2020-09-27: Brewers (Anderson) at Cardinals (Gomber) [Brewers lose, 5-2 -- Clinch spot in Postseason]

[yourout]

No reason for him to still be out there.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Well, offense is going to have be the bail-out crew today (if the Rays and Pads don't do the bailing out for them).

[TURBO]

This mess just takes me back to the decision not to pitch Williams here... If Williams comes in, do they score 0 or 1 run?

 

Hindsight and all that, but it makes you wonder what the game would look like now, had our manager made a different choice.

[RollieTime]

Horrible managing. Game was on the line right there. Williams should have been brought into the game to get strikeouts. Saving him and hoping for another guy to get out of that mess unscathed is way too much to ask for. Especially when our offense has been so embarrassing all season, you can’t risk it. The game already feels completely out of reach. The season was on the line and we didn’t use Williams or Hader.

[mtrebs]

Tips warming up in the biggest game of the season is not a good sign.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

The Williams stuff is true. And I agree. But I don't trust non-Williams pitchers to do mich for 6 innings...

[ReverendBrewmeister]

Peralta was not a horrible choice here. He's got a k/9 of 14.5, so it's not like he's a contact pitcher. I don't mind the questioning of the bullpen decision game, it's good clean fun, but it is not unreasonable to to have expected Peralta to do better in that spot than allowing a billion guys to get on.

 

I don’t disagree about Peralta’s K rate being a factor. But this would’ve seemed like a situation where you bring in a veteran pitcher who might have a bit of experience loosening up quickly and being called in unexpectedly. Maybe a Yardley to try to get out of the inning, while letting Peralta warm up for an inning and bring him in.

[TURBO]

I normally defend Counsell, but not putting Williams in there was inexcusable, to the point where I would be fine if Counsell wasn’t the manager next season.

 

It is up there with starting Mark Kotsay in CF in a play-off eliminating game... Seriously, did Counsell even think about Williams for one single second?

[adambr2]

I mean, did anyone really believe deep down that they weren't going to let us down again?

[RollieTime]

Counsell is not a big game manager. Just look at Hader last year in the Wild Card Game who clearly didn’t have it and he sat on his hands to let Hader blow it. Every single Brewers fan could see it. Fire Counsell.

[TURBO]

The Williams stuff is true. And I agree. But I don't trust non-Williams pitchers to do mich for 6 innings...

 

True, but it could have given us a clean slate at least. I know one thing for sure, had he brought in Williams, we wouldn't be down 4 runs.

[HarveysWBs]

I normally defend Counsell, but not putting Williams in there was inexcusable, to the point where I would be fine if Counsell wasn’t the manager next season.

 

Some of Williams' worst results this year have come against the Cardinals. He's giving up a .280 batting average and an .880 ops. Freddy, in a slightly smaller sample, had only allowed a .100 batting average and no earned runs. This is not the call you fire someone over.

[adambr2]

I normally defend Counsell, but not putting Williams in there was inexcusable, to the point where I would be fine if Counsell wasn’t the manager next season.

 

Some of Williams' worst results this year have come against the Cardinals. He's giving up a .280 batting average and an .880 ops. Freddy, in a slightly smaller sample, had only allowed a .100 batting average and no earned runs. This is not the call you fire someone over.

 

That's also not the kind of sample size you use to make a decision like that. That's nothing but statistical noise.

[MrTPlush]

Tampa Bay Rays just got out of a huge jam with the bases loaded. An error aided to the inning still going on to be put in the situation.

 

3-0 Rays

[TURBO]

Hopefully the long rest throws Gomber off a bit...

[Devinep]

I’ve seen enough of Counsell becoming Ken Macha for some reason

[TURBO]

Gyroko homer here would make us feel a little bit better.

[MrTPlush]

Ump blowing that strike call to Braun could quickly be a turning point in this game if we will have one.

[Underachiever]

Can’t come back if you don’t fall behind first. Molina with a PB

[mtrebs]

I normally defend Counsell, but not putting Williams in there was inexcusable, to the point where I would be fine if Counsell wasn’t the manager next season.

 

Some of Williams' worst results this year have come against the Cardinals. He's giving up a .280 batting average and an .880 ops. Freddy, in a slightly smaller sample, had only allowed a .100 batting average and no earned runs. This is not the call you fire someone over.

 

Making the wrong call to end consecutive seasons in must-win games (not putting Williams in now and leaving Hader in in the Wild Card game last year when he clearly didn’t have it) is worthy enough in my book. Good thing I’m not the GM I guess.

[mtrebs]

Need to get some runs in this situation if we want to have a chance.

[trwi7]

The fawning by Brewers announcers over Molina needs to stop. Immediately. It's awful.

[HarveysWBs]

I normally defend Counsell, but not putting Williams in there was inexcusable, to the point where I would be fine if Counsell wasn’t the manager next season.

 

Some of Williams' worst results this year have come against the Cardinals. He's giving up a .280 batting average and an .880 ops. Freddy, in a slightly smaller sample, had only allowed a .100 batting average and no earned runs. This is not the call you fire someone over.

 

That's also not the kind of sample size you use to make a decision like that. That's nothing but statistical noise.

 

This whole year is statistical noise. The idea that anyone--manager or player--is being meaningfully evaluated under the most bizarre circumstances in baseball history and the shortest season ever is a little hyperbolic. I know I'm arguing against emotional responses in an IGT, and that's on me, but I also tend to operate on the assumption that the people who do this for a living are not incandescently stupid and that there are reasons for their decisions. In fact, those decisions probably aren't even that Williams pitches the 8th forever and ever no matter what. I think the answers to these questions are way more nuanced and interesting, and that is what I want to puzzle out.

[Underachiever]

Legendary at-bat about to commence.

[mtrebs]

Could really use a Vogelbomb right now.