Miller Park was a rowdy house on Friday afternoon. Yovani was on the bump and Brewer Nation was looking for a similar performance as to what they witnessed a week before fro Game 1. Yovani struggled to keep his pitch count down, again the third pitcher in a row to struggle with the umpire's strike zone. Arizona got on top of the Brewers 1-0 with a solo home run hit to opposite field by Justin Upton. The Brewers would tie it with Nyjer Morgan scoring on a sac fly to shallow right field and later take the lead on a Yuniesky Betancourt RBI single to center. Saito and K-Rod worked the 7th and 8th, respectively. The stage was set. Axford, running on a 44 consecutive save streak, was in for the 9th inning to close it out and send the Brewers to the NLCS. TBS made sure they covered every detail of when the last time Axford blew a save. Low and behold, Axford pitches himself into a jam, and gives up the lead. Blows his first save since April 18th. The game was tied 2-2 heading into extra innings, your definition of a nail biter.
It didn't take long for the Brewers to get the much anticipated and well deserved victory. Carlos Gomez lead off the10th inning with a single to left and would later advance to second on a passed ball by Arizona closer J.J. Putz. Morgan, calm as can be, singled to center, allowing Gomez to score. The Brewers were heading to a Championship series for the first time since 1982. Confetti was flying, champagne bottles were popping. The celebration had begun again in Miller Park.
And whats a celebration without a little controversy? TBS was in the middle of an interview MVP candidate with Ryan Braun when the analyst caught eye that Nyjer Morgan was standing on the outfield grass on the first base side doing the beast mode pose for the crowd, clearly enjoying the moment with the fans. Morgan was caught up in saying "F*** Yeah!, F*** Yeah!" on national television. I ranted a bit about this situation on the blog's Twitter page (@WISportsBlog). Here's what I had to say:
"Can't believe the amount of attention Morgan's post game profanity is getting. It's the analysts fault for stuffing the mic in his face. He wasn't being interviewed. He was celebrating with the fans. And the only people upset are the parents cause their kids are watching. Which, I can guarantee, are the same parents that let their 7 year olds watch R rated films and play M for mature video games. Pick your battles carefully people. Life is too short to get your panties in a bunch over a baseball players passion and excitement."
No punishment or fines have been handed out for Morgan, and I don't anticipate there will be, either. Morgan is not in the lineup for Game 1 vs the Cardinals, but there is no way its disciplinary. Gomez is known for defense, and that's what plagued us a bit in the NLDS. What was also very reassuring was that everyone on that offense produced in some way. We didn't strictly rely on just Braun and Fielder. Hairston, Betancourt, Gomez, Morgan, Lucroy all had a great series batting. Lucroy was a monster behind home plate for us. Took numerous shots, and still got right back in there. On a side note, Weeks will not be benched. His defense alone will keep him in there everyday. Every has slumps, incase you couch coaches didn't know that. Look at Parra from Arizona. He was hitless in the NLDS up until his last at bat in the series which started off a rally that kept his team momentarily alive in Game 5.
To close up, I want to actually give credit where credit is due. Kirk Gibson turned a team that was destined for nothing, according to the experts, into a championship caliber team. Although I don't believe their fan base is anything to be proud about, which I refer to as artificial, I must say they have some incredible talent on that team. Upton needs to lose the attitude of the world owing him something for not being picked for the HR derby and focus on improving that team.
The Brewers now take on the St Louis Cardinals in a 7 game series, winner goes to the World Series, loser books the weekend tee time. This isn't just a regular series. This is for blood. This is a fight. A battle for the ages. This is a rematch of the 1982 World Series. It's time for the Brewers to show the baseball world that we aren't just a fluke and that we can beat teams with good record. Right now, to them, all we are is a bunch of cocky athletes who don't appreciate where we are and have no respect for the game. It's time to prove everyone wrong and quiet the skeptics, and I believe that Tony "Hush" and the Brewers will do that. Go Crew!
Until next time, Beer, Brats, and Championships.
-Andrew Vrchota @TheBIGVrchota & @WISportsBlog
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