Yelich Responds (Cubs off day)

[pacopete4]

Per Adam McCalvy

Christian Yelich said he had been taking since Monday with Craig Counsell about a spot to get a game off and called Wednesday “a day we just needed to get some stuff squared away, and we did.” He called it “frustrating” and “ridiculous” that it became a thing on social media.

 

Yelich rarely gets frustrated, but Thursday was an exception because of "stuff I was getting throughout the day or walking around town. Having your competitiveness and your desire as an athlete called into question is, for sure, frustrating."

 

Congrats to Brewers fans for pissing off our best player? Do we win some sort of award for that? Between this, whining about Cubs fans in our park, and trying to fire Counsell whenever we lose a game... man it sure has been a disappointing season when looking at our fan base. I get it. We never win! Lol but some of this stuff, to me, is flat out ridiculous. If I’m a player thinking about signing here, this type of crap doesn’t make my decision too easy.

[adambr2]

Stuff like this happens with any fan base anywhere a competitive team exists, so I don't think it's going to dissuade anyone from signing here. And go on any team board and you're guaranteed that a share of them want to fire the manager. Has any Brewer fan outside of Kato Kaelin actually called for Counsell to be canned?

 

Brewer fans generally have a pretty decent reputation. Obviously, every fanbase does have bad apples and if there was crap being given to him by Brewer fans walking around town, that's unfortunate. But the whole thing on social media was started by some crappy Cubs radio site and 90%+ Brewer fans came to his defense.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I'm with you on this Brew4U. I understand the disappointment that he wasn't in the lineup in a big game, but the fans calling his character and commitment into question are absolutely ridiculous. I think it goes beyond "I'm wound up because they are a playoff contender" too. I get the feeling that this team just has a lot of fans that are just looking for things to harp on, so that if something bad does happen, they can turn out to be right.

 

Unfortunately, while it wasn't as bad as Brewers Twitter, the IGT here for that game wasn't devoid of that sort of sentiment either.

[coolhandluke121]

We've had some extremely petulant fans this year. I think it's kind of an embarrassment. The bullpen complaints are absurd, for example. Their creative use of the starters and bullpen milked a lot of extra wins out of a team that should probably only be a few games over .500 by run differential, but people think they would do better and have a right to complain because it didn't work well enough to sustain the best record in the NL all year? It would be laughable if it weren't so annoying.

 

It's the same as people whining about the offseason moves and all the outfielders. Chill and let someone who's infinitely more knowledgeable than you do their job. I'm okay with a lot of complaining if your suggestions routinely outperform the team's moves (I'm looking at you Bucks), but this is crazy. They might be the best-run organization in baseball considering how quickly they've turned a tanking small market team into this.

 

And the work Yelich has been putting in is awesome and surely has taken a toll. Of course a 2-day break is called for. Good lord.

[ThisIsMyCrew]

I'm with you on this Brew4U. I understand the disappointment that he wasn't in the lineup in a big game, but the fans calling his character and commitment into question are absolutely ridiculous. I think it goes beyond "I'm wound up because they are a playoff contender" too. I get the feeling that this team just has a lot of fans that are just looking for things to harp on, so that if something bad does happen, they can turn out to be right.

 

Unfortunately, while it wasn't as bad as Brewers Twitter, the IGT here for that game wasn't devoid of that sort of sentiment either.

 

More than likely the “fans” coming out and saying that stuff about Yelich....probably weren’t fans before last year. Sad to see.

[stoutdude04]

He played 55 games in a row or something...I mean, most people probably take a 'sick' day at work within that amount of time, yet those same people probably attack someone without even knowing the guy.

 

The in game thread from that day was ridiculous/embarrasing with the amount of people hammering the day off.

[pacopete4]

Here is the full article from jsonline if anyone is interested in the whole thing. Both Counsell and Yelich touch on in. CC even mentions the bullpen use towards the end.

 

Fans of every base have their crazies, no doubt. Just some of this stuff is a bit much for my liking.

[homer]

There were 15,000 no shows for the game yesterday.

[ThisIsMyCrew]

There were 15,000 no shows for the game yesterday.

 

Wow. That’s an insane amount! Thank you for the donation I suppose.

[tmwiese55]

I generally agree with Brew4u's sentiment here. This type of stuff makes us seem like the 'dumb fans' of other teams who don't see the big picture that smart baseball people (like most here are) tend to harp on. To a certain degree though it's just the nature of social media these days that everyone has a voice and loudest voice gets heard. Still, the second guessing, hindsight 20/20, and overall negativity has been on display here all year too among generally informed fans. We can all do better

[homer]

I think I'm exaggerating but paid attendance was 30K. Friday game in the heat of the pennant race? That's not that great even if every one of them showed up, IMO.

[rickh150]

Well, sitting Yelich is a bit of a head scratcher. If he was hurt or aching badly, sure, sit him. Give him the two days off and get him right. Yet, he still came off the bench in the 9th so how badly did he need this off day? If it's June, ok. In Sept., so badly that he still plays? And we had an off day the next day.

 

Plus the game was a huge game. Being down 2 or 4 with this little time left in the season- huge difference. I am fine with Brewers fans questioning this one. The ones questioning CC's every move? I have a tough time processing that. For me, I have only been upset with decisions a handful of times in his tenure.

 

Also love that more people are being vocal about their Cub fan hatred in Miller Park and the sell outs that put them in gravy seats. For all those who love to protect their financial gain by selling to Cubs fans, I'd love to hear your selling defense if we meet the Cubs in the NLDS. The reselling $ will be ridiculous sure, but leaving another option for Cubs fans to get in the door for playoff games is a whole new animal that screams something in between of traitor and lousy fan.

[tmwiese55]

I agree with questioning it initially. I did too with the preface of unless he has a nagging small injury thing. Then once they talk to the team it was exactly that, it wasn't general mental health day or scheduled maintenance day. he had a physical thing and they thought it best to give him a day. Done, move on. Then after that it got into bashing Perez in spite of the evidence to the contrary and Yelich's replacements go 2/4 with a 2 R HR plus Yelich gets used at a key time and gets a hit but still avoided playing D all day. Move on, it worked.

[JosephC]

I would have to agree with the disgruntled fans (although I really wasn't one of them), Yelich should be playing everyday down the stretch considering how close the Brewers are to the Cubs and how close they are to falling out of a wild card spot. Baseball players can whine about playing too many games in a row, but unlike the average worker they get several consecutive months off during the year. Not to mention they also get paid pretty well. Not to mention they are playing baseball, which would without question be by far the less physically grueling of the four major north American sports. Not to mention the Brewers had off August 13, August 16, August 23, August 27, September 6...so there was a stretch of 25 days there with 5 scheduled off days. Sure seems like that would be enough.

 

I totally agree that racial types comments, players getting things thrown at them, those types of behaviours are completely unacceptable. But for fans booing a guy that strikes out, or a writer criticizing a player for taking a day off, or a broadcaster lamenting that a team is paying an old washed-up player 20 million a year...that goes with the territory of being a professional athlete. Put on the big boy pants. If players don't like it, they can always find another line of work.

[Samurai Bucky]

Per Adam McCalvy

Christian Yelich said he had been taking since Monday with Craig Counsell about a spot to get a game off and called Wednesday “a day we just needed to get some stuff squared away, and we did.” He called it “frustrating” and “ridiculous” that it became a thing on social media.

 

Yelich rarely gets frustrated, but Thursday was an exception because of "stuff I was getting throughout the day or walking around town. Having your competitiveness and your desire as an athlete called into question is, for sure, frustrating."

 

Congrats to Brewers fans for pissing off our best player? Do we win some sort of award for that? Between this, whining about Cubs fans in our park, and trying to fire Counsell whenever we lose a game... man it sure has been a disappointing season when looking at our fan base. I get it. We never win! Lol but some of this stuff, to me, is flat out ridiculous. If I’m a player thinking about signing here, this type of crap doesn’t make my decision too easy.

Why are we surprised? Social media is our sounding board to complain about... well... everything. In the past before writing, the tongue was mightier than the sword. Then, it was the pen. Now it is the keyboard and smartphone.

 

[sarcasm]Now... I was going to mention something about the color scheme on the site...[/sarcasm]

[pacopete4]

I think I'm exaggerating but paid attendance was 30K. Friday game in the heat of the pennant race? That's not that great even if every one of them showed up, IMO.

 

Yeah, I just moved to the area and I would’ve figured the buzz for playoff baseball would have been the talk from just about everyone. Hasn’t been the case so far. A little disappointing on that end of things.

[coolhandluke121]

I would have to agree with the disgruntled fans (although I really wasn't one of them), Yelich should be playing everyday down the stretch considering how close the Brewers are to the Cubs and how close they are to falling out of a wild card spot. Baseball players can whine about playing too many games in a row, but unlike the average worker they get several consecutive months off during the year. Not to mention they also get paid pretty well. Not to mention they are playing baseball, which would without question be by far the less physically grueling of the four major north American sports. Not to mention the Brewers had off August 13, August 16, August 23, August 27, September 6...so there was a stretch of 25 days there with 5 scheduled off days. Sure seems like that would be enough.

 

I totally agree that racial types comments, players getting things thrown at them, those types of behaviours are completely unacceptable. But for fans booing a guy that strikes out, or a writer criticizing a player for taking a day off, or a broadcaster lamenting that a team is paying an old washed-up player 20 million a year...that goes with the territory of being a professional athlete. Put on the big boy pants. If players don't like it, they can always find another line of work.

 

It's pretty ridiculous to deny the physical toll playing professional baseball every day can have on a player.

[homer]

I think I'm exaggerating but paid attendance was 30K. Friday game in the heat of the pennant race? That's not that great even if every one of them showed up, IMO.

 

Yeah, I just moved to the area and I would’ve figured the buzz for playoff baseball would have been the talk from just about everyone. Hasn’t been the case so far. A little disappointing on that end of things.

 

It's weird. I see Brewer gear all over the state but it's almost like people are waiting for a big losing streak. I didn't get that sense back in 2008 or 2011. Maybe because the guys powering the team haven't been here all that long? I dunno.

[OldHeidelberg]

Every time I am in Milwaukee I am always struck by how Brewer crazy it is, of course that is usually Saturday night when all the fans spill into the east side bars after the game.

 

Kids are back in school, morning kickoff in Madison and Packer opener in GB tomorrow. Plus there may be a little activity burnout after a holiday weekend. 30k doesn't sound too surprising but you may be right about some fans expecting a collapse. I myself have just recently woke up to the fact that the schedule really favors some playoff baseball, they just need a modest win streak right now and everyone will realize there are fun times ahead.

[pacopete4]

I would have to agree with the disgruntled fans (although I really wasn't one of them), Yelich should be playing everyday down the stretch considering how close the Brewers are to the Cubs and how close they are to falling out of a wild card spot. Baseball players can whine about playing too many games in a row, but unlike the average worker they get several consecutive months off during the year. Not to mention they also get paid pretty well. Not to mention they are playing baseball, which would without question be by far the less physically grueling of the four major north American sports. Not to mention the Brewers had off August 13, August 16, August 23, August 27, September 6...so there was a stretch of 25 days there with 5 scheduled off days. Sure seems like that would be enough.

 

I totally agree that racial types comments, players getting things thrown at them, those types of behaviours are completely unacceptable. But for fans booing a guy that strikes out, or a writer criticizing a player for taking a day off, or a broadcaster lamenting that a team is paying an old washed-up player 20 million a year...that goes with the territory of being a professional athlete. Put on the big boy pants. If players don't like it, they can always find another line of work.

 

It's pretty ridiculous to deny the physical toll playing professional baseball every day can have on a player.

 

I’m always amazed at the number of fans that think these guys show up an hour before the game, slap on the uniform and go. It’s just not that way. These guys put a ton of time into their crafts. And 162 games in six months is a ton. Never understand that type of thinking.

[coolhandluke121]

I used to get the impression that a lot of Brewers fans were the casual type who loved to go to the stadium in summer and see some dingers. Given how much more important football is in the state, it would make sense that the average sports fan in Wisconsin might not appreciate the subtle excellence of this squad compared to the 2011 team.

 

It's like Bucks fans looking at box scores too much and overrating guys like Glenn, Sam, Redd, Jennings, Jabari, Henson, Villanueva, Mo, and even Ray - who was plenty good, but certainly not "best player on a contender" good as some fans made him out to be. Bucks fans don't seem to care that the 2004 team was better than most of the Ray/Glenn/Sam squads before Ford and KVH got hurt. So was the FTD team before Bogut got hurt. Those teams were built around better all-around play and less sensational scoring talent.

 

Bottom line, I think the Braun/Fielder combo, with secondary sluggers like Hart and Weeks, means more the average fan than the Yelich/Cain combo with judicious use of platoons and versatile depth. Throw in Greinke/Gallardo/Marcum/Wolf, as opposed to getting creative with your starters and the pen, and you can see why an average fan might think that 2011 team is better and this team is a fluke, even though certain imbalances and weaknesses (especially in terms of management) made the 2011 team just as vulnerable. It would be easy to argue that the 2011 team was more talented in a vacuum, but management is talent too.

[MrTPlush]

On an enjoyment level this team is incredibly low for their record. Their loses are often ugly due to various reasons and the wins are often not pretty either. This team also doesn’t tend to have nice winning streaks of fun baseball.

 

This team in an impressive collection of guys winning a lot more games than you would expect. That being said they don’t really look like a team destinedfor much postseason success.

 

I love watching a nice winning season, but compared to 2011 this team is not as fun to watch by a mile.

[3and2Fastball]

The casual Brewers fans continue to be an embarrassment. Yes I suppose they are no worse than the casual fans of any other team, but that doesn't lessen the embarrassment. Just my opinion.

[coolhandluke121]

On an enjoyment level this team is incredibly low for their record. Their loses are often ugly due to various reasons and the wins are often not pretty either. This team also doesn’t tend to have nice winning streaks of fun baseball.

 

 

To each his own. I get much more enjoyment from an "overachieving" team (in quotation marks because it's time to start recognizing defense and analytics and smart management as talent the same way we recognize it in guys like Braun and Fielder) than an underachieving team with more big-name, blue-chip talent. And make no mistake; the 2011 run notwithstanding, the Braun/Melvin era was definitely marked by consistent underachievement considering how much talent they had accumulated before Melvin took over.

[coolhandluke121]

 

It's pretty ridiculous to deny the physical toll playing professional baseball every day can have on a player.

 

I’m always amazed at the number of fans that think these guys show up an hour before the game, slap on the uniform and go. It’s just not that way. These guys put a ton of time into their crafts. And 162 games in six months is a ton. Never understand that type of thinking.

 

I figure the confusion comes from the fact that baseball doesn't have significant cardiovascular demands - as if losing your wind and getting sore knees from running around too much are the only sports activities that require periods of rest and recovery.