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Jesus christ Smith has to make it a little less obvious, not that it mattered by that point tonight. His suspension is going to be interesting, though.

So I guess since they traded Kimbrel, the Braves aren't into that kind of thing now..

Man this bullpen overall is brutal.

I've said it before, but our bullpen this year and in some other previous seasons is such a prime example of just how brutal this franchise has been at drafting and developing pitching.

From year to year very few of the guys in the pen actually came from our farm system and instead had to be signed in free agency or acquired via trade because we can't draft/develop pitching.

Of the rare guys to actually come from the farm system, it's usually been scrubs like Rob Wooten or Kintzler types who get more chances than they deserve simply to fill spots when an injury hits the pen.

Off the top of my head i'm trying to think of any really productive relief pitcher over the last 5-10 years which this team drafted and i''m drawing a blank?

I wonder if they can suspend if he didn't go for the tar/suntan lotion concoction while on the mound. Seems like it doesn't matter anymore anyway.

Fredi Gonzalez said that he didn't go out there until Smith went to the arm after hitting a guy.

I know they use it for grip, and if that's the case, I don't think pitchers should be penalized for it. That being said, I don't know enough to believe the statement that it doesn't have any impact on the movement of the pitch.

Braun back.

That at bat he just had (drew a walk) was the Braun of old.

Herdy derdy RubenDerplas

Braun's been looking really good at the plate for a while. Same bat speed, hand-eye coordination, and vision. Able to reach out and foul off just about anything. A little impatient, but he's a natural hitter. This stretch is sustainable. He couldn't be doing this if that thumb wasn't 100% healed.

Is Wily okay?

Good to see the Braun of old.

This team reminds me of the 2011 Cardinals.

I hope Counsell changes the base-running philosophy. Other than Segura or Sardinas at the bottom of the order (but not hitting 9th), I don't want anyone regularly trying to steal. Nobody has a great success rate anymore, and most of the team is better off waiting for the heart of the order to drive them in. Gomez, Braun, and maybe Parra can steal second with two outs, but other than that they need to put a stop to it. It's just not a high pay-off play.

I was trying to find where I read that the Brewers led the majors in TOOTBLANs in 2013 and 2014, but I couldn't. I did stumble on this gem though:

http://tootblan.tumblr.com/post/83479561532/brewers-tootblan-right-on-cue

Hilarious.

Fiers is like Estrada. I hate seeing him 3 times through the order. I like him and I liked Estrada, but they're basically long relievers who happen to start. I would use more long relievers if I could change one thing about baseball orthoproxy.

lol at our base running.

coolhandluke121 wrote:I hope Counsell changes the base-running philosophy.

Well, so much for that I guess.

Parra comes to the plate 4 times with runners on base, 3 times with runners in scoring position, and two of those times with no outs. Only one of those at-bats so much as advances a runner, with Gomez going from 2nd to 3rd on a groundout.

coolhandluke121 wrote:

coolhandluke121 wrote:I hope Counsell changes the base-running philosophy.

Well, so much for that I guess.

These players are who they are. If you want change you need to teach them before they get to the majors.

I'm not suggesting that they can make the players be better at recognizing the situation and make better choices, but they could at least hire base coaches who mitigate it a little. Also, Roenicke was so adamant about aggressive base-running that I'm not sure even he recognized when it was an absolutely stupid play. You can run aggressively without regularly trying to stretch a double into a triple with nobody out and the heart of the order coming up or trying to get from third to home with nobody out.

It was hard to see the Brewers throw away these last two, but it's for the best. They need to stay buried in the standings and play better at the same time so that they improve their trade value. Thanks to the brutal schedule, May has accomplished that. It's a best-case scenario. They should at least have the good sense to give up on this year by the end of the month, but I don't expect them to give up on next season yet.