The Brewers platoon problem

[DrugBust]

Joe Sheehan's newsletter today focused on what projects to be a historic Brewers lineup:

 

They're on pace to have more than 5100 plate appearances by righties, which would be among the five highest figures in the expansion era

 

I'm not going to quote any more out of fear of getting scolded, but he makes a good argument that the Brewers lack of left handed batters is killing them in the late innings when teams can bring in RHP relievers without consequence. He mentions they rank 7th in runs scored but 14th in runs scored in the 7th+ for this particular reason.

 

I suggest subscribing or finding your way to the full post.

 

Is there a conceivable fix or temporary band-aid to the problem?

[Raw Biz]

Eh, I don't really care what side you hit from, as long as you can hit. Unfortunately, because ARam was out for so long and Hart hasn't played at all, the Brewers bench was/is pretty poor. I think that's probably more the reason for lack of runs scored than what side they hit from. That being said, it would have been nice to have a healthy Gamel this year.

[LouisEly]

I'm not going to quote any more out of fear of getting scolded, but he makes a good argument that the Brewers lack of left handed batters is killing them in the late innings when teams can bring in RHP relievers without consequence.

 

I've been saying this for two years. Yes, A-Ram is decent against RH pitchers and they have Aoki in the lineup, but that's two out of 9 batters. The other seven are getting eaten up.

[3and2Fastball]

All the more reason to bring up Scooter!

[Ennder]

It is probably a problem, but it isn't one of the bigger problems on this team and having someone like Gennett coming in late in the game probably won't help the team even with the platoon splits.

[dlk9s]

I think the problem is more that we have guys like Alex Gonzalez, struggling Weeks and Lucroy, and crappy bench players coming up in late innings than the lack of lefties.

 

EDIT: Basically what Ennder said.

[JohnBriggs12]

I thought Overbay (.266/.301/.500) was washed up but in hindsight it was a mistake not to bring him in once Hart and then Gamel went down. It was also a mistake not claiming Mike Carp (.342/.390/.737 with Boston). Even Travis Ishikawa (.298/.380/.458 at AAA) would be better now that what they are playing at 1B now that Yuni has gone ice cold.

 

Brewers got fooled again this spring by another career minor leaguer, Blake Lalli who once the lights came on, gave them nothing.

[logan82]

Overbay was never an option. He signed with the Yankees within hours of being cut by the Red Sox. He did not want to sign with us when he was a free agent and I wouldn't blame him since at the time we had Gamel. Ishikawa was not an option either.

[Funketown]

I'm still not sure why they didn't acquire a guy like Ishikawa for the first two months of the season. I can't imagine they would have needed to give Baltimore more than a bag of balls for the guy, and he would have at least put up a solid line against RHP. But with Hart coming back in just a few weeks, what's done is done.

[1992casey]

Here's Joe Sheehan's website if you're interested in subscribing:

 

http://www.joesheehan.com/

[torts]

I thought Overbay (.266/.301/.500) was washed up but in hindsight it was a mistake not to bring him in once Hart and then Gamel went down. It was also a mistake not claiming Mike Carp (.342/.390/.737 with Boston). Even Travis Ishikawa (.298/.380/.458 at AAA) would be better now that what they are playing at 1B now that Yuni has gone ice cold.

 

Brewers got fooled again this spring by another career minor leaguer, Blake Lalli who once the lights came on, gave them nothing.

 

Hindsight, 20/20, blahblahblah

[Funketown]

While nobody should have expected Carp to be this productive, or Overbay to a lesser extent, either of them would have been a nice pickup for the first two months of the season.

 

That said, it's probably worth remembering that the Brewers did have an insurance 1B and a LHP off the bat lined up until an ACL tear.

[Gobias Industries]

Melvin said he didn't get Overbay because they didn't have the DH spot to fall back on once Hart returned. Basically being in the AL guaranteed Overbay an extra 150-200 ab's, so they didn't have a realistic shot of even signing him.

 

Makes sense.

[thebruce44]

I thought Overbay (.266/.301/.500) was washed up but in hindsight it was a mistake not to bring him in once Hart and then Gamel went down. It was also a mistake not claiming Mike Carp (.342/.390/.737 with Boston). Even Travis Ishikawa (.298/.380/.458 at AAA) would be better now that what they are playing at 1B now that Yuni has gone ice cold.

 

Brewers got fooled again this spring by another career minor leaguer, Blake Lalli who once the lights came on, gave them nothing.

 

Hindsight, 20/20, blahblahblah

 

There were a lot of us who advocated a move prior to the start of the season. Its not hindsight as much as an oversight by management.