LouisEly

All those big bats in the Braves lineup, and they get shut out in game 1 at home. It's almost like the playoffs involve... quite a bit of luck and randomness over a small number of games.

I knew the name sounded familiar. Kerkering shot through the Phillies farm system this year and pitched in game one of the NLDS against the Braves.

Acker looking like a more than competent backup RB.

Maryland tied with Ohio State at halftime in Columbus.

Wow, about to give up seven to make it a 3-point game and then Hallman with the 100-yard pick-six. Huge, huge play.

Had a good first drive, then forgot how to run the ball once they got deep in Rutgers territory. You have to be able to run the ball deep in the opponents territory. The shorter the field, the less field the DBs need to cover, the harder it is to get receivers open. Can't have 1st down on the opponent's 20 yard line and throw three straight passes.

Or not...

And how much should they invest in 1B/3B with Black and Wilken knocking on the door? Those two have as much upside as anyone who they can realistically trade for. Maybe there's a team who needs a true CF and will swap Mitchell or Frelick for a RF with a bigger bat. Maybe there's a team who needs a true SS and will swap Turang for a 2B with a bigger bat. Those are the best opportunities that I see for offensive improvement.

Given his elite defensive metrics and a down year offensively, this past year is likely his floor. Because of his defensive improvement, his war this past season (3.0 bWAR, 3.4 fWAR) was very similar to his 2021 WAR (3.6 bWAR, 3.3 fWAR) when he had a better offensive profile. At ~3 WAR for his floor, maybe now is the time for an extension. He just turned 28; I would not at all object to a 4-5 year, $80M-$100M extension. As we saw with Turang, offense at SS can be a whole lot worse that what Adames did this past year.

Isn't being able to play every day and defense at SS kind of important? Backups, across the league, generally aren't good. That's the point of WAR. Fangraphs has Adames 10th among SS for WAR. B-R.com has the Brewers at 13th for wins above average at SS. Adames is an above-average SS. It will be really difficult to find a better one.

C: Contreras 1B: Canha or Santana 2B: Monasterio or Turang SS: Adames 3B: Black or Monasterio (until the Brewers are confident in Black's defense - Black will be up by the All-Star break, but won't be surprised if Black breaks camp like Turang did this past year) LF: Taylor or Canha, Chourio at some point after June 1 CF: Mitchell RF: Frelick DH: Yelich Bench: Caratini, Perkins, Roller (until Chourio), Toro, Devanney or Miller (until Turang comes back up) SP: Peralta, Miley, Houser, Gasser, (Burnes trade acquisition), Rea RP: Williams, Payamps, Milner, Magill, Peguero, Wilson, Uribe, FA LHRP or Ashby A few notes: Addition by subtraction mostly except for possibly Black. No Tapia, Winker, Singleton, Brosseau, Voit, Lauer, Andrews, Bush, Guerra, Chafin, etc.. Getting rid of the bottom 6 pitchers and position players is getting rid of -6.6 WAR. Burnes gets moved for one young ML-ready SP and a couple of top prospects. He led the majors in WHIP and hasn't missed a start since 2021. He'll fetch plenty in return. I don't see more than a one-year stopgap at 1B or 3B with Black and Wilken knocking on the door. Wilken might be in MKE by the end of 2024 at the rate he's blowing through the minors. One of him or Black will take over 1B in 2025, the other 3B. Black will be manning 3B by the All-Star break, or as soon as the Brewers are confident in his defense. Adames has more value than many think. Fangraphs had him as 3.4 WAR this year, and he tied for 2nd in SS outs above average (16) and DRS (12). He was an elite defensive SS this year, and his Sept/Oct OPS was .852. Unfortunately Turang isn't ready offensively, but I would not be surprised if Adames gets traded and for more than many think. Yelich becomes the primary DH with Chourio knocking on the door. Taylor likely the primary LF with Yelich at LF when Contreras is DH. Taylor's 2nd half OPS was .854. If Mitchell falters and gets sent down, Yelich will play more LF... or Mitchell will be swapped for Chourio. With Yelich becoming primary DH, I don't see them trading any of their young OFs. As others have said, if they get a really good offer I could see them trading Williams. No idea what to expect with Woodruff, but he won't be traded given his injury. If all goes well he'll be the de-facto "big name acquisition" in August. See if they can stay in contention until Woodruff, Black, Chourio, Ashby, maybe even Wilken are ready

Count me in the camp of someone who just enjoys baseball and the Brewers. If you read my posts, that probably doesn't surprise you. As someone who has spent most of their adult life not living in the Brewers viewing area, just watching the Brewers is a treat for me. I don't enjoy watching baseball, or much of anything, on a 15" laptop screen; I need it on a decent sized TV. Long story, but this spring I was finally able to get my rooftop deck rebuilt and put a TV up there. Watching in the evening on a new 55" LED when it's dark, in shorts and a tee shirt, was truly bliss, win or lose. I have a lot bigger things going on in life that concern me than whether or not the Brewers make the World Series. And if you are feeling blue or upset... ... look at how the Cubs did in September/October 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2023 (and the entire 2021 and 2022 seasons). You'll feel a lot better.

You're not wrong. But as for your last sentence clause, it actually is the opposite - Yelich and Contreras were their best hitters and thus they were the priority for occasional DH spots to keep their bat in the lineup, especially with Yelich and his back/knee. Yelich played 122 games in the field; between rest, injury, and DH, he didn't play the field for 40 games (20 as DH), or one out of every four games (plus the All-Star break). Contreras caught 108 games plus 33 as DH; between DH and rest he didn't play in the field for 54 games, or one out of every three. They got enough rest when they needed it. Between the the two they took up 53 games at the DH spot. That only left 109 games for others to DH. You are correct in that a low-cost occasional DH would have value for them, but there just aren't guys available who can put up good numbers in that role. For all of the Mets payroll, Daniel Vogelbach was their primary DH.

It's also the reason you don't go all-in and gut your prospect cache trying to add a piece or two, because all it takes is an off-day from one or two of your star players (Burnes, Williams game 1) or a late season injury (Woodruff) or some bad batted ball luck (Taylor game 1, Frelick game 2) and you're out of the playoffs. The Dodgers have won the NL West 10 of the last 11 years. They've won 100 games or the winning % equivalent of 100 games (2020) every year for the last seven years. They have one World Series title and three World Series appearances to show for it. It takes luck in the post-season, not that one player that you didn't acquire.

And almost every MLB talent started their career in the minors. For the very few who didn't, it usually hasn't worked out well (See Garrett Crochet)

Jeferson QueroTyler BlackJackson ChourioJacob MisiorowskiRobert GasserBrock WilkenCarlos F RodriguezLogan HendersonEric Brown JrJosh KnothLuke AdamsMike BoeveDylan O'RaeCooper PrattJesus RiveroLuis LaraEdwin JimenezEric BitontiWes ClarkeTobias Myers

Carlos Correa? He of the .230/.312/.399 batting line? He of the 1.1 fWAR versus Adames' 3.4 fWAR? Really?

They have the #2 farm system in baseball. Add to that the talent they'll get back when trading Burnes and the future is really bright. (And Adames, while not as good as last year, was still a 3.4 fWAR player, the same as 2021. He has more trade value than most think.) Losing Burnes - given the way that he performed yesterday - is that really a loss that can't be overcome? Chourio, Black, Quero, Misiorowski, and Gasser are some of the top prospects in baseball. Add to that Wilken and Carlos F. Rodriguez, plus the young core in Contreras/Peralta and (hopefully) adjustments/improvements by Uribe/Frelick/Mitchell/Turang/Wiemer and a healthy Ashby. There's a lot of talent in the organization.

Are you paying attention? He was the defensive replacement a couple of innings ago when they PH for Turang.

Wiemer time? Edit: sort of

Sometimes it's also young players maturing and realizing they need to listen and make some changes

The outcome of this series was determined when Counsell chose Winker over Tellez.

It's October 4th, 8pm, and I'm sitting on my rooftop deck in shorts, a tee shirt, no shoes, and I'm watching a Brewers playoff game.

Yes and no. It also helps make it clear what the standards of proof are and exactly what evidence needs to be collected/presented, and what will be thrown out, so that the case doesn't tossed out on a technicality or get drawn out because a rich pro athlete can afford better attorneys.

Bakh, Jenkins, Alexander, Campbell, and Stokes were out from the get-go. Watson and Jones limited. Musgrave gets knocked out with a concussion, JRJ gets knocked out with a sprained ankle. That's 9 starters who were out, knocked out, or limited, not including Tom who was questionable going in. No wonder they didn't look good.