How many games until you start worrying about the offense?

[BrewCrewBaseball]

They will find there swing, I'm not worried at this point. If we were below .500 then it would be a different story...

[drezdn]

I'd hate for it to be the case, but I wonder if worrying about taking pitches has mixed up some of the hitters. The broadcasters have talked about how the Brewers didn't take enough pitches last year and need to work to wear the pitcher out (and that the coaches are stressing this).

[bjkrautk]

I'd hate for it to be the case, but I wonder if worrying about taking pitches has mixed up some of the hitters. The broadcasters have talked about how the Brewers didn't take enough pitches last year and need to work to wear the pitcher out (and that the coaches are stressing this).

If you compare the Brewers starting lineup's P/PA numbers from 2008 v. 2007, Hardy is the only one whose number has gone up (likely a consequence of having the pitcher in the # 8 spot). The reason why the coaches are stressing it is because the players aren't doing it, and - as Yost noted when talking to the J-S about Braun, are getting themselves out by swinging at bad pitches.

[TooLiveBrew]

That's a great indicator of why it's not wise to use 15 or so games to try to 'prove' something

[treego]

How many more games until I'm worried about the offense? Zero.

[Dragonbait]

Any game where they one get 0-1 hits off the starter.

[bullox]

About 20 games after Cameron comes back is when I'll start to wonder what's up...if and only if the offense continues to struggle like it is right now. And that is highly unlikely. In essence, I won't worry about this offense. The talent is there.

[theavrock]

How many more games until I'm worried about the offense? Zero.

 

Wait I don't get it... Are you worried after tonight's performance or not worried? We got five hits and two runs off of a very tough starter and then hit the Cards bullpen. Yeah it didn't work out but four runs is pretty average for any team.

[Fatter than Joey]

In essence, I won't worry about this offense. The talent is there.

 

I agree. I think we will live and die with this offense, if Prince/Braun continue to suck for an extended period of time -- it's not as if they can be replaced with someone from AAA.

[dadofandrew]

The Brewers are an above average offensive team, 7th of 16 teams. I think I'll wait until they are at least below the league norm before jumping off the ledge.

 

The small sample police are out in force. It's really a shame, as less than 10% of the season has gone by.

[tosabrewfan]

I'm starting to get really tired of the "it's early" refrain. It sounds a lot like the "don't worry, we're still in first place" excuse that was used last year. Why shouldn't we be making some changes early in the season - it seems like a good time to experiment and see what works (assuming that your original plan isn't working after 5-10 games). For example, why not try the following for a week:

1. Switch Hall and Hart.
2. Advise the batters that taking a meatball down the middle for the first pitch is not a substitute for patience (Weeks, Braun, Hardy, Hall - I'm looking in your direction).

I understand that "its early" and that these games count just as much as any other - but if you think that we aren't extremely fortunate to be above .500 right now, you haven't been paying attention. It seems that even if the changes are more psychological than anything else, but why not try to make adjustments now, rather then waiting until it "isn't early" and we're looking at a significant lead by one of the other NL Central teams. In addition, please don't try to convince me that most of the right-handers that we faced are above-average or that they will not be representative of the right-handers we will have to face all season.

I also realize the value of trusting in statistics - but how do you think offenses/hitters work themselves out of slumps? I prefer to think that making adjustments helps offenses/hitters regress to their means (for offenses/hitters in a slump), rather than believe that it's some sort of statistical magic that dictates when a hitter will be hot and cold.

[JohnBriggs12]

tosabrewer's points are excellent. Hart should be batting 5th, and taking 88 mph fastballs belt high in the middle of the plate is not patience. I'm concerned and annoyed they are not hitting but not yet to the point of worry. It's a lot less enjoyable watching futility at the plate than it is watching a team that is hitting. But I look at days during the season as milestones. If by Mother's Day, a team hasn't strung a nice 10 day stretch of offense at some point, it's time to worry. The W/L record is only important now in relation to your opponents. You don't want this young team staring at a 5+ game deficit on June 1st.

[ozzybourne]

the solution is simple regarding the brewer's early seasson up and downs--fire ned yost.

[Thurston Fluff]

Hart batting 5th instead of Hall so far would have meant a man on base all of six more times all year so far. Given that Hall is slugging 500 and Hart is slugging 392 I don't think it would have made a whole heck of a lot of differance so far.

[jjfanec]

Bill Hall has truck out 18 times (11 in the last ten games) and walked once. Whereas Hart has struck out 11 times (6 in the last 10 games) and walked three times. Hall has also grounded into a couple DBP's where Hart has not. Obviously the double play thing could be a fluke but Hart does seem to run better and is less of a risk to be doubled up it would seem. If teams are going to walk Prince you cannot, in my opinion, have someone behind him who is striking out a lot and more of a risk to ground into double plays.

[berniebrewer4life]

If we are still struggling this bad when cameron is in the lineup on a consistant basis, then i'll worry. Till then, i'll just mark it up to an early season slump.

[Thurston Fluff]

If teams are going to walk Prince you cannot, in my opinion, have someone behind him who is striking out a lot and more of a risk to ground into double plays.

 

Who would you rather have with Prince on first someone slugging 500 or someone slugging >400? I realize there is an arguement to be made for Hart in 5th and quite frankly I'd probably do that as well. I just think there is a valid arguement to be made for Hall right now as well. I just think we've started to make way too big a deal out of something that has very little to nothing to do with the offensive struggles. Ulitmately one batting fifth and the other sixth really isn't the problem.

[jjfanec]

I definitely see the point in the slugging part, but I think the five spot is really important because it directly effects how pitchers pitch to our best power hitter. I just dont think Prince would get walked the same with a hitter like Hart behind him. I could be wrong, but with Hall struggling to make contact this seems to be the case to me.

[TooLiveBrew]

SLG % after 14 games can't possibly be justified as the reason, imo. Hart will, in all likelihood, SLG at least equal to what Hall will do this season. But Bill's propensity to swing & miss a lot, imo, makes him better suited for 6th, whereas Corey's approach fits better at #5. I genuinely believe Yost is slotting them where they are now based on some wacky 'I need to generate SB opportunities' nonsense.

[logan82]

If they are going to keep walking Prince, I think they should bat him leadoff. Even though he would be a base clogger.