Is there anyone out there who's been following them closely that can share some in-depth info on the team? I know the players and know who is playing well and not but if there's anyone with a solid appraisal of the team's chances this year to do some damage in the playoffs, I'd appreciate hearing from them.
You're in luck; I'm a born and raised MA kid (grew up 30 mins from the RI border) who moved out to Wisconsin for law school, and around here unless you're up in Green Bay the Brewers are really the main game in town. Plus, tickets are cheap :-)
In my opinion, I think that Philly's got to be the favorite to make it back to the World Series, but if the playoffs started today it would be Philly-Arizona and Milwaukee-Atlanta in the first round, unless the Cards make a last-minute push for the Wild Card, in which case it's Philly-St Louis and Milwaukee-Arizona. Either way, of all of the teams theoretically making a run for the playoffs, the ONLY teams that seem like the Brewers don't match up well against them are Philly, San Fran, and St. Louis. Atlanta's got slightly better pitchers, but the offense of the Brewers blows them out of the water. The Dbacks benefit from being in the weak NL West, and despite the Giants' win last year, unless their stable of pitchers leads them to the playoffs the DBacks are going out quickly and quietly.
So we're left with the Phillies in "if they ended today" scenario, and, quite honestly, while the prevailing theory is that two aces are all you really need -- ex: 2001 Diamondbacks -- I'm not so sure that we don't have a chance to pull off the upset like San Fran did last year. For one, Philly gets tight in close games on offense; their pitchers can throw tremendous games, but they have to put some runs on the board to win. Philly's relief core, is, in my opinion, worse than the Brewers; Madson's been good this season, but he also has a history of imploding. And while the Phillies may have the edge in an offensive player-to-player analysis at 2B, SS, and C (and maybe 1B, though I'd take Fielder over Howard), the Brewers are much better in the OF spots and at 3B. And don't underestimate the "Fielder may be leaving" motivator; a lot of people around here think it's going to kill the chemistry, but I believe it's going to p--- the team off and make them push harder to keep the guy here.
So, if the Brewers make it to the NLCS, and can stretch it to 6 or 7 games, be at least 2-2 by the end of Game 4, I think they could surprise people. If they start off slow, though, Philly will shut the door on them. And if the Brewers DO make it to the World Series . . . well, I don't know if they have the bats to match up with the Sox, Yankees, or Rays, but I could see them as a good matchup against the Tigers if they can get to Verlander or the Rangers if they can hold on against their offense.