BuckyBrewer61

Unless you count the 2-game sweep earlier in the season in Pittsburgh. Thank god for the Pirates!

So you'd rather spread the worst couple guys in the middle of the best hitters? Creating outs significantly more often in front of Braun and Fielder? Or failing to get hits or on base when guys like McGehee and Hart have reached ahead of them? I guess we differ fundamentally on how to assemble a lineup.

Betancourt's OBP is currently .252, remind me why he hits in front of Lucroy? Or anyone besides Nieves for that matter?

Keep swinging for the fences Carlos! Way more valuable than just getting on base in this situation...

I think this is compounding the frustration, for me at least. This is the most talented team the Brewers have ever put together in my lifetime, and thus far they are playing like they'd be lucky to finish the year over .500. Yes, I know it's early, but for a team we've pinned so much hope on, boy do they look bad.

If I'm Roenicke I let him pitch another inning at least. We have about a 0.1% chance of winning this game with our offense as it currently is, even if the Braves don't score another run. Why waste any more bullpen arms then you have to?

That is easily a run if Betancourt is in the game. No way he gets anywhere close to that ball.

Hey let's all try and hit homers into the wind until we either tie the game with 2+ solo shots or lose!

Did Brian just say Roenicke wants to get Kotsay in the lineup twice a week? WHY? Seriously, explain why you would do that when you have a potential all-star RF already.

Or he just knows who signs his paychecks. You can tell when he's fighting to bite his tongue on poor plays/ABs by the Brewers as well.

But I just solved all the Brewers' offensive woes! I just think Roenicke has had an issue so far this year with not grouping all our best hitters together in the lineup, which may be in part responsible for our inability to put together rallies without the help of the long ball. When players like Gomez, Betancourt, Kotsay, Almonte have been put in the middle of the lineup, breaking up our best hitters (which Lucroy is a part of), they can be rally killers. Not saying it would solve the offense's problems, but I think it's contributory in its own small way.

All else being equal, I also like alternating L/R bats. But, when all else is not equal (i.e. the bat of Lucroy vs. Kotsay) I think this can be overrated, and prefer batting the better hitter higher in the lineup. Lucroy should always be batting ahead of Betancourt, Gomez, and any RF other than Hart, IMO.

Seeing Lucroy out of the 8-hole is encouraging as he is clearly the 6th best hitter in the lineup (and possibly 5th with the way McGehee has looked lately). Of course, given that, he should be batting 6th....

Thank god. Now, will Ron be able to resist ever putting Gomez in the #2 hole ever again? Or benching Plush against a RHP? I doubt it, but at least this lineup looks decent for the first time all season.

When the team is an "offensive juggernaut" because there are a few excellent hitters surrounded by the likes of Gomez, Betancourt, and Nieves (all with career OBP under .300), runs will only come in bunches, and only when the big boys are hitting dingers. People were excited for Roenicke's aggressive baserunning, small ball style (myself included) but the Brewers current lineup is not even close to being able to execute that, and a large part of that is the way Roenicke puts it together.

...and the season comes down to what a team does in the other 40 or so could-go-either-way type games. Now, obviously this is just a saying, and I am purposely not posting this after a loss so as to sound reactionary or alarmist. I am aware it is only the start of May and that over the course of 162 games things even out, but is anyone else concerned with how many close games the Brewers are losing? And not just close games, but close games in dramatic and even heartbreaking fashion. It's one thing to lose a game by one or two runs that you've been trailing the entire time, but feels entirely different, at least as a fan, to lose a game by one or two runs late on walk-offs, an error, poor bullpen pitching etc. I am not claiming the team is "unclutch" or trying to find some trend in any of this. I'm just saying that it feels as though the Crew has lost a number of close games in dramatic fashion to start the year, more than they have won, and in a division that figures to be very close those losses mean just as much as they do in September. Just for the sake of discussion, games I am referring to: 3/31 @ Cin: 3-run lead blown in bottom of the ninth.4/4 vs. Atl: 1-run lead blown in 8th.4/15 @ Was: Error in 10th leads to winning run.4/20 @ Phi: Blow 3-run lead in 6th and give up go ahead HR in 8th.4/23 vs. Hou: Give up 3 runs in 10th.4/27 vs. Cin: Give up HR in 10th.4/30 @ Hou: Walk-off single after no on, 2 out in 9th. 1-3 in extra inning games4-6 in one-run games3-6 in games decided by winning team's last at bat0-3 in walk-off games Now granted, there are examples of the opposite (McGehee's HR in 8th vs. Cubs, Weeks' HR in 8th vs. Reds), but they are fewer and far between. 7 of the Brewers 14 losses have come in heartbreaking fashion. Maybe it's more of a concern to my mental health than it should be to the Brewers, but for the sake of discussion has anyone else been concerned that these games may just come back to bite us in the end?

Do the Brewers practice bunting?

Is there acountability in professional sports anymore? Gomez should be benched tomorrow for that, but instead will occupy one of the most important spots in the lineup.

1-0 @ Hou1-3 @ Atl1-2 @ Stl3-0 vs Sd2-1 vs Pit1-1 @ Lad1-1 @ Sd1-2 vs Col2-1 vs Wsh2-1 vs Sf1-1 @ Cin 16-13. I'm also concerned about playing the NL West, just because we always seem to play poorly against the NL West...

Hart's baserunning blunder looming larger now that Rickie isn't guaranteed an AB in the 10th. Betancourt - Lucroy - Boggs is much less encouraging than Lucroy - Boggs - Weeks.

This pattern is starting to get very old. Our stars (minus Gallardo I suppose) are all playing extremely well, and our AAA reserves (see: Green, Mitre, Nieves, Almonte, Betancourt - defensively) consistently lose us games. So frustrating.

Why not leave Axford in? He only threw 14 pitches and there is an off day tomorrow. I know he pitched yesterday, but if it took him 14 pitches to retire the first batter in the 9th would he have been pulled? No.

Just get one in play here Carlos....

Why is Green pitching at all? Does anyone in the Brewers organization actually think he is a major league pitcher?

Well, hopefully we dump Almonte when Hart returns in the next few days. Then when Plush returns it'll be a choice between Boggs and Kotsay, and I think we all already know what the result of that decision will be, regardless of any numbers Boggs puts up...