Jim French Stepstool
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Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool
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No one wants to drop out of the top 2 of course. But they've played pretty well on the road for the most part so I don't think it would be some sort of death knell. Home or road, a bigger factor is whether or not they're playing close to or at the top of their game in October. That's the case with everyone.
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I dunno if the successive # of games in a row played a part, but to me they looked like a different team after the rain delay. Better ABs by Cincy, a little more energy. And I don't know if reverse splits played a part, but I thought going with Romero in the 6th wasn't a good idea. I would've expected Anderson, then go with the 'primary' guys. Of course I also would've hit for Sanchez in the 9th, and I would've been wrong. Just pointing that out because fan boards are filled with rants from folks who complain that they would've done 'A' after 'B' failed, but when 'B' works they never admit that they would've done something else. What really sucked was May seemed to get on a very nice roll & Ma Nature pulled the rug out from under him. They were down by two in the 9th. Sanchez staying in after the double was a no-brainer. You MIGHT see him get PR for down two runs fifty years ago when you had seven position players on the bench, but probably not even then.
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Thurs. 9/3: Heading Down the Stretch
Jim French Stepstool replied to Jim Goulart's topic in Brewers Minor League Talk
Rylan Mills is doing a nice impersonation of a young Johnny Bench at the plate. I haven't seen much of his work defensively but understand it's been a struggle (a 19-yr-old catcher in full-season ball; it would be quite the surprise if there WEREN'T issues back there). Anyone out there who's seen him behind the plate more than I have, I'd love a scouting report. Thx in advance. -
Great point; much better than some of the lineup griping. Bauers didn't look good at the plate tonite but he usually doesn't get himself out. He can extract a walk. So I'd have let him hit. Sanchez for Yelich makes a lot of sense though, especially since you made the same move in reverse earlier in the series. Unless he goes up there totally undisciplined (possible), I think he's at least even money to draw a walk, you run for him, then either Pratt or Lara for Mitchell.
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Media types always like to say how this & that is 'wide open' even when it really isn't, like they're trying to sell airtime or something. But when you look at the top 4-5 teams in the NL, it really appears to be the case this year. But in the case of the team we played this week, in a playoff scenario I don't know how often they can avoid having to get 10, 11, or 12 outs from their bullpen, which sounds like a pretty big ask.
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I hear ya. For sure, he's not swinging the bat like a guy you want up there in the order. I just don't know what the other options would be. I think Murphy sees Pratt & Ortiz in a good spot mentally right now & might be reluctant to mess with that. Moving someone up in the order shouldn't make a difference, but that doesn't mean it doesn't. I don't like Mitchell up there now that he's cooled off, and as @wiguy94pointed out Lara right now isn't someone you can just plug into the 2-hole regardless of who the pitcher is. Down the road, either him or Lara could be great fits there. And you want Chourio to hit with some baserunners so that's also a factor re the bottom 2-3 spots. If you were to give him a break from that spot in the order I guess the best options would be Ortiz, or Frelick if/when he's in the lineup.
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Tonite was a refresher course for those who think the term 'good pitching can beat good hitting' no longer applies. I know Gausman has mediocre numbers on the year but they would be much, much better if he threw the way he did in this game. Not that there weren't some poor ABs, but it was mostly him being one step ahead pretty much all night. It's why you saw some of the takes on hittable balls, and why I hate guessing w/two strikes. This was a night where Gausman getting through the 7th inning was huge for them. The thing about Turang that is confounding to me is that he's perfectly happy going to the opposite field, he's good at it, and he's getting pitches he can go that way with; it's not like people are constantly busting him inside every AB. Yet he's STILL having contact issues. A hitter that can go oppo getting balls he can do that with & missing them is.......weird. Just in a bad place right now. A bad leadoff walk from Hall followed two hitters later by a drive that was caught, but I liked his willingness to be aggressive in the zone. His breaker for a strike on the 2-1 pitch just before the walk was pretty. Just so much better than he was pre-IL. I had no issue with the lineup. Hamiltons' at-bats were more good than bad IMO, Ortiz coulda sat for Pratt but they're both swinging the bat well, and if Turang would benefit from a day it would most likely come vs a LHP.
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I mentioned the other day that if he starts this weekend, looking at the off-days coming up he can then start once a week afterwards (assuming they stay w/the 6-man). That should give them enough time to work out kinks in the delivery, possible pitch-tipping etc while still giving him a comparative breather. He could even be piggybacked if that would be advantageous, now that you have 14 pitchers, So, no IL for my money unless he's actually hurt.
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Tell him "Nah, I don't think STL has a run left in them." Another favorite of mine is "Oh, you're a fan of Chicago. The ummmm.....ah, damn, you know.......help me out......not the White Sox, the OTHER team..........."
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For no particular reason I had the last few innings on mute. I got a kick out of BA on Sunday when Chourio was hitting w/no one on base down 7-2, on a 3-0 count: "Let's see if Chourio has the green light here," I also get annoyed at him rocking the "PCA" nickname. That's fine for national guys, Ron Coomer & Pat Hughes. I'd rather a Brewer announcer not refer to him that way (I know, unimportant).
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From a strength standpoint, right now it looks like Herman (Munster) vs Herman, (Pee Wee). As long as we're on the BP, let's hope for the best for Webb. Damn, took that one right on the throwing arm.
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Anyone else reminded of the '18 team tonite, when four or even five guys would go an inning each & barely give up anything? Nice to bail out a subpar start tonite. We all know that doesn't happen real often. Really looked to me like it wasn't the mound for Misiorowski as much as simply missing badly, and also some close misses that weren't chased---that team can do that to you. They had a nice approach. Good to see it was wasted. Great approach at the plate, not only scoring runs but getting Peterson out of the game early & making the Chicago manager go through his BP rolodex early one more time. I wonder how often we'll see Bauers in the OF from now on, esp RF. That looked like one heck of a Suzuki impersonation on the triple. Well hit, but not sure how it wasn't caught. Looks like Pratt & Lara are pretty good at baseball. Wonderful night.
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Personally I like PB'ing a LHP w/a righty, and vice-versa, that's why I didn't mention Hall. But yeah, he could be an option, especially with the other LH pen options now available (Romero or Drohan/Gasser on their 'throw' days).
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If another IL stint would help him, great. But I think a better option (assuming he's healthy) would be to get him up on blocks between starts, make sure the mechanics are right & he's not tipping anything, then limit him to 75 or so pitches. If he throws in Cincinnati this weekend & you stay with a six-man, that gives him one start a week afterward considering the days off. If the roster expansion wasn't limited to 28, Sproat or Crow could be a nice piggyback mate. As is, with the pen being beefed up Patrick could work.
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All good points & a very timely win. But I'd give an edge to a couple of those wins in LA---especially the first one.
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This would make an awesome 'Caption Contest'. My entry: "Let's see. Our starter for 5, then Palen........no. Thielbar? Uh-uh. Zefferj........no. Ferguson? Civale? Ah, screw it. Guys? Guys? Score eleven, OK?"
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I understand🙂.
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After losing Zerpa, Koenig getting IL'ed & never getting back to his previous form & Fitzpatrick looking OK & then getting hurt, it's fortunate to have the pen lined up from the left side the way they do. Of course Drohan & Gasser will figure there, too.
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Score one for the Little Engine that Could. This felt like a bigger win than maybe it should've felt like, like a demon was exorcised or something. Maybe due to the score yesterday. Some bad batted-ball luck for Gasser in the 4th but not a lot of sympathy. leadoff walk, ball hitting the heel of his glove on the throw. Very nice through 3 though. Some of the defense this series has been ugly. But I'll consider it a blip when you see how well they've performed all year. I'm ready for Ortiz to get the lion's share at 3B. Non-pressure play in the 9th & a slow runner, but that was a really impressive grab & throw. Also non-pressure but damn, DL Hall has been eye-opening lately As long as he can force swings.......... I'll throw a crumb to Armstrong, which is of course easier to do after a win. That ball he played off the wall on the Contreras double, whirling & throwing in one motion & right on the bag to 2nd-----that was a serious talent display.
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The thing about this team they're playing---when they get on a roll they refuse to swing outside the zone, which can put a lot of pressure on a pitcher. I had other stuff going on last night & didn't turn the game on until it was 6-0, and maybe the most impressive thing I saw was how they were taking pitches that were off the plate (both close & otherwise) even when they had runners on base & were up by 7 or 8 runs. To me that's at least as impressive as the early HRs, and certainly more impressive than the beer league HRs in the 7th & 8th innings. Gasser needs to mix & command, just as he needs to do vs anyone else, and find himself in more 0-2 & 1-2 counts than the opposite. Otherwise he could have issues. Holmes was pretty good (I thought Murphy maybe gave him a little TOO much credit though), but this 'trust each other, move the line' thing is way too intermittent with our hitters. I thought they might've had a chance to make things a little interesting in the 4th with 2 on & 1 out, but then Yelich put up an AB that did nothing to make me believe he trusts the next guy (Mitchell). Couple of chases, two out. "Trusting each other" makes for good copy in postgame after scoring 6 or 8 runs. It needs to be more of a game-in, game-out mantra.
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I think he's worth a 40-man spot, too. But he has had throwing issues (I believe mostly related to footwork) that need to be cleaned up. Don't underestimate the importance of details like that on a run-prevention heavy outfit like this one. Yes, as a 3B he's certainly ahead of Wilkin & Vaughn. And strictly at 3B, probably Fischer as well.
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- jacob misiorowski
- eric brown jr
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They really were. At LB Catalano, Cheeks & Posa are no joke, Aaron Witt is pretty dependable & I believe they are still pretty high on Thomas Heiberger. If the secondary can be pulled together the way @RedStickBrew thinks can happen, the D will certainly be the strong side of the ball.
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Don't forget to dismiss Chicago's offense in one-sided games. And vs teams that don't have strong staffs.........
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IMO Adams needs to be more reliable at 3B to be a reg or semi-reg there. Yes, I would say he's better there than Vaughn----I think the team has been extremely fortunate in the innings he's been at third & it finally bit them a little on Sunday. I agree that Vaughn could be more of a power bat next year further removed from the hamate. But if he stays, is productive & the team is once again contending I don't see them moving him at the deadline, whether there's a replacement in the wings or not.
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Good piece. But I think it's still up in the air as to whether Adams is a competent 3B. It's certainly possible but there are some throwing issues that need to be worked out. But AFA that particular position is concerned I think he & Bitonti look more cromulent than Fischer these days.
