Cool Hand Lucroy

This is hilarious, or would be if it weren't so painful. Why is Donaldson not being PR for?

Agreed. Am I wrong in thinking that, other than pitching Counsell made three moves on the offensive side: 1) PHing Winker twice and 2) PRing Weimer when they brought in a lefty to pitch to Sal. When you type it out like that....yikes.

When there are no good options, I default to a platoon advantage, but that's just me. Especially one without any real defensive downside. I'm at peace with the outcome of this series because the DBacks sure look like the better baseball team. I also think this team may well need the big changes we all expect just because sometimes you need a change. Sometimes, things get stale. I am the weirdo who talks about how much I enjoyed watching the 2016 and 2017 Brewers, teams that didn't make the playoffs, but that had something compelling and were moving in an exciting direction. I'd love for the 2024 Brewers to be better version of that.

I did not like letting Sal hit either.

Unless something very dramatic and very unlikely happens, this era of Brewers baseball is about to end. I think it's been a good one, but it (probably rightfully) be remembered as one of tremendous regular season success and near-total postseason failure. Some of that is bad luck. We all know the playoffs are essentially a random exercise, but we also know that each of the Brewers playoff teams over the last 6 years entered drastically weaker than their opponents in at least one area. In 2018, it was starting pitching. We had great relievers and a decent offense, and we got a good matchup in the Rockies, who really struggled to hit, especially away from Coors. Since then, it's been the offense. We scored 3 runs in 2019, and it wasn't enough. Got shut out twice in 2021. Looks like we'll score 5 in two games this year. Most postseason teams, they have a plan B. They can win a low-scoring game with the right starter going. They can also scratch a few extra runs across and win 5-3. Even the 2018 Brewers could weather a bad SP performance or one bad BP inning because they had a reasonably balanced offense. With these teams, no plan B. They just cannot win a game where they give up 4 runs. And that sinks your whole ship. Now, the next era of this team does feature some really promising hitters (and some good arms), and I think there's a lot of balance headed our way if we a) make the right managerial hire and b) get the right return for Burnes (it won't be a haul, but it just has to include 2 young, controllable pieces who can basically be role players--2-win guys for a few years). Whatever happens, the future of this team looks both bright and different. It's time for that, even though I've loved this era of Brewers baseball, and I think CC has been the best manager in my lifetime. Was definitely the right hire, and I'd take him back in a heartbeat if he wanted to continue.

Freddy got a little rattled after the HR. Plus, the DBacks have some guys who are MLB hitters for real. There's such little margin for error when you just can't score. Teams have won playoff games with 2-3 runs, but it's really hard and really stressful, and to count on doing it for a whole series is going to make your life very very difficult.

More bad BABIP luck. You have to be kidding me with that. That's gotta find somebody's glove, right?

Is Pham yapping at Adames? ***?

He's out.

The DBacks are getting a TON of BABIP luck, but they're also just putting in good PAs. No panic. That ball Pham hit could not have been place in a better spot.

Can we have any worse BABIP luck?

Big question starting to become how long you stick with Freddy. Not much margin for error, but I can sure make an argument he's your best option for the next 4-6 outs.

Well, there's a nice pace to this game anyway. Sure be nice if our offense could put up a 30-minute half-inning.

Does that mean you caught it? That would be pretty awesome.

Hey, always knew 2 wasn't going to be enough. Shake it off, Freddy, and let's get hitting.

I mean, I think the problem is those teams had like zero good contact hitters. This team doesn't have very many pure power threats. It's a balance thing. I'd lean toward weighting contact and good ABs more, but you've got to have at least one 30+ HR bat.

Double plays just kill this team. Man.

Moreno can't stay in the game after a 6-minute delay, head into the clubhouse, then come out of the game. That's very poorly handled by the DBacks and their training staff. Clearly a situation where competitive concerns outweighed health ones.

They might have to do something about re-entering the game in situations like this, where you probably need to administer one of those concussion tests. Maybe allow for a half-inning, temporary catcher or something.

Something just seemed off about that whole interaction with Moreno. I really hope he's alright. The guys on the DBacks know better, obviously, but that sure looked to me like a guy who was shook up. Really hope he's actually healthy and can stay in the game because it would be real bad if he had to exit in a couple of innings.

That didn't LOOK that bad relative to some other backswing-hitting-the-catcher moments I've seen, but Moreno sure doesn't seem right.

If Turang's going to make an out, an 9-pitch one is the best kind.

Let's go. Keep making Gallen work. Santana, Canha, Frelick all putting together good ABs, and then Willy gets aggressive first pitch. Loved that sequence.

About as good an inning as you can have without a 3-run bomb. Keep at it, offense.

Long-term optimism: The Brewers are indisputably the best-run team in the Central right now, and the farm system is stocked with talent. That, and the potential return on a Burnes deal, has me feeling quite good about where this team will be through the next several seasons. Short-term optimism: Today's the day Freddy Peralta goes from young, fun, energy guy to Milwaukee legend.