Brewers at Rays; Friday, May 9 @ 6:05 p.m.: Jose Quintana (2.83 ERA, 4.38 FIP) vs. Zack Littell (4.61 ERA, 5.63 FIP)

[RobertCrawley]

5 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I can't get rid of the overriding thought in my head that we were screwed out of two outs on the bases this week, and maybe a win, because Buster Posey wasn't a .208 hitter when he broke his leg.

With the team not hitting, you need the elements you CAN rely on to be there just about all the time. And the defense hasn't been. With Chourio, you're down to no better than your 3rd choice in CF. Quintana was pretty damn good tonite. But he walked a leadoff man, which led to a run. It's wrong to expect perfection from the guy, but right now we can't have him doing that. Fair to him? no. But it's more realistic than asking Collins, Ortiz, Durbin, Cameron & the like to 'step up' consistently. And other than shuffling pitchers that are on the 40-man, there's no magic pill in Nashville. In an alternate universe, Black isn't hurt & might be able to return here & get hot for awhile, or Quero didn't miss a full season plus & is more than ready to give Contreras an IL stint, or relegate him to DH for awhile. They're really in a sh***y place right now, and I don't see much of anything to blame Murphy for, other than the typical "he should've done this or that" which all managers are guilty of, if you follow a team for six months.

 

The good news is that if Murphy gets the Derek Shelton treatment, Attanasio would have instant access to several much better baseball managers right here on this chat board.

[Joseph Zarr]

1 hour ago, wiguy94 said:

Glass half full is that if this team continues to not look very good the Brewers have plenty of expiring players that could net decent returns at the trade deadline

This is the way. I sincerely hope the Brewers recognize they have playable cards as Sellers. Given what we are seeing at Low-A and beyond to the lowest levels (prayer hands in full we nailed another DSL class!) there is truly very little need to force our hands. Let's build into our strengths and add to it. Zero need to panic anything. The team can still turn it around, obviously, and we hope they do. I'm just saying it's OK to have a down year. Good teams and really good organizations don't compound things. We are witnessing interesting times. How will the organization respond?

[yourout]

The one skill you pretty much have to have in today's MLB as a manager is the ability to effectively handle the pitching staff and bullpen in particular.

And I really don't think that's Murphy's strength.

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, Brian said:

I stated at the beginning of the year Al LeBoeuf is a terrible hitting coach. Terrible!

I've mentioned this before---if we have a coach/manager that seems to be exceptionally talented, from rookie ball on up, I think it's an uphill battle to retain them. Quintin Berry is a good example of this. I suspect we've really stepped up to retain Chris Hook, which stretches that budget even thinner.

I wouldn't mind if LeBoeuf was let go. But the "anyone would be better" lament is usually a lesson in futility.

[wiguy94]

8 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

This is the way. I sincerely hope the Brewers recognize they have playable cards as Sellers. Given what we are seeing at Low-A and beyond to the lowest levels (prayer hands in full we nailed another DSL class!) there is truly very little need to force our hands. Let's build into our strengths and add to it. Zero need to panic anything. The team can still turn it around, obviously, and we hope they do. I'm just saying it's OK to have a down year. Good teams and really good organizations don't compound things. We are witnessing interesting times. How will the organization respond?

I wouldn't even be opposed to a bigger retool. There are some tasty trade options with 1-2 years of team control after this year.

For sure you could sell - Civale, Cortes, Woodruff, Quintana, Hoskins, Bauers (if he is still hitting)

Could potentially sell - Payamps (if he continues to pitch how he has the last 2 weeks), Megill, Mears

Could sell if you're feeling like a 1-2 year retool - Peralta and Contreras

[SomewhereInTime]

25 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

A reasonable point given Quintanas' experience plus the low pitch count. Flip side, the move worked. Mears came in & shut down the threat if not for a ruling that belongs in tee ball.

I try to make judgments based on if I think its the right decision at the time and not on the actual result.  Really this is only the second time all year I really disagreed with a pitching change, I think Murphy does a great job.  Quintana and Peralta should get a long leash and be allowed to pitch out of jams in the 6th and 7th inning.  Different story if its Patrick or Myers out there.

[Jopal78]

8 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I've mentioned this before---if we have a coach/manager that seems to be exceptionally talented, from rookie ball on up, I think it's an uphill battle to retain them. Quintin Berry is a good example of this. I suspect we've really stepped up to retain Chris Hook, which stretches that budget even thinner.

I wouldn't mind if LeBoeuf was let go. But the "anyone would be better" lament is usually a lesson in futility.

Jerry Narron, Darnell Coles, Andy Haines, Ozzie Timmons all have been called on to be fired by posters on this board. Yet the team still struggles to hit. 
 

If there was a coach that had a solution to slumping they could name their price. 

[brewers888]

This team is extremely boring. The lineup has no power and the left side of the infield is that of a last place team not one hoping to contend. Arnold should have used the assets wasted on Priester who is most likely a 4th or 5th starter best case scenario on a legitimate bat since this team so desperately needs several hitters. 

[adambr2]

10 hours ago, wiguy94 said:

1B with a 130 wRC+ would definitely net a solid prospect at least at the deadline.

Depends what you mean by solid prospect, I guess. Organizational top 30 lottery ticket? Sure, if you eat some salary. MLB top 100? Not even close.

[wiguy94]

7 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

Depends what you mean by solid prospect, I guess. Organizational top 30 lottery ticket? Sure, if you eat some salary. MLB top 100? Not even close.

I mean of course I don't mean Top 100 but you could probably get a couple of mid-teens org level prospects if the Brewers eat some of the mutual option buyout money and I wouldn't consider that a lottery ticket.

[Sugarrayray]

5 hours ago, Jopal78 said:

Jerry Narron, Darnell Coles, Andy Haines, Ozzie Timmons all have been called on to be fired by posters on this board. Yet the team still struggles to hit. 
 

If there was a coach that had a solution to slumping they could name their price. 

It is interesting because they were finally a solid offense last year and then they let Timmons go. That made no sense to me. Labeouf and Dawson both look and seem like jokers.