4 takeaways from the Brewers "holstering" the Mets in their season opening sweep

It is always better to go 3-0 than 0-3, which is exactly what the Milwaukee Brewers did in their season opening series against the Mets in New York. Baseball will always be a 162-game stretch where anything can happen, but it can be incredibly fun during the early season to play the on pace game.

For example, the Milwaukee Brewers are on pace to go 162-0 and Brice Turang is on pace for 2002.5 steals! Both of which would be amazing, but obviously not going to happen. That being said, there are some takeaways from the opening series that do give us a glimpse into how the team will look moving forward. 

1. These are not the same old Brewers

Since his introduction as the new lead man for the Brewers, manager Pat Murphy has shown he is not afraid to show his full personality. He’s tough, and uses who he is as an advantage. The 2024 Milwaukee Brewers are not a Craig Counsell team with Murphy at the helm. This is a team that shows personality, believes they can win every game, and will not back down from anyone.

The infamous “slide heard around the world” was evidence of that. First year Brewer Rhys Hoskins not only had the entire team out of the dugout to support him, but also mocked Mets infielder Jeff McNeil via a crybaby taunt. Then, he went on to go 3-for-3 with a home run the next game before the Mets threw at him, resulting reliever Yohan Ramirez being ejected.

Why does this matter? Because the story doesn’t end there. After he closed out game two, Brewers reliever Abner Uribe motioned “shhh” to the Mets dugout and holstered a finger pistol, non-verbally saying, now we're done. This kind of on field display of spunk was rare under the previous regime, whereas now it almost feels encouraged. The incident brought national attention to the squad, something that doesn't always happen with Milwaukee. 

2. If you’re on first, plan on getting to second

Through three games, the Brewers have stolen eight bases. Tied for the major league lead, half of those have come from Brice Turang. Small ball has not ever been a high priority for a Brewers franchise known for sluggers like Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and Christian Yelich at the height of his powers. Now, a new era seems to be dawning.

The club has a massive influx of not only youth, but athleticism. Getting runners from first to second, with the speed to score from second on a deep single puts constant stress on opposing teams. It is extremely fair to expect at least a third of the starting lineup to finish with over 20 steals. 

3. It takes a village to make a pitching staff work

Freddy Peralta had a dazzling opening day to the tune of six innings of one run ball, paired with eight strikeouts. As advertised, he is the staff ace. After him, there are still question marks. D.L. Hall did well to work his way through a career long outing of four innings, surrendering two runs. On Sunday, Colin Rea did Colin Rea things, posting two runs over 5 innings. That’s a total of 15 of 27 innings pitched by the starting staff.

This number could be alarming down the stretch as the bullpen is responsible for an average of four innings per game. Bryan Hudson as well as a host of other relievers stepped up in the opening series. They will need to continue to be a strength for the Brewers moving forward. 

4. Jacks-HIM Chourio

Waiting until bullet point four could be seen as a massive disservice to the debut performance by top prospect Jackson Chourio, but that's how good the Brewers as a team looked in the series. Chourio started all three games, including batting leading off Friday's season opener. He went for a combined .417 average with two RBI and a stolen base.

In the field, Chourio did not look out of place playing in right. He made a few great reads on fly balls defensively and utilized his plus athleticism to get into position on another couple, which makes us give him a 70-grade debut series.

There is so much hope and excitement surrounding the team currently. To put it simply, the vibes are immaculate. Every phase of the game - pitching, defense, and the bats - complemented each other to open the season. Here’s to another year of spending nights watching or listening to our Milwaukee Brewers.