Sometimes, baseball gives you some storylines that write themselves. On one hand, you have the Milwaukee Brewers, who you must admit have come as an out-of-syllabus question. They have the tenth-lowest payroll in baseball yet managed a 14-game winning streak. The longest in the franchise history! Sure, they ended the streak in a tight 3-2 extra innings with the Reds, but the message was clear—the Brewers are not easy to take down. Then, on the other side, there are the Chicago Cubs.
They are fighting a slump and wearing the badge of “underdogs” like an honor. But this is what Pat Murphy doesn’t buy—not even an inch of it. “They have All-Stars, MVP candidates, veterans, Gold Glove winners, and world champions,” Murphy said simply. “What don’t they have? They’re not the underdogs. Trust me.”
And well, for Murphy, that’s him being honest, and it’s hard to argue. His team is at 78-45 and owns the best record in the league right now. And the Brewers reached there without the help of superstars.
Pat Murphy does not like the narrative that the Cubs are the underdogs in the NL Central race pic.twitter.com/O6moOuA2dh
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 18, 2025
They are not a big market team like LA and New York. In fact, Athletic had just mentioned that the teams should learn a lesson from Milwaukee. And it makes sense; the team did what they did relying on the players they had—and everyone contributed. That’s key. Along with the fact that Murphy’s front office tactics worked big time. So for him, if anyone is playing the underdog card, it’s Milwaukee—the team that’s punching way above their weight now.
Still, there is something useful about the “chip on your shoulder” approach. And Murphy knows it, as everyone has seen before, how dynasties like Mahomes and the Chiefs manufacture the underdog energy. Meanwhile, Murphy’s statement comes at the thick of what Jed Hoyer, president of the Cubs mentioned recently. When he was asked whether he meddles with Craig Counsell’s decision. He said, “I’m going to give an answer that will frustrate people … Hit your best players the most often. (It’s) really simple, and it works.” He also mentioned there is a lot of time spent on lineup construction that could be used in the field or somewhere else. Now, whether that’s a dig or not, only Hoyer knows.
Well, between Murphy’s takedown of the underdog theory and Hoyer just keeping it simple, things are getting interesting.
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