If this requires a lot of work feel free to save the answers for the next pod rather than answering tonight: Devils Advocate for Murph. Is there any analytical argument in favor of his admittedly frustrating bullpen strategy?
Replies
It doesn’t require any work. The argument in favor is one word, #winning
aug 30, 2025, 1:29 pm • 0 0 • view
aug 30, 2025, 3:18 pm • 0 0 • view
Ultimately, you can only push arms so hard before they become less effective (is that what we saw last night with Ashby?) or broken (Anderson?) and that hurts the ability to win, right?
aug 30, 2025, 3:26 pm • 1 0 • view
I trust that Murphy has more information than you or I do, and he’s not going to do something that will hurt the team or a player. I choose to enjoy the stacking of wins and we will see where it goes. Go Brewers.
aug 30, 2025, 7:55 pm • 0 0 • view
But you lose more when bad relievers pitch when better options are available, which by definition also hurts ability to win. This is a very smart organization and I’m certain Murphy doesn’t make these decisions in a vacuum, nor does he make them without input.
aug 30, 2025, 7:53 pm • 0 0 • view
1) The main reason you lose more when bad RP pitch is because they're generally used when you're behind. You save your best RP for close games. 2) The Brewers mostly fill their pen with "good" RP and generally only have one "bad" RP at any given time, for inning eating purposes. 3) The problem....
aug 30, 2025, 8:00 pm • 0 0 • view
3) ....is that Murphy doesn't trust perfectly adequate RP to take over with bigish leads often enough. He insists on pitching his best guys up big WAY too often when it really should only be done very sparingly DESPITE the fact that he generally has lots of competent guys avaiable.
aug 30, 2025, 8:05 pm • 1 0 • view
Need proof? Murph has used... Megill up 4+ 7 times Abner up 4+ 7 times Mears up 4+ 11 times Ashby up 4+ 10 times He also did this to Koenig a ton (8 times) early when he trusted himl, has stopped doing it as much lately despite still being pefectly competent. It's flat out BAD management.
aug 30, 2025, 8:13 pm • 3 0 • view
How many of those games did the Brewers lose? If you want to be mad, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why you’d want to be at this moment, you should be mad at the organization not just Murphy. I guarantee these decisions are not made in a vacuum. Go Brewers.
aug 30, 2025, 9:00 pm • 1 0 • view
You don't generally lose games when you're up 4+ runs! That is quite literally the point. What I am mad at is that I think that the way Murphy is managing this bullpen is going to make it harder for them to win in October because he's running these pitchers ragged. THAT is why I am mad.
aug 30, 2025, 9:04 pm • 1 0 • view