You take three of four in St. Louis and win another exciting home series, and suddenly people get optimistic! The community (N = 56) shifted decidedly toward higher win expectations this week, with the 71-75 group now in single digits for the first time. The 75/76-win breakpoint no longer has much graphical meaning, so that chart has been changed to reflect an 80/81-win split, and we're now just about even on that question. The distribution of playoff expectations shifted as well, with a season-high 34% of respondents giving the Brewers better than a 20% chance of reaching the postseason. This optimism is reflected in the huge increase in support for a Gerardo Parra-type acquisition next month if the team is still in contention. Management approval remains largely steady, though Counsell saw his biggest jump in non-approval of the year, perhaps as a result of his bullpen decisions against San Diego. Stearns, seemingly as always, is about about a third strong approval, two-thirds regular approval, and nobody undecided or disapproving.
1. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Craig Counsell is doing as the manager of the Brewers?
Wk 12 Wk 11 Wk 10 Wk 9 Wk 8 Wk 7 Wk 6 Wk 5 Strongly approve 16% 15% 14% 22% 19% 27% 17% 18% Approve 68% 74% 81% 72% 75% 64% 73% 77% Disapprove 4% 0% 0% 2% 0% 0% 4% 0% Strongly disapprove 4% 2% 0% 2% 2% 4% 2% 2% Undecided 9% 9% 5% 2% 5% 5% 4% 4%
2. Do you approve or disapprove of the job David Stearns is doing as the general manager of the Brewers?
Wk 12 Wk 11 Wk 10 Wk 9 Wk 8 Wk 7 Wk 6 Wk 5 Strongly approve 36% 35% 35% 44% 51% 44% 29% 44% Approve 64% 65% 65% 54% 49% 56% 67% 51% Disapprove 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% Strongly disapprove 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Undecided 0% 0% 0% 2% 0% 0% 4% 4%
3. How many games do you expect the Brewers to win in the 2017 regular season?
Wk 12 Wk 11 Wk 10 Wk 9 Wk 8 Wk 7 Wk 6 Wk 5 65 or less 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 66 to 70 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 0% 2% 0% 71 to 75 5% 13% 12% 14% 14% 17% 25% 44% 76 to 80 46% 54% 47% 62% 48% 53% 56% 44% 81 to 85 46% 28% 40% 20% 32% 21% 17% 12% 85 to 90 2% 4% 2% 4% 5% 9% 0% 0% 91 or more 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
4. What percent chance do you give the Brewers of making the postseason this year?
Wk 12 Wk 11 Wk 10 Wk 9 Wk 8 Wk 7 Wk 6 Wk 5 Less than 5 7% 9% 12% 10% 8% 6% 8% 18% 5 to 9 7% 20% 21% 16% 10% 11% 27% 26% 10 to 20 52% 57% 44% 50% 49% 50% 50% 44% More than 20 34% 15% 23% 24% 33% 33% 15% 13% ---- Mean 19% 15% 16% 19% 20% 19% 13% 13%
5. How do you feel about the pace of Brewers games in 2017?
Jun May Apr The games are moving too slowly 23% 17% 10% The games are moving at a good pace 75% 83% 90% The games are moving too quickly 2% 0% 0%
6. So far in 2017, how many Brewers games have you followed live (through TV, radio, or being at the stadium) in a typical week?
Jun May Apr None 4% 7% 5% Just 1 or 2 18% 17% 19% About half 30% 28% 23% Most or all 48% 47% 53%
7. How should the Brewers handle their catching corps?
Wk 12 Wk 3 Piña and Bandy should roughly split games 59% 63% Piña should be the everyday starter 41% 36% Bandy should be the everyday starter 0% 2%
8. What should the Brewers do if still in contention in July?
Wk 12 Wk 3 Be willing to trade currently contributing players 13% 29% Make no trades at the major league level 29% 46% Look for a Gerardo Parra-type acquisition 52% 17% Look for a CC Sabathia-type acquisition 7% 8%
9. Do you approve or disapprove of the Brewers' selection of Keston Hiura with their first round draft pick?
Strongly approve 16% Approve 46% Disapprove 11% Strongly disapprove 0% Undecided 27%
10. Do you approve or disapprove of the Brewers' selection of nine high school players in rounds 11-20 of the draft?
Strongly approve 14% Approve 50% Disapprove 9% Strongly disapprove 0% Undecided 27%
