2011-06-06 Brewers (Greinke) at Marlins (Vazquez) - [Brewers win, 7-2]

[pretendastronaut]

June 06 - 6:10 P.M.

http://www.ishouldhavebeenanastronaut.com/brewfan/2011/logos/brewers.jpghttp://www.ishouldhavebeenanastronaut.com/brewfan/2011/logos/marlins.jpg

33-26

31-26

Pitching Matchup

http://www.ishouldhavebeenanastronaut.com/brewfan/2011/pitchers/brewers/greinke-07.jpghttp://www.ishouldhavebeenanastronaut.com/brewfan/2011/pitchers/marlins/vazquez-01.jpg

Zack Greinke

4-1 | 5.29

The Brewers still haven't seen the dominant Greinke, but they are 5-1 when he starts. He held the potent Reds to two runs in six innings Tuesday with essentially one pitch -- his slider.

Marlins vs. Greinke
Greinke Game Log

Javier Vazquez

3-4 | 6.02

After a slow start, Vazquez has been effective in his last three outings, but he is 1-0 with two no-decisions in that span. And the team has lost his past two starts. Vazquez has a 2.84 ERA in 19 innings with 15 strikeouts in that span.

Brewers vs. Vazquez
Vazquez Game Log

Starting Lineups

1. 
   
2. 2B Rickie Weeks
   
3. CF Nyjer Morgan
   
4. LF Ryan Braun
   
5. 1B Prince Fielder
   
6. 3B Casey McGehee
   
7. RF Mark Kotsay
   
8. SS Yuniesky Betancourt
   
9. C Jonathan Lucroy
   
10. RHP Zack Greinke
    

1. 
   
2. CF Chris Coghlan
   
3. 2B Omar Infante
   
4. LF Logan Morrison
   
5. 1B Gaby Sanchez
   
6. 3B Greg Dobbs
   
7. RF Mike Stanton
   
8. C John Buck
   
9. SS Emilio Bonifacio
   
10. RHP Javier Vazquez
    

Media Coverage

http://www.ishouldhavebeenanastronaut.com/brewfan/2011/media/media-fsn.jpg

Brewerfan Game Chat

MLB GameDay 2010 | ESPN GameCast | 620 WTMJ Affiliates

Fan Sites

Marlins Baseball

[wibadgers23]

Let's get a little greedy here and sweep this series. Here's to hoping Greinke goes at least 7 or 8 innings.

[prophet]

Hopefully Zack dominates and we win handily, cause I'm assuming Axford is Unavailable tonight.

[prophet]

Speaking of Axford though, who gets the save chance if we need it?

[ReverendBrewmeister]

Speaking of Axford though, who gets the save chance if we need it?

I'd guess either Grant Balfour or Derrick Turnbow get the ball for the 9th.

 

Seriously, it would probably be Braddock or Hawkins (assuming availability).

[owbc]

Another pathetic Marlins story today...

 

Went to Subway to get a coupon for $5 lower-level Marlins tickets (when you buy a footlong). At first they had no idea what I was talking about...Marlins? Beisbol? Tickets??? Eventually they figured it out and gave me the entire unopened stack of vouchers without making me buy anything. This promotion has been going on the whole season. They wouldn't get more than 15,000 in that place even if they gave the tickets away for free. I am convinced that they lie about the attendance figures--even if you filled in all the empty seats between the sparse crowd, it still wouldn't add up to the numbers that they claim. I'm sure tonight's attendance will be announced at like 14,000 when in reality there will be about 3,000 people there.

 

Anyway, will be going tonight hoping for a sweep, will be sitting somewhere near the Brewers' bullpen. Hopefully there are still some other Brewers fans there tonight even though it is a Monday--but even if there aren't you might still be able to hear us on TV...

 

I'm sure next year the Marlins will get lots of attention with their shiny new ballpark (which is mostly done and looks like a spaceship). The A/C and roof will get a few more people to come in the long run, but this will still easily be the worst large sports market in America.

[Invader3K]

Another pathetic Marlins story today...

 

Went to Subway to get a coupon for $5 lower-level Marlins tickets (when you buy a footlong). At first they had no idea what I was talking about...Marlins? Beisbol? Tickets??? Eventually they figured it out and gave me the entire unopened stack of vouchers without making me buy anything. This promotion has been going on the whole season. They wouldn't get more than 15,000 in that place even if they gave the tickets away for free. I am convinced that they lie about the attendance figures--even if you filled in all the empty seats between the sparse crowd, it still wouldn't add up to the numbers that they claim. I'm sure tonight's attendance will be announced at like 14,000 when in reality there will be about 3,000 people there.

 

Anyway, will be going tonight hoping for a sweep, will be sitting somewhere near the Brewers' bullpen. Hopefully there are still some other Brewers fans there tonight even though it is a Monday--but even if there aren't you might still be able to hear us on TV...

 

I'm sure next year the Marlins will get lots of attention with their shiny new ballpark (which is mostly done and looks like a spaceship). The A/C and roof will get a few more people to come in the long run, but this will still easily be the worst large sports market in America.

This is all hilarious. Thanks for posting this.

 

I was wondering yesterday if the Marlins would really do well long term with the new park. I know they will have the roof, A/C, and be closer to downtown...but I really get the sense that most people there just don't care about MLB that much.

[milwaukeesportsfan]

How many baseball fans currently living in Florida do you think were actually born and raised in Florida and grew up Marlins' fans? My guess is not many.

[RobDeer 45]

Ya would love to see ZG go at least 7 in this one. BP could use a bit of a break. Man, getting a win tonight would just feel great! Guys should be loose and having fun out there.

[hawing]

Anyway, will be going tonight hoping for a sweep, will be sitting somewhere near the Brewers' bullpen. Hopefully there are still some other Brewers fans there tonight even though it is a Monday--but even if there aren't you might still be able to hear us on TV...

You'd better not let them convert you (or your wife, again). If you're wearing Brewers gear tonight, I fully expect FSWisconsin will show you at least once.

[owbc]

I was wondering yesterday if the Marlins would really do well long term with the new park. I know they will have the roof, A/C, and be closer to downtown...but I really get the sense that most people there just don't care about MLB that much.

I predict that next year they will draw 35,000 fans/game and ESPN will write some great stories about how the new ballpark made baseball exciting again in South Florida, etc etc. It will be kind of nice since a Florida baseball team has never played in a new stadium before. I just drove by the Trop in St Pete for the first time on Saturday--they couldn't have put it more in the middle of the ghetto if they tried.

 

The long-term success is a big question mark. First of all, they are changing the team name to the "Miami Marlins". This is more than just a symbolic move. They are moving from the football stadium which is north of Miami and is actually more easily accessible from Broward County. Broward is about 60% Caucasian--and Palm Beach to the north is even more so. This is closer to the general "Florida" population. The new stadium will be just to the west of downtown in the middle of Miami-Dade County. The ballpark is actually in "Little Havana" which tells you all you need to know about the demographics in that area. The people of Caribbean origin like baseball--they are part of the reason that the Marlins do fine in TV ratings despite the poor attendance. However, they do not have much money and it is uncertain how many baseball games they will attend. The Marlins marketing needs to strongly market the team to the Spanish-speaking population. In my opinion, they should have English and Spanish announced at the games and do as much as they can to cater to the Hispanic population. Sign some Cuban players. They need to not just to make them feel included, but to give them figurative "ownership" of the team as part of Miami's Latin-American heritage. The Caucasians in Broward County don't care about baseball now, so why bother trying to lure them 45 minutes down I-95 now?

 

From the Marlins' website, it looks like the ticket prices will remain reasonable next year (lots of seats in the $15-20 range) so I think they will do well with attendance in the short term. Traffic/parking is a very serious issue that may hold down attendance in the long-term, or give the Marlins a reputation like the Dodgers for coming late/leaving early. The new stadium has no ground-parking at all. They are building a parking structure that holds 8,000 cars. Can you imagine trying to get in/out of a parking structure that holds 2/3 the number of cars that fit in Miller Park's lot? Even worse, the highway that it is adjacent to is known as one of the most congested highways in Florida, and there is no special interchange being built to help cars get from the city streets to the highway. The Metrorail does not run near the ballpark, so anyone using public transportation will have to rely on buses.

 

So there is some potential for success, but lots of underlying concerns. The big unanswered questions are--how many people are scared away from the current stadium because of hot weather/rain delays/general ugliness? How bad will the traffic be at the new place? Will Miami residents embrace the team?

 

There is some reason for hope--the NBA finals TV ratings this week are actually lower than the Marlins-Yankees World Series numbers. Miami will embrace a winning team. But will they be there in the mediocre and bad years? Doubtful.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Weeks 4

Morgan 8

Braun 7

Fielder 3

McGehee 5

Kotsay 9

Betancourt 6

Lucroy 2

Greinke 1

 

Brutal lineup tonight. No Hart, McGehee, Kotsay, and Yuni 5-7, Lucroy 8th for some reason. Ugh.

[patrickgpe]

thank God for picture in picture. I can watch the draft while having the game in the upper right hand corner of the tv.

[patrickgpe]

i wouldn't call that lineup brutal. It may not be the best it can be but its not like RR sat Hart and then let Neives catch. There is only 1 player who is not an every day starter.

[GoudaBrew]

Ummm, Ron? Corey Hart is an everyday player! It's not like you have to get Kotsay's career .736 OPS vs. Vazquez (38 ABs) in there for some reason! Consider me annoyed by Hart's exclusion, unless he's, you know, hurt or something.

[PrinceEatMeat]

i wouldn't call that lineup brutal. It may not be the best it can be but its not like RR sat Hart and then let Neives catch. There is only 1 player who is not an every day starter.

I would. Hart is one of our hottest hitters and isn't playing. McGehee has been horrible lately, and is still hitting fifth. Kotsay is playing, and both he and Betancourt are hitting in front of the better hitter in Lucroy. Very bad lineup. Just because it could be worse doesn't mean it's not a bad lineup. I'd like to see Weeks Morgan Braun Fielder Hart Lucroy McGehee Betancourt as our lineup right now, and wouldn't mind seeing Counsell or Wilson getting some more starts either.

[topper09er]

Sign some Cuban players.

Sign and trade Yuni for Hanley?

[patrickgpe]

Very bad lineup

 

 

I agree he is our hotest player, but my point is that lineup is not very bad. I will give you i'd rather have Lucroy in Harts inspot instead of McGehee. I could look back to the Jerry Royster led brewers of 02, and find you a very bad lineup.

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

I think they are in the midst of three weeks without a day off. If Ron wants to sit a regular once or twice in that stretch, I'm cool with it.

 

Now if Kotsay has 7 starts in this stretch, I'm gonna have a big problem with it.

[brwrsfan]

I don't have a problem with Hart getting a day off occassionally, but if he's going to do that, Gomez needs to be in the lineup.

 

One, the defense of a Morgan/Gomez outfield would be huge compared to Morgan/Kotsay.

 

Two, offensively, I'd almost rather have Gomez. He won't walk as much but they're both about as likely to get a hit. Gomez has a higher slugging percentage and can actually do some damage on the basepaths. With the current roster, it's absurd to me that Kotsay has passed Gomez on the depth chart. It's also absurd that Hart is once again not playing. He just had some days off last weekend when he was sick, and we were just off on Thursday. There is no need for him to be out right now, not to mention the fact that he is one of our hotter hitters right now.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I don't have a problem with Hart getting a day off occassionally, but if he's going to do that, Gomez needs to be in the lineup.

 

One, the defense of a Morgan/Gomez outfield would be huge compared to Morgan/Kotsay.

 

Two, offensively, I'd almost rather have Gomez. He won't walk as much but they're both about as likely to get a hit. Gomez has a higher slugging percentage and can actually do some damage on the basepaths. With the current roster, it's absurd to me that Kotsay has passed Gomez on the depth chart. It's also absurd that Hart is once again not playing. He just had some days off last weekend when he was sick, and we were just off on Thursday. There is no need for him to be out right now, not to mention the fact that he is one of our hotter hitters right now.

I'd have to agree with this. I really don't like Kotsay starting, because he just isn't a playmaker. He is not defensively, and isn't going to do anything but hit a single from time to time on offense. Without Hart playing tonight I would've liked a lineup of Weeks Morgan Braun Fielder Lucroy McGehee Betancourt Gomez Greinke. At least that way we are a little better defensively. With tonight's lineup we have tons of crappy defensive players. I can live with Fielder obviously, but with McGehee, Betancourt, and Kotsay not providing much on offense I really don't like them all in the lineup at once. I'd like to see someone in there who has a good glove to help Greinke. At least yesterday's lineup was a good defensive lineup.

[patrickgpe]

I'd have to agree with this. I really don't like Kotsay starting, because he just isn't a playmaker. He is not defensively, and isn't going to do anything but hit a single from time to time on offense.

 

I will agree with that. my only point was that loosing one starter is not the end of the world.

[brwrsfan]

Having one starter off is fine....but with the guys we have available to take their places, it's going to be a huge downgrade, and in some cases, a huge downgrade in both offense and defense. If you're going to give Hart off, at least help the defense out by putting Gomez in. He's likely due to start tomorrow vs the lefty, giving him two days in a row (after not having an AB in a few days) would probably be more productive than just throwing him out there to start every 4-5 days when a lefty happens to be on the mound.

[kestrel79]

Very bad lineup

 

 

I agree he is our hotest player, but my point is that lineup is not very bad. I will give you i'd rather have Lucroy in Harts inspot instead of McGehee. I could look back to the Jerry Royster led brewers of 02, and find you a very bad lineup.

E.Y. leading off? Devo White in the 2-hole? James AND Lyle Mouton in the lineup? Hammonds maybe too? Sounds like a W to me!

 

Can't believe I had a 20 pack back then...

 

[adambr2]

Agreed. STOP sitting Hart!! He's an everyday, all-star caliber starter, not a platoon role player, which would be overstating Kotsay's role. Using these ancient sample sizes of 20-30 AB's from when Hart was a rookie and Kotsay and Vasquez were actually good, to determine who starts today, is just insane.