Tonight it's hard to do, but I think over time the pain of losing this game and this series will be less fresh and we'll be able to step back and recognize that the 2011 season was probably the second best in Brewer history.

If nothing else, here's a quick table illustrating that point:

As I wrote in tonight's recap, the way the season ended is a blemish on this team's accomplishments that will never fully heal. But that doesn't change the fact that this team was one of the most talented, exciting and entertaining units we've ever seen.

Randy Wolf called tonight's game the biggest win of his career, and he became the first Brewer not named Yovani Gallardo to record a quality start this October. 

Wolf pitched seven innings tonight, becoming just the sixth pitcher in franchise history to go that deep into a postseason game:

Tonight was Wolf's first career postseason win in four attempts. Hopefully he'll get a shot at another one this October.

Mark Kotsay did everything he could tonight to demonstrate something his previous managers have known about him for years: He's not a major league center fielder. 

Kotsay has played in 278 regular season major league games since the start of the 2009 season, but has appeared as a center fielder in just 15 of them. Ten of those appearances (plus one more tonight) have come as a Brewer:

* - Eleven if you include the playoffs

Tonight was also his 19th game batting second or third in the Brewer lineup. Before this season he hadn't started a game as a #2 hitter since 2008, and had made just ten starts batting third since 2006.

Kotsay has been better the second half of this season, hitting .288/.338/.425 since the All Star break. But he's simply not capable of being the kind of player Ron Roenicke appears to think he is.

Prince Fielder's eighth inning home run tonight didn't have much of an impact on the outcome of this game, but it was somewhat historic: It was his third of the 2011 postseason and the fourth of his playoff career, moving him into sole possession of first place on the Brewers' all time list:

At the bottom of that leaderboard, another note: With their home runs over the last two days, Yuniesky Betancourt and Rickie Weeks are the 12th and 13th Brewers ever to homer in a postseason game. Hopefully they'll add some more over the coming days.

It's a little bit hard to believe, but Nyjer Morgan's +.374 WPA tonight actually wasn't the best postseason performance by a position player in Brewer history. Here's the new top five:

Simmons' performance is one we don't frequently talk about, but it was really pretty incredible. With the Brewers facing elimination against the Yankees, Simmons hit a two run homer in the seventh inning to give the Crew a 2-1 lead. The Brewers blew that lead in the bottom of the inning, so they had to come back again in the top of the eighth. Simmons' double in that inning gave them a two run lead they would not relinquish.

Cooper's big game, of course, needs no introduction. In a game that will likely be compared to tonight's for years to come, Cooper hit a bases loaded single in the seventh inning to drive home the game tying and eventual winning run.

Following tonight's loss the Brewers are 3-5 in playoff games during Ryan Braun's career. It's hard to blame him for the team's results, though, as he's gone 12-for-31 and posted a .387/.406/.625 line. He hit a single and drew a walk tonight to earn game MVP status with a +.132 WPA.

Braun doesn't have the signature, series clinching moment yet, but career WPA numbers make a strong case for him as the best postseason position player in franchise history:

Meanwhile, Randy Wolf is also in rare company: His -.479 WPA performance tonight replaced Mike Caldwell's disaster start in Game 1 of the 1982 ALCS as the worst ever by a Brewer. Shaun Marcum's performance Tuesday night is now the sixth worst.

Hopefully, these last two nights are games we'll eventually talk about as bumps in the road en route to something greater.