brettac1

Pretty much the RISP, I guess. Really they just got beat by a better team that pitched better than them. Davis was awesome, Santana wasn't and they lost. Donnelly also made a stupid move sending Jenkins that may have cost the team a run.

I am also glad that the initial report that Mitch was the throw in to the White Sox in the El Caballo trade was incorrect. It's pretty sweet to have a home-grown LOOGY like that. That pretty much should mean they don't have to go around looking for Phelps-esque pitchers every offseason, though they are nice to trade away.

That actually makes sense. I would say overall fatigue has had more of an impact than "not caring" has. It seems that the bullpen, especially Santana and Bottalico, are overworked. This is why the decision to carry 12 pitchers seems baffling. If you are going to carry so many guys, then why not use them? Why not option Obermueller and bring up Adams to give the team another mid-innings guy? If they're not going to use DLR other than once every two weeks, then what's the sense of keeping Obermueller as the long man. That role is the least utilized one in the bullpen, yet there are two pitchers filling it. DLR is out of options, Obermueller isn't. In terms of position players, I can't really think of anything they could do with them, other than wait for the break.

The Brewers are an average team, so it doesn't surprise me that they lurk right around .500. It's likely where they should be, talent-wise. Run-differential-wise, they are underperforming a little bit, but not that much. I still think that in the end, they'll probably end up within three games or so of .500 (above or below). The Nationals do win more than they should, both talent-wise and run-differential wise. These are teams on the opposite end of the spectrum in Pythagenport, as was noted in a different thread a few days ago. Chances are that the Nats even out luck-wise and end up right around where the Brewers do, .500. That said, the Nationals talent gets short-shrifted a little bit. Brad Wilkerson is a tremendous player, as is Johnson. Guillen has worked out quite well. I'm not quite sure if I understand what you are getting at with the Nats, though. Are you saying that they have some intangible, unidentifiable advantage over other teams such as the Brewers? Or that they have more fire? I think that them and the Brewers are pretty close talent-wise, though, if that's what you were asking.

It appears you were trying to post a pic of Ned. Was that meant to say that he doesn't care? Would it be good if he got thrown out more? If so, why and how? I'm just trying to follow the bumpy trail of "caring", "being fiery", and "wanting to win", and seeing where it leads to actually winning games more than actual player performance and talent does. I'm intrigued.

Yeah, you're probably going to want to find a better term http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . OK, I'll use silly instead, or maybe illogical. I use "silly" quite a bit, though, and illogical didn't come to me until the second post.

Can Butch? Why the hell not? The proof is in the pudding. Great pitching all year. Way more loses than wins. The offense can ever do a damn thing. Firing Butch, while perhaps less than fair, is something that will shake things up and hopefully make SOME improvement. If there is any improvement made after such changes, it is usually short-lived. I like Wynegar, personally and as a coach, so I have no problem with him staying on. Donnelly would be my guy to let go - he is actually responsible for the players making outs on the bases by stupidly sending them. Brett, to many an eye they LOOK like they dont care. But looking at this logically for a second, does it make any sense that they wouldn't care? If they didn't, it would make them look bad. I don't care how they look. It seems to me like they are trying to win, trying to get hits, etc. I'd just like to see an example of a) someone caring, and b) someone not caring. Show me a specific example. You just can't sit and play armchair psychoanalyst.

Like I said in the "Attitude" thread...these guys are a bunch of "I don't give a damn" ball players. They quietly grab their stuff from the dugout and exit with their tails between their legs. WAKE UP AND PLAY LIKE YOU MEAN IT!!!! Yuck. How do you know they don't care? Don't you think it would hurt their future employment opportunities if they didn't care? What exactly are they supposed to do? Throw the equipment on the field to show that they're mad? Like they should have to prove it to anyone. Who is a "I give a damn" ballplayer? This line of reasoning is just idiotic, for lack of a better term. Their performance has nothing to do with "not wanting it". It has to do with being beaten. Santana pitched poorly in the ninth, and they brought the infield in (maybe Ned is a "I don't give a damn manager?), and they lost. I don't see anything deeper than that, and if you do, you're delusional - or at least grasping for straws, because there is no possible way that you can prove your argument. None.

Nice job, Doug.

Why don't you go by position on the field, rather than batting order. That's a pretty irrelevant thing to use to compare. SS ----- Furcal - .241/.300/.373 Hardy - .193/.301/.276 Furcal is the better player here, even in an extreme down year (career line: .279/.342/.400). LF ----- Johnson - .261/.389/.437 Lee - .265/.332/.534 Lee's better, that's undeniable. Johnson is a nice player, though - .310/.438/.581 at Richmond, 8 HR, 34 BB/ 22 K. 2B ----- Giles - .302/.383/.471 Weeks - .261/.370/.478 Giles is a better player, based quite a bit on his track record (.837 career OPS). Weeks will be a better player, though, and it wouldn't be surprising to me to see him have a better OPS at season's end than Giles. CF ----- Jones - .278/.352/.590 Clark - .310/.374/.422 Jones has been one of the best players in the game this season, Clark has been pretty solid, if unspectactular, since he has little power, the edge is pretty clearly with Jones. 1B ----- Franco - .280/.342/.492 Overbay - .271/.384/.446 This is pretty even, but Lyle's OBP is nice. Franco's a platoon player, so this lineup isn't really indicative of the lineup they put on the field the majority of the time. LaRoche has a line of .269/.327/.471, so the Braves definitely get the edge in power at a premier power position over the Brewers. This is more or less a push. 3B ----- Marte - .200/.286/.314 Hall - .269/.320/.514 Hall has performed better than Marte, but Marte has only 35 AB. In his minor league career, Marte has shown great control of the strike zone. This is something that neither Hart, and definitely not Hall, can boast of. Marte is one of the best 3B prospects in baseball. Chipper Jones had a line of .282/.411/.513 before he was injured. C ----- Estrada - .282/.323/.407 Miller - .276/.346/.408 Miller is a better player than Estrada, defensively and offensively. RF ----- Francoeur - .275/.322/.487 at Mississippi (AA), only 4 AB in MLB Jenkins - .252/.351/.403 I would say Jenkins is probably better, but Francoeur is a stud prospect as well. He probably has more power than Jenkins, but Jenkins has been getting on base at a respectable level.

Honestly, it is what stat heads do. They grab the stat the justifies their predetermined judgment. You were apparently the one with the predetermined judgement, considering you were unaware of/never bothered with Marte's numbers, and assumed Hall was better than Marte. If your post was based on talent, like I think you said, the edge has to definitely go to Marte. One player has an established performance record of dominance in the minor leagues. The other one was pretty undistinguished.

Hall v Marte (big time Crew advantage here) Andy Marte at Richmond: .283/.379/.504, 11 HR, 37 BB/49 K I'd say Marte is a better player than anyone the Brewers trot out at 3rd.

Thanks Wendell!

Exactly, catcher has been an offensive position of strength for quite some time now - Miller is 5th in the NL at VORP for catchers at 13.9.

RALLY TIME

That's insane.

no haikus tonight it is a marvelous thing now i can post here

Nice inning there.

It would be nice to be careful to Delgado this time, no more belt-high heaters.

Now would be a time to welcome Branyan back.

Bill Hall, meet Mr. Regression to the Mean. I think this will be the start of a beautiful frienship that should last about three months.

Good question. I'd have to guess right off the bat to look at L.A. Dodgers for a trade That would be incredible. What a way to make my day - Branyan's back and Jenks gone? I doubt it, though, he just doesn't seem to make sense for a brilliant guy like DePod to pick up.

What is "Expected Record" in the ESPN Stat Pack? They have the Crew's Expected Record at 43-38. That's their Pythagenport Record, it takes RS and RA into effect, since the Brewers have outscored their opponents this season, they should have a winning record, based solely on that. There's an old article at BP about it here: www.baseballprospectus.co...cleid=1019

Yep, welcome back, All Over the Place Doug. Great.

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