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Jim French Stepstool

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Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool

  1. Jim French Stepstool
    Reminded of my favorite movie, "Goodfellas". When Henry Hill is bailed out of jail & feels he's getting shot outside the police station, the narration goes "This is the bad time". The offense is struggling big time, and not to excuse that, but at the same time they're not catching breaks at all on batted balls. Just the worst of both worlds. Keep pitching & defending the way they have been lately. If you've done that all along, you're maybe tied or even still in first (week of the trade deadline, looking at you). Unfortunately tonite was a perfect opponent for Gonsoulin, as if he needed any help. Uses aggressiveness against you. I wonder if he's had an easier pair of ABs all year than his two confrontations with Taylor. The positive other than obviously Lauer to me was Feliciano. Hopefully a preview of the type of competing we'll see from the prospects coming behind him. His last two ABs were absolutely terrific. The frustration from fans is justified. Hafta say though, I read some of the comments & have to take a second look at the calendar. I'm thinking it's September 20th.
  2. Jim French Stepstool
    A bunch of BP guys who worked 1 inning yesterday while not working Monday. BP should be in decent shape. Major props to Renfroe last night for making himself tough to guard in the 11th, to borrow a hoops term. Sometimes we settle for way too many 3-point shots.?
  3. Jim French Stepstool
    Yeah. He's been terrific but 14 wins in the middle of August, in this day & age that's real throwback stuff. Not to mention only one blemish.
  4. Jim French Stepstool
    There's a lot of different scenarios here, all of them have merit. Who knows if Adames would be cool with moving to 3B, but it would be a nice plug-in there if he was. But I liked Urias' ascent in '21, and still believe in him. His 2022 has been one of the bigger disappointments for me. If Turang gets plugged in at 2B I have no worries defensively. Even w/o a lot of work there I think he'd be fine, although it's a little curious that if they're thinking of doing that you'd think he'd play there some this year. They've moved him around a little but not to 2B that I know of. He can certainly handle SS but I just have a hard time seeing them move Adames & hand Turang the spot. If I had to guess I'd say the left side of the INF will be the same next April w/ Turang at second. But if there's a trade It'll probably involve getting a 3B, then with the versatility of some of these guys who knows?
  5. Jim French Stepstool
    There's a lot of different scenarios here, all of them have merit. Who knows if Adames would be cool with moving to 3B, but it would be a nice plug-in there if he was. But I liked Urias' ascent in '21, and still believe in him. His 2022 has been one of the bigger disappointments for me. If Turang gets plugged in at 2B I have no worries defensively. Even w/o a lot of work there I think he'd be fine, although it's a little curious that if they're thinking of doing that you'd think he'd play there some this year. They've moved him around a little but not to 2B that I know of. He can certainly handle SS but I just have a hard time seeing them move Adames & hand Turang the spot. If I had to guess I'd say the left side of the INF will be the same next April w/ Turang at second. But if there's a trade It'll probably involve getting a 3B, then with the versatility of some of these guys who knows?
  6. Jim French Stepstool
    Totally agree re local over national. I'd flip Tim Allen on after games sometimes. Some of the stuff he came up with was kinda goofy but I guess we're all guilty of that sometimes; I enjoyed his passion for the Brewers. The rest of the programming I won't miss simply because it was so Packer-centric & My interest in the NFL over the years has almost totally dried up. TMJ has a talk show after the games. I might give that a try but expect it's a little too "company line" for my taste.
  7. Jim French Stepstool
    The pruning of "AAAA" guys continues at Nashville. With Singleton still there & rotating one of the 4 primary OFs in the DH spot it makes perfect sense. Nice to be able to get a return for White & Almonte, even if it's just cash.
  8. Jim French Stepstool
    The pruning of "AAAA" guys continues at Nashville. With Singleton still there & rotating one of the 4 primary OFs in the DH spot it makes perfect sense. Nice to be able to get a return for White & Almonte, even if it's just cash.
  9. Jim French Stepstool
    But that isn't always true when you look at results. If I'm playing, yeah, I'd rather hit the ball hard every time. It often pays off. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's detrimental. It's a weird game.
  10. Jim French Stepstool
    Just a few random thoughts (sorry if any of this has been covered)..... If I have the ability to play at this level, & I'm coming up in Yelichs' spot to lead off the tenth, I look for the bunt sign. If I don't get the sign, I stare in the dugout at Craig Counsell like he has a cucumber growing out of his forehead, step back in, and bunt on my own. Obviously a much needed win. Feel glad McCutchen could be a part of the final play. Hit a number of balls hard tonite W/no results. I loved the comment after the Muncy/Suter (LH vs LH) AB. "They worked carefully to him". No, not with Turner next. Suter just didn't make his pitches there. Why are TV directors so obsessed with showing that stupid thing Kimbrel does with his arms while looking in for the sign?
  11. Jim French Stepstool
    Big part of the reason I've never paid attention to exit velo.
  12. Jim French Stepstool
    I agree, there's plenty of hope. He's had stretches where he's been very effective, especially before the recent 7-8 day skid. But the effectiveness is pretty much limited to reaching base only. IMO you have to leave him in the leadoff spot, or else hit him 9th.
  13. Jim French Stepstool
    If you're talking one of the top 8-9 guys in the system for Drury, then I'm all-in on the hoarding philosophy (and I like Drury). A package involving guys in the teens or twenties, sure. Whether we explored that avenue no one knows, but I doubt that would've matched what they got from SD. Peralta or Naquin I agree would've come cheaper but I don't think they checked the versatility box the Brewers seem to value. Just a guess, but I also think they would've preferred a RH bat.
  14. Jim French Stepstool
    This. They may be able to increase their payroll, but by the same token everyone else can too, and most to a greater extent. They'll always be chasing that carrot as long as the financial structure of the game stays as is.
  15. Jim French Stepstool
    Indeed he did. Probably one of my biggest bones to pick with Doug. That, and his propensity to preside over drafting corner INF'ers from Saskatchewan or British Columbia who flashed power in the low minors, then flamed out in A+ or AA with a .210 BA, 5 K's for every walk drawn, and a glove made of granite.
  16. Jim French Stepstool
    Another area where the Brewers weren't exactly smiled upon by MLB. You just mentioned 8 players, all of whom could indeed help. There are a few roster spots that could obviously be upgraded by some of those names, but come September you can only expand to 28. Of course we never went all the way to 40, but adding as many arms as we wanted really helped us in the last month--IMO more than most teams. I can see doing away with expanding to 40, but I would've liked 30 or 32. Going to 28 pissed me off.
  17. Jim French Stepstool
    It's an internet msg board. I'd be shocked if there weren't many.
  18. Jim French Stepstool
    I'd agree that many of his decisions have been questionable. But I don't think the rule changes in MLB have done him or the Brewers any favors. A great many of his successful moves in the past stemmed from his BP usage, which has been greatly curtailed with the 3 batter rule. I mean, this is the guy who started Dan Jennings & pulled him after ONE batter. I also feel his moves in the past re PH's & double switches often gave us an edge. Forget about that with the DH. I dunno if "lazy" is a proper description or not, but if it is maybe we can blame MLB for basically making all mgrs lazy, or dumbing them down.
  19. Jim French Stepstool
    That makes some sense vs RHP, but they'll never start a batting order with two lefties vs LHP. Adames just needs to figure out how to be more consistent. He's not getting benched, and the Ks are killing the team regardless of where he hits. The approach has changed somewhat; he's trying to go the other way. He's just had a bad season up to this point.
  20. Jim French Stepstool
    Good post. But we don't know what we needed to give up to pick up said bat. Until we know that, and we probably never will, it's tough to criticize. And in the last paragraph I think "unable" fits better than unwilling. Everything else I agree 100%.
  21. Jim French Stepstool
    It's admittedly strange, but the thing that hit me late in the game was that the LA offense tonite resembled ours recently. Two solo HRs. Except one of them was with a man on because Milner got ahead of a hitter then made no quality pitches, and Adames gifted them one in the fifth. I know what everyone will shout from the rooftops, that it makes no difference when you can't score. But to me, when the foundation you build success on isn't there, you aren't giving yourself much of a chance. Lots of defense & athleticism to choose from in the future regarding the OF. It's going to be interesting to see where Yelich fits in, because he pretty much HAS to fit in somewhere. That throw in the fifth.........I know he has a bad arm, but my goodness.
  22. Jim French Stepstool
    It may prove to be. But for all the wrong reasons.
  23. Jim French Stepstool
    That's the thought I tried to convey in previous comments, but you put it a lot cleaner than I did. Consistency. In the past they've been successful over the long haul with a lot of 6-4 stretches & no significant losing streaks thanks to the pitching. Now it's like they have to make up for the pity party they threw themselves while the Pirates & Reds were beating us.
  24. Jim French Stepstool
    Right, if they decide to go with Sal the 40-man thing is really no problem. I actually appreciate Davis. Looking at his entire career, what he's given us is about what we should expect plus probably a little more. But yeah, I think it's just about time.
  25. Jim French Stepstool
    This. Baseball is more random than any other sport w/regard to outcomes & success in a given day, week, etc. Yet people still need to be reminded of that. The team hasn't played well for an extended period for a LONG time, and it has to change. That's job 1 right now, more important than who they're chasing, who's coming up on the sked, etc. The 3 games in St Louis are pretty much what their games are going to have to look like from here on (with the exception of the blowup in the eighth inning Sunday). A little more of a "less is more" approach would help. Renfroe has shown that, and it's gotten him pitches to pull. Adames even shows that approach at times, but it's way too intermittent. And not to make excuses, but they could use a little luck, which is always part of the equation if you have a successful season. There were maybe 10 balls hit very hard this weekend that went for outs. I have no idea if we'll see him, but they have to be at least thinking about Frelick. As for the pitchers, I agree Cousins could make an impact if he can consistently work ahead in the count. Saw Topa throw last night & thought he looked very ordinary. Mechanics look OK, everything comes out of the same slot but just don't see much movement or ability to miss bats. Regarding Houser, Ashby might've turned a corner Sunday; if that's the case Houser could return as a 2-3 inning guy out of the pen which could be very useful. I wasn't a fan of the Rosenthal deal but it's sounding likely we'll see him at some point so that'll be interesting.
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