XZero771679666304

yeah, he's done a great job of taking ABs away from votto, who's clearly the better player. Hatteberg made his first start since April 10th today. Yeah, really taking ABs away. Just bash him for his 9-14 record and stop reaching for other stuff. Yeah, that was a bit of a reach. But don't fool yourself into thinking the Dustman will fair to young players even half the time. Give the man a viable option/excuse, and watch what happens. No reaching is necessary, he has done it consistently his entire career. But even if he mends his ways, you can still look forward to some of the worse in game management in recent memory. to be fair, you couldn't have "in game managed" any worse than Lou did in Game 1 vs. the Rockies a few days ago True, but Dusty does it consistently.

oh please do explain Theriot has been playing poorly lately. "But he has an .870 OPS." that was not my response. i referenced his past week's statistics and it was much better than a .870 OPS for that period. i made mention of Cedeno playing concurrently, making this mostly a moot argument. i dont see where i made this reply to that point. also curious is that nobody is tearing apart Dempster and Reed Johnson. it seems as everybody has been reactionary to their hot starts in spite of indications that they'd both be far less productive players. the determination to loathe those two players must not be so strong. riding the hot hand. a very atypical thing for managers to do. but this response is different from the rest rendering it irrelevant. actual response: lou's fault. your reading comprehension leaves a lot to be desired. You can make hypocritical comments about the reading comprehension of others and revise your "actual resposnses", but the fact remains that with you, the counterpoint to virtually every point was a reference to Theriot's OPS. And speaking of reading comprehension, the point many of us were trying to make was that Theriot's hot start would buy him too much time after his concurrent playing time with Cedeno. And you never made a compelling argument to the contrary except to put the name of the man who allowed the same thing to happen last year in large font. Congratulations. I never once said bench him now. I just said that tiptoeing through the tulips about Theriot's OPS is a little shortsighted, which it is. But I don't have time for your circuitous logic or ridiculously hypocritical insults, so later. One more thing: Reed Johnson has had a highly successful full season as a starter. Dempster has had a few. Theriot hasn't had a successful half season.

Oh, the irony. oh please do explain Theriot has been playing poorly lately. "But he has an .870 OPS." Cedeno is more talented, plays better defense and is hitting better. "But he has an .870 OPS." Theriot tailed off badly last year. "But he has an .870 OPS." Theriot was given all of last year to prove his 1 1/2 months of good play wasn't a fluke. "But he has an .870 OPS....and Lou will bench him" Lou didn't last year. "But he has an .870 OPS." Brick wall?

Oh, the irony.

ok, now we're getting somewhere. this is good. the fear is that Piniella is going to make the terrible decision of playing a sub-.650 ops SS everyday when there is another clearly superior option. and that surely would be a terrible decision. but what nobody realizes apparently, is that you're all really early with the criticisms as the kid is at .870 or whatever now and has been an asset for us this season. you're jumping the gun with the bashing, and it's directed at the wrong party. i've been thrilled that both ronny and theriot have been producing, but i realize that puts me in the minority. i guess i'm the twisted type of fan that enjoys it when players are performing well. He had 1/2 a good month followed by 2 1/2 of being bad, then he had 1 good month which bought him 2 months (the stretch drive, no less) of being flat out awful. Who was the manager? And there was no effort whatsoever to upgrade the SS this winter, so apparently Hendry/Lou didn't see Theriot's dismal play as an issue, saying that they thought "he just wore down". So you'll have to forgive some of us for not believing Lou will pull the plug when the time comes. Meanwhile, you have Cedeno (a guy with real talent, no less) finally getting it together. But you know when Soriano comes back, he's headed back to the bench, even though Theriot's play is already starting to tail off. Some of us are a tad irritated because you don't need a crystal ball to see what is going to happen.

people are inferring Ryan has been detrimental with his play thus far. it is absolutely analogous. and who makes that decision? if you don't know id be glad to give hints. You are conveniently ignoring the fact that the very situation some of us are fearing HAPPENED LAST YEAR. Who made that decision? Do you need a hint?

Which is why we needed 2 of 3 here, at least.

i was really just highlighting the asinine logic (or lack thereof) of all the bashing for any of the team's struggles towards one particular player who has played stellar baseball so far this year. the tunnel vision is strong with a significant faction of the game threaders. "870 OPS? for a SS wow that's pretty goo-...oh **** it, i hate that little guy anyways" Funny you should mention tunnel vision, because thats what you're using to look at his OPS. so with his high OPS he is still detrimental to the team? thats funny as the notion of that pertaining to A-Rod has always been mocked and derided on here. kind of a double standard. ARod maintains his OPS thoughout the season. The two situations aren't remotely comparable. Theriot's 1 1/2 good months in 2007 had a net loss effect because the rest of the time he was terrible. If Ryan has an .870 OPS this month and .600-.670 OPS's for the next two, he won't have helped the team at all. And don't try and feed me that Lou Piniella crap. We all know that Ryan will get a prolonged chance to "pull out of it" even if he starts to tank (which he will almost certainly do).

LOU. PINIELLA. OMG, it happened last year. !

i was really just highlighting the asinine logic (or lack thereof) of all the bashing for any of the team's struggles towards one particular player who has played stellar baseball so far this year. the tunnel vision is strong with a significant faction of the game threaders. "870 OPS? for a SS wow that's pretty goo-...oh **** it, i hate that little guy anyways" Funny you should mention tunnel vision, because thats what you're using to look at his OPS.

Ya think? We'd be on a 9 game winning streak right now if we could hit with RISP No I think we would be on that streak had Theriot not been playing. he has killed us with his glove, lack of hitting, and stealing. Wow your right: Thursday: GIDP with the bases loaded, botches a routine DP ball that results in the go ahead run scoring GIDP? Your are right. Bloops into a double play. Way better. so he's at fault for another guys baserunning wow tough crowd He is at fault for not being a very good baseball player. "not good at baseball" awesome, an original term that adds much to the argument if our worst player has been a 870 opsing SS then i look forward to a very, very, very prosperous season. Do you honestly think that he has a better chance to sustain numbers like those than Cedeno? Look at his track record. He has shown that, over time, he will probably play below average baseball. It's not a stretch for someone to predict this. He had an OPS of .700 in only one month last year, two months at .550 or worse. Can't blame people for looking at the big picture.

It's not hard to understand why, really. The further entrenched he becomes in the starting lineup now, the longer he will stay there after he should have been removed. How many times have we seen this happen over the past few years? When/if he is starting everyday in July even though he is OPS'ing .600, you'll wish the plug had been pulled a lot earlier.

Awesome.

He'll K.

Better score here, dammit.

Ya think? We'd be on a 9 game winning streak right now if we could hit with RISP No I think we would be on that streak had Theriot not been playing. he has killed us with his glove, lack of hitting, and stealing. Wow your right: Thursday: GIDP with the bases loaded, botches a routine DP ball that results in the go ahead run scoring Friday: CS twice, including once at 3B where afterwards the circumstances led to the Cubs hitting a sac fly. Today: GIDP with the bases loaded in a situation to tie the game. That one on Friday was the worst. How do you get caught trying to steal third with Derrek Lee at the plate and one out? Stupid. Stupid to even try.

It was straight up L/R percentage playing, which I hate. I didn't like hitting for Cedeno, and I really didn't like burning Ward. It worked out (sort of), but I still don't like it.

Haha, No I don't think he will hit .350 all year. But I take Jason Kendall over Estrada, Estrada makes Kendall look like Ricky Henderson. estrada had a 7.7 VORP last year, kendall had a -9.8. they're both bad defensively. estrada is still the better player - unless kendall is able to sustain the .344 BABIP with a 16% line drive rate, and good luck with that. Jason Kendall threw out his 7th base runner today. He has improved alot from last year. Kendall > Estrada Estrada threw out two cubs yesterday. Also even though it is still a very small sample size, what would make you think a guy would get heads and shoulders better after they turned 36? I can think of only one way for that to happen. Jason didn't work out with Mike Cameron this offseason did he? Estrada threw out Theriot, and Kendall threw out Luis Gonzalez, who isn't exactly Vince Coleman out there. Then Kendall made a "great" play on a bunt, cutting down the runner at third, and the Brewers' announcers were gushing. The problem was that Kendall had to go to third because he took a bad angle to the ball, and was fortunate that the runner going to third was the Marlins catcher. The details (and more importantly, sample size) do matter. Good, fast baserunners can run on Jason at will, and all day. Eye surgery doesn't correct noodle arm. Brewer fans will realize this all too well by season's end.

yeah, he's done a great job of taking ABs away from votto, who's clearly the better player. Hatteberg made his first start since April 10th today. Yeah, really taking ABs away. Just bash him for his 9-14 record and stop reaching for other stuff. Yeah, that was a bit of a reach. But don't fool yourself into thinking the Dustman will fair to young players even half the time. Give the man a viable option/excuse, and watch what happens. No reaching is necessary, he has done it consistently his entire career. But even if he mends his ways, you can still look forward to some of the worse in game management in recent memory.

I wouldn't be so sure. If Soto starts tearing it up for a prolonged stretch, perhaps Lou will come to view him as adequate protection for Ramirez, which is why Kosuke is there. Lou has come out and said he'd like Fukudome up in the lineup, but he needed him to protect Aramis. It seems to me that if other protection presents itself, things could change.

I don't think so, unless you are a fantasy owner. Aside from one season, he never stole bases with great efficiency, and his OBP isn't really high enough to make it an issue anyway. He is still fast enough to leg out a lot of doubles, and his XBH are his main asset. If his bat speed goes, that's an issue.

Wuertz and Howry need to find midseason form soon, or Marmol's arm is going to fall off. Having said that, I am confident they both will.

My favorite part is listening to the announcers rave about how good Kendall is behind the plate, when he hasn't even been league average for a few years now. He was great with the Pirates, but those days are long past.

Yeah, they really are at this point. They may not be by the end, but the Reds have been straight up awful so far. They're losing to everyone, and they're losing big. in their last 11, they are 3-8 (including a sweep at the hands of the Pirates), having been outscored by 25 runs over that span (including wins). They were outscored 63-22 in the 8 losses. That's half the season so far. They are now last in the division. And I didn't mean to single you out (and I am not directing the following at you). It's just that there was so much of that "Cubs catch all the breaks" from Crew fans down the stretch last year, and it is such sour grapes BS (like acting shocked when the Cubs started pounding the ball late in the season, even though the team was loaded with perennial sluggers who had underachieved all season to that point) that it sets me off. And after the Cubs won the division, I heard a lot of "I hope they/you enjoy it, they won't get close again anytime soon" from Crew fans. The problem is that many Crew fans seem desperately attached to the notion that the Brewers are so much more talented than the Cubs (and everyone else) that if all things are equal, they should win fairly easily. Where this theory runs into trouble is that it isn't true. Now before any Milwaukee fans have a conniption fit, I will concede that the Crew is very talented, probably more talented than the Cubs. But not by that much. I just think all the hype about the young talent has gone to Brewers fan's heads a bit, to the point that when they aren't in first place, it must be due to some sort of poor luck for the crew, or horseshoes up the butts of the opposition. Much of that is due to the 24-10 start last year in which, let's be honest, the Crew was probably playing over their heads a bit. There are no guarantees that Fielder will hit 50 homers, or that Braun will OPS 1.000 or Hart will produce like last year. Hardy is almost certainly more of the 10-15 homer guy he has been than the 25+ guy of 2007. Gagne is no Cordero. Yost is still Yost. On our side, Lee and Ramirez are both top 5 at their positions in MLB. Soriano is an All-Star. Fukudome is a Japanese MVP. Soto is a favorite for ROY. Zambrano is a Cy Young candidate (one that doesn't get injured regularly, mind you). There are 3 guys in our pen (despite a couple slow starts this year) that could be #1 set-up men for many teams, including yours. Plus the Cubs are big spenders. They may not be as loaded with young talent, but for this year and the next at least, the Cubs aren't going anywhere, and it isn't because they catch breaks. And by that time, you'll have the Reds (provided Dusty hasn't messed them up too badly) to deal with. There is a legitimate chance (though I doubt it, it may well happen this year) that Prince, Braun and Co. won't experience playoff baseball as Milwaukee Brewers at all. Maybe some of the more loudmouthed among the crew fanbase should temper some of that "we're so talented" sense of entitlement with the reality that they won't be running away with anything. Ok, Well I just want to say I never said once said "The Brewers have so much more talent" or "We are going to run away with the divison". I don't agree with some of your posts but Im not here to start a fight or anything. This is a Cub board and I will respect that. See the part where I said I wasn't singling you out or directing what was to follow at you. It's near the beginning of my post. I never said that you said those things. It's just that you making that comment about breaks gave me a bit of that "here we go again" feeling. Aside from one other thread, I have found you to be pretty reasonable. I am pretty sure you know the ones at Brewerfan.net who I am mainly referring to.

Yeah, they really are at this point. They may not be by the end, but the Reds have been straight up awful so far. They're losing to everyone, and they're losing big. in their last 11, they are 3-8 (including a sweep at the hands of the Pirates), having been outscored by 25 runs over that span (including wins). They were outscored 63-22 in the 8 losses. That's half the season so far. They are now last in the division. And I didn't mean to single you out (and I am not directing the following at you). It's just that there was so much of that "Cubs catch all the breaks" from Crew fans down the stretch last year, and it is such sour grapes BS (like acting shocked when the Cubs started pounding the ball late in the season, even though the team was loaded with perennial sluggers who had underachieved all season to that point) that it sets me off. And after the Cubs won the division, I heard a lot of "I hope they/you enjoy it, they won't get close again anytime soon" from Crew fans. The problem is that many Crew fans seem desperately attached to the notion that the Brewers are so much more talented than the Cubs (and everyone else) that if all things are equal, they should win fairly easily. Where this theory runs into trouble is that it isn't true. Now before any Milwaukee fans have a conniption fit, I will concede that the Crew is very talented, probably more talented than the Cubs. But not by that much. I just think all the hype about the young talent has gone to Brewers fan's heads a bit, to the point that when they aren't in first place, it must be due to some sort of poor luck for the crew, or horseshoes up the butts of the opposition. Much of that is due to the 24-10 start last year in which, let's be honest, the Crew was probably playing over their heads a bit. There are no guarantees that Fielder will hit 50 homers, or that Braun will OPS 1.000 or Hart will produce like last year. Hardy is almost certainly more of the 10-15 homer guy he has been than the 25+ guy of 2007. Gagne is no Cordero. Yost is still Yost. On our side, Lee and Ramirez are both top 5 at their positions in MLB. Soriano is an All-Star. Fukudome is a Japanese MVP. Soto is a favorite for ROY. Zambrano is a Cy Young candidate (one that doesn't get injured regularly, mind you). There are 3 guys in our pen (despite a couple slow starts this year) that could be #1 set-up men for many teams, including yours. Plus the Cubs are big spenders. They may not be as loaded with young talent, but for this year and the next at least, the Cubs aren't going anywhere, and it isn't because they catch breaks. And by that time, you'll have the Reds (provided Dusty hasn't messed them up too badly) to deal with. There is a legitimate chance (though I doubt it, it may well happen this year) that Prince, Braun and Co. won't experience playoff baseball as Milwaukee Brewers at all. Maybe some of the more loudmouthed among the crew fanbase should temper some of that "we're so talented" sense of entitlement with the reality that they won't be running away with anything.