Division Tracker

@Timpranillo posted:

Jesus Tapdancing Christ.

Devin Williams is being placed on the 10-day IL with a fractured right hand. He told us he had too much to drink after Sunday’s celebration, got upset about something and punched a wall with his pitching hand. He will need surgery.

“If I could take it back, I would.”

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) September 29, 2021

Why am I no longer surprised when a Brewer gets a freak injury or hits a wall with his pitching hand.  Too much to drink? needs to be drinking with us in Wisconsin to get his tolerance up.

Ashby was completely filthy last night. Dominant. Comes at you at 98, then drops sliders at 88 and changeups at 84… if he’s hitting his spots… woo boy. Good fuckin’ luck.

👍👍👍 for Houser as well. Made some big time pitches to get out of early trouble, then settled in. 

Dodgers maybe in trouble if Kershaw pitches in the playoffs like he did tonight.

What concerns me about the Dodgers is for whatever reason they just seem to hit our pitching very well.  A lot of that has to do with the fact they have a number of players that are just flat out studs and in big moments they seem to elevate their play.  

I agree with the sentiment on Kershaw and to a lesser extent I feel the same way about Jansen as their closer.  Neither guy is very consistent or reliable in the postseason but the Dodgers have a really good team so they have other options.

If I’m Milwaukee I want nothing to do with LA.  They just seem to have their number and I don’t like the Brewers having to match runs and homers with that team.

Right now I’m more worried about the Brewers than who they may meet in the playoffs.

I mean, I guess.  They are playing really good teams right now and their opponents have had far more to play for.   You’d like to see them win more games but it doesn’t change their seeding or playoff position.

With their pitching, they will have a chance to compete against any team they face in October.  You don’t win pennants and titles without decent pitching and top to bottom the Brewers are as good if not better than any team they will face.  I also think Counsell is really good at making the right decisions.   Sure, you’d love the offense to be more consistent but if they play well the Brewers have a real shot at going deep into the playoffs.  

If the Brewers lose tonight (and they are behind 3-1), they will have lost 12 of their last 18. Maybe it doesn't matter, but playing this poorly for an extended period of time and losing your second best relief pitcher because he's a moron isn't the best omen for playoff success in a week.

….or. We rest up and set-up our kick ass pitching staff?

The hope I guess is that Counsell knows his team. He knows whether some downtime and some rest is going to take their edge or not. Clearly the Brewers have taken their foot off the pedal.

That said, Devin Williams is either a very troubled young man or a dumb ass. If the Crew doesn’t win it all, the stain will always be on his record. Sounds like there’s way more to the story about his injury than we’ll ever know.

Wake me when it's Friday. Are they really playing a playoff game at 11am on a Friday? This isn't March Madness here.

JBJ with 2 Ks today.   Swinging his way right off the playoff roster!!  And next year too!!   

Ashby gives up 6 runs in the 5th.      3 walks, 2 infield singles and a slam by Trea Turner.   

Like I said, Dodgers own this team

@Tschmack posted:

Like I said, Dodgers own this team

The Dodgers and the Cards, and one of them will be eliminated shortly and the other will play the Giants.

We mentioned this before in the chat on how statistically weird this Brewer team is in terms of not having the counting stats you would associate with a 95 win team. Hader had 34 saves, but other than that....

No Brewer hit 30 HRS or drove in more than 86 runs (Garcia, 29 HR and 86 RBI). Only one other player had more than 58 RBIs (Urias, 75). No regular player hit close to 300 (Adames was at 285). Their leader in stolen bases had 13.

No pitcher won more than 12 games (Suter). No starting pitcher won more than 11 (Burnes).

Those stats sound more like a 70 win team than a 95 win team.

New era for sure.

Oct 4, 1976: @Brewers Jim Colborn disguised as an umpire, walked out for the pregame meeting. Neither Brewers mgr Alex Grammas nor Tigers mgr Ralph Houck recognized him. He then ejected four Brewers before the game and said it was a favor since it was the last game of the season. pic.twitter.com/peNb4vmxa2

— Jack Eich (@jackeichsays) October 4, 2021

I think it’s pretty significant how the last day of the season played out for Milwaukee.  The two teams that have been a thorn in the side of the Brewers (Dodgers and Cardinals) play each other, and the winner has to face a very good Giants team in the divisional series.

You don’t want to take the Braves for granted but I think that’s a big deal not playing one of those two teams- at least not initially.

From 1996-2019 there were 208 playoff teams. Exactly two of them went 4-10 or worse in their last 14 regular season games:

2000 Yankees (won World Series)
2006 Cardinals (won World Series)

So that's the trend the 2021 Brewers will try to continue.

— Kyle Lobner (@byKyleLobner) October 4, 2021

Of those 14 games, 10 of them were against a red hot St Louis team and a 100 win Dodgers team still fighting for their division.   Doesn’t excuse the loss against Chicago, but they swept the Mets.  

Counsell seemed pretty annoyed when asked about it.

Imagine winning 106 games and you gotta win a single game or be bounced from the playoffs.

@PackerHawk posted:

Imagine winning 106 games and you gotta win a single game or be bounced from the playoffs.

Better than the pre-wild card era or before the AL or NL playoffs were instituted when several teams that won 100+ games didn't get even the chance to win a game to keep themselves in the playoffs.

https://www.mlb.com/news/best-...ostseason-c291835388

@Tschmack posted:

Of those 14 games, 10 of them were against a red hot St Louis team and a 100 win Dodgers team still fighting for their division.   Doesn’t excuse the loss against Chicago, but they swept the Mets.  

Counsell seemed pretty annoyed when asked about it.

I'm less worried about that than I am about the loss of Williams. The question will be how good that Lauer, Houser, and Ashby can be in relief and especially in that 8th inning slot. Also, does CC let Burnes, Woodruff, and Peralta pitch deeper into games?

I would like to see the offense wake the hell up as well...

4 more days

@Timpranillo posted:

I would like to see the offense wake the hell up as well...

Yep, pitching can only do so much.

This is Yelich’s time to rake….or take.

bite my lip and root for the Cardinals???

Odds are if you get past the Braves you are either facing the Dodgers or Giants. So if you want the Giants then the odds improve if the Cards boot them out right away.

If we get by the Braves, preference is StL, SF then LA, agreed?

though if it was Cardinals theyd be coming off a white hot run the past 2 months, esp knocking off the 2 NLWest juggernauts

I'm no where close to worrying about anything but the Atlanta Braves right now. Every team in the playoffs is very good and will be a tough out.

After 1 inning, NOBODY wants to play the Cards...including the Dodgers.

Welp, bye cards 👋🏻

There's only 1 team that can make me root for the Dodgers, and they just got walked off. Now let LA and SF beat each other's brains in for 7 games going extra as much as possible.

Awwwww......Cardinals = fart in the wind

Yeah, breaking my heart. 

17 game winning streak broken by the Brewers. 

Giants would've crushed the Cardinals. Now? It's a coin toss in every series. Just the way it should be.

I would pay all the money I have ever earned in my life to feel what Chris Taylor felt there. My gosh.

Go Brewers. Go Giants.

This one time, around 1967 at Milwaukee Public Schools summer baseball camp at The Pumping Station fields, I hit a liner up the middle that went through the pitcher legs, past the 2nd baseman and under the glove of the center fielder who may or may not have been picking dandelions. First and last HR. Still feels probably like Chris Taylor did.

Knew it was gone off the bat!

NTT #ClinchCam | @Dodgers | #RepeatLA pic.twitter.com/nSYYml2uwz

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 7, 2021

That’s going to be a heck of a series between the Giants and Dodgers.