Once a player has played for a couple seasons or so at the major-league level, we can conclusively say some things about their abilities, and their shortcomings. With a large enough sample, the Dennis Green Rule goes into effect: Players will be who we thought they were. Jimmy Nelson, for instance, will probably always struggle against left-handers, who […]
Author: Ryan Romano
Game 12 Recap: Pirates 9 Brewers 3
Best Play (WPA): With the team in an early 6-0 hole, the Brewers attempted to mount a rally in the fourth inning. Chris Carter singled home Scooter Gennett to score the first run of the game for Milwaukee. Ramon Flores followed that up with a walk to load the bases. After Juan Nicasio goaded Aaron Hill into […]
The Brewers and Infield Shifts
Last Thursday, FanGraphs released data on infield shifts going back to 2010. While the shift itself originated in the early 20th century, it’s gained more prominence in recent years than it ever had before. These numbers cover the era of the shift, the period in which the strategy has taken the major leagues by storm […]
Game 6 Recap: Brewers 3 Astros 2
Jimmy Nelson blew past his opponents for the second time in as many starts, and the hitters backed him up this go-round, giving the Brewers a 3-2 win over the Astros in the rubber game. Worst Play: Normally, we start with the best play, but this recap will go with the chronological order. Following Nelson’s six strong […]
The Unlikeliest Homers in Brewers History
If there’s one thing I love, it’s baseball history, particularly obscure and esoteric history. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s hyperbole (I’ll resist the urge to make a tired, self-referential “I hate hyperbole so much that…” joke here). And yesterday, as the Brewers kicked off the 2016 season with an uninspiring 12-3 loss to […]
The Brewers and the Platoon Advantage
Baseball is almost back! With the 2016 regular season underway in just five days, the Brewers faithful can hardly wait. But we still have those 120 hours to kill, which means we (meaning I — unless the audience has as little of a social life as I do) will kill our time looking at leaderboards […]
Nick Hagadone And Recapturing The Magic
The Brewers have brought in a boatload of starting pitching reinforcement as of late. Adrian Houser and Josh Hader came over in the Carlos Gomez trade; Zach Davies arrived in exchange for Gerardo Parra; and Jean Segura helped them acquire Chase Anderson. At the same time, the bullpen hasn’t really received many upgrades, probably because […]
Matt Garza and the Importance of Sequencing
Often times, when looking at a pitcher’s peripherals, we’ll focus on pitch outcomes. How often do they get swinging strikes, or looking strikes, or strikes overall? Metrics such as these will usually correlate with a pitcher’s strikeout and walk rates, which in turn will generally predict their production as a whole. In some cases, though, we need […]
The Flexibility of Craig Counsell
For a manager in baseball, as for any person of authority in any field, rigidity can be deadly. While every worker should try to change with the times and stay ahead of the curve, the decision-maker ultimately bears the most responsibility in these areas, since they set the example for everyone else to follow. In […]
Matt Garza Is The Weak Link In Brewers Rotation
One of the Brewers’ biggest weaknesses last season — perhaps the largest reason why they foundered to a 68-94 record, their worst since 2004 — was a hideous rotation. Milwaukee’s starters posted an ERA and DRA of 4.79, the third- and fifth-worst marks in baseball, respectively. Unsurprisingly, the team has imported a great amount of […]