05/14/2004 - Brewers (Santos) vs. Braves (Ramirez)

[950opsLHcatcher]

The one thing I'll take away from this game is Helms' "errant" throw 10 feet over a leaping Overbay into the 5th row. That was one of the worst throws I've ever seen.

 

And forget anything good I ever said about Durrington.

[whizkid]

This is my first negative post about Ned though I have disagreed with moves more than a few times previously but that 9th was utterly STUPID.

[brewcrewkid14]

Tough loss for the Crew. 33,061 people showed up to watch the game. Wish they could of pulled of one of their comebacks in front of that crowd.http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/ohwell.gif

[MassBrew]

Wonder if the crack Drew and Tom tag-team will actually ask about Nedley being asleep at the wheel in the 9th.

 

The one thing I'll take away from this game is Helms' "errant" throw 10 feet over a leaping Overbay into the 5th row. That was one of the worst throws I've ever seen.

 

Toby, what was so pitiful was that Lyle saw it was so far over his head he didn't even bother to extend his arm and glove. Victor Santos overcame that and got all his breaking stuff over and never flinched all game. Only the first Ben Sheets 10 K start and Chris Saenz' start compare thus far this year.

 

And forget anything good I ever said about Durrington.

 

How can switch-hitting Chris Magruder not be on this team? Ned always finds himself with limited options from one side of the plate or the other the way he stacks the lineup.

 

I swear, Brady Clark hasn't hit a ball hard in over a month. You can't even say he's hitting into bad luck. He's just looking so feeble.

 

I'm so rippin' that Ned left all three of those LH bats on the bench in the 9th. Awful, just awful...

[AJAY]

I was at the game tonight. No idea why Trent Durrington was the first choice for a pinch hitter. No idea why Ben Grieve did not bat for Clark in the 9th inning. Hmmmm????

 

Anyway, there was a different feeling at Miller Park tonight. I guess having a winning team, a marquee opponent, a national TV broadcast, and a huge walkup crowd made the whole thing feel like a big-time event. People were actually scoreboard watching and were happy when Houston was losing to New York. It was just different today.

 

You gotta be encouraged by what Victor Santos did tonight. I just wish the Brew Crew would start playing better whenever they get big crowds. This seems to be a big problem for them.

 

Good game overall though.

[batman]

Wonder if the crack Drew and Tom tag-team will actually ask about Nedley being asleep at the wheel in the 9th.

 

Well, Frank Clines got the call tonight for the Journal Sentinel as apparently both Drew and Tom were otherwise occupied. No mention at all of the lack of pinch-hitting moves in the ninth; the best he could do was this little rundown:

Quote:

---

Ramirez went through the heart of the Brewers' order quickly in the eighth, striking out two, and closer John Smoltz nailed things down easily in the ninth.

 

But Brewers fans are learning; after a five-run rally in the ninth inning Tuesday against Montreal, few people gave up and left early Friday night.

 

"We're playing solid baseball right now," Yost said. "We just didn't win tonight."

---

 

Adam McCalvy's column isn't up yet, so hopefully he took the time to ask Yost what he was thinking.

 

EDIT: McCalvy with nothing as well. How disappointing is that? How can they *not* ask about the ninth inning management decisions, or at least mention them? Jeez.

 

~Bill

[hawing]

The C-word might be too strong, but again the Brewers fail to come up big on a night when coming up big could have paid big fan dividends. People were into the game, chanting and clapping, and most stayed till the end. Compare that with 2001, when we routinely saw "fans" leave as early as the 5th inning.

 

For that matter, compare it to Thursday's crowd of just under 15,000. It was like night and day, and not only because one was a night game and one a day game. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

Though this definitely represents progress over the Lopester era, I sure would like to see them deliver a win in front of more than 8-15K. Maybe even when I'm there.

 

And as Durrington stepped to the plate, I imagined the keyboards of BF.net a-tappin'...

[Iron Chef Napalm]

When Durrington came in to pinch hit sporting his studly .167 batting average, I began to question if Trent recently got a large NASCAR tattoo or some interesting Polaroids. The game was like watching a train wreck in slow motion grind to its inevitable conclusion. The team looked lethargic and seemed to lack that patented Yost ?battle? enthusiasm. Nedly falling asleep at the wheel in the 9th demeans the great start by Santos.

 

The only good thing I can take away from the hours I invested in watching this game is my anger. It is nice for games to seem to matter so much that I actually get upset when they lose. ARGH!!!111one

[rluzinski]

Yost, for the most part, seems VERY reluctant to pinch hit for anyone but the pitcher. I'm sure it has something to do with "teaching them how to battle" and being afraid to hurt their feelings. Yost is a player's manager, and while I can't ignore the obvious benefits of that (the guys obviously play hard for him) the downside is today's game. Despite having better options, Yost didn't want to pull the starters.

 

As for Trent, he apparently got on Yost's good list, right along Helms and Bennet. Not really sure HOW you get on that list.

 

What Yost does well, he does very well (motivator), but what he does bad (in game management)...... OUCH.

[tomwopat]

i was at the game too. long lines at the concession stands, and yost's pinch hitting (after i went through the pains of explaining stats to my friends) made it somewhat annoying. i felt the crowd was somewhat annoyed with the low score. regardless, i think the boos directed toward the viz were somewhat justified.

[edod]

I was at the game and I have to say it was the most engaged and excieted crowd I've ever expirienced, more so than any of the opening day's I've been to. This game was fun to be at just to see what Milwaukee would be like if it had a winner.

 

When I went in 5 minutes before game time, there must have been a thousand waiting to buy tickets.

 

Who the hell is Victor Santos and why is he fooling everyone? I've never seen him on TV so I have no sense of what he pitches like.

 

This crowd was PUMPED going into the ninth. They believed they were going to win, very fun atmosphere. No fun trying to get out of the parking lot.

 

P.S. Anybody here the cowbell?

[madjeff66]

That might have been the spot for Counsell to PH for Santos in the 7th. Brooks is the popular choice, but Rameriz was still in the game and Brooks hits like a normal pitcher against lefties. Spivey should be on the DL, you want to save Grieve for a righty later and I'm not sold on Durrington, so that leaves Bennett and Counsell and I probably would have gone with Craig there and then double switch out Hall or Ginter depending on how the inning ended.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Fun game to be at. (Yes, Roco went to a game) The atmosphere was AWESOME all night long, til Viz melted down and Yost forgot how to manage.

 

I can honestly say that I overheard SEVERAL people questioning just about every move Yost made from the mid-8th on.

 

Yost has a serious man-crush on Trent Durrington, I don't know, winning is apparently not as important as his bench buddy getting the 1st ab every game off the bench.