The Hey its 2021 now guys MLB thread

[jficke13]

The trade for Willy Adames really seems to be just what the doctor ordered.  The Crew has been a completely different team once he arrived.  It has allowed Luis Urias to settle in to a more comfortable position as the #1 utility guy (admittedly playing for Shaw right now).  Moreover, the Nashville call-ups like Taylor and Peterson have been outstanding contributors.  Even Hiura seems to be getting it going and Wong will be back in the line-up tomorrow in his customary lead off spot.  We haven't even mentioned Yeli who has yet to hit his stride.

And how about the pen that Stearns has assembled, even in these past 3-4 weeks?  All in support of a dynamite starting 5, three of which are electric special.  Best Brewer pitching ever?  Perhaps.

This team is good.  Really good.  Be nice if it could be a special season.

I'm no historian, but in my lifetime it's absolutely without question the deepest staff the team's ever had. Without doing any research I'd be willing to put it against deepest staffs of any club in recent memory. Going Woody-Burnes-Peralta 1-2-3 isn't quite Randy Johnson-ConcentrationCampEnthusiast Schilling 1-2, but the addition of the third guy makes it arguably equivalent... add in the revolving door of contributors in the pen with Mariano Hader closing the door? That's a killer staff.

The Brewers were assembled this year to test conventional baseball wisdom that Pitching is what Matters. As early as Spring Training I could see that they rolled the dice that the out-getters + the Gold Glovers behind them would be enough to make up for a lackluster offense, and in the early going it looked like that bet wasn't going to pan out. But baseball is nothing if not large sample sizes, and as the season goes on they're proving the conventional wisdom exists for a reason.

[Jockey]

Eric Sogard had more appearances on the mound in the series than Josh Hader.

[Uncle Rico]

I'm no historian, but in my lifetime it's absolutely without question the deepest staff the team's ever had. Without doing any research I'd be willing to put it against deepest staffs of any club in recent memory. Going Woody-Burnes-Peralta 1-2-3 isn't quite Randy Johnson-ConcentrationCampEnthusiast Schilling 1-2, but the addition of the third guy makes it arguably equivalent... add in the revolving door of contributors in the pen with Mariano Hader closing the door? That's a killer staff.

The Brewers were assembled this year to test conventional baseball wisdom that Pitching is what Matters. As early as Spring Training I could see that they rolled the dice that the out-getters + the Gold Glovers behind them would be enough to make up for a lackluster offense, and in the early going it looked like that bet wasn't going to pan out. But baseball is nothing if not large sample sizes, and as the season goes on they're proving the conventional wisdom exists for a reason.

An argument can be made the '92 pitching staff was the best they ever had prior to this season.  They weren't the strikeout pitchers today's guys are but the game was played different in '92.  The '92 bullpen lacked a Hader but for that season, they did a pretty good job getting outs for the most part.

[WI_Inferiority_Complexes1]

Eric Sogard had more appearances on the mound in the series than Josh Hader.

No bueno.

[Jockey]

An argument can be made the '92 pitching staff was the best they ever had prior to this season.  They weren't the strikeout pitchers today's guys are but the game was played different in '92.  The '92 bullpen lacked a Hader but for that season, they did a pretty good job getting outs for the most part.

The Brewers are positioned for a deep run in the post-season. They have the best top 3 starters in either league at the current time.

[jsglow]

The Brewers are positioned for a deep run in the post-season. They have the best top 3 starters in either league at the current time.

And I'd like to applaud Couns for not overusing them.  It's only early July and the Crew just played game #81.  Sooooo much baseball to go.

[Dish]

Maybe this was known already, but I noticed the Sunday July 25th Sox/Brewers game is the ESPN Sunday Night game. Considering Yankees/Red Sox is that weekend as well, I think that's awesome.

(I'm aware Yankees/Red Sox will be the TBS game that day)

[jsglow]

Maybe this was known already, but I noticed the Sunday July 25th Sox/Brewers game is the ESPN Sunday Night game. Considering Yankees/Red Sox is that weekend as well, I think that's awesome.

(I'm aware Yankees/Red Sox will be the TBS game that day)

It just got announced a couple hours ago Dish.

[CreightonWarrior]

And I'd like to applaud Couns for not overusing them.  It's only early July and the Crew just played game #81.  Sooooo much baseball to go.

Took a quick look...woodruff in top 10 for innings pitched. Big drop off until you get to Freddy in the 40s and Corbin in the 50s. Definitely not being overused.

[jsglow]

Took a quick look...woodruff in top 10 for innings pitched. Big drop off until you get to Freddy in the 40s and Corbin in the 50s. Definitely not being overused.

They plan to go with the 6 man rotation until the All-Star for sure.  Anderson is expected back for the Tuesday game.  That'll allow them to finish up with Woody on Sunday the 11th.

Oh, and a sidebar, Craig Counsell is the best manager in Brewer history.  It's not even close.

[Pakuni]

Non-White Sox fans may not care too much, but Jake Burger being called up by the team today is a great story. Suffered two Achilles tears, missed three years of organized baseball and spent part of last year with a collegiate summer league team, but has worked his way to the show.

[Dish]

Non-White Sox fans may not care too much, but Jake Burger being called up by the team today is a great story. Suffered two Achilles tears, missed three years of organized baseball and spent part of last year with a collegiate summer league team, but has worked his way to the show.

Jake is such a good dude too, super nice guy, and a couple years ago he played catch with my son. He's been open about his mental health struggles, and as Pak said, he's overcome so much to get to this point.

Hope he's here to stay for a long and successful career.

[jficke13]

Non-White Sox fans may not care too much, but Jake Burger being called up by the team today is a great story. Suffered two Achilles tears, missed three years of organized baseball and spent part of last year with a collegiate summer league team, but has worked his way to the show.

That's a really cool story. Love to see it.

[4everwarriors]

Any y'all ever eaten a Jake's burger, hey?

[Uncle Rico]

Any y'all ever eaten a Jake's burger, hey?

It's been awhile, but yes.  Pretty fookin' good

[MuggsyB]

Will the Brewers ever lose?  The Cubs are clearly done even though there are 80 games left.  I don't follow baseball much but what's scary is the Brewers aren't really hitting well.

[cheebs09]

I think the Brewers offense may be benefitting more from the crackdown on sticky substances than it is hurting their pitchers.

Granted, they've had starts like this before, and it hasn't ended well. Although, I don't think they've ever had this level of pitching.

If their starting pitching stays healthy and near this level, it can cover up a lot of bad nights hitting. They've done a great job of keeping them in games for the offense to squeak a few runs past and then get to Hader.

[Jockey]

1. DeGrom has given up more runs in 3 starts without sticky stuff than he did the rest of the season. He suddenly just looks like the best pitcher in baseball now instead of the best of all time.

2. Ohtani is a beast.

[JWags85]

1. DeGrom has given up more runs in 3 starts without sticky stuff than he did the rest of the season. He suddenly just looks like the best pitcher in baseball now instead of the best of all time.

His first start post ruling he went 5 innings with 1 hit and no runs.0

All 3 runs in the Atlanta game came in the first inning, 2 on a HR, against a team that hits a ton.  After the first, he threw 6 innings of 2 hit ball, striking out another 13 batters.

Outside of that first inning in Atlanta, since the sticky ban, he's given up 6 hits and 2 runs in 17 innings while striking out 24.  But by all means continue with your weird ax to grind against him even though the best pitchers of all time have bad innings.  Or that he gave up 3 runs to a crummy Rockies team earlier in the year when he using his supposed magic ball

Oh and the double and the HR the Braves hit off him were on near 100MPH fastballs perfectly placed on the edge of the zone.  Not sliders he suddenly can't spin anymore

[BM1090]

Will the Brewers ever lose?  The Cubs are clearly done even though there are 80 games left.  I don't follow baseball much but what's scary is the Brewers aren't really hitting well.

The Brewers are hitting well. They are averaging 7.3 runs per game during this winning streak. Offense is now near the middle of the league in runs per game. I believe they are close to the top if the league in runs per game since the trade for Adames.

I do think MIL is a legitimately very good team with a chance to win it all. Here's to hoping my 40/1 world series bet cashes. 

[jsglow]

The Brewers are hitting well. They are averaging 7.3 runs per game during this winning streak. Offense is now near the middle of the league in runs per game. I believe they are close to the top if the league in runs per game since the trade for Adames.

I do think MIL is a legitimately very good team with a chance to win it all. Here's to hoping my 40/1 world series bet cashes. 

I'm not going to go back and do the research but when the Crew scores 4 or more they pretty much are guaranteed victory.

[Jockey]

Oh and the double and the HR the Braves hit off him were on near 100MPH fastballs perfectly placed on the edge of the zone.  Not sliders he suddenly can't spin anymore

Spin rate is just as important on fastballs as it is on sliders. Fastballs without the extra spin end up where you expect them to.

Gravity and the downward angle means fastballs drop a certain amount. Increased spin causes fastballs to "rise". That is why pitchers throw to the top of the zone now. (Of course, it is impossible for pitches to rise - it is an illusion - but the level of drop is decreased with increased spin.)

But it is a common fallacy that spin rate only affects breaking pitches.

[MuggsyB]

The Brewers are hitting well. They are averaging 7.3 runs per game during this winning streak. Offense is now near the middle of the league in runs per game. I believe they are close to the top if the league in runs per game since the trade for Adames.

I was just looking at their batting stats.  They're #22 but I guess they're starting to come along.  Do people expect them to try to add a big bat?

I do think MIL is a legitimately very good team with a chance to win it all. Here's to hoping my 40/1 world series bet cashes. 

[Jockey]

To add to my earlier comments:

Spin is a gravity fighter. The more a four-seam fastball spins with its true backspin direction, the more it fights gravity. A hitter learns from tens of thousands of pitches where he expects the ball to be based on its speed and trajectory. But a super-spinning fastball—say, 2,700 rpms and above—fools the hitter because it doesn't sink as much as those thousands of fastballs he has cataloged in his head. That's why you see hitters swinging underneath high-spinning fastballs.

[BM1090]

22 in what? They are 14th in runs per game.

https://www.teamrankings.com/mlb/stat/runs-per-game

They are 4th in the past 30 days

https://www.mlb.com/stats/team/runs?timeframe=-29

They could try to add a bat but I don't see them making a blockbuster deal. Maybe for a solid hitting utility guy. The only position where they really need an upgrade is 1B assuming Hiura doesn't keep hitting. Maybe CF but I think they are willing to sacrifice hitting for defense there.