BruisedCrew

This is the dream scenario to have a lead with 3 innings to go. Pulling this one out would be huge.

deGrom is a joy to watch. He keeps the game moving. He reminds me of Ben Sheets that way. A good pitcher who gets the ball back and is ready to fire.

At least the pitch count is less critical in a 7 inning game with a rested bullpen.

Burnes has not looked as good after the sticky substance crackdown as he did before. I wonder if that’s just a coincidence.

So much for the chance for a 1-0 win.

At least the Brewers have a chance for a 1-0 win. I’m not expecting any more runs.

Brewers fans are well aware of the injury problems the Crew has had, but the Mets have possibly been hit harder. They are getting some of their injured players back and are going to be even more formidable the rest of the way.

Looking at the current radar I would say that there is a very good possibility that this game is not going to be played tonight. There is a severe thunderstorm warning now as a line of heavy storms descends on NYC and it looks like it could be raining for a couple of hours.

Normal ebbs and flows don’t usually involve going from a tie for first to an 8 game lead in about 10 days and then surrendering most of it back in another 10. With all of those games against the Reds coming up that could happen if the Brewers have another major scoring drought.

Haudricort had a good column on JSOnline this morning describing why the Brewers streaky hitting this season has Brewers fans nervous that another one of those slumps is upon us. Another cold snap like the ones in May, and in the last series against the Reds, and the 8 game lead could be gone as quickly as it appeared.

The starting pitchers aren’t going to matter if the offense doesn’t produce any runs. They have been shut down the last two days by two pretty mediocre starting pitchers; the Reds starters are tougher than what the Brewers saw from the DBacks, Rockies, Cubs, and Pirates.

He’s pitched every 6 days……it’s just luck….but I’m sure he’s happy it worked out that way. Maybe as part of the grand load management plan, Counsell will bring in Bettinger or Ashby or someone else to pitch on Sunday so Woodruff can pitch a few inn8ngs in the ASG. Then he can have another 6 days of rest and pitch against KC the following Tuesday.

I’m not sure if this is meant as sarcasm, but since it isn’t in blue I assume not. With some of the minor injury issues deGrom has had, I doubt if Mets fans are anxious to see him pitch with just 3 days rest.

I’m not talking about a total reconfiguration of the rotation, but rather a small tweaking (which could have been done a week or two ago) to avoid having Houser and Lauer, the 4th and 6th starters , start the first two games of an important four game series against the Reds. The tweaking could have been achieved by having a pitcher go on just 4 days rest while another gets an extra day, or using someone from the Nashville shuttle to start a game against a team that is not a division contender. The All Star break, and the 3 off days in the 11 days after it, provide a perfect opportunity to reset the rotation while still giving everyone some additional rest. I’m not going to be pleased if Burnes and Woodruff don’t both get a start in the series in Cincinnati right after the break. After that series, there are 3 weeks before the next series against one of the other division contenders. It would seem to be a no brainer to use Woodruff, Burnes, and Peralta against the Reds in some order, and then throw Houser and either Anderson or Lauer in the two games against KC. Then the top 3 could come back the next weekend against the White Sox. Whichever of Anderson or Lauer doesn’t start could be available for long relief until he is needed to start again, which might not be until early August when they play 19 games in 20 days. In addition to getting the top starters in as often as possible against those contenders, I hope they avoid having Anderson and Lauer pitch on consecutive days.

Because they want to strategically line up starters to face certain teams? Because they want to do it in June/July. I highly doubt most MLB teams worry about that sort of thing until late August at the absolute earliest. Most teams are using 5 man rotations in June and July so this isn’t an issue for them. Most teams don’t also have 2 (and arguably 3) All Star caliber starting pitchers with a pretty big drop off from there. Maybe the payoff will come later in the season if and when the Brewers starters are in better shape than their division rivals. But, if the Brewers see their division lead evaporating as quickly as it appeared while giving half of the starts to the 4th through 6th (and sometimes 7th) starters, there’s going to be some questioning of this unconventional strategy. What works against the Rockies, DBacks, and Pirates (or when the team scores in double digits) may not work so well against better teams, like it didn’t with the Reds, the only team with a winning record the Brewers have faced since May. I wonder if any other team in MLB has played a division rival 12 times before throwing either of their top 2 pitchers at them.

I don't think so much it's the days of rest that's the main concern. I'm assuming that the main goal is limiting the total body of work. Sure, but my point is that a team should be able to do that while still having its best starting pitchers get starts as often as reasonably possible against the teams that are its direct competitors for the division title. For the Brewers those teams are the Reds, Cubs, and Cardinals. The Brewers are finishing up their most difficult stretch of the season in terms of off days with 33 games in 34 days, and they have made an obvious effort to not overtax their starters during that stretch. Anderson’s and Lauer’s injuries, and Burnes COVID break earlier in the season, have forced them to resort to what amounts to a 7th starter in some games already this season. All I’m saying is that there should be a way to use the team’s top starters more often against those top division rivals, even if it requires a little shuffling, without adversely affecting the long term workload. It seems kind of ridiculous that, with the projected starters for the upcoming weekend, the Brewers starters for the 13 games against the Reds will be: Peralta 4 Houser 3 Anderson 3 Lauer 2 Woodruff 1 Burnes 0 So far, the Brewers are 2-1 in the games started by Peralta, and 2-4 in the games started by the back end of the rotation. In 3 of those 4 losses against the back end starters, the Reds jumped to big early leads. I just think that the Brewers are giving the Reds an advantage that they don’t have to give them. I know I always take note when the Brewers have a series in which they “miss” one of the opponent’s top starters, and feel like that gives the Brewers an edge in the series. The Reds are getting that edge in every series against the Brewers. If the Reds make a run at the division title, that edge could be decisive.

It wasn’t a coincidence that Quintana pitched against the Brewers every series when Maddon was managing the Cubs. It’s not like I’m talking about making a major adjustment, just pitching some guys on a fifth instead of sixth day to maximize the team’s chances against a division contender. It would be a shame to fritter away 3 or 5 games of a division lead by not fielding the best team possible. Is Counsell going to give Woodruff and Burnes the weekend after the ASG off too to allow them to recover from those festivities?

In the last month the Reds have swept series from the Cardinals (4 on the road), Brewers (3 on the road) and Cubs (3 at home). Their starting pitching is now very solid, their bullpen is improved, and their offense is explosive. I have thought for awhile that, if they could get their pitching straightened out, they would be the Brewers toughest competition in the division, and that seems to have happened. The seven head to head games coming up against the Reds is a golden opportunity for them to vault up in the standings. I hate to see the Brewers give them a boost by creating favorable pitching matchups for them by opening a series with their fourth and sixth starters. That didn’t work in the last series when the areas shelled Lauer early and used it as a springboard to the sweep, so why try it again if you don’t have to? The Reds will be getting their fourth look at Peralta before they face either Woodruff or Burnes once.

Bucknor wants to get out of town too.

Get the bus started, the Brewers just want to get out of town with 3 out of 4 and move on to the much tougher pitchers and opponents coming up this week.

This is playing like a classic getaway day game. Take your cuts and get out of town.

Looking like it isn’t the Brewers day. A blown call followed by Freddy butchering an easy grounder.

How stupid is it to try to bunt with the bases loaded?

With 8 more games before the ASB, is Counsell going to stick with the 6 man rotation, or will he go to a 5 man to set up the top 3 to start the big Reds series? If he stays with the 6 man rotation it would be Woodruff, TBD, and Burnes vs the Mets, then Houser, Lauer, Peralta, and Woodruff against the Reds. With a 5 man rotation it could be Woodruff, Burnes, and Houser against the Mets, and Lauer, Peralta, Woodruff, and Burnes against the Reds. I hate the idea of having Houser and Lauer starting the first two games of the Reds series, especially since they have not faced Burnes yet this year. After the recent sweep, I want to see the Brewers take at least two against the Reds to keep them from getting too much confidence against the Brewers. With Anderson out, I also hate to see another bullpen sapping TBD start heading into that series. With the ASB coming up I don’t think using the starters on 4 days rest should cause any longer term problems.

They were already cracked before. I have thought for some time that the Reds were going to be the best of the Brewers 3 main competitors. That upcoming 7 game home and home series is going to be a big one.