adambr2

Yes, it would be bad if the manager doesn't have control over bullpen decisions. What are we going on other than pure speculation to suggest that he doesn't?

These jackass umpires continue to affect games day after day. And meanwhile MLB is worried about pine tar and shaving 3 minutes off a game.

I know Taylor hasn't been great lately, but he's has his moments this year. Don't really see the point of going to Rowdy.

That Yelich contract is absolute money on fire already. Imagine how it's going to look in 5 years. We haven't even gotten into the extension part of it yet.

Was that called strike 2 to Urias as bad as Gameday made it look?

Hopefully Reyes will follow Robertson out the door before too long.

It’s all about control and if CC has that control with Hader. Can CC bring him in the 8th of a tied game to face the heart of the order? Can CC choose to not pitch him a tied 9th and bring him on in a tied 10th? Again, The BIG thing is that any manager should have TOTAL CONTROL of his bullpen and it’s usage within reason… meaning starters not pitching three games straight, relievers not pitching several innings for several games straight, etc. So if CC for some reason based on different metrics wants to bring Hader or a Milner in the 7th or 9th, he should have that control. Throw an extra batter in the 8th? Sure. I feel that is, at the very least, in question now more than ever since CC was putting Hader in the 9th of the second game on Wednesday before the Brewers scored add on runs. He blew a save, sat a few hours, and then got up to throw again for another save in Game 2. If Hader is able and willing to do this for his money saves, he should be able and willing to throw an extra out in the 8th too on a normal night. I have a sense this is not the case anymore. We will see. CC has control of the bullpen. You make it sound like if CC asked Hader to get the last out in the 8th inning today, Hader would pitch a fit or his agent would call David Stearns in a fury immediately. I'd bet pretty heavily that that just isn't the case. It's about protecting your best arms to be able to withstand the grind of a long season, and about getting as many outings as you can out of Hader to affect more games. Beyond that, there isn't anything wrong with listening when a player tells you how he feels most comfortably being used. Usually what is best for your star players is also best for your team. It is no different than a star position player mentioning where he feels most comfortable batting in the lineup. It just isn't this huge deal that you're making it out to be. You also seem to be forgetting that when Hader first came into the league, the debate wasn't closer or multi inning reliever, it was starter or reliever. Wouldn't you think that if this really didn't have anything to do with how Hader was most comfortable, if it were 100% money based, that Hader and his agent would have lobbied strongly to get him out of the pen and into the rotation?

This game isn't much fun.

Wade Miley winding up on 3rd base is not an ideal way to begin the inning.

It's possible that Craig figured the sac bunt was a decent play in that situation anyway (1 run deficit, puts 2 in scoring position for one of your top RISP hitters), in which case he might have figured no need to burn his bench to do that.

Frustrating game so far.

Yelich may as well bat leadoff until he figures out how to do something other than walk. It's hard to believe we are just as good against lefties as righties this season, sure doesn't seem like it.

"Reaches on a fielding error by 3rd baseman Luis Urias" I feel like I read this on Gameday every evening.

I wouldn't give up Mitchell for Bryant, but premium rentals still command respectable prices. Bryant is a premium rental. He's not going for a couple lottery tickets, and we don't know that it's a buyer's market before the market has even been established. The Cubs can get draft compensation just by holding Bryant. It doesn't make sense for them to trade any of these guys without a respectable return. Somewhere in the ballpark of what Manny Machado brought to the Orioles a few years ago is probably in the ballpark.

Admittedly I don't have a great grasp on this stuff, but I feel same about it the other way. The Suns are an 89% probability to win the Finals right now, really, 89? I could get like 70, but the leads I've seen blown in a series just in the last 5 or 6 years or so just makes it seem high. Also that the Brewers are like 3% to win the WS but the Dodgers, who may have a play-in game that they can easily lose, are 27%? I am in no way suggesting the Brewers are better than the Dodgers, but those calculators have always seemed fudgy to me. Well the historical precedent on a team coming back from 0-2 is, I believe, 13%. So fairly close to the 11% they give us right now.

The win probability thing is something that always makes me chuckle, and I mean no offense to anyone who brings it up. But you always see things like Tucker hits a 3 to make it 21-12 in the first quarter and our win probability is at 67.2% when we all know damn well at that point that we aren't 67.2% confident in winning the game.

At least we now have our answer as to why they are grinding in the paint, getting to the rim, and penetrating one quarter, only to seemingly randomly switch their offensive game to mid range jumpers and quick contested 3s the next quarter. They're literally being instructed to do so.

I think the Cubs killed their own dynasty with impatience. I guess it's hard to say killed it because it never was a dynasty, but they looked set up for many years about 5 years ago. They did win a WS out of it, so I can't say they didn't get anything meaningful out of it all, they did.

I'm glad we got here, regardless of what happens from here. I'd rather have at least gotten here than have lost to Brooklyn in the semis, even if it means losing here. An Eastern Conference title is something. It's progress. It still sucks at the end of the season, but after so many Conference title losses for my teams I'll take at least one step better.

Rode it all the way to the finals. That wasn't really my point. Yes, this is a really good team and they deserve to be here. But it feels like we do a heck of a lot of mental gymnastics to try to rationalize every game we lose that everything is just going so wrong for us and so right for our opponent.

I'll take a 1 point win in Game 3 and a 1 point win in Game 4, wouldn't matter to me.

Also, I kind of feel like "They'll Never Do That Again" (Middleton and Jrue shoot so poorly, Suns shoot 50% from 3, etc) has sort of become the rallying cry of this team.

I'm just not very confident that they can hold serve at home against this team. Can't do much more right now than go out and try to win Game 3 and see what happens from there. But I think it's probably just as likely that the series never makes it back to Phoenix than it is that the series goes back to Phoenix tied.

I think every player on the field was owed.

So fitting that this game ends on a terrible strike call.