2018-10-20 (NLCS Game #7): Dodgers (Buehler) at Brewers (Chacín) 7:09 PM CDT [Brewers lose, 5-1 -- 2018 Season Comes to a Close]

[bucks2281]

Guys, the stars aligned this year. We are going to rue this game for a long time.

[Pugger]

One game at home to get to the World Series for the first time since 1982. What does the offense do?

 

1 run scored. 7 hits. No walks. 14 strikeouts.

 

Pathetic. Sorry, just pathetic.

No walks. Wow. All the pressure on a rookie starter and they never even made him sweat.

 

That pitcher of theirs is gonna be a good one.

 

I hope there is a change in our hitting coach. The approach by a lot of our guys left a lot to be desired all season and it came home to roost big time tonight.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

In the end the acquisition of Schoop not panning out was a killer. If the guy just did what he did before he came all of the issues with lefties may be softened. It really was a killer.

 

Yes, of all of the moves by Stearns this one was the one that backfired. Is Schoop returning in 2019? We should have gone for a starting pitcher instead.

 

I can't see him coming back. He's the opposite of the type of hitter they need to sustain this offense. I've seen enough undisciplined hackers this year to last a lifetime. It's can't be Cain, Yelich and then a bunch of "all-or-nothing" again next year.

[Ennder]

It has probably been mentioned in the IGT earlier but I don't understand what Jeffress or Cedeno have shown in the last 2-3 weeks to make you think that is who you go with in the high leverage situation of a Game 7!

 

If the logic of the game is to use Hader in the 3rd, then the next pitchers in have to be Knebel & Woodruff after that. I put this squarely on Counsell for messing up this game. You can argue all you want that the Brewers only got 1 run so it doesn't matter, but the reality is that a 2-1 game puts a lot more pressure on the Dodgers than a 5-1 game.

 

Counsell ended up getting only one inning from Knebel in a Game 7. That is unexcuseable.

 

I think CC panicked and put Hadar in waaayyyy to soon. Chacin didn't have it but we had other options out there in the 3rd. I would have put Woodruff or Davies or anyone else in there instead and saved Hader for later on.

 

I think this opinion has no merit in fact. Hader pitching innings 7-9 makes no difference compared to 3-5. IN fact he actually got a key LH out of the lineup which only helped the team in the long run. Hader's usage had 0 impact on this game and to think otherwise really makes no sense at all.

[adambr2]

Hader going in early was fine. He did his job and pitched 3 clean innings, it didn't really matter when those innings were. We did not give him any run support at all, that was the problem.

[NievesNoNO]

I agree, there's a lot to be optimistic about but losing at home in a game 7, regardless of opponent and situation is super disappointing. It was all right there for the taking.

 

Starting pitching still matters.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Don't blame Jeffress. The game was over as soon as Bellinger went yard in the 2nd. It's the offense.

 

Win as a team...lose as a team. It's not offense, it's not a single player, it's not a single coach, or a single decision. They had opportunities as a team and just came up short. No blame or finger pointing needed.

 

Yep ... I think we gotta give some credit to the Dodgers too. They just beat the hottest team in baseball mainly by beating the team's strongest group, the bullpen. That was very impressive.

 

Yeah, but that was going to happen considering the offense scored 3, 1, 2, and 1 runs in their losses...

 

The Game 4 offensive debacle, scoring 1 run in that spot off a combination of the Dodger's #4 starter and entire bullpen when the Brewers' pen basically pitched a shutout for 12+ innings to give you a chance to take a 3-1 series lead, was what completely turned the tide in the series from an offensive standpoint. The top of the order never really got it going consistently enough to avoid getting shut down for prolonged stretches. Part of it is the nature of the beast come playoff time - good pitching is damn tough to score on - but to go all the way in baseball you need to find that well-balanced offensive approach over the course of 7 game series.

[3and2Fastball]

In the end the acquisition of Schoop not panning out was a killer. If the guy just did what he did before he came all of the issues with lefties may be softened. It really was a killer.

 

Yes, of all of the moves by Stearns this one was the one that backfired. Is Schoop returning in 2019? We should have gone for a starting pitcher instead.

 

I can't see him coming back. He's the opposite of the type of hitter they need to sustain this offense. I've seen enough undisciplined hackers this year to last a lifetime. It's can't be Cain, Yelich and then a bunch of "all-or-nothing" again next year.

 

I can't bring myself to get too into "next year" just yet, but if Keston Hiura turns out to be legit, he'll be a hitter who makes consistent contact similar to Cain & Yelich. Agree we need more of those types

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Guys, the stars aligned this year. We are going to rue this game for a long time.

 

Not this game, but Game 2 and Game 4, yeah. I can't do the "great memories were made", "good job guys!" thing. Just can't. We are known for losing and we lost again. We should have won this series. The crowning achievement will be game 163, the rest of this will largely be forgotten. It's an '08, '11. An insignificant blip.

[rickh150]

If I'm Craig Counsell, I'm pulling the team out of the dugout while the Dodgers are celebrating, and making them watch it.

 

Then, I'm handing every hitter a bat...pitchers, too, and we start working on bunting until the sun comes up. I learned how to bunt in little league, and the fact that this team can't advance a runner to save their life is embarrassing for a bunch of Major Leaguers. It's a bunt that made the first home run a 2-run blast, and not a solo shot to tie the game. And it was Manny Machado, a Hall of Fame caliber power hitter that did it. Think Aguilar, or Shaw, or Moustakas could do that? LOL.

 

This team needs to go back to the basics. You cannot go up there hacking at every pitch at your eyes, or bouncing in the dirt, hoping to jack it over the wall. And that happened way, way, way, way too much in this series.

 

 

There is almost no situation in baseball where a major league hitter bunting helps your chances to score a run unless you have a really fast runner and an elite bunter. This has nothing to do with why we lost.

 

Disagree. Bunting has its place. Getting a guy to 2nd or 3rd with a bunt, especially with a pitcher or low OBP guy to turn the lineup over, is needed especially when top notch pitching is on the hill. For the big inning, no, bunting has no place, I'll agree with you. You are talking about one run. Having a contact hitter or three on your bench to hit the ball when a guy is at 3rd has its place, as well. In Game 7, I agree with you. It's not why we lost.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

Guys, the stars aligned this year. We are going to rue this game for a long time.

 

Not this game, but Game 2 and Game 4, yeah. I can't do the "great memories were made", "good job guys!" thing. Just can't. We are known for losing and we lost again. We should have won this series. The crowning achievement will be game 163, the rest of this will largely be forgotten. It's an '08, '11. An insignificant blip.

 

Hey now. We can put up another Division Title Pennant.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

Guys, the stars aligned this year. We are going to rue this game for a long time.

 

Not this game, but Game 2 and Game 4, yeah. I can't do the "great memories were made", "good job guys!" thing. Just can't. We are known for losing and we lost again. We should have won this series. The crowning achievement will be game 163, the rest of this will largely be forgotten. It's an '08, '11. An insignificant blip.

 

Hey now. We can put up another Division Title Pennant.

[TJH123]

The offense is to blame for this, plain and simple. You can pick apart little decisions from Counsell that didn’t really have much impact on the result but the offense crapped the bed in multiple games this series. They wasted an unbelievable performance from the brewers pitching and namely the bullpen with their terrible hitting approaches. Some of that is definitely attributed to the Dodgers pitching but not all of it. Offense blew it. Now we all have to sit here and think about it until April.

[TJH123]

Do whatever it takes to get Paul Goldschmidt, bring up Keston Hiura, who very hopefully pans out, get rid of Aguilar, get rid of Schoop, and this offense should be way more efficient. Not sure about Moustakas. Arcia needs to take that mojo into 2019

[bucks2281]

Guys, the stars aligned this year. We are going to rue this game for a long time.

 

Not this game, but Game 2 and Game 4, yeah. I can't do the "great memories were made", "good job guys!" thing. Just can't. We are known for losing and we lost again. We should have won this series. The crowning achievement will be game 163, the rest of this will largely be forgotten. It's an '08, '11. An insignificant blip.

 

Well said. I have no doubts that the Brewers will be a very good team for years to come. But they’re not the Indians. They play in a tough division with a big payroll team. The Brewers played their butts off to avoid the cruel whims of a one game Wild Card playoff this year (which is to be applauded), but I fear 2018 was the best chance to play themselves into a World Series and they frankly blew it.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I give any who can think about free agency and trades right now credit. I can't even stomach next season. The odds of this run happening again are slim to nil. It is impressive we did this twice in eight years imo. But right now it just feels like it will never be enough.

[Boomer5]

I agree, there's a lot to be optimistic about but losing at home in a game 7, regardless of opponent and situation is super disappointing. It was all right there for the taking.

 

Starting pitching still matters.

 

That would be fine if we had those but we don’t. At least not WS caliber starters. No one is going to take you seriously if you are trotting out Chacin and especially Gio in a championship series. That’s why Counsel had to get creative with the hand he was dealt.

 

Had the offense been even averag it would have worked too.

[MadThinker88]

Do whatever it takes to get Paul Goldschmidt, bring up Keston Hiura, who very hopefully pans out, get rid of Aguilar, get rid of Schoop, and this offense should be way more efficient. Not sure about Moustakas. Arcia needs to take that mojo into 2019

 

I doubt the Crew can get Goldy (a worthy target) without trading away Hiura. There isn't enough other top talent on the farm to make that deal.

[Boomer5]

Guys, the stars aligned this year. We are going to rue this game for a long time.

 

Not this game, but Game 2 and Game 4, yeah. I can't do the "great memories were made", "good job guys!" thing. Just can't. We are known for losing and we lost again. We should have won this series. The crowning achievement will be game 163, the rest of this will largely be forgotten. It's an '08, '11. An insignificant blip.

 

Well said. I have no doubts that the Brewers will be a very good team for years to come. But they’re not the Indians. They play in a tough division with a big payroll team. The Brewers played their butts off to avoid the cruel whims of a one game Wild Card playoff this year (which is to be applauded), but I fear 2018 was the best chance to play themselves into a World Series and they frankly blew it.

 

Agreed. This was a magical run by one of the greatest managerial jobs I’ve ever seen but next year will be a real challenge without major changes to the offense.

[Boomer5]

Do whatever it takes to get Paul Goldschmidt, bring up Keston Hiura, who very hopefully pans out, get rid of Aguilar, get rid of Schoop, and this offense should be way more efficient. Not sure about Moustakas. Arcia needs to take that mojo into 2019

 

No scenario allows for acquiring PG without giving up Hiura. We shot our bullets this year.

[Fear The Chorizo]

The Brewers reached the NLCS primarily on the backs of a quality bullpen, solid defense, and an otherwordly 2nd half from Yelich - plus other key bats were seemingly getting hot at the right time.

 

The Brewers lost the NLCS in 7 games because their offense didn't come through nearly enough when it mattered most - that includes Yelich, who was decent but not a difference maker. Seeing the bats behind him in the order largely struggle made it even worse considering Yelich still got on base enough with walks...would've been great to get to the World Series to give a guy like Santana DH at bats and then watch how Boston would have to modify their lineup to try and get key bats in an NL park if the pressure was on, but the Brewers would have needed to truly shock the world in order to beat the Red Sox 4 times in 7 games.

[homer]

Frankly I think this team achieved as much as it possibly could have without a few additional lucky bounces going their way. They reached their ceiling and that's really impressive.

[Pugger]

Don't blame Jeffress. The game was over as soon as Bellinger went yard in the 2nd. It's the offense.

 

Yep ... 2-1 or 5-1, doesn't matter. You can't generate offense, you lose. The pitching carried this team this far. The offense choked in this series.

 

I can blame Jeffress. 2-1, the Brewers still feel like they have a fighting chance, and the crowd is still in it. 5-1, the crowd is silenced, the air is sucked out of Miller Park, and the team is dejected.

 

There's a world of difference between being one swing of the bat from tying it up, and needing a grand slam to tie it (because we really suck at small ball, for the most part). Jeffress serving up a gopher pitch to Puig was the knife in the back. And he's done it time and time again.

 

If I'm a Brewer player, I don't know if I can look the guy in the eye in the lockerroom. Hes put them behind the 8-ball too much.

 

When your offense stinks at times like ours did this year your pitching has to be damn near perfect and frankly that's asking a hell of a lot from our great bullpen. Maybe these Brewer players you speak of in your post here should APOLOGIZE to guys like JJ for not supporting them by scoring more than one freaking run in the biggest game of the season.

[Bulldogboy]

Guys, the stars aligned this year. We are going to rue this game for a long time.

So true. This happens as often as an eclipse. There is no reason to believe this will happen again soon. In this market you have to take advantage of this kind of opportunity. Too bad.

[Ennder]

Disagree. Bunting has its place. Getting a guy to 2nd or 3rd with a bunt, especially with a pitcher or low OBP guy to turn the lineup over, is needed especially when top notch pitching is on the hill. For the big inning, no, bunting has no place, I'll agree with you. You are talking about one run. Having a contact hitter or three on your bench to hit the ball when a guy is at 3rd has its place, as well. In Game 7, I agree with you. It's not why we lost.

 

 

You are simply wrong. A runner on 2nd with no outs vs a runner on 3rd with 1 out is a 4% increase in a chance to score a single run. The odds with a runner on 1st vs runner on 2nd are similar. So you have to be successful with the bunt over 90% of the time for it to be a valid strategy. It is extremely rare for this to be the case. Bunting in the current game of baseball is a huge mistake unless you have a pitcher up or an elite bunter up.