Wellness Check

[Thurston Fluff]

It sucked last night but more because it always sucks when baseball ends. It's part of my daily routine. I hate off days for the same reason. The biggest suckitude of a quick exit is we have to wait weeks before any real Brewers off season action starts.

The one thing I'm excited about is I think this off season has a lot interesting story lines to follow. Big trades are probable. A lot of young talent is in the pipeline which lowers the payroll enough to be players in free agency. A possible managerial change which leads to coaching changes.

[NeedMoreFans]

I've been comparing this season with 2018, the one season where I thought we had a legitimate World Series chance when the playoffs began, and came within a game of making it. I don't dig deep into advanced stats, but some basic ones stood out.

Pitching: team ERA was 3.73, 4th in the league. This year it was 3.71, best in the league, but not a huge difference. We gave up 659 runs in 2018 compred to 647 this year. Again, no difference. 

Offense: team OPS in 2018 was .747 (4th), .705 (14th) this year. We scored 754 runs (7th) in 2018, 728 (8th) this year. We hit 218 HRs in 2018 (2nd) and 165 (12th) this year. We had more SB this year (129 to 124), but that was 7th in the league, and 124 was best in the league. 

The numbers were pretty striking to me-very similar pitching numbers, but pretty different offense numbers, especially considering the DH this season. 

I don't know where they go from here, but offense is pretty darn important to he successful in the playoffs. 

[Joseph Zarr]

14 minutes ago, patrickgpe said:

I really never get too upset or excited about sports anymore. I enjoy watching and was disappointed with how things went, but life goes on. Guess its a product of getting older and going to games for 35 years. 

Good on you. I'm the same these days. I am disappointed for a little bit - I want the team to experience the ultimate success and this clubhouse was obviously very close and played for each other. AND, I certainly felt like there were many decisions made heading into the series and during the series that should rightfully be questioned and deserve scrutiny and accountability (to the process and results) in future seasons. Hopefully, the organization can learn and grow from it. I also invest so much time in the lower levels and experience so many highs and lows in that department that I realize it is about so much more than the World Series title(s) for me. That's the ultimate goal for the team and us as fans but there are so many journeys and so many stories beyond that playing out in real time. There are so many lives involved in the game itself. When you dive as deep as I dive into the nuances of the many many layers of the organization you start caring less about the trophies. I am grateful for that component of my own experience as a fan and as someone who just loves the game.

[jason21nl]

I get over the anger and hurt pretty fast.   I was fuming when they didn’t pinch hit for Frelick but my expectations were super low.  Wasn’t going to allow myself to get excited for another failed rally.  I’m a baseball fan so I’ll be watching as much of it as I can.  
 

thanks for checking in on us!

[owbc]

Nothing will ever be as bad as how we went out in 2019 but it still freaking stinks. I'm not over it. I'll never take the run of success that we're having right now for granted, but part of the experience for me is chasing the joy that comes from postseason success and we came up empty. Taylor's line drive in game one could have been that moment until it wasn't. 

Rationally I know the silver linings are there and the future is bright but right now none of that really matters. This team didn't get it done and there's nothing else to do but try again next year. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

5 minutes ago, owbc said:

Taylor's line drive in game one could have been that moment until it wasn't. 

A sense of dread came over me when Longoria caught that and, in the end, that was the turning point of the series.

[owbc]

2 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

A sense of dread came over me when Longoria caught that and, in the end, that was the turning point of the series.

The roar of the crowd with the crack of the bat that immediately cuts to dead silence. 

[CheezWizHed]

13 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

A sense of dread came over me when Longoria caught that and, in the end, that was the turning point of the series.

Longoria to Brewer fans:

[Nola Beery]

1 hour ago, Thurston Fluff said:

It sucked last night but more because it always sucks when baseball ends. It's part of my daily routine. I hate off days for the same reason. The biggest suckitude of a quick exit is we have to wait weeks before any real Brewers off season action starts.....

AMEN.

[rickh150]

If this helps.... it helped me.  Giamatti...

https://mason.gmu.edu/~rmatz/giamatti.html

 

[LouisEly]

Count me in the camp of someone who just enjoys baseball and the Brewers.  If you read my posts, that probably doesn't surprise you.  As someone who has spent most of their adult life not living in the Brewers viewing area, just watching the Brewers is a treat for me.  I don't enjoy watching baseball, or much of anything, on a 15" laptop screen; I need it on a decent sized TV.  Long story, but this spring I was finally able to get my rooftop deck rebuilt and put a TV up there.  Watching in the evening on a new 55" LED when it's dark, in shorts and a tee shirt, was truly bliss, win or lose.

I have a lot bigger things going on in life that concern me than whether or not the Brewers make the World Series.  And if you are feeling blue or upset...

... look at how the Cubs did in September/October 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2023 (and the entire 2021 and 2022 seasons).  You'll feel a lot better.

 

[Nola Beery]

1 hour ago, rickh150 said:

If this helps.... it helped me.  Giamatti...

https://mason.gmu.edu/~rmatz/giamatti.html

 

Brilliant.

And of course.... This is always worth a read and a remembrance of baseball in a nutshell. (Kinda like the 8th inning last night, and far too many Brewer innings this season.) Yes, you know how it ends, but read the build up; THAT is the real baseball bit.

Casey at the Bat

Ernest Lawrence Thayer (1863 – 1940)
The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, "If only Casey could but get a whack at that—
We'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat."

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despisèd, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile lit Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt;
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped—
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one!" the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore;
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;
And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the dun sphere flew;
But Casey still ignored it and the umpire said, "Strike two!"

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered "Fraud!"
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate,
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate;
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.

 

[Baldkin]

I

[Jopal78]

23 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

Count me in the camp of someone who just enjoys baseball and the Brewers.  If you read my posts, that probably doesn't surprise you.  As someone who has spent most of their adult life not living in the Brewers viewing area, just watching the Brewers is a treat for me.  I don't enjoy watching baseball, or much of anything, on a 15" laptop screen; I need it on a decent sized TV.  Long story, but this spring I was finally able to get my rooftop deck rebuilt and put a TV up there.  Watching in the evening on a new 55" LED when it's dark, in shorts and a tee shirt, was truly bliss, win or lose.

I have a lot bigger things going on in life that concern me than whether or not the Brewers make the World Series.  And if you are feeling blue or upset...

... look at how the Cubs did in September/October 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2023 (and the entire 2021 and 2022 seasons).  You'll feel a lot better.

 

Nice rooftop deck. West Loop? Ukrainian Village? Looks like it cost some good coin, but terrific view.. well done. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

26 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

Count me in the camp of someone who just enjoys baseball and the Brewers.  If you read my posts, that probably doesn't surprise you.  As someone who has spent most of their adult life not living in the Brewers viewing area, just watching the Brewers is a treat for me.  I don't enjoy watching baseball, or much of anything, on a 15" laptop screen; I need it on a decent sized TV.  Long story, but this spring I was finally able to get my rooftop deck rebuilt and put a TV up there.  Watching in the evening on a new 55" LED when it's dark, in shorts and a tee shirt, was truly bliss, win or lose.

I have a lot bigger things going on in life that concern me than whether or not the Brewers make the World Series.  And if you are feeling blue or upset...

... look at how the Cubs did in September/October 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2023 (and the entire 2021 and 2022 seasons).  You'll feel a lot better.

 

looks like that could hold 25-35 folks from an internet fan board for a viewing party. Just sayin'.............

[Nola Beery]

4 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

looks like that could hold 25-35 folks from an internet fan board for a viewing party. Just sayin'.............

It would be a long drive from New Orleans, but I'd do it!

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

A sense of dread came over me when Longoria caught that and, in the end, that was the turning point of the series.

I thought that was a turning point, along with one much less dramatic--Peralta issuing the leadoff walk in the 6th to Perdomo.

Burnes not getting a call on a 1-1 pitch (again, Perdomo, the #9 hitter) & immediately afterward giving up a boatload of hard-hit balls. He was solid through 2-and-a-third up to that point. All season, things at certain points seemed to unravel him. Un-ace like.

[Jim French Stepstool]

As to the topic at hand, I get pretty emotionally involved, but it dissipates afterward. I think years of coaching have helped in that regard. Being a big-picture kinda guy--which you really need to be regarding baseball--helps. I like the off-season, the building, the hot stove stuff. It also helps to know that complaints that the so-called "bites at the apple" approach never leads to a championship, is nonsense.

I'll bleed Cardinal & White for the next 6 months & be just fine.

[ReverendBrewmeister]

Still a bit irritated that the season ended like that. Not just a first-round loss, but a sweep in two games that illustrated the shortcomings of the team roster—both one realized much in the regular season (not converting RISP chances) and what was a worst-case thought (the team’s strength of pitching not showing up as anticipated in the playoffs).

But the results weren’t totally unexpected. The Woodruff injury news pretty much removed my thinking about a deep run in the playoffs. So this week wasn’t devastating.

That said, I really would like to have a chance to see a Brewers World Series appearance as a fan, let alone a win. (The 1982 appearance is barely a faint memory of being the only non-Cardinal fan in the local St. Louis kindergarten class.) There are some suggestions that the future might be bright enough to get more playoff berths in the near future. But that hurdle of winning a pennant still remains the challenge. 

[Nola Beery]

I just remembered:

About 30 (!) years ago, the NO Saints impossibly lost a game to our archrivals, the hated Atlanta Falcons.  I went out in the back yard and tossed my cookies (that is, I puked). At that moment, I vowed never to be so invested in any sporting event. 

As my wise buddy later said, "Win or lose, I still have to take the kids to school and go to work the next day."  Still, the brief emotional investment makes sport the great thing that it is. 

[hawing]

5 hours ago, Cool Hand Lucroy said:

It really comes down to the role you want baseball to serve in your life. I really like the rhythm and routine of the regular season. I like having that nightly game to look forward to and track and mark time by. I like the background and the moments of surprise, and I care more about preserving that than having October success. I just like when the regular season matters.

I also know that nothing delivers joy and pain like October, and lots of folks would be willing to let go of consistent, daily meaning for that big, World Series payoff.

Good to have both approaches. 

First of all, thanks for asking! I took today off from work to catch up on laundry and sleep, so I'll get that question from people at the library starting Friday.  But no one there will want to hear as much detail as I'll share below.

Last night, for the first time in years, I didn't cry as we left the seating bowl and stadium.  (Usher Bill, if you're reading this, I hope you noticed.) That doesn't mean I don't care.  When I do get upset at the end of a season, it's almost always simply because there won't be games for me to attend for another 6-ish months, and I'm disappointed about that. 

I'm in the camp, well described above, of "rhythm and routine" fans who places a higher value overall on how a team finishes in the 162 game marathon than in the October sprint.  My favorite thing about the postseason is that there are more games.  Baseball is an emotional utility for me, so I never like when it's turned off. 

Would I take a(nother) stretch of awful seasons in exchange for a genuine World Series title?  If that were a guarantee and no soul selling was involved, maybe.  I've withstood enough crap seasons to be able to make that trade with eyes open. 

I'm not sure how much of the current fan base (the whole fan base, not the audience on this site) would have that patience, though, and it seems like the next few years would be an especially unfortunate time, financially, to risk tanking on attendance. 

Anyway, last night I was mostly tired, and now I'm a bit better rested and have clean underwear again.  I'm not mad at the Brewers, just disappointed that the season has ended.  I am glad to learn that I'm not the only fan who cares more about the regular season than the postseason.  I imagine that makes me an un-American loser in the minds of some, but they probably would have thought the same for other reasons. 😉

[edfunderburk]

8 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Immensely disappointed because the Brewers team I watched over the final 60+ games didn't look or feel like the one I saw for two games in the postseason.

I think it's probably time to shake things up significantly this offseason. Focus on building out around the current young core, maybe to the detriment of 2024.

It’s time … tear it down … sell off the top vets … build for 2026

[rickh150]

1 hour ago, edfunderburk said:

It’s time … tear it down … sell off the top vets … build for 2026

Burnes, Adames….probable trades

Yelich- possible trade to get out of that contract with several cheap but talented options in OF coming up.

Woodruff- I don’t know… dropping big coin for a year with that shoulder? Maybe a non-tender?
Counsell- Odds, I think, is that he does not return for whatever the reason…..and there are many possible reasons..

Big changes… I think the Hot Stove started a few weeks ago. This is going to be a Hotter Stove. Both excited and extremely concerned. Still concerned Winker has been penciled in as our #2 hitter next year.

[Honey Nut Chourios]

Doesn't sting as much as 2011, 2018, and 2019, but the heart still hurts a bit.  Growing up and NEVER seeing the playoffs I try not to take any playoff appearance for granted and of course want to finally realize the ultimate dream as a Brewers fan.  It's a long season and tough to make the playoffs, so it's hard not to get emotionally involved a bit especially after all those terrible years of baseball in the 90s and early 2000s.

[brewmann04]

Another year without a brewers WS