Cardinals Win NLCS, 4-2

There will be more to come later, but for now I'll just say that I had too much fun following this team to get down about their unraveling in the final two games of this series.

More to come in the next couple of days...

NLCS Game Four: Brewers 4, Cardinals 2

Box Score

We're back in business, baby!

Before the game started the season was on the brink. The Brewers were down 2-1 in the series and had looked mostly atrocious on the road. Even more concerning was the fact that Randy Wolf, who had a disaster start last time out in Arizona was taking the mound. Quite frankly, I did not believe this series would come back to Milwaukee. But at the very least, that is what's going to happen.

Wolf was the crafty lefty that he absolutely, positively needed to be and the offense finally found a way to get some hits with runners in scoring position. Even better, K-Rod and Axford were pitched (mostly) stress-free innings en route to a 4-2 victory. Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves an incredible series on our hands. A few quick thoughts:

-The slide Jerry Hairston made as he scored the tying run was incredibly beautiful. The throw beat him to the plate, but he was able to contort himself in a way to touch the plate safely. The play happened because...

-...Yuni Betancourt of all people is having a fantastic series at the plate. He's 7-16 in the NLCS with 4 RBI and a home run. That he's become the Brewers' ace in the hole this post season is not something I would have bet on under any circumstances. 

-Ryan Braun is continuing to cement his legacy as a Wisconsin sports legend. Should he stay healthy for the duration of his contract he will absolutely make the Hall of Fame.

-Prince Fielder has done the impossible: make me like Albert Pujols a little. Pujols, who is often dour and likes to admire his home runs, was smiling with Prince Fielder when he was on first base. Kudos to Pujols for appearing human and an even bigger kudos to Fielder for causing that to happen.

-Speaking of Fielder, he gave props to Ryan Theriot after he sharply grounded into an inning-ending double play. It was an incredible act of sportsmanship that deserves a lot of national attention. This, as well as the previous point, demonstrates that Prince Fielder gets it. Yes, the stakes are high, but at the end of the day baseball is just a game. The sooner fans, players, and owners realize this, the better.

-Whatever happens from here on out, I am ecstatic the series will end in Milwaukee. And hey, if we're lucky the series will end in the best way imaginable. 

NLCS Game Three: Cardinals 4, Brewers 3

It could have been worse, but it's still a loss. Now the hopes of a pennant (essentially) ride on the crafty left arm of Randy Wolf.

I give Gallardo and the Brewers a lot of credit for preventing the game from getting out of hand and crawling back to striking distance, respectively. That the Cardinals did not win the game 15-3 is something of a minor miracle, and at the very least it is nice to be involved in a taught LCS game. But that does not stop tonight's contest from leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

Anyway, I'm going to let this game dissolve into the past and focus on tomorrow. Hopefully the Randy Wolf will find a way to pitch a scoreless first inning. That would be a nice change of pace from the previous three road games.

NLCS Game Two: Cardinals 12, Brewers 3

The silver lining is that this only counts as one loss. The rusty lining is that the Brewers have to play three consecutive games in St. Louis. You could say that I'm concerned.

The Brewers needed Shawn Marcum to come out and pitch at least six strong innings. While this is not a unique need for the playoffs, in the case of Marcum it would be a sign that the last month has been nothing more than a fluke. After getting lit up yet again I'm led to conclude that he's hurt. Even if he's not, I don't think he should start another game.

The rest of the game was a cavalcade of frustration. The third inning, for example, was a case of balls being just out of the reach of defenders. And by just out of reach I mean that they touched leather. And then there was the 5th inning where, down 7-2, Rickie Weeks grounded into an inning ending double play with the bases loaded, even though replays showed he was clearly safe at first. Of course, an RBI ground-out is not going to do much good there, but when you're down big you need every out you can get. But hey, at least when the Brewers lose in the playoffs they lose big. So there's that.

Looking ahead, the Brewers realistically need to take 2 of 3 in St. Louis if they want to win the series. They have not looked good on the road this post season and Busch Stadium is not the easiest place to play. In short, they really need Gallardo to come up big on Wednesday and they absolutely need to win Game 3. If there was ever a time to return the favor from tonight, Game 3 is it.

NLCS Game One: Brewers 9, Cardinals 6

Scattered thoughts about the game:

-I do not have confidence in Zack Greinke to pitch effectively at the moment. However, I expect the Brewers to win all of his starts at Miller Park. Despite his lackluster performance today, the Brewers improved to 17-0 at Miller Park when Greinke starts. They should almost throw him out there tomorrow to see what happens.

-Ryan Braun currently occupies a different plane of existence right now. After going .500/.571/.889 in the NLDS he got going in the bottom of the 1st by mashing a 460-foot homer to give the Brewers an early lead. He stayed hot in the 5th with an RBI ground rule double to deliver the first blow of the Crew's decisive six-run rally.

-Also as part of the rally was a go-ahead homer by Prince Fielder that traveled at the speed of 119.2 MPH. That was the highest speed of any home run hit in 2011.

-It's important to remember the double play Saito coaxed from the bat of Albert Pujols in the 7th. It scored a run, but as far as I'm concerned it saved the game. Anything besides a double play would have allowed Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday to come to the plate representing the tying (or possibly go-ahead) run. John Axford was masterful in the 9th and technically got the save, but Saito deserved it.

-Tomorrow Shawn Marcum will be on the mound to (hopefully) rebound from a disastrous start in Arizona. I have very little confidence in Marcum at the moment, but all he really needs to do is go six innings and give up no more than three runs. The last time he did that at Miller Park was against (surprise!) the Cardinals. Here's to a repeat performance.

NLDS Game 5: Brewers 3, Diamondbacks 2

I have been very busy this weekend, thus finding the time to write about this game has been difficult. Moreover, there is not much to be said about what happened because the sheer greatness of the game is self-evident. I do have two quick points to make:

1) That was baseball at its finest. This was a taught, well-played game from start to finish. The intensity in each dugout and the stands was as high as you will ever see for any sporting event. I'm happy I got a chance to watch the game, I'm happy the Brewers were involved, and I'm happy the Brewers won.

2) Nyjer Morgan's series-winning singles was an extremely rare play the sports fans live for. The only thing that compares is Al Harris' game-winning pick-six to beat the Seahawks in the playoffs back in 2004. The tension of the situation, the excitement of the play, and the pandemonium that ensued will never be surpassed. It was an important and iconic moment that will be remembered in Wisconsin forever.

NLDS Game 4: Diamondbacks More, Brewers Less

So much for that confidence I had in Randy Wolf.

As bad as Game 3 was, Game 4 was that much worse. I had high hopes after Braun's RBI double and Weeks was at the plate with runners at the corners and one out. Funny how an inning-ending double play can change your mood. 

The bottom of the 1st for one shining moment looked like nothing more than a scare. But then Ryan Roberts hit a grand slam and the rout was on. Chris Young added a home run for good measure and I showed tremendous restraint by not smashing anything.

The pitching tonight was horrible, yet the Brewers had their chances to get back in the game. They had ample opportunities to rally with RISP, but apparently they decided that rallies are not fun and settled for the scattered run here and there. 

I can handle losing, but the past two games have been nothing short of abysmal. That said, I'd rather lose like this than via the blown save. Of course, I'd rather win and not have to write that.

So now we're going back to Milwaukee for Game 5. Yovani Gallardo will have a rematch with Ian Kennedy at Miller Park, and if we're lucky we'll experience similar results. If that does not happen and the Brewers lose I will be very bummed out. I may even be depressed for a little while. But at least I'll be depressed about losing in the playoffs, which I suppose counts for something.

NLDS Game 3: Diamondbacks 8, Brewers 1

Box Score

Tonight's game was a flaming disaster from start to finish. Well, that's not entirely true. The Brewers had a chance to snag an early lead in the top of the first, but Rickie Weeks struck out with runners on first and second to end the only rally the Brewers had all night long. With the bats taking a night off Shawn Marcum decided to end the game early by misplaying a inning-ending double play in the 5th and then surrendering a grand slam. I suppose that if you're going to lose, you may as well lose big and spare yourself second guessing.

So where do we go from here? The Brewers may end up being the first National League team to lose a Divisional Series after leading 2-0. And you know what? If that happens I will still feel great about this season. Yes, I will be bummed that my favorite Brewers team of all time will be done playing baseball. And yes, I will be sad that a legitimate chance to win a pennant will have been squandered. But, and I can't emphasize this enough, this season has been so much fun that to do anything besides enjoy the post season at this point does not make any sense. I mean, why feel tense and nervous when you don't have to? I don't like feeling anxious, so I am not going to let that happen.* Watching a Division Champion baseball team has proven to be a once in a lifetime event, so I am going to enjoy it when I can.

*a) That may or may not be true, and b) while this perspective is more or less a defense mechanism, I do adhere to it on a strictly intellectual level. 


Tomorrow the Brewers will pin their NLDS-Clinching hopes on the craftiest of lefty of them all, Randy Wolf. For some reason this gives me a lot of confidence. Furthermore, I do believe the Brewers will bounce back tomorrow and advance to the NLCS. They are such a talented and confidence bunch that it's quite unlikely that Game 4 will be a repeat of Game 3. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

NLDS: Games 1 & 2

The saying "it ain't over until it's over" applies perfectly to baseball. The Red Sox had a 9.0 game lead in the Wildcard on the Rays heading into September, yet they failed make the playoffs. Last week the Dodgers had the Diamondbacks down to their final out with a five run deficit and nobody on base, yet still lost the game. As of right now the Brewers are in great shape to advance to the NLCS, but that will not mean anything until the final out of the clinching game (Tuesday?) is recorded. 

That said, I can live with whatever happens. Watching the Brewers take games 1 and 2 at Miller Park in front of a raucous crowd was nothing short of incredible. That the Crew gave them a lot of things to cheer about was even better. A few scattered thoughts about those things:

Game One

-The key to the series thus far has been the Brewers scoring more runs than the Diamondbacks. A play that greatly ensured that happened was Braun throwing out Willie Bloomquist at home plate in the top of the 1st of game one. Gallardo was not settled in from the get-go, and an early deficit could have caused things to spiral out of control. Braun's throw nipped that in the bud and allowed Gallardo to dominate the rest of the way.

-Kirk Gibson's decision to pitch to Fielder in the bottom of the 7th with a base open and two outs was a decision that I would have made. I hate the intentional walk because it a) defeats the purpose of competition and b) deprives the fans of an opportunity to see something awesome. However, in this case Gibson (and a hypothetical, alternate reality version of myself) was wrong. 

-The 1-2-3 9th from Axford was much appreciated.

Game 2

-What Braun has been doing this season is transcendent. He has entered a level of offensive greatness at the plate I never thought I would see from a Brewer. He hits for power and average, he steals bases and rarely gets thrown out (33 SB, 6 CS in 2011), he's cut down on his strike outs, and he walks a decent amount. To top it off, he's become is decent fielder. That he's signed through 2020 make me happy to no end.

-Zack Greinke pitched like feared he would. He looked filthy at times and disturbingly hittable at others. The seven strikeouts are good, the three home runs are not. Hopefully he will have another start to redeem himself. Speaking of the pitching...

-...The bullpen did a great job by keeping the Snakes off the board. The collective efforts of Saito, Hawkins, Rodriguez, and Axford was very commendable. The Brewers would not be where they are without them. With that said, I hated watching just about every second of the last three innings. Hawkins and K-Rod made horrible visions dance in my head, while Axford was seemingly torturing us by delaying the inevitable victory as much as possible. Collectively they combined for three innings, six baserunners (1 hit, 5 BB) and 76 pitches. Some more efficiency in the future would be appreciated. 

-Finally, the five run outburst in the 6th inning was a long overdue dosage of euphoria for Brewer fans. The Crew has received tremendous support from its fans and has given precious little back in return. The bottom of the 6th was the "thank you" we've been waiting for. The way things are going, I don't think we'll have to wait much longer for the next one.