My Favorite Sad-Faced Brewer

When I met Mike it was October and we got engaged the following March, so it wasn't until he was my fiance that I found out what an ardent Brewers fan he was. Last year he took me to a few games and I began to realize what he was talking about.

At first I just loved going to baseball games. I liked walking around Miller Park. I liked looking at the scoreboard with its jumbo screen. I liked the goofy games they had between innings, the smell of grass, the sausage races, and the way Mike would jump and cheer. I liked riding our bikes there, and I liked riding them home through the quiet downtown streets. And, as time went on, I began to understand what was going on and like the game itself.

This season I haven't been able to go to any games (although Philo would get in free, I can't imagine that it would be convenient to bring him) but I've kept asking Mike questions to better understand the game. And since Mike loves explaining things I'm continuing to learn a lot.

One of the things I hate about baseball, though, is the mobility of the players. I get attached to the players. In fact, the Brewers got rid of my favorite player from last year, a guy named Kevin Mench. I was so sad to see him go. However, this opened up a position for someone to be my Favorite Sad Faced Brewer. See, I originally latched on to Mench because he always looked kinda sad in his photos. I wanted to be his fan, to support him, even though he had no idea that I was following his progress on the team. When he left I had to find a new Brewer to support.

Early this season I settled on a pitcher named Derrick Turnbow. Turnbow was a closer, which meant that he was brought in at the end of the game to finish it up. He threw really fast but not very accurately, and he tended to cave under pressure. I was a staunch Turnbow supporter until he got sent down to the minor leagues early on. After that I set my sights on a new pitcher, a guy named Eric Gagne.

Now, Gagne is a worthy candidate for Sad-Faced Brewer. He originally started as a closer, like Turnbow. Unfortunately he did so poorly that he actually demoted himself from the position. He gave it another shot, but he just can't close games anymore. Now he's called a set-up guy, someone who pitches in the 7th or 8th inning to set things up for the closer. The thing is, Gagne used to be phenomenal. He won the Cy Young award, had 84 straight saved games (a record), and earned himself the nickname "Game Over." Now, after two surgeries on his elbow and one on his back, he's struggling to hold onto his current position. Mike thinks he won't be back next season. I kind of wonder about Gagne and how he feels. I wonder what it's like to experience that glory, to be on top, and then to have it slowly slip away. I wonder if he keeps playing in hopes that he'll have a chance at that glory again, and I wonder if it hurts him to go from pitching in front of cheering crowds to having Milwaukee baseball fans jeering at him. I wonder if Dodgers fans remember his outstanding performance. I hope so. I hope that when he's retired he can go back there and feel the afterglow of his glory once again. And I hope that in the meantime he can somehow feel that someone remembers what a great pitcher he was, and appreciates the job he does now.

Like I said, Mike said that Gagne probably won't be back next year. I'll probably still follow his career loosely, like I follow Mench's and Turnbow's. But I'll have to pick out another sad faced Brewer to support. Hopefully by then I'll be going to games again.