Hall Says, "We'll See What Happens"...
By South Side Rob
the next couple of days. Hall has sat the last two games for the Brewers since they were facing right-handed starting pitchers. When this move was made, most baseball people said finally. It was getting Chris Capuano out of hand. Last season, Yost continued to throw Capuano out for starts. 16 straight starts resulted in losses, then, 4 more in relief, then finally, another 2 more in starts for a total of 22 straight games in which either Capuano started or relieved a game, the Brewers lost. I'm not suggesting that all of these losses were because of Capuano. The point here is, it took way too long for the manager and coaching staff to realize that there might be a negative trend they need to put a stop to.
Enter Bill Hall. As of this writing, Bill Hall is 21 for 133 in 145 plate appearances against right-handed pitchers for an embarrassing average of .158. Let's soak that in. 145 plate appearances. 21 hits to go with 42 punch-outs. It's not like we are talking about a few poor at-bats. This is lengthy. I could pile on and tell you that Bill Hall averages .143 whenever he works the count to 3-1 which is a hitters count. That's against both left and right-handed pitchers. How are these numbers helping the Milwaukee Brewers win baseball games? On defense, he has 11 errors and a fielding percentage of just .912 which is slightly better than Ryan Braun's pct of 2007 which was .895.
The writing is on the wall for this season. This isn't about keeping players happy. That should be ending quick. If it doesn't, the Brewers will get a manager that cares more about winning than friendships. That's it. Professional team sports teams are measured by wins. You don't win, your no good. You can't contribute to the team winning, you can't play. What they pay a player should not matter. The Brewers can have a major-league minimum player hit better than .158 against right-handed pitching.
If Bill Hall's agent can negotiate a trade with Doug Melvin, I would be in favor of it. I'm sure Bill Hall is a nice guy. So was Wes Helms and Sean Berry. Another thing these 3 have in common is that they were all asked to play everyday when most of them only had success in the major leagues as part-time role players. The Brewers gave them full-time money and thought they would get double the production. As a result, their production fell below what they previously produced on a part-time basis.
It's a mess. Bill Hall should not be playing everyday. I know, Rickie Weeks should not be playing everyday either but look at our roster and tell Ned who else he can play at 2nd base. The time for making friends is over. If Yost saves his job it will be because he finally figured out that winning is what he's being paid for. They have their whole lives to be friends. The time to win is now.
the next couple of days. Hall has sat the last two games for the Brewers since they were facing right-handed starting pitchers. When this move was made, most baseball people said finally. It was getting Chris Capuano out of hand. Last season, Yost continued to throw Capuano out for starts. 16 straight starts resulted in losses, then, 4 more in relief, then finally, another 2 more in starts for a total of 22 straight games in which either Capuano started or relieved a game, the Brewers lost. I'm not suggesting that all of these losses were because of Capuano. The point here is, it took way too long for the manager and coaching staff to realize that there might be a negative trend they need to put a stop to.
Enter Bill Hall. As of this writing, Bill Hall is 21 for 133 in 145 plate appearances against right-handed pitchers for an embarrassing average of .158. Let's soak that in. 145 plate appearances. 21 hits to go with 42 punch-outs. It's not like we are talking about a few poor at-bats. This is lengthy. I could pile on and tell you that Bill Hall averages .143 whenever he works the count to 3-1 which is a hitters count. That's against both left and right-handed pitchers. How are these numbers helping the Milwaukee Brewers win baseball games? On defense, he has 11 errors and a fielding percentage of just .912 which is slightly better than Ryan Braun's pct of 2007 which was .895.
The writing is on the wall for this season. This isn't about keeping players happy. That should be ending quick. If it doesn't, the Brewers will get a manager that cares more about winning than friendships. That's it. Professional team sports teams are measured by wins. You don't win, your no good. You can't contribute to the team winning, you can't play. What they pay a player should not matter. The Brewers can have a major-league minimum player hit better than .158 against right-handed pitching.
If Bill Hall's agent can negotiate a trade with Doug Melvin, I would be in favor of it. I'm sure Bill Hall is a nice guy. So was Wes Helms and Sean Berry. Another thing these 3 have in common is that they were all asked to play everyday when most of them only had success in the major leagues as part-time role players. The Brewers gave them full-time money and thought they would get double the production. As a result, their production fell below what they previously produced on a part-time basis.
It's a mess. Bill Hall should not be playing everyday. I know, Rickie Weeks should not be playing everyday either but look at our roster and tell Ned who else he can play at 2nd base. The time for making friends is over. If Yost saves his job it will be because he finally figured out that winning is what he's being paid for. They have their whole lives to be friends. The time to win is now.
You know how much I agree with you, no reason to beat a Ned horse... I mean a dead Yost... I mean a dead horse!
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Bill Hall is Just a little behind Brady Clark.
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They both were VERY nice role players. A spot became available to them and for 1 year they excelled. Clark had an awesome 2005, Hall crushed in 2006. After those career years, they both pretty much fizzled. And in both cases it wasn't a matter of not working enough and getting a big head after great seasons, they just peaked and could never recapture the magic of their one year in the sun.
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On a side-note, I am done with Bill and Brian. Yesterday they spoke EXTENSIVELY about how with the addition of Russell Branyan, (the "soft platoon"), and finally having Kendall bat in the normal 8th spot that Ned Yost was out of lineup moves to make. They said repeatedly that he had done every possible thing to his everyday lineup to spark the offense.
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HAH!
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Maybe something could be done about who you have leading off... Just a suggestion:
Hart
Kendall
Braun
Fielder
Cameron
Branyan
Hardy
Weeks/Counsell
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Sorry Todd, I really have to disagree with you. By the end of the season you will see Rickie is in the perfect spot in the lineup. Last year his OBP was .374 despite his .235 average. If he could just hit .260 some time in his career he would be an elite player. I concede that he won't, but think about it for a second. Rickie hits for a low average. Why put him in a run producing position when he has a higher OBP than Cam, Hardy and Braun? These guys hit for higher averages and won't steal nearly as many bases. Rickie is the perfect table setter who will have the second or third best OBP on the team by year's end, despite his 8th or 9th BA. Get off that train. It's not baseball savvy.
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I don't want to get into an argument on another person's blog, so if you 'd like to continue this conversation, we can do it at your place or mine. But I assure you, my opinion on Weeks' is not based on any "train", it's simple observation of his career thus far. Oh, and betting on Rickie proving his worth at leadoff by season's end is only baseball savvy if you're hoping for a good draft pick.
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