Okay, so this qualifies as a "First World problem."
Dianne received a gift certificate for Brewers' tickets back in January. This seemed like a really great gift at the time. It seemed like less of a great gift by Memorial Day when the Brewers had already pretty much eliminated themselves from playoff contention. Their value was further diminished when Ryan Braun finally fessed up to being a druggie, a liar and a jerk. Now, the Brewers have guys playing for them named "Scooter" and most of the AAA Nashville team has come north to play in the big leagues.
All-in-all, we'd just as soon bank the fifty bucks and wait for opening day. But we can't. The fine print requires us to use it or lose it by this Sunday, and it must be spent on tickets as opposed to, say, a nice fleece Brewers pullover for the fall, or maybe coasters or other useful merchandise. No, we're forced to go watch the Brewers play something like baseball.
We have our choice of four remaining home games: today's match-up against the mighty Chicago Cubs or a weekend series against the first place St. Louis Cardinals.
As a rule, we prefer day baseball, but watching the Brewers play the Cubs is like watching Rick Perry duke it out with Rick Santorum for the Republican presidential nomination. You know that either will lose in the end; the question is just how much you'll wince while watching the contest.
Besides, our team comes down to the final couple of weeks of the season with a commanding five-and-a-half game lead over the Cubs, all but assuring us of sole possession of fourth place in the National League Central. Still, we're over twenty games out of first and the Cubs are 26 back. There's no drama here.
But the Cardinals are in first place, and if the Brewers can sweep the series or even win two out of three, they would help second place Pittsburgh in its quest to win a divisional title for the first time since Andrew Carnegie opened a steel mill. Moreover, I don't like the Cardinals. They're like the one percent of baseball. They win all the time. And Pittsburgh is like Milwaukee in a lot of ways. A small market, industrial town. Underdogs worthy of our affection.
So, we're going to see the Brewers take on the Cards. We'll sit in the cheap seats, but because it's a "marquee game" we'll have the privilege of paying more for parking, which means that the fifty bucks won't cover the whole deal. Like any good red-blooded American, I hate paying more for parking. But that's just another First World problem.
Okay, I'll stop whining now. Go, Crew!
