2019-06-26: Mariners (Carasiti) at Brewers (Houser) [Brewers lose, 4-2]

[Eye Black]

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Really excited to see Houser go tonight. Hopefully he is efficient enough to go 5 innings. I can't imagine his pitch limit is going to be anymore than 75 pitches.

 

The guy has an electric arm, and has been hitting upper 90s with solid breaking stuff and a full starter's arsenal of pitches. Really hoping he shows enough tonight to stay in the rotation.

[willie key]

Really excited to see Houser go tonight. Hopefully he is efficient enough to go 5 innings. I can't imagine his pitch limit is going to be anymore than 75 pitches.

 

The guy has an electric arm, and has been hitting upper 90s with solid breaking stuff and a full starter's arsenal of pitches. Really hoping he shows enough tonight to stay in the rotation.

 

Yes. The brewers need something good to happen. They need to win a series. And they need to find players they can count on going forward

 

Something. I feel for counsell this year. He’s really been stuck with a horrible hand

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Really excited to see Houser go tonight. Hopefully he is efficient enough to go 5 innings. I can't imagine his pitch limit is going to be anymore than 75 pitches.

 

The guy has an electric arm, and has been hitting upper 90s with solid breaking stuff and a full starter's arsenal of pitches. Really hoping he shows enough tonight to stay in the rotation.

 

Yes. The brewers need something good to happen. They need to win a series. And they need to find players they can count on going forward

 

Something. I feel for counsell this year. He’s really been stuck with a horrible hand

 

So happy that this horrible hand has them in playoff contention and one game out of 1st place in the Central.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Really excited to see Houser go tonight. Hopefully he is efficient enough to go 5 innings. I can't imagine his pitch limit is going to be anymore than 75 pitches.

 

The guy has an electric arm, and has been hitting upper 90s with solid breaking stuff and a full starter's arsenal of pitches. Really hoping he shows enough tonight to stay in the rotation.

 

Yes. The brewers need something good to happen. They need to win a series. And they need to find players they can count on going forward

 

Something. I feel for counsell this year. He’s really been stuck with a horrible hand

 

So happy that this horrible hand has them in playoff contention and one game out of 1st place in the Central.

 

I think it's become somewhat reasonable to take this with a grain of salt. The endless pessimism bugs me as much as anyone, but this team has a lot of warts. I do not see that "playoff contention" holding through September if there isn't serious change. I don't know what that change is, but we cannot have two former AS-quality guys batting below .200 and we cannot have 4/5 starters getting shelled in the first 2 innings at any given time.

 

Frankly, I am shocked they're still 5 over. It really feels like they should be more like 5 under. All the things the same, I really think CHC is running away with this as we get into crunch time. But I'm starting to feel like the sheer talent gap is too wide or just that the Brewers have too much going wrong to do what they did last year. The bullpen isn't good enough to carry the SP and there are just so many black holes on offense. Jimmy Nelson was something that could have helped but the guy just looks finished.

 

It feels like 2012 more each week. A good amount of firepower on offense but some black holes, and really nothing in the pitching dept.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

No grains of salt here. Yeah, the 2019 team has warts. 2018 team had a lot of them, too. There's a whole lot of season left, and this team has the talent to get over this bump in the road.

 

And yes, in a 162-game season, that's all this is ... a bump. In the end, the goal is to keep winning enough to stay in contention.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

That 2018 team was a lot better than this one. That doesn't mean this one can't have a better outcome in the end, but it's going to have overcome a lot more. Some expected regression of guys who had ridiculous years, some unexpected horrible regression of others, a big loss of Miley, Knebel going down. Chase Anderson was lightning rod because his arm fell off but still wound up with a 3.93 ERA. Lower than everyone but Davies right now.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

That 2018 team was a lot better than this one. That doesn't mean this one can't have a better outcome in the end, but it's going to have overcome a lot more. Some expected regression of guys who had ridiculous years, some unexpected horrible regression of others, a big loss of Miley, Knebel going down. Chase Anderson was lightning rod because his arm fell off but still wound up with a 3.93 ERA. Lower than everyone but Davies right now.

 

The 2018 team sat at 46-33 at this point last year. The 2019 team sits at 42-37 currently. It's a four game difference. The current team is playing pretty poorly right now, but are only one hot streak away from being on a similar pace to last year's squad.

 

I won't deny that there are reasons for concern, but to write off a team that is right in the thick of things record wise (despite the poor play recently), and has 83 more games to play this year, is hyperbole at best in my opinion.

[Eye Black]

Random stat: Yesterday was Seattle’s first win in inter-league play this season (they were 0-4). They were the last team in MLB to not have any wins against the opposing league. The Brewers are now 2-6 versus the American League this season.

[Brew crew 92]

This team is just taking longer to round into shape, as George Scott used to say, the cream will rise to the top.

 

I believe Cain Aguilar Shaw by the deadline will be closer to 2018 form than the first half abomination. And if not, Stearns will add a bat by trade and or call-up besides Hiura.

 

The pitching MOVING FORWARD will improve substantially with Houser and Gio stabilizing the starting staff. And the bullpen, i believe, will be shutdown by August, either thru improvements by Nelson, Burnes and or deadline acquisitions.

 

Remember > we have the best hitter in the world on our team, and the most dominant arm. This team WILL GET BETTER.

[adambr2]

I would have expected the 2019 team to be better than 2018 solely on the addition of Grandal, who is a massive upgrade at a position of weakness, plus a full year of Moustakas, plus full years of Burnes and Peralta and partial years of Hiura and Nelson.

 

So far, that obviously hasn't happened, but I don't know how we could look at the roster on paper and say we should get worse from 2018, at least coming into the year.

 

Our record doesn't concern me. The Cubs don't concern me. I don't care if we're in 1st by 2 games or behind the Cubs by 2 games, it's just not really relevant in June. We dominated the first half of the 2017 standings only to flail later, and trailed in September 2018 by 5 games only to come back and win it. I like seeing the Brewer flag fly at the top at Wrigley as much as anyone, but at this point the daily Cubs Watch gets old.

 

On a day to day basis, I don't really care if the Cubs win or lose. Come September, I'll care. Right now the big picture things for us are all that matter. Can Shaw rebound to his '17 and '18 form? Can Burnes and Peralta recapture what they were for us last year and finally emerge? Can Woodruff develop into a true workhorse ace? Is Nelson done? Is Houser the real deal? Can Aguilar find his way back to the hitter he was for us last year? Will Hiura take in this league from the start?

 

Those are the things that matter, and if they happen, or at least some of them happen, the standings will take care of themselves. If not, well, we probably aren't going anywhere.

[pacopete4]

I would have expected the 2019 team to be better than 2018 solely on the addition of Grandal, who is a massive upgrade at a position of weakness, plus a full year of Moustakas, plus full years of Burnes and Peralta and partial years of Hiura and Nelson.

 

So far, that obviously hasn't happened, but I don't know how we could look at the roster on paper and say we should get worse from 2018, at least coming into the year.

 

Our record doesn't concern me. The Cubs don't concern me. I don't care if we're in 1st by 2 games or behind the Cubs by 2 games, it's just not really relevant in June. We dominated the first half of the 2017 standings only to flail later, and trailed in September 2018 by 5 games only to come back and win it. I like seeing the Brewer flag fly at the top at Wrigley as much as anyone, but at this point the daily Cubs Watch gets old.

 

On a day to day basis, I don't really care if the Cubs win or lose. Come September, I'll care. Right now the big picture things for us are all that matter. Can Shaw rebound to his '17 and '18 form? Can Burnes and Peralta recapture what they were for us last year and finally emerge? Can Woodruff develop into a true workhorse ace? Is Nelson done? Is Houser the real deal? Can Aguilar find his way back to the hitter he was for us last year? Will Hiura take in this league from the start?

 

Those are the things that matter, and if they happen, or at least some of them happen, the standings will take care of themselves. If not, well, we probably aren't going anywhere.

 

Yeah but when is MA going to open up his wallet a bit?!?

[TURBO]

I think we can hope to get 3 or 4 innings tonight from Houser, anything beyond that might be wishful thinking...

 

Let's hope he has the goods to be one of our top 2 starters from here on out!!!

[KeithStone53151]

To adam's point above, I think if the FO was super concerned about losing ground in the standings right now, we'd see bigger changes in the infield right now. The fact that Shaw and Arcia are getting so much leash is probably in part due to their general comfort level with the talent. I don't agree with it, but that's probably part of their thought process.

 

As for the pessimism, it's way overblown I think. Right now, this is not a playoff team. But this team has also had so many guys significantly underperform already this year. I expected regression from Aguilar and Chacin, but I didn't expect them to go from all star to AAA caliber players. With the number of losses this team is racking up, we're getting close to a point where these massive regression guys need to bounce back...or we make some big changes. I hope the FO has a plan for it.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Define "better" in 2019. Even with a healthy Knebel and Grandal, I still assumed they'd win fewer games. Very high 80s or low 90s, due to increased competition and just the fact that most people can look at last year's numbers and see things wouldn't be the same. Jeffress and Hader being that perfect again? Aguilar and Shaw going for 70 homers? Those two going from AS quality to no business being in the majors, to me, has hurt the most. Part of the reason that Puig HR crushed me so badly was that I just kind of felt like the stars aligned for us last year. Great team, but they kept getting very fortunate. I mean they clinched the playoffs by a guy falling on his face with a clear path to home plate, lmao.

[HarveysWBs]

Define "better" in 2019. Even with a healthy Knebel and Grandal, I still assumed they'd win fewer games. Very high 80s or low 90s, due to increased competition and just the fact that most people can look at last year's numbers and see things wouldn't be the same. Jeffress and Hader being that perfect again? Aguilar and Shaw going for 70 homers? Those two going from AS quality to no business being in the majors, to me, has hurt the most. Part of the reason that Puig HR crushed me so badly was that I just kind of felt like the stars aligned for us last year. Great team, but they kept getting very fortunate. I mean they clinched the playoffs by a guy falling on his face with a clear path to home plate, lmao.

 

And the Dodgers didn’t even go on to win. We lost to the losers. The more distance I get from last year, the more I think the 2018 Crew was even less than a fart in the wind. So much optimism and hope from September on. Now I see cruelty and tenuousness.

 

I need a beer. Or a winning streak. Maybe both?

[KeithStone53151]

Aguilar and Shaw going for 70 homers? Those two going from AS quality to no business being in the majors, to me, has hurt the most.

 

This I believe is the key to the season. I think the strategy heading into the year was invest in offense to make up for mediocre starting pitching...and plug holes at the deadline. And really we have so many multi-inning options that our September/October baseball can be similar to last year. Heading into the season, FO could easily imagine 7 guys with 850 OPS or higher...and Yelich probably over 1000 OPS. In June, we have 4 guys over 800 OPS...all are LH hitters plus Grandal a switch. Braun, Cain, Aguilar...and then Shaw not getting it done.

[willie key]

Really excited to see Houser go tonight. Hopefully he is efficient enough to go 5 innings. I can't imagine his pitch limit is going to be anymore than 75 pitches.

 

The guy has an electric arm, and has been hitting upper 90s with solid breaking stuff and a full starter's arsenal of pitches. Really hoping he shows enough tonight to stay in the rotation.

 

Yes. The brewers need something good to happen. They need to win a series. And they need to find players they can count on going forward

 

Something. I feel for counsell this year. He’s really been stuck with a horrible hand

 

So happy that this horrible hand has them in playoff contention and one game out of 1st place in the Central.

 

 

Keep holding strong.

 

Im just messing with you.

[treego14]

No Keston tonight; no best-Brewers-team on the field tonight.

 

What is the point of all this nonsense?

[PinaMadness]

I fully expect to win the World Series this year.

[treego14]

I fully expect to win the World Series this year.

Mr. Stearns, I like your positivity! But, don't you have to play your best players?

[folly412]

So no roster changes at all while Perez starts another game at second, Cain is still out and still sore, and AAAAron Wilkerson is not only still on the roster but unavailable tonight?

[phnxcrew]

Not sure why I’ve seen arcia included in the teams issues unless you’re talking about bone headed plays this year he usually makes. A .700 OPS for a defense first SS is all that we need. Pitching! Pitching I say!

[BruisedCrew]

That 2018 team was a lot better than this one. That doesn't mean this one can't have a better outcome in the end, but it's going to have overcome a lot more. Some expected regression of guys who had ridiculous years, some unexpected horrible regression of others, a big loss of Miley, Knebel going down. Chase Anderson was lightning rod because his arm fell off but still wound up with a 3.93 ERA. Lower than everyone but Davies right now.

 

The 2018 team sat at 46-33 at this point last year. The 2019 team sits at 42-37 currently. It's a four game difference. The current team is playing pretty poorly right now, but are only one hot streak away from being on a similar pace to last year's squad.

 

I won't deny that there are reasons for concern, but to write off a team that is right in the thick of things record wise (despite the poor play recently), and has 83 more games to play this year, is hyperbole at best in my opinion.

 

They are one hot streak away from catching up to the pace of last year’s team, but then will need a torrid streak somewhere to keep pace. It’s hard to see a sustained hot streak, much less a torrid streak, unless there is dramatic improvement in the starting pitching. And it’s also hard to see where that dramatic improvement is going to come now that everyone except Woodruff seems to be backsliding.

 

The Brewers have won very few games in the last several weeks without a great start from Woodruff and/or two strong innings from Hader. It’s hard to win series with those limitations. Except for Hader, the rest of the bullpen is getting overused just trying to keep the constant early deficits from getting worse.

[timpep]

Not sure why I’ve seen arcia included in the teams issues unless you’re talking about bone headed plays this year he usually makes. A .700 OPS for a defense first SS is all that we need. Pitching! Pitching I say!

 

Maybe the issue with Arcia is that his defense isn't actually good enough for a defense first shortstop. At least based on most defensive metrics.