6/29/05 - Brewers (Sheets) @ Cubs (Wood) 1:20 CST

[clancyphile]

Part of me recognizes that Weeks, Fielder, Hall, and Hardy have some developing to do. But part of me wants to win now. It's a struggle sometimes...

[badgerfan.tgf]

Can we admit, if not for just one day, that the main reason our team sucks is because the players aren't doing their jobs?

 

Losses like Sunday, yesterday, and today have NOTHING to do with Yost. You can second guess his moves left and right, but when our guys are gettinng 3, 4, or 5 hits for the entire game, the big guy upstairs couldn't manage these guys to a winning record!

 

Let's face it, as long as Overbay is slumping, our 5-9 part of the lineup is the worst in baseball. Jenkins sucks. Helms sucks. Moeller sucks. Hardy better get his ass back to Nashville. And our bench? Magruder, Durrington, a VERY inexperienced Fielder? It's amazing we're still within 7 games of .500.

 

If it wasn't for our pitching staff we'd have the worst record in baseball, without a doubt.

[bsglorydays]

Bunting Hardy is one thing. Bunting by any major league non pitcher with 2 strikes is another

 

You have to get the bunt down in that situation, plain and simple. If you fail with no strikes and fail with 1 strike, you still have to get it down with 2 strikes. Allowing a guy to fail at a simple fundamental, then "reward" him by allowing him to swing away is a chicken-turd concept most managers use. The whole point in bunting is to get the runner into scoring position with only 1 out without risking grounding into a double play. By swinging away, you bring the DP and the K back into the mix.

[Bruce Ciskie]

Great idea...bring Branyan back so we can strike out 19 times in a game instead of 15. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

 

(Actually, bring him back because he's a better bunter than most of these clowns.)

[bsglorydays]

Can we admit, if not for just one day, that the main reason our team sucks is because the players aren't doing their jobs?

 

Well said. Managers and coaches can only take just so much of the blame. At some point major leaguers need to get a bunt down, field a ground ball, induce a ground ball, put a ball in play, etc.

[clancyphile]

O did his part today. He had that game tied up.

 

The problem is that the Crew didn't execute in the top of the 9th. Hardy, Fielder, and Magruder needed to get hits, not strike out.

[badgerfan.tgf]

Quote:

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Bunting by any major league non pitcher with 2 strikes is another.

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I think half our lineup could get out hit by major league pitchers. Hardy, Durrington, Moeller, Magruder, etc. are outs waiting to happen. You let them swing with two strikes and the majority of the time something bad will happen. At least if they bunt there is the possibility of moving the runner(s) over.

[stkmtimo]

After all, the managers and coaches aren't the ones on the field playing the game. The players are.

[Ralph Wiggum]

The biggest thing wrong with this team is that they don't seem to realize that players like Magruder and Durrington are not major league ballplayers. We don't have the talent in the starting line-up to be able to get away with having crap like Mags and Trent on the bench. On a crappy team, there really shouldn't be much of a drop-off from your starters to your bench. On this team, it's definitive (sans Jenkins, who is having a career-worst year, but has proven throughout his career to be a fine major league corner outfielder.) Wes Helms' high average is about is about as paper-thin as you can get. He's been put in situations to succeed, and has done a commendable job. However, those are the situations for a young guy or a bench guy, not one of the highest-paid players on the team. Lee and Clark have been great. Cirillo was great before he got hurt. Hall has been super. Weeks has been adequate so far. Overbay has been Overbay. He's basically Mark Grace...a great complimentary player, but not someone you want carrying the team for any length of time. Miller has been exactly what he was advertised to be--solid with the glove and the bat. He's not a .300 hitter, and won't hit 30 HRs. However, he isn't the problem. Jenks' poor year and not having a solid, everyday SS or 3B have been the main problems. Sending J.J. down may help. Hall would take over at SS, but who becomes the everyday 3B? Not Helms. If it's Branyan, that's fine....but stick with the guy. Enough of this musical infield chairs. If Hart comes up, he plays the majority of the time in RF. I don't want a Jenks/Hart platoon. Platoons rarely work, especially with a veteran and a rookie.

[H0FFY]

Can we admit, if not for just one day, that the main reason our team sucks is because the players aren't doing their jobs?

 

Oh goodie, saves me typing. We have a bunch of hitters who cannot bunt and pitchers who walk leadoff batters. Enough said?

[Brian the Automator]

[ The biggest thing wrong with this team is that they don't seem to realize that players like Magruder and Durrington are not major league ballplayers. ]

 

Magruder historically had done pretty well against lefties to this point, and Durrington's only here because TWO starting 3rd basemen (who were carrying .800+ OPSs) went down.

 

Poor teams just can't get a solid bench like rich teams can get, because you pretty much have to throw all of your money in your starting 8 and then roll the dice on injuries.

 

Magruder's days are numbered with Hart ready and willing to be Jenks's platoon partner (at worst). Branyan will be back soon and Cirillo won't be too far behind.

 

The sun will come out tomorrow.

[nsimps]

Quote:

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The sun will come out tomorrow.

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Are you willing to bet your bottom dollar on that?

[rluzinski]

You have to get the bunt down in that situation, plain and simple.

 

You can friggin talk about what players HAVE to do but the fact is last year only 34% of bunt attempts with 2 strikes ended in a positive outcome. You can dismiss that FACT as "some crazy equation that means nothing", but it's still fact.

 

BTW, comparing sacrifice situations when you need 1 run vs 2 is just plain silly. While it's defensible to bunt down by one, it's pretty much stupid to bunt down by 2.

[badgerfan.tgf]

Quote:

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Magruder historically had done pretty well against lefties to this point, and Durrington's only here because TWO starting 3rd basemen (who were carrying .800+ OPSs) went down.

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What kills me is that when we have two third basemen go down, we bring up crap like Magruder. A team like the Cubs would trade Remlinger for Joe Randa. Now I know we don't have the capability to add salary like the Cubs do, but we still have just as much to trade and in all honesty, giving up a guy like Bottalico or Phelps plus a go-nowhere prospect for a guy like Randa would be great (hypothetical example of course).

[stkmtimo]

BadgerFan - Great point. I don't care what the stats say. I will say it now:

 

Chris Magruder and Trent Durrington are AAA fillers at best. They are career minor leaguers - nothing more, nothing less.

 

Glad to get that off my chest.

[RobertR]

One thing I don't understand is why do the Brewers need 3 guys that can play 3B? The Brewers are one of the few teams going with just 4 outfielders, why not call up Hart? It's late enough in the season that the "Super 2" issue shouldn't be a problem.

 

After the All Star break, I think the Brewers need to seriously consider bringing up Hart and finding a utility infielder that can play SS so that they can send down Hardy. I can't imagine Hart getting any less playing time than Hardy given the current situation, so why not see if he can continue hitting at the MLB level?

[Brian the Automator]

[ One thing I don't understand is why do the Brewers need 3 guys that can play 3B? ]

 

If you corner the market on 3B, the laws of supply and demand favor you. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif