Hoffman is Fun To Watch!

[bobbledude25]

Man, is this guy great or what? I love closers that come in a pump strikes. I'm so glad the Gagne days are gone!

[Ennder]

To be fair I don't think there is anything to worry about long term. Last year he gave up a few extra HR on a bad team and most of them were on the road and not at home. Most of his peripherals pointed at him still being very successful.

[razzzorsharp]

He has centainly started hot, I think we can all agree on that, but rest assured rough patches will be coming and saves will be blown. I can only hope that we fans can remember these good times during the rough times.

[jjfanec]

Right now this whole bullpen is fun to watch. Hoffman makes it look easy. You do not worry about him walking a bunch of guys. DiFelice has been terrific. Stetter has done a good job with lefties and can stay in for a righty here and there. Villy is turning the corner in his last 5 outings. Coffey is great as long as he does not have to face a lefty. McClung is solid expect for the walks. Only Julio is a weak spot. That guy should never get in the game. I would rather have Chris Smith up or at least Swindle.

[twobrewers]

Hitting the go ahead HR in the bottom of the 8th and finishing the game with Hells Bells might be more exciting that walk-off wins.
(Braun against the Cubs)

[bobbledude25]

He has centainly started hot, I think we can all agree on that, but rest assured rough patches will be coming and saves will be blown. I can only hope that we fans can remember these good times during the rough times.

Absolutely. I'm sure none of us Brewer fans are expecting a Brad Lidge perfect season from a guy that's 40 something yrs old. If he gets hit and gives up a few saves that's ok and to be expected at times. At least we know he wont blow a save/season because of continous walks

[ILuvDaBush]

I texted a bunch of my close friends last night while watching Hells Bells rain down on the Marlin hitters, "Are ninth innings supposed to be this easy? It's been so long since we've had a closer of this ilk." (I was never a big fan of Cordero. He was always more concerned with using his slider for the K as opposed to just getting a weak hit). He's doing it with smoke and mirrors I admit, but he's toying with these young hitters like a chessmaster would toy with the average joe in a match at the park. "I know you think I'm going to throw the coin but I'm going to make you look foolish by throwing melted cheese." All of a sudden the young hitter is psychologically off-balance. He knows he could deposit the cheese in the stands, and because of this, he has to throw the coin to me. "Strike Two!" yells the umpire. "But I wasn't even ready...and when did Trevor start revving it up to the low 90's? No worries. I'm no Casey at bat. Well at least I know what's coming next... Nope."

[naivin]

I've been thinking the same thing watching him. The guy is an artist. Flame throwers are nice, but watching Hoffman place those fastballs while the hitter can't stop thinking about the change up is a thing of beauty. I was actually hoping the Brewers wouldn't score any more runs in the 8th, just so he would come in to pitch.

 

On a related note, I think the game day production staff and Rob Edwards need to get their stuff together from a timing standpoint. I don't like the announcement preceding the music starting. I think the bells should start ringing before the bullpen door opens, and the announcement should not be made until after he is well into his warm ups and the song has played for a while. That's just me.

[rm121978]

bobbledude25 wrote:

Absolutely. I'm sure none of us Brewer fans are expecting a Brad Lidge perfect season from a guy that's 40 something yrs old. If he gets hit and gives up a few saves that's ok and to be expected at times. At least we know he wont blow a save/season because of continous walks

Yet the idiots at MP will still give him the Gagne/Turnbow treatment when it happens I'm guessing.

[Brewer Fever]

On a related note, I think the game day production staff and Rob Edwards need to get their stuff together from a timing standpoint. I don't like the announcement preceding the music starting. I think the bells should start ringing before the bullpen door opens, and the announcement should not be made until after he is well into his warm ups and the song has played for a while. That's just me.

 

Precisely. You don't announce his name. The anticpation is all in the song. The bells tell you who's coming in. I really hope it doesn't take Trevor having to make another public plea for this to get done. You don't introduce someone when you're about to play a song that the whole world associates with said person.

[bjkrautk]

What are the chances that the (rare) Trevor Hoffman bobblehead will come with the audio opening of "Hells Bells" a la Uecker's call of Braun's homer?

 

(I realize there are tons of legal / copyright issues involved, but I would just hope that the Brewers had that kind of foresight. Plus, it's not like they need the full song...just the opening. At the same time, I'm operating under the assumption that this is something they're doing with all of this year's bobbles, so it's completely possible.)

 

It's just amazing to watch Trevor come in and dominate the way he does. It reminds me a little bit of Doug Jones back in the day, except that Hoffman can still bring upper-80s heat if you're sitting on the changeup. I'm sure that he'll blow a few saves this year, but I have absolute faith in this team when they have the lead after 8 innings.

[WisconsinSportsRule]

Does Hoffman have a team option on his contract next year?

 

It's so nice going into the 9th with a lead and knowing you're going home happy.

[Oldcity]

It's also nice to have a reliever he gets a ton of strike calls that aren't strikes, since we're usually on the other side of that facing Marmol so much. Hoffman really has gotten some borderline calls this season.

[TooLiveBrew]

I agree with the Hoff-love here. His control & command are probably the best I have ever seen from a pitcher, even at this point in his career. Honestly as far as Brewers go, I can only think of Sheets & Gallardo when they are 'on' -- that's basically how accurate Trevor seems with his pitches on a daily basis.

 

 

Does Hoffman have a team option on his contract next year?

 

No, just a one-year deal. Cot's link.

[SeriesFinale]

One thing I like is that it seems Trevor gets the borderline calls as well. I agree that there will be rough patches, but 6-for-6 is pretty nice.

 

Anyway, I'm with those who think the announcement should come after the music...that's how they did it when I saw the Brewers in San Diego a couple years back

[lcbj68c]

Hitting the go ahead HR in the bottom of the 8th and finishing the game with Hells Bells might be more exciting that walk-off wins.

(Braun against the Cubs)

When did Braun hit a walk-off against the Cubs? I can't seem to remember nor find it. Maybe you are talking about the walkoff fielder's choice? In that case, I totally agree. Mow em down in the 9th Trevor is definitely more exciting.

[Ennder]

However Hoffman seems to be the loyal type so if he does well this year it isn't all that unlikely that he'd be willing to stay around another year.

[PKBadger]

Hitting the go ahead HR in the bottom of the 8th and finishing the game with Hells Bells might be more exciting that walk-off wins.

(Braun against the Cubs)

When did Braun hit a walk-off against the Cubs? I can't seem to remember nor find it. Maybe you are talking about the walkoff fielder's choice? In that case, I totally agree. Mow em down in the 9th Trevor is definitely more exciting.

 

I believe that what twobrewers is saying is that games like last Friday's (Braun hits HR in bottom of 8th, Hoffman comes in to slam the door shut) will be more exciting to watch than a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 9th.

[Invader3K]

However Hoffman seems to be the loyal type so if he does well this year it isn't all that unlikely that he'd be willing to stay around another year.

The fact that the Brewers are a good team now that could help him reach his goal of 600 saves doesn't hurt, either.

[bani1717]

Is it just me or do they play Hells Bells louder than any other music they play over the speakers? Last night I tried saying something to my dad during his intro and he could barely hear me.

 

Also, as a random point that may be of interest to some people, when Trevor Hoffman gets to Miller Park, he gets out of his car, puts on a helmet, and hops on a skateboard to get down to the entrance to the stadium. That seems pretty cool/unique to me.

[cwolf2012]

What I love is that he can throw pitches that are off the plate and low and still get the strike call because of reputation. If everyone on our team had the same strike zone as Hoffman, we'd have a team ERA of 3.5.

[prophet]

I love watching Hoffman too, and I love the electricity in the park when he comes in. I kind of compare it to the electricity that you felt when Turnbow would come in. Of course with Turnbow, you felt it because you had the element of the unknown. Were we going to see the unhittable, dominant Turnbow that made hitters look like little leaguers, or are we going to see ball 4, ball 8, ball 12, liner in the gap, game over. Hoffman is so boring. He just comes in, pounds away, and before you know it the games over. Come on Trevor, we're not used to a dominant closer yet! We're Brewers fans, we need disappointment!

[cwolf2012]

I still don't think I've ever seen a better slider than Turnbow's. If he could just locate his stuff well, he could have been a top-tier closer for years and years. His stuff with DiFelice's control... I think my pants just got shorter thinking about it.

[bork]

It also seems that the rest of the bullpen really settled down once Hoffman joined the team. With Hoffman nailing down the 9th, Macha can use the others based on matchups.

[bobbledude25]

It's also nice to have a reliever he gets a ton of strike calls that aren't strikes, since we're usually on the other side of that facing Marmol so much. Hoffman really has gotten some borderline calls this season.

If you were the all-time save leader you would get those calls as well :-)