yount19.u

Holy Crap! I guess I missed a lot by turning the game off early. I must say my first reaction was shock and that Prince overreacted. As my mother used to say, "he needs a good talkin' to." After watching the clip a few more times, I agree with others that Braun and JJ showed their true colors by stepping in right away and speaking their mind to Prince. And, I am of the opinion that this may actually be a good thing for this team. They have been so tight with everyone seeming to press as of late. Maybe a good old fashioned brouhaha is what they need to release some pent up frustration and speak their minds to one another. This season has started to remind me of last year, but in reverse. The Brewers have been chipping away at a large Cubs' lead and now a highly publicized dugout fight occurs as the team seems to be hitting rock bottom. Let's hope that rage gets refocused onto the opposing team from now on. Play Ball!

Manny got squeezed a bit in this inning based on the pitches Arroyo got. And I'm sorry to say this game is over.

I'm glad the ump is giving those extra 3 inches off the corner to the Reds and refusing to give an inch to Manny.

That was not close to being a strike. I guess the ump figured we wouldn't get a hit anyway so just cut the inning short.

Start having your team bunt, Ned!

But he's doing so well since the break. By doing well I mean he's good at making outs.

Same crap, different day.

Uh oh, the dreaded risp w/ less than 2 outs.

I'm perplexed as well. Why is Counsell getting so much time at 3rd lately? I know Hall and Branyan aren't lighting the world on fire right now, but they hit homers and Hall is always tough against the Reds.

Ned Yost needs to realize that Kendall will never admit he needs a day off even if he is dog tired. As the season wears on and Kendall's offensive production clearly dwindles, Yost needs to play Rivera once per week so they can try and keep Kendall fresh. Rivera has yet to disappoint this year, so why not give him some opportunities to help the team? His ability to stay sharp given his lack of playing time would also make him a nice option to pinch hit once in a while (like yesterday in place of Kendall or Weeks).

It's rare that I even look at this thread, but I actually cheered myself up after thinking about the Brewers hideous performance with RISP this year. Except for the first few weeks, they have been terrible at taking advantage with men in scoring position, and since the All Star break, they've been enimick. But, they were still able to string together 8 straight wins while getting worse at hitting with risp, and despite the drubbing the Cubs gave them, they won the series in Atlanta where they traditionally struggle. Again, all of this while pretty much conceding innings in which they have risp. So as bad as they've been, it can't get worse (literally, the statistics these past few weeks are about as close to .000 as you can get). If it does get better, which it should, they should be able to put together another string of wins together given the upcoming schedule. The Cards have yet to get cold this year so this could all bring the Crew a nice wild card lead by the start of September. I mean, my God, all they have to do is bunt every time there is a man on 2nd or 3rd and there numbers will improve.

Although I don't agree 100% with Yost's laissez-faire approach, I feel better after reading that article.

It's a tough bunch to love right now but.... 1. Braun 2. C.C. 3. Yo 4. J.J. 5. Hart

You know, I thought about that as the play happened and it was not that easy of a play (if we are thinking of the same one). The ball was hit hard and took an awkward bounce at the end. Since Durham was right in front of the ball, like he should have been, it bounced off his chest and squirted a few feet away. If he did not position himself properly, it may have been extra bases. What I've seen Weeks do all too often is try and field balls like that off his left or right side. Many times they shoot up the base of his glove and go into the outfield. They're usually not errors, as the ball is hit hard and the way he tries to play it makes it look more difficult than it should be. If Weeks were more fundamentally sound, like Durham or Counsell, most of these balls would be turned into easy outs. Weeks has the athletic ability to be a gold glove 2nd baseman, its the lack of fundamentals that keep getting in the way. Nothing's being ignored here. OPS is a great measure of a player's production, but it is not the only measure. By simply watching Weeks play this past month, and impartial observer would have a difficult time saying he was above average in any way. His poor defense has cost us some games and his lack of run production has not helped either. Just for the sake of argument, even if we did agree that he was playing average for 2nd this last month, he still is well below average for a leadoff hitter and that is also unacceptable. Even though many agree he would be better suited hitting down in the lineup, he's tragically the only real option right now, so he needs to do what he can to perform in that spot and he's not.

All that's happened with his offense is that he's gone from hideous to below average. Even though his stats may show he's getting better as of late, they do not show the strike outs, pop flys, flat out refusal to protect the plate with two strikes or go to the opposite field, and the inability to play a solid 2B in critical situation. His career ops may be near average to above average for 2B, but his career ops with risp is only .680. That's a problem, among other things, and it's time to stop the hand holding. Rickie needs to prove he belongs or get used to sitting on the bench. I want to be able to see a playoff game at Miller Park this year darn it.

The splits on Sheets shows a downturn in the second half over his career with a 3.50 era for the first half and a 4.15 for the second half. August, by far, is his worst month with a 4.72 era, so I don't think C.C.'s acquisition has anything to do with it. For some reason, whether it be fatigue or lack of focus, Sheets seems to be a different pitcher in the second half of the season. Even before I looked the numbers up, I always thought Sheets was worse in the second half. He always seems to start hot and then either get injured or cool off. There's a reason he's never won more than 12 games in a season and it's showing up now. Hopefully he can reverse this trend and make the case that he is a true #1 starter.

Well, like the Brewers, I'm taking the rest of the day off. See you all tomorrow.

At this point in the season, I'm relatively sure that I could pitch out of an inning with Brewers in scoring position and less than two outs. I have a pretty nasty 50mph fastball.

Pathetic! Put in the Bat Boy.

Can't hit 'em swinging, why not bunt?

Fielder looking like Jordan! Now get some runs!

Skaalen has done a nice job of getting his hitters to adjust to Campillo's style.....NOT!

Nice job Ben. Now let's see how much love the offense has for you.

Ok Prince, now you just need to steal 3rd and home to get us that first run.

A badly needed double play. Thank God Weeks has the day off http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif