Rolling Carlos Gomez GIFs: Your 2014 Milwaukee Brewers thread

Jumping the gun a bit here, but after a long winter and a DOA 2013 season, we need the distraction of spring training more than ever.

And there's a lot to look forward to this season: the starting rotation is secretly pretty good, and if the team is a long shot to actually make the playoffs, they're at least poised to possibly, maybe be in contention for a wild card come September, which really is all that I ask for as a fan.

From an NY Times hypothetical:

Let’s skip ahead to the victory celebration and imagine how baseball’s general managers and decision makers might sum up a run to the championship.

BREWERS, Doug Melvin

People forget that we were actually over .500 after Ryan Braun’s suspension last year. With Braun back, the offense we already had, a strong bullpen and Matt Garza making our rotation deeper, this isn’t really a surprise to us.

you promised Gomez gifs

Oh there will be plenty. I'm sure he's going to make a diving catch in one of the Marlins aquariums or something and it'll be incredible

Just peaked into the Cardinals thread and they are already having a long, eager conversation about prospects. Guessing that won't happen here.

you never know! and as a favor from one harddrinking midwestern NL central team to another:

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2894699/Carlos-Gomez-robs-Votto.gif

oh hell yes
http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/3290553/atlmilfight3.gif

http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/3290553/atlmilfight3.gif

A+

not to put a damper on things but that NYT article is soooooo hilariously bad

TWINS, Terry Ryan

Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano were 20 when this season started, and now they’ve brought Minneapolis its first title since before they were born. What a thrill to see Phil Hughes jump into the arms of first baseman Joe Mauer after the final out.

WHITE SOX, Rick Hahn

Nobody thought we’d be standing here after scoring the fewest runs in the league in 2013 while allowing the most unearned runs. But then again, nobody knew how good Jose Abreu would be.

YANKEES, Brian Cashman

How funny that we won our 28th championship while using only one player under 28 years old in the World Series. Of course, that player was Masahiro Tanaka. His three wins and a save will go down in Yankees lore.

MARLINS, Dan Jennings

We built our ballpark on the site of the Orange Bowl, so it was pretty cool to see Jose Fernandez predict this upset and make the No. 1 sign as he left through the tunnel. And no, we’re not trading him.

METS, Sandy Alderson

Ike Davis, Curtis Granderson and Chris Young all rediscovered their 30-homer bats, and when Bartolo Colon went down in the playoffs, Matt Harvey came off the disabled list. When he struck out Stephen Drew to win the World Series, it was amazin’!

NATIONALS, Mike Rizzo

Doug Fister gave us a four-deep rotation, Bryce Harper was named the National League’s most valuable player, and Washington is so crazy for us that even congressmen walk around with their shirts untucked like Rafael Soriano after the last out.

Yeah, wishful thinking and thin logic abound. But it's still nice to fantasize.

BEARS, Morris Buttermaker

Sure, it's easy to put everything on Kelly Leak and Amanda Whurlitzer. But what most impressed me was how far the other kids came: Ahmad, Tanner, Rudi Stein is my top SABRmetrician -- and Little Timmy Lupus, are you kidding me with that defense?

@AdamMcCalvy 8m
Aramis Ramirez had surgery to remove a non-malignant polyp from his colon and will be a few days behind when spring games start.

Does anybody think this guy will be able to stay healthy for a full season?

ya - why not?

reckless ballplayers and their non-malignant polyps

http://mlblogsbrewers.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/bullpen-phone.jpg

http://brewers.mlblogs.com/2014/02/19/fetcher-reports-to-spring-training-tries-to-walk-on-as-member-of-2014-brewers

I like him

http://media.jsonline.com/images/242976021_gomez%20hair.jpg

http://deadspin.com/hank-the-dog-runs-in-a-milwaukee-brewers-sausage-race-1531870105

So far in the first inning of the season, a Segura walk, a Weeks strikeout, and a Ryan Braun homerun.

Just before the homer, one fan wearing an A's hat yelled "MVP-E-D."

Mike Vassallo ‏@MikeVassallo13
Ryan Braun goes 2-for-2 with a run, double and walk today. Has reached base in 6 of 7 plate apps this spring (4-for-5, hr, 2bb).

Scooter Gennett is 2-21 this spring

ehh. david ortiz is 2-for-18

david ortiz ate scooter gennett by accident

it begins!

http://mlb.com/news/article/mil/brewers-reliever-francisco-rodriguez-gets-treatment-after-stepping-on-cactus?ymd=20140312&content_id=69172758&vkey=news_mil

Rodriguez is already behind the other relievers because he signed late in the offseason and arrived late after securing a work visa amid political turmoil in Venezuela. Roenicke does not believe the cactus caper will prevent Rodriguez from being ready by the Brewers' March 31 season opener.

Roenicke does not believe the cactus caper will prevent Rodriguez from being ready by the Brewers' March 31 season opener.

cactus caper

Estrada was in ace mode today: 5 1/2 scoreless innings, 50 of his 70 pitches were strikes.

@MikeVassallo13
Marco Estrada (6ip, 4h, 0bb, 5k) lowers his spring ERA to 2.70. He has tossed 12.0 consecutive scoreless innings.

Most underrated Brewer right now

I hope so! It suddenly looks like a real solid rotation if he's performing as well as he's shown capable of.

Hart disappointed his Brewers teammates didn't reach out to him more during his contract negotiations.

“I’m sure when we see each other there will be a lot of hugs. But that’s about it,” Hart said

Only hugs? Cold.

http://www.4freeimagehost.com/show.php?i=PUSH24606c426b85.jpg

brewers will have hank the dog bobblehead night on 9/13

I'm gonna try to go to the exhibition game tomorrow since I can't do opening day. Interested in seeing how they integrate Hank into the in-game graphics. I'm assuming there's clips of him on the scoreboard at some point.

at every point. i'm actually thinking they'll add him to the 25-man roster and platoon him at first.

Fun game. Estrada killed it again today; another five scoreless innings.

Not sure if RRR was making a point by not challenging that Ramirez out, but he would have won that challenge

turning up the heat

Two consecutive homeruns for Braun. Keep those boos coming, Philly.

yeah, that'll do :)

i don't care if he's a philly-killer - i love braun

also ffs if we're going to boo anyone we should be booing our own team

Gomez out to a strong start again. Though 2013 had "career year" written all over it I just love to see the dude do well, I love the combo of speed + flash + randomly shredding through a bat with your kneecap

This will be a big year for Tyler Thornburg. Would love to see him have a good year here and then transition into the rotation in 2015. One of the few bright spots in our horrible farm team.

so this season is going pretty well

http://giant.gfycat.com/AbleHeartyDevilfish.gif

h8 u aramis

I know it won't last forever so I am trying to enjoy it while I can, but holy shit, best record in baseball. It's surreal.

Like, the whole run up to the season was "omg, the team has such an impossible schedule in April, no fair." Turns out it wasn't a thing.

just like every Brewer team since 2005 I think they have a chance if they stay healthy. I don't think they're as good as the 2011 team but they're not that far off, especially with Gomez continuing to play like an all-star

Oh! It's written in the stars....

Also Gomez had the audacity to try not to get thrown out on a double play:

http://deadspin.com/benches-clear-after-carlos-gomez-tries-to-break-up-doub-1596138563

First at 50 wins!

http://exclaim.ca/images/ooioo.jpg

a fitting tribute imo

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BsNPOciCIAAmzoa.png

I hope this is just normal turbulance, but man has the Brewers inability to score more than 1 run been frustrating lately

i know Will Smith has good season stats but he's getting hit real hard lately

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11207240/jean-segura-leaves-milwaukee-brewers-following-death-9-month-old-son

Terrible week. Or month, actually. Glad we ended with a win but that was brutal. Never been more thankful for the All Star break

Tonight was the first time since last month that the team felt like the 2014 Brewers again

best moment from last night's game: Ryan Braun ruining someone's dinner (if you rewatch the HR, it smacked a table that a group was eating at, and cups flew everywhere)

I just looked up Lucroy's contract - 5 years, $11 million. What a freakin bargain that turned out to be.

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--NsWCFT98--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/k76z5dcc6tklknhibbdu.gif

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--NsWCFT98--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/k76z5dcc6tklknhibbdu.gif

http://37.media.tumblr.com/994cbb8e1faf33564c0ad497fee7bfae/tumblr_n98l2r0wBx1rrldk1o1_400.gif

lol

Game notes

The Mets optioned OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis to Las Vegas. ... Mets SS Ruben Tejada was given the day off as a precaution after he was hit in the helmet by a pitch from Seattle's Taijuan Walker. RF Curtis Granderson returned to the New York lineup after missing two games with a stomach virus. He went 0 for 4. ... The Brewers are playing Michael Jackson songs when Carlos Gomez strides to the plate, and the quirky outfielder is raising his right leg and imitating a leg kick done by the King of Pop before entering the batter's box.

That's not "quirky", that's recommended

I'm sure this is the case with most teams (save the Cards, probably), but there's such a clear correlation between how much fun the players are having and how well the team is performing. In general the weirder and wackier the team is the better they are, and right now they are having Nyjer Morgan levels of fun again

Isn't it more the better a team is performing, the more fun the players are having?

Yerp, although I suppose there's the occasional happy-go-lucky terrible team. (And the cardinals never have fun because only a 162-0 record is acceptable)

iirc nick swisher never became a True Yankee because he had too much fun when the team was losing

Fiers vs. Greinke on Saturday. That's a fun matchup.

This was just the Crew's second series win since July 1, yet they are alone in first place. Incredible.

well that turned out nice. good to see Fiers back.

sweet jesus - eight strikeouts through four innings!

kinda nice to get some hits off Edwin Jackson for once

I really hope Fiers can stick around this time. I love watching guys like that

he's at 11 through 5. this is nuts.

he was always a K machine iirc. was surprised he was back in the minors at the start of the season (i don't exactly follow the brewers too closely)

and he struck out the side in the 6th. I think 14 K's is the highest by a single Brewer in a game since like...Ben Sheets. And he did it in only 6 innings.

I'm not sure why he was in the minors either, I do remember him battling with injury all last year and generally imploding after a real great first 8 or so starts. I think they just picked Estrada over him.

Also, not being reported on much, but Mike Fiers has been crazy dominant in Nashville. Just struck out a record 13 in his last start. I've got to believe he's going to come into play this season.

― Evan R, Sunday, May 11, 2014 10:11 PM (3 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Realest shit I ever wrote

Current line: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, ended by retiring 18 straight Jays

I know he kinda started like this in 2012 as well but I WANT TO BELIEEEEVE

He definitely fares better against batters who haven't seen him much, but man, what a weapon

i'd never actually watched him pitch before last night. was not expecting such a pedestrian fastball, considering what a K machine he is.

His low velocity is why he was undervalued as a prospect for so long. But he makes up for it with pin-point location and an often impossible-to-read delivery. He just confuses the hell out of batters.

http://38.media.tumblr.com/579143f8a2bceb5cff5af0821a90e324/tumblr_nbwr3xDkzN1rrldk1o1_400.gif

really, it's hard to believe they don't give up 2 runs every inning after that shit.

I'm gonna have to go to sleep now but if they end up blowing this game...

did you doubt it?

if they miss out on the Wild Card by one game...

it's not going to be that close.

wasn't sure that game would ever end, managers kept trying to bunt their way out of scoring

~go brewers~

Well they fought. But this was the game that killed any lingering wild card hopes for me. Barring the most unlikely of Pirates sweeps, it is over.

Sucks that they are limping into the finish like this, but it was an incredible season for so long so I am trying not to be bitter.

I guess the obvious narrative here is that the offense ran out of steam, but that doesn't really tell the story, since our batters are by and large still getting on base; they're just constantly stranded there. The LOB stats for the last week or two have been insane; there were so many games we should have run away with.

Also I guess we stopped hitting homers. And this is what happens when the Brewers don't hit homers.

it's been depressing (and this Packer start isn't helping matters) but I thought they were headed for a .500 season at the beginning of the year and I think they should be pretty good next year. I thought the rotation would be in shambles by now but it seems like they got 5 solid ones for 2015 and if Braun picks up the offense should be decent as well.

gomez tries to bunt his way on an awful lot for a guy with 45 homers over the last two seasons

Expecting nearly as good of years from Luc and Gomez next year, and I expect a slightly better year from Braun (though I no longer expect miracles from him; age and injuries are starting to take their toll). The rotation should be great next year. Also it's not unreasonable to expect even better years from Scooter and Davis, who both played well if not spectacularly this year. Age and experience can only help them.

Fiers' dominance has been the most satisfying storyline of the season for me; thrilled he'll be in the order next year.

I am glad Weeks rebounded a bit this year, and gets to leave the Crew with his head held high. I'm going to applaud the shit out of him on Saturday night.

I would imagine Segura will be better next year as well. I doubt Luc will have this good a year but hopefully he won't have to.

It's going to be sad to see Weeks go, I really hope he gets a starting role elsewhere. I've had my frustrations with him but I always loved watching him play. Hard to believe he's been in the league for over a decade now.

Next year will be make or break for Segura. The optimist in me says he'll figure things out at the plate, maybe pick up a little bit of power, and learn to get the damn ball out of the infield. But there's also a chance pitchers just figured the guy out. It was so nice having a real SS we could be proud of for a while; would be a shame if we're stuck with the same bat we saw all year for the next three or four years.

Let’s skip ahead to the victory celebration and imagine how baseball’s general managers and decision makers might sum up a run to the championship.

BREWERS, Doug Melvin

People forget that we were actually over .500 after Ryan Braun’s suspension last year. With Braun back, the offense we already had, a strong bullpen and Matt Garza making our rotation deeper, this isn’t really a surprise to us.

Roenicke lives

noooo not Garth Iorg!!!

I'll miss hearing the name Garth Lorg. But that's about it.