The Brewers have arrived....in last place

[CuseCubFan69]

The Astros used what little trading chips they had to get Valverde and Tejeda. They would have been better off using some of those to improve the starting rotation.

 

If they start to drop I'm sure they could recoup some of those chips and get something for Tejada and whatever assets they have.

[Banedon]

This is a BAD divison.

 

Really? I mean, the Brewers are in last, but they're only 4 games under .500. I think you could say it's a division with a lot of parity, but they are probably the best division in the NL. Every team in the Central has a winning record against the West. And Milwaukee has the worst record against the East with 4-7...Pitt and Cinci are one game under against the East, and the rest of the division is .500 or better against the East.

 

You could probably argue who's better...the East or the Central, but the West is a bad division. The Central is at worst mediocre.

 

(Only the AL East has a last place team with a winning percentage of .455 or better, like the Brewers.)

[CuseCubFan69]

This is a BAD divison.

 

Really? I mean, the Brewers are in last, but they're only 4 games under .500. I think you could say it's a division with a lot of parity, but they are probably the best division in the NL. Every team in the Central has a winning record against the West. And Milwaukee has the worst record against the East with 4-7...Pitt and Cinci are one game under against the East, and the rest of the division is .500 or better against the East.

 

You could probably argue who's better...the East or the Central, but the West is a bad division. The Central is at worst mediocre.

 

(Only the AL East has a last place team with a winning percentage of .455 or better, like the Brewers.)

 

Yeah, I think everyone is thinking the West is going to wake up but it's possible they may stay as dormant as they are now.

[bukie]

The Cubs have definitely been playing the best baseball in the division, if not in all baseball, and that even counts St. Louis and Houston playing above their heads to this point (and the Brewers playing below theirs). That last 3 weeks of the season, though, makes me nervous, what with 16 road games and 6 home games to close out the season. Who are those road game against? Houston, Cincy, St. Louis, Milwaukee and the NY Mets.

 

Would be nice to lead the division by a good 10-15 games going into that stretch to put down any ideas of collapsing.

[SouthSideRyan]

The Astros used what little trading chips they had to get Valverde and Tejeda. They would have been better off using some of those to improve the starting rotation.

 

If they start to drop I'm sure they could recoup some of those chips and get something for Tejada and whatever assets they have.

 

Ed Wade would just trade him for Tim Worrell though.

[CuseCubFan69]

The Astros used what little trading chips they had to get Valverde and Tejeda. They would have been better off using some of those to improve the starting rotation.

 

If they start to drop I'm sure they could recoup some of those chips and get something for Tejada and whatever assets they have.

 

Ed Wade would just trade him for Tim Worrell though.

 

Yeah, it certainly is nice having Ed at the helm for the Houston Astros.

[SouthSideRyan]

Possible bad news

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Possible bad news

came from a blog, can't possibly be true

[Banedon]

Possible bad news

came from a blog, can't possibly be true

 

More or less shot down.

 

http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2008/05/19/club-source-no-decision-on-yost.aspx

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Possible bad news

came from a blog, can't possibly be true

 

More or less shot down.

 

http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2008/05/19/club-source-no-decision-on-yost.aspx

not worthy of its own rant, but that is quite possibly the worst newspaper known to man. I received complimentary copies of it while in Wisc Dells this past weekend, and I can't find anything nice to say about it

[Hairyducked Idiot]

The Cubs, as currently comprised, are the best team in the division and it isn't close. After that, I see a lot of parity.

 

I'm cherry-picking a little, but here's why I don't fear each of the remaining teams:

 

Cardinals: Playing way over their heads, as has been mentioned too many times to go over them all. You aren't going to get a whole season of a 197 OPS+ from Ryan Ludwick. And despite this massive overperformance, they have the run differential of a 24-22 team. They ran out to 10-4 and 16-10 and are just treading water since, and even that will eventually start to fall back.

 

Astros: 11th in the league in OBP + 7th in SLG = 3rd in runs scored? Not forever it won't. As a team, they are OPSing 127 points better with men on base than with bases empty, and that kind of split won't last. Once it does, their offense will look very average and won't be able to carry a mediocre pitching staff.

 

Reds: They were a dark horse in the sense that they were an average-ish team that could do very well if everything goes well, but it hasn't, so they won't. Volquez is a nice story, but he isn't this good yet. They have a lot of young talent, but none of it looks ready for stardom in the league just yet. They could replace average vets with average youngsters, but they won't suddenly become a 90-win team. And there's this: Team Defensive Efficiency 0.680, 30th in the majors. Their defense is really, really bad.

 

Pittsburgh: Decent offensive outfield, a whole lot of mediocre-to-bad pitching. The only decent pitching they have is left-handed, which is death in this division.

 

And...the Brewers. The Brewers are a lesson in how to build a good-OPS, bad-everything-else team. Their combined Pythagorean record this season and last is two games under .500.

 

How do you have an awesome team-OPS and a decent rotation but still be a sub. 500 team? The Brewers go down almost perfectly through the checklist. Horrible bullpen? Check. Dumb manager? Check. Bad defense? Super-check.

 

I don't think many people (especially Brewers fans and the Cubs fans who fear them) appreciate how awful the Brewers defense is. Last season, the Brewers were 25th in the majors in Defensive Efficiency while the Cubs were 3rd (first in the NL). That was the difference in the division. This season, the Cubs are 2nd (first in the NL) and the Brewers are tied for 21st. When the ball is in play, the Cubs are one of the best in baseball at turning it into an out, the Brewers are one of the worst. Corey Hart and J.J. Hardy are essentially the only two average defenders out of the regulars, the rest are bad or worse.

[UMFan83]

Ok lets look at this pessimistically now.

 

Cardinals: Playing above their heads only buys them times and keeps them in a contenders mindset until Clement, Carpenter and Mulder get healthy. True that its likely the latter two never get healthy enough to give any production, but the point still stands that they have room to improve. Another bad thing about them hanging around is the potential for a trade or two come July. Matt Holliday in Cardinals red should at least keep every Cubs fan on guard.

 

Astros: Well you're right. They are a huge fluke. I guess the "buyers in July" argument would work, but they need a lot more to be contenders in my book.

 

Reds: I am assuming that their offense is the thing thats keeping them under right now (without looking at the numbers) because their staff is probably the best in the NL Central overall. Their offense should be pretty decent on paper, and should improve as the year goes on. Plus they hold 2 wild cards in AAA, Bruce and Bailey. Luckily they have probably the worst manager in the division.

 

Pittsburgh: Nice story, but they aren't going to challenge us. They should look to challenge for a .500 record. They have some pieces though.

 

Brewers: They also have trading chips and pieces to make their team better. Yost will be gone by the end of June. They don't seem to realize their defensive shortcoming though. That said, when playing well I still think they are among the more talented in the NL.

 

Meh, I tried.

[Soul]

I'm thinking the Reds might have enough to challenge now, strange as that sounds. They've probably got the pitching.

 

Although I'm sure Yost won't get fired today, I would think that's definitely an option on the table for the organization now. There were very high expectations in Brewtown heading into this season, and you can argue injuries or this & that, but great expectations not met usually equals heads rolling.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I'm thinking the Reds might have enough to challenge now, strange as that sounds. They've probably got the pitching.

 

Although I'm sure Yost won't get fired today, I would think that's definitely an option on the table for the organization now. There were very high expectations in Brewtown heading into this season, and you can argue injuries or this & that, but great expectations not met usually equals heads rolling.

 

 

Dusty will ensure us that we have nothing to worry about when it comes to the Reds.

[Soul]

I'm thinking the Reds might have enough to challenge now, strange as that sounds. They've probably got the pitching.

 

Although I'm sure Yost won't get fired today, I would think that's definitely an option on the table for the organization now. There were very high expectations in Brewtown heading into this season, and you can argue injuries or this & that, but great expectations not met usually equals heads rolling.

 

 

Dusty will ensure us that we have nothing to worry about when it comes to the Reds.

 

I'm worried about it being his first season with them, because of '03 with us. But I hear you.

[illiniguy]

ElCABALLO said in this thread that Z looks like he may finally put it together for a full year. Go look at his '04 and '05 stats. Z is one of the best pitchers in baseball who had a subpar year last year. Please don't act like he has never put together a full year before.

[mul21]

Cardinals: Playing above their heads only buys them times and keeps them in a contenders mindset until Clement, Carpenter and Mulder get healthy. True that its likely the latter two never get healthy enough to give any production, but the point still stands that they have room to improve. Another bad thing about them hanging around is the potential for a trade or two come July. Matt Holliday in Cardinals red should at least keep every Cubs fan on guard.

 

 

Only problem wih this is that all the unexpected production they're getting offensively is from the glut of AAAA outfielders they're throwing out there on a daily basis. And Lohse, Wellemeyer, and Looper can't possibly continue to be as effective as they've been. Mulder and Clement are both done (probably for good) and Carp will come back, but who knows how his control will be after TJS.

[CubbieBum]

I'm thinking the Reds might have enough to challenge now, strange as that sounds. They've probably got the pitching.

 

Although I'm sure Yost won't get fired today, I would think that's definitely an option on the table for the organization now. There were very high expectations in Brewtown heading into this season, and you can argue injuries or this & that, but great expectations not met usually equals heads rolling.

 

 

Dusty will ensure us that we have nothing to worry about when it comes to the Reds.

 

I'm worried about it being his first season with them, because of '03 with us. But I hear you.

 

yep that's why I don't write off the Reds this year or expect Dusty to f up a game every chance he gets. Well maybe I expect him to mess up but I'm not surprised when he doesn't.