Brewers Playoff Game Thread - GAME 1 - 6:08 - ESPN2

[JimmyTheKid]

Burnes absolutely has to put up a quality start in that spot and he didn’t. That’s it.

Yup. And the fact that nobody outside of Tyrone Taylor could put together a quality AB with runners in scoring position. Watching fastballs go right down the heart of the plate and wildly swinging at offspeed stuff way out of the zone. A Brewers postseason tale as old as time.

[Thunder Muscle]

Burnes absolutely has to put up a quality start in that spot and he didn’t. That’s it.

Yup. And the fact that nobody outside of Tyrone Taylor could put together a quality AB with runners in scoring position. Watching fastballs go right down the heart of the plate and wildly swinging at offspeed stuff way out of the zone. A Brewers postseason tale as old as time.

That Turang at bat as a game killer too. Went from thinking game is tied, no one out/still loaded, and knew he was going to strikeout after he whiffed at 2 fast balls right down the middle after the overturn. Just wish he would’ve kept the foot there, sadly…

[M-C-G]

Burnes absolutely has to put up a quality start in that spot and he didn’t. That’s it.

Yup. And the fact that nobody outside of Tyrone Taylor could put together a quality AB with runners in scoring position. Watching fastballs go right down the heart of the plate and wildly swinging at offspeed stuff way out of the zone. A Brewers postseason tale as old as time.

That Turang at bat as a game killer too. Went from thinking game is tied, no one out/still loaded, and knew he was going to strikeout after he whiffed at 2 fast balls right down the middle after the overturn. Just wish he would’ve kept the foot there, sadly…

Turang had the absolute most crippling at bat of anyone. Donaldson the second most, but I was legit embarrassed for Turang, that was as bad as when Corey Hart kept swinging at pitches out of the zone when the pitcher couldn't throw a strike and the bases were loaded and after Hart was like 'I'm trying to win the game'...95 mph meatballs right down the middle and dude couldn't make contact on anything, not even his foot.

[BucksRule18]

Yup. And the fact that nobody outside of Tyrone Taylor could put together a quality AB with runners in scoring position. Watching fastballs go right down the heart of the plate and wildly swinging at offspeed stuff way out of the zone. A Brewers postseason tale as old as time.

That Turang at bat as a game killer too. Went from thinking game is tied, no one out/still loaded, and knew he was going to strikeout after he whiffed at 2 fast balls right down the middle after the overturn. Just wish he would’ve kept the foot there, sadly…

Turang had the absolute most crippling at bat of anyone. Donaldson the second most, but I was legit embarrassed for Turang, that was as bad as when Corey Hart kept swinging at pitches out of the zone when the pitcher couldn't throw a strike and the bases were loaded and after Hart was like 'I'm trying to win the game'...95 mph meatballs right down the middle and dude couldn't make contact on anything, not even his foot.

Glad I wasn't the only one thinking that. How do you not get a bat on 2 fastballs right down the middle as a major league hitter? I have no clue what Turang was looking for.

Honestly, the reason I feel so defeated today is not only because I think we have very little chance beating Arizona twice in a row, but also because I believe we have zero chance taking more than 1 game from the Dodgers/Braves, and then ultimately most of the teams coming out of the American League. This is especially true with our best pitcher (Woodruff) having a shoulder injury.

[MickeyDavis]

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[BucksRule18]

I just feel like Counsell typically squeezes the best out of the team during the regular season vs. other teams that have that next gear they can get to in the playoffs based on their superior talent. The Brewers winning 92 games with a .240 batting average is impressive in itself.

[Thunder Muscle]

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Was it the Brewers in 2011 too?

[jimmybones]

I had a friend at the game and he said there were lots and lots of empty seats. You can give away thousands of tickets but you can't make people go. There will be more empty seats tonight. Sad but not surprising.

It’s 100% the postseason format. The 3 game series, all at home on back to back to back days is gimmicky and I imagine there are a lot of fans waiting for the next round when the “real playoffs” begin.

I despise this format, it's so dumb. The final NLDS and NLCS are all that matter. I get wanting to let more teams feel like they are in the running but it's at the expense of "making it" actually meaning something. It's insane to win your division and have the chance to be eliminated on two losses. Anything less than a 7 game series in a sport that plays 162 regular season games is stupid. If they want to do a dumb mini play in tourney to determine the wild card, whatever, but no year long division winner should be in a 3 game series.

That said, Brewers stunk last night. Team has no identity. I've followed all year but I don't feel the connection I did to the Braun/Fielder teams. Not even exactly sure what it is but something is missing for me. Maybe it's as simple as offensive stars vs pitching stars.

[MikeIsGood]

Yup. And the fact that nobody outside of Tyrone Taylor could put together a quality AB with runners in scoring position. Watching fastballs go right down the heart of the plate and wildly swinging at offspeed stuff way out of the zone. A Brewers postseason tale as old as time.

That Turang at bat as a game killer too. Went from thinking game is tied, no one out/still loaded, and knew he was going to strikeout after he whiffed at 2 fast balls right down the middle after the overturn. Just wish he would’ve kept the foot there, sadly…

Turang had the absolute most crippling at bat of anyone. Donaldson the second most, but I was legit embarrassed for Turang, that was as bad as when Corey Hart kept swinging at pitches out of the zone when the pitcher couldn't throw a strike and the bases were loaded and after Hart was like 'I'm trying to win the game'...95 mph meatballs right down the middle and dude couldn't make contact on anything, not even his foot.

I was so happy when he got hit, not just because of the single run, but maybe even moreso because it meant he wouldn't have to be the one swinging with the bases loaded.

Alas...

[Kerb Hohl]

Winker is apparently "fine" per Counsell so probably no roster move?

I wonder how that goes because after last night, even though I'm like the only guy that doesn't mind Winker being the bad choice in the collection of other bad choices for the bench...wouldn't you want to just say like, "alright, this is almost a no-win situation. Let's bring in Tellez" unless Winker is refusing to be deactivated or somthing...no idea.

[ReasonablySober]

The Winker decision is fair to criticize because even if you want to argue he was the best of bad decisions (which he wasn't IMO), the other bad decisions had at least had recent MLB at-bats. Winker hadn't been in MLB in over two months. His last in game AB was almost three weeks ago.

It just wasn't a good move.

[jimmybones]

Yeah, Winker simply making the playoff roster is mind boggling. Batting him in the 8th inning of a one run game for his first big league AB in how long was... I don't even know what phrase to use

[Kerb Hohl]

The Winker decision is fair to criticize because even if you want to argue he was the best of bad decisions (which he wasn't IMO), the other bad decisions had at least had recent MLB at-bats. Winker hadn't been in MLB in over two months. His last in game AB was almost three weeks ago.

It just wasn't a good move.

Is there really that big of a difference between taking ABs in Nashville or a simulated game in the park vs. some of the guys that have like 10 ABs in the final week?

Basically, my Winker support is in opposition to people that don't understand how bad Mitchell's peripherals project. 40% K rate is bad and I'd treat him as a .210 hitter as well when making decisions. There are insanely high odds that if he takes that AB against Ginkel throwing gas/sliders that he strikes out as well.

I think everyone, even if they hate Winker, also understand Rowdy sucked this year and that pinch hitting for Turang is fine.

[ReasonablySober]

The Winker decision is fair to criticize because even if you want to argue he was the best of bad decisions (which he wasn't IMO), the other bad decisions had at least had recent MLB at-bats. Winker hadn't been in MLB in over two months. His last in game AB was almost three weeks ago.

It just wasn't a good move.

Is there really that big of a difference between taking ABs in Nashville or a simulated game in the park vs. some of the guys that have like 10 ABs in the final week?

Basically, my Winker support is in opposition to people that don't understand how bad Mitchell's peripherals project. 40% K rate is bad and I'd treat him as a .210 hitter as well when making decisions.

I think everyone, even if they hate Winker, also understand Rowdy sucked and that punch hitting for Turang is fine.

I don't mind pinch hitting for Turang. It's using a guy who hasn't seen an MLB pitch in two months. It's using a guy who barreled literally 5 balls all season. That's 4.3%, compared to 8.7% (Rowdy) and 10.8% (Mitchell).

Winker hasn't played, hasn't faced MLB competition, and when he does he makes dog-sh*t contact.

Also, if we're using advanced numbers, Mitchell's K% is 35%, not 40. Even if that number is worse than Winker's 25%, in a situation where weak contact is worse than striking out, Mitchell or Rowdy would have been much better choices.

[Kerb Hohl]

The Winker decision is fair to criticize because even if you want to argue he was the best of bad decisions (which he wasn't IMO), the other bad decisions had at least had recent MLB at-bats. Winker hadn't been in MLB in over two months. His last in game AB was almost three weeks ago.

It just wasn't a good move.

Is there really that big of a difference between taking ABs in Nashville or a simulated game in the park vs. some of the guys that have like 10 ABs in the final week?

Basically, my Winker support is in opposition to people that don't understand how bad Mitchell's peripherals project. 40% K rate is bad and I'd treat him as a .210 hitter as well when making decisions.

I think everyone, even if they hate Winker, also understand Rowdy sucked and that punch hitting for Turang is fine.

I don't mind pinch hitting for Turang. It's using a guy who hasn't seen an MLB pitch in two months. It's using a guy who barreled literally 5 balls all season. That's 4.3%, compared to 8.7% (Rowdy) and 10.8% (Mitchell).

Winker hasn't played, hasn't faced MLB competition, and when he does he makes dog-sh*t contact.

Also, if we're using advanced numbers, Mitchell's K% is 35%, not 40. In a situation where weak contact is worse than striking out, Mitchell or Rowdy would have been much better choices.

Mitchell's career K% is 38%. If you want to take out the 2022 season, you can remove the insanely BABIP-inflated batting average and he looks like even less of an intriguing option.

I generally come to the defense of a management group that has a good process. They must've had a good reason for deciding to go with Winker, in that they thought he had a chance to get on base vs. a really tough reliever if they needed it.

Obviously these decisions are a little bit less about analytics and what you want to equip yourself with and I'm fine with Rowdy or Mitchell getting the spot. It's just that probably none of those guys would've succeeded in that AB or any they get thrust into.

I mean, if we're using cliches...we want our "lefty off the bench" to be a guy getting his first career playoff AB in Mitchell?

[ReasonablySober]

Is there really that big of a difference between taking ABs in Nashville or a simulated game in the park vs. some of the guys that have like 10 ABs in the final week?

Basically, my Winker support is in opposition to people that don't understand how bad Mitchell's peripherals project. 40% K rate is bad and I'd treat him as a .210 hitter as well when making decisions.

I think everyone, even if they hate Winker, also understand Rowdy sucked and that punch hitting for Turang is fine.

I don't mind pinch hitting for Turang. It's using a guy who hasn't seen an MLB pitch in two months. It's using a guy who barreled literally 5 balls all season. That's 4.3%, compared to 8.7% (Rowdy) and 10.8% (Mitchell).

Winker hasn't played, hasn't faced MLB competition, and when he does he makes dog-sh*t contact.

Also, if we're using advanced numbers, Mitchell's K% is 35%, not 40. In a situation where weak contact is worse than striking out, Mitchell or Rowdy would have been much better choices.

Mitchell's career K% is 38%. If you want to take out the 2022 season, you can remove the insanely BABIP-inflated batting average and he looks like even less of an intriguing option.

I generally come to the defense of a management group that has a good process. They must've had a good reason for deciding to go with Winker, in that they thought he had a chance to get on base vs. a really tough reliever if they needed it.

Obviously these decisions are a little bit less about analytics and what you want to equip yourself with and I'm fine with Rowdy or Mitchell getting the spot. It's just that probably none of those guys would've succeeded in that AB or any they get thrust into.

I mean, if we're using cliches...we want our "lefty off the bench" to be a guy getting his first career playoff AB in Mitchell?

I honestly don't care who the guy off the bench is as long as it isn't Jesse Winker. He does not belong anywhere near the field.

[Kerb Hohl]

I don't mind pinch hitting for Turang. It's using a guy who hasn't seen an MLB pitch in two months. It's using a guy who barreled literally 5 balls all season. That's 4.3%, compared to 8.7% (Rowdy) and 10.8% (Mitchell).

Winker hasn't played, hasn't faced MLB competition, and when he does he makes dog-sh*t contact.

Also, if we're using advanced numbers, Mitchell's K% is 35%, not 40. In a situation where weak contact is worse than striking out, Mitchell or Rowdy would have been much better choices.

Mitchell's career K% is 38%. If you want to take out the 2022 season, you can remove the insanely BABIP-inflated batting average and he looks like even less of an intriguing option.

I generally come to the defense of a management group that has a good process. They must've had a good reason for deciding to go with Winker, in that they thought he had a chance to get on base vs. a really tough reliever if they needed it.

Obviously these decisions are a little bit less about analytics and what you want to equip yourself with and I'm fine with Rowdy or Mitchell getting the spot. It's just that probably none of those guys would've succeeded in that AB or any they get thrust into.

I mean, if we're using cliches...we want our "lefty off the bench" to be a guy getting his first career playoff AB in Mitchell?

I honestly don't care who the guy off the bench is as long as it isn't Jesse Winker. He does not belong anywhere near the field.

I'm fine with that. I hoped that a guy that was once a better hitter than Tellez and probably Mitchell will ever dream to be hitting well in the minors meant maybe they saw some signs of getting back to health in his minors stint last month. We'll never know in a handful of ABs, but the juice isn't worth the squeeze probably.

[MickeyDavis]

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[MickeyDavis]

75 and humid and the roof is closed because there is a "chance" of rain. The chance is slim and it's a retractable roof.

[coolhandluke121]

I'm turning off the sound and listening to Enya.