Samurai Bucky

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?lg=all&qual=y&season=2025&season1=2025&ind=0&stats=fld&pos=ss&type=1 Look for Ortiz's DRS (Defensive Runs Saved). Before the Dodgers series, it was -8. Now it is -5. I believe an earlier post (or maybe it was in another thread) was talking about the -8 DRS. I couldn't believe it either, and I still don't believe he is at -5. I'm simply a software engineer, not a master statistician... 🤦‍♂️

... and where did Turang hit the ball? Between left center and right center. When the hitters drive the ball from alley to alley, they seem to do better. Look at Chourio -- earlier in the game, he was pulling off the ball so bad that he didn't have any decent plate coverage on the fastball on the outside third of the plate. When he finally decided to make good contact with the ball, he went with the pitch on the outside black and took it to right. Crazy how that works 😉

You beat me to it. Either Umpire Scorecard is way off, or the box is way off. The low strikes to Yelich were trash for sure.

I would think that George Webb has some type of insurance in case of the 12-game streak. I'm sure it would be a huge hit on their bottom line if they did this, although it is one of the best promotions that someone could think of.

The NL East is a mess. MIA is in third place? I had seen they were in third place, but then realized they are still 7 games under 500. Wow...

Yes... to fill in at Shortstop. There have been suggestions to slide him over to Short if Ortiz gets hurt. I remember the Dead Arm issue being one of the reasons why he didn't start out at short. So, moving Turang to short isn't really an option, right?

I know that Turang had "dead arm" in spring training. Based on his performance, I don't think it is a thing anymore. (????)

In this case, I think it would’ve been prudent for the home plate umpire to visit with the rest of his team. They really should’ve overturned the call. Again… common sense.

Who gets put on the bench when Frelick comes back? I'm thinking it is going to be Perkins. It is great to see Perkins playing well in his first couple of games back.

This is something that seems to be overlooked. The clubhouse seems to be stronger, more cohesive, and more in tune. This culture is set up by the organization. How many stories do we hear about free agents coming in and feeling welcome (sans Jessie Winker 😉)? I truly believe that Bob Uecker was one of the cornerstones of that culture. Although he is gone, the culture can (and must) continue. That day-to-day attitude is modelled primarily by the manager -- Murphy. He has gone through some things during his career that gives him a different perspective on the team. Hence -- he makes sure the culture is good day to day. Knowing this, however, we would be having a much different conversation if the Brewers were losing... but they aren't. When Counsell put Winker in during his last game, I think it might have been to give Winker a chance. Winker didn't produce, but here was a chance that he could. However, it might have been Counsell giving the middle finger to the organization. I'm not sure. When we talk about trades, etc., remember that the cohesiveness of the clubhouse is a very important coefficient. That is not something that can be measured by Statcast (I think).

1-0-1!!!!!

Off the cuff... Brewers receive: SS Jacob Wilson A's Receive: SS Cooper Pratt, P Craig Yoho, IF Andruw Monasterio

One thing that caught my eye (or my ear) were some comments made in a Daily Bulletin article titled "Dodgers still can't figure out Brewers' pitchers". I can read it through the Yahoo Sports app, but it is behind a paywall via the web. Here is the link: https://www.dailybulletin.com/2025/07/18/dodgers-still-cant-figure-out-brewers-pitchers/ One thing Dave Roberts said was, "They don't walk guys." I thought -- yeah... they aren't walking as many guys. I also heard on part of the Dodgers highlights after the game that the Brewers pitchers "fill the zone." Why is that? I don't have any tangible statcast or baseball savant data, but here are some thoughts: The two strike pitches are better. I look at Priester last night -- he tunnels with the cutter and sinker on the outside corner to right handed batters. Then he comes with the cheese up an in or maybe something else inside and the batters are confused. It isn't just Priester, but it seems to be the game plan. Contreras is an underrated receiver. Yes -- the box on the TV isn't perfect, but I think it is pretty close when it comes to the width of the plate. There were some calls that Priester got that were outside of the zone while Will Smith wasn't getting the calls on the outside corner. I have to attribute that to how the Brewers teach their catchers to receive the ball. Haase is even more demonstrative. Sometimes, the catchers "steal strikes", but I would also say that they "save strikes." Maybe Will Smith is simply lazy. 😉 Finally, the Brewers aren't relying on the chase factor like they did in the past. Fill the zone. Trust your stuff. Stay within two balls off the plate one way or the other (or even up and down) and you will throw fewer pitchers and be successful. Just some thoughts. I hope they keep it up and that things don't get thrown out of whack too much when Cortes comes back.

Dame back to the Blazers. Working on a 3-year, $42M deal. Good for him -- I don't think he wanted to leave Portland, anyway.

I have to finish that up before we let our Disney subscription lapse. I am about 3 episodes in. So far, so good.

When I walk the dogs around the neighborhood or ride my bike, I will often say a quick, "hi". Even if Gen Z'ers don't have their nose in their phone, it is like they didn't hear me at all. Maybe they have hearing loss from the earbuds they have had in their ears since birth? 😉

I don't know who David Sampson is, but he seems to know what it takes to be a GM. It sounds like Arnold listens to the right people. "The hardest job an executive has... is in listening to the right people when they are telling you the evaluation of a player." "GMs trade for players they've never heard of or seen."

I forgot that Phil Collins played at both venues. I do remember what I was doing, though -- working outside with my dad and listening to it on the radio.

I believe the Brewers have accepted him into the clubhouse and are happy for him. I wonder what type of reception he is going to get at the ASG by the players. Like some MLB players have said, it is not Misiorowski's "fault." What is said to the media is often times not what happens behind closed doors... 😉

That just goes to show he has peaked. Trade him for a bunch of prospects. 😉

The only thing Perkins brings to the table is above average defense. Offensively, he is no better, or maybe worse, than Collins: Perkins: 2023 - WAR 1.1 / OPS+ 85 (67 Games); 2024 1.8 / 83 (121 games) Collins: 2024 - -0.3 / -4 11 games; 2025 1.9 / 121 (73 games) What else does Perkins add that I am missing? Collins was awful last year (didn't know you could have a negative ops+). If a change is going to be made, it would probably be better if it came from outside of the club via a trade. Moving Collins and replacing with Perkins doesn't seem to make sense.

Maybe they could trade five of their best players to the Braves for Acuña?

I'll get ahead of the national media:

I'm not sure where to post this, so this seems like a good place. If anybody has the ear of somebody with the Brewers, can you please, PLEASE ask them to show the exit velo for more than 1.2 seconds after it is hit off the bat? Was at the game tonight and my frustration was rekindled. Sure, I am probably a bit of a nerd when it comes to that, but they show it on the big board and right away show the scoring, or replace it with something else. Sure, they put it on the ribbon board at the ends in the nice neon font, but then have to show the box score right away. I would rather watch Frelick's ball go out of the park, or hope that Ortiz's rocket was actually fair instead of look at the scoreboard right away. I remember being at Arizona and they had a lot of different metrics -- maybe too much for me, but I could see the exit velocity if I wanted to. Oh... then perhaps they could get the exit velo to appear somewhere on the bottom ribbon on the FanDuel broadcast. Sigh... it is probably must me ☹️