2021-05-26: Padres (Paddack) at Brewers (Lauer) [Brewers lose, 2-1 in 10 innings -- Lauer pitches a gem and hits a HR; offense fails again]

[Bulldogboy]

Are you not entertained?? As I said a few weeks back this team more than anything else is boring. Who in their right mind would pay good money to see these guys get 3-4 hits a night play ok D and run the bases terribly. Counsell also has never been asked why Hader keeps pitching the 9th when there is nobody on base and pitching scrubs in the 10th when a man on. It's not like they are likely to score so I just don't understand what we are doing here.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

One last thought for the night. This team is not fun to root for. We have longed for amazing pitching for years and finally have it. Now they cannot score. Give me the days where the offense had a puncher’s chance of coming back for entertainment purposes over the garbage we are watching currently. Attanasio has to know that most fans would rather watch the Packers drama unfold come July than this garbage continue on a nightly basis.

While I certainly don’t disagree, I’m not sure baseball on the whole is a very good product right now. It’s sort of amazing that we’re going to go through this dead ball situation coming off a year of pandemic-ball, and then we’ll get to follow contentious labor negotiations next offseason that will include the players being locked out in December and probably worse come the spring.

 

If you wanted to write a textbook on how to kill a sport I would recommend asking Rob Manfred to pen the foreword.

 

Yup. Baseball is a mess right now. And it will likely get worse before it gets better...

[SomewhereInTime]

One last thought for the night. This team is not fun to root for. We have longed for amazing pitching for years and finally have it. Now they cannot score. Give me the days where the offense had a puncher’s chance of coming back for entertainment purposes over the garbage we are watching currently. Attanasio has to know that most fans would rather watch the Packers drama unfold come July than this garbage continue on a nightly basis.

 

Beats watching blown 9th inning leads I guess.

[Warning Track Power]

One last thought for the night. This team is not fun to root for. We have longed for amazing pitching for years and finally have it. Now they cannot score. Give me the days where the offense had a puncher’s chance of coming back for entertainment purposes over the garbage we are watching currently. Attanasio has to know that most fans would rather watch the Packers drama unfold come July than this garbage continue on a nightly basis.

While I certainly don’t disagree, I’m not sure baseball on the whole is a very good product right now. It’s sort of amazing that we’re going to go through this dead ball situation coming off a year of pandemic-ball, and then we’ll get to follow contentious labor negotiations next offseason that will include the players being locked out in December and probably worse come the spring.

 

If you wanted to write a textbook on how to kill a sport I would recommend asking Rob Manfred to pen the foreword.

This is excellent. Everything about state of my favorite sport is terrible right now. While the economics of big market vs small have always been terrible, the product on the field is simply not enjoyable anymore. The sport has become a dumbed down version of what it used to be (e.g. sports version of a strategic chess match). It is simply terrible these days.

[FVBrewerFan]

Are you not entertained?? As I said a few weeks back this team more than anything else is boring. Who in their right mind would pay good money to see these guys get 3-4 hits a night play ok D and run the bases terribly. Counsell also has never been asked why Hader keeps pitching the 9th when there is nobody on base and pitching scrubs in the 10th when a man on. It's not like they are likely to score so I just don't understand what we are doing here.

 

No need to ask, because the answer is obvious. There is no 10th inning if you don't get through the 9th.

[GenoSeligPrieb]

I have maybe 5% confidence that something good will happen when these guys are at bat:

 

- JBJ

- Yelich

- Hiura

 

10% when they come up:

 

- Cain

- Vogelbach

- Shaw

 

That's WAY too many professional ballplayers who are psyched out before they even take a swing.

 

Can't fire all these players, but you CAN bring In a different voice to coach them.

 

Oh yeah, and Suter is good at crossing his eyes, somersaults on the mound, and acting foolish, and in his last 8 innings, he has given up 8 runs.

[SRB]

Hader was also used to face Tatis, Hosmer, and Myers. I think it was perfectly reasonable to use him there (rather than save him to face Caratini, Kim, and the pitcher's spot). The Padres had the luxury of saving their best RP because our entire lineup is terrible.

[rickh150]

More I watch, the more I wonder if Hader or agent has made a stink that he does not pitch 1+ anymore.... He had contract issues before, and it was strangely silent with him this offseason. Craig’s brilliance in the pen was centered around Hader pitching multiple innings or parts of innings to get a key lefty out. Now.... it’s the 9th no matter wha.

 

Throw in no bunt, no steal, and endless K’s to lead many fans to bemoan a ugly game, even a win they had to sit through.

[rickh150]

I have maybe 5% confidence that something good will happen when these guys are at bat:

 

- JBJ

- Yelich

- Hiura

 

10% when they come up:

 

- Cain

- Vogelbach

- Shaw

 

That's WAY too many professional ballplayers who are psyched out before they even take a swing.

 

Can't fire all these players, but you CAN bring In a different voice to coach them.

 

Oh yeah, and Suter is good at crossing his eyes, somersaults on the mound, and acting foolish, and in his last 8 innings, he has given up 8 runs.

 

He’s our 2021 version of Alex Claudio.

[Eye Black]

Hader was also used to face Tatis, Hosmer, and Myers. I think it was perfectly reasonable to use him there (rather than save him to face Caratini, Kim, and the pitcher's spot). The Padres had the luxury of saving their best RP because our entire lineup is terrible.

I think that’s a totally fair and valid point, but do we think Counsell would’ve actually saved Hader for the 10th even if the caliber of batters due up in each of those innings was completely flipped? I believe the only time Hader has pitched the 10th this year was when the Brewers were trailing headed into the 9th, but tied the game in the bottom of the 9th.

[Bulldogboy]

Are you not entertained?? As I said a few weeks back this team more than anything else is boring. Who in their right mind would pay good money to see these guys get 3-4 hits a night play ok D and run the bases terribly. Counsell also has never been asked why Hader keeps pitching the 9th when there is nobody on base and pitching scrubs in the 10th when a man on. It's not like they are likely to score so I just don't understand what we are doing here.

 

No need to ask, because the answer is obvious. There is no 10th inning if you don't get through the 9th.

This is nuts. You can't expect to get through the 10th when it starts with a man on second base with a scrub pitching. The scrub has a much better chance with nobody on base. This is a bad take and should be asked of Counsell.

[rickh150]

Are you not entertained?? As I said a few weeks back this team more than anything else is boring. Who in their right mind would pay good money to see these guys get 3-4 hits a night play ok D and run the bases terribly. Counsell also has never been asked why Hader keeps pitching the 9th when there is nobody on base and pitching scrubs in the 10th when a man on. It's not like they are likely to score so I just don't understand what we are doing here.

 

No need to ask, because the answer is obvious. There is no 10th inning if you don't get through the 9th.

This is nuts. You can't expect to get through the 10th when it starts with a man on second base with a scrub pitching. The scrub has a much better chance with nobody on base. This is a bad take and should be asked of Counsell.

 

Agreed..... logical, especially if scrub can be replaced with one out and two on in 9th (3 pitch rule).

[wallus]

Calling Suter a scrub is laughable. He would be on the pitching staff of every team in MLB.

[brewcrewdue80]

The reason to bunt is simple. Move runners out of a DP situation and a runner on 3rd can score on a deep enough fly ball, passed ball/wild pitch, soft ground balls that dont end with thrown out at plate. I think reading the thread Brewers batters could have been hbp on a cpl pitches. So wildness and a passed ball is a valid thought on scoring there. You just can't continue going 0, 1, and 2 for however many runners in scoring position night in and night out. Gotta be batting well below .100 with RISP in losses this season. Im sure theres a stat that says what it is in losses vs wins somebody could reply here or if anything in Brewers offense thread.

Could maybe agree on Hader being saved for the 10th as Im sure hes not available tomorrow. Suter gives up a run in 9th and Offense blows no Hader needed.

Hiura is 1 for 8 with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts on return. No improvement shown.

[owbc]

One last thought for the night. This team is not fun to root for. We have longed for amazing pitching for years and finally have it. Now they cannot score. Give me the days where the offense had a puncher’s chance of coming back for entertainment purposes over the garbage we are watching currently. Attanasio has to know that most fans would rather watch the Packers drama unfold come July than this garbage continue on a nightly basis.

While I certainly don’t disagree, I’m not sure baseball on the whole is a very good product right now. It’s sort of amazing that we’re going to go through this dead ball situation coming off a year of pandemic-ball, and then we’ll get to follow contentious labor negotiations next offseason that will include the players being locked out in December and probably worse come the spring.

 

If you wanted to write a textbook on how to kill a sport I would recommend asking Rob Manfred to pen the foreword.

This is excellent. Everything about state of my favorite sport is terrible right now. While the economics of big market vs small have always been terrible, the product on the field is simply not enjoyable anymore. The sport has become a dumbed down version of what it used to be (e.g. sports version of a strategic chess match). It is simply terrible these days.

 

Agree with all of this. And the kicker is that the Brewers don't even have elite pitching. It just feels like we do but the reality is that almost every team has good pitching. Our FIP is league average and we're not even in the top 10 in ERA.

 

It's going to be interesting to watch the next couple years unfold. If there's one positive from the current situation it's that the fans are going to be receptive to rule changes. I'm actually hoping that attendance and TV ratings plummet since it will help force change.

[rickh150]

Calling Suter a scrub is laughable. He would be on the pitching staff of every team in MLB.

 

Maybe. No way a given. Suter, in a high leverage situation pitching 88 to a bunch of righties, is just asking for trouble.

[BruisedCrew]

The reason to bunt is simple. Move runners out of a DP situation and a runner on 3rd can score on a deep enough fly ball, passed ball/wild pitch, soft ground balls that dont end with thrown out at plate. I think reading the thread Brewers batters could have been hbp on a cpl pitches. So wildness and a passed ball is a valid thought on scoring there. You just can't continue going 0, 1, and 2 for however many runners in scoring position night in and night out. Gotta be batting well below .100 with RISP in losses this season. Im sure theres a stat that says what it is in losses vs wins somebody could reply here or if anything in Brewers offense thread.

Could maybe agree on Hader being saved for the 10th as Im sure hes not available tomorrow. Suter gives up a run in 9th and Offense blows no Hader needed.

Hiura is 1 for 8 with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts on return. No improvement shown.

 

The reasons for not bunting are just as simple. The percentages of the bunt successfully moving the runners along are much lower than people seem to assume. For starters, today’s hitters are not good bunters, and today’s pitchers are hard to bunt against.

 

Also, even if the bunt is successful, the percentages of getting a runner in from third with less than two out are a lot lower than people seem to assume, especially in the age of 3 true outcomes. When you stack up those percentages, the probabilities point to letting hitters swing away in many situations. One of those situations is when the hitter after the player who would be bunting is a high strikeout candidate.

 

You can criticize modern players for not being able to bunt or put the ball in play, but I can’t criticize a manager for making moves that take the players’ skills into account.

[BruisedCrew]

I need someone. Anyone. To give me numbers as to why the contact play, infield in with no outs is a good idea

 

The play in the 10th inning last night is a perfect example of the value of a properly executed contact play. If Hiura had taken a good lead and broken right on contact, he would have scored easily. But by not getting a good lead or a good break, he was a dead duck. I have little doubt that a better (not necessarily faster) runner would have scored easily on that ball given that Cronenworth had to lunge just to make the play.

[Hopper]

Re: bunting - what is sad though, is that you could actually make the case that Manny Pina is the best hitter on the team right now (or maybe second behind Narvaez)

 

Garcia is probably the best hitter right now. Narvaez has been ice cold before his double last night.

[BruisedCrew]

Re: bunting - what is sad though, is that you could actually make the case that Manny Pina is the best hitter on the team right now (or maybe second behind Narvaez)

 

Garcia is probably the best hitter right now. Narvaez has been ice cold before his double last night.

 

By what time period are you measuring? A week, a month, the season?

 

In the Brewers offense, the gap between the “best” hitter and being ice cold is pretty small.

 

If I was looking for a hitter that I thought had the best chance to get a hit or advance a runner, right now I would probably pick Wong.

[yourout]

Re: bunting - what is sad though, is that you could actually make the case that Manny Pina is the best hitter on the team right now (or maybe second behind Narvaez)

 

Garcia is probably the best hitter right now. Narvaez has been ice cold before his double last night.

 

By what time period are you measuring? A week, a month, the season?

 

In the Brewers offense, the gap between the “best” hitter and being ice cold is pretty small.

 

If I was looking for a hitter that I thought had the best chance to get a hit or advance a runner, right now I would probably pick Wong.

 

+1...Most likely guy to put the ball in play with a chance for a hit.

[Sixtofan]

I am still bitter about Hiura’s horrible baserunning - I really need to let it go.