DuWayne Steurer

Narveson's just not been good since he gave up that cheap home run to Polanco. Terrible pitch there.

When does Narvy start looking over his shoulder at Estrada?

Not a knock on Betncourt, but a commentary on what Schroeder spouts. "The book on him coming in was that he'll make a lot of errors". Um Bill.......not it wasn't, dummy. No one ever said that. His glove has never been the question, it's always been his range. Inexcusable to not do your homework. And then YB makes a play like that.......not that he was gonna get anyone, I just wonder what that flop/dive/sprawl was all about.

Nice play by Betencourt

I don't think I've been overly critical. I do, however, admit that I've been CONTINUOUSLY critical. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif I KNEW the second he hit the homerun the other night that there would be some "I told you so!" posts, and some "Big deal, one homerun!" posts. KNEW it. (to my next door neighbor, I told you so!). It is what it is. He's a below average performer on a team hoping to make the playoffs. From 1994 til 2007, I likely wouldn't have been so down on the guy. I probably even would have been a fan. But this year, knowing where we stand in the 'go for it or rebuild' cycle, I can't help but grit my teeth at a negative WAR player starting at the most important defensive position in a season we SHOULD be making a playoff push. I'll get over it (eventually). I won't cheer when he hits homeruns. Not because I don't want him to succeed, but because every success makes it that much more likely that Doug will be content with what he's got, and not try to upgrade the position at the deadline. I've NEVER rooted against a Brewer before, but I find that this is exactly what I'm doing. Not because I hate Yuni B. But because a replacement player shouldn't be starting for a playoff contender. If he fails and fails hard, Doug will have to do something.........right? RIGHT?!!? NOW, on the other hand, if he goes nuts from here on out, puts up an .800 OPS with 18-20 dingers (LOL!), I'll be as big a fan of the guy as anyone, but I'll want him gone the day after the regular season ends.

http://publishren.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/wrong-on-internet.png?w=300&h=330

I'm gettin' really tired of hearing that. Low errors does not in any way shape or form = good defense. It's staggering to me that a baseball guy like Bill Schroeder spouts that out as well.

How many outs has that guy made on the basepaths the last 3-4 weeks? His OBP is terrible as it is. If you take and add his outs-on-base to it, I'll bet it's about .200 or so. For all his physical gifts, the guy lacks ANY baseball acumen or smarts whatsoever.

Interesting interview, as always with emo kid. It's funny, you can tell he'd rather be doing absolutely anything else, but he still gives straightforward, honest answers. He doesn't just give the stock baseball cliche answers, he gets in depth with his responses. I do think the interviewer ran a little long though. Some of the questions were just rehashes of previous questions asked in a different way.

I mean, if you're Joey Votto or someone important, sure, you shouldn't have to be bothered to actually go to the service desk or whatever it is, but Mike Leake? Sorry buddy, you're not famous enough yet.

I never jumped off the Weeks' bandwagon, but I did wonder if he'd ever reach his true potential because of the injuries and setbacks. Now, it looks like the Brewers' patience with him has been rewarded. I do think this is about his peak....... we're going to get a nice 4-5 year stretch of about an .825 - .875 OPS guy. I wouldn't be shocked or staggered to see him reach .900, but I think really, he's pretty close to maxed out offensively.

OBP = not making outs. Not making outs is the single most important contribution any player can provide to an offense, regardless of where he hits in the lineup. A guy who's going to put up an OBP below .300 is a detriment to your offense regardless if he hits 2nd or 8th. You can limit how detrimental such a bat is by putting him lower in your order (and limiting his at bats), but saying that the value of OBP is varied depending on lineup location is really statistically false.My goodness. The black and white perspectives of internet message boards is maddening. Apparently .300 is the magic OBP where a guy either helps your team or hurts your team no matter what the situation is no matter where he is in the lineup, all other statistics be damned. The difference between a .290 OBP and a .310 OBP is literally ONE less out per 50 PA. A 3TO player who bats .220 with an OBP of .310 and slugs .400 with a 25% K rate isn't as valuable in the 7th spot in the Brewers order as Betancourt, who bats .270 with an OBP of .290, slugs .400 and Ks at a 10% clip. There IS a point where a high slugging and BA can outweigh a low walk rate. Is Betancourt at that point? It depends on who you compare him to. Is there anybody who thinks that, say, George Kottaras is a better hitter than Betancourt? That question is sure to provoke original, insightful discussion. It's free-swingers vs. 3TOers. But it IS black and white when you're talking about a guy like Betencourt. He OBP's below .300 and doesn't slug NEARLY enough to make up for it (one season with 16 homeruns). There isn't a scenario, not one, where a guy who OPS's below .700 with a putrid OBP is an asset to an offense. This isn't even about Betencourt, it's about the fallacy in thinking that a certain 'type' of offensive player isn't as detrimental in certain spots in your batting order.

OBP = not making outs. Not making outs is the single most important contribution any player can provide to an offense, regardless of where he hits in the lineup. A guy who's going to put up an OBP below .300 is a detriment to your offense regardless if he hits 2nd or 8th. You can limit how detrimental such a bat is by putting him lower in your order (and limiting his at bats), but saying that the value of OBP is varied depending on lineup location is really statistically false.

if it's on the outside point of your elbow, it's almost assuredly tendonitis, or as nottso said, tennis elbow. The simple solution is to get a tennis elbow brace. It's just a velcro strap that goes over the biggest part of the muscle on your forearm. Your doc would probably do the same thing. They might also do a cortisone shot. Ibuprofen (or any other NSAID) should help as well. Naproxin works really well, but tends to give you dry mouth.

It just looks like his location is off, and his curve.......doesn't look good. My big concern is his very reduced strikeout rate. I don't know what's causing it, but that's definitely reason for alarm, IMO.

Yeah, I read a blog, and I don't watch games. *sarcasm* That's exactly it. You can keep saying that, but saying something over and over and over and over and over doesn't make it true.

I have been concerned from the start that this would be his 'fall off a cliff' year, and I'm not seeing anything to suggest that this is not the case. MANY people have said "at least he'll provide some power", but based on what? He's had exactly one season in which he reached double digit homeruns, and granted, that was last year, but to me, that looks like more of an outlier than anything. His batting average the last 2 years trended way downward, and nothing that I've seen OR that the stats show to this point suggest a rebound to his 2007 and before form. He's not hitting for any power, he has drawn 3 walks (one of which was intentional), and his LD%, and BABIP are falling in line with his career norms. He's not performing well. The comments that he's 'stinging the ball all over the place' are a myth, based on the numbers. I know to some, the stats are 'silly', but they almost always tell a better story than the ol' naked eye test. They are what they are. And what the stats are telling me is that unless Betencourt starts hitting with some power, he's not going to get anywhere close to even a .700 OPS.

How are the stats 'silly'? And how has not hit awfully this year? He's got an OPS of .605. He doesn't get on base, and he's hit for almost no power. If that's not the very definition of 'awful' I don't know what is. He's not scalding the ball, as some have suggested. His Line drive percentage is exactly at his career norm. his BABIP is actually higher than it was the past few years. His flyball percentage is higher than it's ever been, and he's not hitting anything with power. His ISO is .061. He might as well be a pitcher for all the good he's done at the plate. And I couldn't give a rip about 3 sac flies. Those are as much a matter of circumstance as they are effort.

Is that even necessary? I'm using WAR as one part of a discussion. I HAVE watched the games this year. I see a guy with bad mechanics and poor lateral movement at times. That seems to match up with the stats, the scouts, and the fans, that all say the guy stinks.

Betncourts' WAR the last 3 years is 0.4, -1.7, and 0.6. Cumulatively, not only should he not be starting, he shouldn't be on a major league bench. Well you showed exactly why this argument is silly. I may look up the dozens of others that have the same type of WAR ratings if that is what you are going to use. And that will show just how short sighted and blindly this debate is being looked at. But starting with Escobar and his .3, .6, and -.4, he is still considered a top prospect but Yuni shouldn't even be on a bench? This debate gets better everyday. That doesn't even make sense. Betencourt's WAR the past 3 years is cumulatively -0.7. Meaning he's worse than a replacement level, or bench player. Escobar's WAR is cumulatively +.5, meaning he's slightly better than a replacement, or bench player. I don't think anybody would argue that Escobar has sucked this year. However, given each player's history, I don't think it's unreasonable that most feel that Escobar still has a potentially higher ceiling. I know coming out of the minors many felt he had the potential to be a .700 to .750-ish OPS player, with good defense. That's not to say he WILL reach those lofty heights, but that's what a lot of people projected him at. Betncourt never has, and never will be, that type of player, and his defense is putrid.

Just because you have an opinion doesn't make it right, especially when the overwhelming majority have a different opinion. Betancourt has been one of the worst full time players in baseball for the past 3 years, you can argue about this year all you want but the past 3 years it is pretty much the truth. Most players of his quality don't play every day or are young and get better with time. Betncourts' WAR the last 3 years is 0.4, -1.7, and 0.6. Cumulatively, not only should he not be starting, he shouldn't be on a major league bench.

It's not even remotely arguable that he's been one of the worst everyday players in MLB over the last few years. A mountain of statistical and anecdotal evidence is just too much to overcome. What might be arguable is how bad he's been this year. For me, he's not really passing the eye test, he just looks slow out there. And his bat is 'heating up' to the tune of about a .600 OPS. I couldn't care less what his batting average is. He's hit exactly ZERO homeruns in 23 games (the one aspect of his game that his defenders have espoused), and he's drawn I think 3 walks. So he hits the ball hard, and he makes lots of flyball outs. Until it shows up in the box score, it doesn't matter how hard his outs are.

The only way the Bucks have a chance is when tv market size doesn't dictate who the NBA wants in the finals. When you see the officiating that occurred in the Bucks/Sixers series, or the West conference Lakers/Kings finals a few years back, you know that the NBA simply won't allow those smaller market teams that don't have a national following into the finals. No CBA, salary cap, management change, etc will make up for the disadvantage that teams like the Bucks, Kings, etc are completely behind the curve.

Gomez is actually seeing pitches at the lowest rate of his career (3.30 PPA). That in and of itself doesn't tell us much yet, but it somewhat dispels the notion that he's taking more pitches and 'waiting for his pitch to hit.' Honestly, from just an 'eye test' point of view, I don't see anything different in his approach. He looks like he's making good contact on pitches that he swings at in the zone, and that's about the only difference that I can see.

Good lord, it was the FIFTH inning! Boy, this guy sure gets his feelings hurt easily.