Series thread: Pirates at Brewers

[trwi7]

Villar is playing CF.

Watch on YouTube

[wichmae]

So dumb

[Iheartfootball]

They couldn't sign Kotsay to a one day contract and through him out there?

[tski1972]

Can't be any worse than he is at 2nd.

[Iheartfootball]

They couldn't sign Kotsay to a one day contract and throw him out there?

[BigDee]

Wow just that Villar is in CF today.

[ReasonablySober]

Shaw just absolutely owns Nova.

[blazza18]

WTF is Santana doing?

[Gianstoppable]

The sausage sniffing commercial being played for the millionth time. How can they not get more/better sponsors?

[BigDee]

Broxton that's all he does is hit homeruns....lol


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[coolhandluke121]

I understand Villar in cf and kind of like it. They got an extra lhb in the lineup and had Broxton as a dangerous pinch-hitter and defensive replacement. They just need a better player than Villar to reprise that role.

If the Reds hang on, eff it. Go get Granderson.

ETA: Reds just pitched out of a big jam in the bottom of the 8th. Still up 1-0.

[ReasonablySober]

Good win.

[ReasonablySober]

Not out of it yet.

[bizarro]

I want to believe this team can make a run but I just can't fully believe. Too many holes. This being said, I love that they are still mildly relevant.

[Prickle]

I want to believe this team can make a run but I just can't fully believe. Too many holes. This being said, I love that they are still mildly relevant.

It is weird, but it's all about perspective. Before the season started, if we were told the Brewers would be only 1 1/2 games out of first in the middle of August, we'd have all been ecstatic. Yet, here we are, 1 1/2 games out of first in the middle of August, and the mood isn't hopeful in the least. Has the team overachieved a bit? Perhaps. Have the Cubs underachieved? Most likely. Did we blow a 5 1/2 game lead in one week? Yes. Do the Brewers look like real contenders? Not really. But, for better or worse, WE ARE STILL ONLY 1 1/2 GAMES OUT OF FIRST PLACE!

As much as I keep trying to give up hope, and thinking it's that inevitable time to shift my focus to Packer season, the Brewers are STILL in the pennant race. As flawed as this team is, they're only one more hot streak away from making the playoffs. The flip side, of course, is that they could just as easily be 10 games out within 3 weeks. They're unpredictable, but isn't that part of the fun?

[Turk Nowitzki]

I am settling in to the mindset that I am enjoying meaningful baseball in mid-August even though I don't believe there's much chance of it working out well for us in the end so I'm not fully invested game to game the way I would be if we were actually a really good team.

That pre-All Star break run where we went up 5.5 games on the Cubs had me buying in a bit too much emotionally and the instant collapse was a cold slap of reality.

[coolhandluke121]

I want to believe this team can make a run but I just can't fully believe. Too many holes. This being said, I love that they are still mildly relevant.

I mostly agree and I'm still very happy with this season despite the slump. I wouldn't quite say they have "too many holes" though. There are actually very few weak links IMO. It's more that they don't have enough high-impact players. There's hardly a 3 WAR player on the team besides Shaw right now. And of the guys that are close, only Braun has shown the ability to sustain it. How do you envision getting enough WAR to stay in the race? You have to count on a majority of the team to continue to play above their career norms like they did before the ASB. That's tough.

There are a few obvious ways to improve though, and I still have some hope. Regression to the mean works both ways, and I don't think this slump will continue all season. They've had some terrible luck. Here are several reasons to be optimistic:

- Hader and Swarzak instead of the hot trash they used all the time in the first half
- Woodruff instead of Peralta/Guerra/Blazek
- Walker instead of Villar
- Anderson coming back, making either Garza or Suter a valuable long reliever instead of a weak starter
- Vogt instead of Bandy/Susac
- One day off per week means not using terrible relievers or over-using good ones, and maybe skipping some Garza starts
- Braun looks much more healthy

By themselves, these aren't huge changes. They didn't add any impact players. But what they were getting out of some of those roster spots was so abysmal that even upgrading to roughly average is a big deal.

[Kerb Hohl]

Totally understandable given Arcia is sore and Braun still needs days off every so often but man this looks like a rough lineup for Cole who mows down righties. Hopefully Shaw and Walker can do some damage.

[bizarro]

I appreciate both your points, Prickle and CHLuke. And, like Turk, I found myself way too high when they built the 5.5 game lead. Amd, then, I found myself entirely indifferent and uninvested amd here they are again pulling within a toenail's distance of first place.

I guess for me it comes down to a few things.

(1) I don't believe in the starting pitching. I don't believe Anderson will bring the same stuff he had pre-injury (the Sogard effect). For as effective as Nelson and Davies have/can be/been, i still anticipate a potential dud outing every time out. Garza - definitely the same. And, jeez, let's just say I hope Guerra stays down and I still lament how they failed to flip him in a miraculous once-in-a-lifetime season last year. I love Woodruff's stuff but I expect some hiccups his first time at the Big Shoe. So, I guess I reaide in: though they had a nice stretch, this is the one department I absolutely anticipate a regression. I hope I'm wrong...

(2) pair number one w the offensive funk and the fact we've historically been incapable of hitting decent to premier starters.

(3) The Brewers still make stupid plays across the diamond - defensively they are extremely error-prone and offensively we all know the basepath issues.

In the end, I am grateful for such an unexpected season amd I am even hopeful they find another hot streak of abnormally productive play amd would love for them to sneak into the playoffs but I simply reside (at my fundamental intuitive core) in a place of sobered and tempered enthusiasm.

[Kerb Hohl]

I appreciate both your points, Prickle and CHLuke. And, like Turk, I found myself way too high when they built the 5.5 game lead. Amd, then, I found myself entirely indifferent and uninvested amd here they are again pulling within a toenail's distance of first place.

I guess for me it comes down to a few things.

(1) I don't believe in the starting pitching. I don't believe Anderson will bring the same stuff he had pre-injury (the Sogard effect). For as effective as Nelson and Davies have/can be/been, i still anticipate a potential dud outing every time out. Garza - definitely the same. And, jeez, let's just say I hope Guerra stays down and I still lament how they failed to flip him in a miraculous once-in-a-lifetime season last year. I love Woodruff's stuff but I expect some hiccups his first time at the Big Shoe. So, I guess I reaide in: though they had a nice stretch, this is the one department I absolutely anticipate a regression. I hope I'm wrong...

(2) pair number one w the offensive funk and the fact we've historically been incapable of hitting decent to premier starters.

(3) The Brewers still make stupid plays across the diamond - defensively they are extremely error-prone and offensively we all know the basepath issues.

In the end, I am grateful for such an unexpected season amd I am even hopeful they find another hot streak of abnormally productive play amd would love for them to sneak into the playoffs but I simply reside (at my fundamental intuitive core) in a place of sobered and tempered enthusiasm.

1. Anderson's added cutter may have made him a legitimate pitcher. If a poster on a message board is able to call out Guerra's season as miraculous, it's distinctly possible that other GMs also noticed this and weren't offering anything in return.

I agree that there is still a lack of elite players, especially starting pitchers, and that may be an issue down the road.