Brewers 2, Dodgers 5

Sometimes I wonder whether anyone out there is reading my blog.

Now I know the answer is yes.

And I know who’s reading it, too:

The Dodgers

Maybe Brian Dozier likes to keep his eye on southerners’ baseball blogs and he found my post about Game 4 of the NLCS. Then he went around the clubhouse saying “y’all have got to read this dude’s blog…he used to play in the minors…and he knows what he’s talking about.” So, one by one, the team read that last blog of mine. Someone obviously said, “hey…this Hunter dude is right…we’ve been wasting ABs by swinging for the fences…let’s try manufacturing runs for a change.”

And they took my advice. They shortened their swings and stopped hacking away at a ball that wasn’t there. Look what happened:

They won a game 5-2 without hitting a long ball.

It was an afternoon of singles, walks, HBPs, stolen bases, taking advantage of pitches in the dirt, productive outs…all the things that make up playing baseball. Not only did they win, but the game was interesting to watch…unlike Tuesday night and those 12 2/3 innings that were as exciting as watching a chess game. It’s fun to watch a run get put together…see how a walk, a stolen base and a wild pitch can get a runner to 3^rd. And not to have to say “here we go again” when that happens with nobody out.

I was at work for the game, and I’m glad Svetlana and I decided not to look at our phones and watch the game when we got home. (Okay, once I got to Keaton’s. He agreed to hold off watching it until I was done with work.) It was worth seeing the whole thing…from the Brewers’ insane pitching change after one batter (I almost spilled my first Lagunitas when I sat up in the bean bag to say “what the fuck?!?”) to drama in the top of the 9^th and needing to bring Jansen in to collect the final out.

In other words, it was a ballgame. The kind that’s fun to play and the kind that’s fun to watch.nSure, there were still too many strikeouts, but, even Barnes who did it 3 times had one huge hit at exactly the right time. There weren’t as many Ks, which is good, and you do gotta give the Brewers pitchers some credit. This is the NLCS: you gotta be good to get this far, and postseason pitching is gonna mean more punchouts. But, after yesterday’s game, I’m looking at the donut and not at the hole. If the team can manufacture runs on the hits they do get, then its ok to strike out when you do.

So, to the Dodgers: thanks for reading my blog…and thanks for following my advice.

Now just stay on the right track and finish the series off tonight.

5 wins to go.