Jim French Stepstool
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While reading this I was reminded of one of my very favorite Barry Alvarez quotes-----"There's nothing like doing something that nobody thought you could do." It certainly was relative to Badger sports after the quarter-century their FB & BB programs experienced prior to the 90s. It also can relate to the situation that the majority of MLB teams are in today. What the Brewers are doing is they recognize that the 'unattainable' can be attained but it takes a well thought out plan by the FO, from personnel decisions at both the MLB & amateur levels to the sifting, winnowing & development from the DSL all the way to Nashville. And what I love about this organization is that it's working. The sobering reality is that it can 'work' & still not result in a WS champion----there's a lot of randomness to this game. Batted-ball luck (both good & bad). Health. Over a six-month plus season, playing your best baseball at the right time(s). Despite the stacked deck---and who knows, in the next contract maybe it won't be as stacked---I suspect I'm the type of fan that gets much more enjoyment out of what this organization has built & continues to build, and whatever that may lead to, than if I was a fan of the Yankees or Dodgers, or Ohio State FB, or Duke basketball. I don't think it would be quite the same level of satisfaction for each season to be either an expected championship or a failure w/no in between. As much as I relish the destination, maybe I hold the journey to a higher esteem since I so greatly appreciate what it involves.
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Except for the really, really IMPORTANT ones😛.
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Seems to me that over the last 9-10 years they have much more to ***** about than we do.
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Me too, as have all of us. I'm just comparing those kneejerk, off-line moments with some of the things that are displayed on here by some, that aren't kneejerk but displayed after some thought (not by you, AFA I know). Who cares? Obviously some do & some don't. I no longer pay any attention to the middle 80-90% of the IGT so it's not an issue for me. Just commenting on the observations of others. I've seen verbal attacks here at times, & I would hope that dissipates. In 3-4 different responses in this back & forth you threw out the "who cares?" line, which I agree is the best mindset to have for those who still like to follow the IGT and then read something emotion-based. Hope the rest of your weekend goes well.
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His early ABs with Biloxi haven't yielded much fruit, but I checked in on the game just in time to see Braylon Payne make a terrific charge & throw to nail a runner trying to go 1st-to-3rd on a single. The guy is a really fluid athlete.
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Yep. Kinda my point. between batters is hardly reactionary. It all comes back to the same merry-go-round we've been seeing on here. It's within every posters' right. Some will think it's fine. Some will criticize. And some will decide the IGT during the meat portion of the game isn't for them.
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Yep. And even THAT is (one would think) much less reactionary than spewing an expletive or dismembering a remote.
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When Frelick returns, the roster is in sort of the same situation it was in earlier this season when (as you said) either Mitchell or Frelick plays vs a LHP. The two differences are A) Bauers has gone from being a 1B you can throw into a corner OF spot sometimes to a legit option in RF. That was something I didn't see coming, due to not trusting his OF defense & never in a million years imagining him putting up quality ABs vs lefties. B) is Lara being a better option than Blake Perkins was. And all of this probably puts more pressure on Yelich to be better. There are other options & soon there will be one more.
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I'll bet many can multitask.😀.
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The way you give yourself a chance is by working smarter (and maybe harder). The analytics of pitching. Scouting & drafting. Development. Seeing underlying things in some players that others maybe don't (See Bauers; Jake). Being good at that stuff at least partially makes up for not being able to buy your way out of bad personnel decisions or injuries. And I don't know if there's anyone in MLB that does a better job of this than the Brewers. The way this whole thing is built & maintained deserves more credit than most of us give them, even the more 'positive' fans. This is true today, it's true tomorrow, and it was true after they lost three in SD.
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Fooled another one.😁 Seriously, thank you.
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You're right. I've just always had a hard time differentiating between a knee-jerk reaction at the ballpark or watching at home, and actually typing some of this stuff out. Whatever🤷♂️🤷♂️.
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Three times? Wasn't aware of that. Thanks!!
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That was a deal for what's to come. They knew when they made the trade that he wasn't available for awhile. Maybe he pitches well, maybe not. But it's not like they were screwed into taking someone they didn't know was coming off an appendectomy. And May was the main piece.
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By the nature of the beast they probably always will. Popular feature on fan boards but not for everyone.
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Often seems that way but I thought he looked very good today. Two well-placed ground balls. He refused to walk Dubon which I was impressed by, even though Dubon snuck one through. Tomorrow will be interesting vs their lefty swingers if it's close. Don't know if they want to go back to Ashby, and I don't think Hall has worked back-to-back this year.
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They have some real work to do to accomplish one prediction; that they were going to be four games out of 1st heading into Chicago.
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Whatever you want to credit---Hook & Henderson, the poise, refusal to give in to hitters, the catchers----we've had two starts in a row where guys weren't at their very best but at the end of the day a combined 12 innings & one run allowed. In many ways that's even more impressive than when you're at the top of your game & getting chases. Can't say enough. It looked like Pratt & Lara had really confident days today as well, on both ends. Hall showed what he can do when he can get & stay ahead. Nice win all around.
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All sounds optimistic that it's (hopefully) a minimum IL stint. He'd be eligible to return on Wednesday. Fingers crossed.
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Certainly seems that a former college bat like Sabathia is punching under his weight class in low-A. I wonder if enough ABs would be available with the T-Rats if he got a small taste before the close of the season?
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One final blurb re Senzatela--I'll take a page out of @liveforoctober's book & say that I don't know if this was touched on earlier. Although the leadoff walk in the 8th was a no-no, he hasn't walked a ton of hitters this season & I still have more good than bad feelings re the guy. I thought Atlanta's hitters had a terrific approach vs him to generate the run, and yet if not for the errant throw from Turang they likely don't score. But you certainly can't walk Yaz to start things.
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Maybe half a dozen or so starts left for him & a lot can happen, but you certainly have to favor him if going by the "if the season ended today" argument. Despite a day when he didn't have his most dominant FB he still goes 6 shutout vs a team that can certainly score runs. When you think about how some of his secondary stuff has evolved------we may have seen a watershed moment in his development last week when he wiped out Ohtani & Freeman w/the bases loaded, and NOT with the FB. Hopefully NO Brewer fans are taking his work for granted. You can be a fan for a team for many years & never have someone like this to pull for.
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M's pitchers seemed to settle into a pretty effective MO of throwing heat at or near the top of the zone. Why they didn't do that with Mitchell is beyond me. But I'll take it 😁.
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Despite the high H per IP, it's the command that's bothered me the most lately re Gasser, and today was easily the low point. I think they'll stick with him for now & should. But Murphy certainly ran out of patience with him today, and rightfully so. For someone who's received so much love for his work behind the plate, I agree there has been some head-scratching re Contreras this year. I follow the farm, but I have to admit I didn't know Crow was on that kind of a heater lately. Maybe Bo Naylor is the key (semi-blue).
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Despite what Gasser did today, if they go to a 5-man I'd like to see Drohan in the pen simply because both he & Gasser have done some good things as starters but Drohan has relieved this year & seems pretty comfy with it. Once Romero makes it back & you combine him with Ashby from the left side, then maybe I'd lean Drohan starting over Gasser. Let's see what Gasser does from here on out. The command today was unusually bad.
