owbc

It was nice to see Zambrano get pounded. Now if only the Cubs can come back and win the game.

Here's a question for discussion: how would you change the definion of a "save" to make it better reflect the difficulty? IMO, any situation where the tying or go-ahead run isn't at the plate should not be considered a save. However, I'm not sure of the best way to change the rule to reflect this--maybe saves should be given in some of the situations that currently result in a "hold".

While Balfour would have been useful this year, I'll chalk this up as one of those trades where both players needed a change of scenery to be successful. Brewers fans tend to be hard on shaky relievers, so after that especially painful loss to the Diamondbacks, it was unlikely that he would succeed here. I'm undecided on the best way to set up a bullpen, but it seems like the best practice is to stockpile as many solid arms as possible, both in the majors and in AAA. Despite the Brewers' expensive bullpen this year, we still had replacement level players like Dillard and DeFelice up here for a decent period of time. It seems like you never know what you're going to get with the replacement level players--some of them blow up in your face, some work for a little while, and once in a while you get one who becomes a necessary contributor to the bullpen. The more arms you stockpile, the more chances you get to find something useful.

Solid article, says everything and way more than what I thought about this beforehand. I'm glad Yost is willing to bring Torres in during the 8th inning to get out of jams, but I wish he would be willing to push the envelope a little more and use him in the 7th or even 6th inning if we need help getting out of a major jam. If there was ever a manager who would completely ignore all of his critics and get rid of the closer, it's Yost. But in order for that to happen, it would probably take a few blown saves from Torres, which would result in some demented situation where Gagne and Torres are used in key middle/late inning situations and Shouse somehow becomes the 9th inning guy. Our bullpen has done a solid job lately and everyone got at least 2 days in a row off again, so I doubt there will be any changes at this point.

I hate Rickie Weeks, he only strikes out and makes errors.

# of wins vs. historical chance of making the playoffs (approximate) 88: 30% 89: 45% 90: 55% 91: 70% 92: 80% 93: 85% 94: 90% 95: 95% So there is clearly great value in winning a few extra games (say 93 vs 90). The biggest jump is from 90 to 91. If the Brewers want to win the WC, 91-92 wins would historically get them in, while 89-90 is a 50/50 chance. Thus, those few extra wins are what could pull the Brewers away from the pack of the Phillies/Mets/Marlins/Cardinals. This is why the CC Sabathia deal was such a good idea. If the Brewers win 92 games and CC was worth 3-4 extra wins, you could say that CC doubled the Brewers chance of making the playoffs. Secondly, the Brewers have the added advantage of the Mets/Marlins/Phillies being in a group with similar records. If one team gets hot and pulls away, it doesn't matter if they finish with a better record than the Brewers. Having two teams get hot and race to the finish is much more unlikely. Basically, win 92 and hope the Cardinals don't get hot and we're in.

I'm excited about this one, it will be my first and possibly last chance to see CC pitch in person. I like his chances against the Nationals offense, but I've messed up way too many times to guarantee a victory.

It's about time the national media recognized my contribution to society.

Sorry about the misquote. I essentially agree with you, I'm just trying to add to the argument. I guess we could do a study of years of managerial experience or even individual managers vs. team road record. I suspect it wouldn't yield anything useful, though, as there are just too many other factors involved.

Even if we go 2-2 against Washington, we essentially are right back where we started. Nothing is going to be decided in the next 5 days, even if some sweeps go down. The best that can happen is that we gain a game or two, the worst is that we lose a game or two. It doesn't have a major impact on the long term since we aren't playing either team. As for which team to root for, I've believed since the start of the year that the Cubs are more talented than the Brewers (except those rare times when emotions get the better of me http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif). Thus, as more games are played, I would expect that the Cubs would be more and more likely to gain ground on the rest of the division. I am supported by our 11% chance of winning the division (even when we were tied it was only 43%). Thus, unless we are planning on our slim chance of winning the division of coming true, it is much better for the Cubs to help us by systematically beating all of our Wild Card rivals.

I'm not going to go as far as rluzinski and say that Yost has no impact on the clubhouse. Ozzie Guillen's clubhouse is certainly going to have a different vibe about it and his players are held to different expectations. Also, when Willie Randolph was fired, I remember reading comments from Mets players that Manuel brought with him a much more relaxed attitude, which seemed to rub off differently on the clubhouse. So, it seems to me like managers can affect the clubhouse--obviously the Brewers clubhouse would be different if Yost called out players and benched them after they made mistakes, as some here suggest he should. However, what impact does any of that have on the field? Is there any evidence of a certain team personality being more conductive to winning? I don't think it makes much of a difference at all. The Mets brought in a new manager, but it doesn't get rid of any of their flaws. If the Brewers got rid of Yost and company, the players wouldn't magically "learn" how to hit with RISP or not swing at breaking balls in the dirt. These guys have all been playing baseball since they were 5. They are paid professionals. I'm not saying that coaching has no impact at all, if it did, what would be the point of all the work they did in spring training on baserunning and defense? I'm sure that made a difference. However, what we're trying to say here is that there is no way to statistically prove that Yost an company's attitude/demeanor/coaching styles/personalities have any impact whatsoever on the players' performances. The Brewers have "learned" to win on the road this year, but there are so many factors that go into that success that there is absolutely no possible way to pinpoint it. You don't have to write a novel to realize that. Maybe it's because their defense is better--but how much of that is because of Yost's staff and how much of that is just because we brought in players that play better defense? Most players are going to follow the same curves--they get better as the years go on until their bodies catch up with them. Unfortunately, there is no way to credit the coaches with any of that.

It would have been nice to see him hit a HR for a 5-5 day. But still, he just got under that one, it was hit hard. If Weeks goes up there and keeps getting hits to the opposite field, it's going to force opposing pitchers to start giving him pitches on the inside half to hit. With Rickie's bat speed, he should be able to catch up to them, even if he is looking to go the other way. Still, I'm not a believer that things have 'clicked'. He's hitting better, but he doesn't magically become a .300 hitter overnight. However, we don't really need that, if he can hit .250 with a .350 OBP, it will create many more scoring opportunities, especially since he scores 1/2 of the time that he reaches (at least according to Brian and Bill).

I never thought I'd see it, but Rickie has a 4-hit game with 3 of the hits to the opposite field. Now, the question is, why did he suddenly decide to start hitting the ball the other way, which obviously is a great idea since the scouting reports must indicate that he is a dead pull hitter. I don't know the answer, but I suspect Ray Durham may have given him some pointers.

I never used to be a guy with a favorite player, I always liked them all. However, Bill Hall grew on me ever since he got those big hits in April 2004. At first, I just liked him for playing with confidence and a little swagger, despite merely being a super-utility man. I like how he came from nowhere and never projected as a big prospect, yet still performed at every level that he played at. I like the spectacular plays that he makes on defense. I like how he (used to) hit consistently to the opposite field. I like when he curses after he misses a pitch that he thought he should have hit hard. If the Brewers trade Hall, I'm not sure that I'll have a new favorite, at least right away. Fortunately for me, it looks like he's going to be sticking around for a few more years.

I'm not sure what changed tonight. Maybe the dugout "fight" had something to do with it. It could have easily gotten their minds off how bad they have been hitting and just allowed them to go up there and be relaxed. Maybe Volquez helped by giving them lots of pitches to hit, when the main strategy these days has been to throw us lots of bad pitches. Maybe it was just Corey Hart getting a big hit in the 1st inning and making everyone more relaxed. I'm guessing a combination of all 3.

Time to get the slumping players out of the lineup (Hardy, Cameron, Kendall).

Agreed. He's not going to say anything and he shouldn't. Do you expect him to call out one of his players? It will be discussed privately and handled internally. I doubt there will be any kind of suspension, especially since Prince is one of the only players on the club hitting the ball right now. If he does get the day off, Yost will play it off as him needing rest.

I'm not ready to make a judgment on Fielder, but I can offer speculation. Unfortunately for Prince, he is the most scrutinized player on the Brewers, both by the fans and the media. He's had more articles written about him than probably the rest of the players on the team combined. His weight and his diet are constantly commented about. The situation with his father hasn't gone away. Hitting 50 HR just brought more attention. Obviosuly, I don't know the details about Prince. As a fan, I only recieve small details. I've heard that he acts differently around his teammates than around the media. He probably is different at home as well. It may be that all of the pressure is getting to him--he's been expected to perform at an elite level ever since he was hitting bombs at Tiger Stadium as a 14 year old. This is likely the first time in his life that he isn't the best player on the team--although he may not even say or think it, you have to think that the pressure to be equal to or better than Ryan Braun is affecting him. What I do know is that he has gained a significant amount of weight since he was called up by the Brewers. All I needed to see was the video of his first ML home run from 2005 (it's on the Brewers website). I barely even recognized him. That could be said for not just his weight, but his personality as well. This isn't the man that I knew from 3 years ago. I know he can get through this and I want him to eventually sign a contract with the Brewers, but I worry that he won't make it. Hopefully he will handle the situation the right way and allow his teammates to support him, not oppose him.

Nice to see Rickie and Ray come through. I really want to see Prince come up.

Cordero has had some shaky moments lately, maybe we can get Braun or angry Prince up here.

Keep it up with the solo home runs! It's what we do best.

Parra got between Fielder and the dinner table...

At least we battled hard tonight. I'm outta here.

Ned should have seen that coming and gotten him out of there.

This game is reminding me of that 17-inning Angels game from a few years ago.