Raw Biz

I'd argue that he's actually done this a few times (except with Morgan at the beginning of the year). Kotsay had that game in SF where he hit a double or two and then started like 4 games in CF in the next week. Then he had a couple hits Sunday and started again last night. He's also done it a couple of times with Counsell, including this past weekend. I don't know if 2 or 3 games in a row counts but it does seem like he thinks one good game from a bench player not named Morgan/Plush warrants a few more starts in a row.

Roenicke's post-game comments just further cement his idiocy in my mind: What if Dempster was trying to throw one down the middle but his command was a little off? Then you get a pitch high and outside and can't get the bunt down and you run into an out. Also, I'm pretty sure Dempster wouldn't have minded facing Kotsay (despite his .300 average against him coming into the game). Again with the stupid defined 8th inning stuff. Does Roenicke really think Loe is going to tell him he can't go? Major League players are competitive and want to play. We've seen guys try to play through injuries/fatigue and this wouldn't be the first time. Roenicke has to know that Loe has blown up pitching 3 days in a row already. It's a long season. I know if Braun made that play there wouldn't have been a run scored but Pena still crushed that ball and it probably would've been a HR without the wind blowing in. So what if Braddock has to face righties? Braddock is not a LOOGY. Roenicke has had him face righties already this year so why would this game be any different? I honestly don't understand Roenicke's thinking. I know managers rarely second-guess themselves (or at least say so in the media) but it would be refreshing to hear him talk about how his strategy failed and how he may do things differently next time. I'm also surprised nobody mentioned (that I saw) an IBB to set up a double play after Pena's at-bat. (edit by 1992casey) Offset quotes / Source: Cubs 1, Brewers 0: Ron Roenicke's Postgame Comments

I still don't understand how or why people think this. Roenicke said in the spring he wanted a defensive catcher on the team to back up Lucroy and the next day, we had Nieves. Melvin has had both Kottaras and Rivera on the team in the past so why wouldn't he bring them up again? Maybe it's Melvin's issue in that he's letting Roenicke dictate who should be on the team but Nieves is definitely on the team because Roenicke wants him to be.Doug Melvin is the GM not RR. If for some reason in a drunken rage RR said "I want Suppan on this roster, and he will start for us Doug. I really like his leadership". And Doug Melvin goes out and signs him, whos fault is it for Suppan being on the roster? Let's be realistic here, that example was just dumb. Nobody wants Suppan on their roster. Roenicke said he wanted a defensive catcher and Melvin got what he thought was one. It's not all on Roenicke and it's not all on Melvin. I'm sure other GMs take input from their coaches too. Yes, ultimately it is on Melvin to make a move and I bet (or hope) he will soon. But Roenicke was the one who wanted a guy like Nieves in the first place. Melvin probably hasn't bothered to remove him because the team has been winning and Wolf has been pitching well with him, two things I think Nieves hasn't really had an effect on. There is no doubt in my mind that Nieves would never have been signed had it not been suggested by Roenicke. We can debate whether Melvin SHOULD have signed him but I don't think it's a coincidence that he was signed shortly after Roenicke made his comments about a defensive catcher.

I still don't understand how or why people think this. Roenicke said in the spring he wanted a defensive catcher on the team to back up Lucroy and the next day, we had Nieves. Melvin has had both Kottaras and Rivera on the team in the past so why wouldn't he bring them up again? Maybe it's Melvin's issue in that he's letting Roenicke dictate who should be on the team but Nieves is definitely on the team because Roenicke wants him to be.

Agree with Aytumious. I like stats but not as much as some on this site. I don't think you need to be a stats guy to see that attempting a squeeze with a runner on 3rd and one out in the 5th inning of a tie game, with the pitcher, is a terrible idea. Please defend that move if you can.

Can the Roenicke apologists explain that squeeze to me? The guy is a complete moron. And yes, I would say that if it worked too.

I guess I am one of the very very few but you do what you can to sign a hitter like Prince if you have any faith in the Brewer's minor league system and the players we just drafted. We need replacements for Greinke, Marcum and Wolf in 2013. What if we just resigned Greinke and/or Marcum and found a replacement for Prince? I think that would be a little easier to do and probably better. If we lose Prince, the Brewer offense will take a huge step back and push us back towards .500 baseball. Well we were a .500 team with Prince but without Greinke and Marcum. We were a playoff team with two stud pitches in Sheets and Sabathia. I really believe pitching should be the focus for now, as the Giants showed us last year. It's easier to replace a first-baseman like Prince than it is to replace top-of-the-line pitchers.

Unless there's another Russell I don't know about, Branyan signed with the Angels a few weeks ago.

Kottaras and Rivera. At some point, a guy is so bad he negates anything he can bring from "mentoring." Nieves is way past that point. He is awful. Homer and TLB also hit the nail on the head when they say we have a pitching staff and are a better team. We've already won a few games this year despite mistakes from Roenicke's managing. Teams can always look for ways to improve and cutting Nieves would be a good step in that direction.

Putting Nieves out there when there are better options in AAA immediately comes to mind. And I think we all know by this point that its Roenicke's call to have Nieves on the roster, not Melvin's. All he has to do is tell Melvin he wants Kottaras or Rivera and it's done. When I say putting the team in a position to win, I mean maximizing potential, knowing what stats matter and what don't, etc. Last night he put McGehee 5th and Hart 6th because McGehee had 4 hits in 13 at bats against Lohse, despite the fact that McGehee has been terrible so far this year. That might be nitpicking but it's just one example. Another example is sticking to the defined roles in the bullpen (i.e. bring Loe in the 8th no matter what). It would be better to play the match-ups.

I'm wearing my DUI La Russa shirt today. I'm sure it will upset some classy people. http://www.insomniacink.com/Shirt%20Pictures/bDUI.jpg

4 for 13 (.308) for McGehee compared to 1 for 12 (.083) for Hart. I realize it's only one spot in the order but how can Roenicke think this is a big enough sample size to have any meaning?

I'm sorry but this is one of the dumbest statements I've read all year. They've been testing in some way for almost ten years now, with the current penalties for about 6 years. Just because someone had a season and a half of power and is now having a bad year does not mean they were on steroids. If that was the case, Jose Bautista should be tested every day.

I worry about this too. I'm not saying I want him fired but if the team does well this year, it will be because of the personnel and not Roenicke. Managers have some effect on the outcomes (filling out the lineups, managing the bullpen, keeping players motivated, etc.) but the players control most of it. I would say we've actually won a few games this year despite the mistakes that Roenicke has made (Wednesday's game immediately comes to mind). He should be putting the team in the best position to win and I don't think he always does that. Also, it seemed like at the beginning of the year, some people were upset with Roenicke when the team was losing. After they went on that tear, people all of a sudden thought he was doing a good job because they were winning, despite the fact that he was still making the same stupid decisions he has all year.

Why would we send down Dillard now? He's pitched very well in the few innings he's been up so far. He even got some lefties out last night. He's actually been one of the best pitchers out of the bullpen for the past couple of weeks. I think he's earned his spot for now.

Nieves is hitting .146/.196/.188 and Kottaras .348/.431/.584 in AAA. I have no doubt that Kottaras would be on the team were it not for Roenicke. Melvin needs to take charge and bring Kottaras up and just cut Nieves. He brings nothing to the table and is a waste of space. Haudricourt should show these numbers to Roenicke everyday and ask him why he still wants to keep Nieves. Then when Roenicke brings up his defense, he can play the clip of Nieves dropping the ball from Kotsay that hit him square in his glove.

It looks like Saito is close to returning, which would definitely help the bullpen. Hopefully he can stay healthy the rest of the year. Per Haudricourt: "In another bit of news, reliever Takashi Saito threw a simulated game today as he continues to work back from an oblique strain. He will go out on a minor-league rehab assignment Sunday with Class A Wisconsin, then probably two more with Nashville before being activated."

I don't really want anyone confined to a specific role besides Axford. Play the matchups. If there's lefties/switch-hitters coming up, Loe should not be an option. Braddock is more than a LOOGY so he can pitch a full inning if needed. Dillard should probably only face righties but he's been really tough on them so I would have confidence with him in a high-leverage situation. Like others have said, matchups should dictate who pitches, not just the inning.

Wow. Prince is en fuego.

Wow, I absolutely hate Kameron Loe now. He should now be relegated to mop-up duty with Mitre getting more high-pressure situations. This is really getting ridiculous. I don't care if he went 9 innings in a row without giving up a run, he still always seems to get hit hard.

I blame that balk on Nieves (/half blue).

Your radar must be broken.

This is when we need that Branyan-type off the bench. Too bad he wasn't available at one point this year. Oh wait...

Well, you must be even sicker now. Ha, lazy play by Reyes Glad to see Estrada blow leads in his last two outings. Good thing RRR keeps putting him in with leads and keeps Mitre in a mop up role. Really? Estrada's actually pitched pretty well this year, especially out of the bullpen. Including this game, he's only given up 4 runs in 14 innings out of the bullpen (2 in 12 before this). Mitre's pitched well too but you can't act like Estrada has been awful.

Yahoo (per Rivals) gave the Brewers an A- for the 1st round. They like that Jungmann and Bradley are solid, quick-progressing pitchers. They also gave the Cubs a D for Baez, saying that many had him on the fringe of the first round, if not lower. They might have reached a little but I would've been ecstatic to get him at 12 or 15.