yount19.u

I like that we are seeing more pitching changes like this from Ned. In the past, he's given the pitchers too many chances to try and get out of trouble and it seemed to backfire too often. The bullpen is fresh and a lefty is coming up so I like this a lot.

Is it me, or has it been a while since Kendall has thrown a runner out. He started the year off great, but it seems like lately he has been unable to stop any runners. Could be his 3000+ consecutive innings caught.

Ok, first off, great job by Bush to get out of that mess. Second, if he's facing any other NL team, the score is at least 4-3 at the end of that inning.

Boy, I hope your wrong on that. If broken, that could be 1-2 months until they heal. I would think the club would have taken some kind of x-rays, though, to determine what kind of treatment is needed.

Plus it's against the worst team in the NL. People need their Brewer crack.

Has there been a better trade pulled off for a post-season run than the Brewers trade for CC? We are so incredibly fortunate to have this guy on our team.

I hope yount19 doesn't mind me speaking for him in this instance, but here is some "real data." Take it for what it's worth. I don't mind at all, and thanks for providing some actual data. I would love to see you justify this completely ridiculous statement with real data. My statement was based on the general perceptions of the two areas. I understand general perceptions and stereotypes are supposed to be wrong, but they are usually based on some fact as the data monty57 shows. Also, I am not trying to argue how much each area is actually blue collar, white color or affluent or poor. What I am saying is that Chicago is a much larger, metropolitan and world known city, while Milwaukee has always been in its shadows. This gets at the base of the hatred towards the Cubs and their fans, as they represent more than just a baseball team. You could say they represent the stereotypical condescending, affluent, cocky Chicago tourist that so many Wisconsinites have loved to hate over the years. You could also say that hatred many Milwaukeeans and Brewer fans feel reflects our own shortcomings, poor self image and self confidence as a group. I am not trying to argue this statement with actual data as it may not exist to completely prove my point. But, the perception does exist as well as the general disdain for the other team/region. It exists in large numbers as well, even though everyone may not feel the same way. Edit: Added space, made quotes more clear. - Toby

Ok, all you statheads and math wizs please feel free to correct or upgrade my little attempt at trying to figure out offensive efficiency with men on base. What I did is compared the Brewers' offense to the Cubs' offense. The former generally regarded as inefficient and the latter as efficient. I took the total hits, walks, hbp and ibb for each team and added them together minus the home run total. I then took the number of runs scored minus the home run total and divided it into the first number. The higher the number is, in theory, the more efficient the offense should be. The Brewers came out to be just shy of 30% and the Cubs just shy of 32% -- not much of a difference. Home runs were deducted in order to eliminate the batter that hit them. If men were on base, that will still be counted, but this essentially eliminates the solo shot. I was unable to find stats like reaching on an error or strike out but I'm sure they are not enough to affect the final results much. I am also fully aware that this does not factor in teams that score a lot and leave more men on base as a result of that. This is very rough and probably not a very good measurement, but I was expecting the Cubs to have a much higher percentage than the Brewers. (edit: added paragraph divisions --1992)

I don't think the Brewers would necessarily gain more victories with Lee over Fielder. From the many games I watch of both teams, the Brewers third basemen of Hall, Branyan and Counsell all have more accurate arms than Ramirez in my opinion. Fielder has the easier job of fielding throws from the hot corner that Lee due to the frequent errant throws from Ramirez. The Cubs do gain much in Lee over Fielder, though, as he is able to grab nearly anything thrown near him, regardless of bad hops or in between bounces. It's nothing against Fielder, as I don't think his picking ability is that bad, it's just that Lee's is so good. If Lee cannot control a couple of those bad throws he normally does from third base each week, added up over a season, I'm sure there would be a couple of games where the error changed the momentum, or allowed a winning run to score.

The incident with Hart rounding 2nd and not seeing Prince held up at 3rd was a mistake and all players make them. His getting thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple is aggressive base running and I cannot fault him for that as long as it does not become a habit. He's also purposely been caught between 2nd and 3rd this year while allowing the runner to score on what would have been a close play. He basically baited the left fielder to throw him out instead of the man coming home. I believe it was Dale Sveum who said Corey Hart was the best baserunner he'd seen since Robin Yount. That says a little.

Corey hard is a great baserunner. Rickie Weeks is simply a burner out there on the base paths. If he had Corey Hart's instincts, like when to steal and when to take the extra base, Weeks would be flat out awesome. I'm not sure you can teach instincts, so Weeks just needs to learn to play within himself and pay a little more attention when out there on the base paths so he can avoid those rookie mistakes.

I agree that 1B defense is underrated. If Prince were on the Cubs, I'm guessing they'd have a few more loses just due to the extra errors that he would be unable to save the team from. I don't think Ramirez is a good defensive 3B at all and Lee makes him look ok. I think Fielder is maybe average to slightly below average on defense, but the gap between his game and Lee's, I'm sorry to say, is huge at 1B. Lee is probably the best defensive 1B I have seen. Any other excellent 1B defenders present or past anyone can think of?

^^^^Thanks, that is exactly what I was looking for. Hopefully this so-called easy remaining schedule gets them over that hump.

As of right now, the Brewers are on pace to win 90 games this year. At the beginning of the season, I think most would have said that would be enough to get the wild card and likely the division. Right now I'm not so sure. The Cards refuse to cool down and the Marlins are lurking. I have a feeling it will be more like 91-93 wins to get the wild card and 95-97 for the division. Does anyone have the percentages for the number of wins it will take to win the division and wild card this year?

Suppan has consistently disappointed in the middle of the season and consistently impressed at the beginning and end of the season. I guess that's better than the other way around. And since he's an innings eater with post season success, it makes him a better option than Seth McClung or CV, even if their salaries were the same. I would also argue that his veteran presence in the dugout is an asset as he's generally regarded as an intelligent pitcher as well as an all around good guy.

I hope yesterday's game was the start of Rickie Weeks forcing all of his haters, including myself, to eat crow.

***I'm a Brewers fan, not an anti-Cub fan.*** In my mind the two go hand in hand. Just like a Red Sox fan is an anti-Yankee fan or a Packer fan is an anti-Vicking fan. Obviously it's not 100% all the time, but it's a strong majority. ***If the Cubs winning is good for the Brewers, how could you not be for it?*** If it is an absolute fact that it would be good for the Brewers (i.e. last week of the season), I can't say I would be against it, but there is no way in hell I'm actually rooting for the Cubs to win. The fact that it was the Cubs that helped the Brewers would also take some of the joy away for me as well. ***And why is it that the Cubs are "evil"? They're a baseball franchise.*** Of course I don't mean the Cubs franchise is literally evil (although I do wonder about some of their fans). It's no different than referring to the Yankees as the Evil Empire. But the Brewers/Cubs rivalry is more than just two franchises. It's a natural geographical rivalry between the metro areas of Milwaukee and Chicago as well as the states of WI and Il. It's a rivalry of classes as well, as the Milwaukee area tends to be more blue collar and rural while Chicago is a more affluent area and metropolitan. I don't want to hijack this thread on the Brewers/Cubs rivalry but I will explain my feelings as similar to many individuals I've encountered over the years. The Brewer fans care much more about the rivalry than Cubs fans. Milwaukee has always felt like the over looked little brother to Chicago and that rubs off on the fan base. Chicagoans and Cubs fans are seen as condescending and well-to-do which is the opposite image of Milwaukee and Brewer fans. As someone who grew up in the Milwaukee area and now lives in Madison, I see this very clearly in coming back home. So my point is that the Cubs are not evil, but the team is literally hated, along with their fans, by many individuals that feel the same way I do. It's not just a Brewers/Cubs thing, it's a regional pride issue as well, right or wrong. That's why rooting for the Cubs, to me, feels so absolutely wrong even if a win would hep the Brewers.

I can't believe the amount of so-called Brewer fans posting that they will root for the Cubs. Even if it were the last week of the season and the Brewers absolutely needed the Cubs to win in order to get into the playoffs, I don't think I could do it. It just feels dirty rooting for that team -- like you've sold your soul. I can understand being impartial to the whole situation given the circumstances, but actually cheering for a Cubs victory is just wrong on so many levels. Even if it does help the Brewers in the long run, I just cannot see how Brewer fans can root for a team that represents nearly all that is evil inside Brewer Nation. Every chance we have as Brewer fans to bask in the misery of Cubs fans should be savored, and their winning should be detested. Obviously my hatred of the Cubs runs deeper than many who have posted here, but how many of you that said you would root for the Cubs go to the Brewers/Cubs games at Miller park each year? Maybe that will explain some things.

I find it nearly impossible to root for the Cubs so I will just root for both teams to get Mono. That should give us the division.

^^^^Unless Soup completely blows it this last two months, if the Crew gets into the playoffs, he will be the third starter for three reasons: 1. His obvious track record of success in the post season. 2. Manny is basically a rookie who's lack of experience could cost the Crew in the post season. 3. They will likely want to limit Manny's innings to avoid injuries in coming seasons.

If Rickie starts taking the approach from todays game in every game, the Brewers will have no trouble getting to the post season. With the exception of his last at bat, he forgot about trying to pull every ball and hit a home run. He instead did a nice job of hitting it where it was pitched and had some nice opposite filed singles. On defense, he squared up on every ball he could and did not rush a single throw. By far his best game of the year and he did not have one extra base hit.

Weeks wore his baseball magnet today folks.

Gagne looks nothing like his first half self. That pitch was perfect.

Weeks got an out. I'm back to not liking him.

Weeks and Cameron are hot, the brewers are manufacturing runs and Soup is looking solid. Is it Opposite Day?