Welcome to Saturday Scorecard, the Playoff Edition. After 26 years, the Brewers finally get to haul out the red, white and blue bunting for something other than opening day.

Of course, I didn't see any bunting at Miller Park during the workout Friday. Maybe they threw it all away when Ned Yost was managing. He wasn't much for bunting.

With the Brewers on life support, the Badgers battling the Buckeyes without the support of the band and Aaron Rodgers shouldering a burden for the Packers, this will be one of the busier sports weekends in memory.

On to the notes...

History class: Two games into their first playoff run in 26 years, the Brewers found themselves talking about what happened 26 years ago.

Several players talked about wanting to establish their own identity outside the shadow of 1982 has been hanging over the clubhouse. One step in that direction came last week, when they decided not to wear the 1982 "throwback" uniforms for a key game against the Cubs. (Educated guess: the throwbacks won't be a weekly staple next year).

"I think 26 years is a really long time," Whitefish Bay native Craig Counsell said. It's a large portion of a baseball fan's life. I think in that respect, (the playoff run) is pretty important to a lot of people. When you wait that long, you want to be rewarded a little bit. Hopefully, we can reward them a little bit."

Bench coach Robin Yount thinks that that shadow of '82 may be disappearing. And, he's not upset about it.

"They've created their own identity by winning a playoff berth," Yount said. "In all fairness, there is not a comparison between this team and that team. They're totally different teams.

"I don't blame them if they don't want to talk about '82. I don't want to talk about '82, for that matter," Yount said. "I have it here (in my head) and I'll always remember it and cherish it, but being involved with this with these guys, I'm more concerned about what's going on today than I am about '82. I don't really care much about '82 at this point. Those are memories that I'll have forever, but we don't need to hear any more about it around here."

Yount, who said the series "is a long way from over," is looking forward to creating new memories.

"The further you go, the greater that identity is going to be," he said. "No question. It's been a long time since this organization has been able to feel anything like this."

Yount, who spent his entire career in Milwaukee, said he will always be a Brewer.

"I live and die these guys," he said. "Whether I was here or not. The years I was here, I did. Whether I was here or not, I still was paying attention as often as I could to know what was going on. I stayed in contact with the people that are involved on a daily basis pretty regularly. I know what's going on here. I still live and die Brewer baseball, whether it's been good or bad. I spent two and a half years in Arizona, but I was still a Brewer."

Part of the reason for that, Yount said, is because of the way fans embrace the team.

"Everywhere you go in Milwaukee and Wisconsin, (the playoffs) is what they're talking about. These people care. They have such a passion for this stuff.

"We didn't win the World Series (in 1982). You'd have thought we did when we came home. We were treated like we were world champions, even though we didn't win. I don't think there's too many places that would have accepted the team back in quite that manner. I'm telling you this place has got something going for it."

Scouting report: The Brewers have a solid scouting report on Phillies left-hander Jamie Moyer. Then again, Moyer is 45 years old and pitched to both Yount and manager Dale Sveum while they were still active players.

"I have no clue what I did against him," Yount said. "Guess what: it doesn't matter. I can't be activated for this series."

For the record, Yount was 3 for 11 against Moyer and walked four times. Sveum struck out and was hit by a pitch in two plate appearances against Moyer.

Counsell faced Moyer extensively -- in college.

"When I was at Notre Dame, he used to live in South Bend," Counsell said. "He used to throw against us all the time. I was a switch-hitter at the time, so I faced him right-handed."

In the Soup: If the Brewers' seasons ends tonight, frustrated fans will be looking for villains.

They'll curse the Baseball Gods. They'll blame Ben Sheets for being hurt. They'll blame Mike Cameron for failing to come up with a couple of line drives. They'll blame Eric Gagne for speaking French. They'll blame Corey Hart for some of the ugliest at-bats in recent history. (More on him later). They'll blame Yost, because... well, let's just say that old habits are tough to break.

If the Brewers don't extend the series, Jeff Suppan won't start Game 4 and many fans will overlook the role he played in the team's demise.

How can you blame a guy who doesn't pitch?

Simple.

He didn't pitch.

Virtually unbeatable in August, Suppan pitched so poorly down the stretch that the Brewers configured their rotation to use other pitchers during the final week of the regular season and the first three games of the playoffs.

That increased the workload for CC Sabathia, who was superhuman until Thursday night, and prompted the Brewers to rush Yovani Gallardo back to the mound after knee surgery.

Suppan, who was signed to a four-year, $42 million deal in part because of his reputation as a "big-game" pitcher, lost games to San Diego, Philadelphia and Cincinnati in the closing weeks, often giving up runs early and putting the Brewers in a hole.

In 65 starts with the Brewers, Suppan has a 22-22 record with an earned run average nudging toward 5.00. Nobody expected him to be a Cy Young Award candidate, but it's not unreasonable to ask him to start important games and keep the score close, which is what he did in his final regular season start against the Cubs

If the series goes to a fourth game, Suppan can endear himself to fans with a quality performance. If he doesn't get to pitch again, though, he shouldn't escape blame for the way things transpired.

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