Brewers (Sproat) vs Diamondbacks (Rodriguez): 7/5/26, 3:00pm

[adambr2]

I honestly can’t blame anyone who wants to see this team go for it, even with a move like Skubal, not only just for maybe that X factor to finally push them over and get lucky enough to win a World Series, but for the excitement and hype it would generate for this city along the way. 

I also honestly can’t blame anyone who doesn’t think even a Skubal type trade moves the percentage needle enough to justify the cost, not in a league where any move we make won’t make us the favorites over the Dodgers, and prefers to play the long game and continue to have the best odds we can every year, not just this year.

I think that both viewpoints are highly defensible.

[BruisedCrew]

I might be more enthusiastic about a big move for Skubal if it weren’t for the fact that he’s coming off an injury and hasn’t been dominant since coming back. 

[baseball101]

29 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

Is there a certain point where you can strike out 40 percent of the time and it’s acceptable for a starter in MLB if the rest of the hit tool is that good? 

Like if Fischer hit 50 bombs a year and had a .950 OPS but struck out 40% of his ABs, you would just kind of have to learn to live with that, right?

I think so. I think I saw that Schwarber is around a 35% K rate this. He’s obviously an extreme case however maybe Fischer can be Schwarber lite. It’s definitely interesting. He’s going to get a shot, likely next year. I have no idea how his defense is.

[yfinn6]

5 minutes ago, BruisedCrew said:

I might be more enthusiastic about a big move for Skubal if it weren’t for the fact that he’s coming off an injury and hasn’t been dominant since coming back. 

That and the lack of team control have me less enthused for Skubal. 

[LouisEly]

1 hour ago, Vgmastr said:

You were looking in the wrong spot, they created multiple NBC Sports Extra channels on YTTV, one for every game today.

I scrolled through my entire channel list.  I only had one NBC Sports channel.

[wiguy94]

Just now, LouisEly said:

I scrolled through my entire channel list.  I only had one NBC Sports channel.

NBCSN Extra is only on Xfinity and Youtube TV I believe so if you don't have either of those you wouldn't be able to watch.

[LouisEly]

I have YouTube TV.

I scrolled through my entire channel list three times.  Only one NBC Sports channel, had TOR vs SEA.

[wiguy94]

2 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

I have YouTube TV.

I scrolled through my entire channel list three times.  Only one NBC Sports channel, had TOR vs SEA.

Do you have the full price Youtube TV plan or do you have one of the smaller packages?

[formerlybis]

1 hour ago, LouisEly said:

I have it on.  Do you want me to send you a picture of my TV?

Well, sorry you missed it. When I scrolled, every single game was listed. Our settings must be different.

[Nola Beery]

4 hours ago, Yaz19 said:

So, the mighty Jake Bauers goes yard, and I don't get to see it.   DISAPPOINTED.   

Me too. But it still counts!!😉😂

[yourout]

45 minutes ago, Nola Beery said:

Me too. But it still counts!!😉😂

So like the old idiom... if a Bauer hits a home run in Phoenix and nobody sees it does it still count?

[Dragonbait]

[Brian]

12 hours ago, BruisedCrew said:

Woody in the short term, I wonder what his absence does for the rotation for these next 8 days. He was originally slated to pitch on Thursday. 

What ever happened to Logan Henderson? He may be called up for Woody. 

[liveforoctober]

 

Without knowledge of how he talks to guys off camera... I have an assumption one of Murphy's greatest assets as a coach is knowing how to coach individual players to their personality and not just blanket everyone with the same style. Some guys respond to a hug/some guys respond to a kick in the butt kind of thing.

He seems to poke fun at Sal a lot, he constantly praises Yelich for his leadership. With some players he references their skillset more often than other things (Hamilton, Ashby come to mind) while other guys he talks about their mentality/toughness more so (Bill and Megill come to mind). Different ways to get different guys to perform.

I say all of that because in his post game presser he dug at Sproat again. He has done this a handful of times now with him specifically. "Not good enough." "Need more." "Not here for try-ers."

He seems to go after Sproat more willingly than others and if I had to guess it isn't just an obvious performance thing ... but also that is the button he thinks is the one that will get Sproat to go.

Just an observation.

[Samurai Bucky]

16 hours ago, BruisedCrew said:

You should think that he has potential but would probably be eaten alive by major league pitching at this stage of his career. See what he does in the next 2-3 years. 

Think Pedro Cerrano 

Nothing the correct rum won’t solve… 

[Turning2]

19 hours ago, edfunderburk said:

I would rather watch … paint dry, women’s college softball, the WNBA … I have never & will never watch soccer or hockey 

Same. We spent Independence Day with my wife's cousin and family. We attend games of our local town ball team, and each year they play their rival as part of the 4th festivities. We both have lake homes but they are out of towners, so we invited them along. Good people, but not baseball fans. Soccer is their thing, and that's fine. But the hubby, who I felt obligated to keep engaged rather than enjoy the game, starts bagging on the sport and how slow it is etc. I politely said, yeah everybody has their interests, like I can't watch soccer.... his whole family turned and gave me the stink eye. It was a "little Sebastian" moment (Parks and Rec tv show) and I was Ben. LOL.

He tried to explain how there is all these subtleties going on in soccer that may not be evident when they are running back and forth for 45 minutes with no scoring or shots on goal. I had to inform him the same thing is happening in baseball. My wife was a little embarrassed, but I found it humorous.

It was Independence Day, baseball is AMERICA's past time.... don't be dumping on the game. He and I get along just fine, and are even aligned politically, but it was just a little much. 

[Turning2]

19 hours ago, adambr2 said:

He’s got 2 years left on his deal and I don’t know how you do it. 

They aren’t going to DFA him even if he gets even worse. They would hate the PR from that, 

But if you’ve got 9 better guys, what do you do at some point? He’s useless on the bench without a position. You going to carry a full roster spot just for a late game lefty platoon guy and occasional pinch runner?

It’s just not a great situation.

Producing or not producing should be the determining factor rather than the salary involved. A guy can't course correct if he's not getting regular AB's, but I see no reason why he must stay at the top of the lineup. Let him get his hacks in the 7 spot. Maybe run him out in the OF for certain games. Maybe he needs defensive responsibilities to take his mind off hitting a bit. 

[formerlybis]

I used to hold those old-school macho opinions about soccer, too. But I've come around over the last decade or so, at least for EPL and World Cup. I find the drama isn't just about the game itself - the rivalries (they call them derbies) are as intense as any of our more mainstream American sports. Certainly you see the passion that it engenders, Different strokes, but if you don't get it, and the virtually the whole rest of the world does, it might be a you issue.

[Jim French Stepstool]

17 hours ago, baseball101 said:

I think so. I think I saw that Schwarber is around a 35% K rate this. He’s obviously an extreme case however maybe Fischer can be Schwarber lite. It’s definitely interesting. He’s going to get a shot, likely next year. I have no idea how his defense is.

With Schwarber, it's the HRs & the Ks but it's also the walks drawn. I don't know about the 40% mentioned but if he can be around one-third Ks & take his walks in addition to a high HR total I think that's doable for one spot in your batting order.

[owbc]

9 minutes ago, formerlybis said:

I used to hold those old-school macho opinions about soccer, too. But I've come around over the last decade or so, at least for EPL and World Cup. I find the drama isn't just about the game itself - the rivalries (they call them derbies) are as intense as any of our more mainstream American sports. Certainly you see the passion that it engenders, Different strokes, but if you don't get it, and the virtually the whole rest of the world does, it might be a you issue.

I'd been to some MLS games and didn't understand the appeal but I went to a Copa America game sometime in the mid-2010s and was like "oh, I get it now". Completely different game when you're watching the top talent vs. a league that barely cracks the top 10 globally. 

Many of the same people will turn around and call the NFL fast-paced and exciting. Right. 

[formerlybis]

5 minutes ago, owbc said:

I'd been to some MLS games and didn't understand the appeal but I went to a Copa America game sometime in the mid-2010s and was like "oh, I get it now". Completely different game when you're watching the top talent vs. a league that barely cracks the top 10 globally. 

Many of the same people will turn around and call the NFL fast-paced and exciting. Right. 

True, but what I'm saying is it's more than the top-flight players. We just don't have the 100+ year history in MLS and the intense connection with the community. We do have that in our other sports (or something close). 

[Turning2]

1 hour ago, formerlybis said:

Different strokes, but if you don't get it, and the virtually the whole rest of the world does, it might be a you issue.

That's part of the rub. Not only do I find the game boring (partially due to not understanding all the nuance), but there is an obvious agenda behind it. I'm not ashamed of our national past time, our American values and traditions. I have no desire for the U.S. to be more like the rest of the world. I'm not a big fan of the WBC, but at least it's the rest of the world embracing America's game instead of the other way around. It's definitely a different strokes thing. Other people want to dig it, that's fine but don't belittle my game. 

[liveforoctober]

Re: soccer, in the end almost all sports are the exact same thing (with some exceptions). They are just repackaged differently to appeal to different personalities. 

Boxing and soccer are eerily similar in what is happening. A boxing match of equal opponents has two people spending their time discovering or creating weaknesses in their opponent in an effort to ultimately knock them out. Continual body shots eventually should lower an opponent's arm(s) to allow for strikes above the shoulders, etc

Soccer is the exact same thing, just repackaged. Equal opponents test each other's responses to pressure, see how they defend different offensive looks, wait for the opponent to overextend before going on the offensive, etc. A soccer goal and a clean upper cut to the jaw are the exact same thing. One is meant to entertain the adrenaline junkie and one is meant to entertain the chess player. Sometimes it entertains both.

Soccer, to me, is far more interesting when you watch the movement of a team away from the ball. The person with the ball is the least interesting part of the match.  

Baseball gets the same 'boring' criticism from the NFL/NASCAR, etc crowd. But if you are watching baseball just to see someone hit something 450ft to center you are going to be bored. Watching hitters stay alive to get a specific pitch to hammer? That's the puzzle. Watching a pitcher/catcher throw 0-2 slider low, 1-2 slider low, fastball up to get the swinging strike? That's the meat of it all. The home runs and goals and knockouts, etc ... that's all just frosting on a still very incredible cake.

Just my humble opinion.

[formerlybis]

4 minutes ago, Turning2 said:

That's part of the rub. Not only do I find the game boring (partially due to not understanding all the nuance), but there is an obvious agenda behind it. I'm not ashamed of our national past time, our American values and traditions. I have no desire for the U.S. to be more like the rest of the world. I'm not a big fan of the WBC, but at least it's the rest of the world embracing America's game instead of the other way around. It's definitely a different strokes thing. Other people want to dig it, that's fine but don't belittle my game. 

Yikes. What agenda? I guess you're referring to the people at the game belittling baseball, and not me - in fact, I would put baseball way ahead of soccer in my personal rankings.

But whether or not a sport is "American" is not something I ever think about, I am secure enough in my America-ness to like non-American sports.  

[Turning2]

20 minutes ago, formerlybis said:

Yikes. What agenda? I guess you're referring to the people at the game belittling baseball, and not me - in fact, I would put baseball way ahead of soccer in my personal rankings.

But whether or not a sport is "American" is not something I ever think about, I am secure enough in my America-ness to like non-American sports.  

It's not about being anti-non American sports. I'll leave it at that.