\u201cI would tell Roman and Isaac, just from my experience, play as long as you can,\u201d Mike Collins said. \u201cBecause once it\u2019s over, it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Mike Collins, it was basically over with the 1994 Sugar Bowl, a 41-7 humiliation by Florida that ruined an undefeated season. The polls had squeezed West Virginia out of the Orange Bowl \u2014 which matched No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Nebraska \u2014 and the Mountaineers, he said, could not shake that letdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe difference between that experience and what the Brewers are doing now is that the Brewers have everything within their control,\u201d Mike Collins said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have to rely on somebody putting them into a game. All they\u2019ve got to do is continue to win and play the way they\u2019re playing \u2014 being selfless and next man up \u2014 which is what they\u2019ve done all season.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Brewers will almost surely reach the postseason for the seventh time in the past eight years, still searching for the first championship in franchise history. Their summer streak could be another tease, but they\u2019ve overcome plenty just to get here.<\/p>\n
Milwaukee opened the season in the Bronx, losing three to the Yankees by a combined score of 36-14. Collins was there, but only because another outfielder, Blake Perkins, had broken his shin with a foul ball in spring training. The team was unsure of Collins\u2019 defense \u2014 he\u2019d played more second base in the minors \u2014 and his bat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t think he\u2019d be with us full-time; we thought he\u2019d be an up-and-down guy, to be honest,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t show the ability to swing left-handed last year. And even in spring, we were like, \u2018Eh, he\u2019s a right-handed hitter off the bench.\u2019 But it was a nice security blanket \u2014 and he\u2019s the right kid, we knew that. He gets it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Brewers, there was a lot to like. In selecting Collins from the Rockies \u2014 who had left him off their 38-man Triple-A roster after the 2022 season \u2014 they saw a versatile switch-hitter with speed (30 steals in Double A) who understood the strike zone. Those qualities always help.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sometimes joke about dumpster diving here in a way that is actually a lot of fun,\u201d general manager Matt Arnold said. \u201cWe have a lot of guys that have been overlooked for a lot of years, and you always have to try to find value in (those) spots. I think it shows up all over our roster, but especially with somebody like Isaac Collins.\u201d<\/p>\n
The opening series was a \u201cyard sale,\u201d Arnold said, so it was easy to miss what Collins did. He didn\u2019t start, but in his first at-bat of the opener, he saw nine pitches before grounding out. In the ninth inning, he drove a one-hop double off the wall in deep right-center. The next afternoon, Collins went 1-for-2 again.<\/p>\n
The opportunities kept coming, and Collins kept producing. He has stayed sharp on the mental side by working with the team\u2019s sports psychologists and said that makes a difference, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it was just \u2018What\u2019s within my control?\u2019\u201d Collins said. \u201cThat\u2019s my mind, body and craft. And if I can really get the best out of all three of those three things, then I\u2019m going to give myself the best chance to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Brewers \u2013 the Brewers!\u00a0 \u2013 are making the most of those chances, and winning more than anybody else.<\/p>\n
Gimme FiveSeattle\u2019s Matt Brash on the slider<\/p>\n
The Seattle Mariners travel to Williamsport, Pa., for Sunday\u2019s Little League Classic against the Mets. If aspiring young pitchers want to learn a new pitch, they should seek out tips from Matt Brash.<\/p>\n
Brash, a 27-year-old right-hander from Kingston, Ont., deploys one of baseball\u2019s most devastating sliders. No American League pitcher (min. 30 innings) throws the slider more often than Brash, who uses it more than 60 percent of the time. And why not? Batters are hitting .188 off Brash\u2019s slider, with no extra-base hits until Jackson Holliday beat him with a double in Baltimore on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
A fourth-round pick from Niagara University in 2019, Brash was traded from San Diego to Seattle at the 2020 deadline for righty Taylor Williams. After leading the majors in appearances in 2023 with 78, Brash underwent Tommy John surgery and returned this May. As the primary setup man for All-Star Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz, Brash has a 1.42 ERA.<\/p>\n
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A look at Matt Brash\u2019s slider grip. (Tyler Kepner \/ The Athletic)<\/p>\n
Here are some thoughts on his signature pitch:<\/p>\n
A teammate\u2019s tip made the difference:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019ve always been able to spin the ball really well, just from childhood. I used to throw a knuckle curve more going into college. In my junior year one of my teammates, Tyler Howard<\/a>, threw a lot of sliders. I think he only threw in the low 80s, but it was a really good slider and I was like, \u2018What\u2019s your grip?\u2019 You know, just ballplayers shooting the (bull). And I started trying it and it was okay, but once I got into pro ball, my velo started to tick up and the slider has gotten better and better each year. Now I\u2019m just super comfortable with it, and I can throw it in any count, at any time.\u201d<\/p>\n The old guys were nasty, too:<\/strong> \u201cMy dad\u2019s a huge Jays fan, and I was a huge Jays fan growing up. So I\u2019ve seen some of Dave Stieb\u2019s stuff<\/a>, maybe just like old clips of it, and he had a great slider. I love seeing some of the older pitchers throwing crazy stuff. I feel like we throw really good stuff now, but back in the day, there were still big sliders, big sweepers, whatever you want to call it.\u201d<\/p>\n A trade and a year off helped:<\/strong> \u201cI just saw it as a new opportunity. The Padres were kind of trying to change some stuff with my delivery \u2014 maybe they didn\u2019t love the way I threw \u2014 but when I got to the Mariners, they were like, \u2018Hey, just keep doing what you\u2019re doing.\u2019 And it helped after the COVID year I went from mid-90s to touching 100 that next spring. I worked really hard in the COVID year. I feel like my arm maybe needed a little break and I got my shoulder healthy and probably gained another 15 pounds and I did a real throwing program for the first time, maybe, ever.\u201d<\/p>\n Play that funky movement:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019ve had hitters, especially righties, say that it doesn\u2019t get that normal depth and sweep on it. They think it\u2019s going to drop, but it kind of just stays across and sweeps across the zone, so I get a lot of guys swinging underneath it. I think that paired with my velo, there\u2019s just something about it. It\u2019s a good pitch and I get whiff on it, so I throw it a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Dos and Don\u2019ts:<\/strong> \u201cWhen I get underneath it, it sometimes just gets spinny and isn\u2019t as sharp. So I try to stay on top of it, almost like a curveball, and when I catch a seam, I get that good horizontal (movement). I always tell guys: \u2018Middle finger inside the horseshoe, index is actually off the ball when I release. Throw it like a heater and let the grip do its thing.\u2019 A lot of guys try to throw the big slider and sometimes you can see them trying to manipulate the ball. I feel like the good ones are coming right off your heater grip, same arm speed, obviously, and just with a lot of conviction. I feel like that\u2019s why mine\u2019s really good, too: I\u2019m not trying to get big sweeping numbers, I don\u2019t really care. As long as I\u2019m throwing it hard and (with) full conviction, that\u2019s what I\u2019m going for.\u201d<\/p>\n Off the GridPat Zachry, Phillies and Dodgers<\/p>\n Whenever the Immaculate Grid asks for someone who played for the Phillies and Dodgers, I think of Pat Zachry. This is unusual, I know \u2014 his rarity score was .05, meaning that just .05 percent of some 46,000 Grid players chose Zachry for that spot.<\/p>\n But we\u2019re all a product of our experiences, right? And Zachry pitched mop-up relief for the Dodgers in Games 3 and 4 of the 1983 National League Championship Series at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. I was there, eight years old, totally enraptured by the whole scene. Two years later, Zachry ended his career with the Phillies. So that\u2019s why he came to my mind.<\/p>\n Most people remember Zachry for something else. When he died last year, the headline of Zachry\u2019s obituary<\/a> said he was \u201cknown for a lopsided trade.\u201d That\u2019s true enough; it was Zachry\u2019s fate to be the one pitcher the Mets acquired from the Reds when they foolishly traded The Franchise, Tom Seaver, to Cincinnati in 1977.<\/p>\n
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