2019-08-01: Brewers (Anderson) at Athletics (Bailey) 2:37 PM CDT [Brewers lose, 5-3 -- Trent Grisham’s MLB Debut; Bullpen blows lead by allowing 4 runs over final 2 innings]

[willie key]

We kind of stink

[Jopal78]

But for beating up on the Pirates the Brewers would be a losing club.

[Eye Black]

This one hurts.

[mtsportsfan]

Over all our pitching stinks and was priority 1 at the deadline, but man our offence is pathetic . We can make mediocre pitches look like cy young. Homerun or nothing. It's seems to be this way for the most forever.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

This game was a microcosm of the Brewers' season. Offense not taking care of opportunities, and a bullpen that is on razor wire.

[adambr2]

Two steps forward and two steps back with this team, it continues to be that way the entire summer. Just when you think they might be starting to come out of it they have a couple bad losses and go right back into the ditch.

 

I don't see more than 85 wins out of this bunch. When it's August and you still don't even have a positive run differential...you probably are what you are.

[MoreTrife]

Really trash loss. Hader is underwhelming lately.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Ehh ... crappy loss, but tomorrow is a new day. Take out the trash at Wrigley this weekend, and all is forgiven.

[adambr2]

Really trash loss. Hader is underwhelming lately.

 

I tire a little of hearing the "he's the most valuable reliever in MLB and it's not close" statement.

 

He's great. But this is hyperbole. He's not perfect.

[owbc]

It's easier to score 2 runs on a walk+HR than it is to load the bases and hit a single.

 

This is like the urtext of sabermetrics.

 

This is true, and it sucks. Well, sabermetrics is what it is (it can't suck, it's just numbers)...it's the truth that sucks and makes for boring baseball.

 

Move the fences waaaayyy back and don't count foul balls as strikes. Might get contact back into the game.

 

It's infuriating that they have allowed the game to get so boring when there are easy solutions available. At the very least they need to make it easier to steal bases.

[Brewcrewin07]

All I ask for is one...just one 6 or 7 game winning streak the rest of the way...that could be enough right there. Start this weekend, please...wait...nevermind, Davies pitches tomorrow...not going to happen.

[yourout]

Just realised how poor Yaz batting average has been for the last 30 games.

Was hitting .211 for the last 30 games going into today.

Decent OBP though .360.

[Bulldogboy]

This game was a microcosm of the Brewers' season. Offense not taking care of opportunities, and a bullpen that is on razor wire.

Yep.

[Oxy]

All I ask for is one...just one 6 or 7 game winning streak the rest of the way...that could be enough right there. Start this weekend, please...wait...nevermind, Davies pitches tomorrow...not going to happen.

 

This is still true. Lots of time to get hot. Take at least 2/3 from the Cubs this weekend and all is well enough.

[phnxcrew]

Finding ways to lose....I would say the last two years we've been overachieving and this year is just averaging the situation out. I get the lack of talent and failure/ injuries with the pitching but the offense continually has no excuse. Stearns, I'm sure was relying on the offense to bail out the pitching and it simply hasn't been happening.

[Bulldogboy]

How long can they go with nobody besides Arcia who can play short?

[Oxy]

How long can they go with nobody besides Arcia who can play short?

 

Until he gets hurt? It's slightly annoying that it limits their ability to double switch for him, but with all the off days coming up it shouldn't be much of a concern unless he gets hurt in the first inning or something like that. I'm sure they'll remedy the situation before too long.

[Fear The Chorizo]

How long can they go with nobody besides Arcia who can play short?

 

Won't be that big of a risk if arcia keeps having 6 hit series...but they will need someone competent on the roster soon. With the off days built in for august, they may roll the dice until Sept roster expansion.

 

No good utility IF option on the bench could be a double switch problem late in games though

[BruisedCrew]

It just seems to me no team cashes In Fewer runners on third with zero or one out than Milwaukee

 

 

I believe they are the worst. Or they were. But that might have changed. At this point who cares. Our bullpen sucks

 

According to Baseball Reference the Brewers are the worst in the NL at scoring runners from third with less than 2 out. They have a success rate of about 42% compared to a league average of about 51% and a high of about 58% (Rockies).

[OldHeidelberg]

Ugh went to meet a friend in a bar for happy hour to watch the last couple of innings, after Hader walked the first batter I said "Hader is going to blow this", the ball was headed out of the park before I finished the sentence.

[willie key]

How long can they go with nobody besides Arcia who can play short?

 

We all dream of a team of Travis Shaw’s. (Sing that line to yellow submarine by the Beatles

 

1. Shaw Ss

2. Shaw 3b

3. Shaw C

4. Shaw 1b

5. Shaw 2b

6. Shaw Lf

7. Shaw Rf

8. Cain Cf

9. Shaw P

[JosephC]

Anybody else getting slightly (just slightly) concerned about Hader? More and more he seems to be becoming a high fastball one-trick pony. Granted, that one-trick is really good, but I think more and more that the good hitters are going to catch up with that. Hitters seem to be having little trouble with fastballs that he gets down in the zone. He's now up to giving up 1.9 HR/9 which is a concerning number for a late inning reliever. HR/FB percentage is above 20%, and I don't think that's a flukey number with as many high fastballs that he throws, and his GB% is so low that it almost looks like a misprint. Last year he was throwing sliders over 20% of the time, but so far this year he's been at 88+% fastballs.

[mtrebs]

Anybody else getting slightly (just slightly) concerned about Hader? More and more he seems to be becoming a high fastball one-trick pony. Granted, that one-trick is really good, but I think more and more that the good hitters are going to catch up with that. Hitters seem to be having little trouble with fastballs that he gets down in the zone. He's now up to giving up 1.9 HR/9 which is a concerning number for a late inning reliever. HR/FB percentage is above 20%, and I don't think that's a flukey number with as many high fastballs that he throws, and his GB% is so low that it almost looks like a misprint. Last year he was throwing sliders over 20% of the time, but so far this year he's been at 88+% fastballs.

 

Yes, but it doesn’t help that he has been the only reliable reliever. If you are counted on for every important situation because there’s no one else, you are going to start failing at some point.

[Bulldogboy]

Anybody else getting slightly (just slightly) concerned about Hader? More and more he seems to be becoming a high fastball one-trick pony. Granted, that one-trick is really good, but I think more and more that the good hitters are going to catch up with that. Hitters seem to be having little trouble with fastballs that he gets down in the zone. He's now up to giving up 1.9 HR/9 which is a concerning number for a late inning reliever. HR/FB percentage is above 20%, and I don't think that's a flukey number with as many high fastballs that he throws, and his GB% is so low that it almost looks like a misprint. Last year he was throwing sliders over 20% of the time, but so far this year he's been at 88+% fastballs.

 

Yes, but it doesn’t help that he has been the only reliable reliever. If you are counted on for every important situation because there’s no one else, you are going to start failing at some point.

True. The magic of Hader was he could pop up at any time well rested and blow people up. Now you know when he's coming. Back to back games it all makes him just another closer type but one who basically has one pitch. The Knebel Jeffress Hader pen made him a dangerous cat. Now not so much.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Knebel was a devastating injury. They're not winning 96 with him or anything, but it changed the whole complexion of this team. Imagine if you had him just to spell Hader sometimes or if you just stuck him out there as a traditional closer. I don't know what his WAR would've been but I truly believe there are a handful or so of games this year where he could've turned the tide.