On July 27, the Brewers were battling the Cardinals and the Pirates for first place in the NL Central, and then second baseman Rickie Weeks went down with a severe ankle sprain. The injury was expected to keep Weeks away for several ... weeks ... and the Brewers looked to be up against it.

Fast-forward to September 8. Instead of sinking, the Brewers have established a huge division lead, and even better, Weeks is back:

Rickie Weeks has been activated from the Disabled List and will be active tonight.

Weeks will not start out of the chute, instead being limited to pinch-hitting duties for a short while. But he should be back to full strength at the plate and in the field before long, in plenty of time for the playoffs.

Weeks returns to an .825 OPS and 19 home runs. Since his injury, the Brewers have leaned heavily on Jerry Hairston Jr., who has done a fine job. Hairston will soon assume his more familiar utility role.