Fear The Chorizo

I for one think the amount of time Hiura likely put into defensive work since the day he was drafted, initially at 2nd to try and establish himself there because he wasn't playing defense his last 1.5 collegiate seasons due to throwing arm issues and then during the 2020 offseason to try and learn a different position at 1B, likely impacted his offensive production. IMO, having the DH as an available spot for his bat in the lineup everyday dramatically improves his chances to relearn how to hit.

Keston needs an offseason and some time to sort out his approach at the plate for sure, but I'm hoping this extra time allows for his personal life situation with his mother battling cancer to hopefully sort itself out for the better, too and allows his mind to shift much more towards improving results from the batter's box. As a Brewers fan, the other thing that I think would benefit both Hiura and the organization greatly this offseason would be for the NL to adopt the DH. As of right now, there's no way the Brewers trade Hiura because he's a talented mess as a hitter, but not having the DH in the NL for 2022 would mean he'll have limited opportunities for everyday playing time with the Brewers at 1B/2B/OF. Adding the 2019 version of Hiura's right-handed bat to this lineup as a DH would be incredible for the offense.

I think the emergence of Taylor as a capable reserve outfielder means that unless the Brewers are able to trade Cain or JBJ without paying most of their 2022 salaries, Avi will take his talents elsewhere next season via free agency. I can also see the Brewers dealing an arm or two that is into arbitration this offseason to try and bolster other parts of their roster and save a bit on payroll, particularly if they want to make room for younger pre-arby guys like Ashby and Small - I'm thinking guys like Houser and/or Suter. I think the Brewers are committed to rolling with Hader and paying whatever arby salary he gets until he hits free agency, then making the in-season decision during his last arby year to either trade him at the deadline or if they are contending roll with him and take the comp pick after he leaves via free agency. On the one hand it would feel like they didn't get equal value in return, but the other hand is that the Brewers got 5-6 seasons of a top flight reliever in his prime contributing to their success without having to pay top dollar through his inevitable decline as he ages. At this stage in Hader's career I think it's equally as valuable not to be saddled with an extremely long-term, expensive contract with him.

After yesterday's games less than 1 week from this post, I believe: Yelich: .758 OPS Brinson: .770 OPS I hope Brinson heats back up again...because it sure seems like Yelich is headed towards the low-mid .800s a few weeks from now despite spending most of this year around .700. That's not just due to yesterday's game either - he has been able to put better swings on the ball with extended playing time staying in the lineup, improved timing and pulling the ball to right center/right field with authority again.

That was crushed

The Brewers didn't really give him much of a shot the last few years at all actually. I think Stearns would obviously take this one back if he could. His strategy of churning through players until you find some guys that work will result in cases like this, but it also results in cases like Cousins, Adamas and Tellez. Well, COVID in 2020 basically gave no minor leaguers in Bickford's shoes a shot....and prior to that Bickford wasn't consistently available due to some off-field stuff and when he was, what I recall are reports of his velo being well below the mid-upper 90's stuff that made him a 1st round talent in the first place years ago. They had him in MLB spring training this year, started him off up in AAA, and he was part of their early season bullpen shuttle plans until he showed no signs of putting it together enough to justify even that role. Of course churning through guys will have the occasional 'miss' or player that falls out of favor and then later establishes himself as a quality player elsewhere....but to me it just seemed very apparent that it just wasn't going to work out for Bickford or the Brewers if they held onto him. For the individual players working through these type of issues, I'm glad there are things like Rule V eligibility and limitations on minor league options that afford them more options to 'make it'. It's one of those instances that if the Dodgers weren't decimated at the time with their bullpen when Bickford was put on waivers, he would likely wouldn't have been claimed by another organization and he could still be with the Brewers. Even after all that, it's ironic to me that Bickford didn't get called up to the LA Dodgers until a spot opened up in late May when Jimmy Nelson went onto the IL with forearm issues (that predates another shoulder/back issue and the more recent elbow injuries that likely end Jimmy's career) - Bickford was intended to be a stopgap by the Dodgers as well, but he took that opportunity and ran with it....at least to this point. Good for him!

Josh Hader is just a year older than Bickford, so its not like we are talking about some 20 yr old just tapping into his potential Stearns willingly gave up on prematurely. Hader is well into arbitration because he was dominant as a reliever pretty much from the moment he was converted to that roll in the minors and from the instant he reached MLB. Bickford isn't well into arbitration because he has barely spent any time on a mound above AA in his career despite spending an uneven 6 seasons across the minors. The Brewers gave him ample opportunities to make it and stick with the club, and his performance with them simply wasn't deserving of more chances Many times it takes talented guys multiple shots with different teams before something clicks and they finally get their moment in the sun or they just plain wash out as a 'never was'. Particularly relievers. Something probably also to the fact that Bickford is a Cali guy from the LA burbs and he is back with an organization in that state. Never really seemed to settle in at all while he was in the Brewers organization, at any level - some of that due to his off field difficulties. Good for Bickford making the most out of what was probably his last opportunity to have a mlb career....hopefully for his sake its not a flash in the pan and he can sustain success long enough to reach lucrative arbitration salaries before he turns 30, but frankly that's doubtful even with this years great roll he is on.

Sure, replay won't lead to pointless delays for making games take longer than they should.....

Brewers aren't going to win every game, sometimes baseball happens...that hanging curve to a guy who couldn't touch a fastball inside really stings in terms of both bad pitch selection and execution in that spot, though.

Woodruff getting touched up....alot...on secondary pitches - throw the fastball

ball 4

He's just in between...all the darn time. A bit late on fastballs and a bit early on offspeed. Would rather see him yank a fastball foul down the line a few times even if it's outer half. Dangit Escobar got a cookie there

safe

If so, they are really committed to the six starter thing. I wonder if that becomes something they do next year. When you've got a massive divisional lead, why put extra strain on the other starters right now?

Closest I can remember was that 2008 club after they traded for CC and before Sheets got injured....but even that was just CC and Sheets rolling with some decent starters behind it. The staff overall this year has just been awesome throughout!

I was just going to post this What the heck happened to them. They are all in too They went all in, but key pieces are injured or underperforming - Tatis is always one check swing away from reaggravating his balky shoulder, Darvish is now on the IL, Clevinger is out the whole season due to TJ surgery, Blake Snell has frankly stunk compared to what they expected of him, etc....

Cubs sticking with Heuer for a 2nd inning to try and close 'em out

I wonder who the Cubs “closer” is currently? I’m not sure if they’ve had a save situation since they traded Kimbrel. Yeah it's going to be interesting....towards the bottom of the Reds order next inning though

well that was a quick top 6

I've got no faith that 1 run lead against the Reds is going to hold up for the Cubs....feeling ok about this aside from the fact it could easily be 5or 6 - zip right now.

I think it's much more realistic that we catch the NL west leader in the standings and wind up with the top seed in the NL than the Cardinals or Reds coming anywhere near catching the Brewers.

There is nothing about this organization's track record under Stearns that indicates the Brewers are bad at finishing strong during the regular season - if anything the past 4 seasons indicates the exact opposite. If I'm a Cards fan I'm bummed the Brewers don't have 13 left with the Reds, because that would be a much easier way to gain ground on a playoff contender in front of them. Every season is its own animal, but barring a slew of key injuries there's nothing with this Brewer team to make me think they are going to slump for an extended period of time that allows a different streaking NL Central club from overtaking them for the division. The Brewers have even made it through their own COVID outbreak this season and came out of it with a larger divisional lead than they had right after the AS Break. The Brewers' magic number right now sits at 36 against the Reds and closer to 30 against the Cards, with ~43 games remaining....that's incredibly low for mid-August against the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the division. Specific to the Cards, their September schedule is just brutal - if they don't cut their deficit in the division and wild card standings in half before the calendar flips, they are toast. The Reds have a softer schedule but they only get 3 games left against the Brewers to gain ground directly - I think San Diego is going to have a tough time holding them or the Phils/Braves off for the wildcard, though. The 6 remaining games between the Cards and Reds are going to be guaranteed magic number reducers for the Brewers against at least one of those teams each night, both if the Brewers win their games those nights against the Giants and Indians.

That 2014 team hit a wall offensively around this time last season - Overall their pitching held up well across the whole season despite being a collection of ~#2-3 caliber starters and a thin bullpen that walked alot of tightropes, but as a team their offensive production cratered for a solid month from mid August through late September. That lineup had some pop, but they were largely a feast/famine group of hitters that all slumped at the worst possible time. If they weren't scoring runs, their pitching wasn't going to carry them through offensive slumps the way the current Brewers staff has already proven capable of doing.

He won't be DFA'd, simply because the September roster expansions will allow for him to stick with the club and be their option when there's multiple lefty hitters due up in the 6th or 7th inning of a tight ballgame. Unless Norris turns it around significantly or if a series matchup warrants, I doubt he sees a postseason roster at this point, though.

Can we stop with the knee cap as being a proximate cause of Yelich's slump? It was a fracture of the knee cap. Nothing was shattered. He didn't even need surgical intervention or any serious medical treatment outside a knee immobilizer. More importantly, Yelich is 4th on the Brewers in sprint speed behind Garcia, Cain and Taylor. If his fractured knee cap was effecting him at the plate, you could bet that it would also impact his sprint speed. No - not when the mental component of that injury occurring while swinging in the batter's box is probably moreso a culprit to Yelich's change in approach than anything else. Also, sprint speed isn't affected by a healed broken bone. That injury occurred on a slider that started middle of the plate and broke way inside from a RHP - when you look at Yelich's lower swing % and probably more importantly the dramatic decrease in damage he's done with pitches middle-in since this injury, it's not hard to put 2 and 2 together why Yelich doesn't seem to want to attack those pitches by getting the bat out in front and hit them with authority to right field.