By: Big Rygg
What…a…season.
Ladies and gentlemen, as a reminder (or maybe it’s new knowledge for you) I am 28 years old. I was 2+ when the American League version of the Milwaukee Brewers won the pennant. I vaguely recall bits and pieces, but really I don’t remember much. There’s a chance that part of my recollection is fabricated memories built up over time from all of the stories I’ve been told year and year of that magical and awesome year of baseball in Milwaukee.
Well I am quite pleased to report that I now have an official, unquestionable set of my own memories of playoff baseball. It’s unfortunate that I won’t be adding to those memories any more this year, but what a ride it was.
I was at the final four games housed by Miller Park in 2008 and I wouldn’t have traded any of them away. (Side note: To those of you that sold your tickets to Cub fans for that final series of the season: Shame on you. Double shame if you actually attended a playoff game afterward.) In 36 innings of baseball I had a season’s worth of emotions. High hopes when Saturday’s (September 27th) game began, incredible angst when they couldn’t pull it off and the Mets clawed back into a tie. Buoyant optimism with CC on the bump on the 28th, elation when Braun hit the go-ahead home run, euphoria when the Marlins squeezed the final out of the Mets’ season in their mit and Miller Park erupted! Watching the team lose in Philadelphia on TV but knowing that they could won those games (especially Wednesday’s opener) left a frustration in me, but I knew that it would be swapped out for eager anticipation on Saturday, October (yes, baseball in Miller Park in October) 4th.
Oh and what an experience last night was!
They handed out rally towels on our way in the door, so you knew the stadium would be a white out at times. We didn’t sit down until the 2nd inning of that game and didn’t do much sitting throughout the contest. The stadium was rocked to its core as Dave Bush pitched us back off the brink for at least one more night.
Unfortunately, one night was all we’d get out of that reprieve.
Pat Burrell and the Phillies came into Miller Park this afternoon with the goal of heading back to Philadelphia to host Game 1 of the NLCS. They accomplished their goal on Joe Blanton’s arm and a few solid swings of the bat.
Jeff Suppan was flat out terrible in this one, losing not only the game, but his monicker of a big-time, post-season clutch performer as well. And while I understand not wanting to think of asking Yovani Gallardo to start on short rest, I do not agree with the decision. Gallardo, as he showed once he entered the game in relief, was our best option to start the game today. If he only could’ve gotten you three innings, or two…why not take them? Get into the Phillies heads with a dominant performance out of the gate and then hand the ball to what was becoming a more and more impressive bullpen (save, perhaps, Salomon Torres) as the days rolled on.
But, what’s done is done, what’s past is past. I will enjoy the 2008 season in review form when I pick up me free DVD in a couple of months.
The next post you see from me will be to discuss the off-season in all it’s glory. I’ll review our players that are free agents, those that are arbitration-eligible and those that are still under contract. We can talk trades, free agent pickups and whatever else is on your collective minds, Brewer Nation. In fact, if you have a topic that you’d like to see covered by either South Side Rob or me this off-season, email me at bigrygg@wi.rr.com.
But otherwise, I’m going to take at least a few days and bask in the glow of one heckuva seasaon.
Thank you, Milwaukee Brewers. See you at the Winter Warm Up!
P.S. I wonder what it would’ve felt like to have gotten swept in the post-season. Well, I know a few Cubs fans. I’ll have to give one of them a call and ask. 
