ESPN MLB Playoffs 2008

The last time the Brewers were in Philadelphia, from Sept. 11 to 14, they were swept in four games, outscored 26-7, and were in deep trouble in their quest for the playoffs. And they were also on the verge of an unprecedented firing of their manager.

And here it is, less than three weeks later, and the Brewers have made a great surge down the stretch, made the playoffs for the first time in 26 years and made Milwaukee a great baseball town again. Now they play the Phillies again.

Here are five questions heading into the series:

Who would you rather have pitching for you right now, CC Sabathia or Bob Gibson?

Sabathia's work (11-2) for the Brewers, especially down the stretch, has been astounding.

"He's the best pitcher in baseball,'' said teammate Ryan Braun. He's the most durable, for sure. Sabathia became the first pitcher since Esteban Loaiza in 2003 to make three straight starts on three days' rest; the difference is, Sabathia's games were hugely important, and he was fabulous in all of them, including a complete game (his 10th this year) in the regular-season finale Sunday. This from a guy who knows he won't be pitching in Milwaukee next year. He won't be able to pitch Game 1 in this series, but he will be able to pitch Game 2 on three days' rest, and will be able to start a potential Game 5 on full rest.

How does the rest of the Brewers' rotation look?

Not so good. The Brewers' brass met Monday to determine who will start Game 1 -- that's never a good sign when a meeting is needed to determine your Game 1 starting pitcher. But the Brewers have been operating the past 10 days on a must-win basis every day -- they haven't operated game by game, but inning by inning. The options include most everyone other than Ben Sheets, who is injured (elbow), and will not be able to pitch at least in the Division Series, if at all in this postseason. The Game 1 options include left-hander Manny Parra (shelled by the Phillies this season), Dave Bush (tough, won't panic) or the combo platter of Yovani Gallardo and Seth McClung. "It will be a smorgasbord," Brewers GM Doug Melvin said. Gallardo (67 pitches) pitched very well Thursday, his first start since May 1. He gave up one run in four innings, then McClung took it from there. It's a risk throwing a kid as young and inexperienced as Gallardo in such a big game, but he has great stuff. And against that Philly lineup, having great stuff will be very important.

How does the Philadelphia rotation look?

Good, and rested. By wrapping up the National League East on Saturday, the Phillies were able to keep ace Cole Hamels from pitching on Sunday, and have him for Game 1 on more than full rest. For the Phillies, the key to this series, and perhaps the entire postseason, is Brett Myers.

His return from the minor leagues was followed by an 11-start stretch in which he was terrific, including a two-hitter against the Brewers on Sept. 14. But in his past two starts, he has allowed 14 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings. The Phillies have enough starting pitching to win the series without Myers at his best. But if he's at his best, the Phillies' rotation could be very, very good.

How good is Ryan Howard right now?

His September numbers were absurd: .342 average, .848 slugging percentage, 10 home runs and 28 RBIs have been matched in baseball history only twice, by Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg in 1940 and Babe Ruth in 1927, the year in which he hit his 60th home run. Howard is one of the game's great streak hitters, and if he continues to swing the bat this way, the Phillies will be hard to beat, especially if the guys in front of him get on base like they did this season against the Brewers: Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Chase Utley went a combined 24-for-48 against the Brewers in 2008.

How's that Brewers mojo now?

The stunning firing of Ned Yost seems to have worked, because this team seems to have taken to new manager Dale Sveum. Sometimes, great things come from great adversity, and this team has great momentum going into this series. And it has a bunch of young, hungry kids who have never been to the playoffs.

Leading the way is left fielder Ryan Braun, who has more home runs (71) in his first two major league seasons than any player in history other than Joe DiMaggio, Ralph Kiner and Eddie Mathews. In the past week, Braun has hit the two biggest home runs by a Brewers player in the past 26 years. One was a walk-off grand slam to win Thursday, making him only the second player in history (joining Steve Finley) to hit a walk-off slam for a contender with fewer than five days remaining in the season. The other homer gave the Brewers the lead for good in Sunday's final game against the Cubs.

Prediction: Phillies in 5.

Tim Kurkjian is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. His book "Is This a Great Game, or What?" was published by St. Martin's Press and became available in paperback on May 27. Click here to order a copy.