Haudricourt: It might defy logic, but Brewers built team chemistry early while rebuilding

ATLANTA – Looking at it from a logical viewpoint, there is no reason for the Milwaukee Brewers to have great team chemistry at this early stage of their rebuild.

Sometimes, baseball defies logic, however.

The collection of ballplayers that has defied logic by staying atop the National League Central for much of the season hasn’t been together that long, for the most part. Of the regular players, only leftfielder Ryan Braun, who has been on the disabled list for weeks, and shortstop Orlando Arcia came up through the system. And they are 11 years apart in age.

Catcher Manny Piña was acquired from Detroit. Centerfielder Keon Broxton came up in Pittsburgh’s system. Third baseman Travis Shaw came to the Brewers from Boston. First baseman Eric Thames played the last three years in Korea, for Pete's sake. Jack of all trades Hernan Perez was claimed off waivers from the Tigers. Rightfielder Domingo Santana was part of a huge trade with Houston.

And it goes on and on. Chase Anderson came up with the Diamondbacks. Junior Guerra traveled the world before being claimed from the White Sox. Backup catcher Jett Bandy came from the Angels over the winter. Backup first baseman Jesus Aguilar was snatched from Cleveland just before spring training.

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How did this band of baseball gypsies form such a tight bond so quickly? Hard to say but Eric Sogard, who has made a huge impact in his first five weeks with the club, noticed it right away in spring training.

“It seems like everyone is friends, even back to the spring,” said Sogard, who was called up from Class AAA in mid-May. “Everybody came together and it’s a good brotherhood here.

“That’s going to be a key to our success. It’s tough to fake. We definitely have it here. It’s real. You can see by the way we play.”

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To use a phrase often repeated by Counsell, the Brewers seem to enjoy each other’s company. Much of it is the enthusiasm and spirit of youth. Many of these players are getting a chance to prove they belong in the majors and are energized by that challenge.

These Brewers don’t care much about the naysayers from the outside. To the contrary, they enjoy proving them wrong.

“I think a lot of it is the energy we bring to the ballpark every day,” said Pérez, who has improved immensely since coming to the majors. “We are young and we love to play baseball. We play hard and try to win games.

“We like to enjoy the game and have fun. Everybody is connected. We want to prove we belong in the bigs. A lot of guys are playing well, and that helps. Everybody wants to be a part of this.”

In spring training, Aguilar and Thames put together an impromptu receiving line in the dugout for teammates who hit home runs. It’s something of a forearm-bashing gauntlet, with the celebrated player greeted in fraternity house manner as he makes his way to the end of the line.

“We’re all just friends; we have fun together,” Thames said. “It’s pure chemistry. We all get along.

“The cool part is we don’t have any pressure on our backs. Nobody expected us to win, like the Cubs last year. Baseball is tough when there’s a lot of pressure on you. We don’t have any of that. It’s like, ‘Do your best. Don’t suck.’ All right, whatever.”

That all-for-one and one-for-all attitude has served the Brewers well during the tough times this season. They have absorbed some brutal late-inning losses and other discouraging moments that might have divided teams with less esprit de corps.

Instead, the Brewers find ways to bounce back and get on track, often within the same series, as they did against Pittsburgh last week. The Brewers dropped the first two games in lackluster fashion, 8-1 and 7-3, but bounced back to take a pair of hard-fought victories and split the series.

“We have bounced back from some tough games,” Pérez said. “We’ve been like that all year. We never give up. We’re going to have some bad days, but the next day we come out and battle.”

That dynamic defies logic as well. Inexperienced teams don’t always respond to adversity in positive fashion. But the Brewers have done it all season, digging footholds just when it appeared they might be going in a downward spiral.

Obviously, talent is the major component in this equation. If you don’t have good players, all the chemistry and camaraderie in the world won’t save them. But it is definitely interconnected. Teams that stick together have a better chance of succeeding than those with players who proceed in me-first fashion.

“We’ve got each other’s backs,” said closer Corey Knebel, a budding star acquired from Texas in January 2015 in the Yovani Gallardo trade. “It’s unreal. Every day, coming into the clubhouse, is a new day. We’re all doing the same thing, preparing like it’s a new day.

“I can’t say enough about how awesome this group of guys is. We know what everyone thinks we’re going to do, and we’re showing what we’re made of. It’s something to see. It’s just a great group of guys. It all works.”

Sogard played for postseason clubs in Oakland in 2013 and 2014, so he knows what it takes to have a winning atmosphere. And he feels a similar vibe in the Brewers’ clubhouse.

“That’s one thing we had going in Oakland those few years,” he said. “If we continue to stick together as a team and come to battle each day, we’re going to have some success down the road. The team chemistry is going to keep us driving and continuing to compete.”

Logic be damned.