2012-05-29 Brewers (Fiers) at Dodgers (Eovaldi), 9:10 PM CDT [Brewers win, 2-1]]

[crewcrazy]

Hell of a first start for Mike Fiers, but K-Rod might be the MVP of the game for making sure Kemp hit with nobody on base with that 1-2-3 8th inning.

 

Brewers are 4-1 against the team with the best record in baseball.

[sdcheezhd]

Anybody know why Kennedy hit for DeJesus in the 8th? I think they'd rather have had Kennedy up there instead of Loney in the 9th and DeJesus had the double and the only run. Dodgers Mattingley'd

[dlk9s]

Fiers was trying really hard not to smile too much.

[sdcheezhd]

Maybe that will Fier them up.

[crewcrazy]

Dodgers against Brewers: 1-4

Dodgers against everyone else: 31-13

[nate82]

Hey that is two wins in a row. You know what happens when you win three in a row?

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

If only we could play the team with the best record in the NL every night!

 

The house was packed tonight. Big crowd for the Dodgers infield (Garvey, Lopes, Russell & Cey) bobblehead and boo Ryan Braun night. Actually nice to see a decent crowd that stuck around until the end at Dodger Stadium...as I mentioned last night, much different atmosphere this year post-McCourt.

 

I figured I'd be there until 2AM with Fiers v. Eovaldi...that will probably happen tomorrow night with Yo v. Kershaw. Both guys commanded well and pounded the zone. Fiers had a couple deep outs that could've been different at MP, but his first 3 hits given up were 2 broken bat jobs and an infield dribbler. Nice outing.

 

Traffic was nuts getting into the stadium, we got there just in time to see Ryan's Homerun! People were nice sitting around us as usual, but I caught a couple comments after the game walking out. I was explaining to my daughter why the crowd was booing and how they felt Kemp should be the MVP. The guy walking next to me couldn't help it and chimed in how Kemp deserved it hands down. I mentioned Braun beat him in OPS and had some huge hits down the stretch, but the dude just glared at me. Have a safe drive home sir and we took a quick turn down the aisle. Another guy smarted off but I just said Go Kings and got a high five. All fairly tame.

 

The boos were a little louder tonight with the bigger crowd and it being Kemp's first game back. A big crowd really egged the guy who threw the ball back to do it. I'm not going to rag on the fans for getting in Braun's grill too much. Were the shoe on the other foot, Kemp would get plenty of grief in Milwaukee. Although I probably wouldn't be afraid walking back to my car wearing a Kemp jersey in Milwaukee. I like Kemp too. He's not only a great player, but a community guy. Anyone that can get Eithier to not be such a jerk can't be that bad, but I'll take Braunie any day of the week! A few balls were pretty well hit to RF in that game, but only one made it over the fence...that was the difference. That's why he's the MVP.

[JohnBriggs12]

Great job by Fiers. I loved his "old school" approach of not trying to strike out every hitter. He put the ball in spots where hitters got themselves out and also changed speeds on all his pitches. You don't see that very often. The last Brewer pitcher I remember who did that well was Vukovich.

[owbc]

Looked at the box score this morning, biggest surprise was not that the Brewers won but that Jamey Wright is still in the major leagues.

[StearnsFTW]

Late to the party but I'd like to pile on.....Weeks is a muppet. The only thing he basically can do at a major league level is walk and he swings 3-0. At this point, I'd much rather watch a Ransom type out there. Guy is picked up off the scrap heap and he's looked a million times better than Weeks has at any point this year.

 

Great game by Fiers. I know he's not really a prospect, but I was pretty excited to watch him pitch and he delivered.

 

Rickie Weeks has posted an OPS over .800 the past 3 years. He started the All Star game last year. Weeks is a muppet? What does this even mean?

 

Don't let the facts ruin an emotional outburst. I would like to hear the answers though.

[Gobias Industries]

Ummm....What does a muppet mean? That he's an idiot.

 

And what the hell did I even say that's not factual?

 

At this point I don't care what his OPS has been the last 2 or 3 years. His approach has sucked, his results have been awful, why would you expect anything to change without a major shakeup? I think a lot of people get way too caught up in box scores and stats and think that he's just gonna randomly start hitting close to his 3 year averages, when in reality he's so far from that player it's not even funny.

 

We're right around 200 PA's and the guy is batting .150 and has shown no real signs of hitting better. It's crazy, this is right around the time where a lot of guys start settling in to certain rate stats. Like Braun will probably wind up a between .290 - .320 BA, Hart .250 - .280 BA. As long as they don't suffer nagging injuries, you can pretty much write that in pen. Weeks however, seems to be settling in the mid to high ONE HUNDREDS. And he plays every single game. It is so maddening imo.

[StearnsFTW]

I'm just a little shocked that you think he's going to hit in the high .100s. I don't believe that for a second. I understand that he's looked bad, but I'll take the ~1500 PAs from 2009-2011 as evidence before I take the last ~200. Having said that, with the start he's had, it's hard to envision him hitting more than about .215-.220 for the season, but high .100s? I seriously doubt it.

 

Also, the 3-0 pitch last night was maddening, but I don't think he's an idiot either.

[Madtown343]

Adam Dunn is the best example I see. I hope weeks does not finish at .159 this year, but trusting track records is why Dunn has 16hr's and his career OBP and ops for the CWS this year.

 

Think Chicago would be kicking themselves if he was posting those numbers for another al team while they paid?

 

Yea weeks track record, salary mean he is going to be in the lineup. Find something else to try to change...

[rluzinski]

We're right around 200 PA's and the guy is batting .150 and has shown no real signs of hitting better. It's crazy, this is right around the time where a lot of guys start settling in to certain rate stats. Like Braun will probably wind up a between .290 - .320 BA, Hart .250 - .280 BA. As long as they don't suffer nagging injuries, you can pretty much write that in pen.

That is just so incorrect on a fundamental level. Sure, if a guy is hitting close to his preseason expectations, he's going to expect to continue to hit there. But to just assume guys like Lucroy and Weeks will continue performing like they have for the first 200 PA is illogical. It is certainly a possibility but far from expected. Same goes for the teams with the best and worst records.... best and worst anything really. Regression.

 

I've said this many times before but I am amazed that so many longtime baseball fans think 200 PA is a big sample.

[longball04]

Adam Dunn is the best example I see. I hope weeks does not finish at .159 this year, but trusting track records is why Dunn has 16hr's and his career OBP and ops for the CWS this year.

 

Think Chicago would be kicking themselves if he was posting those numbers for another al team while they paid?

 

Yea weeks track record, salary mean he is going to be in the lineup. Find something else to try to change...

Maybe he could try to switch hit?

 

Seriously though. Why not have him attack the first pitch. Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George decides to do the complete opposite of everything he normally does.

 

Tuna on toast, coleslaw, cup of coffee turns into chicken salad on rye, untoasted with a side of potato salad and a cup of tea. Then he walks up to the chick and says his name is George and he is unemployed and lives with his parents. The girl says: "I'm Victoria. Hi." Point of the story, maybe Weeks should do the exact opposite of everything he normally does tonight. Maybe that will work. Swing at the first pitch, get in front of grounders, be aggressive, and throw overhand.

[longball04]

I've said this many times before but I am amazed that so many longtime baseball fans think 200 PA is a big sample.

And I have said this before, and no disrespect intended here. I am surprised at how so many people throw out the first 200 plate appearances as if they didn't happen, only to counter with his past numbers, failing to look at his current approach at the plate. Do I think he'll hit under .200? I sure as hell hope not. But at the same time, I am realistic in looking at his current approach at the plate to know that he isn't going to get anywhere near his career numbers.