The way Craig Counsell is using Josh Hader in the second half of the using -- or perhaps more accurately, not using him -- is becoming a pretty significant side storyline as the Brewers have stumbled in the past couple weeks. Those questions have only grown louder as Counsell has opted to use lesser quality relievers in games where the Brewers have trailed by small margins, only to see those pitchers give up more runs to put games out of reach, including Friday night’s game in St. Louis.
Counsell has been pretty clear that he has a set criteria for Josh Hader Appearances: the Brewers need to be ahead or tied in the later innings of a game.