Raw Biz

The thing that pisses me off is when their fans (or fans of any team really) say well we have X amount of championships so even if you win this year, you still suck. I just don't understand that line of thinking. Because the team won a bunch of championships (most of them before a lot of fans were even born) and these hometown fans just so happen to have been "lucky" enough to be born there and therefore root for them, it makes them better? I don't get it. The Packers have won the most NFL championships but I don't think that makes Packer fans any better than anyone else. And when things start going bad, a lot of these fans are the first ones to jump ship. I remember in August reading the Cardinals boards and everyone said the season was over and the team was terrible, etc.

Wow that was probably the worst AB by Braun I've ever seen.

Huh? Umm.......you want to judge the success of the move but what the probable results would have been - not what they actually were.You said it was a horrible decision but then said "then he had a HR and 2 walks." My point was it doesn't matter what he did. He could've made a diving catch in CF. More often than not, he will hurt you in CF so he shouldn't be starting when there are better alternatives.

I thought it was a horrible decision - then he had a HR and 2 walks. I don't buy into the fact that him not getting to that ball cost the Brewers the game - and that's what many are implying, some even directly saying, cost the Brewers the game. The Brewers got outplayed last night - it's simple as that. You can't judge a decision like that based on the results. If Braun and Fielder went combined 0-8 with 2 errors, you wouldn't say it's a horrible decision to start them. Kotsay is a terrible defender and nothing special on offense so more often than not, he won't contribute much (and might even hurt the team). The point is, he shouldn't have started in CF. It seems that everyone except you and Roenicke believe it worked out.

You are just trolling now. Was there ever a doubt as to whether Braun should be playing left field last night?Why, because I don't agree with the sentiment that Kotsay cost the Brewers the game last night? Sorry, I believe the Brewers collectively playing poorly cost them the game - not Kotsay in CF - anything we would have gained defensively with Plush or Go-Go would have been lost offensively with Plush or Go-Go. Nobody is saying that he was the sole reason. They are saying that it was stupid to start him in CF and his play reaffirmed that. Do you honestly believe it was a good idea to start him out there?

They finished 39-42 on the road, including being 4-5 at Busch. I know you're not confident, but what you said is not true. Uh, I disagree. Every other playoff team finished the regular season at least 5 games over .500 on the road; most were close to 10 games over. That really means nothing. The Brewers really just needed to go at least 1-2 this series, which is perfectly reasonable to expect. They could even go 2-1 at this point. Just because they didn't finish 10 games over .500 on the road doesn't mean they can't win 1.

Let's, go watch the video: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/....jsp?content_id=19888335 Look at where Furcal is when the ball gets by Braun. He deserves just as much criticism for the run scoring. Not to mention, this may have also held Jay at 1st...... You are just trolling now. Was there ever a doubt as to whether Braun should be playing left field last night?Braun probably didn't bother putting in much effort backing up because he thought anybody playing CF should be able to catch that ball standing up (/half blue). To blame Braun is just stupid. Yeah he probably could have done a better job backing up but he never should have been in that situation in the first place because the ball should have been caught.

Hey, I hated it when I saw the lineup card as well. Then he delivered at the plate. Go watch the bloop and look at Braun as well - this was a bloop that some could even argue he might have been able to get to had he given max effort, there is no excuse for him not properly backing up Kotsay though. That could have prevented a run - love how this gets overlooked though. Still can't escape the fact that Kotsay delivered 1 of the 3 Brewers runs on his own and he also got on base 2 times in front of Braun and Fielder - they didn't deliver. Trying to make Kotsay the scapegoat for the loss is a complete joke. Edit: Making RR the scapegoat - for starting Kotsay - is also a complete joke. Give criticism where it's do - the Brewers big boys didn't perform last night. This is the kind of crap that pisses me off. When Braun or Prince have an off day, some people blame them for the loss. Yes they are the best players on the team but players can't go 3-4 every night. They are allowed to have a bad game. They shouldn't be expected to dominate every game. Same thing with Yo. He's been our best pitcher for the past month and he had a rough 1st inning (not helped by defense) but still managed to not give up any more after that. Sure Kotsay contributed with a home run. Great. But what you seem unable to grasp is we're not worried about his offense. His defense is what killed them. And I don't care if it's the 1st out or the last out, he didn't make a play that every other one of our 3 other CF makes. And yes I watched the play. Kotsay didn't have the speed to close the gap. He came kind of close by diving so if that's the case, since Morgan/Gomez/Hairston all are faster than Kotsay, all should make that play standing up.

How was it negated? Did Braun and Fielder get at bats with him on base? Did he not move up to 2nd on a fly ball from Braun........... amazing that a guy who has "no speed" could do that. The point is, with the bloop - there was NOBODY out, if it's caught there is 1 out. Why are some of you acting as if that was the 3rd out of the inning? Did Kotsay walk the next 2 batters? Hart's catch was easier imo, ball hung up there and he didn't give max effort to get there in time. Some of you need to go back and watch the play itself: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/....jsp?content_id=19888335 I don't think it's a given Morgan gets there - guy hasn't been playing good D lately. Where is the criticism on Braun for letting it get by him after it landed......... that could have prevented a run. It's negated because he made an out on the basepaths. And it's not like he was thrown out trying to score from 2nd on a single. He was doubled off on a ball that was hit almost directly at the CF. So yes that walk is negated. And the point is, if that ball is caught, there is 1 out. Then Pujols double which scores 1 run, then 2 walks, then a double play and Yo gets out of it. Obviously everything isn't going to happen exactly the same but you get the point. Kotsay should never have been in CF in a position in which he could hurt the team. It seems like you are the only one defending Kotsay/Roenicke here. As others have said, we weren't really caring about his offense. It's his defense that killed them. How can you defend that?

What's next - Kotsay a terrorist too? How about Gallardo walking Holliday and Berkman on 10 pitches to load the bases? Then Hart missing an easier catch then Kotsay's - he makes that catch, they still get out of the inning with only 1 run scored. Hart's play had a greater impact and was probably the easier catch of the two. I don't know how anyone can defend Kotsay after this game. Yes he walked twice and hit a HR but one walk was negated by being doubled off. And not catching that bloop led to 3 more runs that inning. Defense matters just as much as offense. If there were 2 outs and Kotsay let a bloop like that fall, leading to say 6 more runs, would you still say it's the pitcher's fault? No, it would be Kotsay's. It's basically the same as an error. If your terrible play on defense leads to more runs than you create on offense, then you probably shouldn't be playing that position. edit: And there's no way Hart's play was the easier catch. Yeah it clanked off his glove and he should've caught it but it was a line drive backwards toward the gap. It might look like Kotsay's was tougher because he dove but that's because he has no range whatsoever and made it look a lot harder than it should have been. Any normal CF makes that catch easily.

Four runs most likely don't score if that guy who doesn't take the field doesn't have a guy in CF who also shouldn't be taking the field.

Yeah the offense didn't do much after Carpenter left and Hart sucked on defense but Roenicke made some pretty bad decisions too. He really is an awful manager.

Why McGehee? I don't get it.

Don't want to start a tangent but I'm not sure why we never put in a claim for him. I was pissed when he was traded because I thought he would turn into a stud.

Nelson Cruz is insane. Another 3run bomb to put them on top.

Another ball our OF defense sucks at.

Alright get that bum out. Seriously what the hell was Roenicke thinking?

Idiot. Take him out. Seriously, how stupid can you be? Looks like that veteran experience is really paying off.

Like I said, I don't think he's pitched as bad as the numbers have shown. He might not be the 3 ERA pitcher he was all year but I also don't think he's the 8 ERA pitcher he has been for the past month. I'm also not saying there isn't something wrong with him. He could be gassed or it could be mental or it could be a bad stretch. We just don't know for sure. But, I also think Marcum now is still better than Wolf/Estrada/Narveson. Estrada and Narveson aren't stretched out and neither have great stuff either. And if 1 run in 8 IP is decent, then what do you consider great?

I still think Gomez catches that. Morgan is terrible going back and Gomez is great. And you obviously didn't pay attention to what I said. If Marcum picks up Jay's out, Pujols' HR is only 1 run. If Morgan hangs on to that first ball, there's an out. If Hart hangs on to Pujols foul or Gomez is out there and catches it, that double doesn't happen. Obviously these are a lot of what ifs but my point is, if some things go the Brewers' way there, Marcum doesn't give up much. It's not like everyone was hitting froze rope balls to the gaps.

In the 35 games combined that Marcum has started the Brewers have a 16-19 record. In the 28 games Narveson has started, the Brewers have a 16-12 record. It's hard to make the argument that a guy with an 8.11 ERA in his last 30 innings is better than anyone. I hate stats with a team's record in a pitcher's start. There are so many other factors that go into it, like run support. Remember when Braden Looper had like 12 wins? Those stats have little, if any, value to me. Yo gave up 26 runs in 26.1 innings during a stretch at the beginning of the year. Would you have said he was terrible then? Obviously not. Regardless of what recent numbers say, Marcum is still a better pitcher than Wolf/Estrada/Narveson.

Because his last start could very well have been something like 6 IP, 2 ER. Morgan and Hart both had balls pop out of their gloves and if Gomez was in CF, probably would've caught Pujols' ball. Jay reached on a hit and run with a groundball where the 3B would have been. Marcum messed up a bunt that he probably turns into an out most of the time. I've said it before and I'll keep saying it, you can't judge a pitcher solely on what the numbers turn out to be. With a few "luck" factors going the Brewers way that game, I think Marcum turns in a quality start. I think the same thing applies to his AZ start because there were really only 2 hard hit balls against him there. He's still one of our 3 best pitchers and he went 8 IP 1 ER on 9/20. Yes that start was sandwiched by a few bad ones (according to the numbers) but I still think he's the best option compared to non-streched-out Estrada/Narveson. That being said, I think Roenicke should have a quick hook with him if he gets into trouble in his next start.

I liked it when it first came out in the winter. Then WWE used it as the theme song for Wrestlemania and they played it on every tv show for like two months leading up to it. I'm sure MLB isn't aware of its use with Wrestlemania but that's the first thing I think of when I hear it. And since the song was actually released in September of last year, you would think MLB could pick something a little more current. On a side note, I just hate when companies/teams/etc. latch onto songs that are big but have been around for like a year. They should pick new stuff that's just been released to claim those songs as their own.

Don't forget Kotsay. He's 4 for 11 in his career against Carpenter and those are the kind of crap stats that Roenicke tends to look at. If he thinks he would need another bat, Kotsay could be starting. I think that would be a horrible decision. At least Morgan was able to keep a couple of those balls close yesterday. Kotsay wouldn't have been near them. With as bad as the team has been defensively, I would start Gomez.

Because it's not a clear disadvantage in both games. Yes Yo has been knocked around a bit in his career against the Cards but he's also been pretty dominant the past month. And we've gotten to Carpenter before. And Lohse/Wolf match up pretty even to me as well. Both can be knocked around but when both are on, they can be pretty damn good too. If Yo were to start game 4 instead of 3, and this thing went 7, that game would be Carpenter v. Wolf. Would you really feel good about that matchup? I know you have to win the games to get there but I really think they can take 1 of games 3 or 4 and possibly even 5.