danzig6767

Even bad relief pitchers will go multiple outings without giving up runs

I thought Joe Mulletski was calling from Cudahy?

Yea it blows, but i'd rest Marmol also if i was Lou, that guy has been used a ton

I don't think Bush got squeezed He had the pitcher up and all Bush had to do was throw the ball over the plate, but he choked and it cost three run, unbelievable. With so few games left, if we lose tonight by a run or two, Bush walking the friggin pitcher could literally end up being something that helps kill a playoff berth

According to Haudricourt, Sveum has been told if we don't make the playoffs, a new manager will be hired. Let's pretend something though. Say we get to a one game playoff with the Mets for the wild card berth. It's the 9th inning and we are up a run with two outs and the Mets have guys on 2nd/3rd and Wright is up. He gets a hit, the Mets win, Torres gets him out and the Brewers are playoff bound. So would the Brewers really decide if Sveum should be their manager the next few years based on whether Torres gets one batter out or not? On if a grounder found a hole for a base hit or found a glove? That would be a logical and well thought out criteria on deciding whether Sveum is qualified to manage the Brewers the next few years? IMO, unless the Brewers win the World Series under Sveum, i don't think the team should put much consideration into whether we make the playoffs or not when it comes to keeping Sveum. Doug has been around Dale for quite awhile, what he thinks of Sveum should matter far more than how the team does over 12 games. We could end up only going 6-6 under Sveum and make the playoffs if the Mets collapse. So we'd be giving Sveum say a three year deal mainly just because the Mets fell apart? Sounds kind silly to me.

Yep It' not like Hardy and Prince were barely out at home. both were complete dead ducks and killed high level scoring chances in two games we lost by only a single run.

Cliff is the worst sports talk show host i've ever heard When i listen to sports talk, i like Rome and Homer. The DList on 540 is solid also.

I've been that way since the start of the Philly series. I fully expected them to lose at least three of the games or get swept. When the sweep did happen, i noticed that it barely even stung to me, it was more of a oh well saw that coming feeling. Today's game got to me some given how brutal the loss was, but it didn't linger with me like bad and critical losses of teams i follow generally can. Not exactly an oh well for today, but for whatever reason, when i expect failure from teams i follow, losses don't hurt as much, even gut punches like today. I'll keep watching, but thankfully for my acid reflux, all the years of failure by the Brewers have just conditioned me to expect the worst and i'm not dying with each loss like many of you are. We are like the Arizona Cardinals in football. Generally a terrible franchise/team for a long time, but even when the talent looks good, they find some way to fall short.

If i had to bet, my guess is Attanasio will give Melvin one more year, but i do think it's only around 60/40 that Doug is back if we miss the playoffs. He's done a solid job IMO, but not a special or great job. Given though Attanasio was willing to can Yost when he did, nothing he does this offseason will surprise me. Say Mark gives Melvin one more year, but he decides to choose the manager instead of allowing Doug to do it, would Melvin decide to step down? Will this collapse cause Attanasio to get more involved overall in decisions made, regardless who the GM is? The Brewers missing the playoffs could end up leading to a very interesting and eventful offseason.

In defense of Torres, he's been much better than just some washed up retread except for todays debacle and the one against the Reds. Kerry Wood is the closer for the best team in the NL and he hasn't exactly been a lock down guy. Torres gagged one big time today, that pitch to Soto was beyond ugly, but between the horrendous baserunning by us in the top of the 9th and all the stranded runners, the Cubs should never have had the chance to tie the game on that Soto homer.

I can find only one silver lining If we miss the playoffs, it will finally be a complete end to the Yost and Sveum managing days. I can only hope then that whoever is hired, no considerations whatsoever are given to that guy having a previous relationship with the Brewers. If the manger says the word gritty or battle a single time in the interview, he's immediately crossed off the list. If an applicant adds a Y to any of the players last name, the reject button is hit. If an applicant talks about wanting to be really agressive on the base paths, the interview comes to a screeching halt. Other than that and seeing Prince finally get hot, i just can't find any silver lining after todays debacle.

Counsell is at least left handed, so I will conceed that one, but as far as Kendall is concerned, there has to be a reason. Ther just has to. Doesn't there? The baffling thing is i forget the exact game, but we were down a run in the 9th and Ned absolutely shocked me by pinch hitting Nelson for Kendall. Nelson just missed hitting a game tying homer, but still ended up getting a double. Then, in three separate situations after that prior to today, Kendall was left to bat down a run in our last at bat facing a righthanded closer and nobody on base. How could both Ned/Dale see what happened when Kendall was pinch hit for by Nelson and then for whatever reason, choose to not try it again? How? I'm not being unrealistic here. I fully understand that the odds would have been against whoever pinch hit for Kendall, hitting a game tying home run in that last at bat. At least the slight chance is there though and that's all the managers job, give his team it's best chance to win. If you're down a run in your last at bats and there is nobody on base with an out or two already, you pinch hit for Kendall and hope a guy with some power gets served up a meatball. Why is that so hard to see? Where is the downside? Then today, we desperately need a flyball to the outfield. We have three backup catchers on the bench. The last thing we needed was a weakly hit grounder or a shallow popup/flyball, the two things Kendall specializes in. The season is partly on the line. Yet, there comes Kendall to the plate. Big shocker, he hits a weak grounder to third and no run scores. The even more scary thing is i doubt Sveum even considered pinch hitting for Kendall. I desperately want to see the Brewers in the playoffs, but if we miss them, the slight silver lining is not ever having to see Ned or Sveum in a Brewers dugout

My buddy stopped by during extra innings and when we got guys on 2nd/3rd with nobody out and Counsell/Kendall due up, i said i'd bet him 10 bucks that we don't score, he passed. So i said i'd bet him 20 bucks against 10 from him that we wouldn't score, he passed again. I can see batting Counsell in that spot, but Kendall hits so many weak grounders and shallow flies, he litterally was the last guy on the team i wanted at the plate. Why both Ned/Dale refuse to EVER pinch hit for Kendall in critical sports is simply dumbfounding to me.

I used to get crazy pissed off during close losses of sports teams i follow, particularly Packer games. Then i had a very bad injury happen in my life and then later someone i knew had her 5 or 6 year old son die, i have a daughter and couldn't fathom the pain she and her husband had to go through and still go through from that. On top of that, i had to spend quite a long time in the hospital and in rehab. During that time i came across many either sick kids, kids in a wheelchair, and their parents having to deal with a child with severe medical issues. After these things happened, it put a different perspective on many things in life. I'm not going to act like i no longer get extremely tense during close games or don't get bummed out when the Brewers/Packers/Badgers have things go bad, i do get angry or bummed at times. I'm just able now for the most part to shake the losses off because i experienced up close things that are really really painful. Things that made me realize that many of the things in life that people get super stressed over, not just sports stuff, are issues that people with real problems wish they had instead. Now thankfully for my nerves, i'm able to have great passion for the teams i follow, but not on the insane level it was years ago where i'd throw things and a tough loss in a crucial game could linger with me for days.

I would have started Durham tonight also simply because i don't think Weeks matches up well with Dempster. Weeks really seems to struggle against right handed pitchers with a very good slider like Dempster has. With so few games left and both Durham/Weeks being below average defensively, i'd decide who to start entirely by who is on the mound that game. I'd start Weeks vs all lefties and certain righthanders.

This continues to baffle me to no end and i can't come up with any even somewhat logical reasoning? Why doesn't any reporter ask this question to Ned or Sveum? We've had multiple lefties sitting on the bench in these situations and multiple backup catchers to come in if we tie the game or go ahead, yet Kendall is left in to face Cordero twice and Wood tonight. To quote Lombardi, what the hell is going on out here? Deciding which relief pitcher to bring in games is often not an easy black or white call, so i rarely question a manager except nonsense like letting Shouse face righties so often. Not ever pinch hitting for Kendall late in very close games though is simply baffling and yes i understand a pinch hitter isn't guaranteed to have success either.

I was bored by the game and turned it off for awhile Turn it back on to see the bases loaded, big shocker, double play Watching Brewer games right now is about as entertaining as being forced to watch The View

I wouldn't go that far depending on the price, but wow, his plate discipline is horrendous and gets worse by the game instead of improving with experience.

I like Showalter. He's not only experienced, when i've watched him on TV, he comes off as very intelligent. Another guy who impressed me with his baseball mind at least is Orel Hershiser. With that said, i have no idea if he's interested in being a manager.

I agree with this and don't think it will affect us the last 12 games unless Sveum has a magic wand to make guys start hitting The one thing i'm curious about is if Attanasio made Melvin fire Yost or if both agreed on it?

My vent is that I am not even mad right now. I get mad for about 20 minutes after games and that's about it. I have no control over the outcome of games, why get to upset. It's weird, but the more they lose, the less mad i've been getting. When they started this nosedive at home, i would watch the games and get all pissed off. The Mets series bothered me, but i wasn't convinced yet that a major major collapse was coming. Then, right around after the Padres series ended, i was nearly certain that a major collapse was in the making and now was expecting them to lose. Losing 2 of three from the Reds surprised me none. I fully them expected to lose at least 3 to Philly. I wanted to be wrong about the Reds/Phillies series, but i no longer felt the odds were really good that the Brewers were playoff bound, even with a decent lead in the standings. For whatever reason, my expectation that the falling apart was only beginning, it helped soften the blow as it actually happened. When i checked the Brewers boxscore today after watching football, i was near certain they had lost, seeing they did barely even stung. I miss being angry by a loss, like i was most of the year. Now, i'm just hoping they show anything so that i feel bummed or angry again by a loss because things look grim.

Weeks at third? Watching Rickie attempt to play defense, i would see him being even a big disaster defensively at third than he is at second. His throwing mechanics are already bad at second and that's a shorter throw, he'd likely be an error machine at third. Besides his poor throwing, he usually struggles badly on hard hit balls where he has to move to either side, Weeks would get plenty of those at third, i'd bet on him being near Braun bad if he played third. When the team moved Hall to CF last year, i just couldn't grasp why Weeks wasn't the one tried there. Weeks had many more weak areas as an infielder and he is faster than Hall. I'd compare Weeks defensively to say good PG's in basketball compared to poor ones. Quality point guards have natural instincts at that position you can't really teach. In many ways, it can be the same for defense with baseball players who lack natural instincts. Weeks plays 2nd like Podsednik played CF for us. Scotty was a great athlete would could fly, but he often misjudged balls off the bat, took poor angles, and had a terrible arm. No matter how hard he tried, Pods would never be a good CF because he lacked the natural instincts that good CF's have at instantly being able to read the ball off the bat and take proper angles wihout even thinking about it. Same with Weeks. Guys like Hardy and Counsell aren't great athletes, but both are naturally instinctive as defenders. They without thinking play hops properly. When they dive or move to either side, balls don't consistenly go under or off their gloves. They throw with proper mechanics which leads to consistency in their throws being on target. Weeks does none of this and i don't blame him for that, by all accounts the guy is a very hard worker. Coaches can only teach an athlete so much in regards to holes in their game, regardless how hard that player works. I'd love to be proven wrong, but i'll be very surprised if Rickie ever gets beyong being a liability on defense so long as he's an infielder, so he better rake at the plate or he's overall more liability than asset as a player.

I'm just glad football was on so i had a reason to not watch the Brewers because i had zero confidence either Bush/Suppan were going to get us a win. Watching them the last couple weeks have been torture and i wasn't going to subject myself to 5-6 more hours of it today after a Packers victory. If somehow the Brewers actually shocked the world and won either of the DH games, reading about it would have been good enough. The amazing thing is that lately, it feels like to me that we almost have no chance to win a game. When a team is folding like the Brewers are, it feels like we are Akron going in to play the Wisconsin Badgers in Camp Randell pretty much every game unless CC is on the mound. I love the Brewers, but feel for Brewers fans that don't like football. At least us football fans have the Packers/Badgers to be excited about and to take our minds somewhat off this meltdown. Man, it had to be ugly and painful watching those two beat downs in a ro.

Yep i read the whole thing Oh well, i probably shouldn't have wasted my time getting involved in this thread. There have been plenty of threads about just how much booing has been going on at Miller Park this year whenever the team is struggling and especially if a certain player is struggling. I think booing your own team and players when every game could end up being vital is really stupid and counter productive. Not all players have as thick skin as others do, the booing just might here and there affect a player negatively, thus might contribute to a guy pressing even more. If that helps lead to a mistake or bad at bat in these important games, that hurts the team regardless if some want to say all the players shouldn't ever be fazed by it. Many aren't going to agree though, so go ahead, enjoy booing your lungs out if it makes you feel better for whatever reason. Keep in mind also that players around the league see/hear all the booing and many talk to each other. Yea money by far talks most when trying to keep our own players or recruit free agents, but it certainly isn't a positive either if our city gets a reputation around the league as one who is quick to turn on it's own players and the team.

All those things can be easily done without telling a reporter the obvious that right now the team is stinking up the joint. I share some concerns you have with how Yost sticks with certain players regardless of poor performance or say letting Counsell/Kendall bat down a run in back to back games, but don't care he doesn't yell in the media. I would love though to be able to read Melvin's mind during some of these games, was he wondering why the hell Counsell or Kendall wasn't pinch hit for vs Cordero? Does he cringe when Yost brings Gagne in the 8th inning of a close game?