The JS Sports Staff [Latest: Witrado leaves for Sporting News, replaced by Todd Rosiak]

[Baldkin]

I thought beat writers were supposed to be objective.... it's not like this is PTI where he's forced to take a side in an argument. He's not arguing with anyone. What drivel.

[berniebrewer4life]

Second comment down had me dying.

 

Another gem of an article by witardo. One sentence flows into the next

like molasses through cork.

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[DHonks]

What I love is that Parra is turning in some VERY good outings for a 5th starter, yet the JS staff keeps declaring that he's coming up short. In the starts he's struggled (like last night), he usually gets through 5 innings in good shape and roughly 85-105 pitches. He's then put back out there for another inning, which inflates his runs. Yes, they are runs, but that's for the coaches to see when he's losing it. A few weeks ago they left him in to walk three in an inning, and he looked tired facing the first guy in the inning. Why set him up for failure? In his start against Texas, he allowed two runs that weren't his fault. Weeks closed his eyes on a ball hit 1 foot to his left (ruled a hit), McGehee missed a chopper in the hole (hit), and Escobar had a relay that should result in an out 99% of the time, but made his worst MLB throw.

 

Seriously, Manny's been a huge bright spot since returning to the rotation. He is part of the future here. RAther than pull him, I'd rather slow things down and go with a 6-man pitching staff for now. Swing guys could be utilized in the pen for emergencies between starts. Let's re-evaluate at the allstar break.

[brewmann04]

AW is a Jerk and MR know it all just read some of the chats he runs,however Wolf has pitched bad but yes he under the same protection Suppan was under. Parra has not seemed to get his act together and don't think he will be anything more of a 4th or 5th starter here.

[thebruce44]

I didn't see the game, but just read that article. My immediate thought was that Parra probably pitched well enough but tired out and Witrado was just being his usual self.

You know a paper has gotten pretty bad when readers start disbelieving an article half way through just because they don't trust the writer.

[rluzinski]

Witrado's assertion that it won't be Wolf who's kicked out of the rotation continues Suppan Philosophy that contract decides who plays, not talent.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Contracts usually decide who plays because of what that contract says about the team's estimate of the player's SKILL. Melvin signed Wolf to a 3 year, $30 mil deal because he thought Wolf was something like a 4.0-4.25 ERA pitcher this year. You seem to be suggesting that a 4.92 ERA over 16 starts could rightfully convince Melvin that Wolf is really not one of the 5 best starting pitchers on the Brewers? That seems completely unbelievable to me.

 

Now, if you want to suggest that the only reason Suppan had a chance to start this year was because of his contract, I would agree with you...

[sheethead]

You seem to be suggesting that a 4.92 ERA over 16 starts could rightfully convince Melvin that Wolf is really not one of the 5 best starting pitchers on the Brewers?

 

It could be his 87mph fastball, agonizingly slow and predictable curve-ball, and frequent loss of control that would convince me. But if I'm paying him $10M per you better believe he is in the rotation.

[rluzinski]

You seem to be suggesting that a 4.92 ERA over 16 starts could rightfully convince Melvin that Wolf is really not one of the 5 best starting pitchers on the Brewers?

 

It could be his 87mph fastball, agonizingly slow and predictable curve-ball, and frequent loss of control that would convince me.

Another results based scouting report. So you are also suggesting that Wolf has proven himself to be not among the 5 best options available to start for the Brewers?

[RockCoCougars]

You seem to be suggesting that a 4.92 ERA over 16 starts could rightfully convince Melvin that Wolf is really not one of the 5 best starting pitchers on the Brewers?

 

It could be his 87mph fastball, agonizingly slow and predictable curve-ball, and frequent loss of control that would convince me. But if I'm paying him $10M per you better believe he is in the rotation.

I agree with this assessment. Frankly, if the team drops out of contention, one of the only ways I would move Fielder would be if the other team would take Wolf off the books as well (and still give decent value back). I would think one of the deeper pocketed teams would have no problem with this (most specifically the Mets or Dodgers- both of whom seemed to have been the only teams beside the Brewers with any interest at all in Wolf this off season.

[sheethead]

So you are also suggesting that Wolf has proven himself to be not among the 5 best options available to start for the Brewers?

 

Is Doug Davis one of the top 5 best options available to start for the Brewers?

[joepepsi]

So you are also suggesting that Wolf has proven himself to be not among the 5 best options available to start for the Brewers?

 

Is Doug Davis one of the top 5 best options available to start for the Brewers?

Apparently so, since Melvin is paying him $5.25 million to produce a 4.0-4.25 ERA. Also, Trevor Hoffman must close every game because Melvin is paying him $8 million with the estimate that is the value of his SKILL.

[rluzinski]

You don't get a 4-4.25 ERA pitcher for $5.25 mil. And Hoffman's performance this year makes Wolf's look Cy Young Worthy. Hoffman has a 6.97 FIP this year and his ZiPS rest of season ERA projection is 4.37. That suggests he's not good enough to close but worth keeping on the team.

 

Really, suggesting that the only reason Davis and Wolf are still starting is because of their contracts..... it just doesn't hold any water. Just look at their respective ZiPS rest of season projections:

 

Wolf: 4.6 ERA

Davis: 4.56 ERA (surprised he has a better projection than Wolf... ouch)

 

Are those projections also biased by player salaries or do you think the Brewers have 5 starters who project better? Hell, the Brewers have only 1 starter with a better ZiPS projection Parra has pitched well recently (no matter how hard Witrado pretends he hasn't) but those few starts can't undo his bad 2009 season.

 

This is just mostly populist rage being directed towards underperforming millionaires, IMO.

[hawing]

Let's keep this thread focused on the JS sports staff. Thanks.

[sheethead]

Witrado is terrible.

 

Are those projections also biased by player salaries or do you think the Brewers have 5 starters who project better?

 

Do these projections have any control over what's actually going to happen the rest of the year? If so, I would play the player with the best projections then.

[tnweill]

From today's running blog of the game:

 

Ryan Braun slapped a leadoff double to right. Casey McGehee reached on a grounder up the middle that Jeff Keppinger couldn't get a handle on. It was ruled a hit. Jonathan Lucroy hit a tapper to short for the first out, but it scored Braun from third and moved McGehee to second. McGehee was aggressive on the bases, taking third on a wild pitch that got away from Castro a little too far. McGehee's good secondary lead made that happen, however, McGehee tried to retreat on a grounder to third base that ended up on the line. Johnson fielded it and as he dove across the line, McGehee had to jump over him, but Johnson already had the ball and "tagged" McGehee. Replay showed it was a phantom tag and McGehee got back to third safely by stepping over Johnson, a la Allen Iverson in the NBA Finals after hitting a three against the Lakers

 

I found this funny as I had no clue what Tony was talking about again as usual.

[TooLiveBrew]

Good grief, he's awful in so many different ways. I guess that makes him versatile.

[Gobias Industries]

He's from LOS ANGELES, you know.

 

What a clown. I read that while at work and spit out my drink.

[Patrick425]

To me, the first 6 paragraphs in Michael Hunt's column this morning about the Brewers is the best writing I have seen in the sports section in a long time. I'm so glad that someone in the media is finally expressing some concern over Macha's overly laid back style:

 

Bobby Cox has been ejected from something like 9,000 games, which is exactly the reason why the Atlanta Braves won those 14 consecutive division championships.

His three Hall of Fame pitchers were coincidental.

Likewise, the Brewers are 7-4 since Ken Macha was tossed for the first time ever in blue back on June 18 because they're way, Way, WAY fired up, baby.

And, man, oh man, did the Mount St. Helens of a skipper ever come close to getting run again Wednesday.

He sort of made an arm motion after the third-base ump blew a call in the second inning. Macha also kicked at the dirt, sorta. Maybe it wasn't a full-tilt Billy Martin windup - more like a dignified Joe DiMaggio stab of the toe, really - but by Macha's standards it was as if Tom Dempsey had teed one up from 63 yards.

The man toppled so far into Earl Weaver's angry world that entire sections of Miller Park treated the occasion by getting up to buy hot dogs.

Macha then established a personal record by emerging from the dugout for a second time in one game to have another chat with the same arbiter about another close play at third involving the same player, Casey McGehee, in the sixth. This time, the manager clapped his hands, and somewhere in West Allis a light went off in a living room.

[hawing]

This time the manager clapped his hands, and somewhere in West Allis a light went off in a living room.

I'm not really a fan of media being used to rile up a reading/viewing/listening audience (which is a bummer, because that seems to be the goal of most media lately)...but I love that sentence.

[rluzinski]

Nda I think that Hunt article is representative of the kind of silliness he always writes. He's just trying to appeal to the emotions of the common fan. He's written those kind of articles hundreds of times. I want to learn something about the Brewers, not have writers try and validate my emotions.

[logan82]

Bobby Cox has been ejected from something like 9,000 games, which is exactly the reason why the Atlanta Braves won those 14 consecutive division championships.

 

I thought the first sentence was so ridiculous I didn't even bother reading further. They won because they had good players.

[mletto157]

That article was satire (like most of his writing). He's not trying to be factually accurate or anything like that. It's ridiculously sarcastic and just for entertainment, really.

[crewcrazy]

Yeah, I didn't think for a minute that Hunt was trying to be serious. If anything, he's mocking the fans who complain about Macha never arguing a call. Attributing the recent turnaround to the blow up in Colorado was the dead giveaway to me.

[pebadger]

Bobby Cox has been ejected from something like 9,000 games, which is exactly the reason why the Atlanta Braves won those 14 consecutive division championships.

 

I thought the first sentence was so ridiculous I didn't even bother reading further. They won because they had good players.

See, if you had continued on to sentence number two you would have been validated.

[Patrick425]

logan3825[/b]]Bobby Cox has been ejected from something like 9,000 games, which is exactly the reason why the Atlanta Braves won those 14 consecutive division championships.

 

I thought the first sentence was so ridiculous I didn't even bother reading further. They won because they had good players.

Ok, you do understand that was sarcasm..right?

 

Geez, some of you guys are so serious. He's not writing about war, or global warming, or street violence in the inner city. He's writing about baseball. It's not supposed to read like something out of a medical journal. I found it humorous and right on the mark. Macha is boring, non-inspiring, and completely emotionless and for most of the season it seems as if the team has taken on that exact same persona.