TheIrrelevantWriter

Is it just me, or does Turang's swing look uncomfortable tonight?

On a dry, mostly sunny day in Denver, the Brewers were visually flustered by the Colorado Rockies for the 6th consecutive game at Coor Field. The Brewers' bats were clicking. Unfortunately, so were their offensive miscues. Listening to Pat Murphy's response on the controversial Joey Ortiz out call, I feel it's clear the ump's logic was sound. I could see the change in directions. Rather it was right or not, may be another question. I don't believe he changed direction by 3 feet though. That turned out to be the difference maker with Contreras doing Contreras things in the next at bat going opposite field for his 10th HR of the year. Are there more disappointing things than the umpires? Yes. Tonight, that thing is Rhys Hoskins. Rhys went 0-4 tonight but helped out the team with a clutch Sac Fly in the 8th inning to tie the game. Opening up July cold is never a good thing. Especially when you hit .213/.289/.313 (BA/OBP/SLG) in June. To top it off, he helped credit Ortiz with an error by not scooping a ball in the bottom of the 9th with 1 out. The error went to Ortiz, but it was clear that Hoskins should have had it. With a good catch from Frelick, the Brewers found themselves going to extras. Adames swung at the first pitch. Flying out just past the infield on the 3rd base side, no chance to tag. With one out, the baserunning plan started to take form. You could almost feel fellow worshipers of the Brew Crew sing joyous praises when Yelich stole 3rd. They were shouting Amen as Sal drew his walk, who then stole 2nd. Then, a crushing blow left fans feeling a bit blasphemous as Hoskins, somehow, hit a ball below sea-level in Denver. A ground ball to McMahon lead to Yelich being tagged out at home, two outs. Frelick advanced to 3rd with two outs. Garrett Mitchell came back to reality and struck out on some hard swings (form looked really good for him in his return other than that). The Rockies decided to use Coors field to their advantage. Toglia popped fly to right allowing the ghost runner to tag. Followed by Weeks choosing to walk Doyle and Nolan Jones and then opt for a 5-player infield, just to have Cave hit a sac fly to right to end the game. Wow. Disappointed but it's just another game at Coors Field. The Brewers have a chance to change the tide the next three games but at least I can look forward to watching some offense! Quick side notes: -I like the opener, I think I would like it a little more if they were able to drag out one more inning. I feel that would have put Wilson in the best spot tonight. The 5th inning was his downfall. If he could have gotten the Brewers to the 6th, I would have felt more confident of the back of the bullpen. -Eric Haase, sneaky good call up with Sanchez out. The most impressive thing on his Savant page is 67 sprint speed but he still gives a little bit of that veteran presence behind the plate. I'm interested to see the plan for him going forward. -I was getting nervous that Sal wasn't going to lift his bat off of his shoulder on his first AB of the game when he came in to PH for Jackson Chourio in the top of the 8th. I was especially nervous when the pitcher worked the count back to 3-2 after the 3-0 start without a swing attempt. The catcher's interference was pretty fun to watch. -Anyone else excited to see Keuchel on the mound tomorrow? FG,FTC. -Irrelevant

Throughout the first half the 2024 season, the Brewers can be described as one word: electric. I have been a fan of the Brewers for almost 30 years, the last time I saw this much excitement without expectation was when we were cheering Ryan Braun on for ROY in 2007. The young pieces are coming along. Turang, Chourio, and Ortiz are going to be superstars in time. Frelick scared me at the start of the year, but he's coming around since June 1st. The leadership of Contreras, Yelich, Hoskins, and Adames is the backbone of this team. 48-33 is tied for the best first half record through the Counsell era (2018,2021). What attributes to this? Most people have been saying offense (which is true) but more specifically they commend the power of this team. As it turns out, according to stats on baseball reference, it's a little more complex than that. If we compare some stats from this year's halfway point to years past (2015-2023) you'll see SLG/OPS are only .399/.731 which is less than the average for all of Counsell years. Not to sound like a SABR analytics guy, but this year's OBP/BA/BAbip (balls in play) are .332/.255/.313 to this point. According to Baseball reference, these numbers are higher than any year under Counsell at this point in the season. It is clear Pat Murphy has been preaching the small things (and has received big rewards out of it). This team's approach to offense is so different to years past that it makes it seem like the power is more prevalent. In reality, they're just getting on base and obviously not afraid to run. The HR's and the Grand Slams are awesome, but if the power begins to die, don't start to panic. The formula is there: get on base. This team has done an amazing job to this point with little to no expectations. I love the direction and the attitude Murph has instilled into these players. Let's continue this ride and hope for more! FG,FTC. -Irrelevant Stat of the day: Joey Ortiz leads the brewers in WAR with 2.6 followed by Brice Turang and Contreras at 2.5.