2018-06-22: Cardinals (Flaherty) at Brewers (Guerra) 7:10 PM CDT [Brewers win 2-1, Aguilar’s HRs end No-Hit bid in 7th and Walk-Off Cardinals in 9th]

[SRB]

Aguilar and Thames are so much fun to watch.

 

We have a musclebound 1B carrying a .396 wOBA against RHP that we're having to move to another position because somebody else is playing better.

[SRB]

We started this season playing Ryan Braun at first base in order to keep his bat in the lineup. Wow

 

Honestly Braun is in a tough spot right now. He's obviously not going to play over Aguilar at this time and he's really not going to play over Thames against RHP. Santana is a total non-factor and Braun is still kind of on the verge of getting wedged out.

 

Depth is good, I get that, but having your highest paid player on your bench when you're at full strength for the next 2.5 years is probably not the most ideal thing ever.

 

I don't know what the Dodgers OF situation looks like off the top of my head but I wonder if they'd still have any interest. Who do they got, Bellinger, Kemp, Puig?

 

Braun should still be able to rack up quite a few AB spot starting in the OF and starting over Thames against all LHP. Santana is the one who really is getting squeezed out right now.

 

Let's not forget that Aguilar is unlikely to stay this hot forever, and that Braun is unlikely to keep smoking the ball into outs all season. We're on the downswing of Braun's career, but I wouldn't feel desperate to move him just yet.

 

Braun is actually hitting with the highest line drive % of his career, and a hard contact % above his career line.

[adambr2]

I mean I somewhat agree. Braun hasn't been bad. But that's part of the reason I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to make a move now, if you still can. If he gets bad, it's definitely too late.

 

And I think we can stop calling Aguilar hot, he's just a really good hitter at this point. Is he going to sustain his .975 OPS, no probably not, but we're kind of at the point where he should rightfully be in the lineup daily.

[dlk9s]

Just checking in to remind people that someone said Aguilar was coming back down to earth a few games ago.

[SRB]

Brewers legend and personal favorite Mike Cameron untuckin' the Cards' for their nonsense

 

Cameron‏ @_darkman44 2h2 hours ago

This play that just happened between Milwaukee and St Louis is one reason I couldn’t play anymore cause I would’ve punched the SS right in the mouth after that play they just showed on @MLBNetwork use your damn head son nobody trying o hurt u

[adambr2]

By the way the knitting fan is Mary Alice Eisch and she crochets blankets for sick and needy babies, if that helps you feel better about it if you ever see it again.

[StearnsFTW]

A fine win, indeed.

 

But to be the downer here...the game had 3 runs and 6 hits total and it took 3 hours 19 minutes.

 

What non-baseball fan is going to sit through all of that to get to the drama at the end?

 

I'm numbed by the boredom of baseball in 2018.

 

[StearnsFTW]

 

I'll say it for the 8th+ time--No mid-inning relieving of a relief pitcher. Slows down the game and subdues offense. Pick up the action and pick of the offense and make the game more traditional and make a guy get 3 outs.

 

So a guy comes into a 3-3 game, doesn't have it, gives up 4 straight hits, and you have to leave him get shelled till he gets 3 outs????

 

That's not baseball and I'd have zero interest in watching it.

 

How often does that happen? A utility infielder got 3 outs last night. Did he "Have it?" The benefits far far outweigh the negatives. If you think it would be that bad, put a 25 or 30 pitch limit on a guy, then allow him to be relieved.

 

And your "zero interest" comment is outlandish. After watching the 100th+ pitching change to make LOOGYs relevant, my interest wanes far more than watching a guy get knocked around a couple times a year.

 

Yes, this plan would improve the game tremendously.

 

Do I really need blue font? Good lord.

[owbc]

2-1 games are by exciting by their nature. They just don't have to take 3 hours and 19 minutes.

 

In 1975, the Brewers played 2-1 games on the following dates with the following times of games:

 

May 23/2:08

August 4/2:29

August 16/2:32

August 26/2:34

 

Those games were every bit as compelling and tight as tonight's game, played in 50 or so fewer minutes.

 

Aguilar's moments tonight were fantastic. I just didn't find watching 7 walks and 30 strikeouts to be compelling. Once the no-hitter was done (and he wasn't going to complete the game anyway), then it was just both offenses being dominated.

 

You’re not alone in this thought. We know the game has changed and it may never change back but it doesn’t make it any less annoying as to how long these games take. Pace of play will be something that will be a battle in the near future. It will be interesting.

 

Like it or not, things change when it affects the bottom line. The fans are speaking with their wallets and they are saying that they don’t like the current state of the game. There will be big changes soon. They did succeed in knocking 6 minutes off game times this year but it’s not nearly enough. I bet my baseball watching would double if they got those times back to 1970s levels—although it probably can’t be done without changing how relief pitchers are used.

 

That said, attendance might never reach 2000s levels again, or at least not for a long time. All forms of live entertainment are seeing the decline and it will take a long time to undo the mistakes of the last 20 years. In my opinion price gouging is one of the biggest reasons for the decline—which the Brewers wisely avoided for the most part. And now the Brewers are only of only 3 teams with an appreciable attendance gain this year.

 

MLB’s problems are easily solvable so I remain optimistic.

[rickh150]

A fine win, indeed.

 

But to be the downer here...the game had 3 runs and 6 hits total and it took 3 hours 19 minutes.

 

What non-baseball fan is going to sit through all of that to get to the drama at the end?

 

I'm numbed by the boredom of baseball in 2018.

 

 

 

It's kind of like how tennis changed in the 90's with new rackets. Aces became the norm on serve, and tennis became much harder to watch.

[StearnsFTW]

My "comment" was dumb without an explanation.

 

If anyone was bored by that game I don't know what to tell them. I was enthralled.

[pitchleague]

A fine win, indeed.

 

But to be the downer here...the game had 3 runs and 6 hits total and it took 3 hours 19 minutes.

 

What non-baseball fan is going to sit through all of that to get to the drama at the end?

 

I'm numbed by the boredom of baseball in 2018.

 

 

YES! I wholeheartedly agree! My wife and I were discussing this earlier in the game. It's a 1-0 game with hardly any hits for either team and a ton of strikeouts, so not many balls put into play. It's the 6th inning.

 

And the game was already 2 hour 15 minutes long.

 

Seriously????

 

 

Please note: I was not bored at all by the game. The whole thing was enthralling. I just couldn't believe that 1-0 game (with one team being no-hit) was taking just as long as your typical 5-4 game in the 6th inning.

[MadScientist]

Just checking in to remind people that someone said Aguilar was coming back down to earth a few games ago.

The post must have been talking about how the balls that he hits will come back to earth. Eventually.

[Oxy]

 

Yes, this plan would improve the game tremendously.

 

Do I really need blue font? Good lord.

 

I think it would. To make the transition a little easier, one could start with the rule that every reliever either has to start an inning, finish an inning, or make 30 pitches.

 

While this wouldn't be as ideal as my first suggestion, it would at least eliminate the worst possible time wasting scenario where a reliever enters the game mid-inning (wasting 5+ minutes), gets one out, and then gets relieved for AGAIN (wasting another 5+minutes). Most of the time, not even beer is sold during this interlude, since it usually happens after last call.

[PinaMadness]

Braun is untradeable, and unless he gets scorching hot he alwys will be. I don't think anybody is calling Stearns about the availbility of a 34 year injury prone player with pedestrian numbers who's making 20 million per year the next three years. This may be unpopular but I wouldn't be against trading Thames. He's a guy that can fetch a couple young prospects without dwindling our chances of making a deep playoff run.

[DuWayne Steurer]

 

Yes, this plan would improve the game tremendously.

 

Do I really need blue font? Good lord.

 

I think it would. To make the transition a little easier, one could start with the rule that every reliever either has to start an inning, finish an inning, or make 30 pitches.

 

While this wouldn't be as ideal as my first suggestion, it would at least eliminate the worst possible time wasting scenario where a reliever enters the game mid-inning (wasting 5+ minutes), gets one out, and then gets relieved for AGAIN (wasting another 5+minutes). Most of the time, not even beer is sold during this interlude, since it usually happens after last call.

 

 

The worst time waster in baseball is during every pitch, of every at bat, of every game. Pitch, batter steps out, undoes his batting gloves, takes 17 practice swings, looks around, adjust jersey, more practice swings, adjust cup, step in, tap plate, call time, redo, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.

 

It used to be that there were select players that took part in this ritual, now EVERYONE does this. EVERYONE. This wastes WAY more time than the 2-3-4 times per game that we might see a mid-inning pitching change. Do you need to unzip and re-tighten your batting gloves 5 times per at-bat when you didn't swing? I'd wager that you probably don't.

 

Brandon Belt had a 21 pitch at bat back in April and that took THIRTEEN MINUTES. That's absolutely ridiculous. I'm not a huge Brent Suter fan but I like watching the guy work. He gets the ball and he pitches.

[pacopete4]

 

Yes, this plan would improve the game tremendously.

 

Do I really need blue font? Good lord.

 

I think it would. To make the transition a little easier, one could start with the rule that every reliever either has to start an inning, finish an inning, or make 30 pitches.

 

While this wouldn't be as ideal as my first suggestion, it would at least eliminate the worst possible time wasting scenario where a reliever enters the game mid-inning (wasting 5+ minutes), gets one out, and then gets relieved for AGAIN (wasting another 5+minutes). Most of the time, not even beer is sold during this interlude, since it usually happens after last call.

 

 

The worst time waster in baseball is during every pitch, of every at bat, of every game. Pitch, batter steps out, undoes his batting gloves, takes 17 practice swings, looks around, adjust jersey, more practice swings, adjust cup, step in, tap plate, call time, redo, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.

 

It used to be that there were select players that took part in this ritual, now EVERYONE does this. EVERYONE. This wastes WAY more time than the 2-3-4 times per game that we might see a mid-inning pitching change. Do you need to unzip and re-tighten your batting gloves 5 times per at-bat when you didn't swing? I'd wager that you probably don't.

 

Brandon Belt had a 21 pitch at bat back in April and that took THIRTEEN MINUTES. That's absolutely ridiculous. I'm not a huge Brent Suter fan but I like watching the guy work. He gets the ball and he pitches.

 

There’s definitely truth to this. I hope they enforce the pitch clock. I also like the idea of a 20-25 pitch rule and/or you must face a certain number of batters (3?). Jim’s original post wasn’t to knock on last nights game to call it boring but there are aspects of how the game pace could and should be improved. It will only help the game out overall.

[JimH5]

The knitting woman says it all.

 

She knew there would be so much dead time at the sleepy old ballpark that she could crank out a blanket or two and not miss any action.

 

For reference, none of the games in the 1982 World Series or the ALCS took 3 hours and 19 minutes.

 

The Hank Aaron 715 game was played in 2:27.

The Bob Gibson 17K World Series game took 2:29.

The Roger Clemens 20K game vs the Mariners took 2:39.

 

All those games had drama and excitement and anticipation without the knitting.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I, for one, do not want to see pitchers have to throw a minimum number of pitches or face a minimum number of batters. I think the number of mid-inning pitching changes is probably over-stated, to some degree. If a pitcher comes in and gets a guy out on 2 pitches, should he have to face more batters because he's efficient? That doesn't make sense, honestly.

 

 

I could maybe see a ruling that limits a team to one or two mid-inning pitching changes per game, (barring injury), forcing a team into some strategic choices if they start swapping pitchers out early, but I don't like the idea at all of saying a pitcher has to face X number of batters or X number of pitches.

[jerichoholicninja]

Losing a couple thousand in attendance is pennies for the owners. They make their money off TV, radio, and internet. All these pitching rules and limits ideas are just stupid and make things harder for the casual fan to understand which would do way more damage to fan interest than LOOGY's could ever do.