DougJones43

I can't imagine Gary Vandenberg is happy about this. He's probably already under pressure to have the field in tip top shape in case of a Brewer playoff appearance. The grass doesn't get much sun in September, so it's hard enough to keep up as is. Left field looked pretty thinned out and rough when I went to a game last week. You guys really got to get some field-turf in there.

I would imagine that is a similar reason to why people boo. It seems hypocritical (and I'm not targeting you specifically, as you said you do not condemn those who boo) to say that one form of venting is okay, and one is not. Granted, one may be more "refined", but it's negativism nevertheless, and neither one really does anything positive for the team. They are each an outlet for fans who care.

That still doesn't address the fundamental question though -- what positive impact does it have on the team? That is the the 'burden of proof' question that is continually posed to the boo-birds...

The same could be said about posting on message boards, which a poster earlier suggested as an alternative to booing. It's a pretty well accepted fact that the team and their families are aware of this site and the things that are said here. Should we refrain from negative discussion/emotion because it doesn't help the team or accomplish anything? I guess the first thing to go should be the vent thread -- that thing probably hurts the feelings of many players and their families. In some ways, the stuff that goes on here might be worse than booing. Booing is just a generalized sound of mass dissatisfaction. Things on this board target specific players and sometimes get personal. So, I ask -- for anybody who has posted a negative thought about the Brewers and/or a player here on Brewerfan.net -- what are you trying to accomplish? Does your negative rhetoric help the team? If not, I suggest you re-think your self appointed position as a superior fan than paying customers who boo.

Watching the Brewers unofficial playoff odds steadily plummet over the past 10 days is not my idea of a good time.

I'm gradually moving from panic and anger, toward a passive acceptance of the inevitable.

We sure do have a lot of sensitive guys on this team. First it was Fielder, then Turnbow, now Hart. I'm probably missing some. I sure hope none of these guys ever have to go play for New York, or Chicago, or worse yet -- Philadelphia. Then they'll find out what real scrutiny is about. How patient was Philly with Jenkins? I bet he'd kill to come back and get the relatively royal treatment he got in Milwaukee during his up-and-down career here. To me, this just smacks of more, "we're better than some really embarrassingly awful past Brewer teams -- so you should be grateful to have us!" mentality. That, and excuse making. I don't really care for it. I'd prefer to hear the players comment on how they're disappointed in themselves right now more than I want to hear whining about the fans, but that's just me.

More than likely, publicly demanding better play wouldn't make the team suddenly start playing better. Who knows though? I'm not saying that their effort is poor, but as a team their discipline sure seems to be poor. They're always swinging for the fences without regard for the situation. It almost seems like there is just a total refusal to make adjustments. Certain guys on the team are out of shape. Estrada was out of shape last season and still started the whole year. Constant baserunning errors and defensive miscues plague the team with little or no consequence. The patience in Milwaukee goes beyond what most other teams would tolerate. How long would Lou Pinella have stuck with Turnbow? Or allowed Jenkins to bat against LHP? Would Pinella continue to tolerate Rickie Weeks and his detrimental play well into his 4th season? And continue to bat him leadoff? Would Prince Fielder dare to be 50 pounds overweight if he was playing for a somebody other than Ned and the Brewers? There is something to be said for managers and organizations that demand excellence. If some of these guys felt a little more pressure to keep their positions, would we see a more disciplined team? You never know. Many of these guys probably wouldn't be coddled so much if they weren't playing for Ned Yost and the Brewers. I get the feeling sometime that there might be a sense of complacency in the organization due to the fact that the franchise is finally competitive and selling lots of tickets. I don't know how everyone can be so sure that "pushing" these guys a little more wouldn't produce some positive results...

Is that what's actually happening though? Is Weeks better than Durham? I'm also not convinced that Gamel wouldn't be able to hit better than Hall and Counsell for a few games, and provide a spark to the offense. And I'm not so sure that it's a given that Kendall is that much more effective than Rivera. I mean, Kendall is 34-years-old, and is starting day games following 4.5 hour night games in September. Rivera is fresh and can actually get some extra base hits. It's time to try something to inject some life into the offense...

Play Gamel. Play Rivera.

Bad. Baseball. Team.

Bingo.

It's officially time to hit mute on the TV, and just play looped circus music while I watch the Brewers.

The Brewers offense sure is great at finding ways to score without the long-ball!!! And what a dominating performance by 'Big Game' Ben Sheets...

Phillies lose again! Also, Mota has been absolutely superb. 0.54 ERA in his last 18 outings. I am now officially retiring this avatar: http://images.yuku.com/image/gif/eb1356d99a868b58275def35499e199bb4f94d7_t.gif

That's true. However, I see some differences from earlier in the year that worry me some. For one thing, I don't think Braun is completely healthy. He hasn't looked quite right since his injury. Second is Fielder. He's been pretty bad since late July. If at least one of those guys doesn't get very hot with the HR ball, I worry because the Brewers are third last in the NL for batting average with RISP. They are just not very good at driving in runs if the middle of the order isn't hitting homers. Also, it might seem small, but Branyan added something big to the offense that is now no longer there. The black hole at 3B is a current problem that isn't reflected by looking at the season stats. I'm probably overreacting. I just don't have much confidence in the offense right now to get back on track.

Who said anything about last year?Last year seems pretty relevant to me when discussing how/why people react the way they do to Brewer skids. Don't you think it's a contributing factor? If the team had shown signs of falling apart last year, but toughened up and held on, do you really think people would be as fearful and reactionary this year? I don't. This is the same team with the same manager and many of the same players. How can you make the claim that "time has righted the ship in the past and will continue to do so," without considering what happened last year? You're acting like the people who remain calm are always right, but in reality the people who were (rightfully) concerned about the collapse last year are mostly the same people this year. edit: Even though the Brewers bounced back and beat some bad teams after the sweeps against Boston and the Cubs, many people felt and/or still feel that the performance by the Brewers in those series left some major concerns that aren't going to be erased by beating the Pirates. You can't claim with such certainty that those people were completely wrong, because many of those same flaws are showing up again during this dreadful September.

Yep. Just like last year when people were constantly reminded that the Brewers were still in first and everything would be fine. And it was!! Oh wait... Not every time.

Thank goodness.

TGJ with the double-play groundout that saved the season...

Doug Melvin, without question. He has shown far too much patience with Yost. He assembled a very one-dimensional team of players who play bad defense, and hit only for power with low BA and OBP. He also spent gobs of money on what has turned out to be a pretty bad bullpen.

Oh my God. Is this really happening?

Kendall is seriously starting a day game following a 4.5 hour night game? Seriously? He's 34 and it's September. Get a clue, moron.

So...they're too bad to play tomorrow, so let's play them today? Nice philosophy. How about sitting them BOTH days??? For the love of God, this isn't Little League. Let these losers sit on the bench, where they belong, against all RHP.

I was foolish enough to attend the game tonight. Wow. That's 4.5 hours of my life I will never get back, and I didn't really learn anything I wasn't already aware of. The team can't get clutch hits to drive in runs. They can't score without a homerun. Rickie Weeks is an abysmal excuse for a baseball player. Watching him butcher two more routine balls tonight made me want to puke. And Ned Yost...well, what can you really even say anymore? He started Hall again, and let him hit against a bunch of righties. And again, let Counsell and Kendall both bat in the final inning of a 1-run game. Why even have all these call-ups on the roster if we're going to let these two washed up old no-chance-in-hell-at-a-homerun slap hitters bat in these situations? Whatever. Obviously, nobody in the organization cares enough to put a competent 2B on the field. No team that actually expects to be in the playoffs would continue to trot a pathetic hack like Rickie Weeks out on the field after 4 years. Between his piss-poor hitting, embarrassing defense, and countless mental blunders, he has to be the worst 2B in the league. Obviously, nobody in the organization has high enough standards to put a competent manager in the dugout either. This problem should have been corrected before the season started. With his monumental collapses, and category-5 diaper filling during the pennant chase last year, no team truly dedicated to winning would have invited this buffoon back to run the team (into the ground) another season. Only the Brewers. If they don't care, why should I? I don't know why I even bother. ----- Continued from: viewtopic.php?p=433679#p433679 Original Lead: viewtopic.php?t=10651