Playing Catch

So long as the Brewers avoid allowing big innings from the opposing offense, I don't think it matters much. Get ahead early in a low-scoring Padres game, or go-ahead late against a shaky Cubs 'pen. Either way, just keep the games close, and I believe in the Brewers ability to put key runs across in key situations. Of all the tactical matchups, I fear the Cubs defense against the Brewers offense the most. But seriously, if there is a fear-factor in any of this, it is in the minds of opposition pitchers. Any inning where a pitcher is at the 25 pitch mark (for an inning) is a serious red-zone against this Brewers team because of their ability to keep the line moving. And with excellent home plate umpires and ABS, this fear is even more distinct. Throw a fastball strike? Opposite-field single. Throw off-speed strike? A ripped double pulled down the line, or a bloop double the other way. Throw a ball? It's taken for a ball. They have no quarter. And that's with nobody on base or threatening to bunt. This offense reminds me of the Dick Bennett Badger defenses. Pitchers will need to be really really mentally tough to face this lineup in the heat of the playoffs without giving in, or making a mistake.

Re-seeding with the unbalanced schedule seems unfair to teams in good divisions. If you put the Dodgers in the AL West and they win 120 games, do they deserve a better seed than the Rays playing an AL East schedule?

If I was making the decision, it would be based purely on his stuff, command, and tipping, and not have anything to do with recent results (although those things are obviously related). I don't think role (starting/relieving/leverage) matters at all. Opposing lineups will dictate how pitchers are used outside of Miz, Henderson, and probably May. If they deem Harrison worthy of a roster spot, it will be because he's left-handed, not because he's a starter. They will only count on him for a particular stretch in the order, and probably just once through due to his strength/endurance.

Timing-wise, this is another Murph masterstroke. IF the Brewers are going to win a World Series, it will necessarily come with a tremendous amount of attention. Putting a very visible "C" on Yelich's jersey tells every national baseball reporter who to go to for a quote or an interview. Figureheads don't need to provide tangible value. They attract attention, thus diverting attention away from everyone else so that everyone else can focus on their jobs. Attanasio clearly values Human Resources and developing talent of all kinds. He has made a habit of making good hires, and keeping good people that publicly represent the team's values. He kept Doug Melvin around, he promoted GMs and Scouts from within. His team in the front office has modeled this with their scouting and development hiring youngsters like scout Ginger Poulson, or jack-of-all-trades, Daniel De Mondesert, and promoting them. Obviously, Murph was promoted from within. They hired Weeks and Vogelbach -- perhaps untraditional hires, presumably because you can always find a role for the right person. Anyway, there are more than a few examples of the organization committing to people for the long-term --- OR helping people develop into the role they want, even if it's in another organization. Attanasio clearly values marketing. The Brewers are a media-driven enterprise that depends heavily on marketing the team properly to derive as much value out of baseball's smallest market. He encourages the media department to provide the link between a winning ballclub and their fans. Uecker, BA, Rock, Sophia, Levering and Block, Provus. They are all examples of how the organization has valued their roles. But in addition, putting a "C" on the jersey certainly juices the "star quality" of a professional athlete be it in soccer or in the NFL. (But please, please, please MLB... Do NOT go to the NFL "C" program. Not every team will have a player that is deserving). Captains are still a rare sighting in baseball, but the habit is established enough in sports that it's not totally born out of a marketing gimmick. High School and College coaches for eons have relied on captains to reinforce the message. Often those captains are experienced role-players. Yelich embodies the work ethic, personal development, humility, and team-centric focus with which the entire organization functions. He has been paid in order to serve in THIS role... not just his MVP role, and I think publicly acknowledging this is what separates Yelich or Sal Perez from other high-earners like Juan Soto or Zach Greinke (whom are both great ballplayers and good-enough teammates, but are NOT captains).

Looks like the stats bear out what our eyeballs have witnessed. A good defender that has learned to hit a bunch of singles the other way. That OBP is supported almost entirely on that ability, with so few walks and so little meaningful speed. One could point to the "power," but I think the power, too, is just a by-product of putting the bat on the ball. It's also a challenge to make sense of the numbers based on his role. He's a shortstop playing a platoon 3rd base on the best team in baseball, so both the defensive and offensive comparisons become pretty muddled pretty quickly. This thought just popped into my head, too, but being in a lineup with other good players will have a positive affect on offensive counting stats due to more opportunities. More PAs just because their team is pacing the league in OBP, and more opportunities with runners on-base means RBI and (typically) stronger rate stats. So a platoony kind of player on a good team plays up due to being in a good lineup. But I'm not sure if that would have much of an impact or not. And, too, when a team wins at home, they only get 24 outs, which would probably negate any positive impact on counting stats.

I apologize for sounding authoritative. I am merely a fan. I think there are several factors in play, but I think the teams that have really mastered the "new" baseball (like the Brewers), are needing to beat hitters in the zone. If they are going to pitch in the zone, they need to avoid hard contact. I think this bears out with how the Brewers created a roster of hitters, too. There are guys that force the pitcher to beat them in zone, but trying to maximize their ability to hit the ball hard in lieu of creating an angle of contact. They know pitchers are trying to keep them in the yard, so they will need to beat pitchers in new ways --- going opposite field with some sting on hittable fastballs, staying inside the ball, and adjusting to in-zone off-speed and pulling stuff down the line. I think the narrower zone invites more hard contact down the lines, which happens to work well for the Brewers in their ballpark. I think the opposite-platoon advantage has been minimized by the advent of pitch-shaping. Every guy has 2.5 fastballs and 1.5 offspeed pitches, creating new pitches to beat their opposite, and I think the sweeper has really hurt lots of power hitters. But this is a wild time, with technology, and there's obviously room in MLB for guys that whiff 30% of the time, too. So again, I'm merely stating my observations, which may be flawed.

I mean, yeah, kinda. I can't say I'd feel good about either option, but I'll choose the option that has worked so well in the regular season. Win the series. It's all circumstantial, though. I reserve the right to change my mind. But I think winning it all is going to take cool heads making cool decisions.

Can one imagine predicting 100 wins w/o a 6-game win streak? The Brewers consistent excellence this season has been a marvel.

Not me. We've seen short rest starters blow up every single season. There are just enough elite pitchers that have performed well on short rest to give us the sense that it is worth it. But I would prefer nearly every single one of the Brewers pitching staff on regular rest over a Brewers pitcher on short rest for their role.

I think Vlad is simply parrotting everything the team has been saying to him to try and take the pressure off. I heard someone recall recently that Matt Holliday (I think it was him), said he was miserable after his first big deal because he believed he needed to live up to it. There is zero chance he truly believes that he was given THAT deal for what already took place. He's just been talking to himself in the mirror too much. I'll bet he does some soul searching this offseason and comes back much stronger next season. You don't grow up with a HOF father in these clubhouses and not understand the value of performing for your teammates and giving your best. I think he has succumbed to the same affliction as many stars this season and has had his power sapped by ABS+Tunnelling, and has struggled to adjust. Say what one will about the state of the American League, but that's a really tough division with some serious pitching from Tampa, Boston, and New York.

Thank you, Jim.

I want the freshest bullpen available for the Misiorowski start. Go pitch a shutout. Win or lose game 1, I think Henderson's ability to sneak out of tough spots with pitch-to-contact (yesterday being a perfect example) gives the him and the Brewers the option to manage a bullpen in a losing, or a winning performance. If the Brewers are winning, Henderson can keep the bulk guys available in game 3 by attacking the zone and getting weak contact, and if they are losing, he can pitch around power, and nibble, and still be effective a couple of times through the order. If Miz is pitching game 2 with a pen that features Uribe/Megill having thrown a bunch of pitches game 1, I feel like a few baserunners in the 4th, and things could get out of hand for Miz, and for the rest of the game. Edit to add: I'm probably overthinking it.

Since they need innings more than they need quality, they can just rinse and repeat with a bunch of regular guys like they already have. They've proven to be able to get MLB-standard run-prevention with guys that throw strikes and keep it in the yard. Just keep adding AAAA-depth with one or two qualities/pitches that they can trust in tough counts. I think they should do the same thing they did last season. Trade fringe starting-quality guys (e.g. Durbin, Ortiz, Frelick) for more Sproats/Harrisons/Drohans, and wait to see which guys stick.

Fischer. Gosh is he a fascinating case study. He's becoming my favorite guy down on the farm. His recent success with going opposite field with power is making me a believer. His OBP is so high. He's seeing soooo many pitches, and must terrify pitchers with his .380 ISO in 560 PA. They simply cannot miss in the zone, and he can hit lefties just as well as righties. He's kind of a ready-made replacement for Bauers with the bat.

Their logic was that he was the highest upside play. That when in doubt, teams should pick the most talented player. He's been getting smashed. I'd prefer the other options at this point, but am perfectly willing to see if they can get him performing before next week. I'd prefer the Drohans of the staff over him, simply because of Harrison's abililty to give up a dozen runs before you can blink.

I've hypothesized about the possible impact of playing alongside great teammates, and how that (may?) influence certain measurements, but I haven't seen any data on that.

Drives me nuts. I do it with the English spellings of other words, too. Too many favorite authors over the years from over there, I guess.

Best first baseman(s) in baseball.

Hardcore fans in the big markets suddenly like defence, especially in Philly.

It looks to me that he just may have unlocked something that is sustainable, offensively. His value has skyrocketed all the way past cromulent so that he, himself, has a very real-world value for other clubs. Nearly every single club would benefit from his being on their roster, probably as a primary shortstop, excepting the teams that have a committed superstar playing there. Or he's just hot, and that he'll never be more than a glove-only defensive utility player. But I think he will settle into this new identity as a non-black hole platinum-glove level defender. But if they move him to make room for Made or someone else, I think with his being under team control for a couple more years makes him a really valuable asset, and could get a lot in return.

That's a fun list. I have to think this is a huge opportunity for Wood to really put himself in line for a 40-man spot depending on what they decide to do with Contreras. Meanwhile with continued performance, Payne could really rocket to the top of off-season prospect lists if he can maintain any discipline in the zone. Payne looks a lot like 2026 Garrett Mitchell. The vestiges of the flat bat-path he was drafted with remain, but he is so short and stiff to the ball from the left side, with the similar 5-tool frame. He's just so exciting as a prospect to dream on.

After Payton Tolle's immaculate inning the other day, I wonder if Miz has that on his radar. I feel like the Pirates offer a good opportunity so long as Miz doesn't overthrow and miss the zone.

They've rotated all season. It's the norm. They can coast with daily lineups and managing innings without the change in mindset that would come from "coasting". I don't think they are peaking too early or anything. It's time to turn it up, and every guy that goes out there knows what his teammates expect from him, which is to get out there and ball out.

Over the seasons, I try to be as objective as possible with guys, but admittedly, I have a blind spot for Wild Bill. I see all the same stuff others do that annoy them, but I can't help it. I just think every lockerroom needs a guy that brings the grit and toughness and grind (if not always the hustle or concentration), simply to serve as a role model in that regard. I said it at the deadline and I'll say it again here. It's really hard to improve the best team in baseball, and for that reason, he's going to be harder to replace than to trade away. I think they look around at every single trade possibility, but in the end, I think he's more valuable on next year's roster. Next year is too important to mess around at catcher unless you're really confident in the next guy(s).

I will now forever think of you as, "Gregmagnanimous"