When does Arnold start to receive some criticism

[LouisEly]

3 minutes ago, Thurston Fluff said:

I also think there are some who use forums like this purely to vent when they get frustrated with their life.

FIFY

[liveforoctober]

2 hours ago, Thurston Fluff said:

I think some fans, in all sports and every team tend to be negative unless the team is clearly the top team in the league. Every season that doesn't end in a title is a waste and people need to lose their jobs. It's just the way some people deal with the ups and downs of season. That doesn't make them less of a fan. They still care about the team. They just let their emotions lead them to a negative place. While I can't see the enjoyment of that, there are enough who do to continue to follow the team they bag on continuously for their entire lives. I also think there are some who use forums like this purely to vent when they get frustrated with their team. That would tend to skew our perception of them.

Your answer is incredibly mature.

I remember after the Bucks won the NBA title I was driving home from my brother's house listening to post game local radio. Some guy called in and his comment was "they got lucky it worked but if they have any intention of repeating next year they need to fix their outside shooting.." and that was the ultimate realization for me of what you just said. For some fans it is a pursuit of perfection and nothing less is acceptable .. and because perfection isn't achievable it is simply a forever pursuit.

[Turning2]

Arnold is doing exactly what is expected of him by the ownership group. With a limited budget, keep the team just competitive enough not to lose the fan base from coming to the games and spending gobs of money on merch and overpriced concessions. His job is to provide that summer of entertainment that Attanasio so famously referenced. That sounds like a slight, but I mean it as a complement. It's the reality of small market baseball in a MLB's ridiculously imbalanced economic environment. With any luck, ownership hopes they catch lightning in a bottle and actually win something meaningful like another league championship after 50 odd years. That's what the whole "just get in the playoffs" mantra is all about... banking on the hope of getting hot at just the right time while not going bankrupt getting there. The Packers are in a similar situation, Keeping Lambeau filled due to being competitive is  jobe #1, that entire city economy largely depends on the Packers not being perennial cellar dwellars. Winning a SB is just icing on the cake. How the hell can WI have the smallest market in both MLB and the NFL... crazy.  

[rickh150]

Arnold (and Stearns still) gets so much credit for this incredible run from 2017 til now in 2025. We are either in playoffs or a game out (2017 and 2022). Is there precedent? A+ Regular season……D Playoffs, though. 

[SF70]

A 10 year extension wouldn’t be long enough for Matt Arnold, who not only is the best GM in Brewers history, but also the best small-market GM in all of baseball.

He’s taken what his predecessor did (second-best GM in Brewers history) and kicked it up multiple notches, especially with pitching-development and draft & development, of which MKE has become the gold standard in the industry. 

The team now has as good of a young & controlled big-league core as there is in baseball along with as deep a group of controlled starter arms as there is in the game.

Then on top of all that young major-league talent they have a burgeoning powerhouse farm system with impact talent on both sides of the ball that will transfer to MKE over the next 4-5 years that is the envy of baseball.

Another good to great draft in 10 days and this organization will be as talent-laden as any in the game and move towards a top 2-3 team in baseball before the end of this decade.

[Playing Catch]

21 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Complaints about the returns on Williams / Burnes (4.0 combined WAR) are starting to fall victim to math as well with Ortiz, Durbin, Hall and Cortes already at 4.4 WAR with like 15 years of team control remaining.

When you put it like that...

[umphrey]

This thread is due to get bumped during winning and losing streaks. Let's see how Durbin and Ortiz and a few others finish the year. Key players for an Arnold grade. 

[Scooterfletcher]

How he handles Peralta and our payoff from him will be a big judgement point.   Then, how he handles adding at this deadline will be big too.   Does he waste prospects on a bullpen arm or Gerardo Parra like depth piece that don’t really move the needle at all?  Does he stand Pat and see our DL as the place wheee we can add to our team?  Does he make a bold move like dealing Peralta or Hoskins at the deadline (maybe we get a 1b in Peralta trade).

 

[edfunderburk]

21 hours ago, SF70 said:

A 10 year extension wouldn’t be long enough for Matt Arnold, who not only is the best GM in Brewers history, but also the best small-market GM in all of baseball.

Boom 💪

[edfunderburk]

16 minutes ago, Scooterfletcher said:

How he handles Peralta and our payoff from him will be a big judgement point.   Then, how he handles adding at this deadline will be big too.   Does he waste prospects on a bullpen arm or Gerardo Parra like depth piece that don’t really move the needle at all?  Does he stand Pat and see our DL as the place wheee we can add to our team?  Does he make a bold move like dealing Peralta or Hoskins at the deadline (maybe we get a 1b in Peralta trade).

 

I hope we stand pat & let our young guys play out the season. 

If we trade someone - I hope it is Peralta … & possibly Hoskins. I believe we have enough starting pitching depth to overcome the loss of Freddy. I also believe Hoskins peaked early & we could plug in another TBD player to fill the 1B position & be fine. 

We certainly lack power & likely won’t win the WOrld Series this year. That said, we are well stocked with young talent to improve & compete for several years to come. 

[Matt]

I'm fine with a Freddy trade, but it's Quintana that needs to go. 

[wibadgers23]

17 minutes ago, Matt said:

I'm fine with a Freddy trade, but it's Quintana that needs to go. 

I think it's almost a certainty that one of Quintana or Nestor gets traded.

[brewmann04]

Yes one of the FA pitchers will be moved no need to trade for bullpen guys 

[SF70]

18 hours ago, Scooterfletcher said:

How he handles Peralta and our payoff from him will be a big judgement point.   Then, how he handles adding at this deadline will be big too.   Does he waste prospects on a bullpen arm or Gerardo Parra like depth piece that don’t really move the needle at all?  Does he stand Pat and see our DL as the place wheee we can add to our team?  Does he make a bold move like dealing Peralta or Hoskins at the deadline (maybe we get a 1b in Peralta trade).

 

None of what you list as a “Judgement point” matters in relation to what Arnold has done already — in completing the team’s among the best in baseball infrastructure. That matters more than individual moves made by Arnold & co, of which they nail many more than they don’t, and will continue to do so, based on the track-record.

 

[Brian]

17 hours ago, Matt said:

I'm fine with a Freddy trade, but it's Quintana that needs to go. 

Well we are getting back Woodruff soon and after that Nestor Cortes. So it may be coming soon but who knows in either of them will hold up? 

[Thurston Fluff]

3 hours ago, Brian said:

Well we are getting back Woodruff soon and after that Nestor Cortes. So it may be coming soon but who knows in either of them will hold up? 

If they don't we have enough major league ready talent in the minors to deal with it. No need to stockpile veterans with expiring contracts just because they both might not hold up. I'd rather they keep Peralta but wouldn't be mad if they got a deal they couldn't refuse. 

[gregmag]

They aren’t trading Freddy. They’ve traded one star during a pennant race with more than a year of team control. I liked that deal, but a top sp having a good year would be a much bigger loss than a top closer having a bad year was — and a lot of people hated that deal. 

[torts]

Arnold gets criticism when he either:

A.) has multiple losing seasons, or

2.) becomes the GM for the cubs 

[Brewcrew82]

On 5/11/2025 at 7:04 AM, brewers888 said:

This is not a thread looking to replace the GM but its fair to ask when does Matt Arnold start to receive criticism for the job he has done the last year or so particularly with his trades and his complete whiff on third base.

Devin was traded a year late and taking back damaged goods in Cortes and a utility infielder in Durbin was an awful return regardless of how awful Williams has pitched for the yankees.

Now trading multiple prospects and a valuable draft pick for Priester who is completely unimpressive was another misstep at least as of now though he still has time to show something.

How is it that every fan knew third base was a black hole yet Arnold did nothing to address it and no Durbin is not a suitable third baseman. This lineup totally lacks any pop and this was obvious coming into the season.

The front office has done an admirable job with the draft and especially with their international signings and Arnold did start off hot with the Contreras trade but his last few deals have been questionable at best. This looks like a lost season which can certainly happen with our limited payroll and Arnold is going to have big decisions to make at the deadline lets just hope it turns out better than his last few big deals.    

I mean, this is a certain kind of special. Does this dude dare show his face and admit he was completely and utterly wrong. Or does he simply wait it out (per usual) for the next losing streak or (heaven forbid) postseason exit in the most desperate of attempts to save face? 

Either way, I would actually appreciate more threads like this given the effect this one has had. How about one entitled: "The Brewers will never win a World Series in our lifetimes".

[Samurai Bucky]

 

[owbc]

Instead of criticism it appears Arnold and Co are going to be receiving more hardware for their trophy cabinets. 

But the players on the field need to shake off the postseason demons or it will continue to feel like this run of regular season success is incomplete.  

[gregmag]

The most obnoxious aspect of the post that started this thread isn’t that it’s substantively foolish. We all say foolish things sometimes. The most obnoxious aspect of the post is that it’s willfully dishonest. Plenty of people have criticized Arnold for not adding a power bat and for the Priester trade. The BF podcast repeatedly (and quite reasonably) criticized those decisions.  Lots of posters on the site did so as well. The fact that those moves are looking pretty good right now doesn’t negate the fair grounds on which people have questioned them.
 

What the OP was really saying, when you parse the whole post, was not “When are people going to start criticizing Arnold for his (at least arguable) mistakes?” — because the OP knows as well as anyone that people routinely do so — but rather “When are people going to laud my distinctive brilliance in flogging this hot take that Arnold is a poor GM?”  If the OP had asked that foolish question honestly, then we could have piled on a little but then just all bonded about our shared fallibilty. The clumsy, preening dishonesty is what warrants the continued pile-on.

[SeaBass]

On 7/9/2025 at 12:49 AM, gregmag said:

What the OP was really saying, when you parse the whole post, was not “When are people going to start criticizing Arnold for his (at least arguable) mistakes?” — because the OP knows as well as anyone that people routinely do so — but rather “When are people going to laud my distinctive brilliance in flogging this hot take that Arnold is a poor GM?”  If the OP had asked that foolish question honestly, then we could have piled on a little but then just all bonded about our shared fallibilty. The clumsy, preening dishonesty is what warrants the continued pile-on.

You're absolutely right and I'd wager nearly 100% of the posters here that read it saw right through it. I had a headache for two entire days with how hard my eyes rolled after reading it.

[Underachiever]

OP is all we got after jesusoftheapes got banned.

[markedman5]

Bump……