CHICAGO -- Question: What did winning two out of three against the Chicago Cubs in the season-opening series prove for the Milwaukee Brewers?

Answer: That it's a long season.

Two out of three is better than one out of three or none out of three, but on the grand scale of a 162-game season, this series with the Cubs proved nothing other than it is very cold at Wrigley Field at this time of the year.

"We're just playing baseball,'' Brewers manager Ned Yost said after Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Cubs. "I'm glad we won two out of three and I wish we had won three out of three.''

Or as shortstop J.J. Hardy put it: "I think everyone makes it out to be a little more, but we're just playing baseball. Whenever you come to Wrigley, the atmosphere is good, but the temperatures were not good.''

Rickie Weeks is a tough guy. He showed that when he didn't hestitate to run through Cubs catcher Geovany Soto to score the Brewers' first run. But he's only so tough.

"I'm from Florida. This cold weather is killing me,'' he said.

The Brewers should warm up Friday in the home opener under the roof of Miller Park. It can get cool there, especially when it's cold outside. But with more than 40,000 in the building, many of them stoked with an extra can or two of suds, the heat should be rising.

It will be a welcome change from this just-concluded series. "It's going to be a lot more fun playing in front of our fans than playing in front of their fans,'' Hardy said.

And warmer, too.