By Andy Tarnoff Publisher Published May 03, 2013 at 11:52 AM

I planned on going to Wednesday’s Brewers game, sitting in the air-conditioned press box and quietly watching the Crew go for the sweep against the Pirates. But at the last minute, a colleague offered Bobby Tanzilo and me a chance to use his 13th row, third base side seats. It seemed like a good time to take the temperature of fans on this most peculiar 2013 season.

After sweating through the four-hour affair, I can say the temperature was hot. But not in the way I expected.

The Brewers should’ve won this game, but John Axford blew a two-run lead in the eighth inning. It was the first time I’d seen and heard the vitriol from fans around me. They booed him. A lot.

One of the most vocal boo birds was sitting two rows behind us. As Axford walked slowly back to the dugout, having just coughed up three runs, this fan screamed loudly, a wild look in this eyes. I shot back a glare, as did the group behind us. He just screamed more loudly. He invoked the name "Turnbow."

I wonder what fans think will come from booing their own guy. Do they think Axford will be shamed into pitching better? Do they think that skipper Ron Roenicke will hear the booing and decide to demote his former closer to an ever lesser role? Do they think that General Manager Doug Melvin will cut or trade the player who was spectacular two seasons ago, then scuffled last year and this year, too?

I’m not sure, but I don’t like it. I threw this out on Twitter, and several people agreed with me. A few didn’t, and I thought this reply was the most interesting:

Are players affected by booing? On the road, probably not so much – ask Ryan Braun. But if there’s a such thing as home-field advantage, they must be moved negatively. Axford was clearly disappointed after Wednesday’s game.

"Fans are fans," Axford told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. "I know what I can do, I know what I've accomplished here, even if they forget about it. I've thrown well recently, and put together with the last few years I've been here -- I don't mean to toot my own horn, but it's better than a lot of other relievers around in the league.

Think Axford is upset? Me, too.

He continued, "It's a short-term memory for a lot of fans. Obviously, they forget what I've done in the past, and it's easy for them to do. Right now, I'm just going to keep trying to get the job done."

Bottom line, it’s easy to get down on a player. At home, at the sports bar, on Twitter. But if you think you’re doing your team any favors by booing its players at the game, you’re not.

Sure, the players can take it, but why make them? Put the advantage back in home-field advantage. Save the booing for your living room.

Andy Tarnoff Publisher

Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.

Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.

Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.