AJAY

Had an awesome time at the game. It was the best pitcher's duel I have seen since I saw Roger Clemens beat Ted Higuera in a 1-0 game back in the 1980's at County Stadium. I was most excited that Gallardo was efficient with his pitch count, didn't walk batters, didn't face many full counts, pitched to contact, and went the distance. That is what an ace is supposed to look like. AWESOME NIGHT !! EDIT: Gotta give some props to Corey Hart too !! Glad he went deep and got Yovani a well-deserved "W"

I guess the Macha era continues . . . . for now at least.

Wonderful article about Ryan Braun in the USA Today . . . . http://www.usatoday.com/s...iness-entrepreneur_N.htm

Bottom of the 9th . . . I am afraid to watch.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b273/AJAY_02/BagHead.jpg

Interesting article on ESPN.com about the Minnesota Twins and how they emphasize throwing strikes. Notice the table on the side of the article that contrasts the Brewers efficiency rate with the Twins efficiency rate. Just one of many reasons why the Twins are a "model" franchise and the Brewers only make the playoffs once in a million years. http://sports.espn.go.com...ick_jerry&id=5195322

I am 0-4 so far. If I remember correctly, I have yet to see the Brewers even leading at any point.

I respect Yovani Gallardo's ERA, strikeouts, and dominating stuff. However, I am also equally frustrated by his inability to go deep into games. Same with the other starters too. The bullpen is being blown out from over-use, and they can't be expected to eat up 3-4 innings every single night. It's no surprise the relievers are getting torched lately because none of them ever seem to get much rest. Unfortunately, the relievers are taking all the blame for giving up runs, but I think the starters are more to blame for not giving the relievers more rest. It seems like every time Yovani Gallardo has a 1-2 count on a batter, it eventually ends up being a 3-2 count. Multiply this by many hitters per night, and all of a sudden Gallardo is looking at being near 100 pitches by the 5th inning. It's extremely frustrating to not see him go after hitters much earlier in the at-bats. Would it be asking too much for Ken Macha and Rick Peterson to really make it more of a priority to have guys throw more strikes and not nibble as much? How about once in a while throwing a strike even on an 0-2 count just to keep the pitch count down, especially when you have good stuff. I know the Cardinals are huge believers in pitching to contact and maybe we need to incorporate more of that philosophy too. I know this might result in more hits and possibly more runs, but this team really needs to do something drastically different in order to save the bullpen. If we just keep doing the same things, we will get the same disappointing results. I really think the pitch count problem is not getting enough attention.

I hate to sound like an ego-maniac, but Todd Coffey and his burned-out arm just gave up five runs in one inning. So not only did he not get the rest he badly needed, but he also needed a million pitches to get through that inning and will be in even worse shape in the future. As I stated at the top of this thread, Jeff Suppan could have produced the same results and also helped rest our bullpen tonight. I hate to say "I told you so", but I told you so. And to be honest, I really hate it when I am right because I don't like it when fans are smarter than the people running the team. It doesn't exactly restore confidence in the franchise.

We he figures that part out we'll have a pretty studly pitcher on our hands.And maybe our bullpen will improve too if Gallardo can be more efficient and eat up more innings. The guys in the pen are really overworked.

Why does Gallardo always turn a 1-2 count into a 3-2 count?

And by the way, if Suppan does go back into the rotation, he will be shelled by the fourth or fifth inning. Then we will be looking at having to burn more relievers and thus compounding the bullpen problems even more. This is why I hope he stays in relief.

Let me clarify in case people misunderstood my original post . . . I am not saying Jeff Suppan should be closing out two games a week. I am suggesting that he closes out two games in a row for THIS WEEK ONLY . . preferably starting tomorrow. After that, hopefully things can get a little more back to normal with our bullpen. I do not see it as waving the white flag because the bullpen has been giving up so many runs anyway as it is. I just hate chewing up so many relievers when someone like Suppan alone can pretty much give us the same results. Suppan is already conditioned to go several innings, and I think the Brewers should take advantage of it to give everyone else a much-needed break for the next few days.

I am alarmed at how many relievers the Brewers have to use night after night. For the most part, the starting rotation seems to be keeping us in the game, but they aren't going deep enough in terms of eating innings. Our bullpen guys are losing their effectiveness and seemed burned out. I would like to see the Brewers think outside the box and do something creative. Here is my crazy plan . . . . Let Jeff Suppan be the savior. Once the starter is out of the game, let Suppan finish it out no matter what the score is or what the results are. Let him do this two nights in a row and just give everyone in the bullpen a few days off. Suppan seems to be doing okay as a reliever. Even if he gives up some runs, it is no different than what our bullpen has been doing anyway. So at least let the guys in the pen rest and then maybe we start fresh in a few days. I also think Trevor Hoffman has to be used a tad more just to keep him sharp and to also give others a rest. He needs to earn his money this year, and that might mean using him in roles he is not accustomed to. I realize that the Doug Davis situation might force Suppan into the rotation. However, I would rather see a Triple A starter come up and fill that spot because I want Suppan to save the bullpen instead. He has already failed as a starter, so I don't see any benefit in throwing him back in the rotation. Give some minor league kid a shot, and let's see what we have down there. Time to think outside the box now.

Bush failed to execute the bunt. Weeks dropped a throw earlier. I am not happy with the failure to do the little things.

The poor guy has been through so much already. I feel so terrible for him. I really hope he is okay.

If I were a Royals fan, I would be jumping off a ledge right now. It's bad enough that the front office is a failure, but now they also have an incompetent doofus running the team in the dugout. I feel really bad for their fans. I still think Brewers fans should file a class-action lawsuit against Ned Yost for costing us the 2007 division title. I have never seen a worse managing job in my life.

Jim Bowden of FoxSports just reported this on Twitter

This is a great thread. I share many of the same frustrations with this franchise's inability to take things to the next level. Even when they made the playoffs in 2008, the team still felt like a mess to some degree. I agree with the idea of building around young pitching. I have serious envy of the Marlins because they have no fan support and yet still manage to build strong starting rotations year after year. It feels like those kind of teams have continually figured out something that we haven't. This is what drives me nuts about Doug Melvin. It's like he can't figure out what the special magic ingredients are. I think he can look at individual parts but doesn't have as much sense as to how they will blend together I really think a veteran right-handed power pitcher is needed to anchor any staff that has hopes of contending on a regular basis. When was the last time we had someone like a John Smoltz or Tim Hudson (in their prime)? I am also sick of the soft-tossing types who rely on command and movement. I am fine with Randy Wolf, but guys like Suppan, Davis, and maybe even Bush just aren't going to get you to that next level. Does any opposing team fear or dread facing them? I don't think so. Also, I would gladly dump the whole Gerut / Hart / Edmonds situation for one solid productive corner outfielder who can play everyday and make an impact. I like Edmonds as a 4th outfielder, but I would love to have a real everyday starter. I think Gerut gets better the more he plays, but I don't have a good feel for what his upside is. Long-term, we need someone totally new in rightfield. I also want to see the Brewers be more aggressive with acquiring players in salary dumps. I keep thinking about how the Cardinals went out traded a bunch of nobodies to get impact guys like Edgar Renterrria, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Mark McGwire, Matt Holiday, etc. Other than Carlos Lee, I don't recall too many impact moves by the Brewers to add offense either.

Of course, I have never seen a "professional" version of the old logo with new colors. Maybe I will make one in illustrator tonight and see how it looks. These are not the greatest quality images, but I have posted these pictures several times in the past. Yes, I know neither player is a Brewer anymore http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b273/AJAY_02/ModernUniformConcept2.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b273/AJAY_02/ModernUniformConcept-2.jpg

Many people around the country believe that the ball-and-glove logo is one of the coolest logos in all of sports. This is one reason why I think the Brewers should officially modernize it and use it permanently again. It would look awesome in today's colors. It is recognizable, it is unique, and it sells. As for me personally, the ball-and-glove logo definitely brings out more emotion and passion than the "M" on the current hats. For me, it has nothing to do with 1982 either. It is more about having a sense of history, identity, and uniqueness. The Brewers seem more like the real Brewers with that logo on their hats. (If that statement seems confusing, think about the Red Sox without that famous "B" or the Tigers without that famous "D", or the Cardinals without that "STL" logo on their hats . . . It just wouldn't feel the same. Yes, the Brewers have an "M", but it doesn't convey that same feeling of history and tradition)

So much for the Braves being unable to hit and being unable to win on the road. *sigh*

Very irritating game tonight. The pitching is failing, the clutch hitting is terrible, and the TV announcers only care about chit-chatting with Bruce Froeming and don't seem to be interested in what's actually happening on the field. It's like being at a movie theater and the people next to you are carrying on a side conversation the whole time.

Going back to last season, it seems like when Gerut gets regular playing time, he produces. Meanwhile, Corey Hart continues to whiff at sliders over the lower outside corner of the plate. I think Corey Hart is now unofficially the 5th outfielder on this team.

i think AJAY has something. it really looked like he instinctually pulled the bat back, but then almost tried to stick his bat out again once he remembered what a suicide squeeze actually is. that said, i don't think i'd even let a high school player get away with that as a valid excuse (not that Byrnes was making any). glad i wasn't Byrnes as he faced his teammates in the locker room after the game. Yup, it definitely looked like Byrnes made a last ditch effort to make contact again once he realized the implications. The whole thing just happened so fast. I must say that in all the years I have watched players taking batting practice before games, I have never once seen anyone work on bunting balls way out of the strike zone. They usually just bunt easy pitches which are right over the heart of the plate during batting practice. It's also extremely rare for guys to even be called upon to execute a squeeze bunt too. So I don't know how much experience guys have with developing the proper mindset and actually being prepared for the possibility of a wild pitch. Again, this is not to excuse Byrnes for not doing his job . . . but I can certainly appreciate and understand the momentary confusion he must have experienced. These guys are still human even though they are major leaguers.