TooLiveBrew

http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/roll.gif Thanks for that anecdote; I really needed it after contemplating what to say in this IGT. My decision? Crew drives me crazy Can't believe they're still sliding Don, make me drinks too!

Holy cow, yea, I darn near cried like a baby reading this. Best wishes to your pooch and your family, RoCo

I know I shouldn't be this surprised, but... WOW EDIT: Ok, after reading the article, it sounds more like a 'sitting the cold hand when we can get by with 4 SP' than 'extreme demotion out of starting rotation'

Just like how signing Roger Clemens has catapulted NYY into first place in the AL East. One player always either costs his team its shot or is the sole reason for it. EDIT: Not responding to endaround

imho, Braun has been moved down to #4 due to the fact that he isn't seeing the ball well anymore (most likely bc teams have him scouted now), not that Ned has randomly moved him there, and he's just randomly not hitting as well anymore. I know his stats are still solid, but comparing his most recent few (8ish) games to what he'd done before, and watching him at the plate, it seems he's cooled/ing off. Since Aug. 6th, he's had only 4 extra base hits, after piling them up like they're going out of style before then.

1) I know benching isn't a manager's only course, which is why I mentioned more than just that 2) Fundamentals are the players' responsibility, not their coaches'. Coaches are there to put their players in good situations. This isn't Little League (even if last night looked it!). What good does communicating expectations do if your players can't make simple plays? Does our coaching staff really need to tell these grown adults to not throw balls away & to not swing at everything like Estrada? Again, that's on players, imho. 3) One reason why you may think this happens every time is precisely covered in your rhetoric ; "seems." Sure, when there's a game like last night, it seems like the Brewers don't belong in the pennant chase; it seems they do whatever 'every time.' Trouble is that we remember relief pitching blunders so clearly, because they're so agonizing. When Turnbow comes in & doesn't give up a baserunner or a run, it's more likely to be reacted to as, 'Well, that's what he's supposed to do!' I don't understand your comment about how Cordero is being misused 'just like Turnbow' last year. He has not been anything like 2006 TBow, as he has continued to pitch effectively well beyond the ASB. Since that game (Jul. 10th), he's had only three outings in which he's given up a run (all 3 were blown saves). In the other combined 12 appearances, he's posted: 11 2/3 IP, 4 hits, 2 BBs, 17 Ks. I know your comment is on how he's been used, but I just fail to see what you mean. Your gripe on matchups I fully understand, and it's disappointing that it took so long to get Parra (or whatever other LHRP) to the big club. Please do clarify what you mean about how we 'look like Cincy teams that got off to good starts the last 10 years.' I'm not insulting you here, it's just a vague statement - do you mean our pitching? or hitting? or team w-l record? Thanks!

amen, pebadger. As I mentioned in my previous post, I think it's entirely fair to criticize Yost for something like putting the big (nee "Alien") shift on Junior. What's totally misguided is that the shift somehow caused two obscene throwaways. It's Hardy's job to cover 2B on a play such as that, and Braun's job to not to throw a screwball past his SS.

Somewhere, Jason Kidd chuckles...

What will you have from Yost, then, bashers? I certainly don't 'blanket' my opinion, as I blatantly mention one of my biggest gripes with him. What I don't, and won't, do, however, is blame someone for something over which he has no control. Talk about blanketing! You want to complain when he starts Mench v. RHPing? Fine. Or when Shouse is left in to face RH batters? Or when he leaves another starter in yet another inning too long? No complaints here. But when you get frustrated because the players are playing like crap, and then blame the guy who's done everything in his power lately to shake things up & try new guys & looks, that's just plain unfair & uninformed. He's mixed up the lineup, bumping down guys for whom he's been criticized of giving free passes, and he even benched Hart on the spot last night after taking a flat, 90mph heater on the inner half for a called strike 3 (not to mention the frying-pan glove incident in CF). He's got Gross out there getting on base, Dillon turning in solid ABs at 2B (after losing his top two options at the position - obviously 'lost' Rickie to underperformance, but lost nonetheless), he's dropped Braun down since Ryan has stopped seeing the ball well, and has started to shorten his leash with pitchers (which I believe is long overdue, unfortunately). Where the 'It's still all Yost's fault' crowd goes astray is to bash him for crappy defensive play like last night. He benched Hart, what do you want him to do - bench Braun & Gross, too, for throwaways? Or Braun for striking out a bunch & looking lost at the plate? Who do you suggest he play? Throw Counsell out there? A manager has only so many choices, and to be bluntly honest, Yost is simply not getting a fair shake from these latest critics. As I said before, if you have a tangible gripe (as in, matchups created, or something for which a manager is actually responsible), blast away, and I won't do anything but agree, most likely. But the notion that it's his fault that his players are slumping is ludicrous.

By simply reminding everyone that Ned Yost does not pitch, play all four infield spots, all 3 outfield spots, and that he doesn't bat himself 1-9 every night. Look at errors & runners lob? In what way does that fall squarely at the feet of Yost (if at all)? I'm all for being frustrated, and sure - be ticked at Yost (leaving SP in too long - a BIG problem imho), but at least find something for which he's actually responsible!

Booyah is right, buddy. Take that, Initech! Glad to hear we won't be missing you... http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/wink.gif

Soon, Sheets - please, Sheets, make it soon!

I don't know if this has been posted already or not, but... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhhhhh!! http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/mad.gif Brewers, Brewers, keep shortening my life expectancy (sung to 'Keep Turning Up the Heat', well, sort of)

The logic that umps should sit back & 'take it' makes my skin crawl. I've put up with more than my fair share of horrible crap just umping beer league softball. I can't even imagine how much MLB umps let slide, without even a mention of it to us, the public. No matter what the sport, the fans & players always seem to expect an umpire to be perfect his first game, and then even better from there on out. Not to mention the 20,000+ 'better' umpires who always clearly had a better look at the play. I'm a huge Prince fan, and an even bigger Brewers homer. I haven't seen the play, but it sounds like Prince needed to put the team ahead of his own (even if it was a collective frustration of all teammates) frustration. Even if the call(s) were bad, you just have to accept that human error as a part of having human umpires. They do a darn good job nearly every single game - it's not like you see players thanking or congratulating umps. When they're perfect, it's supposedly 'expected.' When not, it's seemingly the biggest gaffe ever. Umpires are instantly the villains in most player-ump arguments, just because they aren't who we're rooting. The problem I have here is that MLB umpires are so good it's disgusting, and they still have to put up with whiny players on a constant basis (good calls or bad). Example: I went to a Portland Beavers (SD AAA) v. Sacramento River Cats (Oak. AAA) game. In it, the relatively-recently demoted Jeff DaVanon (Sac.) got wrung up on a solid 2-2 changeup. It may well have been borderline high, but nowhere near enough to not be hacking with two strikes. He did everything in his power to get run - turning fully around, facing the umpire, then 'walking away' whilst keeping his head (& fat mouth) pointing back at the ump, jawing the whole way. This ump was solid the whole time I watched, and DaVanon had no reason to complain. This is just a slice of the crap umps take on a daily basis. Just as the call that set Prince off wasn't the first, I'm sure Prince's jawing wasn't the first this ump took from our squad.

So for a total late-comer, the appeal process takes quite a while, no? Any word on when he will actually serve the game(s)?

ccbrew, I'd say no - though I had the same pause myself. Portland, so far, is great. Plus, there are several (nearly all, in fact) sports bars just a few blocks away that have MLB Extra Innings. Just finished watching the Yanks rally from a 3-0 defecit to tie, only for Mo to give all 3 runs back in the top of the 10th! Oh well, got the Crew tonight...only thing is that for us, the game starts at 5p! Craziness. Still adjusting to that. The City seems incredible - I already love the MAX, and have found some sweet microbrews as well (if anyone who can get it hasn't tried Deschutes' Cascade Ale, go get some). Headed over to PGE Park (home of SD Padres' AAA Portland Beavers) to gape through the fences & watch the game last night (it's 2 or 3 blocks from our apt), only to discover that every home game you can enter for free after the 7th inning stretch! Sweetness! So I watched the rest of the game on a gorgeous evening, and learned Thursdays you can't enter for free, because they do a $6 entry, $2 Miller Lite special on Thursdays. What a bummer. Gotta run, as I'm at the downtown library, and am supposed to be productive - as in, work on resume, get a job, etc. I'll catch all my boys & girls later -- our internet, tv, phone, etc. is getting hooked up on Thursday.

I know Ennder, which is why I included the parenthetical in my original post.

AP--The duo were shipped out today from Madison, WI in exchange for minimal cash compensation & potential late-round draft picks, depending on their performance in Portland. Though their presence may be missed in the Madison region, the chance to get in at ground floor for the up-and-coming Portland area left Principessa21 feeling, "excited - yea, [i'm] real excited to be a part of something new...the chance to build from the ground up is a new challenge, and I know [i'm] up to it." "It's certainly a whole new region out there - we have some heavy scouting to do if we want to be competitive, but we're competitive by nature, so this will be an enjoyable challenge." No word yet on exact figures for compensation, but sources estimate the total value of the deal to be in the neighborhood of a four-digit sum.

Nice!

Nowhere in there does it say "right now."

I think you need to consider the matchups a manager creates. That's really the one stand-out quality of a manager. For example (& not to bash - I know the situation from today's game) - having Parra face Helms today was a bad matchup, turning a below-average hitter into an above-average one. When a manager trots out a 'Yosted'/'Piniella-ed' lineup, just to play his hunch(es), that's something to be criticized, too. But to be fair, managers do come up with some successful 'creative' decisions. When a manager consistently creates poor matchups, I think he can cost his team games. I don't think a manager really has much effect beyond this, though I admit my 'criterion' is rather broad.

so struggling for a small to moderate size of the season gives you the liscence to dub them a "train wreck?" That's what I reacted to. It's simply not a fair characterization of a stellar group of pitchers. EDIT: Though I do agree that they've been worse after a lights-out start...

Nicely done, loopee. Impressive. You are powerful as the Emperor has forseen....

Well, I never added that conditional, but you did...so: Braves, probably the Phils, Cleveland, the Tigers' pen hasn't exactly been great. There are a few, not to mention the other many teams that'd inevitably be IN a playoff race if they had a pullpen as strong as ours. It's very easy to rag on the pen when they hit a rough patch, but by & large, our BP has been very strong. To call it a train-wreck is just laughable, but it certainly was one today! EDIT: good points, loopee, but I tried to look at more than just ERA, hence my different list

this probably won't be serious, but it will nag Alfonso. That's the tough part with a quad strain - it takes a long time to get back to 100%. My guess is that he'll get Bonds-esque playing time until he can get it better. In any event, I love it!