Sunday, October 30, 2011

I am back

Hey,

I was planning on releasing the entire season-in-review essays to be avilable for purchase online, but I couldn't figure out how to sell stuff on Blogspot.

So, it will be released for free, one essay a day.

Also, the Blurb will review the various Brewers positions as well as options to improve.


This week, the Blurb will cover the Outfield.

Tuesday: Brewers Current Outfield Situation
Wednesday: Internal Options
Thursday: Player Spotlight (Either internal option or free agent)
Friday: Conclusions

Go Brewers

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Blurb 10/19: It was fun while it lasted

Note: This was written late Sunday Night, but I was unable to post this until now due to computer issues.

It's over. The 2011 Milwaukee Brewers season is over. It was written in the stars, but for the Brewers it was a million miles away. No more Prince Fielder, no more World Series chances.

This season isn't a complete failure though.

Think about this. If I had told you this time last year that the Brewers would make the NLCS, would you take that?

Now obviously the trades for Grienke, and Marcum changes the expectations. but still even at Spring Training many fans would have taken an NLCS berth.

This postseason has been magical for the Brewers. Consider Yovanni's dominating Game 1 start. The tenth-inning walkoff hit and subsequent f-bomb blast from Nyjer Morgan to win the NLDS. Plus, the Brewers had an amazing come from behind victory in Game 1 of the NLCS!

Houston, San Diego, Seattle, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Washington, Toronto, and Baltimore. What do all these teams have in common? They would love to be in our position. As Milwaukee Brewers fans, with our troubled history that only included (before this season) one postseason appearance in the previous 28 years, we should appreciate when these good years come around, and recognize this team for what it is not a complete success, but not a failure.

While I am not completely happy with all the decisions made, and the final result of the 2011 season. Let us remember the good moments, and not the bad ending. How about next year though, we win it all.

Go Brewers and Please Comment

Monday, October 10, 2011

Blurb 10/11: No More NLCS Starts for Marcum

Shaun Marcum right now is not himself, and he is costing the Brewers a chance to advance to the World Series. In his last six starts (four regular season, two postseason), he has given up 30 runs in 33 innings pitched for a 8.18 ERA. He has a had one great start in that time frame (8 IP, 1ER), but besides that, there has been many nightmarish starts for Marcum. He is a detriment to the Brewers, and their success right now. I love Shaun Marcum, he is a good pitcher, and I have loved watching him throughout the season, but that shouldn't change what needs to be done. The window for success in the playoffs is so small that everyone needs to be performing at the top of their game, if they are not, they need to be replaced.


Ok, you may be saying, hypothetically if the Brewers do replace Shaun Marcum, who is this pitcher who can produce better. Here are three options to make up for a Marcum-less rotation:


1. Pitch everyone on short rest, and make your playoff rotation a three-man rotation (Game 3 Gallardo, 4 Grienke, 5 Wolf, 6 Gallardo, 7 Grienke)
2. Marco Estrada (3 Gallardo, 4 Grienke, 5 Wolf, 6 Estrada, 7 Gallardo)
3. Chris Narveson (3 Gallardo, 4 Grienke, 5 Wolf, 6 Narveson, 7 Gallardo)


#1 shouldn't happen, and won't happen. The organization, I believe, doesn't feel comfortable pitching Grienke on short rest. End of story.


#2 is what I believe the Brewers should do even though it may cause a lot of second guessing especially if they are wrong. Also Marco Estrada should only start if the Brewers have a 3-2 game lead going into Game 6. Marco shouldn't be the pitcher trying to stave off elimination especially in his first postseason start. If that situation occurred, and it failed, Roenicke would never hear the end of it. But if Estrada does lose a start if the Brewers have the lead, they still have Gallardo at home to go to the World Series. I will take that ten out of ten times.

#3 is another decent option. Chris Narveson has proven to be an average starter throughout the year which is still an improvement over what the rotation has given us so far. But as a starter, Chris Narveson (4.54 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) has been inferior to Marco Estrada (3.70 ERA, 1.09 WHIP) especially at home (Chris Narveson home: 4.23 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, Marco Estrada as a starter at home: 2.74 ERA, 0.87 WHIP).

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I believe that Marcum needs to take at least one start off to regain his composure. If Estrada does good, ride the hot hand. If Estrada struggles, replace him with Narveson, if Narveson struggles then you can go back to Marcum.

Marco Estrada should start in game 6, especially if the Brewers are leading 3-2. Even if Estrada can only pitch around 70 pitches, it will still be around what Marcum has pitched the last two games. Narveson can then come in until the 5th or 6th and set up Saxrod (SAito, AXford, k-ROD).

As we Brewers fans know all to well, playoff appearances don't come around to often. Loyalty to a player, in this case Shaun Marcum, should not trump what needs to be done in the playoffs to win the World Series.

Go Brewers and Please Comment.

Defensive Substitutions

For the second straight (and third overall playoff game), Ron Roenicke has removed Corey Hart for a defensive replacement. While I believe that Nyjer Morgan or Carlos Gomez is a clear defensive upgrade over Corey Hart, there is a player in left field that is a worse defender than Corey, and in the right situation should be removed from the outfield.


According to fangraphs.com, Carlos Gomez is the best defensive outfielder, than comes Nyjer Morgan, Corey Hart, and trudging in at last place is Ryan Braun. While Ryan Braun's bat is enough to warrant him an MVP award, his defensive isn't helping his case. In the right situation (like the game yesterday when the Brewers have a three-plus run lead), the extra offense provided by Braun's bat isn't worth enough to overlook his poor defense that may prove to be costly.


Most likely, the reason why Roenicke is removing Hart over Braun, is because it would cause a complete revolt in Brewer land. But statistically, the next time that Roenicke has a 9-6 lead in the 8th, the outfield should be: Corey Hart LF (If he is open to moving to Left, if not insert Nyjer Morgan here), Carlos Gomez CF, Nyjer Morgan RF. The Brewers need to maximize every opportunity avilable including optimizing its outfield defense late in games when they have the lead.


Please Comment and Go Brewers!