Brewer Fever

Here we go again. Another chance to score runs where good teams do.

With that fielder's choice groundout to bring in Hart the Brewers chances to win today went from 39% to 42% according to ESPN MLB Gamecast. Hooray!

I have this nagging wonder. Will the Brewers ever really put it all together? This current group. You know start scoring runs when loading the bases with less than two outs? Will someone hit .300? Will we see one of these guys carry a .400 OBP? Will one of our young pitchers win 18+ games? I realize that not every prospect lives up to the billing. But will at least one or two truely break out and become a perennial star that carries the team on his back and makes everyone else better? It would be nice if it happened soon.

I loved the usage of DeFelice last night. Those were the perfect 2 hitters to use him against. Soriano loves the fastball and Fukudome has a tendency to get way out in front of balls in the dirt. It's not about who is the nastiest, the most established, or who has the flashier name. It's about who matches up with the batters due up. Yost would have went with his 7th inning guy no matter if Soriano and Fukodome had lifetime .750 batting averages agianst that guy. To me the people still criticizing Macha over the selection of DeFelice even though it worked out exactly as planned are the ones who just didn't like seeing him used in a high leverage situation in the first place. Coffey is good but he's not mid 1990's Mariano Rivera folks.

Just a reminder for all those adding up missed calls and pointing to the gift run the Cubs got when the ump blew that double play... Bill Hall also scored a run after being incorrectly called safe at first earlier in the game. So umpire gaffes resulting in runs wound up evening out. I doubt that makes anyone feel better but at least the need to assign blame in the wrong direction is lessened.

He's set to break the HR record this season! Yeah, sometime next week.

Apparently that was Prince's 35th HR this season. Wow, what a pace he's setting! Although I gotta admit I must have missed the previous 34.

That was a pretty big lapse in judgement by someone there. Either by Fischer for not sending Hart, or by Corey for not getting on his horse upon contact. From what I could gather it was Fischer's fault. And it's good to see Macha dressing him down a little for it.

I don't neccessarily think Macha is going to be more aggressive than the Brewers previous manager, I just think he'll have the guys better prepared. It seems like he had them equipped with a solid gameplan out there today. I get the sense that Macha leaves no stone unturned finding small advantages. Today it may be running on a pitcher with a slow delivery. Tommorrow it might be attacking first pitches from a guy who throws a ton of 1st pitch strikes. Either way I expect a more cerebral approach, rather than a fly by the seat of your pants approach. A freshing change to say the least.

I swear this guy's name will be mentioned as a possible addition for the Crew 10 years after he's retired.

Just a couple observations / predictions... I'm a big fan of the Macha hiring. And I really think fans will catch on to how much more fit to manage he is than the last guy who I refuse to mention by name. A major trademark of Macha coached teams is that they get better as the year goes on. No matter what Macha was given to work with each year, even after some of his big name talents were traded away, Macha took the hand he was dealt and crafted a dangerous, competitive team at year's end. He doesn't sit in his office all year mulling fantasy Nascar lineups, with the reasoning that major leaguers know what they need to do. Instead he identifies players weaknesses and demands improvement throughout the year, not just spring training. Get this, I've been told that Macha actually personally runs infield practice EVERY day. Something practically unheard of nowadays. It's a shame to think how much further along our young talent would be had they been pushed to improve in specific aspects of their game. It's not that the previous individual didn't want them to play better defense or better run the bases. It's that he didn't provide any direction or know-how on how to accomplish the task. That will not be a problem with the new skipper. Better in-game decision making anyone? Who-hoo! I'm so glad that the bat-waggle is gone! If I'm not mistaken it's something the Brewers taught #23 because they thought his bat was too fast. I'm pretty sure there are college clips out there showing that Rickie Weeks was waggle-less while winning was it 2 NCAA batting titles? I expect a major leap in production out of Rickie. Kinda makes me glad I still have that autographed jersey. Though I will reluctantly part ways with it should it's rightful new owner re-appear or message me and stake his claim. I think Braun's intercostal is going to be an ongoing issue for the forseeable future. And I'm not just talking about this particular bout of soreness. I think it will heal and be re-injured many times over. On occasion he takes such a violent, quick stab at a fastball he's mistimed and absolutely sends a jolt through his side and midsection. I think it's a permanent nagging side-effect of such a quick swing. I really hope I'm wrong on this. I think this team will start the season slow. I just don't think the pitching will be good enough at the onset. However as the season progresses and Macha sifts through the haves and have-nots in both his rotation and bullpen, things will stabilize themselves by the AS Break as the team climbs back around .500. The good news: A Macha-trademarked scorching 2nd half will make for another exciting September around here. This time with the team doing a lot of winning instead of running on fumes. The Brewers will claw all the way back to within a few games of a playoff berth with a week or so to go... And now the bad news. Having managed only to play .500 ball at the trading deadline, Melvin will pass on making another major addition to the rotation. A miscalculation that will prove costly down the stretch when the Brewers make their late-season push only to come up a game or two short of a 2nd straight post-season berth. I won't get too down on Dougie though. Afterall, he's probably grown accustomed to his teams falling apart down the stretch under the guidance of the previous guy whose name I'm desperately trying to forget. Don't get too down Brewers' fans. Melvin will make ammends in the upcoming offseason and add that much needed pitching piece to complement Yo and Manny, helping ensure that this playoff drought lasts only 1 year.

Is Rob Deer a major league hitting coach? More importantly has Rob Deer had any success getting major or minor leaguers to improve their hitting? Cause if he has, I'd argue he's more qualified for the Brewers job than Dale Sveum.

Thanks for all you've done CC, best of luck with your next team.

Amazing. Apparently having played in the major leagues means you're automatically qualified to teach hitting. There are 30 of these jobs in the entire world, and all a guy has to say is: "Hey, I'd rather be the hitting coach this year." I'm not ruling out the possibility that Dale can succeed at this job, but I'd much rather hear that the Brewers made an extensive search and uncovered someone who has proven at many levels along the chain that he can make ballplayers better hitters with statistical evidence to back the claim.

I think the smart money has to be on Brenly. The stache gives him the edge over Macha and his sun-drenched upper lip. http://www.spock.com/i/Dw1Hjo8J3/Bob-Brenly.jpg http://souari.forest.net/~ldfr/ltl/images/greaterthan1.jpg http://www.spock.com/i/H21HBpC/Ken-Macha.jpg When Melvin closes his eyes and pictures the man he wants to work side by side with going forward, does Macha stand a chance with Brenly in the equation? Only if Brenly comes to the interview clean shaven.

We just got "Bucked" again seems natural to me.

Bring on Buck Showalter! We're a lock to win the World Series the year after he's fired.

I'm thinking Mark A. had an accomplice place a cool million on the Brewers signing CC at 100-1. The $100 million he could ensure he'd get for that wager would go a long ways towards paying CC's contract.

And with every routine out that Gallardo records it's like pouring acid on the wound. And then when you think of what kind of push the Brewers could make for Sabathia if Suppan's contract wasn't on the books, it's the equivalent of jamming hot pokers into the wound.

Yost would have done the same thing. Yost wasn't even willing to start CC on 3 days rest, much less Gallardo, much less take the ball out of the hands of the gritty Suppan. Sveum is Yost Light.

The decision to start Suppan might go down as the worst decision in team history. It ranks right up there with signing Jeff Suppan. What's sad is that Yost would have done the same thing.

If we can't dump him in a trade or are unwilling to eat his salary then use him as the long man out of the bullpen. I don't care if he's the highest paid mop up guy in the history of the game, he simply should not be anywhere near the starting rotation.

I don't want to see Jeff Suppan start another game in a Brewers uniform ever.

Playoff Victories over the Past 2 Seasons to Date BREWERS - 1 CUBS - 0

The forecast is calling for rain. It doesn't seem as though there be much sunshine tomorrow. Thus no real issue with shadows.