Brewers October: keep your foot down and your lucky bullshit handy.
The Curds & Chaos Desk · Reported brief + original R-rated fan column · Adult language
Source brief
Milwaukee leads Los Angeles 2–0. NLCS Game 3 is Wednesday, October 14, at 7 p.m. CT.
Read the reporting: MLB.com ↗Our take · Original opinion
I want the Brewers to play like they expect to win. I want the rest of us to stop speaking in nervous disclaimers. Being excited is allowed, damn it. We do not need to notarize our joy in case baseball gets weird.
My October rule is simple: enjoy the position you are in without treating it like a receipt for something you have not won. That sounds reasonable until a routine fly ball hangs in the air and I suddenly need three camera angles and a priest. Baseball has an incredible ability to turn a grown adult into a malfunctioning smoke detector. What I want from Milwaukee is pressure with a brain attached. Work an at-bat. Make the defense finish the play. Take an opening when it is actually there. There is a difference between being aggressive and sprinting directly into a bad idea because the crowd is loud. I can do the second one myself at the grocery store when I see a suspiciously cheap grill. And can we retire the idea that the Crew needs to act grateful just to be in the conversation? Respect an opponent, absolutely. Send them a thank-you basket for letting you compete? Fuck that. I want confidence without the victory lap. The ball does not check brand recognition before it decides where to land. For the fans, my tactical plan involves snacks, a charged remote, and no sudden alterations to the seating chart. None of this affects professional athletes hundreds of miles away. I know that. You know that. The lucky chair, however, has requested that we keep an open mind. We are running a very sophisticated operation here. This is why we stick around through the ordinary nights. For the possibility that the next pitch makes an entire room jump at once. For the argument, the nervous laugh, and the friend who texts a single swear word and somehow communicates a complete scouting report. So let yourself enjoy it. Yell when it is worth yelling. Save the funeral speech for an actual funeral, and keep the premature parade route in your drafts. I want good baseball and loud Wisconsin. Bring the damn noise.