[ 3. Why was Mench still in the game playing defense in the 9th? He is a terrible fielder (in addition to being a terrible hitter and baserunner). You have a 1-run lead in the 9th, and two defensive studs in Jenkins and Gwynn sitting on the bench. If that isn't a time for a defensive replacement, what is??? With Mench and his slow, crappy defense playing near the warning track, a hit dropped into left-center that Gwynn or Jenkins might have been able to get to. ] Jenkins pinch hit already, and Gwynn was getting his luggage off the carousel in Nashville.
Prediction: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Brewers fans freak out and proclaim him the "ace" of the staff. He proceeds to have two subpar outings, and Brewers fans want to explore the option of trading him.,
[ I really hope that this doesnt stop us from resigning Sheets next year because he is a true number one starter while Suppan is nothing more than a mediocre 5. ] I think most teams would be wetting themselves to have Suppan as a #5.
[ Shouse and then Turnbow. Spurling for the 10th. ] Spurling was already in, tho... And Turnbow on 0 days rest = 6.00 ERA. I'm glad he didn't put Turnbow in just so we wouldn't have to pick up the bodies of all the cliff jumpers here at Brewerfan if he happened to give up the L.
[ Ok then what do u think of the possiblities of getting Otsuka.. Would we have to give up more???? ] I think the Rangers would require equal compensation for either player. However, there's already an Otsuka thread started. Let's not duplicate the conversation here...
Personally, I don't think the Brewers have the ammo to go get a Gagne. Well, they do, but to give up an Inman for a Gagne would really blow a hole in the future of the franchise.
[ Chalk it up to another loss that was at least partially to blame for Yost's inability to manage the pitching staff. ] Who would you have put in for Spurling?
[ Let's assume that Yo shows that he belongs as a starter. I know that many have expresses concern with the number of innings he might pitch as a full time starter for the rest of the season. Would Yo's inning total be manageable by making him the the fifth starter, where you could skip a number of his starts? ] I think that if you looked at innings in a vacuum, yes. However, I'm not sure I'd want him to have the irregularity of innings that goes along with that territory. I'd rather see him scaled back, getting some regular work, then stretched back out for the playoffs (assuming he's performing well, and someone else in the rotation isn't).
[ Fair enough. I haven't really looked into his IP this year, or the past couple years. If you and Brett feel his innings still need to be limited, I'll take your word for it. But he needs to get stretched out to where he can pitch about 200 inning/year at some point, right? ] I think adding 20 innings a year is a reasonable request... I think by the end of the year next year, he should be in full form.
[ I hope Gallardo stays in the rotation, Vargas gets moved to the bullpen, and Spurling is sent back to AAA. ] Do you have any concern that Gallardo's arm will fall off if he's in the rotation through September and perhaps even October? I'd like to see Gallardo sent to the pen, limiting his innings a bit. Vargas will be in the pen by default, as the 5th starter's going to be skipped a bit.
I think the Detroit thing was a reaction to his slump. I suppose if I had been slumping badly, and I just homered, I might take a second to admire the fact that I did. A couple of instances of this type of thing isn't enough to make me think he's somehow turned into a showboater, given his multiple years with the club where he didn't exhibit such behavior. I suppose if it was a trend I saw continuing, I wouldn't be a fan of it.