Major League Baseball may be returning to the old days. A Yankees-Dodgers World Series, in other words. Some scribes say the Cardinals will be back in the October Classic, some say the Phillies.

And here in the land of cheese, beer and the Milwaukee Losers, a lot of baseball fans are making this comment: Who cares?

It was nice for a while. Milwaukee had the best record in the major leagues. But on the third day of the season, things went sour. OK, we're being facetious. Or sarcastic. Things looked good until July when the Losers started their annual Before-the-All-Star-Game-Break slide.

What a difference a year makes. A year ago the Brewers were challenging for the wild card entry in post-season play. Not a division championship, mind you. Heavens, after years of mediocrity, fans were giddy just thinking about wild card.

Not only did the Brewers get into the playoffs, THEY ACTUALLY WON A GAME.

Oh, how the fans looked forward to 2009. This would be the year.

I remember the night of Feb. 6, 2009, when a niece's husband (would that be nephew-in-law?) asked, "How do you think the Brewers will do this year?"

Without hesitation, I confidently predicted, "They'll suck."

It started out OK. Some of the players even got their uniforms dirty. Prince Fielder didn't disappoint us, despite weighing enough to play in the Green Bay Packers offensive line. Rickie Weeks, before he was lost for the season with an injury, had more hits than errors. Ryan Braun showed again he belongs in the major leagues and catcher Jason Kendall played with as much zeal as when he broke into the majors years ago.

And, of course, Milwaukee had the best pitching staff this side of the Illinois state line. Some of the hurlers, especially those in the bullpen, had exceptional control. They hit opponents' bats almost every time they threw the ball.

Unfortunately there were drawbacks. Billie Hall and J.J. Hardy had a combined batting average of minus .004.

The icing on the cake (yes, that's a cliché, so cancel my post-season playoff game reservations) was the hiring of a new manager. Ned Yost, who slowly but surely brought the Brewers to respectability, wasn't deemed good enough to finish the '08 season. Mainly because the team was up to its old tricks of losing ball games.

Anyway, on the day this was written, Whatzisname, the new manager, had led the team to fourth place with a resounding 69 victories and only 75 losses, merely 15 games out of first place in the Central Division of the National League.

So, as we near the close of another less-than-spectacular season, some fans may be singing new lyrics to "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean":

"Bring back, bring back, oh bring back Ned Yost to us, to us."

Or substitute the name Phil Garner. Or Cecil Cooper. Or Robin Yount. Or Paul Molitor. Or Dale Sveum. Or CC Sebathia.

There were bright spots - the play of rookie Casey McGehee and Wisconsin's own Craig Counsel. All fans of the Milwaukee Brewers (aka Losers) should demand that Counsel be named the league's Most Valuable Player. Well, Milwaukee's MVP, anyway.

And now we can all root for that other great Milwaukee winning team, the Bucks.

Emmert Dose is a retired Journal Times reporter. His column appears every month in Lifestyles. Write to him c/o The Journal Times, 212 Fourth St., Racine, WI 53403.