BruisedCrew

I think there is such a thing as a good season with a disappointing ending. This season has been fun because of the lower expectations entering the season, and the winning streaks have been amazing. But, in a sense the Brewers are victims of their own success. In 2008 just making the playoffs (despite a September collapse) was a big deal. Winning the division will always mean a season of good entertainment. But after being in the playoffs in 5 of the last 6 seasons that I count, losing in the first playoff series they play AGAIN would be a disappointment and take away some of the good feeling. Losing the division to the Cubs and then losing in the wild card round again would really leave a sour taste. So, first things first. Take the division.

Today brings back fond memories of August 28, 1982. For those who weren't around then, in 1982 the Brewers got off to a sluggish start, changed managers, and on June 14 were just a game over .500 at 30-29 and 7.5 games out of first place. From there the team went on tear for the next 2 1/2 months, winning 45 of 67 games. At 75-51 they were 6.5 games ahead of the Red Sox and 7 games ahead of the Orioles, and it looked like they were in great shape to claim the franchise's first full season division title. A similar path to this year with the addition of the midseason managerial change. Someone then might have said that all the Brewers had to do was win half of their remaining games to get to 93-69 and one of their pursuers would have to win more than 2/3 of their remaining games just to tie for the division crown. What actually happened was that the Orioles. who had a winning percentage of .540 on August 28, won 13 of their next 16 games to cut the Brewers once comfortable lead to just 2 games with 18 games to play..The Orioles extended their hot streak to 20 of 24 but the Brewers maintained their slim lead through the final weeks and led by 4 games with 5 to play before losing 4 and then claiming the title in the winner take all final game. One lesson I took away from the experience of living through that last month is that you can never assume that a trailing team won't put together an unexpected run in the final weeks. So just playing .500 in the last month might not be good enough. If the Brewers had just played .500 ball from August 28 on, their final record of 93-69 would not have been good enough to hold off the Orioles, who won 26 of their last 36. Similar "out of the blue" hot streaks propelled the Cardinals of 2021 (who won 17 in a row) and Tigers last year (who won 30 of their last 43 after being 8 games under .500 in mid August) to playoff berths. If the Brewers play .500 the rest of the way they will probably win the division. But it would be preferable not to leave that path open. BTW, August 28, 1982 is a memorable day for me because it happened to be my wedding day.

I’m watching the Phillies, Dodgers, and Padres too because they are the competitors for the byes. .The beauty of modern entertainment options is that you can actually watch these games and not just watch a scoreboard. The Mets sweep of the Phillies puts them in the hunt for the east crown and also allowed the Brewers to pick up 2 games on the Phils

If Chourio isn’t comfortable running at full speed he isn’t going to help the team and might end up popping the muscle and being done for the season. Frelick and Collins for Lockridge and Bauers would be a step up.

Cubs lead 3-1. I see the Giants have Webb scheduled for tomorrow. The Giants usually use a 5 man rotation but with an off day on Monday they are using Webb on 4 days rest and skipping a fifth starter.

Did not expect a 3-2 loss tonight, but once I saw the lineup the Brewers scoring only 2 was a real possibility.

Bonehead

It didn’t help but there’s no guarantee Perkins would have driven in the run. I want Vaughn thinking about driving in the run, not just advancing a runner. But could have used one of those 350 foot fly balls to center.

Hurts to miss that opportunity without using one of your best hitters.

Collins for Perkins?

It was marginal. Not what I would consider a missed call.

No complaints about the home plate ump on Perkins AB. Two potential strikes called balls.

Hitting the ball hard isn’t always the answer.

Frelick and Collins on the bench with Bauers at DH. They might not be punting but they’re in formation. Feels a lot like Saturday night, but without a Webb like starter maybe the Brewers can get into a slugfest. If the game goes sideways quickly they might punt. Siegler isn’t in the lineup,so he should be ready to take the mound if allowed.

I also enjoy this thread, and I’m going to make what seems like an annual request. If you post a picture that doesn’t show the player’s name, could you please put a label on it. Especially for those really obscure players.

I think you’re right. I’m sure they like to get them if for no reason other than it means they contributed to a team win. But the pitchers are going to feel OK if they pitch well, regardless of who gets the win. If you ever read Jim Bouton’s classic “Ball Four” he described “the cool of the evening”, the way a pitcher feels when he’s had a really good outing, and he was talking about it after he had a really strong outing but his team lost in extra innings.

It is nice. Home of Lafayette College.

I was just responding to a comment with a point of fact. But, since you brought it up.how many teams are in the middle of playing 19 games in 18 days and 25 games in 25 days? Nobody gets a few days off in a row except for the All Star break, but 25 games in 25 days with only 1 off day is not the norm.

They don’t get a few off days for quite awhile. They get one after the Labor Day game with the Phillies, then play 8 straight days. So, from here they play 14 of the next 15 days.

Monasterios extra inning HR was not a walk off. Collins had the walk off against the Mets.

We knew before this series started that the Brewers were going to need more runs than they were getting last week to outscore this potent AZ offense. Need to keep adding on.

When I looked at the schedule from the beginning I thought the Brewers had been transferred to the American League. First four series and 6 of the first 8 are against AL teams.

What some of you youngsters think of as nostalgic is part of the modern era for me. I've often told my daughters that if I could get a time machine I would want to go back to see a Braves game in 1957 when I attended my first major league game as a 5 year old. When the Braves were in town my Dad would occasionally get his company's tickets, usually for Sunday afternoons that often featured doubleheaders. We would arrive at the park an hour or so before the game and take our seats in section 13 of the lower grandstand, directly in back of the Braves dugout. We would see the visiting team take batting practice. Then they would roll the cage away and the visitors would go through their fielding drills. After that the Braves took the field, and a young boy marvelled at how Eddie Mathews, Johnny Logan, and Joe Adcock would whip the ball around the infield and the outfielders would shag the long fungo fly balls served up by the coaches. Just before the game, Warren Spahn, or whoever else was starting that day, would come out and warm up, not in the bullpen but from a mound on the warning track outside of the dugout. Things were so different in those days when the game was the whole attraction. There were concession stands and many vendors walking through the stands. But the stadium wasn't like a shopping mall food court with cocktail lounges scattered around. The small scoreboard showed the score, balls, strikes and outs and scores from other games. But no statistics, video reviews, or games in between innings. The average game length was about 2 hours and 15 minutes, so it went by quickly.

And in most cases in the eye of the deliverer more than the receiver.

I do hope Murphy noticed that Durbin hit a home run against a RHP. Of course, it is unlikely that Durbin would have tied or won the game if he had hit yesterday, but I would rather have a hitter who has a fighting chance for a home run or double over someone who has yet to record an XBH in the major leagues.