I am, hands-down, one of the most annoying kind of baseball fans at that both Miller Park and Navy Yard have ever seen.
Because, as you can see in the photograph above, I go to games where my teams – the Milwaukee Brewers, having been a proud Wisconsinite my entire life, and the Washington Nationals, becoming a fan as a result of a summer spent in Washington, D.C. that sped by – play one another – and wear outfits to support both.
And I unashamedly cheer for both, usually louder for the team whose post-season shots need a little bit more luck that day. Oftentimes, it’s always a toss-up for who’s going to come out on top first. Or I’d cheer for the Brewers, because looking at the overall season standings, they needed a win more so than the Nationals as they battled for the top of the leaderboard with the Chicago Cubs. The Nationals didn’t have to worry so much – last season, the Nationals took home the “Curly W” on 97 games and were conference champions in the East Division, whereas Milwaukee won 86 in comparison.
The Washington Nationals still currently sit atop the leaderboard in the National League East Division, and the Milwaukee Brewers are third in the National League Central, trailing the Reds and the Cubs. But that may change after Opening Day on March 29.
The Brewers, who are 13-6 in preseason play, demolished the White Sox on March 14, putting up 7 runs in the first two innings to the Sox’s nothing. It took until the top of the fourth for the White Sox to put up three runs, but from there on out, the Brew Crew shut them out, as they put away four more runs.
For me, Milwaukee winning a game doesn’t shock me. When they work together and don’t choke at turning points in the game, they’re a great team. What surprises me is to see that they have a better post-season record than the Nationals, who are currently 9-9.
It doesn’t seem like much of a difference, but it was enough to make the Brewers miss out on the playoffs.
Seeing the Nationals with such an even win-loss record in preseason is still a shocker. They won against the Mets on Tuesday 7-4 as they brought home runs early in the game, but lost 12-3 against the Astros today. It took until the bottom of the ninth for the Nationals to put up any points, but they couldn’t conquer a nine-point spread.
Obviously pre-season play doesn’t have the high stakes that come after March 29, and the win-loss record doesn’t necessarily define the outcome of their season.
But if it’s any indicator, I better prepare to start cheering for the Nationals against the Brewers, because they might need every win they can get this year.