FanHouse Seth Mcclung

Don't get nervous, Brewers fans, Ryan Braun isn't asking out of Milwaukee. Quite the opposite, actually. He's asking that general manager Doug Melvin try to pull off something like he did a year ago Tuesday when the Brewers landed CC Sabathia in a deal that helped propel them to the postseason for the first time since 1982.

The timing of Braun's request is understandable. The Brewers just dropped three of four games at Wrigley Field to the recently revived Cubs, and two of those games featured poor starts from Mike Burns and Seth McClung. Those aren't names you'll find starting games for too many playoff teams, something Braun would like the Brewers to be this season.

Ever since CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets left Milwaukee via free agency, questions about starting pitching have hounded the Brewers. Could they replace their two aces? Could they compete without them? Yovani Gallardo has been great at the top of the rotation this year, striking out nearly a batter an inning to go with his 3.00 ERA, but behind him the rotation is in shambles. Manny Parra was demoted to Triple-A last week and Tuesday, the Brewers learned they're going to have to put Dave Bush on the disabled list with a small tear in his triceps.

It might seem that this move, which leaves Braden Looper and Jeff Suppan as the best two starters behind Gallardo, would precede some kind of trade, but a major league source told FanHouse Tuesday night that the Brewers don't expect Bush to miss much time, and while he's on the DL, they'll try to get by with Mike Burns,who is taking Bush's rotation spot on Thursday.

FanHouse continues it 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Brewers are a really interesting team. Last March, everyone expected them to make a run at the playoffs, and they expected them to do so without any knowledge of the CC Sabathia trade and with the assumption that Ben Sheets would spend some time on the disabled list. In the end, they did make the playoffs, but they did it with half of a season of Sabathia and almost 200 innings from Sheets. Now those two are gone, and everyone expects the Brewers to take a step back this year.

With the playoff chase coming down to the wire, our MLB editor rounds up the five biggest pennant race stories in Eye Toward October.

- No Time for Panic: The Brewers finally stopped the bleeding Wednesday night, beating the Cubs to end a five-game winning streak and keeping pace with the Mets, who were also victorious, in the wild-card race. But they might be worse off anyway. Ben Sheets left the game after two innings with stiffness in his forearm. After the game, Sheets revealed he has been battling elbow soreness since late August -- describing it as a "cutting" sensation.

Yikes. Considering this is a team that just couldn't go on with its manager with two weeks left in the season and the wild-card lead, it's hard to imagine that the possibility one of its best pitchers being out indefinitely will go over well. Milwaukee has already made its panic move by firing Ned Yost. Now they're really in trouble, right?

Yes and no. Sheets was slated to make two more starts this season. If he can't make either, you'd be hard-pressed to argue that the Brewers have a better chance at qualifying for the postseason than they did yesterday. That doesn't mean we should bury them entirely, though.

After all, it's only two starts. Sure, maybe they're two of the biggest starts in a quarter century for the franchise, but how many mediocre pitchers, even terrible pitchers, have strung together two good starts in a row in the major leagues. Heck, Carl Pavano even won two consecutive starts at the end of last month.

Stars are born this time of year, but so are unlikely heroes who rise to the occasion at the right moment then fade into baseball oblivion. (See: Spencer, Shane.) Carlos Villanueva or Seth McClung would be in line to start should Sheets be unable to go, and both are capable of turning in a good start or two.

There have been plenty of histrionics about the Mets and Brewers collapsing, but odds are one of those teams is going to the postseason anyway. With or without Sheets, there's no reason it can't be Milwaukee.

On Deck is Fanhouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

I understand why Mets fans are upset with their team, after all, the sting of last season's collapse in the final weeks is still pretty fresh in their memories. Then there's the fact they have a $138 million payroll, and the team has been hovering around .500 during 2008. What I don't get is that when you talk to a Mets fan about the team, they talk about the team as if they're dead and buried.

You guys do realize you're only 3.5 games out of first place, don't you? There are still 74 games left in your season, which is plenty of time to make up such a small deficit. This is something you should be well aware of after watching the Phillies overcome a larger gap in an even shorter amount of time.

I know you're in third place at the moment, but I wouldn't expect the Marlins to stay where they are during the second half of the season with that bullpen and the inconsistency of their starting pitching. Trust me, if the Phillies are worrying about holding their lead over anybody, it's you guys. Not the Marlins.

With a win today, the Mets will have taken three of four from the division leaders this weekend, and be right back in the race. So cheer up, Mets fans, you kids are still in this thing!

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups

Chicago Cubs (49-30) vs. Chicago White Sox (43-35) - 4:05 PM ET

The final weekend of interleague play for the season kicks off in the Bronx at 2 but the most meaningful game is in Chicago. The two Chicago clubs are in first, just as they were last week, but the White Sox can't afford another sweep at the hands of their crosstown rivals. The Twins are hard on their tail, a half-game back as play begins today, and there's that whole bragging rights thing to worry about too.

They'll need to do a better job against Ryan Dempster (9-2, 2.63) this time around. He held the Sox to one run in eight innings to win Sunday's finale at Wrigley Field. Dempster's won his last four decisions in what's turned out to be a very successful conversion from bullpen to rotation. They'll also need a better outing from their own starter. Jose Contreras (6-6, 3.96) got thrashed for 10 hits and nine runs in three and a third innings.