It seems like nothing in baseball gets the goat of fans than a mercurial closer, the one man charged with winning games who seemingly never gets the job done with any ease - or consistency.

If Milwaukee Brewers closer John Axford didn't learn this last year when he blew nine saves, the home fans at Miller Park reminded him loudly during the third game of the season.

After blowing a save on Opening Day, he allowed three runs on five hits in a non-save situation in a 7-3 loss on April 3. He was booed throughout the performance, and then booed off the field once manager Ron Roenicke took the ball from him.

That's where I took issue with Brewers fans.

I am of the belief that if you bought a ticket, you have the right to boo a bad performance, or an opposing player you don't like. You can even boo a player on your own team if you don't like him (though that has never made much sense to me).

Yet it seemed like the treatment Axford received was a little over the top.

There's a couple reasons for this, I think:

• Off the field he is, without question, a "fan favorite" - active on social media and in the community. He buys local products, supports local music, and his image spawned mustachioed copycats for several years.
• On the field he saved 49 straight games from 2011 to 2012 and in a three-year period from 2009-2011 he went 10-4 with 71 saves, posting a 2.26 earned run average and 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings. He was also the closer on a team that went to the National League Championship Series.

Then, the summer of 2012 happened.

Interestingly enough, Axford had 10 saves and had blown only one through June 10 last year. He was called upon in many non-save situations and struggled, but when it came to closing the door, he was still very good.

The wheels fell off on June 13 in Kansas City before he righted the ship by Aug. 1. Then, as the Brewers surged toward the second wildcard spot, he was back to his old self, converting 16 straight saves.

Yet here he was, three days into 2013, booed off the field.

That's why I didn't get it. Here's a guy the fans A) supposedly adore and B) has actually produced his entire career.

Look, Axford is a big boy. He's faced the music and I'm sure he doesn't feel he needs any media-types defending him to fans. But I feel it's a little ridiculous to boo the guy off the field.

If he's bad - like he was for two months last year - he knows he deserves to be pulled from that role. I supported Roenicke's decision last year and if Axford spirals out of control he should be yanked again.

It's just odd to me that a guy who the fans seemingly love(d) was turned on so quickly.