adambr2

I do agree with you in that I think Houser going forward is potentially a 3 in the rotation. I don't agree that the way they've used him is a direct indication of what role they see him as. I think failing better options, you'd have to go forward with him in the rotation, barring trades or signings for convincingly better starting options. But I don't think it's his most suitable role.

I hate that the Cubs play the Cardinals in the final series of the season. I don't think the Cardinals are going to have anything to play for in that series.

The Pirates should be moved from the NL to the PCL next year where their talents are much more suited.

Hard to expect much from an organization that thought trading a star 24 year old outfielder, a potential Cy Young starter and a top 100 prospect for Chris Archer was a good idea.

But it really doesn’t matter if there’s another poster or two that agree’s with you because the brewers don’t, and for good reason, and it’s called a pitcher with 4 pitches that he can locate = Starter 100% of the time. Multiple times you have cited the fact that the Brewers have Houser starting as proof that they see him as a starter and it's just kind of silly. Roles are fluid, and I don't think the Brewers are foolish enough to pigeonhole a guy solely based on the amount of pitches he can throw and say "this guy is a starter 100% of the time!" Again, roles are fluid. Peralta was a starter and now he's not. Woodruff was primarily a reliever last year and now he's a starter. Sometimes, roles are determined not just by best fit but by the options you have available. Houser was already removed from the rotation once this year and put back in the pen, then was back into a starter's role when injuries occurred.

It wasn't too long ago that I 100% agreed with Brew on this, but right now, who can you trust for the 2020 rotation? Burnes can't be allowed anywhere near the opening day rotation next year, Peralta looks even more suited for the pen than Houser is and most of the others are upcoming FAs. So of the guys you control for 2020, you've got Davies, Anderson and Faria, and all of these options are probably going to be inferior as starters to Houser going forward, other than Woodruff, of course. Meanwhile some decent options for the 2020 pen are starting to emerge. You've already got Hader, Knebel should be back fairly early and you've got Black, Peralta, and possibly Wahl and others. Potentially it's a pretty formidable pen. I think if you can count on Houser to be a #3 type starter in 2020, which I think is realistic, you need him for that role, unless you are convinced he can be a lockdown closer type in the pen.

Good grief. Shaw has been nothing but self-owning about the season he has had. I never heard a peep about anything when he was first optioned and he played well down there, he certainly wasn't playing like a guy sulking. And it's perfectly normal for guys to take a few days to get into the lineup when they get sent down to get things in order, especially guys who aren't used to being bounced back and forth and has been in the big leagues for years. Shaw knows perfectly well that we gain nothing from releasing him and lose the opportunity to tender him next year or trade him in the offseason, so he knows the business side of it. I don't believe for one second that he ever went to anyone demanding his release and sulked afterwards that he didn't get it. And on the actual chance that actually did happen, a couple drama queen pot stirring commentators from St. Louis would not be the first to know.

Please tell me you didn't actually believe that load of hogwash if they actually said that.

Here's the real danger of letting the Cardinals run away with the division: If they're even 4 games up in the division heading into the last series of the season, which is exacly where they will be after tonight, they will have literally NOTHING to play for. That series, is against the Cubs. They won't risk injury to one of their key players heading into the playoffs with nothing to play for. You'll see a ton of AAA lineups and AAA pitching. It doesn't bode well if you go into the last series of the season neck and neck with the Cubs for the last spot.

Yeah, he's certainly going to be non-tendered now, but he did make 3.7M both this and last year by the Brewers waiting him out. Someone will take a shot on him next year, but it may not even be on a major league deal at this point.

All things considered I think it's been a fairly cool headed GT. Some disappointment but no one is saying it is over. Just from a few of the usual suspects. I mean, they weren’t gonna win out. Come back tomorrow and start a new streak. Sure hope they can get to Flaherty tomorrow! Hopefully Lyles keeps doing what he's been doing.

All things considered I think it's been a fairly cool headed GT. Some disappointment but no one is saying it is over. Re-read. The game, buddy. Not the season.

All things considered I think it's been a fairly cool headed GT. Some disappointment but no one is saying it is over.

Because they ain't winning this game, so saving as many of and saving the best pen arms is the end goal now tonight.

Honestly, if, and I do say if, this series doesn't go well, it's hard to even be disappointed anymore. It just hasn't really felt like our year much in the second half, and with all the recent injuries it's felt like even more of just not our season. The recent streak has been fun, and I'm enjoying that they're still in it, and they certainly are still in it, but my expectations for postseason play remain pretty low. It just feels like they're playing with house money at this point.

Can't play the Marlins every night, boys. A double to the pitcher and 3 walks in 3 innings. That's a good recipe for losing.

Well, at least we cleared the pitcher's spot.

Not a great way to start. Can't be letting these guys off the hook when you get scoring opportunities.

I hope the Pirates lose 35-7 at this point. What a joke of an organization.

Oh yeah, just leave him in there. Great call, Hurdle.

Brault is absolutely useless. Just walked Lester on 4 pitches to load the bases. No wind aid there.

Freaking Steven Brault. That turd spins a gem every time he faces the Brewers and goes into Wrigley and gives up a 5 spot in the 1st.

My guess is you will not see Hiura in the lineup until after the road trip. Maybe, possibly a PH appearance in this series, but no, not in the lineup. Then why was he reinstated? Just curious... Because there was no reason not to. There are no roster limitations in September, so there is no advantage to have him on the IL, it just makes him ineligible to play. Now if a situation arises where they absolutely need him and he is physically able to make a pinch hit appearance, they can do so.

Agreed. I totally understand that there are all kinds of different ways to be a fan, and that we are constantly going to disagree with each other, while in the end wanting the same common goal. I guess I just have a difficult time understanding the constant defeatist attitude. I work with a guy who watches every Brewer game religiously, but truly believes that the team is one of the worst in the league and has absolutely no shot of doing anything this season. It has gotten to the point where it's difficult to have a Brewer-themed conversation with him, because he sucks all the hope out of being a fan. I mean, we are all guilty of getting down on the team from time to time. Hell, I accused the offense of quitting on the season last month. It was temporary, and I quickly regretted feeling this way and stating it in a public forum, but I still did it. I quickly jumped on the bandwagon again, and have been factoring equations every day to determine what the team would have to do to make the postseason. I guess that's why it bothers me so much ... because I just can't wrap my mind around the idea that anyone gets any joy out of this manner of fandom. Most of them wrote off this team weeks ago, if not months ago … and they are writing them off again following Yelich's injury. I mean, either cheer for them or don’t, but don’t keep repeating to me that the season is over. For me, they are alive until the math doesn’t work, and despite everything working against them, the math keeps getting better. As someone who often lets negative game events get to him more than he should, I think you both make fair points. I hope it can be understood that the game threads are real time, spur of the moment reactions and as such often come from either a place of frustration or elation. As such, it's likely that someone who says "We're done" in June doesn't really believe that in a moment of logic but it can be hard to look at the bigger picture in that moment, especially when the moment falls in the midst of a big losing streak. However, there's certainly a difference between that and just letting things devolve into a cesspool of badmouthing the team. At the end of the day, sports are there for our entertainment and enjoyment. If you're not enjoying it, what's the point? Momentum spurs a lot of emotion in this game, both positively and negatively. Right now we've won 7 straight and it feels like we'll keep rolling right into the playoffs. In late July and early August when we lost 6 of 7 it genuinely felt like we weren't very good and were headed in a direction of finishing under .500. As the saying goes, you're never as good as you think you are when things are going right, and never as bad as you are when things are going wrong.

My guess is you will not see Hiura in the lineup until after the road trip. Maybe, possibly a PH appearance in this series, but no, not in the lineup.