All's well that ends well. Except when it ends very badly.

I really thought the Brewers were going to do it. ... That Game 1 win had me convinced. Sure, they were down three games to two. But -- even after that awful Game 5 -- they were playing at home, at Miller Park. They found ways to come from behind all season long. Surely, fate was on their side.

Um, yeah. No.

In the first inning, after the Cardinals had taken a 4-0 lead and completely took the Milwaukee crowd out of the game, John Smoltz said the postseason can be so cruel.

Then, after the Brewers got back into the game in the second inning and had the nervous crowd chewing on their rally towels, Tony LaRussa said during his dugout interview: This is not fun.

And yet, Brian Anderson may have had the best line of the night, after it became apparent there would be no comeback for the Brewers this time: Again, it is the Cardinals. ... I was disliking the Cardinals more with each passing inning.

Tweeted Wisconsin sports reporter Jen Lada ...

And when the 2012 season begins, Milw can rewelcome the NLCS champs to Miller Park. Opening Day opponent. April 6th. #goodgrief #you again

Those dang, stinkin’ Cardinals.

The stress of last night's game was causing me to scratch and claw at my head so regularly, it hurt.

At 9-4 in the third inning, I already was exhausted and feeling like I’d been through the ringer. By the fourth inning, I was slumped in my chair, and my stomach was in such a knot I was doubting whether I could stand to watch any longer.

One fan tweeted ...

I'm going to change the channel to something a little more comfortable. Is there a live human birth on anywhere? #brewers

I checked out in the fifth when Jerry Hairston booted a ball not once, but twice, and then Hairston’s boot went under Rickie Weeks’ glove at second base. Score: 10-5, Cardinals in favor.

Joe Posnanski, who pointed to Brewers’ poor defense throughout the postseason, tweeted ...

Now the Brewers are just showing off. Holy cow.

Adam McCalvy, the Brewers beat writer for MLB.com, followed up with ...

Uh-oh. TBS has gone to "sad fan" shots. That's never good.

Thinking about my love affairs with the Brewers and Cubs, at this point I’m not sure which is harder for me to swallow -- The fact that the Cubs haven’t won a World Championship since 1908 and last went to the World Series in 1945. Or the Brewers having never won a championship and making their only trip to the series in 1982. I've watched both come so close to breaking through in recent years. Heart-breaking.

Going back to the Greinke trade, there were such high hopes for this team. 

Now it's wait 'til next year all over again.

Good Interesting reads from the series ...
a Brewers' beastly run ends with NLCS defeat
a Brewers fans savor the season ... It was a crushing finish, the end of a treasured season, the end of a baseball summer.
a Rave reviews for Pujols
a Braun and Pujols Star in Batting Practice Series
a Cards-Brewers rivalry can grow on you
a Ex-National Nyjer Morgan finding stardom, acceptance in Milwaukee
a Morgan and his alter ego captivating fans, turning off opponents
a From young age, Braun lived for big moments
a Behind a Baseball Rivalry, a Battle of Beer Companies
a Handyman Hairston lives up to his label ... I've never been a Hairston fan, but he's been fun to watch for the Brewers.
a Brewers miss great chance to reward fans
a During '57 season, she drove a Chevy with a bevy of fans