Baseball analysis is full of truisms, and we generally take their truth for granted. One of the defining aspects of the sabermetric “revolution” of the past twenty or so years has been a challenging of those assumptions. Baseball, both the sport and the fans, is better off for it. We now can tell whether something […]
Tag: 2018 Brewers
LDS Clinched!
The Brewers have advanced to the National League Championship Series. Their pitching staff carried the series as Craig Counsell’s out-getters gave up two runs in the three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies. As a team, the Rockies mustered only twenty-two baserunners over twenty-eight innings while striking out thirty times. Outside of a nerve-wracking Jeremy Jeffress […]
Craig Counsell is Manager of the Year and it Shouldn’t be Close
Earlier this season I wrote an article critical of Counsell’s use of Josh Hader (after praising him in April). Mid-season, when the Brewers were playing more like a .500 team than a division-winner, I assumed that overusing Hader was the only chance they had. As it turns out, I vastly underestimated just how good the Brewers […]
Josh Hader is (Probably) Fine
In game 163, with the division (and perhaps more) on the line, it’s clear that Craig Counsell places ultimate trust in Josh Hader. Hader went two innings in the division-clinching final frames and delivered 3 strikeouts while allowing a single baserunner. The final two batters were not without drama, however, as Javier Baez hit a […]
Playoffs!
On August 31, the Brewers boasted a respectable 76-60 overall record, and stood four games behind the division leading Cubs entering the last month of the season. Yet the Brewers’ fate might have felt sealed: Milwaukee posted their worst pitching performance in August (-42 Runs Prevented), offsetting a strong offense that notably improved following trade […]
What if Stearns Didn’t Sling? The Bizarro Brewers
Just three years into the job, General Manager David Stearns has already left a considerable stamp on Brewers franchise history. Thanks in no small part to a series of shrewd trades and waiver wire pickups, Milwaukee is back in the postseason for the first time since 2011, has posted back-to-back years of winning records after […]
Game 163: Quintana
Through 162 games, the Brewers are tied for the best record in the National League with the Chicago Cubs. Milwaukee entered September with a 72 percent chance to make the playoffs, but Baseball Prospectus had their division odds at 6.6 percent. However, the Brewers went on a tear through September, going 19-7 for the month, […]
The Brewers Playoff Secret Weapon
The Brewers aren’t winning the division, but if they were to find themselves in a playoff series or one-game Wild Card, there’s an unheralded weapon in their bullpen that, so far, has really flown under the radar. Josh Hader’s historic success and Jeremy Jeffress’ Comeback-Player-of-the-Year-worthy, All-Star season are certainly worthy of a lot of attention. […]
Weekend Recap: Yelich and Knebel
The Brewers are in the Wild Card pole position as they enter the final week of the regular season. They went 4-2 against the lower tier of the National League Central, allowing the Reds and Pirates to score fewer than two runs a game. While it appears the division title is out of reach, the […]
Junior Guerra Relieves
In the middle of a pennant race for the Brewers, with a division fight against the Cubs potentially fading into a chance to solidify the top Wild Card seed, our beloved club may have accomplished something unexpected: the Brewers may have defined an adjustment and future role for RHP Junior Guerra just in time for […]