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So far it's a relatively uneventful night here. One very intoxicated girl got arrested, but generally things have been calm. Word from State St. is that the OAR concert is uncomfortably crowded.

OAR is a decent choice for the college crowd. I've heard plenty of complaints but they should draw a big crowd. I'll be holding down the front desk at Witte Hall tonight, hopefully nobody gives me trouble.

I couldn't get into it. It simply takes too long. Pitchers take forever between pitches in the playoff and the commercials are extremely long. I would check in now and then, but the game isn't exciting to me due to the extremely long length. The playoffs are supposed to be baseball showcasing itself, but the Fox version of baseball is a slow, boring, drawn out game which does not interest me.

I saw the first snowflakes of the season on the west side of Madison today. I'm not thrilled.

Tonight's game was kind of a downer, but at least they managed to get a point!!! The defense looked much better and Connelly had a near-disaster or two but was overall solid. The only disappointment was that the offense was completely flat for the second half of the game. Hopefully they can get win #1 tomorrow...

Good news for those who hate winter: despite all of the rumors going around, the official forecast is forabove normal temperatures this winter.

It wasn't even #1 on Sportscenter the night it happened!

I think a packed Kohl Center will help get them going. The Badgers are much better than 0-4, and they aren't too far from 2-2 anyway. If the insane amount of penalties continues, expect a high scoring game. I expect a split, with the Badgers going to 0-5 before winning Saturday.

I have high hopes for the Baseball Tonight-like show. I expect that Harold Reynolds will be on it and that it will be more balanced towards the small-market teams than ESPN.

I agree that the amount of penalties is ridiculous, but if they want to "clean up" the game, the players will have to obey the new rules. Unfortunately, that gives the opponents a huge advantage because of the Badgers' horrible power play.

Every manager out there has his advantages and disadvantages. First of all, I do not take previous W/L record into consideration at all. Results may be what gets you hired/fired, but guys that have been around like Lou Piniella have succeeded and failed. Clearly, success takes much more than just a manager--he is only a small piece of a very large puzzle. Also, many of us are looking for a change compared to the Yost/Sveum managerial style. I agree, but the Brewers did have a very close-knit clubhouse and I do not want to start a 5-year rebuilding process by trying to implement some dramatic new system. The players liked Sveum--so bringing in someone who isn't so much of a players manager would definitely present some sort of risk. We are going in a new direction, but we do not need a 180 degree turn, just a small bump to put us over the top. I tend to agree with Ajay: there are very few candidates that I think would do a better job than Sveum would have. I understand the desire for a change, but we're coming off a 90-win season and bringing in a whole new staff makes me nervous. Last year's playoff birth was a result of a changed attitude that was built up over years and year of having Melvin, Yost, and Attanasio in charge. If this "new" regime turns out not to be so great, we could be feeling the consequences for a long time. It's definitely a big risk/reward situation. The mention of Phil Garner makes me laugh. I think Garner is a better candidate with more experience than Brenly, Showalter, or Macha. Garner has more playoff appearances in less games than Bobby Valentine. Garner took 1990s Brewers teams with little talent and made them competitive. Obviously, he would not be brought back, but if Garner had managed the Royals instead of the Brewers, I think he would be one of the top candidates. How ironic.

Forget all the junk that the announcers/commentators/Sox nation are spitting at us. The Boston Red Sox simply refuse to lose. They weren't the most talented team last year and they certainly aren't this year. This series was over, and as soon as the odds were about as stacked against them as they could get, the Red Sox found a way to do it. All the pressure is on Tampa Bay heading back to the Trop. If the Red Sox get an early lead in game 6, this series is over.

I'll be happy for him if he gets the job. It's inevitable.

It looks like it's going to be the first time in ages that the two most complete teams face each other in the World Series. I'm really looking forward to it. I expect it to go to 6 or 7 games and have some dramatic endings.

It seems to me like Jenkins plays a role on the team even if he doesn't play very much. He was always a big clubhouse guy in Milwaukee and he's probably the same way in Philadelphia. It's been great to see Jenkins have a good time in Philly and I would hope that he returns to Milwaukee after his contract in Philly to play a Gabe Kapler-like role.

Got my student tickets for section 114 this year!!!

I'm fine with Dale. In theory, you'd like a big name, but there weren't any major firings this year. We missed our chance at Joe Torre last year. Cox and La Russa aren't going anywhere. I highly doubt Bobby Valentine is going to leave Japan for the Brewers job. That leaves guys like Buck Showalter and Bob Brenly. No thanks. (Edit: maybe more relevant for other manager thread)

Mark A. is a very smart business man and he has done virtually everything correct to market his product. The Brewers are huge into acquiring sponsors, selling merchandise, doing community work, advertising, and just about every other way you can think of to further bring baseball into the community. Having a winning team helps, but the Brewers are a business and the business side of the team is run extremely well--perhaps the best in baseball. I expect there will be price increases, but he definitely won't make the mistake that the Rockies did last year in using their World Series run to raise prices enormously. I'm expecting a 3-4% increase, mostly to keep up with inflation. The Brewers aren't rebuilding next year, I don't see where that idea comes from. Rebuilding is when you trade core players for prospects. We are losing key free agents, but will be acquiring other free agents to take their place while adding in a few players from trades and the minor leagues. That seems more like reloading than rebuilding to me.

Does it really matter if Escobar hits home runs or not? The guy is great defensively and last year he had a .363 OBP. We already have enough power, if the guy plays good defense and gets on base/steals bases, he'll be a good fit. Maybe Alcides is that leadoff hitter that we've been looking for.

Although I would like to see a new hitting coach, I don't see what advantage Molitor has over anyone on the current roster. He was essentially a failure in Seattle. He might fit as a 1B or 3B coach, but I think it's time we move beyond 1982. I'd rather see Jeff Cirillo get the job.

I'm confident that it's a negligible effect, kind of like the way I feel with clutch hitting. The Brewers' flaws were emphasized in September and October, especially when they played the Mets and Phillies, where we couldn't get away with our weaknesses like we did against inferior teams like the Pirates. The same could be said for the Cubs series in July. Compounding this was a widespread offensive slump during September, where Braun and Hart performed significantly worse than their season averages. Pitching didn't go much better, as Torres, Parra, and Suppan slumped while Sheets got injured. Honestly, I still can't believe they pulled it out in the final week and made the playoffs. The offense wasn't that much better in the final week, but it came through at the right times. As is typical with the Brewers, it was timely home runs by Fielder, Braun, and Weeks that sent the Brewers over the top. I don't see how any of this changed in the NLDS. The offense was still slumping and pressing, just like the regular season. The pitching was still carrying the team, just like the regular season. The bullpen actually performed far better than the regular season. Did the Phillies benefit this year from added playoff experience? Perhaps, as evidenced by Cole Hamels' improved performance. However, the real reason the Phillies improved this year is because they didn't have to play the unbelievably hot Colorado Rockies in the first round. Instead, they matched up with the slumping Brewers. What about the Cubs? How much did all that playoff experience help them? If anything, their added experience hurt them, as extremely high expectations were placed on them to improve from the previous year. If the Brewers make the playoffs next year, much better results will be expected and the pressure level will go up. The advantage that I can think of is that the quick playoff exit has created awareness of the Brewers' major flaws such as their overagressiveness and dependance on the home run. These were not specific to the playoffs, but if the Brewers learn from them, they will do better next time, which will hopefully be sooner than 26 years from now.

Thanks for the post. Of course, we're always going to have our debates about Brewers fans, especially with booing and alcohol and so on, but the underlying theme is that Brewers fans are extremely passionate about their team. The success this year also creates higher standards for the future, so I expect Brewers fans to continue to passionately demand their team to perform on the field. Sometimes it leads to trouble, but usually it is a good thing. Philadelphia fans supposedly have a bad reputation, but I didn't see or hear about any examples of that during the series. Best of luck to you guys in the NLCS, hopefully we can do better against you next year. Oh, and keep beating the Mets!

The standing/sitting debate is a difficult one. I've been told before to sit down at a Marquette basketball game when 99% of the arena is standing up. In other situations, it's just people being disrespectful of others by holding up signs when play is going on or drunkenly standing up for no particular reason. I'm young and don't have a problem with standing up, so I just go with the flow and if people in front of me are standing, I usually follow. I can see how older people could be upset, but at some point there needs to be some understanding that it is a playoff game. Fortunately, that was not a problem for me on Saturday night in the top row of the Terrace. I stood for 2/3 of the game and even stood on top of my seat to get a better view. I now offer my highest recommendation for the top row, for those who have never sat up there ;-)

I'm kind of upset at how this team might be remembered. I want them to go down as a 90-win team that snapped the playoff drought despite a number of flaws. Instead, I'm hearing way to much about how the offense, pitching, bullpen, etc. all need a huge makeover. They won 90 games! You don't do that by accident. Whenever I hear that, it makes me even more proud of how these guys came through under adversity and made it to the playoffs. I would return the entire team as is and be happy. I think Gamel and Escobar solve the infield problem, either Kapler returns or you go after another outfielder, resign Sheets to a 1-year deal, pick up Cameron's option, and trade for another starting pitcher and some bullpen help. If we supposedly underperformed this year, doesn't that mean we should be really good next year?

Unfortunately, 29 of the 30 teams in MLB end their season in disappointing fashion. As Brewers fans, we got to see something we haven't seen in 26 years and we added magical moments that will be replayed over and over. Considering the number of things that went wrong this year, I have no doubt that the Brewers can win 90 games again next year. CC was a major help, but we were competing for the Wild Card without him. JJ Hardy has developed into a complete baseball player. Ryan Braun is phenomenal. Prince Fielder will be back in full force next year. Money will be available from the huge attendance push to get the payroll up to and possibly over $100 million. The Cardinals window of opportunity has closed. The Cubs' is closing. I expect the NL Central to be wide open next year and in the end, the Brewers will win their first division title in 27 years.