Chin Up, Brewer Fans!

Thursday's gut-punch 4-2 loss to the New York Mets stings even today for Milwaukee Brewer fans.

The club had battled back in the wild card playoff with a dramatic win Wednesday. When Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 2-0 lead, it seemed like the stars had aligned in Milwaukee.

But then Pete Alonso, once a Madison Mallard, reached into our collective chests and pulled out our hearts, showing them to us as an amazing season came to an end on his three-run homer. 

What happened against the Mets?  Well, some of the veterans we were counting on failed to show up -- William Contreras was just 2x12, Willie Adames 2x11, Rhys Hoskins was an O-fer, as was youngster Joey Ortiz. In contrast, young guns like Jackson Chourio hit .455, Blake Perkins .500, Frelick .364 and Brice Turang .455.

And make no mistake about it, this was truly an amazing season. A Central Division title with a 93-69 record, both of which caught the baseball world (and pretty much all of Brewer Nation) by surprise.

What Milwaukee fans have to look forward to is the return of one helluva young corps -- Chourio, Turang, Frelick, Perkins, Ortiz, Contreras, Garrett Mitchell, Tobias Meyers. This is a bunch you can build around. There are holes to fill -- there always are. Some more team power, especially at first base, is needed.

Don't forget that Christian Yelich will be back, as will pitcher Brandon Woodruff. These two additions will help solidify the squad. Yelich is a pro's pro and a great example to the young guys.

The question pops up about the future of Adames, who becomes a free agent when the World Series concludes. The shortstop had a career year with 32 home runs, driving in 112 (one shy of the shortstop record of 113 set by Robin Young. Adames, 29, will be highly sought after on the free agent market. A very good defender with a solid bat.

As important to Milwaukee in the locker room as on the field, can the Brewers afford to keep Willie?

Only if he gives a "home town" deal to the club, pushes a lot of the salary down the road and is willing to settle for a three or four year contract. Otherwise, it's a safe bet we'll see him in somebody else's uniform next season.

The Brewers really had the turnstiles spinning for these three home games, drawing 120,968 fans with the tops a crowd of 41,594 on Thursday. After finishing the regular season 16th in the MLB with 2,537,202 fans (an average of 31,323, just 38 games per game behind Colorado) the playoffs bring that total to 2,659,170. You can bet that, without the roof over American Family Field, that overall total would be a lot smaller.