It’s funny how quickly we get spoiled by things, simply because we’re accustomed to them. As Louis CK once said, “everything’s amazing, and nobody’s happy.” I’m as caught up in Thames-mania as anyone. (Do we have a better phrase for this yet? Seems like we should). But I think back to our expectations over the […]
Tag: 2017 Brewers analysis
Aging Braun: An Expansion
Among Brewers fans, there is perhaps no player more divisive than Ryan Braun. As he should be: Braun is a complicated mix between one of the greatest players in franchise history and a true face of the franchise, and the last remaining contract (along with Matt Garza) that can be justifiably called a holdover from […]
Rebuilding, Competing, and Spending
The Brewers have been, despite my expectations, a delightful team to watch thus far in 2017. Not only are the Brewers still playing .500 baseball a solid 20 percent of the way into the season, but when they’ve been at their best, they’ve been playing an explosively fun brand of baseball. Between their power hitters, […]
Fun With Pythagoras: Winning Now!
By curious coincidence, this ragtag bunch of upstarts now known as the Milwaukee Brewers are winning. The rebuilding campaign looked terrible after the 2016 trade deadline, as a young team fell to 10-20 after the removal of Jonathan Lucroy and Will Smith. But the roster elements converged, forming an aggressive offensive identity and fortifying their […]
Weekend Recap 5: Garza, Shaw, Thames
Welcome to Week Five of the Weekend Recap, where we’ll look at another disappointing weekend for the Brewers. They lost two of three games against Pittsburgh; the losses were a rain interrupted game on Friday and an extra inning loss on Saturday. Weekend Series Brewers Pirates Friday May 5 0 4 Saturday May 6 1 […]
Jimmy Nelson’s Revamped Arsenal
Last year, Jimmy Nelson was bad. There’s no way around it. He walked 86, plunked 17, both of which were league highs, and posted career worsts in DRA (5.83), FIP (5.12), and WHIP (1.52). He was making life miserable for himself, and this offseason, he vowed to change. His plan, as he told the Milwaukee […]
Hard Contact, Harder Luck: The Ballad of Kirk Nieuwenhuis
On Sunday, Kirk Nieuwenhuis was outrighted to Class-AAA by the Brewers to clear a roster spot for Brent Suter. This was hardly a stunning development. The pitching staff was stretched thin after a series of short starts, and Nieuwenhuis had struggled to carve out a role in Milwaukee’s crowded outfield. And even when he did see […]
On Sore Losers and Steroid Panics
After the Brewers lit up Cubs starter John Lackey for four runs, including three homers, on Monday night, Lackey had some choice words about Eric Thames, Milwaukee’s leading hitter and one of the three men to go deep off Lackey in the 6-3 Brewers victory. From the Chicago Tribune: “You watch film on recent stuff and […]
Weekend Recap 3: Chase and Manny
Welcome to Week Three of the Weekend Recap: The optimism of last week has slightly faded as the Brewers had a bad week, capped by losing three of four against the Cardinals in Milwaukee. Weekend Series Brewers Cardinals Thursday April 20 7 5 Friday April 21 3 6 Saturday April 22 1 4 Sunday April […]
Broxton’s Plate Discipline
I think it’s fair to say that much like my diet, Keon Broxton’s second-act breakout depends a lot on plate discipline. Fair, if not particularly funny. His swing-and-miss has always been the concern with scouts. The Baseball Prospectus Annuals dating back to 2011 all reference the strikeouts in, uh, colorful ways. A sampling: 2011: “If […]