During the Revolutionary War, John Paul Jones (the naval captain, not the Led Zeppelin bassist) helmed his frigate the Bonhomme Richard against a much larger and better armed British ship, the HMS Serapis.  After an intense battle the Richard was left burning and sinking and the Serapis' captain demanded Jones' surrender. 

His legendary reply: "I have not yet begun to fight."

Instead of giving up and fighting another day, Jones rammed his sinking ship into the Serapis, tied the Richard to her, and his crew boarded and captured their British opponents. 

228 years later, the Brewers will need at least as much resolve after what was easily their most painful loss of the season, although it doesn't seem possible to fight another day with our opponents up 2.5 games and just 8 left to play. 

It wasn't just that this was most definitely a must-win game, with the Cubs having beaten Pittsburgh earlier in the afternoon.  It wasn't just that this was yet another blown lead by the bullpen or even yet another road loss, the Brewers' 48th(!) of the season.  It was all the questions it raised.

Why did Miller swing on 3-1?  How come Counsell couldn't get that bunt down?  Could Rickie have picked an unluckier time for his 13th error of the season?  And who exactly is Scott Thorman? 

Answers have been few and far between as Milwaukee has dropped 3 of 4 and possibly out of the playoff race.

"We're down 2 1/2 with eight left. That's not good math," said Corey Hart, who vocalized what every Brewers fan has been thinking...when they're not thinking "Fire Ned Yost."

But maybe, like John Paul Jones, Yost isn't ready to go down with his sinking ship just yet.

"We're 2 1/2 good days from being back in first place," he said yesterday.  "As far as I know we have a week left."

Truer words were never spoken.  7 of the Brewers' final 8 games are at home, where they're 20 games over .500.  The Cubs play their last six on the road, where they're 3 games over .500.  Sure Chicago plays doormats Florida and Cincinnati, but the Reds took 2 of 3 from the Cubs at Wrigley in mid-August, and the last time the Marlins were at Wrigley (in late May) they won 3 straight.

Hope isn't lost just yet, Brewer fans.  The seas are getting choppier and our ship is taking on more water with each loss, but the battle isn't over and it's entirely possible that this team has not yet begun to fight.