2017-06-02: Dodgers (Kershaw) at Brewers (Nelson) 7:10 PM CDT [Brewers lose, 2-1, 12 innings]

[Matt1969]

Neftali Feliz is HORRID. Needs to be gone....yesterday.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Who is the next man up as closer

 

Really? Knebel has been lights out for 2 months straight, and blows one save and you want to ditch him as the closer? That's kind of a knee jerk reaction, isn't it?

 

As one other poster said to me on another board - this was Knebel's 3rd blown save this year.

 

Nevermind his first BS was in the 7th inning on opening day and he pealed off 11 straight holds before being named closer.....

 

Blown Save is a janky stat, because any reliever that surrenders a lead is given a "blown save" even if they weren't in in the 9th inning. Technically a guy in in the 6th or 7th inning is (almost certainly) not going to be the closer, so giving that guy a blown save is kind of a misleading statistic. I'm not saying Knebel is perfect, but calling to remove him at this point is asinine.

[Boomer5]

Did I read that box score correctly?

 

26 strike outs? Uh what?????

[pacopete4]

Did I read that box score correctly?

 

26 strike outs? Uh what?????

 

 

At least you didn't watch it. Still trying to figure out what I just witnessed.

[owbc]

Did I read that box score correctly?

 

26 strike outs? Uh what?????

 

Combined 42 is an NL record.

 

Aguilar and Villar both get Golden Sombreros.

[SomewhereInTime]

Who is the next man up as closer

 

Really? Knebel has been lights out for 2 months straight, and blows one save and you want to ditch him as the closer? That's kind of a knee jerk reaction, isn't it?

 

 

He shouldn't be removed as closer but it's not just one save. He is 4 of 7 in his opportunities.

 

He's not really 4 of 7. He's 15 of 18 because of his 11 holds. Two of his three blown saves were one run games, today against the 2,3,4 hitters. The other was when je was thrown in a near impossible situation.

[Boomer5]

Did I read that box score correctly?

 

26 strike outs? Uh what?????

 

 

At least you didn't watch it. Still trying to figure out what I just witnessed.

 

That must have been a joy to watch. What were BA and Rock saying?

[pacopete4]

 

Really? Knebel has been lights out for 2 months straight, and blows one save and you want to ditch him as the closer? That's kind of a knee jerk reaction, isn't it?

 

 

He shouldn't be removed as closer but it's not just one save. He is 4 of 7 in his opportunities.

 

He's not really 4 of 7. He's 15 of 18 because of his 11 holds. Two of his three blown saves were one run games, today against the 2,3,4 hitters. The other was when je was thrown in a near impossible situation.

 

 

Hes 4 of 6 since taking over the role. He's given up two bombs in the last weeks worth of games(5/26 and last night) to lose leads. Some will point to holds as the same thing but the last three outs are always the toughest. So far he hasn't been great at getting them. This needs to improve.

[adambr2]

I can't even with the remove Knebel talk...

 

Knebel is by far our best reliever. His stuff is that of an elite closer. He's striking out 16 per 9 innings. He is exactly the kind of pitcher you want in that role.

 

He's blown 2 saves since taking over the role, both in 1 run leads. Both situations where he got behind in the count, and the hitter guessed right and made him pay. He's made basically 2 mistakes since taking over the role and payed for both of them.

 

So obviously yes, he needs to be careful not to fall behind in counts. But come on. Long-term he is perfectly suited for that role and has the stuff to succeed in that role. Its not like he's walking the bases loaded and then spiking a splitter in the dirt. He's made a couple mistakes as any pitcher does and it just so happens he has paid for both. Removing him from the closer's role at this point would be a very knee jerk and irrational decision. Who do you want, anyway? Barnes? Feliz?

[pacopete4]

Adam I agree with pretty much all of what you said. I just hope he can go on a run of nailing down saves. It will go a long way into him showing he can get those last three outs a little more consistently.

[adambr2]

I am very frustrated with the loss last night, this really stings. So as hard as it is for me to come up with silver lining talk, here goes.

 

Nelson was fantastic last night and last outing as well. The way he and Anderson have pitched lately, they have looked more like upper tier starters than #4/#5 starters. I know that's easy to say based on the results but it hasn't just been the raw results. They've looked the part, too. 95, hitting spots, Jimmy with the slider and Chase with the change, and it's been reflected in the K counts.

 

These guys have a long ways to go before you can say they've turned a corner, but if they indeed have, that's going to go a much longer ways to determining our success than one June game against the Dodgers.

[Pugger]

As soon as I saw Feliz come in I knew we were screwed. Nice job Counsell. Good lord, there had to be somebody better than that clown in the bullpen!

[adambr2]

As soon as I saw Feliz come in I knew we were screwed. Nice job Counsell. Good lord, there had to be somebody better than that clown in the bullpen!

 

I guess they could have gone with Drake or Wily or Scahill but at some point in a 12 inning game your best options are used up, no guarantee of different results.

 

They had good chances to get some insurance and blew it. Arcia leads off the 8th with a double and the next 3 guys fan. Then Villar is on 3rd with 1 out in the 12th and Arcia stands there and watches strike 3. At some point it's on the offense for not coming up in key situations. They had chances. Sooner or later a tie isn't going to hold up. Its getting annoying how bad these guys are in extras.

[rcc]

Feliz was brought in here to close games. He has been awful. I knew last night he would screw it up. They have to either use him for mop-up duty or release him.

 

Knebel is the better closer. At the beginning of the season he was the hold guy now because the free agent closer isn't working out he has been pressed into that role.

 

No, he shouldn't have given up that run. Yes, he isn't perfect. But the biggest problem here is Feliz not doing his job.

[SomewhereInTime]

As soon as I saw Feliz come in I knew we were screwed. Nice job Counsell. Good lord, there had to be somebody better than that clown in the bullpen!

 

I guess they could have gone with Drake or Wily or Scahill but at some point in a 12 inning game your best options are used up, no guarantee of different results.

 

They had good chances to get some insurance and blew it. Arcia leads off the 8th with a double and the next 3 guys fan. Then Villar is on 3rd with 1 out in the 12th and Arcia stands there and watches strike 3. At some point it's on the offense for not coming up in key situations. They had chances. Sooner or later a tie isn't going to hold up. Its getting annoying how bad these guys are in extras.

 

I mean look at the swings some of them were taking, especially Aguliar. Everyone trying to hit a homer. It's part of what you get when you have a young team with a lot of guys with little experience.

[pacopete4]

Feliz was brought in here to close games. He has been awful. I knew last night he would screw it up. They have to either use him for mop-up duty or release him.

 

Knebel is the better closer. At the beginning of the season he was the hold guy now because the free agent closer isn't working out he has been pressed into that role.

 

No, he shouldn't have given up that run. Yes, he isn't perfect. But the biggest problem here is Feliz not doing his job.

 

 

I don't think anyone is disagreeing that Knebel is the better man for the closers role right now. But if Knebel does his job this Brewers team has two more wins in the past week and a guy like Feliz doesn't even have the opportunity to screw it up. Seeing how this division is right now, those two games might matter a lot. Knebel needs to do his damn job and get the last three outs of the ball game better than he has done recently.