Kripes - Brewers

The past no longer exists, and the future only unfolds in our imagination. The Crew just has to play in the moment and be baseball players...

I just love reading these game threads the day after from you guys. Pretty much contain every "feel" Brewers fans across the state experience in real time, lol! Good luck tonight and Go Crew!!

Well, it's not like we didn't see this one coming. The staff on this site had me well-prepared for what Freddy should've been doing, which was throwing heat up at the top and above the zone. That did not happen. He played around in the lower third of the plate much too often. He probably should've been pulled early in the 2nd inning, before surrendering the early 2 run lead. Civale could've come in right there, as it was pretty clear Freddy was having one of his "off" starts by that point already. And exactly why was Frelick playing darn near in center when Winker came up? Dude is a lefty pull hitter and he hit one right down the line for a triple. Sorry, just frustrated man. That was tough to watch.

The Crew should be fairly well rested, certainly compared to the Mets. If Freddy falters, pull him early Murph! In a short series, don't fool around in game 1 - get that win boyz!

Clickbait 101 man!😉

Guess we gotta call Oli back up! 😉Nice work as always!

I don't trust Mears at all. We didn't get to see too much of him. Good heat, but he was getting shelled in every other outing it seemed.

This is not exactly encouraging. However, it does seem like an option for him to get more comfortable inducing soft contact when he gets behind rather than serving up a meatball fastball that gets crushed. He's just gotta throw more breaking pitches when he gets behind, along the edges of the zone. The catchers are going to have to call the right stuff too, and not let Freddy force the issue, to keep him out of trouble.

I think the key to success is going to be the offense. They will see some of the best starters in baseball, obviously. Will Murph let them be aggressive, or will the key be to see as many pitches as they can to get to the bullpens? There is a very fine line here. A lot of those great pitchers tend to throw a first pitch strike - trying to just get away with one as the batter tries to get a look at that first pitch. If the batter is ready for it, they can get to that pitcher early and often. Sometimes the smarter approach is to be patient, see a lot of pitches per at bat, fouling off until you get a mistake to drive. Hoskins and Frelick are pretty good at that. Obviously, the goal in this scenario is to run the pitch count up and either score a bunch off a tired pitcher, or get to that bullpen. They have to get on base as often as possible and make those pitchers think about the steal. Ah, the wonderful chess game of baseball! I just think that about what getting an early 3 runs means to our starting pitcher. They'd be able to relax with an early cushion and let the defense do their thing. Early runs might be the key...

Great year from each and all of you! Appreciate you keeping an eye on the farm for us!

That Ortiz play though... wow man

Nice try Matt! You've got us statistically, but that feels awfully optimistic given the cold and hot nature of this team. They don't have prolonged slumps, but an ill-timed slump in a short series playoff environment sends the team home early. They've got to want it more, and make fewer mistakes than the competition. I can't wait to see it all unfold and who is left standing at the end!

I'd like to see Haase at first with Sanchez at DH a few times before the playoffs. Frelick's sheer will and determination/work ethic certainly makes him feel like a Brewer. I too expect Murph to have him out there.

Nice work. Certainly it pressures the pitcher, similar to having a runner or runners on base. It's another scenario for them to think about (getting into fielding position immediately after the pitch, so it's probably good to show the bunt early, rather than mid-pitch). It puts the defense on their toes, so they are thinking about running up - similar to how in football, you get defensive lineman on their heels when the running game has been beating them up. In a game that relies on split second reaction times, these things make big impacts. The single, most effective bunt attempt, is the successful bunt. Seems obvious, but if you've got a Turang/Frelick (insert slap-hitter, high OBP, non-power dude here) who has a track record of laying down successful bunts - the kind that you catch with the bat, deaden it, and it slow rolls in the grass down either line, and that line is the one you were aiming for - that not only starts to set off alarm bells across the infield, it now demands their immediate attention and focus in the game plan. Therefore, for players such as the two mentioned, the bunt should be attempted (and practiced) much more regularly - arguably several times a game if they can develop a .650 or better bunt percentage (Rojas/Azocar/Stubbs types all over .800 I believe). One of the reasons is the already low probability for explosive scoring with these guys in the first place, even though there are a smaller range of expected outcomes. Becoming a proficient bunter would undoubtedly add a dimension to their offensive profiles and clearly give Murph another tool to work with. A few examples would include leading off innings; each of them could seriously improve their OBP if they did it enough to get good at it. Get on base and let the other guys bat you around. If you've got a guy on base with only one or fewer outs, a proficient bunter can draw attention away from a would-be base stealer, whether a bunt is laid down or not. If it brings the infield in, their chances of hitting a grounder or line drive through a gap probably improves, reducing the odds of the groundout - or worse - the GIDP. The threat of the bunt becomes just as deadly as the bunt itself and that is the sweet spot. The bunt is not easy, but mastering it would push them both into much more impactful offensive players.

I had hoped earlier in the season, that the "slap hitters" would be a welcome change for this team to put runners on the bases for the power hitters to then move around. That hope isn't gone, as the trio of Turang, Ortiz and Frelick still have OBPs above .300. Part of the problem is that those 3 guys are generally at the bottom of the order in most lineups these days, so it takes some quality at bats in between before those power hitters (who are traditionally clumped together in the 3,4,5,6 slots). It seems like Murph is trying out some different orders, trying to find a regular leadoff guy with some consistency. Chourio and Contreras seem pretty well suited to 2 and 3 in the order. There just isn't enough consistency for Murph to settle in on much, so we'll have to see what he dreams up for any potential wild card series. He'll probably have to go with matchup stats and change a bit every game unless someone (hopefully several!) gets red hot and stakes a claim.