2011-09-23 Marlins (Volstad) at Brewers (Gallardo) - [Brewers win, 4-1; win NL Central, stay classy]

[jason21nl]

Prince is really showing love to the fans

[bucksman4]

Greinke pitches tomorrow. Wouldn't be surprised if he bailed to get his normal rest.

 

Go Brewers! Great season...and hopefully the best is yet to come!

[Yeti73]

Where is zack?

Astute observation. We've seen everyone else but #13. Whither Greinke?

They showed Zack at at least one point during the celebration. I'm surprised they didn't at least get a few words from him.

 

He was also very unexcited during the Braun HR. Maybe just thinking about his start tomorrow

[ReverendBrewmeister]

Diamondbacks have also clinched their division with a 3-1 win.

[Bombers]

3 division winners on this fine September evening as the Rangers just punched their ticket.

 

Awesome night for the crew!!! Let's go Brewers go get that 2 seed!!

[brewmann04]

we took care of the first order of business tonight now we need to finish out this homestead undefeated to take care of Business two.

[pitchleague]

okay, it's 11 pm AZ time (1 am Milwaukee time) and I still haven't read any posts from the attendees of the game (unless I missed some).

 

Are you guys/gals still stuck in the parking lots? Still partying? Too tired to tell me some details? I'm too jazzed to go to bed yet!

[owbc]

Brewers, you did it. I am sorry for missing the entire game tonight. I thought you would clinch in Chicago. So you better make it to the NLCS so I can fly back to Milwaukee and make up for this. Because when this season is over, I expect that tonight will be just the beginning.

[ELCABALLO45]

Obviously we want to have the second best record in the NL, so losing any games sucks. But it was so sweet to clinch at home.

[hawing]

okay, it's 11 pm AZ time (1 am Milwaukee time) and I still haven't read any posts from the attendees of the game (unless I missed some).

 

Are you guys/gals still stuck in the parking lots? Still partying? Too tired to tell me some details? I'm too jazzed to go to bed yet!

We got home a little after 1:00, turned on FSW and the replay was in the 8th inning. Convenient. So we watched that up until they cut off the postgame stuff for their Time Life Music paid programming (genius), and since then I've been reading this thread and other internet happiness.

 

I've enjoyed this day a great deal, but I'm struck by how unsurprised I was at how things turned out. I mean, seriously, Ryan walked up in the 8th and I said to myself, well, this is what Ryan does. Boom. Then the Brewers' game ended, we had a happy wait just long enough for me to use the bathroom, highfive some peeps, and take more photos. Then boom, confetti everywhere. I mean, everywhere. I am honestly expecting to undress tonight and find confetti inside my clothes. It was all over us. There were blue and gold streamers like in 2008, and I think more than in 2008.

 

I geek out on noticing and capturing ballpark minutiae, and this is my favorite detail of the night: Something made me turn around to look at the WTMJ booth just as Cory Provus was pumping his fist like crazy while obviously looking at the monitor to his left. Then I realized the TV in the press box was showing the CHC-STL and Soriano trot. That news spread wildly through the press box sections just before the out-of-town scoreboard was updated.

 

I only hope Chris Carpenter's son is doing all right tonight. Congratulations, Brewers.

 

Edit: If you are not sold on the "Playoffs" caps, there is a NL Central Champions cap that looks much more like what I was dreaming of since 1983 or so. I'm not ashamed to say I bought one from a trailer set up by the front of the Brewers/Braves parking lot after the game. I am mildly embarrassed what I paid for it. However, I am still considering sleeping with the cap on. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[thablingster]

Great game. Like hawing, I was not surprised to see Braun come through in the least. That guy is unreal. The 9th inning was amusing in that my 20-pack mate was checking his phone (I have an iPhone which becomes an iBrick at Miller Park, thanks to AT&T) for updates on the Cubs-Cardinals game, I was paying attention to the game, and just as Ax was getting close to closing it out the ballpark goes nuts after finding out Soriano hit the 3-run jack. In true Soriano style, he cadillaced that one all the way, too.

 

The clinching moment was everything I thought it would be. Confetti, streamers, and joy everywhere. We stayed for at least an hour, then considered getting in line for merch but the lines were way too long. We went and caught a drink on the east side then went back at 2am, the team shop was pretty sparse, but they still had lots of hats and the racing sausages were there. Fist bumps were exchanged with the Italian, Brat, and Chorizo. There are actually two caps that say NL Central Champions. I bought the navy one with 2011 written vertically.

 

Now I need to upload my photos and get to bed so I can go to Fan Appreciation Night tomorrow and win a wonderful prize. Or watch hawing win a wonderful prize. Either way, good times will be had.

 

I'm really proud of the team. The work isn't done yet, though.

[trwi7]

Radio highlights.

[southpaw121505]

thanks twirly!!

[RedFlash2]

You're welcome Brew-Crew. You most certainly earn the division. As a Cub fan anything that can screw the Cardinals out of going to playoffs, or at worst hinder their chances of making the playoffs, I would do in a heartbeat.

 

Now do me a favor and please show up for the playoffs. I still have nightmares about the Cubs 2007-08 times that crapped the bed when the playoffs began. Here's to a good run in the playoffs for you guys.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Great game. Like hawing, I was not surprised to see Braun come through in the least. That guy is unreal.

We have a lot of threads that talk about what clutch is, how to define it, and if it's just random, etc, etc, etc. I tend to fall on the 'stat geek' side of the argument. Over large enough samples, the numbers show that players are who they are. Brauny though.........that guy seems to live for moments like this. I'm sure the numbers would prove me wrong, but that doesn't stop my perception from just recalling how he's come through time and again in these situations for us.

 

It's like how every baseball playin kid in America dreams of the ultimate clutch situation, playing that scenario out in their head, game 7, world series, bottom of the 9th, down 3, bases loaded, 2 outs......and they come through every time. I know it sounds corny/cliched/whatever, but Braun's psyche appears to be absolutely built for moments like last night.

[RightFieldCoder]

I stayed for a while last night but had to leave around 10:30ish? I took BP at Miller Park on Tuesday and had agreed to work the 6am shift on Saturday to make up for it. I had to get to bed so I could function.

 

Going into the bottom of the 7th, all I could think was "Marlins, Cubs, 1-1 game, Brewers playoffs on the line, Braun has a good chance to hit in the 8th...why does this seem so familiar?". The bleacher section erupted when FSN showed the Cubs HR on the TVs. As soon as it happened, Morgan and Prince made no secret they were now watching the scoreboard to see why we were cheering.

 

For the first time in franchise history, we will be playing regular season games as Division Champs!

[sauveb]

I'm scouring the jsonline site to try to find other post game tidbits such as the Uecker/Plush interview. Can anyone post the link on the site with radio highlights, interviews, etc.? I had to endure my high school kids getting pounded 35-0 in their homecoming game and missed this.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I'm scouring the jsonline site to try to find other post game tidbits such as the Uecker/Plush interview. Can anyone post the link on the site with radio highlights, interviews, etc.? I had to endure my high school kids getting pounded 35-0 in their homecoming game and missed this.

Here's the game recap w/ the highlights. I'm sure as the podcasts go up on 620 the Ueck/Plush interview will be part of that.

 

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/56616762.html

[chuckiehacks]

This was one of those games that where I never felt like the Brewers even had a chance of losing. The atmosphere at MP was electric last night and Braun, well what else can you say about Braun? Hits the big bomb, then in the celebration is jumping up on top of the dugout. Brewer fans under 30 - say hello to your Robin Yount.

 

I was at the game with my girlfriend, who didn't like baseball before we met. Now she asks me daily if the Cards lost. I turned to her when it got to 3-1 on Braun and said something along the lines of "you might see something special right here." Then, boom. Then for some reason my allergies got real bad...

[azcheesehead]

Thanks, RoCo. I actually typed that under my dad's sn (he apparently doesn't like to log out of my computer....).

[DuWayne Steurer]

This was one of those games that where I never felt like the Brewers even had a chance of losing. The atmosphere at MP was electric last night and Braun, well what else can you say about Braun? Hits the big bomb, then in the celebration is jumping up on top of the dugout. Brewer fans under 30 - say hello to your Robin Yount.

 

I was at the game with my girlfriend, who didn't like baseball before we met. Now she asks me daily if the Cards lost. I turned to her when it got to 3-1 on Braun and said something along the lines of "you might see something special right here." Then, boom. Then for some reason my allergies got real bad...

Ha!!!!! When it was 3 -1 I turned to my wife and said "ol boy is gonna groove one here, he don't wanna face Prince with the bases loaded".

 

I didn't necessarily call the homer, but..........

[Daubs]

My daughter and I were at the game last night sitting in the Beerpen. Just an electric atmosphere. The crowd was just alive all game long. When Braun came up for his AB in the 8th, I told the people around us that the place was going to go up if he hit one out....not saying I called it, either!

 

We moved from the bleachers down to the lower section and eventually made our way up to the railing between home plate and the Brewer dugout. At least 10 players came over and shook hands with, and/or hugged the fans. Attempted to get as many pictures as I could - not many turned out, but this one was the best:

 

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9324/1003240z.jpg

 

Prince stayed on the field interacting with the fans for well over an hour while celebrating with teammates and doing various interviews. Once he left (about 11:15 PM), they kicked everyone out.

[1992casey]

I've enjoyed this day a great deal, but I'm struck by how unsurprised I was at how things turned out. I mean, seriously, Ryan walked up in the 8th and I said to myself, well, this is what Ryan does.

 

I didn't feel a bit of surprise when Ryan homered. It was similar to the way fans felt in 1982. People expected good things to happen.

 

I think the most tense time for me at Miller Park was the few minutes between the last out and the time the Cubs-Cards game was put onto the video screen. There was no information at all about that game on the out of town scoreboard because it was busy displaying "Brewers Win" graphics. That period of time seemed interminable.

 

I saw the TV repeat of the moment where the Cubs had taken lead. The broadcast showed a replay of the homer, and it didn't do justice to the cheers that were in the house. The surreal aspect was that all of the cheering occurred before the scoreboard got around to showing the change in the score. Those of us who weren't directly following the Cubs game all knew that something good happened in St. Louis, but we didn't necessarily know that it was anything as cool as the Cubs scoring three runs.

 

During the broadcast of the game in St. Louis, there'd be brief interruptions when a new player interview would begin. In addition to the cheers that occurred for events in the Cards game, there'd be cheers for the Brewers players who appeared on screen.

 

As an aside, this game really demonstrated the problems that exist with the out of town scoreboard. It only displays three games at a time, the games rotate too quickly, there are different screens depending on if it's before, during, or after a given game, and there are no scores at all between innings. Fans relied on cell phones to keep up to date with the score.

[Patrick425]

topper09er[/b]]Where was Yuni on that? If he didnt even move an inch for it.....

Good question. He wasn't even in the camera frame although he clearly should have been at least somewhere in the neighborhood of the ball. I thought it looked foul. Inning over.

Ok, I realize that it's somewhat odd posting about this now. However, I was at the game last night with my son. We were sitting down the 3rd base line not far from where this ball dropped and we were both in shock that Yuni made absolutely no effoer, at all, to go after this ball. I'm not sure if there has ever been another player that I disliked more than Yuni B (even on another team). It was completely inexcusable not to go after that ball and seem to illustrative of his attitude in general.

 

[kestrel79]

Anyone know where there is video footage of Prince on the dugout, or the Uecker post game interviews? I can't find them anywhere.