Melvin on Brewers playoff push: 'Anything can happen'

By Jay Sorgi

CREATED Sep. 20, 2012

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  • Doug Melvin. | Photo: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

PITTSBURGH - Thursday morning, the Milwaukee Brewers stood two-and-a-half games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the chase for the second and last National League Wildcard berth.

The team's general manager, Doug Melvin, told Newsradio 620 WTMJ's "Wisconsin's Morning News" that in his belief, a team which has gone 22-6 in its last 28 games has the potential to not just reach the playoffs, but a lot more.

"If you get to the postseason, anything can happen," said Melvin. 

"We've seen it with the New York Giants, the Packers, the (St. Louis) Cardinals.  It's happened before.  The focus is to get there.  Once you get there, you can get on a roll and win it all, but you have to get there first."

The Brewers seem to be hitting their peak at the right time.

They'll need to play at their peak, as they face eight road games against playoff contenders, seven against the NL's top two teams in Washington and Cincinnati.

Two unexpected contributions to the Brewers' recent run have been guys who weren't on the roster when the season began: pitcher Mike Fiers and shortstop Jean Segura.

Fiers, slated to start Thursday against Pittsburgh, has had a solid 3.23 ERA this season, despite only going 9-8 so far since his call-up in late May.

"Mike's one that doesn't have a power-type delivery.  He's not a guy that goes deep into a lot of counts.  We'll keep running him out there and pitching him.  We've got to win every game," explained Melvin.

In his last four games, Segura has batted 7-14 with five runs scored.  He produced a double and triple in Wednesday's win in Pittsburgh.

"We have a group of guys who make him feel comfortable.  He's got great bat speed.  His approach is getting pretty good.  He's doing real well right now."