Ken Rosenthal on the Milwaukee Brewers Formula That Is DOMINATING MLB

26 comments

1. Baseball would be in a better spot if more teams played as scrappy as the Brewers

2. Brewers / Blue Jays World Series

3. Cincinnati plays that way. That's why the Brewers had so much trouble with them.

4. this is the style that more fans are craving to watch

5. Lifelong Brewers fan, born in the 70s… This season has a dash Uecker Magic at work.

6. 1st in batting average with RISP. 3rd fewest double plays grounded into. 1st in runs per game. 4th fewest run allowed per game.

7. Ehhh not sure I agree about the bigger market expectations. While yes I can see the argument that bigger markets result in more scrutiny…who cares?? Why should that matter to the organizations?? 🤷🏼‍♂️

8. Here's a thought. If the team focuses on playing the game right, as well as focusing on little things, there wouldn't be as many mistakes and mental errors, therefore the pressure and scrutiny from fans and media wouldn't be so great. Sounds like Cashman is making excuses.

9. Very fun team to watch. Baseball is beautiful when it's played right.
   Back to the Dead Ball era.

10. Brewers are winning the World Series

11. Speed. Blazing fast speed. That’s a huge part of the Brewers.

12. They're also at the top for unearned runs scored, by a mile.

    It seems like non-Brewers fans, or media personalities who don't watch the team, are looking for every excuse to not say that these guys are talented. And it isn't just that they're talented. It's that the organization is second to none in recruiting the talent they need, and getting the most out of those players.

    Not to mention, they probably have the best clubhouse vibes of any team. All for one and one for all.

13. dont eorry cubs made the post seaso and the big wallet count do you remeber the last year how nyy higlanders made the neews paper world series?

14. They play like a college baseball team!

15. I don’t think the point of big market pressures is a valid one. If you’re a big market team and you’re winning games, then media pressure is non-existent. It’s when you’re performing on the field like the Yankees and Cubs the last few months that gets you put on-blast with the local media.

    Where I think Ken is right though is the smaller markets generally speaking don’t have so many large egos on the team to deal with. If you look at the personalities that are on the Brewers squad, it’s a bunch of guys that celebrate each other’s success. Even Christian Yelich, a former MVP, is a rather humble player.

    I think what the Brewers are doing is displaying what honest to God effort can do for you. If you know the saying, hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard enough. I think what we’re currently seeing in baseball is the teams with large payrolls and are underperforming contain a lot of guys that got their bag and don’t have the same motivation as when they were coming up from the minors.

16. The Reds have Terry Francona as their manager.

17. Thank you Craig Counsell for providing this opportunity for your longtime mentor. I dont believe Murph gets a gig outside this scenario. I feel it factored in Craigs decision to move as well. He gave Papa Murph and Brewers fans alike, a gift. Also, the pitch clock is huge in the fact that when you have a pitcher on the ropes, he has nowhere to hide. And as a pitching staff, when your rollin, hitters are forced to make quicker decisions. While Homeruns and slug are still sexy, so is taking the extra base, playing fundamentally sound defense, and putting the ball in play. Fun team to watch.

18. Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks in Miracle, "I'm not looking for the best players, Craig. I'm looking for the right ones." This is how the Brewers organization, ownership, office, coaches, have approached the players for several years. Build a team.

19. Great analysis of playing the game vs playing the metrics. The fundamentals still count for something. "Old school" ball means taking advantage of every opportunity (batter, runner, pitcher, fielder) where each team member is a valuable contributor on both defense and offense. This is watchable baseball, not at all "home run derby" ish (all power) that some teams prefer.

20. Brewer fan here. Agree 100% with this. Every player is accountable , if you swing at balls, don’t take the extra base, miss the cut off man, etc… Murph will bench you then tell the truth to a reporter.

21. I think at least a sizable portion of what gets written off as "luck" is due to their playing style. Guys committing errors and costly mental mistakes because the Brewers are fast, pesky, and will take whatever you allow them to take. While something may come off as an "unforced error" on the score sheet, the reality is that the pressure they put on you to make the perfect play eventually leads to uncharacteristic errors, and they've taken advantage of those more times than not.

    As a Brewers fan, I almost can't believe what I'm seeing half the time. They just don't have a glaring weakness and always find new ways to win. Tons of nerve. As a baseball fan, this style of playing is so much more fun to watch. Constant movement, action on the basepaths, chess-matches, aggressiveness. The home run may often be touted as the "most exciting play in sports", but it's not when you throw big bats out there and they strike out constantly while swinging for the fences.

    I thought it was a telling and hilarious clip after the Brewers slugged a bunch of home runs recently, Sal Frelick was interviewed on the field about their sudden power outburst and Frelick quipped that Murphy was probably more upset that they weren't all singles.

22. Making bs excuses for the sleezeballs in places like New York playing lazy baseball.

23. Only 12 more wins for free burgers!

24. The Brewers are a complete team right now because of several factors:

    *The Brewers don't rely on the HR to score all their runs. Teams have become so obsessed with OPS, they stack their teams with all-or-nothing power hitters, and if even 1/4 of those bats go cold at the wrong time, they're going to get shut out most of the time. The Brewers will take their runs any way they can. A HR is a plus, but as we saw in this first game against the Cubs, they don't NEED HR's to win games. They can nickel-and-dime you with singles, doubles, walks, any way to score runs.

    *The Brewers are full of contact hitters. While they do have some high strikeout-prone players (Turang and Yelich), most of their hitters make consistent contact, and that increases the chances of getting on base, whether it be a hit or an error, and opportunities to drive runs in on sac flies and RBI groundouts.

    *Speed. The Brewers' roster is full of rabbits that can run out grounders and take that extra base when needed. That speed puts pressure on opposing defenses, because they know they have to hurry their throws, leaving more chances for errors and giving the Brewers more run-scoring opportunities.

    *Pitching. The Brewers really have the most complete rotation in MLB: Peralta, Priester, Miz, Quintana, Woodruff. All of them can give you frequent quality starts, and knowing their offense is so good, you're under pressure to score any runs you can against these pitchers, and you press more for hits, meaning less good swings. Then you have the bullpen of Ashby, Koenig, Uribe, Mears, and Megill. Pretty much 'game over' if you're down to the Brewers by the 7th inning.

    *Defense. The Brewers also have one of the best defenses in baseball. Platinum Glove winner Turang at 2nd, Ortiz is very good at SS, Durbin's becoming a standout at 3rd, then the outfield with GG winner Frelick, ROY candidate Issac Collins, and Blake Perkins is GG caliber too. You're just not going to have many opportunities to score on this team.

    All in all, really the only way a team can beat the Brewers is to out-execute them. Your pitching has to be on their game, as well as your hitting AND your defense. Everything needs to be clicking JUST RIGHT to have a chance against this team, and in a best of 5 or 7 playoff series, that's very hard to keep up against this team.

25. The Brewers are saving baseball. Absolutely everyone in the country should be a fan of these Beermakers.

26. Once upon a time, analytics was a secret weapon no one used. Now everyone uses it. It's a must, not an advantage. However, it came at the cost of extreme ANAL-lytics, the loss of fundamental baseball skills, managers with zero strategic thinking, a complete ignorance to the human aspect of coaching, robotic boredom, and the most pathetic base running I've ever seen that's become the norm. We are talking professional MLB players who do worse than Little Leaguers when it comes to fundamentals such as, don't take off running on an infield ground ball with less than 2 outs. You are freaking pros, WTF!!!

    Analytics will not tell you if XXX got 1.5 hours of sleep last night while out hooking up with a girl he met at a club. The data goes out the window if the guy is dragging ass and has the focus of an infant. You as the manager, need to pick up on these things and KNOW your guys. You need honest, open and frequent communication, blunt and free from ego. Pat does this well. That is why the Brewers are where they are and the Twins are where they are.

    Today's managers need to balance analytics with "old school" know how. The "feel" never went away. The fact that only a few teams get it and are riding it to great success is damning of MLB front offices and their choices for managers.

    But now that THIS "secret" is out, once all teams do this, it will no longer be an advantage on its own. Now it comes to skill and savvy and finding the right guys to lead your team. It's a cat and mouse game, yes. But no matter the latest trend, fundamental sound baseball will never go away.