Brewers hoping for another 1982

Sleep-deprived Mike Cameron ignited the Brewers in the first with a leadoff walk. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images Jon Heyman's Mailbag Got a question or comment for Jon? Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND Follow Jon Heyman on Twitter

MILWAUKEE -- Longtime beloved Brewers announcer Bob Uecker threw out the first ball for the first playoff game here in a generation, baseball commissioner Bud Selig spoke emotionally about his long-ago days as Brewers owner, then the current Brew Crew capped the great night by raising the quaint and nostalgic notion that they could possibly repeat their great playoff comeback of 1982.

Harvey's Wallbangers, they're not. But, thanks to 11 singles, five walks and a surprising shutdown of the meat of the Philly lineup, Dale Sveum's Survivors get to live another day.

Miller Park, the house that Selig built (with some help from the taxpayers), rocked with anticipation for the Brewers' first playoff game in 26 years despite the same 0-2 hole in games once faced by the famed '82 Brewers team of Harvey Kuenn, Stormin' Gorman, Vuke and the rest.

And speaking of ancient history, 45-year-old Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer, the second-oldest pitcher ever to make a postseason start (after the Philadelphia A's' Jack Quinn, 46, in 1929), failed to trick the young Brewers' lineup with his assortment of the slow and slower. "We waited him out today,'' the Brewers' Bill Hall said, kindly failing to mention that Moyer has less time to spare. The middle-aged Moyer was forced to throw an absurd 90 pitches in four insanely long innings, leading to the 4-1 Brewers' victory.

It didn't even take a win to make this a day of celebration here in Brew City. New Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, who ran up the tab to a whopping $90 million on player payroll and made the correct September call to switch managers from the unpopular Ned Yost to the decidedly calmer Sveum, reveled on the field before the game. And Selig declared, before the game even began, "It's a wonderful day for Milwaukee, and for Wisconsin ... a very emotional day.''

Knowing how this series was going, Selig wasn't about to wait until the game got under way to bask in the electric atmosphere. But as it turned out, the Brewers turned things around right away. Leadoff hitter Mike Cameron, running on adrenalin and euphoria after making an unscheduled flight home to Atlanta following a 4 a.m. Friday phone call that his wife Jabreka's water broke a month earlier than scheduled, reached base four times. Cameron arrived in Atlanta in time to see his daughter Lillo being cleaned off, then hours later hoped back on a plane to Milwaukee so he'd be in time to take the Brewers' first at-bat in Game 3.

Cameron walked to ignite a two-run rally in the first inning and reached base four straight times, proving that sleep can be optional. Seeing Cameron's inspiring performance, Craig Counsell remarked, "I'm going to tell my wife to have her baby tonight.'' Michele Counsell is due any day.

The Phillies, who have scored in only three innings this series yet manage to hold a 2-1 lead in the series, could be said to be due themselves. The big-name middle of their lineup of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell are a combined 4-for-28 (.143) after lightly regarded Brewers starter Dave Bush and four relievers won the night.

Eric Gagne, who has re-invented himself as an effective setup man after bombing as the Brewers' $10 million closer (last year, it was just the opposite; he was great as a closer, unwatchable as a setup reliever), shut down the Phillies in the eighth. And Philadelphia failed to score even one run after loading the bases with no one out in the ninth. By ruining that rally, that meant the Phillies kept intact their record of scoring only one inning in each of the three games so far.

"I mean, we got to hit,'' Phillies manager Charlie Manuel lamented. "We got to score runs. We're supposed to hit, and when we don't, yeah, I'm concerned about it. But I don't know what we can do now. That's what the playoffs are about. You don't have time to go into slumps. To get to the World Series, we got to hit.''

Actually, one problem came when Shane Victorino tried to hit; unfortunately, it was Counsell, the Brewers' second baseman, he tried to hit. The rally-killing mistake in the ninth came when Victorino recklessly went into second base standing up on Pedro Feliz's double-play grounder.

Victorino's dangerous play caused umpires to return the two lead runners to second and third after Sveum pointed out that runners don't advance when interference is the call, a solid winning argument that contrasted nicely to his predecessor, Yost, who seemed to love to scream. Whether Sveum gets to keep his job or not (that may depend on how far the Brewers go), he surely hasn't done anything wrong since taking over 15 games ago, and only tied for the playoff spot they've been awaiting for a generation.

Right now, all the Brewers have in their minds what happened back in 1982, when Kuenn's team won three straight over the Angels after going down 0-2 in the series. "I think I was eight years old enjoying Froot Loops and watching the Wonder Twins,'' Cameron said. "But I'm aware of it.''