8.25.2004

POOR DOUG DAVIS

Imagine for a moment that you are a starting pitcher in the Major Leagues...Today is your day to pitch, and you see the lineup card...It reads as follows:

CF Podsednik
3B Durrington
SS Counsell
RF Clark
LF Magruder
2B Hall
1B Branyan
C Moeller
P Davis

...My first reaction would be to go up to the manager and ask "what did I do to deserve this? Are you mad at me?

Brady Clark is having a terrific year, but a guy slugging under .400 probably shouldn't be hitting cleanup. With one of the worst offenses in baseball, to give the few guys in your lineup that are productive (Overbay, and to a lesser extent Jenkins) the day off is just unfair to the starting pitcher.

A possible conversation between Doug Davis and Ned Yost..

Ned: Doug, just go out there and throw your game.
Doug: Okay, skip.
Ned: I don't want to tell you that you have to be perfect today...But you have to be perfect. If you give up a run we're going to lose.


2:22 PM 0 comments

HELLO EVERYBODY

This summer has been crazy, I know I haven't been writing much but there has been a lot going on. I will go back to writing regularly (too often?) once the fine month of September gets rolling.

2:20 PM 0 comments
8.12.2004

SHEFFIELD MAY RETIRE

According to this article on ESPN.com, Gary Sheffield is contemplating retirement at the end of the season. Sheffield is having a very good year again, hitting .295 with 26 HR and 83 RBI. He has bursitis in his left shoulder that requires the occasional cortisone shot and has torn ligaments in his thumb as well.


With as violent as a hack as Sheffield takes, it should be no surprise that he's falling apart. How many guys swing the bat as aggressively as Sheffield? There aren't many.

11:07 AM 0 comments

IT HAS BEEN A WHILE, FRIENDS

I took the last week off from blogging because I needed some "Bryan-time". I'm good to go now.

Since we last spoke, the Brewers have been getting pounded a lot lately. It seemed like throughout the first half of the season that even when the Crew lost, they were still in games. Now they've seen an increase in 10-3 (like last night vs. Atlanta) type games.

Also, the Brewers finally moved the struggling Scott Podsednik out of the leadoff spot. He went 2-4 last night in Atlanta and put together a few solid at-bats. Craig Counsell has been hitting leadoff for the Brewers and doing a pretty good job there.

The Brewers are five games below .500 right now and don't seem to be close to getting back over that mark. They still continue to score runs and now have been having some pitching problems. It's still a nice goal to have but I don't really think that it is possible.

11:01 AM 0 comments
8.04.2004

BREWERS LOSE, JENKINS CONTINUES TO SWING IT WELL

I know the Crew got completely spanked last night, but I'm glad to see that Jenkins is finally starting to hit the ball, and hit the ball with some authority.

Again, I can't stress enough how his switch back to "California Love" as at-bat music has been the most important factor, far more important that hitting the ball to the opposite field or getting his timing down.

Since he changed his at-bat music...

AB H HR RBI AVG OBP SLG COOLNESS RATING
23 10 3 4 .434 .434 .913 Off the charts

If a guy hit .434 with a .434 OBP would people still complain that he doesn't walk enough?

Probably. It is kinda funny to think about. "Hey, I know you're hitting .434 and slugging .913, but do you think you could take a few more pitches? You know, 'work the count', be 'patient'."

There are so many ways to be a successful hitter, just like there are different ways to be a successful pitcher. Some guys can be Scott Hatteberg and take a strike 95% of the time and be successful, some guys can hack at pretty much everything (Ichiro) and be a productive player. It's just like how some pitchers can strikeout 11 per/9 (Randy Johnson) or 5 per/9 (Greg Maddux) and be Hall of Famers. The idea that there is a "one-size fits all" universal hitting approach or pitching philosophy is ridiculous.

Different players are skilled in different ways and it is up to coaching staffs, organizations, and the players themselves to figure out just what it is they are good at. In sports, especially at the professional level, you always have to be making adjustments. Keith Ginter is a perfect example. Last year he was able to take pitch after pitch because nobody really knew who he was. Once everybody figured out that there was no way in hell he was swinging at the first pitch he began to start a lot of ABs down 0-1 or 0-2, and his numbers have suffered so far (.247/.318/.425).



10:07 AM 0 comments
8.02.2004

DUDE SWEARING ON TV ABOUT BALLOONS AT DEM CONVENTION

Most of you probably saw/heard what happened at the Democratic Convention in Boston on Thursday when the balloons failed to drop on time to celebrate the nomination of JOHN KERRY. What some of you may not have known is that DON MINCHER, the man who was heard absolutely freaking out and swearing, was the person responsible for producing the 2002 All-Star Game pre-game ceremonies in Milwaukee. He was very difficult to work with and most people thought he was a jerk, so I think it's funny that he got completely embarrassed on television.

12:20 PM 0 comments

BREWERS WIN SERIES WITH PIRATES

The Brewers tried as hard as they could to lose Sunday, the only thing was that Pittsburgh tried harder. Tons of walks, mental errors and physical errors highlighted the three-game set in Milwaukee, with the Brewers winning 5-0 on Friday and 8-7 on Sunday.

GEOFF JENKINS had a good weekend, highlighted by a 3-5 on Sunday. He's homered in back-to-back games, and I can't help but think I'm partially responsible for his good weekend. See, I initiated Geoff's switch from Usher's "Yeah" to his old AB music from 1999 "California Love" by Tupac and Dr Dre. Could it be that the only problem with Geoff all year was that he had the wrong at-bat music?


10:38 AM 0 comments