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Cool Hand Lucroy
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Everything posted by Cool Hand Lucroy
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Definitely did not mean to come off as argumentative. Sorry if it came off as such. Totally agree with this. Minnesota's athleticism had me nervous for this one, but the Badgers toughed it out and made some big shots down the stretch. The game-winning play was drawn up beautifully, and then Reuvers, who has looked totally outclassed by Oturu about every minute he's been on the floor with him, played just about the best D possible. Great work. Good to keep the mojo rolling. -
Or, stop the other team from making 3s and you win? That's where things can get complicated. Count me as someone who believes 3-pt. defense is essentially random, or at least generally non-predictive. It's not FT defense, of course, but I think it's much closer to that end of the spectrum than overall Defensive Efficiency in terms of evaluating a team's ability. Maybe that's controversial analytically, I don't know.
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Consistency has improved greatly. Even in January, when they were winning big games at home against MD and MSU, they were getting crushed at Purdue and Minnesota. Offense has been experiencing fewer prolonged droughts, which has really helped. I would believe anything from Elite 8 to first round exit at this point. CBB seems to have gotten real simple: make 3s, you win.
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Yeah, that is such a big win. And another chance at a quality W this weekend. Team is starting to look more consistent.
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Yeah, that is such a big win. And another chance at a quality W this weekend. Team is starting to look more consistent.
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This is what I love about Stearns. The guy is just always looking at margins and trying new things. We're literally going to platoon just about everywhere except Yelich in left. Platoons work. Why not do them at every position? Why make your starters go through the order three times? Who says Moose can't play 2nd base when there are so many shifts? It's just fun to watch the guy innovate. Not saying it will work, but I love the fact that we'll try anything to squeeze extra wins out of a roster, and I know everyone does that, but Stearns seems to find NEW ways to try and do it each season. One of these is due for failure, but who cares? The guy is just not wedded to a single philosophy, and that's so, so rare in competitive, high-level athletics, and it's why I'll be on team DS for a while. He seems to have a sense of data and interpretation that is really rare and really valuable, especially in a small market.
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This is what I love about Stearns. The guy is just always looking at margins and trying new things. We're literally going to platoon just about everywhere except Yelich in left. Platoons work. Why not do them at every position? Why make your starters go through the order three times? Who says Moose can't play 2nd base when there are so many shifts? It's just fun to watch the guy innovate. Not saying it will work, but I love the fact that we'll try anything to squeeze extra wins out of a roster, and I know everyone does that, but Stearns seems to find NEW ways to try and do it each season. One of these is due for failure, but who cares? The guy is just not wedded to a single philosophy, and that's so, so rare in competitive, high-level athletics, and it's why I'll be on team DS for a while. He seems to have a sense of data and interpretation that is really rare and really valuable, especially in a small market.
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Purdue is a matchup that always makes me nervous. They've poached a couple of games at the Kohl in the last few years and always seem to play well against Wisconsin. The B1G is such a well-scouted league, and I think the Badgers scout better than just about anyone else overall, but Purdue seems to have something that always gives them more of an edge than they should have. This is the one home game left I'd feel most nervous about. If they can win this one, I feel good about their chances to get on a roll. We'll see.
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Purdue is a matchup that always makes me nervous. They've poached a couple of games at the Kohl in the last few years and always seem to play well against Wisconsin. The B1G is such a well-scouted league, and I think the Badgers scout better than just about anyone else overall, but Purdue seems to have something that always gives them more of an edge than they should have. This is the one home game left I'd feel most nervous about. If they can win this one, I feel good about their chances to get on a roll. We'll see.
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I have been thinking about this for a while, and I think I've landed on the idea that our whole, cultural sense of regular seasons and postseasons is off, and this is particularly true in baseball. Here is what I mean: The Brewers won the NL pennant in 2018. They did. They lost a random, 7-game series to another good team, and I get it. Those are the rules, but it's so arbitrary that we celebrate small samples over large ones. This proposal just makes that worse. Here is what I wish: I want the soccer model. I want mini-competitionss (FA Cups and Europa Leagues and c.) existing alongside regular seasons. That way, you get the consistency of long-haul competition and enough short-form stuff to capture the spirit of magical runs and to keep up interest. We had a Leicester City moment in 2018, and that is why I will celebrate that season forever. The fact that it ended in a loss is random. More and more, I think playoffs are just a function of our need to provide both dire competition AND egalitarian opportunity.
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Yeah, really no excuse to get beat @Nebraska, especially coming off the mini-bye. 5-2 should get you in pretty comfortably, 4-3 probably okay. Wouldn't chance it with anything less than that, though. 4-3 puts you at 14 losses (counting one in the tourney), and that is on the high side for an at-large. EDIT: Loved those articles, brooks! The 2000 Badger team is still my all-time favorite.
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Gard and Izzo are good friends. Gard calls Izzo a mentor. They are close. I think it was much a personal thing as a coaching fraternity thing. Pritzl has arguably been the most consistent Badger this year. He keeps earning hos minutes. And Ford was excellent. Anderson gave quality minites. McGory let Trice rest for 90 seconds, at least.... True team win.
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Gard a little salty in the postgame: "We got a lot of guys in the locker room that love wearing that jersey, love wearing that W." Big win. 6 Q1 victories is a lot, and the schedule is less daunting down the stretch. Long way to go, but they look to be in pretty good shape. Go win at Minnesota.
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Again, I find this whole thing weird and odd. In part, I don't understand why King is willing to go public with this "I was unhappy about how I was treated" and not name anything remotely specific. I mean, maybe he's afraid of getting labeled in the transfer process, but to accuse Gard and staff of basically being "users" without anything specific is throwing them under the bus anyway. I'm not defending GG blindly here. I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes of the program. I just think King is making a massive cultural accusation, and, if it's important to discuss it, it's better to have it out in the open. Granted, that kind of public disclosure would take a lot of courage, but it's impossible to really grapple with this accusation unless we know what King (and perhaps others) mean. I actually sympathize with his concerns. When coaches call themselves "teachers" but only care about winning, that is troubling. It's just we need more evidence to see if that is indeed the case with Gard and staff.
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If I were Stearns, no. And I really like Kepler. I just think Hader is unique in all of baseball. Kepler is an above-average outfielder. The difference between Hader and no Hader in the BP is just much greater than the difference between Kepler and, say, Ben Gamel.
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https://tht.fangraphs.com/bases-loaded-nobody-out-what-happens-next/ Haven't seen this posted yet, so forgive me if I missed it. Basic takeaway: Last year, the Brewers were the worst when they had bases loaded and no one out. That won't surprise folks in the IGT! Of course, this seems basically random and uncontrollable, but it's the doldrums of January. So, have at it!
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This is all right on. And it's not as if King wasn't aware of Wisconsin's basketball brand. Herro doesn't want to play low-possession, swing offense ball? Fine. But you're totally right that that's not really relevant. King did play in that system. Was finally seeming to get it. So, yeah. He knew what he was in for, and this must be something else.
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I just think turning this on Gard is a perception issue. Bad media cycle, people blame the coach. The guy's in his fourth full season: 1 Sweet 16 (and a buzzer-beating leaner away from an Elite 8) 1 missed NCAA (in a transitional year where the team lost two top 6 rotation guys early and had Davison at PG with one arm) 1 NCAA appearance (beaten by more talented Oregon) Right in the mix with an inconsistent team this year That's not counting the Bo retirement year, where he finished Sweet 16. Of course, you can go with the Bo's players line, but lots of programs would be just fine with those 4 seasons, especially with the classes coming in. Firing Gard is a "be careful what you wish for" situation. You would be commiting to a rebuild, and it's fairly likely that you'll get someone who is doing what Gard does. Remember, Bo had this team in the NCAA tourney and made some runs but it took the best HS player the state had seen, an elite PG, and an absolute 7-foot unicorn to get to two FFs.
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If the DH plays the field at any point, you lose the DH for that game. This happens every once in a while in an AL game, or at least it used to before positional flexibility became a bigger thing. I remember for example Joe Mauer DHing back when he was a catcher. The backup catcher got hurt, and Mauer had to play the field. The pitcher then had to be inserted into the lineup in the spot vacated by the catcher. So, in the above scenario, Urias couldn't play the field after PHing for Braun. He would have to remain the DH.
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Went to college with a guy who went to high school with Nelson. It's a small, Catholic school in rural northern Iowa. He's a legend in that area, and rightfully so. 28 MLB ABs, with 2 hits (!), are an impossible achievement.
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I don't know what to think of the King situation. Gard actually seems less prone to in-your-face coaching tactics than Bo (just an impression on my part--I tend to like that Gard is more laid back in general). I wonder if King came in expecting to be the star on FF and Sweet 16 teams, and it just didn't materialize. It's generally good that transfer rules are more open, but the downside is it does kind of encourage guys to bail rather than stick it out. Obviously, no one should have to "stick it out," but some transfers feel more legit than others. No idea what King's situation is, of course, but I don't expect Gard to cater to guys if they don't want to be around. On Davison, I guess Trevor Anderson (who's been an early Showalter kind of energy guy) will get a shot at extended minutes.
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I get it. It isn't fun to watch pitchers hit. It exposes them to injury risk. They are basically auto outs. Etc. And maybe after 5 yrs., I won't notice the difference. I just like NL-style baseball better. I feel more engaged as a fan. You always know when that pitcher's spot is coming up. It gives you a reason to pay attention to all the decisions a manager is making. I watch a lot of AL baseball (in Iowa, we get Twins and Royals RSNs), and I just find it less interesting for me. Again, I think the DH might add some fun, and I won't gripe. But when it happens, whether in 2021 or later (and it does seem inevitable), I will be a little sad because I will miss the fun parts of the NL game. And it will be another instance of equating "the good of the game" with "entertainment value," something I always find a little troubling.
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I agree with most of this, though, I do think if Davison wanted to cheap shot the guy, he would have. I don't see him making contact, even in that second angle, and, having been in those situations, it's pretty easy to actually cheap shot... Bottom line is, stupid move, potentially unsportsmanlike, and a bad look. One thing I will say without reservation is that this team's guards are not good enough. The backcourt needs to play a lot better if they are going to make any kind of run.
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Do you really see an intentional groin shot on either of those videos? Seriously asking, because when I watch the replays, I see Davison's hand much closer to the knee than the old bean bag. I have no idea what was in Davison's head. As I said, stupid play. But what do you see that makes you "absolutely" sure it was a cheap shot? Again, I just don't see that level of evidence on the video...are you using his reputation as a factor in that claim?
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Eugenio Suarez is in a similar boat, but with shoulder surgery. This is probably good news overall. You figure Urias should be good to go by mid-to-late April at the latest, and you can cover a month with current roster options without too much trouble. Who knows? Maybe we get 2018 postseason Arcia because he feels the pressure? One can hope. The weirdness of the release of this news, though, is annoying. Those weeks between his removal from winter league and his surgery seem like a bigger deal now. Even if it was unavoidable due to bureaucratic reasons, the whole "we'll know more by mid-next week" seems really odd in retrospect. Did they have the evaluation and the surgery the same day?
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