Packers

I haven't been covering the Pack much here because all my Packer mojo has been going into columns for RealGM.

This is the RealGM Packers team page and if you bookmark that and go back 2x a week you'll find a column on Monday or Tuesday recapping some portion of the previous weekend's game and Thursday or so you'll find a preview of the upcoming weekend's game.

So far, so good - I'm pretty proud of the stuff I've written. Go check it out.

Here's the columns so far:

O-Line Dilemmas could define season

Falcons game preview

Giving Rodgers better tools

Packers Miss Opportunity To Improve With Gonzalez

Tampa game preview

Rumor mill?

A poster over on Brewerfan has this info:

My sister said she was emailed this from a friend in Los Angeles. I've googled it and wikipedia'd it and found nothing that far in advance. I'm going to copy and paste this though. It is pretty funny either way.

CHUCK VERSUS THE ALL AMERICANS EPISODE 211
LAUREN CONRAD ("THE HILLS"), JONATHAN TAYLOR THOMAS ("HOME IMPROVEMENT"), JJ HARDY ("MILWAUKEE BREWERS") GUEST STARS- As the wedding of Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and Captain Awesome (Ryan McPartlin) gets closer Awesome's family comes to town to celebrate and Chuck (Zachary Levi) is put onto high notice when he flashes on Awesome's brother Kenny Woodcomb's (guest star Jonathan Taylor Thomas) watch. Ellie becomes self-conscience and emotional when Awesome's sister Jordan's (guest star Lauren Conrad) new boyfriend, baseball hunk Rock Kassin (guest star JJ Hardy) arrives. Chuck, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), and Casey (Adam Baldwin) are forced to go into action at Rock's charity event to find out the connections between Kenny and Latin insurgents. All are shocked when it turns out to be much more then they originally thought.

Monday morning quickies...

Packers win, tied for first in division with Bears and Vikings

Aaron Rodgers is gritty: "Aaron Rodgers turned his sprained shoulder into a lesson for any Packers who may still be missing his predecessor. The first-year starter is showing grit and leadership that would make Brett Favre proud."

Badger men's hockey opened the season Friday just barely being edged out by defending national champions and current #1 Boston College

The next night, they got beat up on by #5 University of New Hampshire

Badger women's hockey started out the season on better footing, sweeping Ohio State with a 7-4 win on Friday and a 4-0 shutout on Saturday

The Bucks lost two preseason games this weekend, the first a 105-79 loss to the Mavericks in LaCrosse, the second a 111-89 loss to the Pistons at the Bradley Center Saturday night.
The team heads to China today for a couple of preseason games there, starting Wednesday.

The Badgers proved they were extremely overrated this season, got embarrassed at home by Penn State 48-7

Mark A sends message to fans

Brewers Owner Mark Attanasio took out a 2 page spread in the back of Sunday's Journal-Sentinel to write an open letter to Brewers fans.

Text doesn't appear to be anywhere online, but I'll type it up when I'm at home tonight.

Just one more move by our owner that, as a fan, you have to like.

Edit: It's up on Brewers.com.
Here's the text:

Sunday, October 12, 2008


Dear Brewers Fans:

We did it! After an absence of 26 years, the Milwaukee Brewers joined the elite group of eight Major League Baseball teams that qualified for the postseason playoffs. This was the ultimate team effort, involving the 44 players who were on our roster during the 2008 season; the General Manager and his staff who assembled those players; the Managers and coaches who guided those players; the front-office executives and staff who made everything work from behind the scenes; and, of course, our sponsors, marketing partners, and the three million of you who came through the turnstiles in record numbers to support our Brewers through the final innings of Game 162 of the regular season and Games Three and Four of the National League Division Series (NLDS). We were the National League Wild Card, and we had a wild ride, indeed.

When I reflect on this past season, I think about the many electrifying moments that contributed to our success, and about how this year's team added to the long legacy of Milwaukee baseball. In just the last week of the season, Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun hit walk-off home runs, and CC Sabathia started three games on only three days' rest over nine days. The night before our final regular season game versus the Cubs, a team executive sent me an email stating, "I think back to my childhood, playing Wiffle ball with my dad, and I always dreamed of my favorite team collecting a dramatic hit to propel it to the playoffs. We may be witness to history tomorrow.... The whole sports world will have its eyes on the Milwaukee Brewers, and I believe we will deliver." When we were behind the Cubs 1-0 in the sixth inning and the Mets had just tied their game 2-2 against the Marlins, I recalled that email and felt a sense of comfort. His prophecy soon came true as Ryan Braun hit a dramatic eighth-inning home run, and CC Sabathia pitched a complete game four-hitter to lead us to a 3-1 victory. Some 40,000 of you then watched the last six outs of the Mets-Marlins game on the Miller Park scoreboard. It's hard to recall a moment in any baseball game when players and fans shared the tension — pitch by pitch, out by out — of the final steps of a successful playoff quest. A wild celebration ensued, including champagne being sprayed on the fans standing behind our first base dugout.

The emotion of reaching the playoffs continued to be felt at the rally the next day, as upwards of 15,000 of you gathered around the Miller Lite stage at the Summerfest grounds to support our team and send us to Philadelphia. Although many of our players had not yet been born in 1982 — the last time the Brewers played in the postseason — they all could relate to your joy and excitement about reaching the playoffs. Salomon Torres summed up the feelings of a generation of Brewers fans best when he addressed the crowd, saying, "Twenty-six years. You've been waiting 26 years! Well, you will wait no more!"

We ran into a strong Philadelphia Phillies team in the NLDS, but I was left with vivid memories nonetheless. At 6:00 on the evening before our first home playoff game, I walked around a quiet Miller Park. Batting practice had finished, and I wanted a few minutes to enjoy the serenity of our beautiful ballpark. I felt great pride at seeing the MLB-NLDS logos in banners around the stadium; "Postseason 2008" billboards; and the red, white, and blue bunting strung around the stadium. The next day, the roar of the standing-room-only crowd and the white rally towels waving everywhere reflected your exhilaration at participating in our version of "OctoberFest" — October baseball in Milwaukee. As J.J. Hardy collected three hits, Dave Bush stifled his favorite team from his childhood for five and a third innings, and our bullpen held the Phillies scoreless the rest of the way. We added a playoff victory to the special memories of this special season. And while Sunday's Game Four proved to be a disappointment, it perhaps provided the most vivid memory of all: With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, down by four runs, some 44,000 of you were standing, banging your thundersticks together, supporting our team to the very end and beyond, chanting, "Let's go, Brewers!" even after the final out. I was not surprised to receive many compliments from other team owners, baseball officials, and members of the national press, who had not been familiar with our team, our fans, or our city, about how impressed they were by the intensity of your enthusiasm and loyalty.

While our players have justifiable pride in creating their own tradition and legacy of winning, they and everyone associated with the Brewers have genuine pride in being able to connect the past winners with the present. Last weekend, we had three prime examples of "standing on the shoulders of giants": Robin Yount served as our bench coach down the stretch and through the playoffs; Mr. Baseball, Bob Uecker, threw the ceremonial first pitch on Saturday; and Commissioner Bud Selig, without whom there would not be Major League Baseball in Milwaukee, threw the ceremonial first pitch on Sunday.

As many of you know, I work in the investment field, and I can't help identifying some measuring facts in this end-of-season letter. A record 3,068,458 of you passed through the turnstiles this season. Of 81 home games, 44 were sold out (including 22 in a row), ranking us ninth in all of MLB in attendance. More fans came to see the Brewers than went to games in Boston, in San Francisco, or on the South Side of Chicago to see the White Sox. Your support has helped translate into the most home wins for any National League club over the past four years. Millions watched our telecasts, listened to us on the radio, or followed us on the Internet. Specifically, on FSN Wisconsin, the Brewers were the top-rated prime time show 44 times out of 80 nights this season. These ratings place us in the top-tier of all clubs, and the number of Internet pages viewed on brewers.com also place us eighth among MLB teams. Clearly, the Brewers transcended Wisconsin and garnered a significant amount of national interest. You again helped send a sizable contingent of Brewers to the All-Star Game — Ben Sheets, Ryan Braun, and Corey Hart — all of whom were drafted and developed through our Minor League system. We are fortunate that this year, Ryan Braun — the 2007 National League Rookie of the Year — has committed to be a Brewer through 2015.

We also are fortunate to call Miller Park our home field, as fine a stadium as any venue in sports. We are committed to refreshing the ballpark continually as a way of demonstrating our thanks to you and Wisconsin for standing behind the team in building the ballpark at a time when — like now — there was significant economic uncertainty. The courageous decision to build Miller Park ensured that Major League Baseball will remain in Milwaukee. Today, it provides us with a facility that has supported the Club's rise in the standings and, according to surveys, gives Milwaukee fans one of the best values in all of professional sports.

This letter would not be complete without special thanks to Doug Melvin, our talented and tireless General Manager, who was the architect of this team that won 90 regular season games this season. Doug took over a team that had only 56 wins in 2002, and it has steadily improved under his direction and leadership, as well as from the hard work of his staff, which includes Assistant General Manager Gord Ash and Special Assistant to the GM for Player Personnel Jack Zduriencik. The improvement in our team's performance is also a reflection of the efforts of Ned Yost — who also worked diligently for the team since 2002 and led us to our first 83 wins this season — and Dale Sveum, who recorded the final eight wins.

Saturday's home NLDS win coincided with the fourth anniversary of my introduction as the new Principal Owner of the Brewers. In my first season-ending letter to you in 2005, I reserved my most heartfelt thanks for you — for welcoming my family and me to Milwaukee, encouraging my efforts to improve the team, and making home games such a thrilling experience. Three seasons later, my appreciation of you is even greater after sharing this extraordinary experience. You have my commitment to try to make achieving the postseason in 2008 a "first-in-a-lifetime" — not a "once-in-a-lifetime" — event as we seek ways to continue to deliver a winning team for the best fans anywhere.

Go Brewers!

Mark Attanasio
Chairman and Principal Owner

Mark A called for Yost's head

SI.com is reporting that Mark Attanasio alone pulled the trigger on firing Ned Yost:

Jon Heyman

>

DAILY SCOOP

Firing line: Sources say Attanasio made call to can Yost

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, not general manager Doug Melvin, is the one who made the call to can manager Ned Yost, multiple sources told SI.com

While the official word out of the Brewers camp was that the firing was a group effort with Melvin making the ultimate call, two people in the know contradicted those claims. They say Attanasio, a very astute and aggressive owner in his first years in Milwaukee, made the decision, then flew in to Chicago to meet first with Melvin, and then Melvin and Yost together.

After Attanasio told Melvin what he had decided, they both called Yost into the meeting and informed him of the decision. Attanasio did the right thing by telling Yost face-to-face.

While the timing of the firing was highly unusual, it was the right move. The Brewers had lost 11 of its last 14 games under Yost and appeared on its way to a second straight late-season collapse. Yost always seemed to be on edge or ready to explode, and perhaps his wasn't the right personality to lead such a young team.

The team needed a jolt and Yost didn't impress too many folks (beyond Melvin) that he was the man for the job. The Brewers lost their first game under new manager Dale Sveum (who's not exactly experienced himself -- three seasons managing at Class AA Altoona) and still has to play the Cubs, the best team in the National League, five more times.

But there's still a chance they could reach their first postseason since 1982, as the Mets are also threatening to choke for a second straight season and the Astros appear to have hit a wall after a nice run.

Melvin indicated that Yost was questioned in the meeting about what could be done to aid the floundering team. (Melvin said, in effect, that Yost didn't have the answers but that he isn't sure who would.) But Attanasio didn't fly to Chicago from out of town to conduct an interview. And Yost told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was fired as soon as he entered the room, and that the questions came later.

The Brewers portrayed the firing as a group effort with GM Melvin getting the final call. That's no surprise at all, as teams love to portray the notion that the GM has all the power and that the owner is merely a benevolent caretaker or overseer. Teams must feel that if folks believe an owner is calling any shots, either it will be portrayed that the owner is over-involved or that the GM is milquetoast, or worse, toast.

One person close to Attanasio, while apparently trying to convince me that Attanasio had nothing to do with this decision, pointed out to me that Attanasio finished near the bottom in his fantasy league.

But hey, this isn't some fantasy, and it's OK. The owner is the one whose investment is on the line, and with a vast majority of teams the owner will occasionally step in when necessary. Attanasio obviously and understandably felt that this was one of those times.

Attanasio is believed to have left the replacement manager up to Melvin, and with his options few, he tabbed Sveum, the third base coach, whose promotion might shock baseball people in New York and Boston, where he served as a fine bullpen catcher and a shaky third base coach, respectively. Sveum was once named the best managerial prospect in the Eastern League. He is well-liked, but this isn't a personality contest; he's mostly in there because he isn't Yost.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, George Steinbrenner is the only other owner to have fired a manager still in playoff position late in a season; he canned Gene Michael after Michael led the Yankees to a first-half title in the two-part, strike-riddled 1981 season before the Yankees slumped in the second half. But this doesn't make Attanasio another Steinbrenner.

Yost actually should have been let go following last year's collapse, when the manager imploded along with his team, getting himself ejected three times in the final week of a season in which the Brewers blew an 8 1/2-game lead to the rival Cubs.

But Attanasio left that decision up to Melvin, and Melvin apparently liked his own choice of Yost. Melvin like Yost so much that he gave him a one-year extension. Oddly, that decision to extend Yost was kept secret for months after it was made, an indication that management didn't think it was anything to brag about.

While Attanasio made the call here, it shouldn't be assumed that Melvin's powers are diminished, or that his job is on the line. Melvin has taken advantage of Attanasio's small-market generosity (nearly $90 million is by far the most any small-market team is spending on players) and scouting director Jack Zduriencik's fine drafts to field a talented team. Melvin has made several good calls, including the one to retain Zduriencik after he replaced Dean Taylor as GM.

Melvin's made some excellent player moves, as well, including Salomon Torres, Mike Cameron, Jason Kendall and Gabe Kapler. But Melvin's taste in players is sometimes better than his taste in underlings. (I am admittedly slightly biased on that score, as Melvin's main assistant is Gord Ash, who once, while trying to avoid being questioned by me when he was Blue Jays GM at the winter meetings, turned around to tell me, "I hate you. And I hate all New Yorkers.'' An aside: Ash might want to keep that opinion to himself now, as Attanasio is originally from the Bronx.)

As for Yost, he appeared way too up-tight for a tough job. When asked by a reporter in Philadelphia whether they were entering an "important'' series, Yost grew tense and raised his voice, according people who were there.

If Yost's fate had been left totally up to Melvin, Yost would still be managing the Brewers. And that would be a far riskier move. Milwaukee blew a four-game lead in the wild-card derby by losing four straight in Philadelphia and appeared to be in a straight nosedive.

Twelve games remained, and there was still a chance. Attanasio had to take his best shot.

Brewers sign four Minor League arms: Looking for roster spot, three lefties, righty invited to big league camp

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers are already planning for 2009 Spring Training.

The Brewers announced Wednesday they had signed four pitchers to Minor League contracts that included invitations to big league camp. They are left-handers Lindsay Gulin, Sam Narron and Chris Narveson and right-hander Joe Bateman.

All four finished the 2008 season at Triple-A Nashville.

Bateman, 28, might have the best chance to make the team. The Brewers selected him from San Francisco in the Minor League phase of last December's Rule 5 Draft, and he went 3-1 with a 2.09 ERA in 49 relief appearances between Double-A Huntsville and Nashville. At Triple-A, he logged a 1.60 ERA (six earned runs in 33 2/3 innings) and held opponents to a .190 average in 23 games while converting all four of his save chances.

Narron and Narveson have been in Brewers camp before. Narron, 27, was bidding for a spot in the Brewers' bullpen in 2005 before he suffered an elbow injury that cost him that entire season, but he tied for fifth in the Minors in 2008 with 15 wins between Nashville and Double-A Huntsville. In his 20 Triple-A games (18 starts), the southpaw finished 9-4 with a 4.80 ERA, including wins in six of his final seven decisions for the club.

Narveson was one of Milwaukee's final cuts in 2008 but then had a somewhat disappointing year at Nashville, going 6-13 with a 5.43 ERA in 28 games (22 starts). He did lead the team with 125 strikeouts, and will turn 27 in December

Gulin was a two-time Pacific Coast League pitcher of the week in 2008 and made the mid-season All-Star team. He went 7-7 with a team-best 3.54 ERA that ranked second in the PCL while leading the league's starters with a .219 opponents' batting average. He turns 32 on Nov. 22.

Let the CC Sweepstakes begin

And put me firmly on the train of people that aren't sure we should even be considering signing him.

Starting this time last year and throughout the season, the "now or never" philosophy was clearly in play for this team. It was widely known and thoroughly accepted that everything was all about this season - this was the big push and we'll worry about next year later. The implication was that we knew - and were ok with - the fact that we'd be pretty bad in 2009 and would be rebuilding.

Suddenly, that seems to have changed and it's as though people are reneging on the "agreement" we had prior to this season.

So now, we're dropping that plan (and any subsequent moves that may have tied in to that game plan) and we're going to commit an extremely large portion of our salary to a player who ideally wants a 7 or so year contract. CC's at his peak. I think it could be argued that he's not still on his way up. That means in 7 years, he'll be a little more than one his way down. Even if we get 3 or 4 great years, we're talking major money for the long term and I don't believe that's a smart move for this team.

It's unlikely that we'll be able to get CC to lower his price. If we're serious about signing him, we have to get him to agree to a shorter-term contract. They only way I'll agree with any sort of contract, immediately off the bat, is if it's 4 years or less. Any longer than that and we're mortgaging this team at the expense of one guy.

Ben Sheets should have taught every Brewer fan exactly how common pitcher injuries are. Right now, CCs a low-risk guy, but that can change in an instant. Looks at Gallardo's knee injury. Or Chris Capuano. The Brewers can't risk putting so much of the team's chances in one contract.

I can also understand the argument that if we're going to lay out a considerable amount for a pitcher - which we're going to have to do in order to have a 5 man rotation - then why not get the best? Kyle Lohse just got a contract for $10 million a year. You have to pay for arms, even middle of the road arms. And Sunday should have taught us that paying $10 mil/year on middlin' arms isn't going to cut it, is it Jeff Suppan?

I read elsewhere someone advocating the signing in terms of being able to make CC THE premier athlete in Wisconsin. The Brett Favre void isn't filled and if the Brewers play themselves right, CC can be that personality. The revenue from CC being the state hero could go a way to offsetting his costs.

This will be an ongoing discussion...

Brewers vs Phillies, Game 3

Game 4 is on!












Yay we won












Post game untucking



























Bob Uecker threw out the ceremonial first pitch














Just about under way













First pitch












Billy just handed off the ball and we're about to get started













Stupid camera dude wouldn't move off the painted part.




























Heading out to the bullpen to warm up and stretch









Bushy and Kendall warming up before the game

Brewers vs Phillies, Game 3

Team Intros











More intros
















Both teams














Nice sign, dude!













I like the way that looks!














I took as many "proof this really happened" pics as I could



































Owner Mark Attanasio's dad, an actor, sang the National Anthem

Rally at Summerfest Grounds

I love how that looks












Option 1: She has a BeDazzler at home and made this on her own.

Option 2: She had this shirt custom made for big bucks.

Either are hilarious.















Nice!














Brian Anderson and the Racing Sausages










Robin Yount, Dale Sveum, Davey Nelson and Craig Coshun











Davey Nelson and the Sausages and Bernie Brewer pulling raffle tickets

Best Brewers plays of 2008

There's a thread over on Brewerfan with links to the best plays, so I'm bringing the URL's this way.

Kapler pulls back a Russell Martin HR in LA

Braun's walk-off grand slam on the last Thursday of the season to beat the Pirates and stay in the Wild Card hunt

Prince's walk-off homer the day before

Rickie's 3 run homer in the first game of the Cubs series during the final week

Russell Branyan's pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the game against the Twins in June

Hart's game-saving catch in the same game as Braun's walk-off grand slam

Braun's 2-run shot in the final game of the season to ensure the win

Bill Hall's solo-shot in the top of the 9th with two outs at St. Louis to break a tie and eventually win the game in July

Weeks' walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 9th at home against the Cards - led to Isringhausen's demotion from closer the next day

Brewers

I have all kinds of plans to do a season wrap-up, but I'm not ready to yet. It's still not reconciled in my head that we're done with baseball after I'd been to Miller Park for games in 8 straight months. From the kickoff/last spring training games at Miller Park the last weekend in March to Saturday's thrilling Game 3, this has been a fabulously long season and it's quite difficult to imagine that I'm going to go home and watch games a few nights a week.

It's dissapointing to be out of it all a mere week after the elation of getting in, but at least we made it.

"I view this as a success now, especially from what we went through to get here," Fielder said. "There's a lot of teams wishing they could have lost right now instead of being at home watching it. Whenever you get to a situation like this, you can never be upset about it."

I think I'm going to enjoy the buzz for a few days more before dissecting what was wrong, what the future holds and what we do next.

It's a big like going through a break-up, but I agree with Prince:

"It's over," first baseman Prince Fielder said. "But it doesn't feel as bad as I thought it would."

For a few days more, I'm going to revel in what it meant to be a fan of this team this season. It was such an amazing experience - from me, but from the quotes the team has given, for the players as well. People talk about how cocky Ryan Braun is, but from all accounts, he really understood HOW big a deal this postseason was to this town. Not only that, but he seems to be incredibly realistic about where we stand:

"Obviously, the organization is headed in the right direction," said Braun, who will be part of that direction because he has seven years left on his contract. "Last year, we finished over .500 for the first time in 15 years; this year, we made it to the postseason for the first time in 26 years. Obviously, we accomplished some things that we haven't done in a while.

"It's hard to go from never having any postseason experience to winning a World Series. It really is. Last year we were over .500, this year we made it to the postseason, and next year we go deeper into the postseason. It takes time."

Mike Cameron is one of those players that seems to have his finger on the pulse and I was really moved by what he said Sunday after the game:

"It was a memorable thing to be part of history," said center fielder Mike Cameron. "To walk out on that field Sunday after we clinched, and see that joy, that's irreplaceable. Through all of the hardships you go through, you can forget about how warm people can be, how they can bring joy to your life. The blue-collar people here, they're pulling for you, because they understand what we did to get to this point was truly special."

He also understood what a let-down Sunday was: "I just wish we could have given them a better last game," center fielder Mike Cameron said.

I've only been hardcore on the Brewers for about 3 seasons now, but even I know what a long, strange trip it's been.

Remember Turnbow and Tavarez. Jenkins and Carlos Lee and Gabe Gross. There were times it felt like despite the push for this "now or never" season, we were going to fall flat again. It's no longer a joke, people. And we're no longer a punch line.

"Eight years is a long time," Sheets said. "From the team we were to the team we are, I think that's pretty big."

I've been on the field for a Super Bowl. I've been to National Championship tournaments. I still think Saturday tops my list as absolute best time I've ever had at a sporting event. Miller Park was loud, the fans were happy and the team responded. Jim Powell said on the radio on Sunday that after Saturday's game, Ryan Howard of the Phillies was overheard saying that he'd never heard a place as loud as Miller Park was after Dave Bush struck out 2 in a row in the first inning.

This year was so emotional. By May, we lost Gallardo and had been swept by the Red Sox. I was swearing myself off the team because I was ready to give myself a heart-attack after being so emotionally involved. I swore I would take breaks, not take losses to heart and enjoy the season for what it was, no matter how long or short it was.

In the end, of course, my self-imposed break up didn't last long and the team drew me in, just as they'd always done. If you'd asked me in May if a playoff berth was worth it, I'm not sure what my answer would have been, but I can tell you now I wouldn't trade all the spectacular moments I was able to see in person this year for anything. I was teased mercilessly for how many games I missed. I went broke on occasion buying tickets and gear and parking.

And it was totally worth it.

Weeks has knee surgery

Rickie Weeks injured his knee trying to run out a play at first in Game 3 on Saturday. He came out of the game. It might have just been a strain, we were told. Then he was removed from the NLDS roster and replaced by Alcides Escobar. By the next day it didn't matter, but it turned out Rickie was removed from our possible roster for the NLCS. Then, just a day after we were out of the playoffs, Rickie had surgery on his knee to remove a flap of meniscus.

Weekend

The Saturday Brewers game was likely the most fun/best time I've ever had at a sporting event.
Jim Powell said yesterday that after the game in the clubhouse, the Phillies Ryan Howard was overheard saying that after Dave Bush struck out the final 2 in the first inning, he's never heard a stadium louder. That's awesome.

Also, we're the first NL Central postseason win since game 5 of the 2006 World Series. Way to go Brewers. Someone's gotta save face. Because....

The Cubs have lost 9 straight postseason games dating back to the NLCS of 2003.

Aramis Ramirez is 3-for-32 in the Cubs' last nine postseason losses.
Alfonso Soriano was 1-for-14 this NLDS.
The league's top scoring team in the regular season managed one run Saturday, and Soriano, Ramirez and Geovany Soto went a combined 1-for-12.

After the Badger's loss to Ohio State, the Packer's loss to the Falcons and ultimately the Brewers loss in game 4, I'll take whatever happiness I can find in the knowledge that we have more post-season wins than the Cubs since mid-October, 2003.

I have lots of pictures and lots to share, but I was awake at 7 Saturday morning and didn't go to bed til 2 am. I woke up at 7 and went to bed at midnight last night and was up before 7 again today. I'm knackered, so updates tomorrow.