Lil Dummy

Would really like to see the momentum from last night spill over to the rubber game today. Sure wouldn't want to have anyone else taking the mound for the Crew. Although, as a funny aside, Sheets' performance this year has kind of run opposite to the Crew's overall success. He scuffled in April when they were setting the world on fire, and has pitched like a Cy Young candidate over the past month plus, when the team has tanked. What I'm saying is, if Sheets gets roughed up today, the silver lining is that it means the Brewers are about to go on a tear. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

Watched every pitch last night, but didn't jump online until after the game. Read through every post, and savored the win all over again. As others posted before me, some wins are bigger than just 1-0 in the standings, and this was definitely one of them. Villy's gutty performance, Hall carrying the offense, Turnbow and Cordero shutting the door once we got the upper hand - tough to script one better than that.

"When we start hitting and pitching again, probably against lower teams, this will quiet down." Ironically, I had more beef with Yost's managing, specifically his use of the bullpen, when they were hot.

Huh. Wasn't what I was expecting, but that's actually a pretty good looking lineup.

"OK, no more from me about this stuff." Amen, brother.

We heard about how this team had great 'chemistry' early in the season, and I think that we all chalked this up, to some extent, on the gaudy won/loss record. Given the struggles of the past month-plus, however, one has to think that this really is a pretty tight clubhouse. Has there been even a hint of infighting? I'm not saying you can draw a direct corrollation between team chemistry and on-field success, or Melvin would be best served replacing the current roster with my beer league softball team. However, all else being equal, I think clubhouse harmony is a good thing. I think Yost gets a lot of credit for this - he's a steadying influence, and the guys like playing for him. What's all of that worth at the end of the day? Maybe nothing. Maybe they need a guy who will jump up and down and start screaming. Lose a few more series, and I'll come in and do it myself. Just my two cents, Yost may not be manager of the year, but he's done an above average job to date.

In three games as DH, Gross is 1 for 11 with no walks, 3 Ks, and 6 LOB. Yeesh. Next man in.

"Would starting Verlander on my fantasy team tonight be a conflict of interest? I don't mind playing batters against the Brewers, but I'd feel bad cheering for strikeouts and such for the first 6 innings." Manage with your head, root with your heart. Verlander gets the start, and you cheer against him.

JJ and Prince, reunited! Hopefully Hardy gets some of his early season mojo back tonight.

I'm with AC. The last game I thought the Brewers were going to lose was last week against the Cubs, coming off a (relatively) tough loss, with Vargas facing Lilly. Of course, it was the only game they won in the series. Overall, it seems like about 50% of the time I write a game off, they win. So here's to that trend continuing. Either way, looking forward to a night of low expectations. Barring a total bullpen collapse squandering a lead, it'll be tough for the Crew to frustrate me tonight (knock wood).

If Turnbow's outing in the 6/5 win over the Cubs is pitching well, I'm not sure what you have to do to pitch poorly.

"Oh yea...and I love how when Turnbow pitches great back-to-back nights you'd think he didn't even play. But if a couple guys get on base, there are 3 pages calling for his demotion to mop-up roll." I didn't post anywhere else in this thread (when I saw that Cordero had blown another save, I just had to laugh, and go to bed. Pleasant news this AM.) But I will respond to this. My thoughts on Turnbow are about as black and white as they can be for any player. I've expressed them in this forum before. When he's got command of both his pitches, he's probably our second best reliever. When he can't command the fastball, and/or is unwilling to throw the breaking ball, he's probably our worst reliever. We seem to have reason to believe that his command suffers with overuse, so hopefully Ned is done trotting him out three consecutive days, like he did prior to a recent bad outing. But the larger point about Turnbow is that it's evident to you, me, Ned Yost, and the peanut vendor after DT has thrown three pitches whether "good" Turnbow or "bad" Turnbow is pitching. I think he's somewhat of an enigma in this regard. Trying to let him 'pitch through a rough spot' works about as well as pouring gas on a fire. I see no reason to yank Turnbow from the set-up role, at least at this point. However, he is who he is. If Yost doesn't have a quick hook when "bad" Turnbow takes the hill, we deserve to lose. Which is fitting, since we're going to. Anyway, Mike's rant aside, nice win here for the Crew, good to see them pick up CoCo after he has carried them all year.

"Did we really think Cordero would be perfect all season in Save Opportunities?" No, we knew he wouldn't. Just didn't think he blow one against the worst team in the American League, with a three run lead and the bottom of the order up, especially after getting the first two outs easily.

Sorry John, should have qualified. I considered Wilson, but figured that, since he's a young guy who isn't even arby eligible for a few years, and he has been so lights-out this year, the Rangers either wouldn't shop him, or would ask for more than he's worth in return. But technically you are correct.

"The Rangers bullpen looks pretty good. Perhaps Melvin could get a reliever or two for Vargas and Mench." See my post regarding this in the Trade Forum. Man, today has been a sloooow work day for this guy.

Speaking of the Stros - not to hijack the IGT, but while we're waiting for the game to start... how freaking bad has Houston been? Yeesh.

Given that the Rangers are tanking, not surprising to hear their GM say publicly that he expects they will be 'sellers' at the trade deadline this year, unless they turn things around in a hurry. With that in mind, seems pretty feasible that Melvin would be talking to them about bolstering our bullpen, if there was a fit. Was thinking that it would be fun to watch this weekend's series with an eye towards scouting potential trade prospects. Unfortunately, after glancing at some numbers, I'm not sure there is a good fit. They don't have a quality LOOGY. Really the only guy that would make sense is Gagne. He's making $6M this year, but it's a one year deal, and obviously we'd only have to absorb a portion of that money. If Turnbow continues to turn in uneven performances, and Gagne stays healthy and keeps pitching well (0.64 ERA in 15 appearances this year), tempting to think about him setting up CoCo. Total longshot, I know, but still an entertaining thought.

"The Brewers haven't played the Red Sox in interleague play yet." That can't be true. I saw the Brewers absolutely pound Tim Wakefield at Miller Park like four years ago.

"If he doesn't finish next year hitting well at AA, he'll already start to be a disappointment." If he finishes next year at AA, THAT will be disappointing. I don't know enough about this kid to comment specifically, but I do like drafting a college senior who can mash, assuming he's not a huge liability in left field.

"I had two Cubs hats sitting on my desk when I got to work today." Hope you drank plenty of coffee, sounds like you had your work cut out for you, snipping a deuce in each. Well worth the effort, though.

"If the Brewers win 7 of their next 8, people will be coming out of the woodwork, saying how they never stopped believing and that this team just 'knows how to win'." And they'd be justified in doing so. I assume that's just a snide observation, rather than a suggestion that the die-hards who've been posting on this site since its inception would rather continue to rack up losing seasons than have to deal with 'bandwagon' fans posting here. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif As an aside, if the Brewers win 7 of their next 8, I'll streak down Water Street. I'd be pretty happy just splitting the next two against the Cubs right now.

"I'd take 3 runs in 6 or 7 IP every outing from Bush." A quality start every time out from our #4 starter? Of course, we'd all sign up for that in a heartbeat. Frankly I'd consider taking that from Suppan as well. The better question is, would you take: 7 IP, 3 earned runs in two of every three outings, with the third being more along the lines of 5 IP, 4 earned runs? I think that hews a little closer to what we can expect from Bush over the long haul. I gotta say, I'd sign on the dotted line for that as well.

"The reason some don't want Gwyn starting has been explained to death here over the last few months. I won't get into it here but the hints are 'sample size' and 'previous success'." Don't forget to find a way to sprinkle in a few "If this kid's last name were Smith, he'd still be in AA ball" comments. Yeah Russ, I'm familiar with the stock arguments, it's just disappointing that we're still hearing them. The obvious counter to the sample size argument is "what else does the guy have to do to earn the right to provide a bigger sample"? As for the 'previous success' argument, it would carry a lot more weight if Gwynn was late 20s, not 24 years old. Listen, if the conversation is "should Gwynn start every game in right field and hit leadoff?", then I agree it's time for a reality check. And yeah, I think there was a brief window (after the Mets game where ToJu got on base four times, stole a base, and made the great throw to nail Wright at second base) when that was actually a topic of conversation. But I think the conversation has changed, and the anti-Gwynn rhetoric has not. If the board as a whole turns its nose up in disgust at the thought of Gwynn getting a start in center field for Hall against a right-handed pitcher, that's nuts. Just nuts. Alright, sorry for the thread hijack.

"I won't like it but it at all but it wouldn't surprise me to see Gwynn start in CF and Hall DHing when the Brewers are up against a righty." I'd be a tremendous fan of this option, if Hart needs a day off vs. a righty over that nine game stretch. Man, Gwynn couldn't be more reviled here, just weird. I'd hate to think of how our "speed and defense" guy would be regarded if he didn't also have the highest OBP of any hitter on the team. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif

Frankly, Marquis has always scared me more with his bat than his arm when he's faced the Crew. It would be greedy to EXPECT Bush to put together two sterling outings in a row, but boy would it be a nice development if that were to occur...