Samurai Bucky

I'll admit -- I tend to see things through Cardinal and White colored glasses. However.... When, in previous games, I see the Badgers getting called for things like "In the Cylinder" and flopping (within associated hip thrust by the ref), I get really confused when other teams don't get called for that. I do understand the stigma that Wisconsin has (e.g. the Brad Davidson effect). Yesterday's game was physical. Flat out physical. The refs had a hard time. However, year after year after year after year, pouty-faced Fran pulls the same stunts. Here is a Hawkeye-based article: https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2022/12/11/23504606/yuck-wisconsin-badgers-78-iowa-hawkeyes-basketball-75-connor-fran-patrick-mccaffery-bhgp When Wahl was making his way from the lane to the corner, and the Iowa defender puts his arm out to block him, that was supposed to be a foul on Wahl? Hummel even said, "Wahl initiated the contact." Really? Seriously? Or is that my Cardinal and White colored glasses talking? Fran, or should I say, "Walter," stop complaining. This is getting very old and you are not representing your school well.

Essegian needs to work on the mullet, for sure.

Bob McGrath (Bob from Sesame Street) died at age 90 after a stroke. He was one of the original cast members.

My son went to the game with his girlfriend and sat in the student section. He is a Wisconsin fan and she attends Marquette. Reluctantly, he wore a gold-colored shirt. There were other Badger fans in the student section who wore the Cardinal and White. I guess if there were any issues between Marquette fans and Wisconsin fans in the student section, the Wisconsin fan was removed from the section. The F-Wisconsin chant was quite telling, too.

The Brewers are going to have to do something about Toro's lifetime K% of 17.6%. Gotta bump that up.

Wisconsin has no beef up front. They can't box anybody out because they don't have the strength. Crowl is 7'0" and 245? I don't know what a strong seven footer would be, but Crowl doesn't have it. Also, for all of the praise Wahl gets for playing "exceptional defense," his frequent matador impersonations are a joke. Wisconsin needs a guy who can go to the rim and either score, draw the defense, or get a foul. Wisconsin has employed the "run the swing for 7 seconds," then stand around while somebody dribbles the ball for the rest of the clock. They still have a lot of learning to do.

Political ads are... OVER!!!!

Enjoy it while it lasts. Signed, Don Nelson

So we are OK with them hitting .246? Your point of them hitting .235 overall is also reflected in the fact that they were one of the worst teams in getting RISP to begin with. I also think that you are reiterating this point: tOPS+ is 121 which may be saying that the Brewers did well, or their typical OPS+ is not very good.

So we are OK with them hitting .246? Your point of them hitting .235 overall is also reflected in the fact that they were one of the worst teams in getting RISP to begin with. I also think that you are reiterating this point: tOPS+ is 121 which may be saying that the Brewers did well, or their typical OPS+ is not very good.

I would add to that... struggles getting clutch hits with RISP. On Monday, the only reason why Adames hit the ball to right in the latter part of the game is because the pitch was outside. With RISP (159 Games): 21st in PA 26th in BAbip (.277) 16th in RBI 23rd in K% (26% -- worst is PIT at 30% and best is CLE at 21%; league average is 25%) tOPS+ is 121 which may be saying that the Brewers did well, or their typical OPS+ is not very good. https://www.baseball-reference.com/tools/split_stats_lg.cgi?full=1&params=bases|RISP|ML|2022|bat|AB|

I would add to that... struggles getting clutch hits with RISP. On Monday, the only reason why Adames hit the ball to right in the latter part of the game is because the pitch was outside. With RISP (159 Games): 21st in PA 26th in BAbip (.277) 16th in RBI 23rd in K% (26% -- worst is PIT at 30% and best is CLE at 21%; league average is 25%) tOPS+ is 121 which may be saying that the Brewers did well, or their typical OPS+ is not very good. https://www.baseball-reference.com/tools/split_stats_lg.cgi?full=1&params=bases|RISP|ML|2022|bat|AB|

Perhaps some movie or TV stars would invest in a team?

Something like this or this: Weird, I know. It is sort of like a modern disco beat. Maybe my Dad's listening to the "Stars on 45" was influence on me.

I'm sure I'm the only one, but I have been listening to a lot of house-based covers of songs from the 70's and 80's. Thanks for that, Spotify... ?

I-Bonds. So let it be written, so let it be done ?

You'd better not be doing that on my lawn! ?

I am enjoying the Wrexham show on FX. Similar in nature to Ted Lasso, but more realistic (obviously).

Yeah, but if Paul Molitor would have taken on The Undertaker in the forest, would anybody have heard it? With Molitor hailing from Minnesota, I would have expected one of the Gagnes or Jumping Jim Brunzell to have made a statement.

Yeah, but if Paul Molitor would have taken on The Undertaker in the forest, would anybody have heard it? With Molitor hailing from Minnesota, I would have expected one of the Gagnes or Jumping Jim Brunzell to have made a statement.

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/keston-hiura/20003/splits-tool?splitArr=&splitArrPitch=&position=B&autoPt=false&splitTeams=false&statType=player&statgroup=1&startDate=2022-08-03&endDate=2022-11-01&players=&filter=&groupBy=season&wxTemperature=&wxPressure=&wxAirDensity=&wxElevation=&wxWindSpeed=&sort=-1,1 Since he came back (I'm using 8/3 as a start date), he has walked once in 25 PA. K% is at 36%. I think he should get more playing time because he has earned it lately. I'm still hesitant to claim that he has turned the corner. Since 8/3, he only hits 13% the other way, but at least it is almost a split between pull and hitting to center field. I hope he continues to improve.

Army of Thieves was pretty good. Don't know if I will watch Army of the Dead, though.

During the past week I caught up on... Reacher (Prime) -- I liked it. Truer to the books than Tom Cruise The Man in the High Tower (Prime), Season 1 -- not sure I'm going to watch season 2 Watched a few movies, too, but that is out of scope for this thread

Bingo! If he takes a better route on the fly ball late in the game, then Hiura's dinger is a walk-off.

I was thinking -- what could make Hiura a better hitter. I remember he had a crazy high leg kick (a la Urias). So much motion for somebody whose contact rate is terrible. I recall during last night's game how they are trying to get Yelich to not have as much of a leg kick when he swings. Perhaps it is luck or good fortune, but he had two hits -- he other way! My son's academy team had taught a toe tap or even a wider stance on two strikes with a heel lift. The exit velo, on average, takes a hit, but the ball gets put in play. They used Bo Bichette (among others) as an example: This approach, along with the toe tap on strike 0 and strike 1, reduces motion, and gets the player to put the ball in play. I really don't like the 3PO approach that has gripped the hitting coaches of so many teams -- including the Brewers. 47% K rate? 27% for Adames? Even 24.4% for Yelich. I know the league average is around 21%, but I would hope the Brewers would change swing mechanics to help put the ball in play -- especially on two strikes. Kolten Wong said he appreciated how the Brewers hitting philosophy allowed him to take mighty hacks on two strikes unlike at the Cardinals. His K% went from 15% to 17% (not that bad of a difference) and his OPS stayed relatively the same. I would argue that he was already an established player with a good grip on swing mechanics. Get Hiura, and others, to quiet their swing. Get the ball in play. Reduce the "feast or famine" that we seem to see with this lineup.