Brewers-Astros Monday Night -- Burnes of the Brewers vs. Javier of the Astros

[SomewhereInTime]

2 hours ago, edfunderburk said:

There have been several fun seasons … last year & this year are not included in my list of favorites

I’m not a fan of the expanded playoff model because it allows mediocre to bad teams like the 2023 Brewers to “remain in contention” far too long

I’m aware that we are in first place in the NL Central - but this team is as cold as ice & not showing any signs of life or giving me any hope

I couldn't agree more about the expanded playoff.  I don't want the Brewers to be just a couple games out of the third wild card when it's the all star break and they're 7 games under .500.  You want them to have to go over the top with a big signing or big trade to put them over the top, not dumpster dive for bad veterans in hopes of an 84 win season because 84 wins could be good enough to get in.

[SomewhereInTime]

46 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Right now, absolutely. The starting pitching was the basket they put their eggs in, which is smart. When you have 7 or 8 you think you can rely on to various degrees & half of them are missing at the same time, you're in trouble.

I think you can also hang your hat on the defensive performance on most days, provided people are in the spots that maximize their ability. But when the rotation becomes a revolving M.A.S.H. unit & Burnes underperforms it's tough to cover for that.

Oh definitely, if they didn't have the injuries and underperformance in the rotation it wouldn't be that concerning that the lineup isn't scoring a lot.  You can win and be really good with starting pitching, great closer, and defense.

[RobertCrawley]

Went to the game tonight. Brutal to lose 10-2 with Burnes on the mound.

The roof was open. That was good. The best part of the night was watching Brosseau retire the side at the top of the 9th.

Report over.

[Jake McKibbin]

Was it just me, or was there something seriously wrong with Burnes control on the cutter

I've seen some reports about a change in his action with where he cocks his arm, I wonder if this is intentional or not, but he's just not been the same. The cutter location is vital for him, and he can't afford to be so wild with it, he's leaving himself in bad counts then leaving them over the heart of the plate.

[sveumrules]

4 hours ago, Jake McKibbin said:

Was it just me, or was there something seriously wrong with Burnes control on the cutter

I've seen some reports about a change in his action with where he cocks his arm, I wonder if this is intentional or not, but he's just not been the same. The cutter location is vital for him, and he can't afford to be so wild with it, he's leaving himself in bad counts then leaving them over the heart of the plate.

Thought both the Maldy & Julks bombs looked like circa 2019 cutters that didn’t cut.

[Sixtolezcano]

12 hours ago, edfunderburk said:

This has been a tough 25 game stretch for sure

And counting…..

[Sixtolezcano]

10 hours ago, wiguy94 said:

I don't think it's anything to do with the pitch clock. The book is just out on him and he's doing absolutely nothing to adjust.

The guy had a 3.97 ERA post trade deadline last season and his ERA this season is also 3.97, so I don't know how people can blame the pitch clock. 

This is absolutely correct. I think he is attempting to adjust, but either he hasn’t found the correct adjustment, or he will never return to the pitcher he was in 2020, 2021 and half of 2022. It is the extremely rare pitcher that has a career that peaks over multiple years. Getting 3-4 years at peak levels is much more common. 

[wiguy94]

1 hour ago, Sixtolezcano said:

This is absolutely correct. I think he is attempting to adjust, but either he hasn’t found the correct adjustment, or he will never return to the pitcher he was in 2020, 2021 and half of 2022. It is the extremely rare pitcher that has a career that peaks over multiple years. Getting 3-4 years at peak levels is much more common. 

He may be making adjustments to his mechanics to try and get his command up but he’s made zero adjustments in what he is throwing and where he is throwing it.

His stuff still grades out strongly but he’s just not fooling people close to as much as he used to. Contact rates up both in zone and out of zone. Whiff rates down. I think MLB hitters are just too good for Burnes to get away with avoiding the top of the zone like the plague especially with his command being down.