bill hAll Star

Cubs with a bunch of their starting pitchers on the playoff roster which is actually not a terrible idea. Use them out of the bullpen given the gassed/injured/not good main arm of the Cubs bullpen.

I understand the thought, but I don't think you want to go bullpen game as noted. I think you need a 12th pitcher and Broxton goes. I'm also a bit surprised by Guerra. I guess I would go same as you except Davies and Anderson over Broxton and Guerra. I also generally disagree with those wanting to keep schoop off the roster. We don't want to go into the DS with only 5 IF, that would significantly hinder double switch situations as we'd want an extra early in case of injury. To me, you need someone like Guerra (or Davies or Anderson if you think they can throw out of the pen). If it's 3-3 in the 9th and we've matched up/pinch hit the majority of our bullpen, you need Guerra waiting back there ready to pitch 4 extra innings a la Lyles in the marathon Pirates game. If not, you're almost forfeiting an extra innings game or you'll have to have tomorrow's starter go and fake an injury the next day to get an injury replacement on the roster.

The NFL. If someone has turned on a 6 PM baseball game they might not change the channel with the 7:20 TNF start. But they must have a calculation that deems that they will get better ratings with afternoon/early evening games than going up against TNF. Either that or they have a very bad (for the MLB) handshake deal with the NFL.

Well thankfully I said 99% sure earlier in the thread because that does seem to make it possible that we get a later game. I think a lot of it has to do with how many west coast teams make it but the AL still gets most of the later slots.

Thursday I believe this is how the Thursday schedule will go down. The Cubs will draw more primetime viewers than the Dodgers, who would draw more viewers than the Rockies. Atlanta’s viewership is basically the entire southeastern portion of the country on top of its own massive market. The Dodgers + that probably trumps the Cubs. Maybe they’ll throw the Brewers/Cubs series a cone and give one somewhat prime time game but the numbers would probably slightly say LA/ATL at 6.

See my post above. I’m 99% sure they rotate who is early/late in the jam-packed 4 game days with AL and NL and this is the NL’s year for early ones. So the Brewers should almost certainly be the noon game.

The MLB is afraid of going up against the NFL very often so they pack a bunch in on other days.

They rotate years as to who gets the early games. This is the NL’s year to get the earlier games so it will not be Cleveland/Boston. It’s going to be the Brewers.

And they need to mindful of tomorrow. I generally am a new-age bullpen usage fan but no complaints here so far.

The situation will probably play itself out. Counsell said they wanted to get some length today. They'll probably pitch him until he gets near 100 pitches or gets in trouble. Once it gets to the 8th maybe they'll think otherwise.

No, no, no. They're saying Boo-urnes (asking for Corbin).

Have to correct the comment from above. Davis turned out to be a good year one add for the Rockies. He had a disasterous stretch in early August and the Brewers caught him at exactly the right time on August 3rd and posted 3 runs against him. 6 days later, Davis gave up another 3 runs against the Dodgers. Davis was near flawless after that. In his last 18 appearances, he posted an 0.50 ERA, a 0.50 WHIP and a 25/2 K/BB ratio. Lights out down the stretch. Rockies went 9-1 to finish the season and are in the playoffs even if they lose today. So it looks like three of the eleven biggest contracts this off-season were year one "wins" for the franchises that signed them. Lorenzo Cain, J.D. Martinez, Wade Davis. This seems to be my job on the message boards as well, but I've been a huge defender of what the Rockies did. It wasn't Stearns-esque brilliant but the analysis that they are just lighting money on fire with their bullpen is a shallow observation. They are paying their starting pitchers $3 million combined. Throw Bettis in there and it's $5 million. They have relatively good control on the rest of their guys except Arenado, who they will at least still have money available to try to throw a massive contract at if they want to. So yeah, the "lol the Rockies are paying $100 million over 3 years for 3 average relievers" brigade is a bit weird. Yeah, maybe they could've gotten creative in some way and paid for just JD Martinez and figured out the bullpen, if their owner wanted to spend that money, it's fine. Doesn't hurt their ability most likely to try to keep their other guys (basically just Arenado) a year or 2 from now and it was their one perceived weakness.

Probably because he is a free agent after this year and he may even retire so they are going to give him every chance to go as deep as he can. I totally get it. I'm not sure if you were being serious there but that's insane. They need to try to win the game. You can celebrate his career later.

Wainwright is a decent hitter but why were they not pinch hitting for him there? You have to act as if you're down 3-0 in a 7 game series or something here. This is your only chance and you have to take risks. Pickoff play made it moot but if they have to burn their bullpen after Waino to get some pinch hitters in there, so be it.

Also my prediction.

Yeah, this may be one where Woodruff needs to step up. Gio against basically all righties is not ideal as the last post noted.

Perfect. I believe this is why Thames isn't the leadoff hitter anymore. CC told Stearns it's something they wanted to try. But after doing it a few times, the analytics team put it to the test and the computers literally cried. IT Dept said they've never seen anything like it. I'm not sure that I'm missing a joke, but there are lots of Thames-esque guys that have led off around the majors the last few years and I'd assume the idea came from Stearns. Thames falling off a cliff has caused it to become a stupid idea, but when he had a .360 OBP and you got him to see more fastballs it was not a bad idea.

Yep ... that is why I am certain it wouldn't happen. Josh Hader in the 1 game Wild Card has about a 95% chance of appearing. The only reason he wouldn't is if the Brewers are up 15-1...and they still probably would throw Hader. So he'll know he's pitching no matter what.

Then have Hader start, the idea is just to use the bullpen. Same difference regarding first MLB start. I mean, I get the logic, but that just really, really doesn't seem like a Counsell type move. I think it will be Chacin or Miley, but with a really short leash. Nothing those guy have done this year would make me not trust them in that situation. Is starting a game really that much more pressure-packed than coming in in a 2-2 game in the 7th with the bases loaded? I'm fine with the really short leash, but I wouldn't think it's a huge deal for him to start. I know some people will say, "well, the routine" but just have Hader warm up in the bullpen right before the national anthem as if it's the 7th inning.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2018/09/14/jhoulys-chacin-board-move-up-brewers-rotation/1295903002/ Fair enough. Well either way, if they are set on the idea that we have to have an actual starter start the game (I suggested a bullpen game a while back), then I would say...it depends. Rockies or Dodgers - Miley Cards - Chacin. And just hope you can get Carpenter out first.

Did the Brewers say that it would be Chacin?

Thames is going to start playing a lot again. We faced an insane run of left-handed pitchers the last few weeks. With Aguilar slumping a bit, Thames is going to get a lot of starts against righty starters.

We've faced an incredibly long stretch of almost all LHP. Shaw's gonna see some 2B again soon when the righties are back. I'm not sure we're gonna have a lefty the rest of the season until maybe Detroit after today. Maybe Gomber against the Cards. There are gonna be some Mous/Schoop/Shaw/Thames infields over the next few weeks.

The Doorman.

Right. Braun/Aguilar basically have a week to play most days with an off day tomorrow and at the end of this stretch of LHP. Including today, there are 5 lefties in the next 7 games. After that, a ton of RHP. So Braun and Aguilar should play most of those and then might honestly start 50-60% of the games down the stretch. I think you might be underestimating how much they play down the stretch. If Thames wasn't in a funk, that might be closer to true. I can't see Granderson starting more than 1-2 games a week. Santana and Broxton will virtually never start. I'll be furious if Perez starts in the outfield in September. Not many other options. Shaw will get a little 1B, Thames will play a bit, etc. I may have meant 70% when I think about it, but they will work the lefties as well as Schoop in a bit down the stretch.