Seranaded In The Key Of "Boooooooo!"

One look at the Miller Park stands this sun-drenched Wednesday afternoon tells you one thing: the number of fans in the seats is a testimony to the power of warm weather and the good will the team earned while it set the baseball world on fire in April.

The harsh reality is that the Brewers have done nothing to merit this kind of attention since the free-fall that began when the team peaked at 24-10.

They've gone 5-14 ever since. Seven of the last eight tilts ended with "L's".

Sports Illustrated jinx?

One too many soap opera cameos?

Schoolkids sat next to businesspeople during today's matinee-turned-horror show as Atlanta tattooed Milwaukee 9-3, turning a 2-1 Brewers lead to mush with a seven-run outburst in the eighth.

Good teams win at home.

They beat the teams they should, and play even with the ones who are at their level or better.

When the pitching falters, a good team's hitters pick the squad up. The converse applies when the batters are in a funk. One part of the team saves the other's bacon.

Good teams play through bad luck, and always think their next hit will find a hole, their next pitch will induce a double play to end an opposition rally.

How much of that have you seen in the last 19 games?

The April Afterglow is wearing off, but the high standards set by the early-spring Brewers remain--the fans got downright surly this afternoon as reliever after Milwaukee reliever added more gas to a growing late-inning fire. I remember rustling in the past, and maybe the occasional boo, but the crowd today expected more, and let the Crew know it when they felt they weren't getting it.

I wonder how long it'll be before the boos end, and the disgruntled fans start showing up disguised as empty seats.