roadcrew3

I think Yelich not being the same player since his contract extension is more correlated than Yelich not being the same player since his injury. At this point his injury occurred so long ago, and he has taken so many swings since then, that any concern he might have had in his head about reinjuring it is long gone. Has his work ethic changed at all though now that he secured his bag and gained celebrity status as a top player in the game?? You can point the finger at Attanasio and the front office for a lot of different things, but extending Yelich isn't one in my opinion. He was going to be a back-to-back MVP who wanted to be in Milwaukee and took a friendly deal (at the time) relative to what he would've got in Free Agency. In a market like MKE, you do that every time. How quickly we forget that at the time he signed his deal, he was regularly being compared to a guy like Trout...he was widely considered one of the top players in the league. Him seemingly losing his power over night isn't really something you could have projected. But, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I think his lack of power is also related to our weaker lineups as well. Even with his EV down a tick or two, he still hits the ball hard. Give the guy more fastballs in the zone and we'll see more power.

Well...his production is probably a factor in his attitude. Definitely more fun when you're hitting a homerun every 10 at bats.

That's valid, but I feel like the first time he came back he got a hit early and then looked lost. This time it feels like he is actually taking a few tough pitches. Yeah he's been back for 11 games before this one and has two 4 game hitting streaks. I don't think he looks nearly as lost as before. Although it has been a game and a half since his last hit so idk. Not like the rest of the lineup was crushing Megill but Hiura was just swinging through fastballs...the guy had good stuff that the whole team struggled with. I'm not sure 11 games was enough to declare Hiura back but I am certain that 2 games is not enough to say he's useless again

Interesting tidbits on how teams are attacking Yelich this year. First off, opponents seem like they have found out how to effectively shift against him. 2018 - he saw shifts less than 2% of the time 2019 - shifts 32% of the time...wOBA - no shift = .428 vs wOBA - shift = .470 2020 - shifts 54% of the time...wOBA - no shift = .376 vs wOBA - shift = .315 2021 - shifts 59% of the time...wOBA - no shift = .405 vs wOBA - shift = .322 Less significant but also interesting is he's been seeing less fastballs and more breaking pitches than he's seen at any other point in his career. 2021 FB % = 53% xBA = .266 Breaking % = 32% xBA = .179 2020 FB % = 56% xBA = .271 Breaking % = 32% xBA = .221 2017 - 2019 FB % = ~58% xBA = ~.350 Breaking % = ~27% xBA = ~.245 Have to think the increased breaking pitches are likely contributing to his lower swing % and increased walk rate but also might be a contributing factor to him squaring up less fastballs if he is having to take more time reading the pitch. The breaking pitches he's essentially rolling right over with -6 LA. Especially glaring comparing it to his 15 LA on breaking pitches back in 2019...which is the highest LA of any pitch during his career. Hopefully the rest of the lineup hitting better can provide Yelich more protection and force pitchers to throw him more fastballs. Also can prevent teams from shifting as effectively if he's hitting with more guys on base. His hard hit % is top 6% in the league, so here's hoping the "hitting is contagious" saying applies and greater production from the rest of the lineup will be a contributing factor to Yelich returning closer to his MVP form.

(4) @ Pittsburgh 3-1 (3) @ New York Mets 1-2 (4) Cincinnati 2-2 (3) @ Cincinnati 1-2 (2) Kansas City 2-0 (3) Chicago White Sox 2-1 (3) @ Pittsburgh 3-0 (2) @ Atlanta 1-1 15-9 overall, Yelich really gets going

Sounds like same calf again...had to jump out of the way of a pitch during his AB and looks like he reaggravated it

Willy Adames has so far been what I hoped Orlando Arcia would be

He really seemed to settle in right when that trade occurred. Maybe took a little pressure off of him. I thought that trade was Stearns acknowledging his mistake and it would be the beginning of the end for Urias...could not have been more wrong and could not be happier to be wrong about it

Might've been just to save Yelich. Yelich was exchanging words with the ump on his walk back to the dugout so Haines might've stepped in to take the fall before the player did

See, I get this argument. You are basically saying that the Brewers should be playing matchups better. That is a solid, logical argument. One that's difficult to disagree with given the circumstances. Thats what all of us who wanted to start Burnes are saying. I think most if not all of us are ok with the 6 man rotation but were in favor of Burnes starting today because of the opponent. Does it make a difference if they win today and lose tomorrow instead though? Either way they are going 1-1 over the next two days..at this point in the season I think you need to just try to rack up wins and not worry about the opponent.

Does a win against the Cubs in June really mean that much more than one against the Pirates, though? Perhaps to us fans as a rivalry game it does, but in the scheme of the final season standings, I don't know if it is a huge thing. I didn't see the decision to start Ashby today as a give-away to the Cubs. He's a legit MLB-caliber arm. Pretty obvious that he isn't ready yet based on today's results, but it isn't like the Brewers went into the game today with the predetermined decision to hand it to the Cubs. They obviously hoped their top pitching prospect would be good enough to make it through a couple innings. It didn't happen. That's baseball. This is spot on. If they had known starting Ashby would lead to a 7 spot in the first inning, they obviously wouldn't have done it. It happened though and that's baseball. At this point in the season you are just trying to win games regardless of who the opponent is. Does it make any difference if they lose today, but win tomorrow starting Burnes compared to if they started Burnes today and won but went with Ashby tomorrow and lost?

It's the big leagues man. No need to coddle the guy, he had a bad debut and it is what it is. If he is good enough to get big league hitters out it doesn't matter who you are playing. This is really out of touch with what happened. He earned 5 outs and trash defense couldn't convert 3 of them. Most single A teams convert all 5 of those outs routinely. I'm not sure who you are saying is out of touch, but to clarify my position: The organization thinks Ashby is an MLB caliber pitcher. If that is the case, it doesn't matter if you are playing the best team in the league or worst team in the league. I agree with you, he didn't get any help out there. He also didn't pitch well though. It was all around a bad debut. Like I said, it is what it is, I'm in no way saying he is a poor pitcher or that he won't be good for the Brewers. He just had a bad outing and no need to act like he was put in an unfair situation.

It's the big leagues man. No need to coddle the guy, he had a bad debut and it is what it is. If he is good enough to get big league hitters out it doesn't matter who you are playing.

That was one of the worst stolen base attempts I've seen in awhile

Maybe it is the Chicago to Milwaukee relationship but Cubs fans just have a way to really piss me off. The latest has come from seeing so many Cubs fans rip the Brewers for playing a weak schedule. These guys seem convinced the Brewers success is largely due to the quality of their opponent and when the schedule toughens up in July, the Cubs will be there to take over the division. As if the Brewers haven't beaten the Cubs 7 of the 10 times they've played already... Let's go sweep them and leave no doubt about who the better team is

Yelich's 20% walk rate is ridiculous...he obviously has a good eye but pitchers are also pretty clearly working around him and not giving him much to hit. Hopefully the Adames HR last night is the beginning of Yelich having more protection in the lineup and going forward, maybe teams will start to think twice about if they are better off putting him on just to face Hiura/Adames/Garcia with an extra man on base.

This is positive thinking and I know its the optimism thread so I'll try to state this accordingly...but at this point, when Shaw returns I'm not sure if there is a spot for him or atleast, not sure where his ABs are going to come from. Urias, Adames, and a healthy Wong are all playing like guys you want in the lineup everyday. Hiura looks to be regaining form too...not many more ABs to go around for that infield.

I completely agree...pitching wins in October and these starters combined with days off that will allow for Williams, Hader, and maybe one more strong pen arm to be going in almost every game won't need many runs to win 4 times in 7 games. Plus just having Woodruff, Burnes, or Peralta to turn to in an elimination game gives me a lot more confidence than somebody like Marcum or Chacin.

The team literally just traded two of their better relievers for a bat....I don't think they are ignoring the offensive side because their pitching is good.

Regardless of the outcome here, do you agree with the decision to walk Yelich to face Avi right now? Crazy that right now I'm not sure its the obvious choice

End of April into early May showed us just how lethal that offense was....lethal to anybody watching it that is

Feel bad for Shaw as I never want to see a guy get injured, especially with something that seems pretty severe. Glass half full for him though is he might end up collecting a big league pay check a little longer now that he will be going to the IL. Not sure how much time left he had on the team with his current production

I don't think anyone is thinking/advocating they trade him for nothing. But I do think they would trade him if they felt they got a fair return on him at this point. I would definitely look at trading him for a perceived fair return. If he goes on to mash somewhere else, then it is what it is. What is his perceived fair return though? I can't imagine he brings back anything that would be a difference maker this season so it seems to me the Brewers are better off hanging on to him and see if he can correct his issues next year. Making a move just to make a move doesn't really help because with his age and experience he can just stay at AAA for as long as you want...I would rather gamble on his upside than a lottery ticket from another organization. Maybe if Kelencic keeps struggling then there could be a change of scenery trade match...but that is really just wishful thinking and wouldn't actually become realistic until maybe this time next year...but at that point if Hiura isn't hitting still then he probably has 0 value

Curious what people's response to this is. Allocating 100 points across rivals, I went with: Cubs - 50 (obvious) Cards - 35 (obvious) Dodgers - 15 (due to recent NLCS and last years WC) Reds/Pirates don't seem to fit as our teams haven't been competitive during the same windows. I also don't view the Twins as anything other than a close geographical opponent.

I think Woodruff, Burnes, and Hader are close to locks to be there. Peralta probably doesn't have the national recognition needed. His stat line is similar to guys like Kershaw, Wheeler, Flaherty so would think they get the nod over him just based on popularity. I agree not sure any position player would be in consideration, although, if Yelich has a nice few weeks here he might be able to make that list of the last player voted in by fans (if they still do that).