coolhandluke121

Maybe, but you gotta take what the market gives you. Can't force it.

Not to revive an old argument, but I think Aguilar's struggles just serves to highlight how poorly Thames played since the summer. He couldn't even sniff playing time. For sure. A lot of guys on this team kind of seem like prototypical 5/6 hitters, and you have to move 2 of them up to hit 3rd and 4th. Shaw, Moustakas, Thames, Aguilar, Braun, Santana, Schoop (if he ever gets his head out of his butt...) depth is nice but they could use a really good #3 or #4 hitter.

He hit the wall months ago. He looks and moves like a surly teenager who had to get out of bed early and isn't even fully awake yet. Still hits some deep by virtue of his raw strength, but he's just a liability now. And he hardly ever even has to play all game.

Cain has been either really good or really bad every game this series.

Stupid sequence for the Dodgers there. First, take the easy out and trust Kershaw to get Cain. Second, um... don't walk the pitcher? Thanks guys!

LET HIM HIT LET HIM HIT LET HIM HIT LET HIM HIT LET HIM HIT LET HIM HIT

I'm not convinced he saw through it. I think he just decided he needs to play his best players and stop playing right into the Brewers' hands. The Brewers have the advantage of lots of interchangeable parts but it's not as much of an advantage if the Dodgers don't play along. So that could be an explanation too, and I think that's the way they should have approached this series all along. I bet Kershaw tries to make a point against Woodruff in this inning.

Woodruff is the right man for this game. I'm convinced of that. He's the rested one and his stuff is good for this Dodger lineup and this park. Miley and Chacin are available on full rest in Milwaukee, if you buy that Miley's outing today was practically a day off.

That's absolutely gotta be it. His ground-ball repertoire is more important in Miller Park anyway. Wish he wouldn't have walked Bellinger.

Anderson's BB/9 was a career high this season as was his HR/9. Yet, he had a .228 BA against. Quite the enigma. I wonder if unofficially he has "dead arm" as he seemingly was shut down a few weeks ago --- Sept. 18 being his last start. That's what I first speculated. Career high in innings I think, and I'm not sure he missed a single start. They want to avoid another Marcum situation before it happens. Reading the early warning signs, if you will. By the same token, I figured they left Davies off in part because he had a nagging injury all year. They usually (not withstanding their use of JJ) understand that very few people on this staff are so much better than the other options that they need to be in there even if they're not fully healthy or fully rested, or if they're working too many times through the order in the case of starters.

I'd go with Anderson. Davies has been just as much of a powder keg this year. You're always worried about that 2-HR inning from him. I think every fear that applies to Chase should apply to Davies as well, particularly since he had a nagging injury for most of the year and was never his old self. He does have a good history in a limited sample against the Dodgers, but we didn't see that Zach Davies much this year. Here's hoping Woodruff and Miley can go the whole game. PH'ing for them is not as criticial as it is with some other pitchers, so that's possibly a slight plus. It would amazing if Woodruff became a postseason legend with another dinger off Kershaw. Even a hit would make him a Milwaukee folk hero.

If JJ is pitching in the 9th we win. If not, we lose. It's certainly his turn. He only pitched one inning in the last 3 days so he should be ready. It's using him when he's been worked so much and it's time to trust someone else that has irked me lately, but I don't expect him to be a complete disaster every time out or anything.

Cool. We're all here for the Brewers. I'm sure this has some background in when I first came here and was rude. This forum is very different from most of other forums and it took me a few weeks to understand what's appropriate here. But I think you tend to assume that every stated opinion is an absolute, which is not always the case just because someone didn't qualify it with a disclaimer. Can't assume tone on a message board. I've lived in NYC for 11 years and I've definitely become more direct, but it's still about debating opinions and not debating posters for me.

The Brewers have a long history of being very good against Kershaw, but most of that history was when they were much better against LHP's in general. That's not really the case this year, but Kershaw isn't great in the playoffs either. Miley has been good for a while now. The Brewers cashed in their "long relief in the pen" advantage without getting the W, but Dodgers used a lot of relievers too. That said, the Brewers rely heavily on their bullpen advantage, so it hurts them more than the Dodgers if a lot of relievers aren't available. I'd give the Dodgers the edge, but I think Miley gives us a chance.

Your obsession with my posts is getting weird dude. It's more your obsession with being right and also high and mighty. Also, that post was from 11 days ago! You have some strong opinions too but you need to just stick the opinions and not make it about the poster. I often don't even notice who said certain things or whom I'm replying to, and I'm sure most other people here do the same thing, but you're turning this into a weird personal vendetta and I have no interest in putting up with that sort of pettiness. I'm sure nobody else here wants to read it either. Is the original post above an example of an "obsession with being right and also high and mighty?" Would it help you understand the issue with these behaviors if I had quoted your posts about not using Peralta, which appeared in multiple threads, and reveled in how wrong they were? Or how about if I just went the blue font route and said "Good thing they're not going to use Peralta except in an emergency!", like you did when I said I wanted to PH for a pitcher and the pitcher ended up getting a hit? Maybe I should just quote your posts and add "in my opinion" and told you I "fixed if for you" - as if it's not a given that most posts here contain opinions? How about if I said "boy, you sure were high and mighty about wanting to add a starting pitcher like Cobb in the off season and saying the other win-now moves made no sense without a potential TOR starter"? For someone who whines so much about other posters, you sure do a lot of inappropriate stuff yourself. Try to stick to the opinions being debated. And if you are debating and you get the sense that the other person "has to be right", chances are you're guilty of the same thing if it's an ongoing debate in the first place, so take a look in the mirror.

I love that this is absolutely wrong. LOVE IT! Your obsession with my posts is getting weird dude.

He had some good/great starts against good teams in huge situations. You shouldn't be surprised if he does really well. It would be a high-risk, high-reward move, but look what he did against Colorado and St. Louis. He's a live arm and a great match-up against RHB's. It's a risky move but the benefits outweigh the costs IMO. We were all surprised when he started a critical game against the Cardinals but they know what they have in him and I think he'll get some meaningful work sooner or later. Tonight's game is perfect for it IMO.

By the way, count me in for Peralta. I understand the concerns. Would anyone really be surprised if he turns in a legendary performance though, like in his debut? I get it; nobody would be surprised if he walked 47 batters in a row either. I say it's worth the risk. Ride or die. It's our year.

If guys get on base I see no reason to keep Gio in there. I really hope that's what he's saving Guerra and Peralta for. Let them make some tough decisions about bringing in LHB's early. ETA: And Woodruff, of course. That's a given since that was the formula in game 1.

Nah, he should tell them to keep doing what they're doing. It's fine. Keep up the good work.

Your last statement could be said about 40 times a game in the IGTs. I think some of the Brewer fans are harder on the team than any tv talking head. You have to remember that's not always the same people though. I hardly criticized Counsell all year and defended his pitching choices nearly every single time, but lost my #2 when he brought in JJ last night. Does that mean I'm harder on them than the talking heads? I don't think so. I constantly acknowledge how much their ingenuity has helped get them here. I also constantly acknowledge that it's a guessing game and the goal is to make odds-based decisions that pay off in the long run. It is frustrating to see people who are paid to analyze baseball be so clueless.

LOL Good one! Maybe when they made that song they thought for sure Yu Darvish would be pitching in the playoffs?

Under the current model of limiting most of our pitchers to one trip through the order, Gio is ranked 12th out of 12 on the current staff. His biggest use is his left-handedness and dictating the Dodgers starting lineup. So yes, Gio is likely capped at 2-3 innings. Doubt they'll want to tempt fate and push him. He had a very short leash last time and there's no reason to give him a longer one now. The big question is, who follows Gio? It sounds like Woodruff will be the guy but I'm not so sure. The score after 3 might dictate who follows. I have a sneaking suspicion we might be surprised by the second out getter for the Brewers tonight. I could honestly see him pitching just 1 if the Dodgers start mostly RHB's and the pitcher's spot comes up in the top of the 2nd.

That's fair. however, I think the best way to get him on track is to rest him. Chances are the issues here are stemming from how much he's been used. Two straight off days maybe could've been a help in that regard. Exactly. That has to have a lot to do with it. It was a long season too. I don't really agree that Counsell is a player's manager. To me, that term is for people who leave Miley in, who don't bench Chase Anderson in September, and who don't send Knebel back to the minors even though he obviously needed it. I actually think that kind of gesture was a dramatic break from his normal m.o. His style has been more to approach guys and communicate why it's not working and why they might go in a different direction, and it's the honesty that players appreciate, but he doesn't cater to individual players much at all.

I agree. I see where he's coming from though. The Dodgers take the playoffs for granted but can't seem to get over the hump, and now it seems they're slowly starting to regress from their peak. They're kind of like the Packers of MLB for the last 6 years and they're all sick of spinning their wheels. Packer fans are frustrated with hitting a wall every year too, and now they're on the decline. There's kind of an entitled vibe all the way around. Their fans are starting to think it's not their year to get over the hump once again, and that gets old.