If you're a Brewer fan, and why the heck wouldn't you be, then this weekend was fantastic! I made it to all three games (I've only missed the two weekday day games) and they were each exciting in their own right.
I was incredibly impressed with the baseball IQ of those in attendance on Sunday. The cheers and boos were exactly when they should have been, and seemed to have some impact on manager Ned Yost's decision making process. Overbay gets his fifth hit and the fans explode, standing ovation, forcing a curtain call. It was really an electric moment. I actually got chills watching the fan reaction and imagining what the place will look like (hopefully next year) when the crew is playing for a division title and Miller Park is packed. I am convinced that Milwaukee is a wonderful baseball town and is just itching for a winner. It really appears that given something to cheer about, Milwaukee could sell out more often than not.
The second indicator of high fan IQ was in the ninth, with two outs and Davis beginning to labor. Yost had Adams and Santana (the new call-up) warmed up since the top of the eigth and after a walk Yost got up and started walking to the mound. The fans let him have it. Boos rained down from all in attendance, literally everyone knew how great a complete game would be, and allowing Davis to finish it out made sense. He was at about 120 pitches, not a ton for the durable lefty and the score was wildly out of hand. The meat of the order was past so letting Davis pitch to one or two more hitters had little downside. After a brief discussion during which the booing continued, Yost relented and allowed Davis to stick it out. He was rewarded with a ground out and a Doug Davis celebratory fist pump.
The whole afternoon was incredible. Everything went perfect, two guys with 5 hits, a few home runs, a JJ Hardy RBI and a Doug Davis complete game. Watching the team play confident and with a bit of a swagger was new and exciting and I hope it means good things to come when those hated Cubs bring their rude crude fan base up from the depths of that hole known as Chicago. I generally enjoy Chicago, but it seems the dregs of the city make their way up to Milwaukee. I can't wait to hear their whining and moaning about the increased ticket prices and the backed up traffic and the lack of Bud. Idiots one and all...
