MILWAUKEE — If Christian Yelich has learned one thing in 11 big-league seasons about first-place clubs and trade deadlines, it’s this pearl of baseball truth:
“Whenever you have the opportunity to get in, you should try to capitalize on that and make the most of it,” said the former MVP of the Milwaukee Brewers.
“You just never know how many chances you get to win, to be a postseason team.”
Yelich wasn’t exactly trying to offer advice for the Cincinnati Reds and general manager Nick Krall.
But that was the context. That and the reason Yelich is uniquely qualified to offer that kind of advice – the kind that ought to be played on a motivational-tape loop every time Krall prepares to call the White Sox, the Tigers or anyone else with a starting pitcher they no longer need.
Josh Hader trade still stands out
“It was probably more of a shock than anything,” Yelich said of the day before the trade deadline a year ago when the Brewers traded away one of the most dominant closers in the game from a defending division champ with a three-game lead in the NL Central.
Team president David Stearns added a few role players, including a lesser closer to backfill for Josh Hader, but the wrong-way impact on the clubhouse was palpable by all accounts.
And the Brewers missed the playoffs by one game.
“Obviously, trading a guy like Josh was never going to help,” Yelich said. “But it also can’t be used as a copout, either, for why we didn’t make it.”
Except that there was not a single bigger factor.
And, by the way, the team that finished one game ahead of them for the final NL playoff spot?