here were many surprise stories in baseball in 2008, and many teams in October that weren’t traditional playoff clubs. The Milwaukee Brewers were one of them, having made their first playoff appearance in 26 years. The Brewers’ success wasn’t a total surprise, since they were becoming a winning team anyway. But the way the Brewers got to the playoffs was a shock, rebounding from many slumps to win the wild card under trade-deadline steal C.C. Sabathia. But Sabathia is gone, and he isn’t the only big Brewer gone with him, as the Brewers try for a playoff repeat.