Game of the Week: August 10: MIL @ CHC

[Commissioner Erick]

Milwaukee Brewers (79-33) @ Chicago Cubs (50-64)


MIL: Brock Straub (4-2, 2.11)
CHC: Etienne Toet (8-8, 5.00)


Brewers 5 Key Stats


1.29: Aroldis Chapman’s career playoff ERA in 28 innings. Chapman was acquired by Milwaukee at the deadline to provide a left-hander with postseason pedigree to bolster their bullpen.

.743: Milwaukee’s OPS against left-handers this season. Milwaukee has a .797 mark against right-handers, second best in the NL, but they’re far more ordinary against lefties.

14: Starts made by a Milwaukee pitcher who pitched in the PBA prior to 2014. It’s a very young staff, with 25-year-old rookie Brock Straub on the hill today. The Brock Lobster has a 2.11 ERA in his rookie year across eight starts.

6.0: Noah Campbell’s Zone Rating at Second Base this year. Campbell has accumulated 1.2 WAR despite a .622 OPS thanks to his stellar glove work in the middle infield. Campbell only went 2-12 during last year’s NLDS, so there are questions as to whether or not he’ll be able to hold up in the postseason.

181: Milwaukee Plate Appearances as a reliever or substitute, second most in the league. The Brewers don’t pinch hit very often, but they do rely on defensive replacements very liberally.


Cubs 5 Key Stats


0: Chicago Pinch Hit Appearances this year, lowest in the league, and a number Chicago is perennially in the bottom of.

9: The number of injuries Joe Caulder has suffered since the beginning of the regular season. None have been severe, but the fragility of his body has contributed to a 6.30 ERA for Caulder, a year after a 7.54 mark. Caulder is on the hook for four more years at $12 million a pop. Before signing his nine year contract with the Cubs, he signed an eight-year deal with the Phillies—which was voided. Caulder has been worth roughly half a win over his career.

3: The number of months this season Kris Bryant has hit under .200. Bryant had a strong May and has had a solid start to August, but has been a disappointment most of the year. Being on a moribund team in a strong pitching division hasn’t helped, but last year’s drop from 6.2 WAR to 0.2 WAR has been a major factor as to why the Cubs have been so bad.

0: Hitting Coaches on the Cubs roster. Chicago, a potent offense even last year, is 10th in offense this year. The link between the lack of hitting coach and the offensive struggles is clear.

2.74: Bonkers Carrizales’ ERA. Despite a listless season, Bonkers has produced his second best ERA since his breakout 2020 campaign, and has a shot to set his career second best mark in Saves. Bonkers remains a pillar of durability, consistency, and excellence. Bonkers’ peripherals are the worst they’ve been since entering the league, but at 32, he’s still one of the best relievers going.


Questions for the GMs:


For Luke Grimmelbein, pinch-hitting was a point of contention between you and your manager bot last postseason. Are you happy with how your bench has been deployed this year?

You have a deep staff filled with options. What cause you to turn to Brock Straub?

Yoelkis Cespedes is hitting .370 this year in 28 Games. Do you feel that you need to find him more at bats?

For Brandon Hillebrand, why haven’t you signed a Hitting Coach this year?

How do you feel about your Rule V picks this year? Do any of them have a chance to be impact players for you next year?

With Rayan Gonzalez out for the year, who will you call up for today’s game?


TRIVIA: Which player has the most pinch hit RBIs this year (as of August 10th?)

[brewersgm]

Aug 23, 2021 17:59:27 GMT -5 Commissioner Erick said:

Questions for the GMs:

For Luke Grimmelbein, pinch-hitting was a point of contention between you and your manager bot last postseason. Are you happy with how your bench has been deployed this year?

You have a deep staff filled with options. What cause you to turn to Brock Straub?

Yoelkis Cespedes is hitting .370 this year in 28 Games. Do you feel that you need to find him more at bats?

1. It's been better. I've noticed that the platoon pinch hit slider has led to better decisions regarding lefty/righty matchups. When I look at game logs I see that my manager bot is usually using the bench and pinch hitting for the players I allow to be pinch hit for. Once we get to the postseason though I'm thinking I will probably just use my best bats regardless of handedness. That at least guarantees that those players get into the game. We don't want a repeat of those Bobby Dalbec debacles.

2. Injuries mostly and Straub's performance in AAA. Eddie Sherk has been out most of the year, David Meeks has been a mess, and Mitch Cavanagh is inconsistent. Francis Pena also hasn't come back the way we'd hoped for. The bottom of the rotation has been fluid which has opened up opportunities for guys like Straub. When we picked Straub we thought he had a very high floor and would be a quick riser to the major leagues. We didn't think he'd be a #1 type but someone that can be a positive contributor. That has held true and he's been able to make the jump effectively from AAA to the majors. This season we have only had home grown starting pitchers start games for us. Straub is a sign that our pitching pipeline remains strong even with the graduation of our top prospects.

3. That high average has been bolstered by a .403 BABIP but Cespedes has definitely been a great boost to our lineup, especially as a key bat vs lefties. He's our first bat off the bench and with his performance he should definitely get more at bats. However, we've had good production from our other OFers and Rodolfo Rivera has the DH spot locked down so Cespedes is somewhat limited in utility. We love the Cuban league's free agents in Milwaukee. He'll be in the lineup today.

[Commissioner Erick]

Cubs 5 - Brewers 1


WP: J. Camarillo (5-6)
LP: M. Gaylord (6-4)
SV: S. Arias (5)


The home crowd had a good time watching the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs get after it.

Chicago starter Sam Howard put a stranglehold on the Milwaukee offense. The left-hander had complete command of his changeup in leading the Cubs to a 5-1 win. Skylar Arias got the save, his 5th in 6 chances.

Chicago took a 3-1 lead on Kevin Smith's 9th home run of the season. The 2-run home run came off Milwaukee pitcher Mike Gaylord in the bottom of the seventh.

"Sam was pounding the zone," said Chicago manager Brandon Hillebrand.

The 4th-place Cubs improved to 51-64.


Questions for the GMs:


For Luke Grimmelbein, you haven't been great with a righty-heavy lineup against lefties this year. Today you had a bunch of lefties in your lineup and the strategy failed. What strategy will you use going forward?

You faced Sam Howard earlier this year and he worked 5.2 and allowed only two runs. Last year, Howard made six starts and allowed two runs or fewer in four starts (he did pitch 4.1 IP or fewer in two of those starts though). What is it about Howard that gives you trouble?

Mike Gaylord struggled today but has been good every other start. What caused him to struggle today?

For Brandon Hillebrand, why did you have Manny Machado bat eighth today?

Mike Realmuto had a nice day with a pair of RBIs. Have you liked what you've seen from him this year?

How big has Sam Howard been as a steadying influence for your team?




TRIVIA: In 2022, Sam Howard was second in the Pacific Coast League (AAA) American Conference Cy Young voting. Who was first and won the award?

[brewersgm]

Aug 26, 2021 21:37:31 GMT -5 Commissioner Erick said:

Questions for the GMs:


For Luke Grimmelbein, you haven't been great with a righty-heavy lineup against lefties this year. Today you had a bunch of lefties in your lineup and the strategy failed. What strategy will you use going forward?

You faced Sam Howard earlier this year and he worked 5.2 and allowed only two runs. Last year, Howard made six starts and allowed two runs or fewer in four starts (he did pitch 4.1 IP or fewer in two of those starts though). What is it about Howard that gives you trouble?

Mike Gaylord struggled today but has been good every other start. What caused him to struggle today?

1. Today we were let down by our 7 day lineups. We had the lineup set as if we were facing a righty only to face Howard. The righty heavy lineup I think can be effective. We still believe in it. Going forward we're going to continue to rely on Elmore, Yoelkis, and Becker as our biggest bats vs lefties. They've done a great job against them this year. Steve Mulvey is a relatively new addition to the team but he's turning into a bit of a lefty killer himself and is earning more and more playtime. In the playoffs we will probably only start 2 left handed bats against lefties.

2. Howard has faced us a lot and I think has figured some of our platoon guys out. He's so effective against lefties that there isn't a lot of room to mix and match the lineup against him. Of course facing our lineup designed for RHP helps as well.

3. We moved Mike to a setup role and looking back that was a little too aggressive. He's still a rookie and learning. That was part of why we acquired Chapman, to give us a proven veteran setup man. Mike has also struggled with his command some in August as evidenced by this game. We've huge believers in Mike going forward but rookie growing pains are to be expected.

[Commissioner Erick]

Trivia 2: Matt correctly guessed Jairo Pacheco