Fear The Chorizo

that was ball 3 Ricky

with it being only 13 games into the season, wouldn't some of the reasoning behind the Brewers' walk total be directly related to the pitching they were facing during that small a sample of games? I understand working the count, but when you're facing pitchers that are pounding the strike zone, drawing a walk isn't exactly a given. a few examples... opening day against Zambrano - he's normally a pitcher that walks alot of guys, but that day he was dealing Dempster - I'll give him credit, he worked ahead in the count all day against Milwaukee, and the Brewers were trying to work the count all the reds games, particularly against Harang and Cueto - two very good pitchers who were constantly pitching to 0-2, 1-2 counts because they were throwing nothing but strikes early in at bats. Santana - we had alot of good ABs against him, but he rarely walks hitters Figueroa - threw alot of strikes, and the zone was huge due to weather concerns. that's 7 of their 13 games against starting pitching that just wasn't walking anyone, whether Brewer hitters were overaggressive or not. I think the problem Brewer hitters have right now is that they're trying to draw walks so much that they're often letting very hittable pitches go by for strike one - to compile the problem, they have collectively shown an inability to take waste pitches when they're behind in the count. In short, Brewer hitters are watching strike one coast by when they could do damage to the pitch, then swinging at garbage once they're behind in the count. The answer's not to simply take more pitches, hitters need to have better strike/hitting zone management, i.e., hit the pitches that they can do damage with no matter what the count.

Turnbow and McClung suck on ice...DFA them both

In case you forgot, Turnbow wasn't an all star last season, and he's not likely to be one this season

take another strike billy

Fielder getting four walks = nobody hitting in front of him or behind him...that homerless streak is gonna keep on growing Time for Bill Hall to stop batting 5th, and gross to stop batting 2nd

great inning there, offense

It is shocking to see a manager pull a starter when he starts losing it...unlike pulling him after he's lost it 3 batters ago

And Joe Dillon once again shows that he's NOT an outfielder, utility or not

It's the third season since the Overbay trade - Zach Jackson has seen three young starters pass him up on their way to the big leagues, and he'd be up with them if he was the pitcher everyone thought he might be when the trade went down. Bush is what he is, a decent option for the back of a good rotation, but someone who becomes very expendable once he reaches free agency. Gross has given the Brewers a good lefty bat and is a decent backup OF...he hasn't hit against lefties well enough to warrant consideration for him playing everyday.

I think Braun would learn alot about how he's being pitched by just taking a random AB during a game with the mindset that he's not going to swing at anything, no matter what the count is. My guess is that he'd get his first walk of the season. The Met announcers were saying it all weekend, and it's proving to be true - pitchers currently don't have to throw Braun 3 strikes during the course of an AB to get him out.

must have been his strategy all along - get through the meat of the order so Gagne has the bottom of the order to work against in the 9th... walk city today

why is Mota still in the game????

come on!

unreal...catching lots of breaks and making great plays at balls put into play!

that was a great turn

why is Shouse still pitching to Easley?

Suppan should not be facing wright

I'm willing to guess that if Braun just takes an at bat without swinging at all, he'll draw a walk - pitchers are getting him out with balls not in the strike zone because he's so aggressive right now

He is Ryan Dempster - the last time he was a starter he broke down due to the increased amount of innings pitched. we'll see how he's doing in August.

well that was an uninspiring 9th I'll take 6-3 to start the season though...I am starting to get concerned about Prince - 0-fer this series, and it wasn't like he was crushing the ball against the Cubs or Giants...or all spring training. If he keeps this up for another week or two beef prices are going to skyrocket! I will be happy when I see Yo and Cameron playing in Milwaukee

I'd rather see Coco than Harang in the 9th - the Brewers had 8 innings to do something to Harang, and that hasn't turned out well

If Josh Fogg is an up and coming pitcher, then I should try out for the Reds

A patient approach with that ratio gets hitters into a lot of 2 strike counts...it's not as if Brewer hitters are swinging at balls out of the strike zone... Harang is pitching a gem, and the sketchy Brewer offense is making it even more impressive.

these next two games are going to say alot regarding who gets bumped to the bullpen when Yo returns. Villy and Parra got off to good starts this season, but they were at home against the Giants. If they turn in two solid starts the next two games against major leage-caliber lineups, it's going to be difficult for management to justify keeping Bush in the rotation over either of them right now.