Jake McKibbin

He's been better recently, if still below average. Just finished the preview if anyone's keen to check it out, but the key with him is laying off the sweeper. Should match up well in theory with the Brewers patient. If they can wait on a fastball, or the lefties wait on a changeup, damage may ensue

That last paragraph is exactly it. We can never know for sure, and maybe she was just talking about his net worth as a means to becoming more romantically involved (though I hate that too). I'm not arguing she's a good person either, realistically none of us know all the details, I doubt either of them ever release everything that went on. And very few people, if she did act as he suggests, would be this way. You're entirely right and definitely shouldn't prejudice ones view in future situations. Maybe we got it wrong, maybe it's right. as in the Depp/Heard case, I think it's safe to say that maybe neither of them were particularly wholesome humans

The playoffs have arrived, and the tension is beginning to build. If you want a sneak preview of just how the game may play out, look no further. Brewer Fanatic has you covered. We've got all the information on the hot hitters, probable pitchers, and any other details you need to know before first pitch. Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports The Brewers have finally had their playoff opponents confirmed, facing the young, streaky Arizona Diamondbacks at home starting Tuesday evening. The Diamondbacks have looked, at times, like the best team in baseball this year, in one of the toughest divisions--while also looking like one of the worst over a two-month span in July and August. There’s a lot of ways this could go, but here’s why the Brewers are in the driver’s seat. The Starting Pitchers Brandon Pfaadt has been a mainstay of the Diamondbacks rotation through much of the year, but has struggled to compete in a lot of his games. Throughout most of the season he battled in vain, to a 6.13 ERA up until August 18th, and through then, he had only one start wherein he held a team scoreless. He has improved since, with two of his last three outings being scoreless (the other giving up five earned runs to the Yankees), but it all comes down to one pitch for him: his sweeper. He lacks command with this pitch, something that could be exacerbated by the pressure of a playoff series, and can hang it on occasion, but he generally keeps it outside the strike zone. He’s comfortable throwing it in any situation, and has held hitters to a .180 batting average and .323 slugging percentage, while generating a 33% whiff rate. On the other hand, his two other main pitches are the fastball and slider, both of which are hit hard over 50 percent of the time, and it’s something the Brewers offense may enjoy. They have been incredibly selective in their at-bats with what they swing at, and the key to Pfaadt is whether or not you can leave the sweeper and zero in on the fastball and changeups. The other thing he struggles with is ground balls, which many Brewers fans will be delighted to hear. For a team leading the league in double plays over the last two months, it will be key for them to avoid easy outs and the momentum-stalling plays. Pfaadt has generated just a 32.6% ground-ball rate on the year, significantly below average, which could play into the Brewers contact skills. The likely hope for the Diamondbacks is for Pfaadt to cover four-plus innings. If he reaches five with minimal damage before turning it over to the bullpen, they’ll be ecstatic. Corbin Burnes, on the other hand, has been just as sporadic, at times dealing like the Cy Young winner he is, and looking at other times like a washed-up has-been. His diminished strikeout rate this year, caused by less swing-and-miss on his cutter, has led to occasional big innings, with games getting away from him. Nothing encapsulates this more than his previous two starts against the Diamondbacks. His first game, he went eight innings, allowing three hits and zero earned runs to the Snakes. Second time out, he got through five innings, with 10 base runners and seven earned runs. Now, Burnes has tweaked his delivery since then, accentuating his cutter and curveball with grip changes while converting his slider into more of a sweeper-style pitch in order to differentiate it further from his cutter, and it’s shone through in his results. After sporting a 2.51 ERA in September with a 0.94 WHIP and 33 strikeouts in his 28 1/3 innings pitched, Burnes looks dialed-in for postseason dominance. The Brewers will hope for Burnes to cover hopefully six strong innings, perhaps more if he’s firing on all cylinders--but they’ll want to stress that he doesn’t have to go deeper into games, and nibbling around the zone will be more than ok, if it means keeping away from the cneter of the strike zone, as that's how he's gotten himself into trouble this season. The bullpen is fresh and ready to go if needed, with a ton of options at Craig Counsell’s disposal, but also it's important to note that Burnes is a rested workhorse, and is more than capable of throwing 110-120 pitches in a do or die situation. The news about Brandon Woodruff's injury will make length all the more important, if he can save the bullpen for a possible game three, or even better, a game one of the NLDS. The Offense The Diamondbacks have an advantage here, with some hot bats through the month of September who can change games. Corbin Carroll is huge for the energy of this team, with his ability to get on base and cause havoc on the basepaths. Since the All-Star break, he’s stolen 28 bases and been caught on just three occasions, with a .356 on-base rate affording him a lot of opportunities to use his speed. A dynamo at the top of the order, he's the sparkplug for everything the Diamondbacks do offensively, and is almost guaranteed to win Rookie of the Year. Then you have the power bats of Christian Walker (15 home runs in the second half), Ketel Marte (10 home runs, .826 OPS since the break) and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.and Tommy Pham’s high-powered bats that can change a game in an instant. Another wrinkle they’ve added is the performance of Gabriel Moreno behind the plate, who has shone of late with a cannon of an arm that’s been the best in baseball at catching base stealers, but also hitting .313/.383/.511 since the Midsummer Classic, while striking out in just 16 percent of his plate appearances. His pitch framing and blocking skills leave something to be desired, but this is a bat you don’t want to face with runners in scoring position. In total, this isn’t a truly fearsome offense, missing a real impact bat, but their youth and speed is critical in their ability to squeeze runs across, which could be vital in a short playoff series. Carroll will be absolutely key, and I have a gut feeling that Marte could play a big part in the outcome of this series. Like the Brewers, they have holes, with Geraldo Perdomo and Jordan Lawlar in particular struggling of late--although Lawlar might not even make their roster, and if he does, he's likely to be used purely as a defensive sub and pinch-runner. The bats are cold, after just two runs in their season-ending series against the Astros, where they got swept. It should be noted that the Diamondbacks were at the end of a gruelling stretch of road games by that point, and should be better rested after most of their lineup have a couple of days off, but they'll not be feeling quite on form when they rock up to Milwaukee. Which version turns up is anyone's guess. The Brewers, on the whole, are slightly weaker. However, they've become significantly more potent since the trade deadline, with the promotion of Sal Frelick and the external additions of a scalding-hot Mark Canha and the power potential in the bats of Carlos Santana and Josh Donaldson--all to go alongside the hitting machine that is William Contreras (.318/.389/.489 in the second half) and a mostly-healthy Christian Yelich, who is hitting .400/.516/.760 in his last seven games. Tyrone Taylor is an under-the-radar difference maker, but Brice Turang has an OPS of under .500 in his last 15 games, creating a black hole at the bottom of the order. He will start against the righthander, if potentially replaced later in the game for Andruw Monasterio’s more consistent hitting ability. On the Brewers offense, the players I’m expecting to shine are Yelich (with a .327 batting average against four-seam fastballs this season) and Donaldson--a good bet to hit Pfaadt out of the park, given that he averages over 93 miles per hour in exit velocity on fastballs. Both are patient enough to wait on a heater in the zone, and each has the playoff experience to do damage when it comes. Potential Issues for the Brewers There are two major concerns going into this game. The first is that, although the Brewers are facing a below-average starter, the lack of long balls hit by the team this year (24th in MLB) mean that even well-hit balls can be hauled in, with BABIP luck playing a big factor in whether this offense has scored well or not. With a tendency to get men on regularly, there will be opportunities to score, but that leaves much to the semi-accidental placement of the batted balls that come with runners in scoring position. If they find gaps, this could be a huge, tone-setting win, if not, it could be the repetitive double plays and lineouts that can stall them. The other is Burnes. On his day, he could shut down the Diamondbacks deep into the game, but that’s if he brings his best stuff. The use of his curveball will be key in generating strikeouts, and it will be interesting to see if Counsell goes with Victor Caratini as his battery mate (given they’ve played most of this year’s games together) or Contreras, to allow more flexibility with the designated hitter spot. The Brewers will feel this is a game they ought to take, with the starting pitching advantage, but playoff baseball is nothing if not unpredictable. Our game thread will be going haywire on Tuesday night. Feel free to follow along as all the drama unfolds with other fans watching from home! View full article

The question is on everyone’s lips: how serious is Brandon Woodruff’s shoulder injury? Will he return later in the playoffs? How big of a loss is he? I’ll try and answer all of these questions, as well as who might now find themselves on the postseason roster as a result. In the month of September, Adrian Houser had five starts and pitched to a 2.14 ERA, while Wade Miley recorded the best ERA of the starting pitchers with over 100 innings (3.14), with all the nous and experience to manipulate hitters into weakly contacted balls. Both could be used, in a piggyback role, to cover six or seven innings, with their ground-ball tendencies from the right and left side a tough matchup for opposing hitters. In all likelihood, Miley’s experience will win out, giving him the start in Game Three, should they need it. Before Woodruff went down, the plan would have been to use Miley and Hoby Milner as the left-handed relievers, with Miley also giving length (should it be needed) out of the bullpen. If Miley moves to start Game Three, Counsell may go one of two ways (look away now, Brewers fans): Bring in the dependable, solid Colin Rea to eat innings where required. Andrew Chafin Rea has pitched remarkably well this year, but his big issue has been the home run ball when under pressure with men on base. This could be exacerbated in a playoff situation, and his propensity to serve up meatballs under pressure could hold him back. Meanwhile, Chafin has led to some serious squirming for the Brewers since they acquired him from the Diamondbacks, with his slider not generating its usual movement and getting him into trouble. That being said, he’s held teams scoreless in his last five appearances, and Counsell loves his matchups, so make of that what you will. All in all, you cannot replace a player of Woodruff’s undeniable quality. In his absence, the Brewers will need their offense to get hot in a way that they maybe didn’t need before. Miley and Houser are more than capable of keeping you in a game, but would face a recently dominant Merrill Kelly if it came to that deciding game. The key to this will be Freddy Peralta. Matthew Trueblood wrote last week of how he’s become a genuine ace of the staff, and he’ll need to be the version of himself that dominated through August and September to carry the Brewers through the Wild Card Series. He has, at times, struggled in high-pressure games. In others, he’s risen to the task and been lights-out. The newfound consistency in recent months would suggest he’s more than capable of shutting down the Diamondbacks, along with Corbin Burnes, rendering a Game Three unnecessary. The series just got a whole lot tighter. Can the one-two punch of the Brewers’ remaining aces carry the weight of the entire state into the Division Series? View full article

Oh babbyyyyyyy... tension is mounting, Brewers almost cannot lose this game. Yeli bomb to lead off, settle the nerves, cruise to a 15-0 win

Also important to note how advantageous expensive lawyers are in these situations. As said above, that's his story and following many of these, I've realised just how believable someone is in a rape/sexual assault case until you hear the other side of things.

It's interesting with pitchers especially, and non contact oriented bats. Bats that make consistent contact seem far more reliable overall when it comes to this Biggest shock for me this year is how poor Realmuto has been behind the plate for the Phillies, especially given how good he was last year. One of the worst defenders in the league at catcher this season

He's been better (I've a preview coming out later so not gonna say too much) but I think the Brewers match up really well in terms of patience being critical to how you approach him. He could be taylormade for NOT grounding into double plays too, the Brewers definitely have the edge, but he's not the 6 ERA pitcher he seemed up until mid August

Yeah, the key is avoiding double plays too. It'll be very interesting just how aggressive the Brewers try to be in this series, as they have speed, but Yelich has the best baserunning nous and timing of anyone

Cant believe the regular baseball season is coming to an end... really enjoyed getting into some writing for you guys this year, best fandom around, and hopefully a long old postseason to celebrate!

Best case is the Marlins lose the first two, it'd be great to give them zero rest time for the playoffs and use up those starter arms. that's a heavily injured ball club already, and you can see how worn down the Cubs currently look. Cubs have a great shot given the Brewers starters in this series, but Marlins definitely have the advantage now

Bye Bye Jesse perhaps?

He did have some misfortune as well, he was timing up the ball better, but a little too often straight to the fielder. Nice to see his exit velos popping up again, but yeah more work to do this offseason. That being said, he was clearly changing his technique, and that's a nightmare to do in game, it'll take time to bed in and then he can focus more on just see ball, hit ball.

I could see that with a 12th player, he does also love pinch hitting, and having defensive players available to sub in after could allow him to pinch hit in more situations. also with eight relievers behind Burnes, Woodruff and Peralta, including Miley as an extra left handed reliever alongside Hoby Milner, I could see him maybe sticking to that, though it could be either or. I definitely can't see 13 pitchers for the WC round Regarding Mitchells' defense, I can't remember what the stat specifically was, but last offseason someone came up with a new defensive metric that's a blend of Outs above average and range factor, and Mitchell graded as the best center fielder in the league. He's faster than Frelick and Wiemer (which is saying something) and albeit something Frelick has hugely improved upon, his reads would be sharper, especially as someone who's played center field all his life. That being said, any combination of the above would be a vacuum in the outfield, and you couldn't quibble with any of it Edit: The stat was range defense added, it's a big fan of Willy Adames, who lead all shortstops in it last season. Garrett Mitchell was comfortably ahead in "Range out score". It's quite astonishing just how good he is out there For anyone over 100 inning sin CF, he still tops the list this year, on top of having 3 DRS in just 127 innings. That's quite the impressive coverage, so for that I'd rate him slightly above Frelick and Wiemer Interestingly, this season it has Blake Perkins 7th, Frelick 20th, and Wiemer 49th

The missing ingredient for a deeper playoff run from the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021 was a sense of preparation and momentum. This time around, with a deeper roster and better health, Craig Counsell will try to ensure that those things are on his side entering the Wild Card Series. Image courtesy of Brock Beauchamp & Brewer Fanatic The Brewers sealed their third NL Central title in the last six years on Tuesday night, with the Cubs' sudden and ghastly loss against the rolling Atlanta Braves. It was all but sewn up, but that final nudge makes a huge difference in just how relaxed the Brewers can be over the final few days of this campaign. Let’s take a look at how that relaxed approach may unfold: Health and Rest Of prime importance is the fitness and form of the principal trio of the Brewers rotation. The hopes of the Brewers rest on the performance of Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta, who have been arguably the best and most feared group of starters in baseball since August came around. Peralta came down with an illness that affected his last start, while Woodruff struggled to contain the Marlins the day after securing a place in the playoffs, something both will want to correct going into the playoffs. Burnes, meanwhile, has been mercurial, although his five shutout innings Friday night in Miami were nothing about which to complain. It would be expected that all three will go around 80-90 pitches (at most) in their final tune-up starts over the next few days, staying sharp but certainly not stressing themselves. It’s also likely the final starts of the season will involve a heavy dose of Colin Rea and Julio Teheran eating innings--something the Cubs may be grateful for given their current situation. The Fringe Players With the best-of-three format of the Wild Card Series, it’s likely the Brewers will only carry 11 pitchers, composed of eight relievers and three starters. That allows 15 position players, and some of these will be fighting for a position in the pecking order when the inevitable matchups come about. Some specific standouts are: Rowdy Tellez A bat with power that hasn’t shown much since hitting nine home runs in his first 28 games, he’s been hampered by injury and poor form, with too many ground balls sapping the effectiveness of his power. That being said, Tellez has always been a streaky hitter, if not quite this much, and one hot month from him is huge for a power-deprived offense. Expect to see him given three starts over these final four regular-season games, between first base and designated hitter, to find some timing at the plate. Garrett Mitchell Counsell said that Mitchell would play only a minor role in the postseason--if he makes it onto the roster, which would be a miracle in and of itself given the extent of his shoulder injury. That being said, Mitchell has shown himself to be an elite defensive center fielder (above even the solid Joey Wiemer and Sal Frelick), as well as elite wheels on the basepaths. An outfield of Wiemer, Mitchell and Frelick to finish a game is the stuff of legends. He’s also shown himself to be a man for the pressure moments, dominating when he arrived last September (albeit with a lot of BABIP luck) and some timely home runs to start this season, too. Expect to see him in center field sometime this weekend to show what he’s capable of, and to evaluate whether he has his timing at the plate back. He may not be the first pinch-hitter used, but he may push himself up the pecking order a little. Some Semblance of Form As mentioned, the 2021 Brewers limped into the playoffs after an excellent regular season where they threatened the 100-win mark, stumbling with injuries and cold streaks that carried over into the offensive performance against the Atlanta Braves. One issue to address is the tightness that Frelick admitted engulfed the team since Friday, leading to the bats going cold. "I don’t think we played as loose. Myself, personally, I wasn’t having as much fun," Frelick said after the clinch. "There was a lot of pressure. I just think it was such a good learning experience heading into the playoffs, when every game is going to be like that." It’s something they can’t afford going into the playoffs, although the veteran presence of Josh Donaldson, Christian Yelich, Mark Canha, Willy Adames, and Carlos Santana should hopefully be a big boost in keeping the tension light, and encouraging the rookies amongst the Brewers roster to stay loose and enjoy the moment rather than let it overwhelm them. There will be time this weekend to let that tension build, then relax. Come next week, it'll be all tension and no relaxation, until the Brewers either get eliminated or hoist a trophy that has eluded them for the entire history of the franchise. View full article

Looks like Mitchell is getting a run out tonight. This'll be intriguing

In his defense, he has nothing to gain by playing from now to the end of the season, but a lot to lose in terms of injury. Looking like a bad teammate may cost him offers from some places, but Mets, Yankees etc wouldn't care at all If he does pick up an injury, he could lose 20 million instantly off a contract, that's a ton of money

It'd be delicious watching one/both these teams lose their aces on final day, particularly given Marlins injuries and Cubs lack of depth how important those players are

@Tim Mumawould he have needed to be on the 40 man roster by September 1st?

Yeah it's just ridiculous Saw something this morning about Donaldson apparently forcing Rowdy to drink beers last night, and peer pressuring him (with an attached video of rowdy holding a can in each hand, chugging them). It's like people are looking to make him an asshat

Yeah I can't believe the quality in in it Cassie Caminero Chourio Black PCA Quero And those are just the names I recognise

The southern league team of the year is going to feature a ton of MLB players, so many great performances this year