Fear The Chorizo

Would park factors have anything to do with who the home team has for a pitching staff? I would think it would play as a pitcher's park when two out of every 5 starts made by the home team had Sheets or Sabathia taking the ball. Miller Park probably plays about as neutral a park as any in baseball, since wind and weather rarely affect games there. The dimensions are relatively standard, too. If the Brewers have a decent pitching staff (which they did last year), Miller Park's a pitcher's park. If they have a poor pitching staff (as they did in 2007, especially once Sheets went down and Turnbow imploded), Miller Park's a hitter's park.

Would park factors have anything to do with who the home team has for a pitching staff? I would think it would play as a pitcher's park when two out of every 5 starts made by the home team had Sheets or Sabathia taking the ball. Miller Park probably plays about as neutral a park as any in baseball, since wind and weather rarely affect games there. The dimensions are relatively standard, too. If the Brewers have a decent pitching staff (which they did last year), Miller Park's a pitcher's park. If they have a poor pitching staff (as they did in 2007, especially once Sheets went down and Turnbow imploded), Miller Park's a hitter's park.

Would park factors have anything to do with who the home team has for a pitching staff? I would think it would play as a pitcher's park when two out of every 5 starts made by the home team had Sheets or Sabathia taking the ball. Miller Park probably plays about as neutral a park as any in baseball, since wind and weather rarely affect games there. The dimensions are relatively standard, too. If the Brewers have a decent pitching staff (which they did last year), Miller Park's a pitcher's park. If they have a poor pitching staff (as they did in 2007, especially once Sheets went down and Turnbow imploded), Miller Park's a hitter's park.

Since most organizations build teams and acquire players to try and maximize their homefield adantage (i.e., building a roster that can excel in its home ballpark), no way this happens, and it would be bad for baseball to do it. There's always the scenario of the home team of whatever park that would host the series being in it, or at least be located close to it, that would result in the World Series essentially being up to a 7 game homestand for a team. I think MLB needs to go back to scheduling more day games during the playoffs, including the LCS and world series games. Starting games earlier in the day when even cold weather cities have temps much higher than at night can help to eliminate the concern over frigid temps. Earlier start times also allow for longer rain delays if necessary to try and get a game in. The other thing MLB should have been doing is mandating that new stadiums in cold weather cities have a retractable roof, or dome setup - it's crazy that the Twins' new ballpark is an open-air stadium, IMO. I think that weather is part of baseball, but it shouldn't be so extreme that it negatively affects the product on the field.

The only spots Joe Dillon doesn't completely kill a team defensively are 3rd and 1st, and he doesn't have nearly enough pop to play either of those positions regularly. He does put together good ABs and can be an effective pinch hit option, but I don't think he's as valuable a player as some people on this board apparently feel he is. As a major leaguer, he's not worth the price it would take to keep him around. Not that I love the acquisition of McGehee, but at least he's much younger, cheaper, and at worst can add some depth to the high minor league system. Similar acquisitions of players by Melvin have turned out to be pretty solid moves, so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt - Joe Dillon reminds me of Keith Ginter, which has turned out to be a criticism, not a compliment. Dillon could very well end up back in the Brewer organization after all this anyway - I'm not sure I see teams jumping to sign him to a major league deal.

Is it possibly time to stop comparing Weeks' offensive numbers to other second basemen at similar ages? I don't take much stock in that because I don't view Weeks as being a second basemen long term. I agree that Weeks was rushed through the minors because there was nothing in front of him at 2nd base talent-wise, and I wish the organization took a step back at the time to evaluate where he could best fit defensively in the majors instead of preaching "the bat will play". So far, Weeks has played but has forgotten to bring his bat with him for prolonged stretches. I see tons of offensive comparisons to Utley, Phillips, and Roberts at similar ages to what Weeks currently is. Honestly, Weeks couldn't hold any of their jocks defensively when they were his age - 2B is one of the few remaining positions where defense should be a priority, and Weeks is a liability there. Good defensive 2B don't have stones for hands. Even if he develops into an average defensive 2B, he needs to be much more productive offensively to justify keeping him there.

I'm fine with keeping Rickie with the team and hoping he finally puts it together, as long as he's not forced to hit leadoff next season. The problem is that this team desperately needs a leadoff hitter, and the position Rickie plays is ideal for leadoff hitters. I remember many scouts saying at the time Weeks was drafted that he's better suited to play in the outfield - any possibility that the Brewers tempt fate and move him to center, forget Cam's option, and bring in a 2B who can hit leadoff and play better defense than Weeks did in the IF? I know it didn't work well for Hall, but Tampa did pretty well by getting Upton out there. I like his approach at the plate, but I don't like his plate coverage - he stands practically on the plate, but it still seems like he can't do much with pitches on the outer half. I wouldn't mind seeing him forget the bat waggle and quiet his hands down, too- I think he'd be great if he simply let his hands react instead of needing a timing mechanism to be just right in order to hit the ball with authority.

I think the Brewers will have to let CC walk and graciously accept the draft comp picks - there's no way the players' union will want Sabathia taking a discount, he's THE marquee pitching FA this offseason. If he takes less money than what the market offers to stay in Milwaukee, guys like Suppan stop getting bloated contracts for being average. It would make all of us happy if he does pitch for the Brewers next season at a price the organization can handle, but I just don't see it being realistic. CC was as big a reason as any why the Brewers made the playoffs this year, but they simply can't give him a 5-6 year deal. For small market teams, it's not necessarily the yearly amount of the contract that can cripple a franchise, it's the length of the contract. I would much rather take the annual amount they'd have to spend on CC to go out and sign 2 starters for less years (Lowe, Burnett, Sheets are possibilities) or take on salary via trade. Time's also running out before guys like Gallardo and Parra will be getting significant raises via arby, and they should be the organization's priority to sign to contracts similar to what Sheets got 4 seasons ago if they have healthy and productive 2009 seasons. As much as I'd love for the Brewers to have CC next season, the only way I'd be able to stomach the contract would be if it were a 3-4 year deal - if I'm Mark A. and want to sign him, I'd offer that length of contract for more dollars per season than what other teams will have on the table and hope for the best.

Parra could easily go over 200 innings, if he stops having 115-pitch, 5 inning starts. He's got the stuff to just attack hitters in the strike zone, but he lost command and control too many times this season - pretty much par for the course for a developing pitcher. I wouldn't want Yo over 200 innings, he basically lost a season of development - he could very well be superman, but I'd rather see him end up in that 175-185 IP range.

someone should tell the Brewers that while drawing walks is a good thing, letting grooved fastballs sail through without swinging doesn't lead to drawing walks, and tends to hurt an offense's ability to score runs. swing the dang bats!

maybe the phillies will actually give us a puncher's chance and replace Blanton with a batting tee

Hey Brewers - Moyer throws his changeup more than anything else he's got....adjust, please?

I'm just grasping at straws at this point, Ennder - I agree that Escobar has to show he can continue improving at the plate, and hopefully he gets another full season of development in the minors before getting called up. But, I think baseball is evolving back to stressing defense, pitching, and baserunning over softball-style offense again. Escobar would be able to help the team in that regard, as long as his bat continues to progress. the thought of kendall, escobar, pitcher is a little more palatable if the first 6 in the lineup include Roberts, Braun, Fielder, Gamel, Hardy, and Hart/Cameron (not necessarily in that order). The other possibility for 3rd would be to bite the defensive bullet at some point next season and call Gamel up if he's crushing AAA pitching. I get nervous at the thought of our corner IF being Fielder and Gamel, though. I'm on the fence regarding how expendable Weeks is - I think he was rushed through the minor leagues too quickly because of a dearth of talent in front of him, and he was never able to develop into a good baseball player...the tools are all there, but the ability to use them best on a diamond isn't. I still wonder whether the Brewers should have pulled a BJ Upton with him and moved him to centerfield. One thing's for sure, it's going to be a very eventful offseason for the Brewers - decisions made with the roster will have alot to do with whether we will be waiting 26 years for another playoff berth or not.

There needs to be some fresh blood in the lineup, and in the dugout, IMO. They are young, but Brewer hitters simply don't make adjustments to how pitchers attack them until it's too late in games for it to matter. Part of that falls on the players, but part of that also has to fall on how the hitting coach and scouting staff prepare them. Now that the Brewers finally made the playoffs, they're realizing that there aren't going to be any more games where they can feast on marginal #5 starters and average pitching staffs on bad teams. Good pitching always trumps good hitting, and good pitching dominates average hitting with a poor approach. All Brewer hitters may be below their PECOTA projection, but then again many of the offensive numbers are down across the board for everyone in baseball this season (not singling out the Brewers from the rest of baseball, but testing for steroids and greenies say hello). I think it's obvious that the aberration years for Bill Hall were 2006 and 2005, since his last two seasons are comparable to what he did earlier in his career (which is essentially nothing). I think it's obvious that Rickie Weeks may be nothing more than a .250ish hitter with poor plate coverage and stones for hands defensively. Corey Hart is either playing injured or being paid by opponents to kill Brewer rallies - he's been atrocious down the stretch, and I really wish there was at least a decent option on the bench to take his place even though I think he's still a good player. Mike Cameron is looking less than ideal to pay 10 million dollars to, since he's made two defensive misplays in 2 playoff games, appears to forget to take his bat to the plate with him 1/2 the time, and isn't getting any younger. I know he'll probably balk at the suggestion, but I'd love to see Hardy moved to third and have Escobar take over short - find some sort of trades that get Weeks and Hall off the roster to bring in a solid 2B like a Brian Roberts. I still wouldn't mind seeing Hart moved into center to free up a corner OF spot for Gamel (if he can play there) or Nelson, which would make picking up Cameron's option even less of a concern. There's been alot of speculation to trade Fielder due to his agent, weight, and defensive issues, but I think it's imperative that they hold onto that impact LH bat in their lineup. There will be other ways to build a solid pitching staff for next season without trading Fielder when his trade value isn't through the roof.

I like that the Brewers are at least competing against what is simply a better team than them. I don't like that their two losses are directly the result of defensive gaffes in one inning and walking a pitcher in the other.

Ok - how about getting the first hitter on this inning? I keep hoping for a big inning to happen to kickstart this whole team...I'm worried that the first inning tonight was their opportunity, and they didn't capitalize. Even if they lose tonight, I'd at least like to see them show some signs of being able to be productive for game 3.

26 years....for this? I'd just love to see some sort of offensive life from this team, but they appear to be the proverbial "playoff fodder" right now.

Corey Hart = THE reason why the Brewers can't put a big inning together...he's absolutely killed offensive innings. I wish he took Cameron's approach more often and just didn't swing at all - he'd be shocked seeing that he would probably draw a walk more often than not with how pitchers are attacking him off the plate.

ok - somebody please drive in a run here!

Sometimes I swear Cameron forgets that he can swing at strikes...he still probably won't hit them, but at least he could give it a shot

It's sad that this isn't a fake silver lining, but: Since the Brewers are facing a righty tomorrow, look for Counsell and Durham to replace Hall and Weeks in the lineup tomorrow.

that was a pathetic offensive inning still waiting for a Brewer hitter to realize Hamels is throwing nothing but offspeed in fastball counts, and actually put a good swing on a changeup. 7 innings into the game, and still waiting. Durham and Counsell have to be in the lineup - both can at least get on base consistently so the rest of these swing at everything hitters can actually have a chance to drive somebody in when the occasionally make contact, and counsell can at least play defense. Bill Hall and Weeks, the two players that Durham and Counsell would be playing for, have thus far cost the Brewers their 3 run deficit.

wondering just how serious the injury can be that the team apparently didn't feel the need to xray last night...you'd think that if it were really serious that team doctors would at least do more than look at and tell JJ to get some sleep and then look at it again today. did he jam a finger or pop a knuckle in the midst of untucking 'em?

He's going through the same thing Braun did at the start of the season - until he realizes that he's getting himself out by swinging at non-strikes, he doesn't have much of a shot to improve. Hart looks completely lost at the plate and appears to be trying to guess at what pitch is coming in. Hart's flaw is the same flaw of alot of the young Brewer hitters - plate discipline.

My thought process went from, man if he hadn't gotten hurt we'd have so many more wins this year. Then I realized the same thing, wait, we wouldn't have had CC then probabaly. I disagree - I think the Brewers make the same trade to get CC even if they had a healthy and productive Gallardo in their rotation all season long. If it truly is an "all in" mentality for 2008, you trade a blocked prospect (even if he projects as a stud) from a loaded farm system for a legit ace that opponents fear every time. I think if the Brewers hadn't traded for CC, their season would have been meaningless more than a week ago already, even if Gallardo hadn't gotten hurt. With that aside, I loved seeing Gallardo back on the mound last night - if the Brewers do make the playoffs, it'd be interesting to see how he would be used. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that Sheets can go, too.