Relief pitching has fascinated BP Milwaukee for quite some time. Back in July, Michael Bradburn mused on the Brewers bullpen’s success in spite of the team’s failure. In August, J.P. Breen highlighted the importance of a bullpen to a contending team. In November, Seth Victor summarized the club’s relief options and wondered what path they would take in 2016. […]
Author: Ryan Romano
The Brewers Didn’t Take Advantage of Their Bullpen
Imagine that an old-time baseball player — from, say, a hundred years ago — has somehow traveled to the present. What characteristic of the modern game would shock them the most? Perhaps the increased emphasis on reaching base would come as a surprise, since batting average had dominated for most of baseball history. Or maybe the […]
Chris Carter and the Problem with Inconsistent Hitters
Most of the time in baseball analysis, we’ll look at a player’s full-season statistics only. While this generally covers the full breadth of their production, it can sometimes obscure more pertinent details. For instance, Adam Lind (RIP) hit very well overall last season, but his ability petered off toward the end of the season. With that […]
Explaining Wily Peralta’s Slider
From the beginning, Wily Peralta has had stuff. You know the meaning of the term, and if you’ve ever seen him pitch, you can testify to it. This blazing heater… …plus this diving slider… …equals, in theory, a dominant pitcher. As we all know, however, Peralta hasn’t fulfilled expectations. His career ERA- of 103 and DRA- […]
The Brewers Should Take The Cubs’ Rebuilding Approach
By now, it has become pretty clear that the Brewers won’t vie for the NL Central pennant this upcoming season. Sure, they’ve imported a boatload of fascinating future talent — but in doing so, they’ve given up a tremendous amount of present talent. During the 2016 season, and perhaps in 2017, the Brewers will bring […]
David Goforth: Another Bullpen Wild Card
Last week, BP Milwaukee looked at some of the bigger storylines from the 2015 Brewers campaign. Julien Assouline covered, in my opinion, the most notable development of all: the incredible success of the bullpen. Even with Francisco Rodriguez now having departed, the team still has a ton of interesting relief pitchers for 2016. Beyond the […]
Top Brewers Storylines of 2015: Resurrection of the Farm System
On Monday, my colleague Jack Moore covered the departure of Doug Melvin, one of the bigger developments to emerge from this year. While Melvin certainly had his strengths as General Manager, his failures ultimately outweighed his successes — and chief among the former was, as Moore cited, Melvin’s utter inability to construct a respectable minor […]
Why Didn’t Wily Peralta Break Out In 2015?
Heading into 2015, the Brewers hoped for a few things out of their starting pitchers. They wanted Kyle Lohse to continue beating his peripherals; Matt Garza to regain a bit of the velocity he lost in 2014; Mike Fiers to put memories of 2013 away for good; and Wily Peralta and Jimmy Nelson to develop […]
Craig Counsell’s Approach to Stealing Bases
The Brewers, as a team, have their fair share of speedsters. Sure, Carlos Gomez has departed to so-called greener pastures [sobs], but Ryan Braun can still hold his own on the basepaths, as can Jean Segura. Plus, Orlando Arcia and Brett Phillips — who stole 25 and 18 bases, respectively, in 2015 — will arrive at […]
Khris Davis And Ryan Braun: Different Changes, Same Result
One of the most interesting things about baseball, for me, has always been the fact that people succeed in so many diverse ways. A slugger such as Yoenis Cespedes can provide value by swinging at everything he sees, while the Joey Vottos of the world bide their time, take free passes, and do damage on their pitches. […]