It has been a tough start to the season for the Milwaukee Brewers.  They were one of the popular picks in many an NL Central prediction.  Optimism seemed to surround the club, so to start off 0-4 is a very swift and sudden fall back down to earth: exactly the sort of thing that can happen in baseball.

No one would have seen it coming two batters into their season opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday. 

Back-to-back jacks by Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez gave them the dream start, making a clear statement to the fans in Cincinnati that they were the team coming to take away the Reds’ Central crown.  When closer John Axford entered the game in the bottom of the ninth with a 6-3 lead to protect, it looked almost certain that the Brewers would not just earn a win, but make a statement on Opening Day.

Instead, the Reds mounted a stunning comeback, finishing with a flourish courtesy of a three-run homer by Ramon Hernandez.  6-3 had become 6-7 and the bewildered Brewers trudged off the field.  The Reds jumped on Milwaukee’s new starter Shaun Marcum in the second game of the series to set up a 4-2 victory and then completed the sweep with a 12-3 rout on Sunday.

The joy of those opening homers had long since subsided. 

However, an afternoon home opener on Monday against the Atlanta Braves was enough to raise the spirits yet again.

The Brewers’ TV colour commentator Bill Schroeder donned what can only be described as a ‘snazzy’ bowtie for the occasion, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio was on hand in the TV booth to discuss the coming season and the SuperBowl champion Green Bay Packers were part of the celebrations too, throwing out ceremonial first pitches. 

One Packer (sorry gridiron fans, I didn’t catch the name) went to the lengths of chartering a private plane to get there on time after he missed his scheduled flight.  ‘How much does it cost to hire a private plane?’, asked Schroeder.  ‘A lot of money’ was the reply, and the wide-eyed look on his face showed this was no idle boast.

His expensive trip was rewarded with an exciting game, only once again it wasn’t exciting in a good way for the Brewers. 

Another Rickie Weeks long ball and a solid outing by Chris Narveson had put Milwaukee into a 1-0 lead and brought their first win into view.  Then reliever Takashi Saito, another of the Brew Crew’s offseason additions, entered in the eighth inning and gave up home runs to Martin Prado and Dan Uggla.  1-0 was now 1-2 and the Brewers’ day was ended in harrowing fashion as the Braves’ young closer Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth.  ‘Nasty’ doesn’t begin to describe the way Kimbrel was pitching.

Losing four games in a row is no disaster in MLB, but it’s a tough way to start a season, especially one in which hopes are so high.  Maybe by the time you are reading this, the Brewers would have gotten the better of Derek Lowe and the Braves to break their win-less streak.  1-4 isn’t the way they wanted to start the season, but it will look much better to Brewers fans than 0-5 and get that all-important first win on the board. 

What if it’s another loss?  Braves fans will have the brooms out and the Brew Crew will be drowining their sorrows.