The Brewers preached patience when they traded Brandon Sproat in exchange for Freddy Peralta from the Mets this offseason. Pat Murphy asked for more time as Sproat struggled at the plate. However, as Sproat blew up his start on Saturday, surrendering five runs from six hits in 4.1 innings, Murphy’s tone changed, and he went no-holds-barred against the 25-year-old starter.

The young arm who was touted as the future of the Brewers’ rotation is now struggling to keep his place.

“I think he took a step back. I don’t think he was very good. We’re not going to tolerate too many duds like this, that’s for sure,” Foul Territory quoted Murphy.

Saturday went rough for Sproat. In his 4.1 innings, he could strike out only four. He gave up two home runs, including a costly two-run shot to Jeremy Peña. Although defensive missteps behind Sproat and challenging calls compounded the damage, leading to three runs for Houston in the fifth inning alone, Sproat’s lack of command was evident.

The Astros eventually won the game 9-2. The only good thing about his outing was not allowing any walks in his 95-pitch outing. “Really, the only positive today was no walks. That’s a positive. Right now it’s tough. I’ve got to be better,” Sproat said after the game, but as the result kept the Brewers just 2 games ahead of the Cubs despite leading the division, Murphy looked frustrated.

After Saturday, Sproat’s ERA got ballooned to 6.24 and a 1-4 record.

Since Sproat landed with the Brewers, Murphy was always in defense of him. Sproat blew up his previous start against the Dodgers as well, surrendering 3 ERs from his 4 innings. “He’s had a couple of rough outings, but in no way, shape, or form do I think we’re considering getting him out of [the rotation]. This guy’s got a chance to be a high-end starter, and he’s a rookie, so rookies are going to go through that,” Murphy said about Sproat back then.

However, as Sproat shows no sign of improvement, the Brewers manager has had enough. Although Murphy has yet to decide about Sproat’s future. “He’s done some really, really good stuff, so it’s not like he’s not going to get another chance,” he added. But as Brandon Woodruff is scheduled to get back from the IL soon, chances are likely that Sproat would be demoted to get back his command.

Meanwhile, the Mets fans might be missing how the Brewers’ front office is working.

The Brewers are doing it right, what the Mets couldn’t

The Mets fans have a long-standing regret that their manager, Carlos Mendoza, lacks influence over his clubhouse. Despite the Mets’ struggle, Mendoza failed to call out the struggling names in public. Something Pat Murphy is doing is right.

The Brewers manager called out pitcher Abner Uribe for his antics against the Cardinals on Tuesday. Uribe was called in the eighth, and after his third strike ended the Cardinals’ inning, his WWE-style crotch chops attracted the wrong attention. Murphy took no time to call him out for his action. “I don’t know what got over him, I mean, he’s been an emotional guy, but those kinds of things, that’s just not how we do things,” Murphy said. “I was embarrassed by it. Why are we doing it? It’s a 6-0 game. What are we doing there?”

That time, Murphy said, “It’s not going to be tolerated.”

In comparison, Mendoza has yet to call out the strugglers despite the team’s last position in the division. “There’s so much I could sit here and say that we worry – we’ve got to go out and do it ourselves. We’re not putting ourselves in good positions. It’s not early anymore. Whatever I say here doesn’t matter; we’ve got to go out there and do it.” Mendoza’s recent response after the Mets struggled against the Reds sparks the difference between him and Murphy.

The Mets fans could have just hoped Mendoza would do a Pat Murphy thing.