What Went Wrong: You Have to Play TWENTY-SEVEN Innings, Brewers

I was happy that this Wild Card Series went the maximum three games, because that hadn't been happening a lot. Our first taste of the Wild Card Series came in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, and that was done to make up for the shortened regular season, similar to the extra "bubble" games in the NHL and NBA. Out of the eight series played (in a best-of-three format), only two went the max. Since the Wild Card Series became a permanent staple in 2022, only one series went the max. This series between the New York Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers became the third to go the full three games.

The Mets took Game One in dominant fashion, but the Brewers bounced back and took Game Two to force this do-or-die Game Three. It was a pitchers duel for 2/3 of the game, but the seventh inning saw the Brewers hit back-to-back solo HRs to make it 2-0. The pitching continued to own the Mets in the eighth, and entering the ninth, the Brewers were three outs away from their first series win in six years. The Mets showed some life, but it was runners on the corners and one out. Pete Alonso came up. He was facing what could his final at bat as a Met. A double play would end it. It was a 3-1 count, but still, a double play could end it.

Instead, the only thing that ended was any hope for the Brewers.

A three-run HR from Pete Alonso. Mets added one more run in that ninth inning and that was it.

The Brewers definitely had an amazing year. First to clinch. Another NL Central title. Made it against all odds. But the same thing that plagued them last year plagued them this year: they did not finish.

Devin Williams really needs a friend right now. Whenever stuff like this happens in sports, one has to really feels for the player who is on the bad end of it. Well, unless that player's a prick like Josh Hader is, then it's just karma. Devin Williams was regarded as a dominant reliever, so that ninth inning was quite uncharacteristic from him. It happens, though. Even Mariano Rivera didn't have his best at times. And here's the thing that stands out. Williams took full responsibility for that four-run inning. He didn't have to, it was one of those things, plus he gave up the HR to Pete Alonso, who knocks out everybody. Despite this, Williams took full responsibility. We need more players like this in sports.

This was the Brewers' sixth postseason in seven years. The only time they advanced was 2018, where they fell one win short of their first pennant since winning the American League in 1982. 2019 saw them as the first victims of the Washington Nationals' championship run. The 2020 modified postseason saw the Brewers swept in the Wild Card Series by the Dodgers. In 2021, the Braves beat them out in the NLDS. 2022 saw the Brewers miss out by a hair, but last year, the Arizona Diamondbacks took them out. Notice a trend. In their previous five postseasons, the Brewers were eliminated by the team who went on to the World Series. In fact, between 2019-2021, the Brewers were eliminated by the eventual World Champions. It's amazing. Wisconsin has a football team who won a playoff game as a #7 seed, but has a baseball team who lost to the #6 seed. Twice.

And the Elite Eight is complete, as the New York Mets will face off against the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. As for the Milwaukee Brewers, it's yet another long offseason for this team. They did manage to win the division with a first year manager, so there's that. But they still need that extra something to put them over the hump. Will they get that extra something? We will definitely see.

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