Impressions of Roenicke so far (part 3)

[trwi7]

"I always feel good when Kotsay is in the lineup," Roenicke said. "When we start him, he seems to have a big day. Something always good seems to happen when he's in there. Numbers matched up good.

"I think, too, if Nyjer had been swinging the bat well, I wouldn't even thought about this. But I think it's the right thing to do here."

Please fire this idiot.

[logan82]

"I always feel good when Kotsay is in the lineup," Roenicke said. "When we start him, he seems to have a big day. Something always good seems to happen when he's in there. Numbers matched up good.

"I think, too, if Nyjer had been swinging the bat well, I wouldn't even thought about this. But I think it's the right thing to do here."

Please fire this idiot.

My feeling is that he is right. Kotsay seems to have a big day when he starts. On the other hand, he is not a good hitter or defender and does not give us the best chance to win baring 2 major injuries(3 in my opinion but I will leave Schafer out of this one). This is the other side of playing a hunch. We have just been lucky for the most part that this hasn't happened.

[thebruce44]

"I always feel good when Kotsay is in the lineup," Roenicke said. "When we start him, he seems to have a big day. Something always good seems to happen when he's in there. Numbers matched up good.

"I think, too, if Nyjer had been swinging the bat well, I wouldn't even thought about this. But I think it's the right thing to do here."

Please fire this idiot.

My feeling is that he is right. Kotsay seems to have a big day when he starts. On the other hand, he is not a good hitter or defender and does not give us the best chance to win baring 2 major injuries(3 in my opinion but I will leave Schafer out of this one). This is the other side of playing a hunch. We have just been lucky for the most part that this hasn't happened.

4 if you count Hairston.

[logan82]

Please fire this idiot.

My feeling is that he is right. Kotsay seems to have a big day when he starts. On the other hand, he is not a good hitter or defender and does not give us the best chance to win baring 2 major injuries(3 in my opinion but I will leave Schafer out of this one). This is the other side of playing a hunch. We have just been lucky for the most part that this hasn't happened.

4 if you count Hairston.

You are right, I forgot Hairston. He should be at SS so I didn't' think of him.

[DougJones43]

I would say Kotsay in CF tonight can already be considered the biggest managerial blunder in franchise history.

 

edit: Good to see the HR get one of those runs back, so at least Roenicke was right about his hunch from a hitting stand-point. Let's just hope now that the Cards don't hit any more balls in Kotsay's direction...

[danzig6767]

My feeling is that he is right. Kotsay seems to have a big day when he starts. On the other hand, he is not a good hitter or defender and does not give us the best chance to win baring 2 major injuries(3 in my opinion but I will leave Schafer out of this one). This is the other side of playing a hunch. We have just been lucky for the most part that this hasn't happened.

4 if you count Hairston.

You are right, I forgot Hairston. He should be at SS so I didn't' think of him.

It was a very poor decision to start Kotsay tonight and i dislike Yuni as much as everyone else here, but choosing to stick with Betancourt at SS and playing Hairston for the playoffs has worked out great so far. Betancourt hasn't really hurt us in the field in the playoffs, he's hit great, drove in that big run vs Arizona, Hairston has been a godsend replacing McGehee, and if anyone has really hurt the Brewers in these playoffs so far it's been Weeks.

 

Other than that 2-run homer against St. Louis which had no impact on the game, he's stranded a ton of baserunners. I never thought the day would come that i'd say this, but if it was Game 7 with us down a run, two outs, and runners on 2nd/3rd, i'd honestly rather see Betancourt at the plate than Weeks.

[markedman5]

Hart has also killed the Brewers both at the plate and in the field.

[markedman5]

Casey instead of Kottoras...........well done tonight Ron.

[Oldcity]

What a clown. He is ruining the Brewers making the NLCS for everyone.

[burnzy24]

I have supported Ron for the majority of the season, but putting Kotsay in CF is inexcusable and helped to put us in a 4-0 hole in the 1st. If he puts Kostsay in RF for Hart, fine, Hart has been struggling. But either Morgan or Gomez reaches that fly ball in the 1st standing up if they are in center. I can't even fathom how he can justify putting Kotsay in CF. He deserves to get grilled by the media for the call but it probably won't happen.

[DougJones43]

It's very frustrating to watch your team get out-managed in a Championship Series like this. Kotsay had a nice day at the plate, but he negated one of his walks by falling down on the bases. More importantly, not converting what should have been an easy out in the 1st inning really opened the flood-gates. It may have been a completely different game with a competent CF on defense today.

 

If Roenicke was going to insist on getting Kotsay's bat into the lineup, I'd have rather it been in RF and give Hart a day off.

 

And my goodness, anybody but McGehee to face Motte in the 9th. Kottaras would have been the best choice there.

[Oldcity]

Outmanaged might be the biggest understatement I've ever seen. He doesn't belong in the same stadium.

[danzig6767]

I have supported Ron for the majority of the season, but putting Kotsay in CF is inexcusable and helped to put us in a 4-0 hole in the 1st. If he puts Kostsay in RF for Hart, fine, Hart has been struggling. But either Morgan or Gomez reaches that fly ball in the 1st standing up if they are in center. I can't even fathom how he can justify putting Kotsay in CF. He deserves to get grilled by the media for the call but it probably won't happen.

It would be interesting to see how exactly that first inning would have panned out if instead Gomez had been in CF?

 

I have no doubt that he catches the Jay semi-blooper and it's debatable IMO whether Carlos could have run down the double by Pujols. I don't think he'd have got to that ball, but then again who knows if Gomez would have been positioned different since he's arguably the fastest player in the game and Kotsay runs like he's got ankle weights on? We also can't know if Gallardo would have pitched differently to hitters following had either or both of those balls hit by Jay/Pujols been caught.

 

Let's not forget either that Hart should have caught the ball hit by Freese which became the winning run. It's amazing just how much speed Hart has lost over the last year or two, his bad defense has really hurt us multiple times in these playoffs.

 

The big flaw IMO by the thinking of Roenicke is he said that likely runs would be at a minimum, so he thought Kotsay offered the better chance at helping create maybe a run or two. To me though, if i think a game is likely to be close and low scoring because of good pitching, i'd much rather have an elite defender in CF over a terrible defensive CF because so often in close games 1-2 critical defensive plays can decide a game. Between Kotsay turning the Jay blooper into a double and Hart blowing the Freese catch, it cost the Brewers two runs at minimum and likely three.

 

You just can't have a massive defensive liability in CF in the playoffs. To many potential critical situations can arise in a game where his run in mud speed could be so costly.

[lbb020]

If he wants to get Kotsay in the game so bad, start Kotsay in RF and Gomez in CF and have Hairston leadoff.. it's really pretty simple.

[TooLiveBrew]

Roenicke'd... getting near to being Yosted

[The Truth]

I'm completely convinced that my kid's Little League manager wouldn't have started Kotsay in CF in a playoff game

 

I also do not believe that there is any other MLB manager who would start Kotsay in CF in a playoff game

[TooLiveBrew]

"I don't have a lot of experience, but I've experienced a lot"

 

Anyone else feel like ripping that banner down, Office Space-style right now?

 

I'm not sure if I hate Roenicke, or just hate how stupid he can be.

[Oldcity]

Roenicke'd pulled even with Yosted tonight. Not even kidding, and I will never forget how terrible Yost was.

 

The worst part is he'll be back next year. They aren't going to fire him when the team got this far.

[stoutdude04]

Im guessing his thought on going with Casey was in case he got on he could pinch run GoGo. If George pinch hits and gets on hes gotta run himself. (I do not know what he was thinking, im just guessing.)

[MNBrew]

I wonder about a few of his decisions, but this relentless venom & hyper-criticism that's so constantly directed toward Roenicke by so many folks in this thread strikes me as beyond rational. Heck, I think that if we were to actually turn it around & win the World Series, so many of you guys would still be convinced he's inept and that they'd've won the World Series in spite of him. I like the guy, but I'm not an apologist. What I can't get away from, in the big picture, is this: The team slump isn't Roenicke's fault. The team's confident as a whole and knows what to do. They're just not doing it.

 

Right now no one's doing much good beyond Braun, Hairston, & Betancourt, and they're still going to make outs half of the time. Heck, Kotsay gets 2 walks and a solo HR and he's still the root of all evil. Morgan's hitting lousy lately and Gomez can't hit righties, plus Kotsay has good numbers against Carpenter. Yeah, he came up short on that ball in CF in the 1st, but Hart's was, in my mind, by far the more egregious missed play.

 

Plain & simple, momentum's contagious and the Brewers have NONE of it right now. Very little's been going right in their losses -- even tonight, they're finally playing a close one and they can't even get on base by accident in the last 4 innings. That's Roenicke's fault? Fielder can't hit on the road in the playoffs -- nice consecutive GIDP's Mr. "I'm Going Where the Most Money Is!!!" Weeks and Hart can't hit for crap no matter where the game is. Lucroy forgot that he was a .280 hitter for much of the year, but Kottaras has done little since his cycle against MLB's most horrible team. Morgan forgot he was a .320 hitter most of the year and still finished over .300. Heck, I'm convinced Roenicke could've jiggled half the lineup and ultimately it wouldn't have affected the outcome because the team's just not playing well enough -- that blame lies squarely on the players, just as the Cardinals' hot play is a result of the players doing well, NOT LaRussa being a superb manager.

 

Would a lineup of Gomez or Morgan in CF (for Kotsay), Kotsay in RF (for Hart), and Green at 2B (for Weeks) really going to have much better of a chance? Or Hairston in CF, Morgan or Gomez in RF, McGehee at 3B, and Green at 2B? Or Hairston at 3B, Hairston at 2B, Hairston in CF, and Hairston in RF. . . . etc.? After reading this thread and many IGTs along the way, if Roenicke had made changes like these and they hadn't produced any better results, I'm still convinced many posters would still find other ways & reasons to place the blame on Roenicke.

 

The Brewers are playing like they're relying on absolutely perfect plays to have even a chance, both on offense & defense. The Brewers, in their losses and therefore especially again in these past two games, are pretty much only getting walks & singles -- practically zero extra base power. It gets tedious, and they're not delivering in the very few chances they have (nice 1st swing DPs both games against Lynn, Mr. Weeks -- talk about a criminally stupid approach!!!!)

 

The Cards, by contrast, are racking up consecutive extra base hits constantly & getting "crooked number" innings, and are getting the Brewers to strike out in clutch situations, or ground out to 3B or SS (about 50 times a game based on how regularly it's been happening), or pop up lamely. That's Roenicke's fault? Sorry, but I can't buy it.

 

 

Edit: p.s. to my rant above: Marcum's lousy outings, Wolf's lousy AZ game, Greinke's lousy outings (thank goodness for the run support), and now Gallardo finally takes his turn digging a hole the team couldn't get out of. This was one of the best rotations the Brewers could ever have hoped to have this year, and they're caving in the playoffs. If all the starters consistently pitchers pitch just somewhat respectably, this is a different series. But they're mostly pitching like garbage and the offense, which hasn't been running hot, ends up with oodles more pressure. As I mentioned many times above, the starters' lousy outings aren't are THEIR faults, not Roenicke's.

[danzig6767]

If he wants to get Kotsay in the game so bad, start Kotsay in RF and Gomez in CF and have Hairston leadoff.. it's really pretty simple.

I thought about this last night and guessed it would end up being a close game. Given how tough Carpenter can be on righthanders, i was hoping RR went with a lineup of Nyger in RF and Gomez in CF to give top notch speed across the outfield defensively and if either guy got on base, their speed could help lead to a run in a variety of fashions. Plus, Hart would then be available on the bench to come in at anytime. Mainly though, i had just wanted to see Gomez in CF regardless of what Roenicke did in RF.

 

To many times in these playoffs have we seen balls fall in that odds are near certain Carlos would have caught which lead to multiple runs scoring. Plus he's been hitting well of late.

[MNBrew]

And my goodness, anybody but McGehee to face Motte in the 9th. Kottaras would have been the best choice there.

Kottaras hasn't done crud lately. Green isn't the savior, either, but sure would've put up a better at-bat against those upper-90s pitches than George the Windmill.

[TooLiveBrew]

Heck, I think that if we were to actually turn it around & win the World Series, so many of you guys would still be convinced he's inept and that they'd've won the World Series in spite of him.

 

I've said from basically the day he was hired that I thought it wasn't a good move. If they win the WS, it will be in spite of his terrible matchup and in-game decisions. The rest of this season has been. There's nothing controversial or debatable about that.

 

I have no doubt that Roenicke is a smart guy who prepares & scouts well. It's what makes the idiotic moves all the more enraging.

[RockCoCougars]

I think that the Kotsay thing is a push. On the blooper, my guess is that he was playing extremely deep on wet grass. Both Morgan and Gomez (though they would have probably caught that one) have misplayed balls in center recently. As for the double, I don't think anyone is getting to that. Kotsay's homer and walks evened things out. In hindsight, Gomez probably would have been the better play in center, because Nyjer has looked 'off' both at the plate and in the field as of late.

 

I agree that Hart should have caught that ball, which hung up there for quite a while. The second 'non catch' that he's made in the past two games that's really hurt. Not sure if he's scared of crashing into the wall or what the deal is.

[danzig6767]

I wonder about a few of his decisions, but this relentless venom & hyper-criticism that's so constantly directed toward Roenicke by so many folks in this thread strikes me as beyond rational.

Come on. I sorta agree with you that some here have gone overboard during the season nitpicking nearly everything Roenicke did, but this isn't the regular season anymore, it's the playoffs and tonight was a huge game in giving one team a 2-1 advantage.

 

It's one thing if RR wanted to get Kotsay in the lineup and putting him in RF, Hart has been struggling in the field and at the plate some. It was incredibly reckless though to put Kotsay in CF for a majorly critical game given CF is a crucial defensive position and Kotsay offers absolutely zero range.

 

Did you see him trying to get to that blooper by Jay? It was painful watching Kotsay try to get to that ball while looking like he was running in mud. He has no speed left at all and in baseball games the CF can often have multiple balls hit to him that a good defender makes the catch and a poor one doesn't. Sometimes with guys on base. This wasn't a game vs the Astros in July, it was inexcusable for Reonicke to put an awful defensive player in CF for a game this important, much less next to Hart who has little range left either..