Padres' star Fernando Tatis Jr. has classy response to NLDS loss to Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres just completed one of the most tense Division Series in recent history. At no point throughout the four-game series did either team lead by more than two runs. From a fly ball hitting the roof of American Family Field, to a memorable walk-off in Game 2, to a robbed potential game-tying home run just four outs before the Brewers sealed the series victory, Milwaukee and San Diego's memorable NLDS matchup had fans on the edge of their seats for every single pitch.

It's easy for the Brewers to call the series simply "memorable" after emerging victorious, but for the Padres and their fanbase, who were on the wrong end of the roof ball, Jackson Chourio's walk-off, and Garrett Mitchell's home run robbery, looking at the series as incredibly unlucky is by no means a stretch. Baseball, frequently coined a "game of inches," proved to be just that during the Padres and Brewers' NLDS matchup. The red-hot Padres, who seemingly couldn't lose in the month leading up to their October clash with the best team in baseball, narrowly missed out on several series-changing plays throughout the NLDS.

It would therefore be easy, even understandable, for the Padres' players to cite their misfortune when discussing the series after last night's loss. Such a response, however, would ignore the impressive performance their opponents, the Brewers, put together. One Padres' star chose the high road, acknowledging the high level of baseball that was played by both sides before giving the Brewers their deserved respect.

As seen above in the X post from MLB.com Brewers beat reporter Adam McCalvy, Padres' outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. who supplied San Diego's lone run of Game 4, had a classy response to his team's narrow defeat in the NLDS. He didn't claim that the Padres' bad breaks caused them to lose the series or degrade the performance that the Brewers turned in, but rather noted just how strong Milwaukee's level of play was before wishing them health and luck in their series against San Diego's arch rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Fernando Tatis Jr.'s comments kicks off what should be resounding support for Brewers in their quest to dethrone Dodgers

By virtue of their victory over the Padres in the NLDS, the Brewers once again have a date with the mighty Dodgers in the NLCS. The same narratives that dominated last year's National League final are present once again this year -- the small-market Brewers and their modest payroll will try to take down the Dodgers, whose assembly of All-Stars, MVPs, and Cy Young winners led to a record-breaking payroll.

This year, however, those narratives are even more pertinent as a lockout, largely brought on by disagreements over how much the league should curb teams like the Dodgers' spending power, is expected to begin on December 2. Some believe that a small-market team like the Brewers defeating the Dodgers and winning the World Series would prove to MLB that with the right roster construction, disadvantaged teams in the league's broken financial landscape can still compete with the big players, and therefore a salary cap isn't required. Others recognize that the problem is larger than one series in October, and regardless of the outcome of this year's NLCS, changes need to be made to the league's payroll restrictions.

Regardless of the potential implications on the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations, the Brewers, who would theoretically benefit from a league-wide salary cap, should see support from around the league in their NLCS matchup against the Dodgers. If for no reason more than dynasty fatigue, fanbases who no longer have a leg in the race should be rooting for the Brewers to topple the hegemon that is the Dodgers and prove to the league that Dave Roberts' super team is not invincible.

Support may not come from the national media, who have motivations other than wanting to see the Dodgers' dynasty fall, but fanbases across baseball are sure to be rooting for Pat Murphy's squad to knock off Los Angeles' potential salary-cap-inducing roster. Baseball's new Evil Empire against the team that does whatever they can to remain competitive in a league that's working against them. The choice feels like an easy one for the otherwise neutral observer.

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