MLB 2018 Season

[Its DJOver]

There's no way he should start against Ryu, but Granderson has made solid contact in all his appearances thus far, and his plate discipline is excellent.  If Aguilar continues to struggle, is there a point where you move Braun to first and give Granderson a few more ABs?  Aguilar's production has been non-existent, and with Granderson, you know that you'll get at least some discipline.

[buckchuckler]

That AL game was wild from the 1st to the last out.

[GB Warrior]

Just bought my WS tickets. Saddest I've ever been shelling out that kind of money (other than my wedding, HEYO)

[WI inferiority Complexes]

That AL game was wild from the 1st to the last out.

That was fantastic October baseball. 

[MU82]

That AL game was wild from the 1st to the last out.

Agreed. What an effen play at the end.

Shows you the slim margin of victory/defeat sometimes. If that ball hits the ground 2 inches in front of his glove and then skips past him, Astros win. Instead, he makes a catch that will be on highlight reels forever. Aside from Ners, none of us will ever be immortalized that way.

[CTWarrior]

Agreed. What an effen play at the end.

Shows you the slim margin of victory/defeat sometimes. If that ball hits the ground 2 inches in front of his glove and then skips past him, Astros win. Instead, he makes a catch that will be on highlight reels forever. Aside from Ners, none of us will ever be immortalized that way.

Man, Benintendi catch was 1:15 AM here, and I had to get up for work at 6.  I was so wired after the game I couldn't sleep until after 2:30.  So many great plays.  Bregman robbing Pearce and saving a run in the 3rd, Reddick's catch in the ninth, Betts throw in the 8th and Benintendi's catch to end the game were all fantastic.  Then there were boneheaded plays like Correa just not touching second base and not getting the DP allowing for another two out run to score later.  All the two out RBIs from both teams, Bradley making the Astros pay when Springer just missed Vazquez double (not to mention the interference call).  Kimbrel not having it again and again somehow escaping.  Game had everything.  Both teams using old fashioned two strike approach, so many more hits than strikeouts.  Just a fun, fun nerve-wracking game.

[Benny B]

If the World Series ends up as Milwaukee vs. Boston, do we call it the "bubbler" series?

[Dr. Blackheart]

If the World Series ends up as Milwaukee vs. Boston, do we call it the "bubbler" series?

The Battle of the Heads:  Cheddars vs. Chowders

[WarriorDad]

Already proven.  We saw what happened after Hader's 3 scoreless innings.  4 pitchers, each one of them giving up at least 1 run except for Jeffress, who gave up 2 hits in 1/3 of an inning.  Chicos thinks the Brewers would've won that game without using Hader, or with trying to get an extra 2 scoreless innings out of the pen.  Entirely laughable.  This series is over if the Brewers had tried to do that.  Hader needed to throw 2 scoreless innings minimum, and at that point he's unavailable for game 2 the next day, so you ride him as long as you can.  Really there was no decision to make.  That's as easy as it gets for a postseason managerial decision.

Nothing proven.  You have no way of knowing how the other pitchers pitch against different hitters than they pitched against, and in earlier innings than they did.  Different circumstances, different matchups.  Impossible to know.

[wadesworld]

Nothing proven.  You have no way of knowing how the other pitchers pitch against different hitters than they pitched against, and in earlier innings than they did.  Different circumstances, different matchups.  Impossible to know.

Okay. Well you think in a game that the Brewers won by one run having gotten 3 scoreless innings from Hader that they should've left Hader in the bullpen despite the fact that they had 4 pitchers pitch after Hader did and every single one with the exception of Jeffress, who gave up 2 hits in 1/3 of an inning, gave up at least one run.

But sure. The Crew would've been totally fine giving those pitchers 3 extra innings to get knocked around.

You're wrong bud.

Thank God Counsell knows a lot more than you do or this series would never have come back to Milwaukee.

[WI inferiority Complexes]

Full disclosure that I've never liked the Astros, going back to when they owned the Cubs in the NL Central, and I had to watch the Killer B's and Lima Time! and all that jazz.

Keuchel said during Spring Training that they won't suffer the World Series hangover and that they're "not like the Cubs."  I know it's very petty on my part, but there's a little bit of schadenfreude this  morning after Houston lost in 5 games of the Championship Series, just like last year's Cubs.

[Spotcheck Billy]

If the World Series ends up as Milwaukee vs. Boston, do we call it the "bubbler" series?

(Former) Braves vs. (Former) Braves?

[CTWarrior]

Full disclosure that I've never liked the Astros, going back to when they owned the Cubs in the NL Central, and I had to watch the Killer B's and Lima Time! and all that jazz.

Keuchel said during Spring Training that they won't suffer the World Series hangover and that they're "not like the Cubs."  I know it's very petty on my part, but there's a little bit of schadenfreude this  morning after Houston lost in 5 games of the Championship Series, just like last year's Cubs.

Any team that loses two postseason games where their opponent starts David Price does not belong in the World Series.  They did suffer a World Series hangover a little, but mostly Correa and Altuve were not near 100% and the Red Sox were able to score runs, which may have been the result of the accumulative effect of long postseasons back to back.  If the Sox get offense from 2B, 3B, CF and C, which they haven't a lot of this year, they are a tough out.

[WarriorDad]

Okay. Well you think in a game that the Brewers won by one run having gotten 3 scoreless innings from Hader that they should've left Hader in the bullpen despite the fact that they had 4 pitchers pitch after Hader did and every single one with the exception of Jeffress, who gave up 2 hits in 1/3 of an inning, gave up at least one run.

But sure. The Crew would've been totally fine giving those pitchers 3 extra innings to get knocked around.

You're wrong bud.

Thank God Counsell knows a lot more than you do or this series would never have come back to Milwaukee.

I think you wasted Hader up 5-1 so you couldn't use him in the second game.  Each situation is different.  You keep saying I'm wrong, you have no way of predicting what would have happened nor do I.  It is like saying if Markus wasn't on the bench, he would have been in and hit a 3 at some random time in the game.  It is nothing more than guesswork, but you keep bringing it as fact. 

On one hand you argue this is how they have handled the team all year long, yet you ignore that it was the most pitches he ever threw and only once had gone 3 innings.  Which is it?  When one gets to the post season, you are supposed to manage differently. This is why starters become relievers.  He seemed so intent on winning that first game, he won the battle and might lose the war.

Why not put someone else in when up 5-1 to see what they would do?  If they give up a few, fine put in Hader.  You are playing with house money.  He didn't even give that opportunity to play out, and burned his best asset for game two.

[wadesworld]

I think you wasted Hader up 5-1 so you couldn't use him in the second game.  Each situation is different.  You keep saying I'm wrong, you have no way of predicting what would have happened nor do I.  It is like saying if Markus wasn't on the bench, he would have been in and hit a 3 at some random time in the game.  It is nothing more than guesswork, but you keep bringing it as fact. 

On one hand you argue this is how they have handled the team all year long, yet you ignore that it was the most pitches he ever threw and only once had gone 3 innings.  Which is it?  When one gets to the post season, you are supposed to manage differently. This is why starters become relievers.  He seemed so intent on winning that first game, he won the battle and might lose the war.

Why not put someone else in when up 5-1 to see what they would do?  If they give up a few, fine put in Hader.  You are playing with house money.  He didn't even give that opportunity to play out, and burned his best asset for game two.

You are not playing with house money. You are making sure you don't blow a game that your opponent had their best starting pitcher on the mound, an all time great. I am not guessing. Literally what happened was 4 pitchers pitched after Hader's 3 scoreless innings. 3 of them gave up at least 1 run. The 4th gave up 2 hits and got 1 out. You think the Brewers could've survived 3 more innings with those guys in. You're wrong. We saw it play out game 1. And game 2. The Brewers lose game 1 if Counsell doesn't use Hader how he did. Hader was getting the next day off, used exactly how he was all season long to be one of the most dominant relievers in the history of baseball for a season. The only difference was since he was getting the next day off anyway, and they had a travel day following that, they rode him as long as possible. And thank God they did because they're coming home with a chance to win 2 home games to go to the WS. Had they not used him as they did game 1, this series never gets back to Milwaukee.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Wades and Chicos in a battle to see who can get the last word in.  Love it!

[wadesworld]

Wades and Chicos in a battle to see who can get the last word in.  Love it!

The 4 runs over the final 2 innings given up by the 4 pitchers Chicos thinks the Brewers should've used for an extra 3 innings in game 1 got the last word in.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

The 4 runs over the final 2 innings given up by the 4 pitchers Chicos thinks the Brewers should've used for an extra 3 innings in game 1 got the last word in.

For the record, I agree with you Wades.  I think it's hilarious that Chicos argues that your opinion can't be proven while his opinion is equally unprovable.

The difference is Wades bases his opinion on fact while Chicos is pure conjecture.

[MUBurrow]

I think CC has played this series as well as anyone could have hoped.  For my money, only two of his decisions have provided an opportunity for second guessing. One is pitching to Bellinger at the end of Game 4 and the other is leaving Woodruff in for the 6th in Game 5. And neither of those are remotely close to being clear cut. Guerra got within one strike of getting Bellinger out and after Game 4, CC didn't have a lot of bullpen options after Woodruff and the bats just weren't going to come alive in LA.

[wadesworld]

The only move I have a serious issue with was not bunting with Arcia when Pina was on 2nd and no outs in the 7th inning of game 4.  I get why Craig didn't, you've already used some bench players, Pina might not be able to make it up to 3rd as the slowest runner on the Brewers not named Kratz, and Arcia has 3 total sacrifice bunts.  But I'd have pinch ran Hernan and given Orlando 2 shots to get it down.  Then Kratz catches the rest of the game.  Guy on 3rd with 1 out and Granderson coming up, you score that run and then you go to some combination of Hader/Knebel/Jeffress/Soria to get you the last 9 outs and a 3-1 series lead.

Other than that I would've maybe made some different decisions personally (don't send Jeffress back out to start a second inning of work when he already struggled mightily through a first inning of work, following a night where he had already struggled, in game 2, pitching to Belinger, etc.) but those are coin flip decisions.

He's got the Brewers at home needing to win 2 games to go to a World Series with a Playoff starting pitching staff of Jhoulys Chacin, Wade Miley, Gio Gonzolez, and Brandon Woodruff.  Pretty incredible, really.

[jsglow]

The only move I have a serious issue with was not bunting with Arcia when Pina was on 2nd and no outs in the 7th inning of game 4.  I get why Craig didn't, you've already used some bench players, Pina might not be able to make it up to 3rd as the slowest runner on the Brewers not named Kratz, and Arcia has 3 total sacrifice bunts.  But I'd have pinch ran Hernan and given Orlando 2 shots to get it down.  Then Kratz catches the rest of the game.  Guy on 3rd with 1 out and Granderson coming up, you score that run and then you go to some combination of Hader/Knebel/Jeffress/Soria to get you the last 9 outs and a 3-1 series lead.

Other than that I would've maybe made some different decisions personally (don't send Jeffress back out to start a second inning of work when he already struggled mightily through a first inning of work, following a night where he had already struggled, in game 2, pitching to Belinger, etc.) but those are coin flip decisions.

He's got the Brewers at home needing to win 2 games to go to a World Series with a Playoff starting pitching staff of Jhoulys Chacin, Wade Miley, Gio Gonzolez, and Brandon Woodruff.  Pretty incredible, really.

I had gone to bed so thanks for the specifics on the bunt situation.  Was the pitcher still hitting in the 9 hole?  I think I agree with you that trying to scratch out a run there might have been a good move.  Too bad Broxton wasn't on the 25 for that.  I'm not sure about the analytics of 2nd with no outs vs. 3rd with one but I'm not going to overly criticize Couns because the numbers might say the former.  The man has pulled out all the stops.  The Dodgers are simply deeper.  And yet we're still very much in this. 

[4everwarriors]

Mae bee dey oughta pull Miley after 5 pitches tanite again, hey?

[CreightonWarrior]

It's incredible what this team can do when the top of the lineup get on base and the heart of the line up can get a base hit

[GGGG]

It's incredible what this any team can do when the top of the lineup get on base and the heart of the line up can get a base hit

FIFY

[Jockey]

One more, baby!