liveforoctober

Serious question. Jesus Aguilar is still doubted by many to be real. When is it enough to just call him an improved player who can now really hit major league pitching vs someone who is just having a great 365 days? I'm really asking.. when does the doubt leave?

Im not a prophet but we lost today. We dont have any days off this week so he gave aguliar a scheduled day off yesterday and gave 3 starters the day off today. Not sure why our starters, if healthy, only play 160 games or less when other teams have their starters in for longer. But i disagree with others about throwing a game, we arent throwing any games. Many player contracts in the mlb have participation clauses and attendance clauses, maybe management doesnt want to hit those bonus clauses? At any rate, bandy has to play. He is awful but we have zero depth there so it is what it is. We have to pick up a "solid" known starting pitcher by august (like astros did last year and won a world series). I smiled at this. You asked a question then answered it immediately after.

I guess the only thing I can say is that Perez is 11 for his last 28 (.393) at the plate? Neither he nor Villar draw walks .. so maybe the thought is Villar is hitting well near the bottom so lets keep him where he has been successful? I do agree that it puzzled me at first glance too..

That Heyward contract is such a beautiful thing to look at and know we get to do so for another 5 seasons...

I had the exact opposite take. Knebel walked in towards the plate and the umpire left his box to confront him. Counsell saw this and immediately sprinted out yelling "Hey Hey Hey Hey!" to get the umps attention. I don't know that Knebel gets tossed there, but Craig made sure he didn't. It was a great managerial move. People are motivated by different things. Counsell keeping his closer in the game by taking a bullet for him (or at least the obvious effort to do so) is enough to light a fire under many. "The manager needs to get mad to fire his team up" is one of those silly unwritten rules some people think are things...

Holy crap.

Wow. Because the kid smiles when he plays? What is he, 22 or 23? But he has no dedication? Cool opinion.

I guess people are discussing two different things. I strongly dislike the idea over an entire season. For a game or two when the match-ups are favorable? I love it. I'm not sure why people are concerned about the starter bombing all of a sudden. What if we start Suter as he normally would and he can't get out of the 1st inning? How is that any different? The risk of a full bullpen game is always there.

I dont think starting a reliever forces an opposing manager to shift his lineup at all...and most teams have a combo of right and lefty hitters through the first few batters amongst their best hitters, which negates a platoon advantage that could be gained by opening the inning with a reliever. In this scenario, what happens when a reliever opening a game struggles? Are the presumed starters warming up early enough to get brought in quickly, or do they need to burn a 2nd pen arm to try and escape a jam? This could just as easily lead to burning a bullpen up quickly for a game, and if it's tight in the late innings forcing managers to leave guys in too long or not play matchups due to lack of options. I get that in theory it seems like it should work, but two romo appearances against a righty heavy angels lineup in mid may isn't the definitive proof that's where baseball is headed. I also think the presumed advantage of knowing an opposing lineup and then starting a game with a reliever based on the best matchup will be nipped in the bud - I think once lineups are posted, if a player or pitcher gets scratched before gametime they are done. Romo was basically the announced starter because they knew the Angels really didn't have LH options to put at the top of the order. Since ohtani wasn't going to be in the lineup sat or sun due to his pitching schedule, the angels had only valbuena and Calhoun as lh options on their whole roster, neither of which is an everyday option anywhere near the top of the lineup. Couple of counterpoints: 1) This wouldn't be an 'every turn through' scenario. It would only be used if advantageous. Like you mentioned, Romo was used because the Angels were RH heavy at the top. If the same scenario presented itself to Milwaukee, why not throw a RHP against 6 righties so Suter misses out on them for one turn through?... 2) "In this scenario, what happens when a reliever opening a game struggles?" - What if Suter struggles? Aren't you running the risk of anybody who starts the game struggling? A guy like Matt Albers is being under utilized (appearing in < 40% of games) because of how many great late inning options we have. Albers has only given up a run in 3 of his 19 appearances. So using small sample/silly math - we have an 85% chance of starting the game off with a clean inning or two before giving the ball to Suter to get us through 4 or 5 more. 3) "I dont think starting a reliever forces an opposing manager to shift his lineup at all...and most teams have a combo of right and lefty hitters through the first few batters amongst their best hitters, which negates a platoon advantage that could be gained by opening the inning with a reliever." I definitely agree. Most teams do. But some teams don't and if you catch them on a day when someone is nursing and injury or something so they are heavily RH ... use it to your advantage? 4) "Are the presumed starters warming up early enough to get brought in quickly?" Your 'real' starter begins the game knowing he is coming in in either the 2nd or 3rd ... he will be stretching and getting loose from the get go I would assume... Again, I'm not saying it is a sure thing. But if the right situation presents itself the Brewers have the right personnel to capitalize.

Before the season started we had a discussion going about piggyback starting and I think that discussion is relevant here. As a few have mentioned, Suter seems to be a great candidate for this option. In the hypothetical another poster used above... if you give Taylor Williams the start.. you can force the hand of the opposing manager to put his left handed lineup in.. bringing in Brent then after the 1st or 2nd then gives him plenty of favorable matchups or makes the opposing manager burn his bench early. I don't hate the idea at all.

I've been saying this for weeks. Just so immature and I really question his dedication to his craft. He's not the future. Offensively, he is struggling hard. Defensively, he is one of the 5 best human beings on this planet to field his position. Your comment needs a clarification or it is silly.

What a weird problem. Jesus should not be out of the lineup. When Thames comes back, he should always be hitting against RHP. Great thing to have to work on..

I don't think that is the point. The point is, we need to give Pina a break once in a while, why not have a guy on the roster that can help us win when that happens?

Romero has been great... but he hasn't faced Ji-Man Choi yet in his career. He is about to get a big welcome to major league hitting tonight courtesy of our Korean Krusher.

I guess I have mild interest in Joey Gallo as a down the stretch bench bat if the Rangers go into fire sale mode. While he doesn't fit the 'hitter' mold of other corner infield reclamation projects like Lind, Shaw, etc ... he is a Branyan disciple whose power numbers should uptick a bit playing at Miller Park, although I know Arlington is ok to hit in as well. Curious if a new opportunity/new hitting coach/new ballpark would bring something out of him. The power is real.

Lorenzo Cain leads the NL in WAR this season.

I like her a lot. Seems like a good person in 'out of baseball' appearances, although I will admit I am a bit bias because of her Madison/Marquette ties ... she fits the 'homegrown' status that draw me to certain players as well.

But will they? Aren't those guys the depth Stearns always talks about? I know it is only 12 at bats ... but Saladino makes Franklin a DFA no brainer when the time comes and Sogard will no longer see the MLB roster. Saladino is a better defender at the same positions and his WAR in 12 at bats is already almost equal to Arcia's. Fully expecting his bat to re-center to the norm ... but he is a better option as a 25th man and on the 40 man than both those two. We have some flexibility if we need it.

Speaking of Phillips .. what is the major league record for most call ups in a single season?

Via Tom Haudricourt/Twitter My guess is Phillips comes up to amplify the defense. Santana will DH. Aguilar gets every 1B start.

If you would have told me when the season started that we would be willingly giving Tyler Saladino a start at shortstop in May ... I would have slumped in despair in my seat. But alas.. Here's to 1st place.

Is it a coincidence that our offense has come to life... coinciding with our 2b starting to hit a little?

Dang, the reactions to that trade are hard to read. A lot of people sure do know a lot about scouting, etc around here. Glad Stearns is in charge

You're entitled to your frustration. But when they're about to win 3 out of 4 in Colorado it just comes across a bit silly. I put a pretty clear disclaimer it was a knee jerk reaction and also posted I was wrong after the fact. Also was in first inning coming after yet another shutout. But thanks for keeping track of my post for a few hours. Pending the outcome of a few games today, the Brewers could feasibly end the day with the 6th best record in all of baseball. "Starting to hate this team". LOL

oh boy. gimme a sec to get some popcorn ready..