chicago losing a wild one in San Diego, 9-8. If Milwaukee wins again tonight with a Cubs loss, they’ll be tied for that final spot in the MLB Playoffs. Yelich is very hard to replace but it’s time for Milwaukee to rally each other to pull off the Hollywood story. Can they do it? Unlikely. Will they do it? Sports is a weird and magical place.

Yelich carries a WAR of 7.1 wins, that’s crazy. Seven wins are attributed to Brewers right fielder’s season. For context, this means that Brewers are about one game over .500 without him. That’s reasonable and can get that. They’re going to need players to set up for them and be leaders of this ballclub. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a players-only meeting today before the game. This is not over for anyone, and the Brewers have the schedule plus the talent to carry this thing to the finish line.

The schedule works out for the Brewers besides St. Louis. They play the likes of Miami for two more games, San Diego for four at home where Milwaukee is 12 games over .500 at Miller Park. Three versus Pittsburgh, three versus Cincinnati and three against Colorado. If they can take one of three from St. Louis and keep their head above water, they have a real shot. Only the Diamondbacks of the Wild Card teams have an easier finish to the season.

As for the players, Yelich will be tough to replace with that ridiculous WAR, but they do have some young talent to play for them. Trent Grisham is good, and he will become a near everyday starter. That’s a huge plus for the team. There will be the occasional Ben Gamel outing too. Mike Moustakas pinch-hit then played third last night, so, he may be back in the lineup. Keston Hiura is making good progress. Same with Brandon Woodruff. Those are three big-time players ready to return to action and will give Milwaukee a boost.

If the Brewers found a way to get in the dance, it would truly be special and something you only see in movies. Let’s defy odds and do this damn thing.

Charlie.