TooLiveBrew

It has been suggested that 3B can be fixed by moving Hardy there. He has the tools to be good there defensively. Hardy has said (via Melvin's comments) that he will not be moving off SS. Imho this point is moot until/unless J.J. changes his mind.

Ned is very smart -- he's the manager. So, duh, it's the former.

We signed Jeff Suppan to pitch in big games because one decent postseason made him a Big Game Pitcher! Well, Jeff, here you go.

What does that mean for E.I. viewers?

Yost said he wanted to get Shouse through the eighth inning and go to Gagne in the ninth if the score was still tied. He already had used Mota for the seventh inning. I knew that would be the 'reason' -- Shousie's mah 8th innin' gah! No, Ned, what's not fair is the fans of this team watch another (and another, and another) late season collapse because of your weird rules that you make up on the spot to fit your needs because you don't know how to manage. Come on... you don't expect your manager to be able to think, do you? There can't be any other candidates out there that would be able to think, right?

There is nothing left that Yost can do to prove how unfit he is to lead. Nothing. The longer he sticks around, the more faith I lose in Melvin. Manuel handed us that 8th inning on a silver platter. Yost decided to screw that up.

Since I've banned myself from the Vent Thread, I've decided this thread should be my next stop. Awesome. I like & share your faith moof. Couldn't ask to be in a much better situation at this point. Honestly, if you took a time machine back to ST 2008, and told that-time-me, 'Hey, beginning play on 9/13, the Brewers are going to have a 3 game lead on the NL Wild Card', I would pretty much have felt affirmed in everything I'd ever believed in the Milwaukee Brewers. We're in a great spot right now; we should/could have been sitting much lower given how many losses have come recently. I still think Prince has an angry power surge left in him for the regular season.

Maybe the players could do well to just say screw the fans. That would make me happy. Whatever it takes. I hope they have, at least on some level. I know there have been a lot of nice plays this season at MP where I feel like the player(s) must feel a bit like, 'Oh, you're cheering me now, huh?' There have been a lot of fickle fans of late.

Brewmann, are you actually gloating about the Brewers losing their wildcard spot? Yep

Oh, I look before I open my mouth. Trust me. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

But Ladies and Gentlemen it does now look as the Astros just might be that team,I believe they have done this in the past . Just to bad it took another collaspe by our Brewers .As of now the brewers have show no signs of life and a major inability to win It's funny... the date on your post says 9/12/08. By my count, the Brewers are ahead of the Astros by 3 games on that date... did I take a time machine or something? I didn't realize the season had ended. Dang! Hey did Sabathia win the NL Cy Young? I can't believe it... I must've slept too long or something. Sounds like some of them don't think they should be booed at home, Too bad win and that won't happen. Got it! Go 82-0 at home, fans will send Oreos.

I still have a lot of faith in Joe Dillon as a PH. For all his struggles, his OBP is right around .340 for the small sample of this season. But thanks for refining my point... I should have taken the handed-ness into consideration. To that end, Yost was using Kapler to PH v. RHP this season, even though that was more common with just the 25-man roster.

I guess this is just what happens when bandwagon fans, longtime frustration, and barrels of beer combine. I think the issue might not be any more complex than this. The one thing I'd mix in as well is that arrogant sense of entitlement many fans possess. The 'well who voted his butt into the ASG?' line falls flat for me... imo that was at least every bit as much for the fans' sense of fulfillment and ego-stroking as it was for Corey. Some have said that Corey Hart is acting like a 5-year-old. I think he made some very gutsy and mature comments that most of the team has been thinking but won't say. The fans are the ones acting like children. They are fine and content for the most part, but the moment they don't get what they want, they throw a temper tantrum. Amen to that. I'm glad to hear Hart speak up in a very diplomatic manner. When Prince tried his style last season ('The fans haven't earned the right to boo' -- paraphrasing), it understandably didn't work. I agree that it's time for a PSA from Mark A. & Doug Melvin. Those are the two guys that could make a difference, well maybe Sabathia too, strangely enough (since he's been a Brewer for such a short time). I don't understand why anyone thinks booing is likely to improve the performance on the field...like it will motivate a player to do better. I think it's at least as likely to make the players think, to heck with these guys [to put it politely]...I'm getting paid, these fans don't deserve a winning team, why should I bust my butt for them. And not just the guy getting booed, either. Meanwhile, that moral superiority Brewers fans seem to want to claim over supposedly boorish and classless Cubs fans looks a bit more tenuous. Well said. It's been disgusting to see the conduct of many fellow Brewers fans lately. The notion that it's the players' faults... 'Hey I'd boo you if you didn't SUCK!!1 LOL!!!!!!' ... is just childish. Nothing more or less to it imo. The booing of our own players is all the ugly 'I want I want I want I want I want' stuff that most people are raised to avoid. You want a player that never frustrates or disappoints? Me too! I WANT I WANT I WANT I WANT! EDIT: Just wanted to say that I agree with Albert Haynseworth's (NFL dude) comments on mental toughness. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't think that at this point in the season, Corey Hart was not 100% justified in speaking his piece.

Its not forgone, but his power has slipped and his defense has always been dreadful Add to that he'll be 36 in two years. I could see the Yankees trying to move him to 3B or CF but I can't see him staying at SS. (This is not a shot at end, just agreeing with him) If you've seen Jeter more than once or twice this season, you can see the decline is looking like it's going to be fast & ugly. He's a shell of his former self at this point. I could genuinely see the Yanks re-signing him & getting him time at DH down the road... he's a Yankee Legend! OMG!

Too bad really. If he had any discipline he would have had an monster career. I think Fielder has displayed the best plate discipline of anyone on the team this season. I really do still think he has one more power burst in him this season. I don't have sources, but I keep hearing or reading that scouts to this season, still think he has the greatest total potential of anyone on the team. I can understand why people feel that way. For all his struggles, Rickie has made defensive plays that maybe 5% of the league can make, but the inconsistency has been brutal. To me the offense, at least when considering power too, is the same -- inconsistent, but with flashes of absolute brilliance. Yes, it's early, and yes, it's an arbitrary sample, but so far in September Weeks has posted a .409 OBP & .791 OPS. How bout Weeks at third? I've wondered if he would be a better fit at 3B too. Enough about Branyan; he's a bench player who hurts the team if he has more than 20 starts. I don't agree. 2008: .252/.340/.588/.928 overall OPS, .282/.375/.658/1.033 v. RHP. Pair that with Hall's .932 '08 OPS v. LHP & career .855 v. LHP, & that's the best platoon a manager could ever hope to get handed on a silver platter.

I think that means we'll be seeing more PH opportunities for Tony Gwynn Jr., who becomes the 4th outfielder by default. Luckily, if he starts, he'll bat wherever the LF, CF, or RF bats. Then everyone is on the same page & doesn't get confused. I just hope bork is right about the PH pecking order. As much Nelson, Durham, Lamb, Dillon, & Rivera as possible, please. latissimus dorsi, we meet again... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif I didn't like the Gabe Gross trade when it happened, and I really don't like it now. Thirded. I really hope Josh Butler was worth giving Gross away for nothing this season.

I'd trade 200 tirades for pinch hitting for Kendall when down in the 9th. I thought that was against MLB rules... no? I agree that since it would be out of character for Ned, no thanks on the 'fire-em-up' stuff. Lou thinks hair smells good. That's ok, but I don't think hair smells good. I wish we had a different manager, but I don't think Yost has a +2 or -2 card hidden anywhere. I really wish he'd throw Shouse against the back-to-back duo of Utley & Howard, though. Ryan Howard used to hit rocks over some creek somewhere. Now he intimidates the crap out of me every time he comes to bat.

Does anyone else think Cruz looks yoked up on steroids? Or is that just me

BTW, anyone still questioning the Wolf and Hawkins pick-ups? They are 8-1 in Wolf's starts, and Hawkins has a 0.00 ERA over 13 innings with 19 strikeouts. Ed Wade for GM of the Year! What I find more impressive is how Wade inspired the offense to the 6.1 runs per start it's averaged for Wolf's games so far. Wade for GM & Manager of the year! Wolf has been around where he should have been expected -- a tick above league-average -- for Houston.

Adrian Beltre is also only signed for 2009. It's a steeper at $12 million, but with no option. I'm sure the Mariners would love to deal him. He is a great 3B. Maybe the best in the game. While his contract has been heavily criticized, he's actually been pretty good for the Mariners, especially the last three seasons. His career numbers at Safeco are .253/.309/.416, so you have to think he'd have better overall numbers as a Brewer. Sort of like Cameron has done. I'm firmly in the Beltre camp. I've had a chance to watch him somewhat regularly since moving to the NW, and let me tell you, everything you've ever heard about his defense is true, and then some. Not sure where he falls on the metric rankings, largely because I think defensive stats are still quite far away from accurately depicting defensive skill and/or value. Great call on the Cameron comp, joepepsi. And fwiw, here are Beltre's road lines since becoming a Mariner: 2005: .248/.295/.440/.736 -- (Home OPS of .688) 2006: .283/.343/.462/.805 2007: .288/.320/.538/.858 2008: .297/.356/.526/.882 -- (** through 9/9/08) The only problem I see is that there would be other contending teams with a need at 3B more willing to part with prospects, and perhaps even better ones than we could offer. I was rooting for Beltre to somehow be added prior to '08, and will continue that for next season, no matter how much of a pipe dream it is. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif And if you need to get Doug interested in Beltre as a target, you can always tantalize him by saying, "You'll get draft compensation when Beltre signs elsewhere as a FA"

Oh man, PeaveyFury with the huge edyting skyllz! Thank you, good syr. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Possibly giving advice? That's a huge chunk of his job. Besides, Skaalen is in charge of helping to scout the opposing pitchers (something that has seemed to be a weakness of this team) as well. I agree that a hitting coach's impact tends to be overstated, but as SF points out, there are no signs based on results this season that Jim has made an overall positive contribution.

It was 2 errors. One of those errors should have been a double play. Parra had to get 6 outs that inning. That inning was brutal. Turn that double play, and Manny likely gets another solid start under his belt.

So, Dillard will get used before Coffey... RIGHT?! I feel like Tim should be calling in from the bullpen phone to the dugout at some point. Maddux: Hello? Dillard: Uh, yeah. Hi. Maddux: Who is this? Dillard: Um, this is Tim Dillard. I work for you. Maddux: Oh, hey Tim. Dillard: Can I talk to Ned? Maddux: Hang on... he's just filling up his coffee. Yost: Yeah? Who is this? Dillard: Hey, skip, this is Tim Dillard. Just wanna to remind you that I can work some innings for you out of the bullpen. I think I can get some outs against righties. Yost: Dillard? I thought it was DiFelice -- you'll get your innings, kid. Hang in there & just keep battling. Dillard: No, no -- coach, this is Tim Dillard. Mark DiFelice is out here too, though. He could get some work vs. righties too. Yost: Ah hell, now I have two 'D' last names to remember. Could you wear goggles or something so I can remember you? Dillard: Actually, Gagne sports the goggles... Yost: Right -- how about one of those titanium necklace thingies? I could call you Tim-tanium Dillard: Ok, sure. Whatever lets me get out there & help the team win Yost: Ok, kid. You just got yourself moved up in the pecking order. That Dillard kid got bumped down for ya. Dillard: No -- coach, I'm Dillar-- Yost: Great! Just stay fresh out there kid. We might need you in the 15th inning!

Parra's last outing saw 5 unearned runs. I think the leash of expectations should run a bit longer. His recent outings, while short, have seen solid BB/K output. I don't think there's any reason to be super-concerned yet about him. Manny's averaged just ~ 91 pitches over his last 6 starts, which is both him getting hit but also Yost (imo) doing a decent job letting Parra get his work in without over-using him. Parra's still not over 160 IP, so I think he's got those last 3 regular season starts in him.