adambr2

Get on base..the only thing to worry about now. Well, and don't make any outs doing so. And as I type that Schafer hacks 3-1 and makes 2 outs. Anyone still think Logan Schafer is interchangeable with Gomez/Aoki/Hart?

Most likely we are going to rally, have the bases loaded in the 9th, and lose 6-5 so that Kintzler's runs will really come back to burn.

He is good, there is a reason he was a top 10 prospect. I would give my left nut to have arms like his in the brewers system. not all top 10 prospects end up living to the hype. i wouldnt want a pitcher that throws nothing but fastballs. eventually he's going to get smacked around. give me the breaking ball master with control over the flamethrower anyday. He's got a 1.96 ERA, he's doing something right. I disagree with taking the breaking ball master over the flamethrower. Ideally you want someone who can do a little bit of a couple things, but I'll take a Kershaw over a Zito any day.

Nice work Lucroy. Not contributing much of anything these days.

Yep, that'll probably do it. Nice work Kintzler. Bring the IF in. Can't afford to give up even 1 more.

Seriously, do we not have one single player on a 25 man roster that actually shows up against the Cardinals?

And we just give it right back.

Really could have used one more there.

Stay classy, Yadi. Molina is a dirtbag. Always has been, always will be. Alomar spits in the face of an umpire and he's branded for life. Molina does it and everyone forgets. He thinks he can get away with whatever he pleases hiding behind the shield of his "class" organization.

I felt a small momentary feeling of excitement off the bat there.

I literally cannot believe that Weeks ended up walking on that AB.

Seriously Molina, shut the hell up.

Weeks...we need ya, buddy.

So much for getting to Miller early. I would settle for "at all" at this point.

I count at least 3 warning track shots for us tonight, and several line drive outs.

Must every hard ball we hit against this damn team go right to a glove?

2, 3, 4 coming up. Need to get something going this inning if we're going to have a chance at coming back.

Leave it to Molina to have the gall to complain about the strike zone now.

Lohse was pathetic tonight. Really lucky he only gave up 4, although 2 of them were due to no help from blue, that's for sure. The Cards are like our big brother that constantly kicks us around. I'm really freaking sick of it, and the fact that we never can seem to do anything about it.

Lucroy is not fun to watch this year.

Yeah, I kind of had to roll my eyes at Axford's comments today. And I acknowledge thay he was a lot unlucky today. With that said.. Take some responsiblity. Swallow your pride and tell the press that you can understand their disappointment. Don't tell them about how good you were in 2011 and how they must have forgotten. It comes off as condescending. Hate to break it to you Ax, but it's a what habe tou sone for me lately league. Your 2011 sucesses do nothing for us today.

That kind of impatient AB is exactly what prevented Gomez from taking the next step for years and exactly what he didn't do in April which is why he has been so good.

TLB, I can accept that umpires aren't perfect and will make mistakes, and that it's somewhat of a thankless job (there are many thankless jobs out there. $200,000 a year to umpire baseball games isn't a bad gig). What I can't accept is the ego, and downright arrogance, that many of them demonstrate today. Some openly invite or even initiate confrontation with players, coaches, and managers, and show a real lack of professionalism. The fans are not here to see you. Some would rather let a bad call stand than hurt the ego of a fellow umpire by not changing an incorrect call. I have a real problem with that.

My suggestion: Reviewable plays are force plays at a base and fair/foul calls. At this time, until replay can be better evaluated, I would not implement review of tag plays or catch/trap plays, which adds some difficulty to the situation. Reviewing force plays will eliminate a very high amount of questionable calls. A 5th umpire is assigned to the crew as the "replay" umpire and reviews all such close plays immediately in the booth after the conclusion of the play. He will have until the first pitch of the next AB, which will give him about 30-60 seconds to look over the play. If he determines that an overturn is necessary, he will "buzz" down to the homeplate umpire. Fair/foul runner placement: This one is easy. A fair changed to a foul is a strike on the hitter, runners return to their respective bases and batter returns to the batters box. A foul changed to a fair is ruled a ground rule double, and the runners advance two bases. An exception is if the fair ball call is ruled in the infield, in which case one base will be awarded for the hitter and every runner. Force play runner placement: If a safe is changed to an out, and it is the 3rd out, the inning is over with no runs scored just as if it occurred. If it is the 2nd or 1st out, the out is recorded and all other continuous action as part of the play counts, except for anything that the "out" runner did. An "out" changed to a "safe" would be one of the most difficult. This is where things could get very complex. (Example: Batter hits a groundball to 3rd base with a runner on 1st. Throw to 2nd is incorrectly called "out". Relay throw goes over the first baseman's head and the batter winds up at 2nd where the original runner was first incorrectly called out). The only solution I can come up with is to count any outs, base advancements, or runs that occur as a result of continuous action, and then place the runners at the discretion of the umpire. You could also call the play dead at the spot of the wrong call, with the runners awarded the base they were en route to, but you'll eventually see a hitting team get screwed by this. (Tie game in the 9th, man on 2nd. Ground ball to left side, hitter called out at 1st, other runner on his way to 3rd. Throw to third goes into foul territory and winning run comes home to score. Then a review comes and calls the runner "safe" at 1st and replaces the runners). Only solution I can think of to this is to allow the team "benefiting" from the changed call the option of declining the review result and accepting the play as is. There are some cases where there is not an easy solution. I'm definitely pro-replay, but the more I talk about it the more I understand the hesitations, because there are so many different possible scenarios to account for that make it very difficult.

I think the consensus today is starting to more strongly lean in the favor of full instant replay. Frankly, I think it's long overdue. There are many excuses like tradition and things like "I don't like the idea of manager's throwing challenge flags every time he thinks a ball is a strike" (worry not Lucroy, I'm sure balls and strikes won't be part of it.) Even Roenicke, who has been lukewarm on replay, admitted tonight that it's better to get the call right than avoid delaying the game. You can say all day that the umpires get most calls right (which they should), but the fact remains that there are missed calls, and some missed calls lead to changed games. The arguments that it's a tough system to implement in this sport are a valid one, because changed calls lead to changed base situations. Umpires have to go back and potentially place baserunners, award runs, and call outs. You also have to determine what is reviewable -- fair/foul, force plays only, tag plays, catches/traps, etc, and how this will be done (up in a booth, manager challenge, etc). Anyone given this any thought and have a system in mind that they feel would work well? I think it would be a huge adjustment for MLB, but can be done.