Does anyone think the Brewers can make the playoffs with the starting pitching they have?

Hopefully Melvin can make a trade or the Brewer banner won't fly this year!

Gallardo, Looper, Burns, Bush, Suppan - possibly

BigBrew/PackFan:

Does anyone think the Brewers can make the playoffs with the starting pitching they have?

God no.

Not even a prayer.

The better question would've been, can the Brewers finish higher than fourth place with this pitching?

Again, the answer is no.

BigBrew/PackFan:

Does anyone think the Brewers can make the playoffs with the starting pitching they have?

Hopefully Melvin can make a trade or the Brewer banner won't fly this year!

I think they're pretty much stuck with what they've got...It is what it is....Never know though, maybe they can get hot at the right time like St Louis did when they won it...

stix:

The better question would've been, can the Brewers finish higher than fourth place with this pitching?

Again, the answer is no.

With their bats they won't finish fourth... They really are right where they were last year when they traded for Sabathia...  The Cubs will take this thing over as they get healthy IMO>...

ptisme:

stix:

The better question would've been, can the Brewers finish higher than fourth place with this pitching?

Again, the answer is no.

With their bats they won't finish fourth... They really are right where they were last year when they traded for Sabathia...  The Cubs will take this thing over as they get healthy IMO>...

Let's wait til they're healthy and win a couple games this weekend.

Man you can hardly tell the Brewers lost today.

McClung is not a starter,  he is a reliever.  The sooner the Brewers realize this and get up Chase Wright the better.

There is a reason that the Brewers are in first place in the division.  They are the best team.  Everybody is waiting for the Cubs to come around but nobody says a word about waiting for the Brewers to come around.  The starting rotation outside of Gallardo, Hardy, Hart, Kendall and the Bench are underperforming yet the Brewers are still in first.  That should tell you something right there.

Yet all I hear is once the Cubs get Healthy they will take this thing over.  Who are they even missing Aramis Ramirez?  He's not expected to be right all season even when he does get back.  All I can say is I am suprised they are not more banged up,  they have a bunch of old talent that is more prone to injury.

The_Igniter:

Man you can hardly tell the Brewers lost today.

McClung is not a starter,  he is a reliever.  The sooner the Brewers realize this and get up Chase Wright the better.

There is a reason that the Brewers are in first place in the division.  They are the best team.  Everybody is waiting for the Cubs to come around but nobody says a word about waiting for the Brewers to come around.  The starting rotation outside of Gallardo, Hardy, Hart, Kendall and the Bench are underperforming yet the Brewers are still in first.  That should tell you something right there.

Yet all I hear is once the Cubs get Healthy they will take this thing over.  Who are they even missing Aramis Ramirez?  He's not expected to be right all season even when he does get back.  All I can say is I am suprised they are not more banged up,  they have a bunch of old talent that is more prone to injury.

Will McClung be making any more starts or will Bush be back?

The_Igniter:

nobody says a word about waiting for the Brewers to come around.  The starting rotation outside of Gallardo, Hardy, Hart, Kendall and the Bench are underperforming yet the Brewers are still in first.  That should tell you something right

It does tell you something. That once the Cubs come around, the Brewers will fall by the wayside like they did in 2007.  No one is talking about the Brewers pitching or bench coming around because they have no upside.  You are going to wait for Suppan to pitch like Cy Young and Rivera, Gamel, Hall, etc. to play like Johnny Bench, Mike Schmidt and Brooks Robinson (or Aramis Ramirez?)?  Not going to happen.  You can't win a division getting one quality start out of five.  The bullpen will fall apart.  And the bench stinks.  So that is why no one talks about them "coming around".  Prince certainly only has one way to go and it ain't up.  Same thing with McGehee.  Whereas Soriano, Lee, Dempster, Marmol, Zambrano, Bradley, Gregg, etc all have track records that say their performance should improve as the season goes on. 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090630&content_id=5618336&vkey=trade2009&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Interesting article on pitching available. Please not Sonnastine! Having a terrible year

Juiceman:

The_Igniter:

nobody says a word about waiting for the Brewers to come around.  The starting rotation outside of Gallardo, Hardy, Hart, Kendall and the Bench are underperforming yet the Brewers are still in first.  That should tell you something right

It does tell you something. That once the Cubs come around, the Brewers will fall by the wayside like they did in 2007.  No one is talking about the Brewers pitching or bench coming around because they have no upside.  You are going to wait for Suppan to pitch like Cy Young and Rivera, Gamel, Hall, etc. to play like Johnny Bench, Mike Schmidt and Brooks Robinson (or Aramis Ramirez?)?  Not going to happen.  You can't win a division getting one quality start out of five.  The bullpen will fall apart.  And the bench stinks.  So that is why no one talks about them "coming around".  Prince certainly only has one way to go and it ain't up.  Same thing with McGehee.  Whereas Soriano, Lee, Dempster, Marmol, Zambrano, Bradley, Gregg, etc all have track records that say their performance should improve as the season goes on. 

I wouldn't be so high on the Cubs offense.

And Dempster's season last year was a big aberration compared to his career averages. Don't get too high and mighty, troll. I don't think the Brewers are that great, but the Cubs ain't no '27 Yankees. They have a lot of problems.

Do you think Aramis Ramirez is going to be back to his old self coming back from a dislocated shoulder right away? And what the he** are you talking about with Derrek Lee? He's been scorching the ball lately. You say Fielder doesn't have any "upside" right now. Well, neither does Lee. And Fielder is the best hitter the Brewers have.

He can keep this up all season.

Soriano's streaky, Bradley's a headcase who's been dumped by about 8 other teams, Fontenot's little aberration of the end of '07 and the beginning of '08 is over, Reed Johnson is back to earth. The Cubs had a lot of overachievers last season, so I wouldn't sit there and say they're going to "come around" and be the team they were last season.

That said, yeah, they have the pitching the Brewers lack and could win the division because of it. But they should be thankful it's a mediocre division, because the Cubs aren't all that great.

stix:

Don't get too high and mighty, troll.

Do I have to answer this accusation every time I come on here?  Yes, I am a Cubs fan.  But I don't like other Cub fans like Quicksdraw who just try to agiate you Brewer fans.  You guys make me laugh, especailly the regulars like you Stix.  You are the one who probably makes me laugh more than anyone.  It is a good thing there are no tall buildings in Milwaukee because you would definitely have jumped long ago!

 

stix:

He can keep this up all season.

Why?  His career averages say he won't keep this up pace.  Albert Pujols, maybe; Prince, not bloody likely.

stix:

And what the he** are you talking about with Derrek Lee? He's been scorching the ball lately.

Right.  That proves my point.  DLee was brutal first two months of the season.  But his career averages indicated he would come around...and he has, to a certain extent.  Soriano is way below his career averages so it is natural to assume he will rise at some point to become closer to his averages accrued over many years in the bigs. Even if a player has a drop off year, it is usually not a 60-70 point decrease in Batting Average and the like.

stix:

Fontenot's little aberration of the end of '07 and the beginning of '08 is over

Notwithstanding that he is a former first round draft choice which would indicate he has the talen to bounce back, the Cubs are contemplating moving Soriano to second when Ramirez comes back.  That solves three problems at once, maybe more.  1) Gets Ramirez back in lineup, 2) gets Soriano out of left field where he is terrible to say the least, 3) Gets Fontenot out of the line up on a regular basis until he finds his stroke again, if ever

Juiceman:

The_Igniter:

nobody says a word about waiting for the Brewers to come around.  The starting rotation outside of Gallardo, Hardy, Hart, Kendall and the Bench are underperforming yet the Brewers are still in first.  That should tell you something right

It does tell you something. That once the Cubs come around, the Brewers will fall by the wayside like they did in 2007.  No one is talking about the Brewers pitching or bench coming around because they have no upside.  You are going to wait for Suppan to pitch like Cy Young and Rivera, Gamel, Hall, etc. to play like Johnny Bench, Mike Schmidt and Brooks Robinson (or Aramis Ramirez?)?  Not going to happen.  You can't win a division getting one quality start out of five.  The bullpen will fall apart.  And the bench stinks.  So that is why no one talks about them "coming around".  Prince certainly only has one way to go and it ain't up.  Same thing with McGehee.  Whereas Soriano, Lee, Dempster, Marmol, Zambrano, Bradley, Gregg, etc all have track records that say their performance should improve as the season goes on. 

Yeah the Brewers need the bench to play like a bunch of hall of famers and the back end of the rotation to win Cy Youngs for this to team to be successful.

Are Brewer fans really this new to the game to realize you don't need a team of all-stars to win. 

Suppan doesn't have to play like an all-star but he is underperforming to this point.  He can play better.  Like you said about Soriano, Lee, Dempster, Zambrano, Bradley and Gregg, guess what, the Brewers have Suppan, Bush, Looper, Hardy and Hart who have a track record to say that their performance should improve. 

Also you should learn what a track record to improvement is.  Dempster has a career 4.52 ERA is 32 years old and has a 4.17 this year.  If anything I would say he is playing over his head.  Derek Lee is 33 years old and has a career .863 OPS.  He has a .865 OPS.  Zambrano has a career 3.45 ERA, 3.65 ERA this year. Gregg is 31 has a career 3.98 ERA and a 3.82 this season.  Soriano is supposedly 33 this year.  But if it came out that he was actually 3 years older than his reported age it wouldn't be the first time.  Milton Bradly already has 61 games in and is averaging about 100 a year so he is bound to down pretty soon.  Plus he is 31 and isn't getting any younger.  Carlos Marmol has a 3.76 ERA and a career average of a 3.49 ERA

So who on the Cubs is underperforming that we should expect this big improvement?

On the other hand Braden Looper is .9 ERA above his career average, Dave Bush is 1.1ERA above his career average, Manny Parra is 2.00 above his short career average,  JJ Hardy is .100 OPS points below his career average, Corey Hart is .060 OPS points below his career average, Kendall is .150 OPS points under his career average. 

Plus Corey Hart, JJ Hardy, Manny Parra and Dave Bush were expected to take big steps forward this season where that cannot be said about any of the Cubs. 

I hate this every time we lose 2 games in a row the board gets littered with this "team is aweful posts". 

But yeah lets keep with the mantra that the Cubs are underperforming and the Brewers are playing up to their potential and it is just a matter of time before the Cubs catch the Brewers.

Juiceman:

Yes, I am a Cubs fan.

That makes a ton of sense.

Juiceman:

Why?  His career averages say he won't keep this up pace.  Albert Pujols, maybe; Prince, not bloody likely

Except that he is only 25 and this wouldn't even be his best offensive season while Derek Lee is 33 and more likely to go down hill.

Juiceman:

Soriano is way below his career averages so it is natural to assume he will rise at some point to become closer to his averages accrued over many years in the bigs. Even if a player has a drop off year, it is usually not a 60-70 point decrease in Batting Average and the like.

Except for aging veterans that lose it.  I would love to know Alfonso Soriano's real age.  Good luck with the 5 years and $90 million remaining on that contract after this year. 

Juiceman:

The_Igniter:

nobody says a word about waiting for the Brewers to come around.  The starting rotation outside of Gallardo, Hardy, Hart, Kendall and the Bench are underperforming yet the Brewers are still in first.  That should tell you something right

It does tell you something. That once the Cubs come around, the Brewers will fall by the wayside like they did in 2007.  No one is talking about the Brewers pitching or bench coming around because they have no upside.  You are going to wait for Suppan to pitch like Cy Young and Rivera, Gamel, Hall, etc. to play like Johnny Bench, Mike Schmidt and Brooks Robinson (or Aramis Ramirez?)?  Not going to happen.  You can't win a division getting one quality start out of five.  The bullpen will fall apart.  And the bench stinks.  So that is why no one talks about them "coming around".  Prince certainly only has one way to go and it ain't up.  Same thing with McGehee.  Whereas Soriano, Lee, Dempster, Marmol, Zambrano, Bradley, Gregg, etc all have track records that say their performance should improve as the season goes on. 

F*cking trolls.