Brewers vs Giants: Phillips debut

[wichmae]

Hes starting in right

[Flap Jackson]

Whoa. Welcome to the show Maverick.

[Flap Jackson]

Hope he doesn't start laughing while the ball is in play.

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[GB_Packers]

That throw by the Giants outfielder thanks for the run!

[Turk Nowitzki]

Guerra topping out around 90 mph? That seems not ideal.

EDIT: I guess he hit 92 on the last few.

[H2tObes]

What a throw by Phillips!

[raysbookclub]

Wow! Shows speed getting to the ball quickly, then a perfect throw, a bullet, no bounce. That was spectacular.

[crkone]

Can't believe that throw. The run, brakes, and cannon he had.

[wichmae]

Phillips has the best throwing arm in our system. Probably a 70 grade arm. Maybe higher. Coulter has a cannon too.


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[wichmae]

I really want Feliz to go away

[BigDee]

Ugh Feliz

[BigDee]

Well that was disappointing


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[Prickle]

So, let me preface this by saying that I know, "this is not our year, and we're still in the middle of the rebuild." But that doesn't mean that losing games that they should be winning, should just be accepted without question. The fact is, the current team SHOULD'VE swept the Dodgers, and easily could've won the game tonight. They didn't, and there are numerous reasons why, and being a young rebuilding team is not one of them.

The reasons:
1) The bullpen - Let's be real....it sucks. There is only so much Counsell can do here, I get it. But one thing he CAN do is never let Feliz pitch again. I know, until he's no longer on the roster, this isn't realistic. But at the very least, quit letting him pitch in close games. Long reliever? Fine...go nuts Feliz.
2) Sogard/Villar - I've been harping on this for awhile, but it has now reached the point of ridiculousness. First, Sogard needs to start. EVERYDAY. Lefty or righty starting pitcher doesn't matter - he needs to be in the lineup. It doesn't always have to come at Villar's expense, but it f*cking should. Villar is absolutely useless at this point. I'm sorry, he was great last season, but right now, it's looking like a god damn blessing that he turned down an extension. When you have Sogard, Perez, and Arcia (who's been hot lately), there is no logical reason as to why Villar continues to see the field as much as he does.
3) Lineups - I've already alluded to it, but seriously, WTF? I have had no complaints about Counsell until very recently (probably because you don't really see what a manager is made of until the team is playing games that matter), but his lineups have left me scratching my head of late - like Roenicke 2.0. We're over 2 months into the season now, it's time to set a consistent lineup. The players have had a large enough sample size to determine where and when they need/deserve to play. The players have essentially "played" themselves into a suitable lineup.....but Counsell just isn't having it, for some reason. He continues to overthink matchups, ignoring the fact that he has 3 left-handed hitters who have consistently hit left-handed pitching (Sogard, Thames, and Shaw).

Set this lineup and let it ride:
Sogard - 2nd
Thames - LF
Perez - CF (Braun LF, when he returns)
Shaw - 3rd
Santana - RF
Aguilar - 1st
Bandy/Piña - C
Arcia - SS

Give Broxton a couple starts and Aguilar a couple days off each week - this moves Thames to first and Perez to left. Give Villar one or two starts a week MAX, just to let others get a rest. I think this is the best lineup the Brewers can put out right now, and will be most productive once the players get used to their CONSISTENT spots. Obviously, once Braun returns, the odd man out would most likely be Aguilar, but that's a nice bat to have off your bench.

That's all I got for now, lol. But I'm nearing the point where I think that the next time Villar is in the lineup and Sogard isn't, Counsell should be fired on the spot. The next time that Feliz comes into a game that isn't a rout, Counsell should be fired on the spot. Of course, I'm only kidding.........well, maybe not.

[DingleJerry]

The biggest reason they're losing these recent games in bullpen and that is directly correlated to being a rebuilding team. they traded their 3 best bullpen guys last year, and did well in the trades and all 3 have been non-productive since anyway. All they did to 'rebuild' the bullpen was grab castoffs and guys on their 2nd or 3rd chances, hoping to strike gold. it hasn't worked, only piece they've uncovered is Knebel really, maybe Barnes. The rest are trash and it's purely because it was a rebuild and they didn't plan on contending.

they have a long way to go before the deadline to still be contending. But no way they should be making some shortsighted moves to shore up the pen this year when they're still not real contenders. Cut some of the dead weight like Feliz and hope a AAA guy gets hot, stuff like that, but don't trade anything for the future for short term help. That said, even a guy like Feliz is hitting upper 90s with ease, there has to be a way to salvage that.

[Iheartfootball]

I don't know if they 'should be winning' certain games. I will agree that the Dodgers series was a meltdown on the relief staff. But I also see things like last night:

1) Villar with unproductive AB's. He swings at crappy pitches and takes strikes. He undisciplined; at bat, on the bases, and in the field. I don't like Villar's game.
2) Braun is out. He is their best hitter.
3) Thames is cooling off after an incredible start that no one can maintain. That and he's been hampered by leg injuries and sickness.
4) Relief pitching is inconsistent at best. As DingleJerry said they traded their 3 best bullpen arms. They hoped to catch a little lightening in a bottle with Feliz but he has been garbage.
5) Broxton K's too much. Glad he came off the bench though.

There have been bright spots on the season. Some can be maintained, others are maybe just lucky/hot starts?:

1) Starting pitching has been slightly better than expected (Anderson, Nelson). Although I still expect Anderson to come back down to earth. Who knows though, maybe he's going to have his best year ever, it happens.
2) Catcher rotation has been solid
3) *Might* have found a closer in Knebel if he can find consistency
4) Arcia has been great in the field and is starting to hit more consistently. He's only 22.
5) Shaw, Sogard are playing much better than expected.

Overall I anticipate more inconsistency from this team as the season rolls on and if they start to call up more of the young guys (Brinson, Hader). The good thing is I don't get the feeling that this organization is going to be on a treadmill anymore. I really think from the ground up they have improved everything from minor league instruction to major league fundamentals (sans Villar) to upper management's commitment to the plan that Stearns has laid out. I'm really encouraged and excited. That's why I don't really care if they win or lose right now because in the long run they are building to be much better than this every year. Winning now doesn't ruin the plan but it's based more on luck than skill to me.

[coolhandluke121]

Clayton Anderson doing work again today.

[ReasonablySober]

Chase Anderson is very good.

[wichmae]

Gotta sell high on Anderson at deadline. Same with Guerra. Should get a substantial return if they keep this up.


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[blazza18]

LOL

[MickeyDavis]

Scooter with 4 bombs tonight. Wtf lok