Impressions of Roenicke so far (part 2)

[jason21nl]

In that one inning wasn't there a fly ball kotsay couldn't get to that led to a run scoring?

[DuWayne Steurer]

The necessity was mostly because of injuries to Morgan and the inability of Gomez to hit righties. RR messed up the substituting a bit last game and Kotsay had to play CF for one inning. Big deal.

Gomez's career splits are remarkably similar. He's almost dead even against righties and lefties. Not that that means anything GOOD, but Kotsay sucks no matter how you slice it, and he can't field either, and that one inning he did play lead to a run, which is a big deal in a one run game.

[TooLiveBrew]

In that one inning wasn't there a fly ball kotsay couldn't get to that led to a run scoring?

Yes. Any competent CF would have been able to reach it, Carroll included. To clarify, the game I'm speaking of was 7/23. 8th inning bloop single was by Giants catcher Chris Stewart.

[homer]

So Morgan just tried to bunt Hart to third......in the FIRST INNING!

 

Dude is hitting .330 and you have him bunt with a RISP. Fire Roenicke.

[Funketown]

So Morgan just tried to bunt Hart to third......in the FIRST INNING!

 

Dude is hitting .330 and you have him bunt with a RISP. Fire Roenicke.

I thought that might have been Plush trying to bunt for a base hit. Obviously I could be wrong though.

[Gobias Industries]

Yeah, it was pretty clear that Morgan was bunting for a base hit there.

[homer]

Yeah, it was pretty clear that Morgan was bunting for a base hit there.

Not on the 0 - 1 pitch he fouled off.

 

It was pretty obvious that it was called from the dugout since he tried bunting two pitches in a row. Even if it was for a hit it was still dumb.

[HiAndTight]

We have a manager who really doesn't like to "manage"...........how about taking some responsibilty for the outcome of the game? If you don't think its a good idea then tell your players what you want them to do.

 

His managerial style appears to be.....The players know what to do so I pretty much leave it up to them.

If the manager doesn't call a bunt, that usually means that the player does not bunt. I've never heard of a manager calling a "no bunt". My impression is that Roenicke thinks Hart should not have bunted there, although he got the runner over so he can't really fault him.

And he worded it about as strongly as he could without ripping into Hart in the media.

 

I think some people are still waiting for much-much more from a manager than we're likely to get. Unless you live on the South side of Chicago anyway.

[Baldkin]

Kotsay in CF again today.

There is no excuse for that, period.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Kotsay in CF again today.

There is no excuse for that, period.

If they can't beat the Astros without Bourne and PEnce, even with the Sunday lineup, everyone might as well quit.

[rluzinski]

Kotsay in CF again today.

There is no excuse for that, period.

If they can't beat the Astros without Bourne and PEnce, even with the Sunday lineup, everyone might as well quit.

Vegas is giving the Brewers a 64% chance of winning, so it's not a slam dunk. It never is with baseball. I'd rather add an extra 1-2% to that by avoiding all of RR's goofy actions.

Kotsay, starting in CF and batting 2nd. Lopez apparently the new #5 guy? And when RR shares his rational for making the decisions, you realize that he just looks at the game of baseball in a peculiar way.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Kotsay in CF again today.

There is no excuse for that, period.

If they can't beat the Astros without Bourne and PEnce, even with the Sunday lineup, everyone might as well quit.

Vegas is giving the Brewers a 64% chance of winning, so it's not a slam dunk. It never is with baseball. I'd rather add an extra 1-2% to that by avoiding all of RR's goofy actions.

Kotsay, starting in CF and batting 2nd. Lopez apparently the new #5 guy? And when RR shares his rational for making the decisions, you realize that he just looks at the game of baseball in a peculiar way.

Oh, I know. I'm already pleasantly surprised with the 5-0 homestand, even though 'on paper' these are all winnable games. I'd be happy with 6 -3, but realistically, at this point, I think anything less than 7 - 2 now becomes a disappointment.

[AdvantageSchneider]

I'm not sure RR knows how to handle a BP. The BP last night only had to cover 2 innings with a 4-5 run lead and yet RR had every pitcher in the BP warm up or pitch except for Saito. That's the kind of thing that's going to come back and bite us I think. We don't have a deep BP since we apparently have to have 4 second basemen on the roster/ If they entire BP has to warm up every game, their going to be shot come september.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

I've been critical of RRR this year on numerous occasions. I wanted to be fair when I have a compliment to dole out. I thought the way RRR handled the TLR mindgames was solid. There has always been a great mindset with this team even when they were losing. They seem to have a great clubhouse vibe. Between RRR having established a solid rapport with the team and not being Ken Macha, he has really set the tone. The maturity of a younger team has helped as well.

 

I think when you get TLR being TLR, not letting your team get sucked in is a positive. I thought they kept their composure, while still standing up for his players...a line between Yost who lost his head and Macha who lost his team.

 

It won't always make up for starting Kotsay in CF or bunting in the first inning, but I think he deserves the credit where it is due. I hope that will help them in their upcoming 9 games with the Cards.

[adambr2]

I think Roenicke is a solid PR/player guy.

 

He's not going to create controversy in Milwaukee (well, not nationally, anyway), and his players play hard for him, and you can't underestimate the importance of that. (Though you would hope that most professional baseball players choose to play hard at all times regardless of who their leadership is).

 

I've been critical of his bullpen management in the past, and though it's gotten better lately and I feel like I should give him credit, I really can't because the bullpen has been completely dummy-proofed for him.

 

You've got Ax for the save, K-Rod for the hold, Loe for ROOGY/groundball situation, Dillard for mop-up, Estrada for mop-up/long man, and whoever is fresher of Saito and Hawkins for the 7th. There is literally nothing to decide other than how long to keep in a struggling pitcher.

[bjkrautk]

I've been critical of his bullpen management in the past, and though it's gotten better lately and I feel like I should give him credit, I really can't because the bullpen has been completely dummy-proofed for him.

 

You've got Ax for the save, K-Rod for the hold, Loe for ROOGY/groundball situation, Dillard for mop-up, Estrada for mop-up/long man, and whoever is fresher of Saito and Hawkins for the 7th. There is literally nothing to decide other than how long to keep in a struggling pitcher.

Is it really that surprising that he favors this kind of bullpen situation? I'm not an avid Angels fan, but that's been my understanding of the blueprint for years now. The primary setup man into closer formula dates back to the WS team. Donnelly/Percival, K-Rod/Percival, Shields/K-Rod, etc. They've been more flexible with bullpen roles in recent years, but that's more a byproduct of not having the 1-2 punch at the back end.

 

Prior to the trade for K-Rod, I think that RR was trying to force-fit players into these roles, when only Axford really fit. Neither Saito nor Loe could hold up to the 8th inning role. (In all fairness, Saito was injured before he really had a chance to fit into the role he was signed to fill.) Hawkins came closest, but wasn't allowed to pitch on consecutive games after his injury (nor was Saito when he first came back), which limited the appeal of making him the "8th inning guy."

 

 

I tend to think that DM's references to the bullpen being the biggest hole on the club came from not having a good, everyday option for the 8th inning role. RR manages his bullpen to a system, but at least it's a system that works well (as long as you have the players to fit it).

 

[rluzinski]

"RR manages his bullpen to a system, but at least it's a system that works well (as long as you have the players to fit it)."

 

It works well only in insulating the manager and organization from criticism. It's OK to have Loe come in against a lefty with the bases loaded and 1 out in the 6th in a tie game because our two best relievers don't pitch in the 6th. Most fans will buy into that so if I were RR, I would be tempted to employ that system as well.

[Baldkin]

I tend to think that DM's references to the bullpen being the biggest hole on the club came from not having a good, everyday option for the 8th inning role. RR manages his bullpen to a system, but at least it's a system that works well (as long as you have the players to fit it).

Yes, he's very good at managing to a "Well, duh." bullpen style. The fact is, there are higher leverage situations where KRod could (and IMO, should) be used and won't be, and Loe or Estrada will be.

 

He still has no clue how to make a lineup, and no idea how valuable solid defense and the ability to draw a walk are, as Lopez keeps on starting, despite Hairston being better in all facets of the game.

[homer]

The sac bunting in the 1st and 2nd innings is driving me nuts.

[logan82]

I tend to think that DM's references to the bullpen being the biggest hole on the club came from not having a good, everyday option for the 8th inning role. RR manages his bullpen to a system, but at least it's a system that works well (as long as you have the players to fit it).

Yes, he's very good at managing to a "Well, duh." bullpen style. The fact is, there are higher leverage situations where KRod could (and IMO, should) be used and won't be, and Loe or Estrada will be.

 

He still has no clue how to make a lineup, and no idea how valuable solid defense and the ability to draw a walk are, as Lopez keeps on starting, despite Hairston being better in all facets of the game.

Yuni starting at SS over Hairston against a RHP actually bothers me more than Lopez over Hairston at 2B against RHP.

I really can't because the bullpen has been completely dummy-proofed for him.

I really hope Melvin DPR proofs the roster a bit more before the end August. If he does I think this team can be special instead of merely very good.

[fondybrewfan]

Can we stop with the DPR? No one even knows what it means.

 

The Brewers are very good but I what I consider a special team is something the Brewers just can't become. Not that they can't go on a run and win the World Series but The Red Sox and Philles are "Special Teams". Brewers aren't at that level

[DocLuna7]

Have to ask, what does DPR mean again?

[adambr2]

Two things:

 

-- Ronnie's smallball tendencies have evolved from "tendencies" to "obsessions". Small ball has its place, but good grief, I feel like we're bunting every time we have a runner at 1st and less than 2 out regardless of who is on and who is up. Stop giving up so many outs, it's driving me nuts, it has gotten way beyond predictable. Some days you're going to win or lose based on whether you had that big inning, and Roenicke plays for 1 run every inning, which just isn't a realistic approach.

 

-- Felipe Lopez is bad. There are 30 Major League Baseball teams and 3 weeks ago, not one of them even saw Lopez worthy of a spot on their 25 man roster. He has not turned into an every day starter since then. You've got Green, but since you're pretty determined to keep him in Nashville, you've also got Hairston. Use him.

[Glennron]

I know there's no real way of knowing, and maybe I'm just way off on this, but I feel like Morgan bunts on his own and Roenicke doesn't say anything to stop him. It's maddening though how often he does it in the first inning when Hart leads off with a single or a walk. Does he not know that he's a solid enough hitter to not be doing that all the time?

[cwolf2012]

"It's maddening though how often he does it in the first inning when Hart leads off with a single or a walk. Does he not know that he's a solid enough hitter to not be doing that all the time?"

 

But on that same note, I also feel that Morgan bunts for a hit a good percentage of the time as well. Anyone else, yes, the bunt is terrible, but he at least has a reasonable chance of getting on when he does it.