FVBrewerFan

Right, and notice they didn't sign/ complete a trade for any of them. Instead, he went out and got two impact bats last year. My guess is MadBum will be no different. Stearns probably does put a lower value on these guys than other GMs. That said, the reason Stearns is still interested in some of these guys is that they WOULD be an improvement even if they only go 5 innings. Also, some of that may be GM gamesmanship, and some of the rumors probably weren't true to start with.

He would be taken out to avoid going through the order the third time, has little to do with his bat. This is something everyone still seems to be struggling with. I get it, it's new and different. Brewers approach is to avoid having a pitcher face a lineup the 3rd time through whenever possible. We'll see more this in 2019, not less. They have more pitchers now that can go multiple innings out of the pen, and continue to add RP with options. TOR arm, pitchers that can go 7 innings, etc. is living in the past. That's not to say they wouldn't want MadBum, but they're not going to overpay for him, and if they get him they're not going to "workhorse" him. I get all that but haven't looked at his stats on 3rd time through. Someone above just posted it's drastic dropoff though so it likely would lead to them using him that way. When posting that I was looking at that of any guy on the rotation you could trust to go beyond it would be him, but maybe the stats don't support it. And again, in the regular season at times you're gonna want someone to eat those extra two innings to give the BP a break and a guy like him would seem more likely able to do it than our other guys. So, you factor in that you don't lose much in his ABs and his pedigree and he'd be the one to roll the dice on getting the long start to try and rest the pen. So I guess I'd just add that I think some are thinking the September/October strategy can be played all year and it really can't due to roster limitations. We saw what happened before the ASB. They're for sure going to continue to push the limits and blur the lines but you're going to kill your pen without some legit starts from people. They did all of last season, and they will again. The pen was not killed last year. It's why Stearns keeps adding bullpen arms with options, also they have even more bullpen arms capable of pitching multiple innings. Again, this is still a shock to the system for many. Local media still doesn't really get it, and a lot of us are still scratching our heads. But it's here. Now. This is how the pitching staff will be used, and already was last year. I get the sense some folks think this is a temporary thing until they get the proverbial TOR starter or two. It's not temporary. Stats tell us overwhelmingly almost all pitchers fall off a cliff the 3rd time through the lineup. Stearns is and will take full advantage of this (at least until MLB changes the rules on shuttling players.)

Actually, it is how you win a WS. Have a really good team every year, and you're more likely to win. As opposed to sort of going all in one season, when on paper you still don't have what the big money clubs have.

He would be taken out to avoid going through the order the third time, has little to do with his bat. This is something everyone still seems to be struggling with. I get it, it's new and different. Brewers approach is to avoid having a pitcher face a lineup the 3rd time through whenever possible. We'll see more this in 2019, not less. They have more pitchers now that can go multiple innings out of the pen, and continue to add RP with options. TOR arm, pitchers that can go 7 innings, etc. is living in the past. That's not to say they wouldn't want MadBum, but they're not going to overpay for him, and if they get him they're not going to "workhorse" him.

You're assuming the goal is to have SP go 6+ innings, it is not. If Woodruff can be dominant for 4 innings for 5 more seasons, that is far more valuable than 6 innings out of MadBum for 1 season. In fact, if the Brewers did get him I don't think they would have him go 6+ innings very often.

Putting myself in their shoes and there is no way I am taking that deal. An astute GM knows they are not competing in the next 2 seasons and I want players that will be making their debut and contributing when that window opens again. Anderson/Davies and Perez do nothing for that window and Supak is too much of an unknown for me to accept that for Bumgarner. I understand Burnes/Woodruff/Peralta is likely not realistic and if I am dead set on a SP, I require Brown and want Erceg and Supak to round out the deal. Except I doubt they're planning to rebuild in a Marlins-esque way. They may see 2019 as a salary dump year then go after it strong in 2020. Teams like the Giants or Cardinals don't sit on the sidelines for long. My offer probably is a little light, but it's more concept than exact package. The idea of getting a few solid players rather than one big headliner.

They absolutely need someone who can backup at LT. (Which means said player should be able to backup RT also.) You can retool the offense, get Rodgers back on track, add a WR, etc. but all that is for naught if Bakhtiari goes down for any length of time. For me, that's the #1 need, only because of the Grand Canyon sized gap between the starter and plan B at a critical position. Hopefully that guy is there for one of the 1st round picks. In fact, if there's a stud OG or two I wouldn't mind going OT/OG with the two first round picks. I just believe Rodgers and the other skill position players become better immediately by having a better O line.

Good example of where I see a team making the mistake of wanting quality over quantity. Everyone wants that stud in return. What the Brewers could offer (and the Giants should want) is Anderson or Davies, Perez, and Supak in return. Something like that at least. Anderson would be a good pitcher in that park, locked down for a few years. Perez just seems like a Giant. Then add a younger pitcher with upside. Doesn't have the glitter of Burnes or even Ray, but that would by a good deal for the Giants.

No more giving up top prospects for half measures. We saw this in 2011 and again last year at the deadline, now looking to do it again with MadBum. Trading top prospects for players who make the team a tad better. I would rather them spend big money or trade for a big bat. Just seems like we're giving away a lot of young talent for rental/ 1yr players that make the team a little better. What they really need is another bat similar to Yelich and Cain. That would make the biggest impact. I guess what I'm saying is either go for it or don't, but quit making these type of deals that greatly diminish the system for a short term 2-3 WAR player.

Correct. Because using stats alone to evaluate a minor league player is a huge mistake. We don't know if they're asking him to change his stance, his swing, just focus on hitting the ball hard right now, etc. He's a work in progress, but has the tools to be an MLB player, and his ceiling is pretty high. He will likely always k more than we would like, but there is still value in a plus defensive corner OF who can play some CF and hit for power. Just can't have all Yelichs in the line-up, most players have flaws. They've already traded away Brinson, Harrison, and Phillips. I want to see them keep at least one of the toolsy OFs they've had in the system to see if they can strike gold.

Looks like its LaFleur per Adam Schefter. Edit: And now Ian Rapoport, its a done deal.

Well said. As fans, we tend to want to trade our loose change. SF wants a player with a high ceiling, otherwise worth the risk to wait until July. Ray + change seems about right, just not sure I would do it. As I said earlier 55/45 against is where I am. Do we even know if he has a no-trade clause, or what it looks like? Because it seems like 119% of the time the Brewers are never listed as a "green light" team.

I don't know, why would anyone watch college sports unless you have a kid playing? I for one really enjoy watching HS basketball. Also watch some HS football. In fact, the Kimberly/Arrowhead champ game a few years ago (in the snow)was one of the best football games I've ever seen in my life.

This is precisely why I made the comment that Erceg was blocked and therefore more likely to be dealt. Assuming everything goes to plan, Shaw is the 3B and Hiura is the 2B for this window and Erceg becomes more of a piece to move. Nothing goes to plan but with the information on hand currently, Erceg likely has more value as a trading piece than as a regular in Milwaukee. Put another way, if the Brewers could acquire for Ray and Erceg, I make the move. And that's where I disagree. I just don't believe being blocked (or not) has anything to do with a trade package. It comes down to what grade you put on each prospect, and what you think Bumgarner is worth. What you're saying seems to imply a BIT of "well throw Erceg in there because he's blocked anyhow." Could be reading it wrong, and if so my bad. Also, it's very rare a minor league player is truly blocked. If you could only play 1B in year 2 of Fielder, yea you were blocked. But almost always there is a place on the roster if you can A) Get batters out or 2) Have a bat that can play. Look at Erceg as an example. Let's say his defense at 3B is stellar and his bat really comes around. Something tells me they would find a way to put him at 3B in 2020. Shaw could play some 1B and 2B, or be traded for that matter.

I don't think that was the strategy. They let Giannis take 3s, but every team does that. He just happened to make 3 of them. Other than that, he had to fight for his points. Toronto did a good job rotating and getting out on the Bucks 3 point shots, while the Bucks were too often late on the other end of the floor. It happens. This will be fun, very little separates the top 5 teams in the East.

Could mean a lot of things. Maybe the offense was so predictable that defenses knew the routes based on down and distance as much as the receivers did. Also, maybe the initial read was open, but Rodgers surveyed the field looking for a bigger play. Bottom line, new staff needs to look at the film and make changes based on what they're seeing. Passing game just wasn't hitting on all cylinders, and I don't think it was one big thing, it was a lot of small things.

First of all, Ray, Erceg, or anyone else being "blocked" should have nothing to do with their trade value. Not pointing at anyone in particular, I've just seen a few comments about this recently. That said, I'm probably 55/45 against a Ray plus change deal for Bumgarner. So obviously that means I wouldn't hate it, but getting just one year for Ray doesn't sit very well. Makes me wonder what a 2 or 3 year deal for Miley would cost. More control, lower price, and not giving up any prospects.

Projectors? Couldn't they just use the scoreboard? I've thought about that, not sure if it would work. I can tell you if they charged $20 or whatever for parking plus $10-$20 to get in to MP it wouldn't work. But if it was like $10 total and they had the concessions open behind home plate it might attract a few thousand people. Or if you mean just using projectors in the parking lot, same thing. I could see a decent crowd being there if they didn't charge too much for parking. Looking back to last season, we probably would have gone to something like that.

Ice and snow will not melt on a section of my driveway and front sidewalk, no matter what. Over 40 today, nothing, just doesn't get any sun. My parents are coming over so I have to go salt it heavily.

When I (recently) lived in Appleton the TRats games were split between Time Warner Sports channel and one of the local channels. Not sure if it was 14, I want to say whatever the CW station was/is. Can't recall if they had local sports, HS football maybe?

Most of this was recently discussed in a thread over in Off Topic, but I don't see any of that working. The Brewers have obviously looked into all these things, and nothing has happened. This tells me studies have been done, and nobody thinks it's profitable. If MP was downtown, or even closer to it, all of that would work. But the decision was made at the time that parking/ tailgating was a bigger need so they used the current site. Right decision at that time I think, plus remember downtown was a ghost town back then. MP is just not in an area that would attract people, even if you put up a couple hotels/ restaurants. A Brewers HOF wouldn't draw very well either off-season. Let's face it, their history isn't exactly at the Packers/Yankees level. Too bad really, all of Milwaukee's attractions are relatively close- but not close enough. Zoo, State Fair Park, MP, Poto/valley, Dtown/Summerfest grounds are 5 specific areas. If you could do it all over again, make it into two areas- and then you could add hotels, restaurants, shopping, other activities around that. Everything is just too scattered.

Man, you just bummed me out... All true though, which is pretty scary. We haven't done a thing yet to address the weaknesses that you mention. We caught lightning in a bottle with Miley and Chacin last year, can that even happen again? Sure. One or more of Burnes, Woodruff, Peralta, Nelson will most likely crush projections.

Yes. Funny, just a couple months ago the goal was to win a playoff series. Now it will be very disappointing if they don't at least make the Eastern Conf finals. In fact, if they have home court I'll be disappointed if they don't reach the NBA finals. Long way to go yet, and trades, injuries, etc. could play a role. But as it stands today, they absolutely COULD win it all. Warriors are still the biggest threat, I have a feeling the regular season has become a bit of going through the motions for them and they'll turn it on in the playoffs.

These threads make me long for the "move Braun to 3B" threads.

It's almost always a combination of both, and it is here as well. But sacks are only a part of the story, it's how many times the opposing team put almost immediate pressure on Rodgers, and bad leg and all he was still athletic and savvy enough to step or run out of a sack. If Dickey was the QB this year he would have been sacked roughly 87 times per game.