Game Fifty Eight: Brewers 3, Marlins 2

Box Score

The Green Bay Packers' victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV provided me with a boost of euphoria and a moment that will make me happy for a long time. There are few things better than living your life knowing one of your teams just won a championship. That said, I do have one teeny, tiny gripe about the Packers' Super Bowl run: Every post-season game was not a blow out. I'm aware of how absurd this gripe is, but stick with me.

The Packers beat the Eagles in the first round thanks to two missed field goals by David Ackers, a game-saving tackle of DeSean Jackson by Desmond Bishop, and a game clinching interception by Tramon Williams. In the Super Bowl, the Packers essentially sealed the game with this play:

Notice how that play was less than one inch from not happening. The (very small) problem that I have when I look back at the Super Bowl run is that it's far too easy for me to imagine some key plays going the other way, and I don't like thinking about anything other than what actually happened. Again, I'm aware that this is akin to saying "The problem with having millions of dollars is that it's hard to choose which mansion to buy," but I think you get the idea. In professional sports the difference between a win and a loss is impossibly small. It best not to think about this microscopic gap, but John Axford apparently wants Brewer fans to think about it every time he takes the mound.

Axford has fifteen saves on the season and has converted twelve in a row. On the surface this is a sign of dominance. However, if you look closer you'll see that the tying or go-ahead run has reached base in eight of his saves. On three other occasions an opposing player reached base and allowed the batter to represent the tying run.

The Brewers are tied for the Wildcard lead and only 2.0 games back of first place in the division. But when you think about it, they're three or four timely hits away from being in sizable hole. Of course, it's best not to think about it.

Other notes:

-The Brewers have not been six games over .500 since 2009.

-Nyjer Morgan hit a home run in his first plate appearance of the evening. It was also this first time he faced Christ Volstad since this happened. It's also worth noting it was only the fifth homer of Morgan's career.

-Yovani Gallardo has lowered his ERA from 6.10 to 3.72 since May 2nd. It's amazing how the machine-like nature of professional baseball players almost invariably causes their stats to regress to their career norms. Let's hope this hold true for Casey McGehee.

-Though Axford drives me nuts, he has 36 strikeouts in 26.1 innings. He can get away with allowing baserunners because he can get outs without the ball being put in play. As maddening as he can be, it's important to remember that he's also very nasty.