Brewers 2013 Schedule: What We’re Waiting For

Now that the end of the 2012 Milwaukee Brewers season is truly upon us, the healing process can begin.

And how exactly do you heal from a crushing blow like missing the playoffs after making the NLCS the year before? Complete denial of course.

So with hopeful eyes, we look forward to the 2013 season, and try to figure out what we feel will be the best Interleague series to watch in the next Major League Baseball season.

We decided to focus on Interleague Play, since the expansion of it throughout the season offers more than a few interesting match-ups and story lines. Plus, how many times can we really say “I can’t wait to play the Cubs?”

Brewers vs. Rangers (Miller Park) May 7th – 8th

This two-game set comes early in the year, and marks the return of Texas to Miller Park for the first time since 2010, and the first meeting of both of these teams since that time, when Texas took out of three. It also keeps going a long-time rivalry that began when both teams played in the American League, with Milwaukee holding a 176-151 advantage in the all-time record books. It is also the first Interleague series for Milwaukee.

Brewers vs. Twins May 27th – 28th (Miller Park) 29th – 30th (Target Field)

Yeah, that’s right. We play a two game set with the Twins at home, hop on a plane, and play a two game set against them again on the road.

The Twins are nothing to write home about necessarily, and looking down the road there’s little reason to think they will make much noise in 2013. I guess this series is interesting because playing the Twins is all we really ever counted on in Interleague Play, but this strange split four-game series is just weird. It may not be the best series in the bunch, but it should provide some fun.

Yoenis Cespedes is just one of the future stars in Oakland worth watching when the A’s come to town in 2013 (Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE)

Brewers vs. Athletics (Miller Park) June 3rd – 5th

This series will be first trip for Oakland to Miller Park since the park opened. These two clubs haven’t faced each other at all since 2002, when the Crew traveled to Oakland. But that’s not what interests me the most. The fact that Oakland is going through a revival period of sorts, and the Brewers are struggling to be a perennial contender makes me think this series is going to be an important one for both teams. And the chance to see a team like Oakland – that mid-west fans don’t normally get to watch – makes it even more intriguing.

Brewers vs. Astros (Minute Maid Park) June 18th – 20th

This three-game series will mark the first time Milwaukee will play Houston since their move to the American League. Houston is going through a lot of change this year and through the off-season most likely, but have young talent and a lot to prove with new ownership, management, and new division competitors. To say nothing of the fact that they played spoilers to Milwaukee several times in 2012. The Crew, by the way, having a losing record all-time against Houston.

Brewers vs. Angels (Miller Park) August 30th – September 1st

There’s no telling where Zack Greinke will end up in 2013, but you’d better believe that

Hey, remember this guy? (Kelvin Kuo-US PRESSWIRE)

the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are going to make a strong play for him. If he stays put, you know the biggest angle of the Brewers’ last Interleague series is going to focused squarely on his shoulders.

And that says nothing of the pair of incredible sluggers the team has in Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo. If we can guess that those two will produce even close to the numbers they put up in 2012, it will be a fun series. There’s great pitching match-ups, great players throughout both teams, and hopefully playoff implications in the mix as well. What’s there not to like?

2013 World Series: Brewers vs. AL Champions (TBD)

Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?