Cohen all but came out and said he’s hiring Stearns

[BrewerFan]

2 minutes ago, brewers888 said:

Stearns did not do a good job his last year or two with the Brewers and certainly was more than upset that Attanasio didn’t let him out of his contract to go home to his dream job.

Well, it's not certain, it's wild speculation on your behalf. He was WELL compensated.

But how'd he "salt the Earth?" Attanasio was emphatic that the Brewers could have added payroll to the team. That it was strictly Stearns call to trade Hader...which led directly to a 24 year old catcher coming off an AS season as well as a pitching prospect in AAA who looks like he's close to stepping into the rotation. 

So what moves can we look to that he was somehow working on behalf of the Mets and not...I guess trying to win for the Brewers? I'm really not even sure what you're speculating about here. 

[brewers888]

The issue for the Brewers is whether or not Stearns is going to purge the Brewers front office and hire Counsell for next season.

[BrewerFan]

2 minutes ago, brewers888 said:

Considering Cohen has been cited for insider trading it’s not hard to guess that he has had contact with Stearns 

 

You realize not everything is some nefarious act, right? The idea that he was working for the Mets on his way out, that both sides are violating his contract because his firm, not him, his firm had to pay a fine for insider trading does not mean he's illegally conversing with Stearns.

 

And man, what a moron he'd have to be to "all but announce that," last night if that was the case, no? It sounds like you took what EVERYONE believed to be true, ie, Stearns to the Mets...and you then extrapolated that to Stearn is working behind the scenes for the Mets while still with the Brewers because he's mad the Brewers wouldn't just let him out of his contract(because what do those silly little things mean) early to go work for the Mets.

 

You realize the two people you mentioned are out of Baseball...not because of how qualified they are, but because they cheated. They're viewed as dirty. You REALLY think after everything we saw from Stearns, that's how HE acts? Even if you want to attribute that behavior to Cohen as the Owner of the Mets, that's....kinda silly.

[BrewerFan]

13 minutes ago, brewers888 said:

The issue for the Brewers is whether or not Stearns is going to purge the Brewers front office and hire Counsell for next season.

I will place a bet with you that Counsell does not leave HIS childhood team, one that he's free to run as he sees fit and is located minutes away from where he grew up, where his children play...all to go to NYC and take on one of the most scrutinized jobs in Baseball.

But we'll see.

[owbc]

I have no issue with Stearns leaving, he's been here long enough and it's time to do something else. Who wouldn't want to work with a near infinite budget?

I don't think Stearns will purge the Brewers FO, but if he does pull a few people away we already know that one of Mark A's strongest characteristics is hiring excellent leadership. 

Counsell is not going to manage the Mets. He has been quoted saying that he is thinking about retiring or taking a break from baseball but feels that his final goal is to bring the World Series back to Milwaukee. I think he would have already retired if he wasn't highly motivated to accomplish that goal. 

[KeithStone53151]

4 hours ago, brewers888 said:

The issue for the Brewers is whether or not Stearns is going to purge the Brewers front office and hire Counsell for next season.

It wouldn't be unusual for him to pursue FO staff. For example, let's say he's familiar with really good stats guy that's ready to advance to the next level...maybe he'd pursue that guy to be stats director. Those positions may not exist in reality, but you get the concept. It's no different from a NFL head coach hire going back to his old coaching staff and grabbing a guy or two for advanced positions. Maybe the QB coach becomes his new OC. And...doing this I wouldn't view as tampering. Considering Counsell wasn't even a Stearns choice/hire, it's far less certain that he'd even want Counsell as his manager. Especially with unlimited funds.

To a different point, I will say it wouldn't overly surprise me if the Mets end up being accused of tampering allegations...that they talked contract/agreement with Stearns for 2024 before he left the Brewers in 2022. I'm not about to line up and accuse, because it's not being talked about and no evidence exists that we know of, but it would make sense if evidence surfaced. A little bit of curiosity/speculation on this specific piece of this whole topic/thread is pretty darn reasonable in my opinion.

[Axman59]

I would be shocked if Stearns WASN'T the POBO for the Mets in 2024 and I would be shocked if Craig Counsell WAS the manager of the Mets in 2024.

CC doesn't strike me as the New York type and he basically has lifetime employment with the Brewers if he wants it. I could see him taking some kind of advisory role with the Brewers that would allow for more time off and still put some money in his pocket. And leave the door open to return to managing the team at some point in the future.

[homer]

I wonder if Counsell would take off a year or two and let Murphy manage. 

[Brewcrew82]

15 minutes ago, homer said:

I wonder if Counsell would take off a year or two and let Murphy manage. 

That honestly wouldn't shock me. Even if CC doesn't manage the Brewers next year, I think it's likely he returns at some point. 

[BrewerFan]

8 hours ago, Axman59 said:

I would be shocked if Stearns WASN'T the POBO for the Mets in 2024 and I would be shocked if Craig Counsell WAS the manager of the Mets in 2024.

CC doesn't strike me as the New York type and he basically has lifetime employment with the Brewers if he wants it. I could see him taking some kind of advisory role with the Brewers that would allow for more time off and still put some money in his pocket. And leave the door open to return to managing the team at some point in the future.

That's almost unheard of and yet it seems totally reasonable with the Brewers and Counsell. 

Seems hard to believe Pat Murphy taking over and then handing the job back to CC. I think it's more likely that they'd just look for another manager and move into the FO, but could be Murphy.

[jerichoholicninja]

Stearns in New York could be a hilarious disaster. He did a great job of building this organization to respectability but when he spent money it was generally a massive failure. Cohen will give him a credit card and tell him to fix it now, which is definitely not David's strength.

[owbc]

19 minutes ago, jerichoholicninja said:

Stearns in New York could be a hilarious disaster. He did a great job of building this organization to respectability but when he spent money it was generally a massive failure. Cohen will give him a credit card and tell him to fix it now, which is definitely not David's strength.

The smart thing for the Mets to do would be to give up on 2023 and sell at the deadline. They have pieces that could return prospects if they are willing to eat salary.  

[dlk9s]

I'm not sure why I'm supposed to care about Stearns going to NY, regardless of whether or not there is some super-secret deal already in place. He's not the Brewers GM anymore and it's his childhood team, so if he goes, that's great for him. I mean, hell, if I worked for say, the Braves and the Brewers came calling, I'd hop on the next plane.

And if he brings over some Brewers guys? Fine. They can do what they want. I just don't find reasons to get upset about it.

I'd be a bit disappointed if CC went, but I'd be shocked if he did.

[dlk9s]

On 6/28/2023 at 4:48 PM, brewers888 said:

Attanasio has had a decent run but I would like him to sell to someone with deeper pockets.

 

Be careful what you wish for.

[BrewerFan]

On 6/30/2023 at 10:33 AM, dlk9s said:

Be careful what you wish for.

I guess *IF Jimmy and Dee Haslem want to take some of that NFL money and get into a second professional sports team in Milwaukee...that'd be fine.

They bought about 33% of the Bucks, correct?

The Bucks are worth~2X as much as the Brewers...I guess. That doesn't sound right, but the Brewers are appraised at 1.6B the Bucks at 3.5B.

Mark A owns roughly 40% of the Brewers?

I guess that would be one route. But as rich as these people ALL are, you're not going to find many people interested in buying the Brewers, spending 175 and losing 30 or 40M a year. I suppose it's possible they could invest in the team, raise the ticket prices to league average and have a run like the Guardians did in the 90s and they wouldn't be losing nearly that much, but it's unlikely.

 

If I was a billionaire and as a result the chances are I wouldn't care at all about the people of Milwaukee, I'd be looking at public funding in Nashville and moving my team down to what's a growing and thriving city with a larger TV market. Not much larger, but it's economy is booming, it's one of the fastest growing metro area's in the Country and is probably the perfect place for a stadium.

 

So yeah, be careful what you wish for. We know we're safe in GB, but we've had ownership groups in both Milwaukee teams who made staying in Milwaukee a condition of selling and even facilitated new stadiums/arenas to make that happen.

Will Mark A take a deal few hundred Million less to sell to someone dedicated to staying in Milwaukee? Hope so...doubt the Bronx native and LA resident has a fraction of the loyalty as the guy who fought to bring a team to Milwaukee(and who should be hailed as a hero by Brewer faithful, but instead of kinda villainized by many).

[BrewersSuperCollector]

On 6/30/2023 at 9:55 AM, jerichoholicninja said:

Stearns in New York could be a hilarious disaster. He did a great job of building this organization to respectability but when he spent money it was generally a massive failure. Cohen will give him a credit card and tell him to fix it now, which is definitely not David's strength.

If Cohen gave CC the credit card and was hands off I think Stearns will do great things. I don't think Attanasio is a hands off owner.

[wiguy94]

18 minutes ago, BrewersSuperCollector said:

If Cohen gave CC the credit card and was hands off I think Stearns will do great things. I don't think Attanasio is a hands off owner.

Mark has been pretty hands off since he hired Stearns. You seriously think that Hader trade happens last year if Mark was a hands on owner?

[BrewerFan]

12 minutes ago, BrewersSuperCollector said:

If Cohen gave CC the credit card and was hands off I think Stearns will do great things. I don't think Attanasio is a hands off owner.

I think he's been hands off for the most part the last 4-5 years(he was back during the Suppan era). I do think he kinda handed the reins to Stearns and just gave him guidelines. I believe Attanasio when he said that Stearns and Arnold called and said they "had something they wanted to do with Hader." I don't believe that was pushed by ownership because it didn't save them money. I also believe they COULD spend more money, but not a whole lot.

I completely disagree Stearns would be a "complete disaster" with the Mets payroll. 

They're spending nearly half a billion(would have been over if Correa would have passed his physical) as it is. So not only is it absurdly high bar to be a "disaster in NY," with that payroll, but his big flaws have been what? LoCain, then signing Yelich off the two best offensive seasons(arguably) in Brewers history and...who else? Peralta? Ashby? They made a 9 figure offer to Darvish the same off-season they signed LoCain and traded for Yelich. Those aren't "disaster" moves for the Cohen Mets, those are average salaries for non-arbitration players. They were barely "disaster" moves for the Brewers. 

Cohen has talked about how he wants to build a farm system and be the Dodgers of the East(he's already blowing past that financially).

But they've already got Alvarez and Baty up. Lindor for 340M, Sherzer and Verlander at 43M AAV(I don't think that's bad for short deals TBH though they don't look great). Nimmo...a solid contract. 20M a year for a ~4 WAR CFer. And arguably the best closer. 

If the Brewers had that type of payroll, I feel fairly confident Burnes and Woodruff would be locked up for another 5 years, Hader would have signed an extension. Yelich as well I'm sure. Maybe Adames...Williams would likely have signed an extension by now.

I think as much as anything, the Dodgers and teams with big payrolls who ALSO want to build top farm systems, the payroll gives them the luxury of not pushing those prospects. It also gives them massive scouting departments and just benefits you in every way.

 

I really can't imagine how Stearns would be a disaster having an extra 200+ million to spend with 4 top 100 prospects, plus a top 5 overall prospect now in the Bigs in Alvarez and a top 20 60 feet away from him in Baty.

 

The Mets REALLY don't have terrible long term deals relative to their silly payroll. They're playing poorly, they're going to sell at the deadline and add to their farm system...maybe they even add a couple prospects for Verlander/Scherzer and then paying some of either deal(obviously).

He'd walk in and have to be salivating. He could easily sign an Ohtani, a guy like Urias...hell, if he wanted, a Josh Hader.

But these contracts are always going to look bad on the backend. That's true for everyone. The Dodgers minimize that but even they have that issue(Betts I doubt will look great in 2032 at 30M), I assume Stearns will as well and stay away from those 12 year deals as much as possible, but they all look bad at the end. That's part of being a big market and players in free agency.

Ohtani, Diaz, a more competent manager and there's absolutely no reason that team can't get back to 100 wins. I still think they can make a push to get into the WC chase.

[BrewerFan]

56 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

Mark has been pretty hands off since he hired Stearns. You seriously think that Hader trade happens last year if Mark was a hands on owner?

No...I think if he was hands on, you'd have seen a trade that would have seen a Frelick/Wiemer/Turang or whatever combination of young players for a bat. 

I believe Stearns intentionally operated conservatively so if a move came up, he didn't have to push ownership into agreeing to it.

I believed Mark A when he said there was no player they couldn't acquire last year due to payroll issues for this year or this year and the next.