The sun did come up today, but that didn't mean I liked what I saw or how I, one of the most die-hard Milwaukee Brewers fans I know, felt about the team's season ending in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. It wasn't so much that my team lost, but how they lost the final two games that left me in my seat watching the Cardinals celebrate their World Series berth 10 minutes with tears in my eyes reflection on how close the team I love was to reaching the pinnacle of success.
Yes the final two games of the season, which saw the Brewers commit seven errors and that's what makes this sting that much more. This was not the Brewers team I loved for 162 games during the season and attended 29 games in section 223. This was the Brewers putting their worst foot forward with the pressure on the line. That's what the tears and the emotions were filled with, sitting next to April and R.J. after the game Sunday night.
I know as a fan you can sometimes get a little caught up in things and not see the negative in the team heading in. My experience writing sports, I feel, gives me a unique perspective, even for my favorite teams. That was the case with the Brewers and that was the case Sunday night. Yes, I knew the numbers and stats on Shaun Marcum, but with no one saying he was injured and was "right" I had some optimism. It wasn't much, but it was enough, as a fan to think there was a chance to get the series to a Game 7.
The Brewers I loved were the same ones you loved, especially after the All-Star Break when they were one of the hottest teams in baseball and ran away with the National League Central Division title with their pitching and the bats of MVP candidates Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. That's the Brewers I was expecting would have a flash on one night to capture that magic.
It was the same magic that made celebrating in the 223 with my summer family after Game 5 of the NLDS so much fun (even though I had a massive headache from yelling so much). After that we started to believe this might be the year. We all wanted to believe didn't we?
This was the same team that went 27-5 during one stretch of the season and had a Cy Young winner in Zack Greinke and an ace in Yovanni Gallardo that mesmerized us with the pitching this team desperately needed the last two seasons (Sorry Braden Looper!). So yes, down 3-2, I definitely still believed.
Down 4-0 and Corey Hart homers to leadoff the bottom of the first, it's only one, OK. But down 5-1 and Jonathan Lucroy hits a two-run bomb with a run already in to make it 5-4, yeah, I'm believing. After that, I'm not sure I had more than a glimmer of hope left in the team, down 9-4. The hill proved too tall to climb.
We were left with giving Prince a standing ovation when he took the field and Albert Pujols calling time to have him extend his moment with the fans. Yes, I got a little choked up there. It's something I'll talk in more length about later, but it was a similar moment to the one I had last year in what I thought was his last home at-bat. It will be tough to see him go, for sure, but I will love remembering every moment I witnessed of him coming into his own.
When Mark Kotsay struck out for the final out and the Cardinals rushed the field, my stomach sank. I just wanted the ride to keep going. The ride with Prince, Braun, T. Plush, and Sully (who threw out the first pitch Sunday night). With Galer in town for the week, I was really looking forward to going to Game 1 of the World Series and remembering it for the rest of my life, regardless of the outcome. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.
As downtrodden as I am right now, in two weeks I'll be exctited when Braun wins the MVP and I'll get jacked for spring training and Opening Day. It's just going to take a little while to get over how the season ended. Don't worry, my love for the Brewers will return next season in hopes of doing it all over again.
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