Some people need to say they are sorry to RRR

[RobDeer 45]

Haha, I was removed from everything over the last 4 days because of a move out of state. So when I heard that Tony Plush has been held back because of a thigh bruise that they weren't saying anything about, I thought, I can't wait to read the IGT's from the Nationals series. I think there are a lot of people out there that need to apologize to Ron for the aggressive statements they made towards him! Lesson number one on why you shouldn't jump all over a manager unless you know the whole story. There are a lot of times where a guy is not available for small reasons that the manager is protecting.

[GoudaBrew]

It's strange that this wasn't reported better though. I was driving up to Wisconsin Friday night and had Uecker on the radio. They talked to RRR pre-game and Ron came right out and said Morgan had a bruise and wouldn't be available to play the field. I haven't read TH's or McCalvy's blog the last several days, but I assume neither reported it.

[jjfanec]

I dont know if I have seen a message board that posts positive threads about a coach or manager before. Ron has made some puzzling decisions, but I think he done some good things as well. He is a little handcuffed by a bullpen without Parra, Hawkins, Saito, and obviously missing Greinke hurts. He is a little handcuffed with Hart not being there and Morgan being dinged up (and Melvins curious Kotsay signing). Not sure what all he should be doing that has some on this board up in arms, but I like that he does not over-tinker with the lineup. I would love to not have to play Yuni and Kotsay everyday but with injuries and lack of depth that is where we are. Unless you think Almonte is the answer.

[rluzinski]

What don't we know that justifies batting Gomez 2nd? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Ennder]

Kotsay and Reed making the roster, Gomez batting 2nd and Morgan not getting to play before the injury have nothing to do with the injury. There has been some absolutely terrible decision making going on with this team so far this season.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Kotsay and Reed making the roster, Gomez batting 2nd and Morgan not getting to play before the injury have nothing to do with the injury. There has been some absolutely terrible decision making going on with this team so far this season.

Is Kotsay and Reed on RR? We don't know exactly how much input Melvin gave a rookie manager when making the final cut downs. At least on Kotsay, given that Melvin signed him to a MLB contract, that has to be on Dougie.

[jjfanec]

What don't we know that justifies batting Gomez 2nd? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

That is a good call. I still have no clue as to who could bat there on this team outside of Morgan when healthy. I am sure that talk is designated for the Lineup thread.

 

I dont blame RR for Kotsay. That seems like a Melvin call. Reed barely made a blip on the roster.

[dlk9s]

I really think RR is keeping Gomez in the 2 hole because a) there aren't many better options right now (probably doesn't want to immediately thrust Lucroy into that spot), and b) he is still really hoping that Gomez can start using the new approach they supposedly saw in ST. It's still pretty early, so I can see why RR might not want to make a "hasty" decision.

 

RR isn't a dummy. I think once the hitters are healthy (namely Hart and Morgan), things will start to get sorted out. He did just bat Gomez 8th this weekend, so it's not like he is oblivious to the situation. I think that for now, he still wants to give a guy with wheels like Gomez a chance, but those chances are probably diminishing quickly at this point.

[Ennder]

Kotsay and Reed making the roster, Gomez batting 2nd and Morgan not getting to play before the injury have nothing to do with the injury. There has been some absolutely terrible decision making going on with this team so far this season.

Is Kotsay and Reed on RR? We don't know exactly how much input Melvin gave a rookie manager when making the final cut downs. At least on Kotsay, given that Melvin signed him to a MLB contract, that has to be on Dougie.

Yeah there is no way to know, that is why I didn't specifically mention him. All around there has been some really bad choices made with the team and they could sabotage a playoff run since our margin for error is so small.

[1992casey]

The news of Tony's injury made it to Brewerfan pretty quickly:

 

Reply #10 of Sunday's Game 1 In-game thread

 

Reply #33 of the Doubleheader thread

 

Reply #59 of the Injury News thread (the best spot for updates)

 

All of these messages were posted well before game time.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Yep, not sure why anyone has to apologize for anything. Still no reason for Gomez to be hitting 2nd, or for Betancourt to be playing everyday. Or for Almonte and Kotsay to be on the roster. I can go on and on.

[MVP2110]

Who would you rather have playing shortstop right now on the team? RRR can only use what is available to him. It's Melvin's job to acquire the players. And who would you hit 2nd? I could understand Lucroy but not many other options until Hart comes back. I think RRR has done a very good job so far this year. Every manager makes questionable decisions and fans are never ever going to have 100% approval ratings by the fans.

[1992casey]

There's a pretty large contingent around here who'd like to see Counsell get more time at shortstop.

[logan82]

I personally would love to see a straight platoon with Counsell but I don't think he can handle it.

 

Trip R has made mistake after mistake this season with position players. Right now he is backed into a corner without Morgan but he didn't do a good job when he had options. We have 3 1B on our roster right now and I put keeping Almonte at the very least at his feet. Kotsay may or may not have been his choice but considering Morgan's playing time, I think he is at least partially to blame.

[Ennder]

Against RHP there was no reason for Kotsay to play and there was no reason for Gomez to hit 2nd before Morgan got banged up.

[RobDeer 45]

Just to make it clear, I was just talking about the freak outs by some of us because Nyger wasn't in the lineup at Wash, not about anything else. There were just some huge over reactions when the lineup came out for each day, that's all I was getting at. I know he has done some questionable things but we don't always know the whole story and he's also feeling out the team. I'm fine with it all right now and I'm optimistic that he will make the right decisions down the road.

[danzig6767]

Against RHP there was no reason for Kotsay to play and there was no reason for Gomez to hit 2nd before Morgan got banged up.

That has really been my only strong beef with the manager so far. It truly was baffling.

[homer]

The sac bunts in the 2nd inning get my dander up.

[1992casey]

I looked back through the in-game threads and I didn't see any freaking out until the lineup for Sunday's first game was announced. And that freaking out was very short-lived because the explanation of Morgan's injury came right on its heels. If I'm missing something, please point me to it.

[danzig6767]

The sac bunts in the 2nd inning get my dander up.

Given how bad our lineup has been at the bottom of the order when it was filled with the likes of Kotsay, Betancourt, Neives, and then the pitcher, i could live with the bunts because the odds were so slim of any extra base hits or stringing together multiple hits.

 

I even didn't mind bunting Gomez if Weeks was on base because Gomez is so poor at getting on base and if he actually gets the bunt down, it's likely a better shot at Carlos getting on than if he swings away.

[Ennder]

Sac bunts by Morgan or Gomez are fine since they can get hits out of them, hard to ever complain about that. If he has someone else sac bunt who isn't a pitcher I can see the complaint though.

[DHonks]

off topic, but also of note. One year I coached JV softball, and we had a great leadoff hitter (lefty who could bunt very well), so she had an OBP of like .650. I usually had her steal 2nd. But we couldn't always get her in. I also hated having her steal with good hitters at the plate. So I devised a strategy to put a hitter in the 2-hole that was batting under .200. The key is that it seemed that the other 80% of the time she would ground out the other way (to the right side). So most games we had a speedy runner on 3rd with only 1 out, and it led to us increasing our efficiency.

 

Not sure how that relates to Gomez since he's an awful bunter and never goes the other way. But if his outs were productive and got Weeks to scoring position, I wouldn't have as much of a problem as I do now.

[rluzinski]

Has Gomez ever shown a proficiency for bunting for base hits? I know that because he's fast it's assumed but I don't see it. Seems like RR has an idea of what he'd like Gomez to be so he tries to fit the square peg into a round hole. The job of a manager is to make the most of what you have; not pretend that you can mold what you into what you want.

[danzig6767]

I agree with you Ennder, but the odd thing to me is that for as much speed as Gomez has, for as often as he tries bunting, and for what a weapon it can be for him, it sure seems like he not only struggles a lot to get down great bunts in spots which makes it near impossible to throw him out, he also struggles to just consistently get his bunts down in fair territory for whatever reason.

[DHonks]

exactly fellas. It seems like he pops up lots of bunts as well. He reminds me of a much more toolsy version of Alex Sanchez when at the plate. Sanchez really did nothing for us...he couldn't bunt and refused to. But then a few years later with Detroit he led the league in infield hits, with many of them being bunts.

 

Gomez really needs AAA...I wonder if we DFA'd him to get him to AAA, if anyone would actually claim him. In AAA I'd almost be tempted to let him try being a power hitter....bat him 4th. Either he adapts and thrives, or fails miserably. But expecting he can be a legit 1 or 2 hitter is foolish. Best case scenario would be that he learns to draw a few walks and becomes a Cameron-like 20-homer defensive whiz. Worst case is that we're at least grateful he's not wasting a roster spot