Article: Three Bad Decisions Sunk the Brewers' Playoff Run

[Tim Muma]

Countless decisions go into a Major League offseason, and even more occur once Opening Day commences. For the Milwaukee Brewers, three costly decisions played the most significant role in their failure to reach the playoffs in 2022.

 

Sometimes sound judgments are made, but things don't work out. It happens on a small scale game during games (such as when to bring in a certain reliever) and on a larger scale with personnel decisions. Other times, people make foolish choices. It appears both types consistently burned the 2022 Brewers throughout the season.

Regardless, MLB is a results-oriented business, so no moral victories exist. Three of the calls and outcomes that didn't go the Brewers' way had the greatest impact on a disappointing season that ended short of the playoffs.

ANDREW MCCUTCHEN FREE AGENT SIGNING

It has often been said that a one-year contract carries no risk. That isn't entirely true, especially when a team like the Brewers apparently have a limited budget. Signing Andrew McCutchen to a one-year, $8.5 million didn't break the bank, but it did burn Milwaukee. 

As the one major free agent move, the Brewers made, relying on a 35-year-old to repeat his 2021 performance was fool's gold. Therein laid the risk, counting on an aging veteran with no complementary move to cover a potential slide - which is what happened. McCutchen murdered lefties in 2021, then fell flat on his face against southpaws with the Brewers.

You can see why David Stearns was intrigued, but it turned out to be a harmful move. It's almost hard to believe how far McCutchen's numbers dipped against left-handers. Was it bad luck? Was it predictable that Cutch wouldn't come close to matching his huge season versus lefties at age 35? Perhaps the problem was manager Craig Counsell using McCutchen too often against righties. While McCutchen's numbers improved slightly versus righties, Counsell gave him 35 more plate appearances (and counting) this year after two sub-.700 OPS in the past couple of years. That may have worn him down unnecessarily and hurt his performance against lefties.

Technically, the Brewers' offense was statistically better this season, but they were frustratingly inconsistent and benefited from a DH in 2022. With McCutchen in the DH role for more than 60% of his plate appearances, he wasn't close to good enough. Maybe it was telling no other MLB clubs went after him - at least at that price. Perhaps if the Brewers paid McCutchen only $5 million, they would have had some leftover funds for another player to impact the team positively.

PLANNING TO RELY ON ETHAN SMALL

Now the 12th-rated prospect in Milwaukee's system, the Brewers thought Small was ready to contribute to the big league club in 2022. Counsell expressed in Spring Training that the 25-year-old hurler earned time with the Brewers.

 

Craig Counsell this morning, ahead of Small's start against the Dodgers: "Ethan Small is going to make starts for us this year. The way he's going right now, he's gonna make starts for us. You still have to earn yourself into that conversation. And he has done that."

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) March 18, 2022

 

Small made exactly two starts with Milwaukee: 6.1 IP, five earned runs (7.11 ERA), seven strikeouts, eight walks, and a 2.526 WHIP. In a season that saw 18 fewer starts from Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, and Adrian Houser due to injuries, Milwaukee needed another quality arm to step up. Small was supposed to be that guy.

One problem was that Stearns and company didn't plan a fail-safe. In past seasons, they signed guys like Brett Anderson, who could at least offer a reliable amount of average outings to keep the team in games. Instead, unknown Jason Alexander took the hill for 11 starts. He owned a 4.82 ERA in those starts but had a fair amount of blowup games that not only put the Brewers behind but caused them to burn through bullpen arms.

It was a double whammy. On the one hand, the Brewers misevaluated Small, whose lack of command grew worse in 2022 (5.1 walks per nine innings). On the other hand, Milwaukee had no other young pitchers or veteran hurlers ready to take the ball when injuries predictably struck. That significantly impacted Milwaukee's decline in run prevention and the tax on the bullpen that imploded in the second half.

TRADE DEADLINE DEALS AND NO DEALS

I'm not here to blame all things on the trading of Josh Hader. It certainly took an emotional and mental toll on the club for a while after the move, but it was not the only problem with the Brewers' trade deadline. Milwaukee also struggled before August 2, but they had won six of eight games leading up to the trade to hold a three-game lead in the NL Central. The events at the trade deadline move them backward instead.

Hader was a hot mess before the shocking deal with the San Diego Padres and struggled initially in his new threads, but lately, his luck has turned. In his last 10 outings (9.1 innings), Hader has 13 strikeouts and one walk while giving up zero earned runs on four hits. Whatever he was going through, he has figured it out just in time to push San Diego to the playoffs and give them confidence in his arm in October.

Meanwhile, Stearns' three acquisitions to "replace" Hader went in the wrong direction. Trevor Rosenthal got hurt (after recovering from another injury) and never pitched for the Brewers. Matt Bush came from the Texas Rangers with a 2.95 ERA and 1.2 HR/9, only to post a 4.30 ERA and 2.3 HR/9 in Milwaukee. The third piece, who came over in the Hader deal, was lefty Taylor Rogers. He had some issues in San Diego, but things got worse with the Brewers, producing a 5.73 ERA and 2.5 HR/9 (0.2 HR/9 with the Padres). Bush and Rogers were at the heart of Milwaukee's bullpen issues and homer-happy problems that gutted the Crew on far too many occasions during the season's final two months.

As for the offense at the deadline, not one move was made. Despite an offense with positions needing an upgrade and a lineup that continued to struggle against left-handed pitching, Stearns failed to acquire even one bat. Yes, it takes two teams to tango, and the price for certain players may have been too high in Stearns' mind. That doesn't excuse failing to improve the lineup or depth, especially with an offense that relies on matchups. Plus, trading for a bat may have counteracted the Hader trade and showed the remaining players, "we're still going for it this season." We'll never know what another option in the lineup could have meant for the club, physically and mentally.

And considering the decline in the starting rotation's overall performance - as well as the injuries that hampered them - it was negligent to fail to acquire some type of help there, either. There are always veteran pitchers with expiring contracts that could be had, including someone like the Brewers' favorite nemesis, Jose Quintana, who went to the St. Louis Cardinals instead. It was an overall failure to replace the club's lost production from 2021.

It took a total team effort to miss out on one of six playoff spots in the NL. However, these three decisions had the most immense impact on the first non-playoff season since 2017 for the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

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[sveumrules]

If the pitching performs up to expectations, the Brewers still make the playoffs even with McCutchen being predictably mediocre, Small not seizing his opportunity & the lackluster deadline.

In 2021, the pitching staff posted 26.4 rWAR, 3rd in MLB.

This year they’ve posted 14.9 rWAR, 14th in MLB, a drop off of over 11 wins.

From 2018-21 the bullpen went 148-86 with that .629 W% ranking second behind only the Dodgers.

This year they went 35-31. Had they performed at 2018-21 levels that is an extra 6-7 wins.

[sveumrules]

If the pitching performs up to expectations, the Brewers still make the playoffs even with McCutchen being predictably mediocre, Small not seizing his opportunity & the lackluster deadline.

In 2021, the pitching staff posted 26.4 rWAR, 3rd in MLB.

This year they’ve posted 14.9 rWAR, 14th in MLB, a drop off of over 11 wins.

From 2018-21 the bullpen went 148-86 with that .629 W% ranking second behind only the Dodgers.

This year they went 35-31. Had they performed at 2018-21 levels that is an extra 6-7 wins.

[Tim Muma]

1 hour ago, sveumrules said:

If the pitching performs up to expectations, the Brewers still make the playoffs even with McCutchen being predictably mediocre, Small not seizing his opportunity & the lackluster deadline.

In 2021, the pitching staff posted 26.4 rWAR, 3rd in MLB.

This year they’ve posted 14.9 rWAR, 14th in MLB, a drop off of over 11 wins.

From 2018-21 the bullpen went 148-86 with that .629 W% ranking second behind only the Dodgers.

This year they went 35-31. Had they performed at 2018-21 levels that is an extra 6-7 wins.

Yes...I've written about the pitching and it is clear that is the major failing. HOWEVER, an organization should not just assume things will go the same way year after year. Last season, the Brewers were quite fortunate to avoid injuries to their starting pitching, also. The old adage of "if you're not getting better, you're getting worse," is very true, because it's almost unheard of to have the exact same success from the same people each season.

So the point is, the Brewers failed to shore up potential issues, first before the season, then during the season with the deadline...when they already saw what was happening. You can say they "tried" with Bush and Rogers, which is fine, but that failed. And they didn't acquire a bat or a starting pitcher, either.

[Tim Muma]

1 hour ago, sveumrules said:

If the pitching performs up to expectations, the Brewers still make the playoffs even with McCutchen being predictably mediocre, Small not seizing his opportunity & the lackluster deadline.

In 2021, the pitching staff posted 26.4 rWAR, 3rd in MLB.

This year they’ve posted 14.9 rWAR, 14th in MLB, a drop off of over 11 wins.

From 2018-21 the bullpen went 148-86 with that .629 W% ranking second behind only the Dodgers.

This year they went 35-31. Had they performed at 2018-21 levels that is an extra 6-7 wins.

Yes...I've written about the pitching and it is clear that is the major failing. HOWEVER, an organization should not just assume things will go the same way year after year. Last season, the Brewers were quite fortunate to avoid injuries to their starting pitching, also. The old adage of "if you're not getting better, you're getting worse," is very true, because it's almost unheard of to have the exact same success from the same people each season.

So the point is, the Brewers failed to shore up potential issues, first before the season, then during the season with the deadline...when they already saw what was happening. You can say they "tried" with Bush and Rogers, which is fine, but that failed. And they didn't acquire a bat or a starting pitcher, either.

[NBBrewFan]

1. I don't think the decision to sign McCutcheon was a bad one.  The decision to trot him out almost every day,no matter how bad he performed, was the bad decision. He also should have been platooned, but in CC's mind Cutch was the platoon for McCutcheon. Just horrible decision making during the season.

2. I don't think they relied on Small that much.  They were hesitant to promote him due to not improving enough at AAA.  Ashby was the primary depth for SP and he struggled, then with mutlitple injuries they had LindBOOM sitting at Nashville and Alexander and Small as the "depth".  They went with 2 of the 3 and Alexander was successful initially and Small not.  I'm glad they didn't even try LindBOOM, but when Alexander was struggling they went waiver wire/FA dumpster diving for the likes of Chi Chi Rodriguez.  I get they don't have the $$$ for depth, but with Gasser they might have one more option that might be able to put up #4/#5 starter numbers if needed.

3. Trade Deadline - BINGO!  They took a mediocre pen and removed the elite closer and added a bunch of meh to caca. Sending the message to the players that the long game matters, this season?  nah.

[NBBrewFan]

1. I don't think the decision to sign McCutcheon was a bad one.  The decision to trot him out almost every day,no matter how bad he performed, was the bad decision. He also should have been platooned, but in CC's mind Cutch was the platoon for McCutcheon. Just horrible decision making during the season.

2. I don't think they relied on Small that much.  They were hesitant to promote him due to not improving enough at AAA.  Ashby was the primary depth for SP and he struggled, then with mutlitple injuries they had LindBOOM sitting at Nashville and Alexander and Small as the "depth".  They went with 2 of the 3 and Alexander was successful initially and Small not.  I'm glad they didn't even try LindBOOM, but when Alexander was struggling they went waiver wire/FA dumpster diving for the likes of Chi Chi Rodriguez.  I get they don't have the $$$ for depth, but with Gasser they might have one more option that might be able to put up #4/#5 starter numbers if needed.

3. Trade Deadline - BINGO!  They took a mediocre pen and removed the elite closer and added a bunch of meh to caca. Sending the message to the players that the long game matters, this season?  nah.

[Tim Muma]

15 minutes ago, NBBrewFan said:

1. I don't think the decision to sign McCutcheon was a bad one.  The decision to trot him out almost every day,no matter how bad he performed, was the bad decision. He also should have been platooned, but in CC's mind Cutch was the platoon for McCutcheon. Just horrible decision making during the season.

2. I don't think they relied on Small that much.  They were hesitant to promote him due to not improving enough at AAA.  Ashby was the primary depth for SP and he struggled, then with mutlitple injuries they had LindBOOM sitting at Nashville and Alexander and Small as the "depth".  They went with 2 of the 3 and Alexander was successful initially and Small not.  I'm glad they didn't even try LindBOOM, but when Alexander was struggling they went waiver wire/FA dumpster diving for the likes of Chi Chi Rodriguez.  I get they don't have the $$$ for depth, but with Gasser they might have one more option that might be able to put up #4/#5 starter numbers if needed.

3. Trade Deadline - BINGO!  They took a mediocre pen and removed the elite closer and added a bunch of meh to caca. Sending the message to the players that the long game matters, this season?  nah.

Yeah, I didn't necessarily say the all the decisions where "wrong." As I noted, you can make a sound decision and it doesn't work. I would say with McCutchen, the idea to mash LHP was relatively sound. For $8 million? Maybe not. And then yes, to use him so much vs. RHP was foolish. And maybe it impacted his effectiveness vs. LHP, because he wasn't close to what they expected.

With Small...they expected he was going to start more games with the Brewers. He seemed to regress, so yes, the Brewers avoided him. But the problem is, they had no other real options. Yes, I know Ashby was their "6th starter," but I believe the average team uses 8 starters in a season.  Yeah, they tried Chi Chi, I suppose. Just figured there could have been a stronger focus on a "reliable" option.

Those are just my thoughts on what you said. Obviously when you miss the playoffs by so few games, you feel like any 1 decision would have made the difference.

[Tim Muma]

15 minutes ago, NBBrewFan said:

1. I don't think the decision to sign McCutcheon was a bad one.  The decision to trot him out almost every day,no matter how bad he performed, was the bad decision. He also should have been platooned, but in CC's mind Cutch was the platoon for McCutcheon. Just horrible decision making during the season.

2. I don't think they relied on Small that much.  They were hesitant to promote him due to not improving enough at AAA.  Ashby was the primary depth for SP and he struggled, then with mutlitple injuries they had LindBOOM sitting at Nashville and Alexander and Small as the "depth".  They went with 2 of the 3 and Alexander was successful initially and Small not.  I'm glad they didn't even try LindBOOM, but when Alexander was struggling they went waiver wire/FA dumpster diving for the likes of Chi Chi Rodriguez.  I get they don't have the $$$ for depth, but with Gasser they might have one more option that might be able to put up #4/#5 starter numbers if needed.

3. Trade Deadline - BINGO!  They took a mediocre pen and removed the elite closer and added a bunch of meh to caca. Sending the message to the players that the long game matters, this season?  nah.

Yeah, I didn't necessarily say the all the decisions where "wrong." As I noted, you can make a sound decision and it doesn't work. I would say with McCutchen, the idea to mash LHP was relatively sound. For $8 million? Maybe not. And then yes, to use him so much vs. RHP was foolish. And maybe it impacted his effectiveness vs. LHP, because he wasn't close to what they expected.

With Small...they expected he was going to start more games with the Brewers. He seemed to regress, so yes, the Brewers avoided him. But the problem is, they had no other real options. Yes, I know Ashby was their "6th starter," but I believe the average team uses 8 starters in a season.  Yeah, they tried Chi Chi, I suppose. Just figured there could have been a stronger focus on a "reliable" option.

Those are just my thoughts on what you said. Obviously when you miss the playoffs by so few games, you feel like any 1 decision would have made the difference.

[NBBrewFan]

2 minutes ago, Tim Muma said:

With Small...they expected he was going to start more games with the Brewers. He seemed to regress, so yes, the Brewers avoided him. But the problem is, they had no other real options. Yes, I know Ashby was their "6th starter," but I believe the average team uses 8 starters in a season.  Yeah, they tried Chi Chi, I suppose. Just figured there could have been a stronger focus on a "reliable" option.

You are correct that most teams need to plan for 8 SP or at least for some "quality" depth to fill in missed starts.  I think Stearns/etc. were fooled by the good fortune in 2021 plus with limited resources they had to decide how to use the assets they had and spending it on rotation depth wasn't high on the list. In hindsight how much better would they have been if they didn't sign McCutcheon and spent the $8M on a Wade Miley-TYPE signing of a vet to man the 6th spot and pushed everyone back one on the depth chart.  Hard to know, but given how things shook out I'd bet if they went that route we'd be discussing SP alignment for the Wild Card round.

[NBBrewFan]

2 minutes ago, Tim Muma said:

With Small...they expected he was going to start more games with the Brewers. He seemed to regress, so yes, the Brewers avoided him. But the problem is, they had no other real options. Yes, I know Ashby was their "6th starter," but I believe the average team uses 8 starters in a season.  Yeah, they tried Chi Chi, I suppose. Just figured there could have been a stronger focus on a "reliable" option.

You are correct that most teams need to plan for 8 SP or at least for some "quality" depth to fill in missed starts.  I think Stearns/etc. were fooled by the good fortune in 2021 plus with limited resources they had to decide how to use the assets they had and spending it on rotation depth wasn't high on the list. In hindsight how much better would they have been if they didn't sign McCutcheon and spent the $8M on a Wade Miley-TYPE signing of a vet to man the 6th spot and pushed everyone back one on the depth chart.  Hard to know, but given how things shook out I'd bet if they went that route we'd be discussing SP alignment for the Wild Card round.

[wildcat2237]

I agree with the OP that all three decisions contributed. 

However, I must add that the Yelich deal also haunted the Brewers. It has been haunting the Brewers since March 2020 and will be haunting the Brewers the next 6 years. 

The Brewers are paying Yelich to be a middle of the lineup slugger. He has been more or less league average. 

From what I see the Brewers paid Yelich about $22 million this year. That could have gone a long way in FA last offseason or even in taking on salary in trades. 

That deal has haunted/handcuffed the franchise for years already and will continue to do so for the next half decade. It was a gaff that should cost Stearns his job. 

Expect more Chi Chi Gonzalez and Zach Godley dumpster diving going forward. 

[wildcat2237]

I agree with the OP that all three decisions contributed. 

However, I must add that the Yelich deal also haunted the Brewers. It has been haunting the Brewers since March 2020 and will be haunting the Brewers the next 6 years. 

The Brewers are paying Yelich to be a middle of the lineup slugger. He has been more or less league average. 

From what I see the Brewers paid Yelich about $22 million this year. That could have gone a long way in FA last offseason or even in taking on salary in trades. 

That deal has haunted/handcuffed the franchise for years already and will continue to do so for the next half decade. It was a gaff that should cost Stearns his job. 

Expect more Chi Chi Gonzalez and Zach Godley dumpster diving going forward. 

[Brewcrew82]

19 minutes ago, wildcat2237 said:

I agree with the OP that all three decisions contributed. 

However, I must add that the Yelich deal also haunted the Brewers. It has been haunting the Brewers since March 2020 and will be haunting the Brewers the next 6 years. 

The Brewers are paying Yelich to be a middle of the lineup slugger. He has been more or less leaugue average. 

From what I see the Brewers paid Yelich about $22 million this year. That could have gone a long way in FA last offseason or even in taking on salary in trades. 

That deal has haunted/handcuffed the franchise for years already and will continue to do so for the next half decade. It was a gaff that should cost Stearns his job. 

Expect more Chi Chi Gonzalez and Zach Godley dumpster diving going forward. 

Why should it cost Stearns his job when Attanasio was the one who pushed for and led the effort by all accounts??

[Brewcrew82]

19 minutes ago, wildcat2237 said:

I agree with the OP that all three decisions contributed. 

However, I must add that the Yelich deal also haunted the Brewers. It has been haunting the Brewers since March 2020 and will be haunting the Brewers the next 6 years. 

The Brewers are paying Yelich to be a middle of the lineup slugger. He has been more or less leaugue average. 

From what I see the Brewers paid Yelich about $22 million this year. That could have gone a long way in FA last offseason or even in taking on salary in trades. 

That deal has haunted/handcuffed the franchise for years already and will continue to do so for the next half decade. It was a gaff that should cost Stearns his job. 

Expect more Chi Chi Gonzalez and Zach Godley dumpster diving going forward. 

Why should it cost Stearns his job when Attanasio was the one who pushed for and led the effort by all accounts??

[Nola Beery]

2 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Why should it cost Stearns his job when Attanasio was the one who pushed for and led the effort by all accounts??

By "all" accounts? I got the idea (admittedly from a single Attanasio interview, post-Hader) that he was being hands-off of Stearns; he basically just shrugged when asked about the Hader deal, though he seemed to passively disavow it.  Was he hiding something?

[Nola Beery]

2 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Why should it cost Stearns his job when Attanasio was the one who pushed for and led the effort by all accounts??

By "all" accounts? I got the idea (admittedly from a single Attanasio interview, post-Hader) that he was being hands-off of Stearns; he basically just shrugged when asked about the Hader deal, though he seemed to passively disavow it.  Was he hiding something?

[Brewcrew82]

3 minutes ago, Nola Beery said:

By "all" accounts? I got the idea (admittedly from a single Attanasio interview, post-Hader) that he was being hands-off of Stearns; he basically just shrugged when asked about the Hader deal, though he seemed to passively disavow it.  Was he hiding something?

I and the person I was responding to were referring to the Yelich extension...

[Brewcrew82]

3 minutes ago, Nola Beery said:

By "all" accounts? I got the idea (admittedly from a single Attanasio interview, post-Hader) that he was being hands-off of Stearns; he basically just shrugged when asked about the Hader deal, though he seemed to passively disavow it.  Was he hiding something?

I and the person I was responding to were referring to the Yelich extension...

[damuelle]

I agree that Stearns expected far more from our lefties, likely including Small. There’s no other way to explain why we added several AAAA righties (Alexander, Gott, Kelley, Mejia, Hobie Harris, Urena), but only brought in Rex Brothers on the left side. We’re honestly very lucky that Hoby Milner exceeded expectations and Brent Suter eventually found his form.

Also agreed on McCutchen - overpaid and overplayed. There’s no excuse for failing to bring in someone, anyone to reduce that work load, whether they’re scrubby AAAA-types like Almonte, Mathias or Singleton or a genuine acquisition like Whit Merrifleld. You don’t just do nothing. And we even had an obvious weakness to address: struggles against left-handed pitching.

 

[damuelle]

I agree that Stearns expected far more from our lefties, likely including Small. There’s no other way to explain why we added several AAAA righties (Alexander, Gott, Kelley, Mejia, Hobie Harris, Urena), but only brought in Rex Brothers on the left side. We’re honestly very lucky that Hoby Milner exceeded expectations and Brent Suter eventually found his form.

Also agreed on McCutchen - overpaid and overplayed. There’s no excuse for failing to bring in someone, anyone to reduce that work load, whether they’re scrubby AAAA-types like Almonte, Mathias or Singleton or a genuine acquisition like Whit Merrifleld. You don’t just do nothing. And we even had an obvious weakness to address: struggles against left-handed pitching.

 

[Samurai Bucky]

7 minutes ago, damuelle said:

And we even had an obvious weakness to address: struggles against left-handed pitching.

I would add to that... struggles getting clutch hits with RISP.  On Monday, the only reason why Adames hit the ball to right in the latter part of the game is because the pitch was outside.

With RISP (159 Games):

• 21st in PA 
• 26th in BAbip (.277)
• 16th in RBI
• 23rd in K% (26% -- worst is PIT at 30% and best is CLE at 21%; league average is 25%)
• tOPS+ is 121 which may be saying that the Brewers did well, or their typical OPS+ is not very good.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/tools/split_stats_lg.cgi?full=1&params=bases|RISP|ML|2022|bat|AB|

[Samurai Bucky]

7 minutes ago, damuelle said:

And we even had an obvious weakness to address: struggles against left-handed pitching.

I would add to that... struggles getting clutch hits with RISP.  On Monday, the only reason why Adames hit the ball to right in the latter part of the game is because the pitch was outside.

With RISP (159 Games):

• 21st in PA 
• 26th in BAbip (.277)
• 16th in RBI
• 23rd in K% (26% -- worst is PIT at 30% and best is CLE at 21%; league average is 25%)
• tOPS+ is 121 which may be saying that the Brewers did well, or their typical OPS+ is not very good.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/tools/split_stats_lg.cgi?full=1&params=bases|RISP|ML|2022|bat|AB|

[Robocaller]

It wasn't a mistake to sign McCutchen, it was a mistake to play him so much. Compared to the results from other guys they could have signed, McCutchen did fine.

It wasn't a mistake to rely on Ethan Small, because they didn't. He was stashed in Nashville as the potential 7th reliever. They had a couple of AAAA SP who could fill in at need. It wasn't a mistake bringing up Jason Alexander, it was a mistake to not have an alternative, which forced him to start 11 games, when AAAA really shouldn't get more than 4 starts. At or before the trade deadline, they should have acquired some mediocre, old SP to fill in the rotation--they foresaw Lauer, Houser, and Peralta returning, but some of them returned later than they hoped, and were on short pitch counts. 

The deadline deals didn't work out in retrospect, but I'm guessing they didn't have any great opportunities they passed on. If the Hader deal ruined the clubhouse, that's on the players. They're getting paid lots of money to play a game and they shouldn't let that affect them.

[Robocaller]

It wasn't a mistake to sign McCutchen, it was a mistake to play him so much. Compared to the results from other guys they could have signed, McCutchen did fine.

It wasn't a mistake to rely on Ethan Small, because they didn't. He was stashed in Nashville as the potential 7th reliever. They had a couple of AAAA SP who could fill in at need. It wasn't a mistake bringing up Jason Alexander, it was a mistake to not have an alternative, which forced him to start 11 games, when AAAA really shouldn't get more than 4 starts. At or before the trade deadline, they should have acquired some mediocre, old SP to fill in the rotation--they foresaw Lauer, Houser, and Peralta returning, but some of them returned later than they hoped, and were on short pitch counts. 

The deadline deals didn't work out in retrospect, but I'm guessing they didn't have any great opportunities they passed on. If the Hader deal ruined the clubhouse, that's on the players. They're getting paid lots of money to play a game and they shouldn't let that affect them.