After surveying his handiwork -- the joyous celebration that accompanied Milwaukee's first trip to baseball's postseason since 1982 -- hired-gun-turned-franchise-savior CC Sabathia had one thing to say about the Brewers' chances in the playoffs.

"It's our time," he said.

But is it?

As the final-day winners of baseball's Heimlich Division, otherwise known as the National League wild card race, the Brewers aren't expected to stick around long in the postseason.

Few outside of baseball-mad Wisconsin will look at the eight playoff teams and conclude Milwaukee is the one that will win the World Series. In fact, the Brewers, who open their NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies today, are probably the longest shot in the field.

Still, being one of eight still standing is a place the Brewers haven't been in 26 years and, it should be noted, the baseball playoffs are among the most unpredictable in sports.

Indeed, history tells us there is no great predictor of playoff success in baseball, that it doesn't matter if a team comes in hot or cold, if the pitching staff is rested or frazzled, if it has playoff experience or is a postseason newbie, if it has the best record in its league or is a wild card entry. Despite the Brewers' roller-coaster season, that should give them hope.

But that's not the only reason to think the Brewers will fare better than the experts think. They have the best pitcher on the planet in Sabathia, some fear-inducing hitters -- Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder -- who have rediscovered their power strokes and a fresh enthusiasm that comes with getting this far for the first time.

On the other hand, there are reasons to think the Brewers will have to be content with just getting to the playoffs. Their offense is overly dependent on the long ball and their pitching staff is in disarray after former ace Ben Sheets was lost to injury, closer Salomon Torres hit the wall and interim manager Dale Sveum had no choice but to tax his entire staff during an all-or-nothing final week.

But even though Milwaukee is peaking at the right time with six wins in its last seven games, there is one nagging question that makes it hard to take Sabathia's prediction seriously: Can the Brewers beat good teams?

Despite winning two of three against the Chicago Cubs over the weekend, evidence suggests they can't. Remember, the Cubs arrived with the Central Division title in hand and didn't exactly extend themselves.

More telling is the Brewers' record against top teams when it counts. From July 28 until Thursday, the Brewers played 17 games against the three NL division winners -- Chicago, Los Angles and Philadelphia -- and the New York Mets, the team they edged for the wild card. Their record in those games was 2-15.

All too often the problem was the Brewers' free-swinging lineup stopped hitting when it ran into good pitching. That's unfortunate because good pitching is all the Brewers will see in the playoffs.

So while nothing is out of the realm of possibility for Sabathia and the team he's carrying on his back, it's just not realistic to think this is the Brewers' time.