Post by Commissioner Erick on Oct 2, 2024 19:38:50 GMT -5
St. Louis Cardinals (8-7) @ Milwaukee Brewers (10-6)
STL: ?? (?-?. ?.??)
MIL: Kenny McMahon (2-0, 2.40)
The Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis are still the class of the NL Central, but each has had an interesting start in an upstart NL Central. The Brewers are 10-6, in second place to the Chicago Cubs, but have succeeded in a strange way. Long a suffocating staff, Milwaukee’s offense has fallen off a bit of late, dropping them below the Cardinals in the NL Central hierarchy. However, this Brewers team is eighth in runs allowed and third in runs scored.
Milwaukee’s offensive success isn’t even a case of a star overriding a weak cast—former MVP Rodolfo Rivera has 48 plate appearances and is hitting .105 without an extra base hit. Instead, the team is drawing walks as it’s always done, while Grant Stein, Jordan Barnes, and Angel Silva are hitting well over .300, despite the trio having one season among them with an average above .269. It will be interesting to see if the trio continues to pick up base hits.
St. Louis has been more confounding. They’re only 8-7—behind Cincinnati in fourth place in the division. Their pitching has been predictably excellent, but they’re only 10th in OPS. Some of their supporting players are off to tough starts, but the bigger problem is the stars. Matt Sanchez is batting .163 with one extra base hit, one walk, and no RBIs. Ivan Johnson has four homers, but is carrying a .182 average. Andy Stewart is drawing a ton of walks, but is batting .231 with one homer ahead of the struggling Johnson and Stewart. St. Louis may need those stars to start performing sooner rather than later in what’s shaping up to be a tough division.
Questions for the GMs
For Tim Lentz, Francarlos Dacosta and Justin Hagey have healed up and are on rehab assignments. Will we see either this week?
Tim Barton has never had more than 13 homers in a major league season—and that was in Uganda. Does he have enough power to be a weapon for a club with your aspirations?
Despite a bit of a disappointing start, your clubhouse is harmonious. Chad Liby aside, how important is character when putting together a roster?
For Luke Grimmelbein, Nick Rollins is due off the IL. Will he be called up or go on a rehab assignment?
Another tough injury for Hideki Yamada, who just can’t stay healthy. Who will take his place on the roster?
Do you feel happy that you’ve banked wins with Rodolfo Rivera off to a brutal start with the expectation that you can keep it going when he turns things around, or do you feel worried that he’s falling off a cliff and your start is a bit of smoke-and-mirrors?
TRIVIA: Who is the only player in the top 100 in all time hits whose nationality is of a country that has not fielded a WBC team?
STL: ?? (?-?. ?.??)
MIL: Kenny McMahon (2-0, 2.40)
The Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis are still the class of the NL Central, but each has had an interesting start in an upstart NL Central. The Brewers are 10-6, in second place to the Chicago Cubs, but have succeeded in a strange way. Long a suffocating staff, Milwaukee’s offense has fallen off a bit of late, dropping them below the Cardinals in the NL Central hierarchy. However, this Brewers team is eighth in runs allowed and third in runs scored.
Milwaukee’s offensive success isn’t even a case of a star overriding a weak cast—former MVP Rodolfo Rivera has 48 plate appearances and is hitting .105 without an extra base hit. Instead, the team is drawing walks as it’s always done, while Grant Stein, Jordan Barnes, and Angel Silva are hitting well over .300, despite the trio having one season among them with an average above .269. It will be interesting to see if the trio continues to pick up base hits.
St. Louis has been more confounding. They’re only 8-7—behind Cincinnati in fourth place in the division. Their pitching has been predictably excellent, but they’re only 10th in OPS. Some of their supporting players are off to tough starts, but the bigger problem is the stars. Matt Sanchez is batting .163 with one extra base hit, one walk, and no RBIs. Ivan Johnson has four homers, but is carrying a .182 average. Andy Stewart is drawing a ton of walks, but is batting .231 with one homer ahead of the struggling Johnson and Stewart. St. Louis may need those stars to start performing sooner rather than later in what’s shaping up to be a tough division.
Questions for the GMs
For Tim Lentz, Francarlos Dacosta and Justin Hagey have healed up and are on rehab assignments. Will we see either this week?
Tim Barton has never had more than 13 homers in a major league season—and that was in Uganda. Does he have enough power to be a weapon for a club with your aspirations?
Despite a bit of a disappointing start, your clubhouse is harmonious. Chad Liby aside, how important is character when putting together a roster?
For Luke Grimmelbein, Nick Rollins is due off the IL. Will he be called up or go on a rehab assignment?
Another tough injury for Hideki Yamada, who just can’t stay healthy. Who will take his place on the roster?
Do you feel happy that you’ve banked wins with Rodolfo Rivera off to a brutal start with the expectation that you can keep it going when he turns things around, or do you feel worried that he’s falling off a cliff and your start is a bit of smoke-and-mirrors?
TRIVIA: Who is the only player in the top 100 in all time hits whose nationality is of a country that has not fielded a WBC team?
