Chicago Here

^^^This^^^ I'm curious as to who your bats were last year? I am a new Brewer fan and it's hard to imagine how this team got to within 1 game of the wildcard? I mean, if Yelish and Cain weren't around and Aguilar wasn't a regular??? At any rate, not sure if Miller is going to convert to SS. His first game in the minors he had two errors. Anything worth a shot though by playing him and also playing Aguilar at 3rd when needed. But the bottom line is that we need another bat to compete in the playoffs. Our bullpen is solid, not sure if our starters are for real so we could use an ace. But the Brewers didn't make a move last year when the playoffs was on the line, so not sure we can expect a move. I mean this isn't the Astros. If it were then I'd go with an Ace first over a much needed bat. I've seen some talk, on here, about Santana going to AAA but I don't think that's the answer. Sogard on this team and getting bats, shows how we have little depth anyways. Let alone sending Santana down. I mean, even if Counsel stops the musical chairs and we don't have any of our bats with 'rest' days, we are only maybe 6 deep at best. The last 3 spots are just wasted at bats statistically. If we have guys 'on rest' then sometimes we only have 4 or at most 5 guys who can swing at this level.

We need great pitchers and cy young winners to go against so we can crush it. Struggling pitchers and AAAA pitchers have had our number. At any rate, sure would be nice to have a consistent lineup. Counsell must take notes off of Madden.

Obviously, Counsell gave up on the game and wanted to get Houser some work. Last night he gave up on the game and tossed logan in there. Logan's Runs cost us. That said, we lost this game because philly had some hot bats. It happens. As far as Santana, he can do better than what he has been giving us over the last several weeks. He might wanna force a trade.

Can we just not hit RHP? What is our weakness with hitting? I mean it just cant be random where we get 12 runs one game then cant get a hit. There has to be some data that provides some telling stats.

No doubt Logan won't make the playoff roster. My guess is that we carry 4 starting pitchers and move a starter to the pen for any playoffs. Logan, Sogard, aren't going to be on any successful playoff team. Don't worry.

With a completely rested BP, and only down 1 run against a tough team, why would CC go with arguably our absolute worst bullpen dude? I can't make any sense of it but the game fell away from us really quick after Loggy went in.

Sorta tough to get innings credited when your whip is almost 2.5. He has been around long enough. 16 games and a 2.4 WHIP. His ERA would be around 12.0 if he actually ever did pitch one inning at a time. That said, he has lost his command years ago. Obviously, we don't have anyone better though as Counsell isn't just throwing games away on purpose. Maybe he pitches 'lights out' in simulation or practice and just needs some more work in games. Whatever the case, we need to send him on assignment if he can't straighten things out and get the WHIP below 2.0. Dude is absolutely frying us. If he is hurt, then give him some rest because he is just awful and has cost us 5 games this year.

there will be more brewer fans today with SSH day

I didn't say it is what i would do. It is what i thought counsell would do. Flip 1 and 3 and i was correct.. I hear ya. Bummer that Braun is on the bench after hitting .400 against Chatwood and the club is in some sore need of Leadership. That said, Go Crew!

How could you rest Braun who is hitting .400 against Chatwood? C'mon mann. And if anyone isn't intimidated and KNOWS how to beat the Cubs, it is Ryan Braun. Let's not get dopey. And if Sogard plays, that will show why some teams simply don't make it to the playoffs.

Cubbies go with the same lineup and expect their players to perform, even though some like Baez are awful against Anderson. Difference between winners and losers. It's called trust as opposed to sitting down your best hitters and best players and playing Lefty vs Righty games. That works against teams like the Mets, but only works against World Series caliber teams only in the movies. Sad. We are making the exact same mistake every game this year. With only winning 1 out of 9 games against the Cubs, one would think that Counsell would put down the chart and just trust his best players. At any rate, give Aguilar some time off, he is swinging at ghost and fences only.

How could you rest Braun who is hitting .400 against Chatwood? C'mon mann. And if anyone isn't intimidated and KNOWS how to beat the Cubs, it is Ryan Braun. Let's not get dopey.

37 yo runner tagging at first, and our MLB 2nd baseman doesn't know where he is? I could have been blindfolded and told you that Zobrist wasn't close to the bag. A gifted double play but a second baseman who fell asleep and wasn't focused. That said, Villar did homer previously and was about the only batter who wasn't crapping his pants against a very lame Quintana who would have a 7.0 ERA minus the brewer games. He's got his back turned waiting for the ball. Why would you think he knows where he is? When he has Arcia screaming tag! tag! tag! at him I would assume that it's going to be a close play. When I was watching I was shocked at how far away from the base Zobrist was. Look, no way in hell is he close to second base. I could have known that with a blindfold on. Certainly, I don't need Arcia to be crying as Villar said (odd for him to say that). Zobrist is 37 years old. It was a completely asinine decision by him to run. Speedsters like Cain wouldn't even tag up. Zobrist must have seen the mass confusion out in the outfield between Yelich and Cain and figured that maybe Cain wouldn't be on the pivoted foot to get a lot on the throw. While Zobrist was partially correct as Cain didn't get as much on the throw as he could have, everyone in the stands knew the 37 yo Zobrist simply was a gifted double play and poor base running and not EVER be close to second. Nobody ever is, never mind a old guy like Zobrist. Certainly, Villar didn't need Arcia screaming at him. That said, the ball was there in plenty of time, and Villar panicked and assumed Zobrist was Bob Hayes and he dropped the ball. Sad.

So take advantage of it and jack the tickets for Brewers/Cubs game up to $200 for terrace reserve seats and $50 for general parking. Bleed them dry if they want to come. Fixed I think restricting ticket sales to in-state credit cards is needed to protect your home from invasion. Thats what the astros do and other teams. Something has to be done. its embarrassing and damaging to the product.

I see no problem selling tickets to Cubs fans, I do it often enough with my 20 pack...helps me pay for it. They'll find their way in if they want to get in, whether it's my tickets or someone elses or buying from the brewers ticket office. One other kick I got out of this game(along with every other Cubs game) is how excited their fans get for medium deep fly balls. I remember one specific one yesterday, clearly off the trademark based on the sound...extremely loud cheers as Braun jogs in maybe 20 feet and makes a routine catch. You would think after a while, even a fringe intelligent human being would figure out the difference between a HR and a shallow-medium deep fly ball. I found it odd that the game wasn't sold out and that the market price on SH for tickets to the game was fairly low. Wasn't like the Cubs fans paid premium on SH. While our attendance is over $1 million, the supply and demand pressures mean that Brewer ticket prices must be kept low, thus the $5 seats and the $20 bucks for 6 tickets packages that pack fans into the seats. The Indians marker, even smaller, has less price pressures and can get above face value premiums because the product is more sustained. But the brewer market will gain steam if we keep winning. One more player pickup prior to trading deadline (an ace preferred) may push us into a divisional championship.

I think Counsell is a very good manager but has little experience in big games/playoff games and has to do a better job managing prime games. Experienced playoff seasoned managers understand that you necessarily have to be more aggressive in these monster games and leave the comfort zones that a manager finds in playing the numbers games against non elite teams. Counsell stuck to his guns last night and was extremely conservative. While the decision to pull Jeffries after one inning was conservative, it was also logical since Hader was burned for the entire series and Abers has pitched solid all year and was still available. But against a hot batting team like the Cubs and with Jeffries in command, the better play imo would have been to leave Jeffries in. Essentially, not worrying about tomorrow and playing for the win...….and much needed psych and confidence for the team. On offense, we put up a lineup that was conservative, data based, and did what Counsell always does in these Cub games, sits Left handed batters. But after we see the same results over and over again, maybe it's time to just play your best players. Sitting Shaw made some sense as he is 1 for 14 against Q but I just don't think it sends the right message to the ballclub sitting your stud players in a bigtime national game. Obvoiusly, Aguilar is going through a funk as his avg dropped 50 points recently, albeit a few HR's, but sitting both Shaw and Thames seems really odd. On the other hand, Madden allowed haywood to hit against Hader. He delivered. But at the end of the day, Counsell's moves were justified, even if there may have been a more aggressive approach, and we lost this game because our players simply choked. On defense, and of course on offense. No confidence against the Cubs but we give the Cubs a lot of confidence against us. Hopefully, we can get lucky and at least win one game in the series. Oh, and btw, the Cubs are the better team as well.

The brewers solicit more Cub fans by charging more for tickets and more for parking. And they can take a different approach as well. For instance the Astros don't just sell tickets over the internet with purchases from out of state credit cards, without the person having to make a phone call. This wouldn't do away with all Cub fans but the brewers price their own fans out of the games to make a bit more $$ off Cub fans. If you want to reduce Cub fans then don't raise the parking prices and ticket prices for Cub games that price some Brewer fans out of the market.

37 yo runner tagging at first, and our MLB 2nd baseman doesn't know where he is? I could have been blindfolded and told you that Zobrist wasn't close to the bag. A gifted double play but a second baseman who fell asleep and wasn't focused. That said, Villar did homer previously and was about the only batter who wasn't crapping his pants against a very lame Quintana who would have a 7.0 ERA minus the brewer games.

Honestly, we have a small market and the worst TV deal in MLB (But will be up for renegotiation after this season $$$) so I think Stearns is forced to take the same sorta routes that small market teams like Cleveland did by using the revocable waivers after the trading deadline. Basically, getting a solid player but just to play out the season and pay the remaining salary pro rated over the last month like the Indians did when they acquired Bruce last August. I'd imagine for us to find an infielder that would leave guys like Sogard off the roster. Or an Ace. I think Kratz is filling the backup catcher role nicely, and I'm not as down on Pina as most of you. He has a solid arm and I think his bat will come around.

If they let Sogard hit... I’ll cry .. but I don’t think there’s any other option on D..? Obviously, we don't have any All Stars at second or SS which we are weak at so a guy like Sogard can stick on our roster and get 9th inning AB's even though he only bats .111. It's the hand that our manager has been dealt. That said, we are neck and neck with the Cubs and I like our chances to win the division but only if we make a move before the deadline. We will. I'm hoping we get depth at SS or second. We can't think about winning in the playoffs with someone like Sogard in our lineup. We seemed to have strengthened our catching position with the latest addition, so I'm not as concerned. Bandy just wasn't the sorta player that can help out a playoff caliber team. Other than maybe picking up an Ace or a infielder, I think we are in great shape!

amazing how neither santana or braun could get into a linup even with the extra DH bat but sogurd and Choi can. Not sure when the Choi and sogurd experiment will end but we wouldnt have our 2nd base problem if we didnt waive the potential All Star 2nd base dude from the reds. That said, Villar seems decent but he is hitting too well so its sogurd time. At any rate, i have been impressed with our pitching and thats what has us with the best record in the NL and thats what wins playoff games. We may need to find an ace or infielder by the trade deadline though.

Counsell is playing numbers on offense and defense. Brantlys double never would have happened with that crazy shift. Brantly is too good of a hitter to leave half the field open. And LH batters have had better success against carrasco so Counsell played Choi over Braun or Santana. At some pt, we cant keep leaving sluggers on the bench for a 12 year 3A guy who hasnt ever produced and is barely batting .150. Between choi and sogurd, Counsell is killing us.

cant hit awful pitching from worst team in baseball. The bottom line is in games when the temp gets down below 60 we freez up like the Tim Man. It was 53 by the 7th inning. All of our games below 60 degrees has us way below .500.

it depends where DS wants us to be. If we want to win a ws then we will most certainly have to get an ace. Julyaugust transactions secured ws wins and appearances by either getting an ace (houston verlander) or pen (chapman cubs, miller indians). If DS is thinking ws...and im pretty sure he is, journeymen like Miley isnt who he is banking on. Me thinks we secure an ace. Im almost cedtain.