yount19.u

I agree. He needs to start taking the Willie Mays Hayes approach and make every hitter not named Fielder or Braun do 20 push-ups on the spot every time they make an out with an upper cut swing or by trying to pull the ball. Why Rickie Weeks does attempt to bunt for a hit at least once per game is beyond me. It's the coaching staff's responsibility to keep these guys on track and performing. The home run or bust approach is obviously a disaster, so it's long overdue to get it in the hitters minds that they need to worry about simply putting the ball in play and trying to manufacturing runs. Yet they keep making the same bone head mistakes at the plate and on the base paths while Yost and Skaalen chew their cud and insist they need to just stay the course and things will work themselves out. That is not managing, that's blind faith in a flawed offense. (edit: long nested quote --1992)

During the Ned Yost era, it seems common for the team to go through 2-3 extended team wide offensive/defensive slumps, per season, that defy all logic, given the teams talent. Do any of you following other teams observe this with them, or is this more of a Ned Yost team trait? I recall this the past five years with this team.

This Brewer team has the emotional and mental maturity of pack of 13 year old girls, and I think I just insulted 13 year old girls with that one. These are extremely talented grown men and they feel hurt because they get booed when they play horrible? Whether booing is right or wrong, get over it and win. Maybe if Hart (along with the entire team) would focus more on hitting the ball the opposite way instead of the boos, they would go away. With Ned at the helm, I'm sure he will just continue to enable the insecurities of all his players by patting their heads, drawing them a warm bath and telling them it's ok to cry. And we all wonder why they can't seem to break out of this funk. They're too busy feeling sorry for themselves. Sheesh!

If you'd have read my entire post, you'd see I am actually hoping he proves me wrong. It's ok to take the "I love Ben" shirt off and expect him to step up.

He can't prove anything wrong with one game good or bad. I completely disagree with your opinion on this in the first place but if he goes out and pitches a shutout it doesn't prove anything and neither does going out and giving up 5 runs in 5 IP. Pitchers have good and bad games all the time and it isn't just about 'getting up for big games'. I agree that one game does not prove once and for all what type of pitcher he is, but a victory will go a long way in showing that he can turn around an overall average showing since the all-star break. If it kicks off some more successful starts like he had earlier in the year, it may also just prove to the Brewers that he is worth the money he'll command in the off-season. The games get no easier from hear on out and the pressure will greatly multiply in the playoffs. How he handles these last starts will prove a lot.

He's a Cub.

This series is probably just as important as the last Cubs series. It's time the Crew start to step it up when it counts and that goes double for Mr. Sheets. No more excuses for Ben. If the offense gives him one run, he needs to take advantage and shut these guys down. This will be a huge test to see what he's really made of, and I hope he proves my opinions of him to be wrong.

Good stuff from the offense tonight. So do you think Ned should take Braun out as a precaution? I do.

I'm sick of these front row yuppies grabbing at balls that are in play. It happens more and more in stadiums around the country and it's annoying.

Why is Braun lifting his back foot on the first pitch?

Oh, Rickie. Please remember what happens when you put the bat on the ball and go the opposite way.

Touche.

Hey, I resemble that remark! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Not to mention that a higher batting average means a player is putting the bat on the ball more. Low batting averages usually correlate with higher strike out rates. A strike out never helps the team, but putting the ball in play for an out can still help the team via the sacrifice, reaching on an error or advancing runners. Batting average is, and has always been, relevant. OPS is just an improved way to evaluate a players offense based partly off of the batting average.

If the Cubs clinch the division at Miller Park, there will be fights in the stands and parking lots. I hope either the Brewers or Cubs have it wrapped up at that point as the potential for it to get ugly is high, especially if the Brewers are out of playoff contention. Each year the animosity Brewer fans have for Cubs fans seems to grow and the combination of alcohol and losing becomes a powder keg. If the Brewers have the wild card by the time the Cubs clinch, I hope it may numb some of the sting and make the game tolerable. I will still have a sour taste in my mouth if that happens, though; even if it's on the same day. Some of you know of my hatred for the Cubs and there fans, so all I can say is I'm glad my friend's wedding is that weekend, forcing me to miss the series. Edit: If and when the Crew do clinch a playoff spot, I will be running around outside like a crazy person for a while. If I'm lucky enough to be at the game, I bet the fans storm the field and I will do all I can to be one of them.

McClung's salary certainly makes him the better value, but you put players on the field based upon their ability to help the team and Suppan is the better pitcher of the two. The only way to get rid of Suppan at this point would be to take on a lot of his salary and get very little in trade. Also, if he ups his trade value by pitching like a #2 or #3, it would be difficult to justify trading away a veteran pitcher that's producing well, unless they are out of the playoff picture. Unless he completely implodes, the Brewers are better off keeping him until his contract expires, as he's not a bad #4 or #5 to have (salary withstanding).

So by the looks of the seats you 20-gamers got bumped to, us 9-gamers can expect what? Standing room only and Uecker seats?

I agree that it is dangerous to overrate "clutchiness," and your point about Suppan proves that. But to discount it completely, as some do, is foolish. As for Suppan, I want to be on record as saying there is no way he should ever be rated as a better pitcher than Sheets, even if he gets more wins or performs better in the playoffs. With that being said, to want to get rid of him for next to nothing is ridiculous. He's a veteran innings eater and he is a better option than McClung at this point. I would also say he's even a better option than Villanueva going into the playoffs.

I agree. Hardy is a much better fit at 3rd as I don't feel he is athletic enough to play 2nd. I would like to see the Brewers pull off a trade to get Roberts from Baltimore for Weeks while Rickie still has some trade value. I feel like Weeks has been this can't miss stock that the Brewers keep holding onto with the hopes that it'll shoot up and show it's great potential, but instead it keeps declining in value. The problem is, it's a high risk bet and they could be left with nothing if they don't trade him soon enough. As for Durham, he fits a need this season as a left handed complement to Weeks. I would be very surprised if the Brewers tried to sign him for next year as he is not good enough to be an everyday starter, and he's too expensive to come off the bench.

I am not talking about one season for any of these pitchers. I'm talking about a career of work that earns them the title of ace. I am also not talking about the "feel" said pitcher has. I'm talking about the confidence we as fans feel for these players in given situations. As for FIP (I had to look it up as I never saw it before) it still doesn't explain when a pitcher was dominating, when he blew a lead or when he gave up a key home run. These are observation based and not statistically based. A pitcher giving up 3 runs in 7 innings isn't bad, but was that a 3-2 game or a 9-3 game? One more point I wanted to make and then I will drop this as it's clear we all have our own strong opinions on this. ESPN News posted a list of the pitchers with the most wins since 2005 and they are Webb (66), Beckett (62), Santana (61), Oswalt (60), Sabathia (60), and Zambrano (60). Sheets has 39. I know wins are not an entirely accurate way to establish a pitchers value, but they are very important. There are years where a pitcher will run into bad luck with no run support or poor defense, but there are also years where they get some good luck, as in baseball, things tend to even out. No one can try and tell me any of these pitchers just had good luck to get them these victories, and no one can say any of these pitchers has not proved himself to be one of the top pitchers in the league during his career. They are all ace pitchers and ace pitchers win. Ben Sheets does not win enough to be an ace and, therefore, does not belong in the same category. True, some of it has been poor run support, but the pitchers listed above have also had stretches of bad luck as well. It's also been injuries, but I consider durability to be a factor in who is an ace pitcher, not just who has great "stuff" (which Sheets certainly does). Sheets barely has a winning record in his career and much of that, I believe, rests on Sheets.

I saw that as well. For some reason they can't seem to believe Milwaukee is simply a great baseball town. They'd be selling out Miller Park regardless of the players, just as long as they are winning.

Our definition of an ace is obviously different. The best I can do for you is to use the Supreme Court's definition of obscenity -- "I know it when I see it." I don't see it with Sheets. I just don't have the confidence in Sheets to pitch well throughout a complete season or consistently well in high pressure games. I wish I could rely on statistics to back this up 100%, but they don't have statistics that measure the emotional aspect or "feel" of the game. I would say he's in the top 30 pitchers in the league, but not the top 10. An ace would be a Sabathia, Peavy, Zambrano, Oswalt, Mussina or Halladay. Pitchers who have shown throughout their careers that they will not only put up solid numbers, but win the tough ones as well. Baseball Reference shows AJ Burnett (among other lesser pitchers) as one of the closest comparable pitchers to Sheets. They are both good pitchers and would likely be #1 starters on 10 different teams, but they are not the dominant pitchers like the ones listed above.

Are you asking for Zambrano's career numbers vs the Brewers here or for something else?No, I was curious what Sheets' numbers vs Zambrano are.

Well it looks like Prince at least sobered up. I'm still convinced the umps are either drunk or high.

Is there alcohol served to the umps in between innings? Edit: Looks like Prince got into the umps stash.