Time to rehydrate with the Monday Sports Hangover

And just like that, it's all over.

Exactly one week after the most thrilling victory of my life as a Brewer fan, the dream 2008 season came to an abrupt end Sunday afternoon in Miller Park. And to be honest, I knew it was over after the first at-bat when Jimmy Rollins sent Jeff Bleeping Suppan's meatball into the right field seats.

(Quick side note: I'll be FedEx-ing a turd sandwich to the residence of Mr. Suppan, who couldn't have been worse in a do-or-die situation on Sunday. Just a dismal performance from a guy making $10 million per year. At least Eric Gagne was nice enough to donate a ton of money to charity and buy 5,000 tickets for Brewer fans after he stunk up the joint this season. Suppan simply gave away the season in a matter of 3 innings. Is there any way we can cut this guy?)

9 innings later, watching longtime Brewer Geoff Jenkins celebrate with the Phillies on the field at Miller Park was especially devastating.

But it has been said all season that this is a team that lives and dies by the long ball. Clearly, we see now how easily the Crew can be derailed if they aren't hitting home runs. But not only were they not hitting home runs, with the exception of JJ Hardy and Ryan Braun, they couldn't hit much of anything.

However, I don't think you can blame any one player or any managerial decision for losing that series. The young, inexperienced up-and-coming Brewers got beat by the October-tested Phillies, who seemed to have an answer for everything the Crew threw at them. The better team won, and that team was the Philadelphia Phillies. Congratulations to (gulp...) the Phillies and their fans. Good luck trying to stop Manny Ramirez and the LA Dodgers. You'll need it.

Things seem dismal now, but there isn't another team that I would have rather been cheering for with my heart and soul since April. It has been a rollercoaster season, but that sweet taste of October baseball was redemption enough. Over the past few days, I've questioned whether or not its really worth it to follow a baseball team through the 162-game season. Following a baseball team is different from following any other professional sports team. I'd say of the 162 games this year, I've probably watched 80 of them in their entirety, and bits and pieces of at least 40 more. I even got to see a few games at Miller Park, including CC Sabathia's first start against the Rockies. That's a significant chunk of my life over the past six months dedicated to a baseball team, which in retrospect seems a bit silly. But I wouldn't have had it any other way. I love baseball. My family raised me to love baseball. And for the first time since I was pulling for Robin Yount and Paul Molitor in my early years as a Brewer fan, I got to see competitive baseball in September and October. And I'm satisfied with that.

Thanks for the memories, Crew. We'll get back at 'em next year.

IN OTHER NEWS

The Badgers choked away a win at Camp Randall against Ohio State and the Packers improbably lost to a rookie quarterback in Lambeau. Of course, I didn't get to watch the Packer game due to the pure evil of Time Warner and the Fox Valley FOX station, but I'll wait a few days before the anger over that eventually manifests itself once I process the end of this Brewer season. But I will say this, I am genuinely terrified of what Wisconsin residents might do if they can't watch the Packers on Sundays. I wouldn't be surprised if people rioted like it was 1995.

Also, continuing with the Wisconsin Sports Apocalypse of October 5, 2008 - my fantasy football team suffered its first loss of the season.

A FEW QUESTIONS

Should the Brewers bring back interim manager Dale Sveum for next season?

What should be done with dead weight like Bill Hall, Rickie Weeks, Guillermo Mota, David Riske and Jeff Suppan?

Should the Brewers pick up options for Mike Cameron and Salomon Torres?

Are fans dumb enough to believe that CC Sabathia can be signed to a long term deal when deep-pocket teams like the Yankees and Mets missed the playoffs and will probably start a spending spree of epic proportions?

What the hell happened to Corey Hart?


One more thing...

The silver lining on this cloud of a weekend? The Chicago Cubs getting pummeled by the LA Dodgers. At this point, cheering for the Cubs is like supporting the Bush Administration - blind allegiance to miserable, epic failure.