Samurai Bucky

I am probably a little hyperbolic, but if we are not doing well in mid-May, then there seems to be many who say, "Blow it up! Get as many prospects as you can." I would want to trade Peralta for the right reason. If he was at the end of his contract and the Brewers would have to pay a huge amount of cash, then I think it would be a good idea to move him. If we are moving him simply because we need to get prospects and rebuild, then I do not agree with that. I am not saying prospects have no value. What I am saying is that just because we get prospects doesn't mean they are necessarily going to equate to something at the MLB level. There is a bit of a gamble. In regards to the Adam Lind for Peralta -- that worked out well. Some do, some don't. I have seen plenty of articles on how trading for a particular prospect yielded good things two, three, or four generations (trade-speaking) down the road. When Lucroy was traded, they had Martin Maldonado and Manny Pina behind him (Maldonado couldn't hit his way out of a wet paper bag that year). Also, the trade was done at the beginning of August, so the Brewers had thrown in the towel -- finishing fourth. My (probably incorrect assumption) is that people want to get many prospects because in 2, 3, or 4 years they will be contributing to the big club. I can't agree that is always the case. Perhaps my apprehension towards blowing it up is that the margin is so small for the Brewers. I have lived through the Brewers crappy period after '82, the Badger football team being terrible in the 70's, the Packers being abysmal, and the Bucks not making the playoffs after Ray Allen and Big Dog left. So, I'm on board toward trading veterans for the right reason. Simply trading veterans to get prospects -- not so much. If they can pull it off and stay in the playoff hunt (almost) every year, then I'll be on board.

I will follow along -- 🤣 I was in the band, so taking Mike's (Leckrone) Legendary Performers and Big Bands were pretty easy. I took the Orchestra one, too. A little tougher. I remember a lot of people talking about Clap for Credit, but I never took it. It took a turn when they required kids to scan their id. LOL!

When we look at the Yelich or Contreras trades, what was one thing that the Brewers did? They traded... wait for it... prospects! We traded Ruiz to get Contreras (yes... that was a bit of an anomaly). Yelich? They traded Brinson, Isan Diaz, Monte Harrison, and Jordan Yamamoto. Those are two of the best trades in club history, but the thing they have in common is they were willing to trade prospects. I look at the Hader trade for example: Yes, Ruiz was used to get Contreras. Gasser was doing well butt they he got hurt. So he is not contributing to the club. What is the turnaround for a prospect? 3, 4, 8 years before it is considered good? Taylor Rogers and Lamet? What are they doing now? Look at the needs -- they need somebody who is going to contribute at the MLB level on the left side of the infield. I like the article on Bo Bichette that was posted last week. He is a big piece of the Blue Jay roster, so the Brewers would have to give up some decent prospects. Wait... we should really try to get him with a case of Spotted Cow and a sack of potatoes because they shouldn't give up their prospects. Hey, why don't we trade all of the quality MLB-ready players? Then the Brewers can have one of the top farm systems and be able to field one of the best AAA-level teams at American Family field. We all know that every prospect pans out because they rake at Nashville or Biloxi.

My son had a few sessions with Justin Stone, the current director of hitting with the Cubs, before he took the job with the Cubs. I was extremely impressed. I equate his technique to be similar to the "pitching lab" the Brewers have (from my limited understanding). Of course, I think a lot of teams are now using the same type of tools.

A little off topic, but I wanted to mention something about Rhys... We were at the game vs. the Cubs last Sunday. Before Sunday games, they have kids wait for the players at their position. When the players come out, they sign a ball for the kids, chat with them, etc. When I was learning how to coach little kids (aged 4-8 or something like that) in soccer (I had never coached anyone that young), I was told to get down to their level to talk to them. It makes the kids feel more comfortable. Hoskins was the only Brewers player to do that. He might have gotten some dirt on his knee 😉. I know it probably isn't much, but he earned a lot of respect from this Samurai. I am sincerely pulling for him and hope he feels the love in Milwaukee. Back on topic in 3... 2... 1.

Rhys Hoskins is quietly doing well. BA is the highest it has been in his career, I think. His OPS is not as good as it could be. Could use a few more homers. The offense has been abysmal all around. You need to have some type of production out of the left side of your infield (a war of -1.1 and -.2 isn't going to cut it). Oh... and add a -.5 and -.3 for their replacements.

Finished up The Agency with Michael Fassbender. I thought it was pretty good. Reacher Season 3 was ok. Sort of the same old same old. Almost done with Night Agent Season 2. Perhaps Daredevil and Andor next...?

I remember the many times I drove to Indy or Cincy -- "The HAMMER!" I guess that is good advertising, but I don't know the guy's name.

IIRC, Foster's book bordered on some New Age applications to the daily Christian walk. Some of it seemed good, but some didn't. I know that some people don't like Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life." That might be a good read, too.

Don't a number of kids get scholarships to go to schools like Catholic Memorial, Pius, etc.? Is this any different? I wouldn't think that the would get paid too much, but you never know when some rich guy wants his kid to do well in some sport and suddenly has a business that needs some representation.

Zoinks! That answers my, "Why isn't he spitting in his glove more..." question. For those that don't know what that is -- "Spitting in your glove" was said on occasion when people would drop balls. That is probably better than, "Don't get the spring feature in your glove next time, jack!"

I think it would take some more to get Bichette. Although last year was atrocious and he is doing OK this year. If Civale, Payamps, and a Jedi Mind Trick to be named later were what it would take, I would be all over it. Great idea!!!!!

Lately, his timing is way off. While at the game on Sunday, he was completely off balance way too often. I would give credit to Imanaga, but it seems his timing is also off at other times, too. There was one at bat where they threw him four straight splitters. Ouch. I think it was because he was sitting on the fastball as seen in the video above. I'm not excited when he is hitting an 86 MPH cutter at the knees on the outside corner to left center field. It is tough to hit with power when your timing is off. I would like to see him avoid stepping in the bucket as much as he is now. He'll figure it out.

George Scott

Thanks. Tough to find out info at Am Fam… 😉

Why is Frelick out?

Early in the year last year, there were some that were saying the Brewers should trade Adames because he was in his final year of his contract. We knew the Brewers would not be able to afford him, so the Brewers should get as many prospects as they can by trading him. I was not a fan of that not only because he was adding value on the field, but was adding value in the clubhouse. There is something to be said for clubhouse chemistry, but it is something that can't be measured with Fangraphs or Baseball Savant. As far as I know, there aren't any fantasy leagues that have a category for "Clubhouse WAR." The team is young this year. The Brewers have the fifth youngest team this year according to BetMGM at 28.31 years of age (https://sports.betmgm.com/en/blog/mlb/youngest-oldest-mlb-teams-ranked-by-age-bm03/). Last year, they were 16th youngest at 29.0 (https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2024-misc.shtml). How are the five youngest teams doing so far: 1. Miami Marlins: 13-19 (Last in NL East) 2. Tampa Bay Rays: 15-18 (Fourth in AL East) 3. Washington Nationals: 15-19 (Third in NL East) 4. Cleveland Guardians: 19-14 (Second in AL Central) 5. Milwaukee Brewers: 16-18 (Third in NL Central) So, there is most likely a combination of lack of veteran "leadership" coupled with significant injuries with the pitching staff. It is tough to be relentless time and time again when you are down 5-6 runs in the third inning over and over again. It also doesn't help that Magill didn't close out some saves. My take? Let's relax. Also, let's be careful when arguing that, "[Player X] is doing well at Nashville, so he MUST get a chance with the Brewers." The Brewers' margin for error is much smaller than most every other team. Get more consistent starting pitching and things will improve... ... I hope. 😉

How many games was Middleton on the floor this year before being traded? Of those games, how many was he contributing? Not many. Middleton needed to go. That was a good decision. Trying to get Kuze was probably because nobody else would trade for Middleton. This is the cost of holding onto legends too long. With that said, Giannis is a legend and has a lot of years left in him -- he should not be traded.

Much like what Wisconsin did in the NCAA tournament.

You need to see the part where Haliburton's dad initiated the altercation...

You do realize we are all pawns in the game of life... ?

It seemed like there was a much better game plan on the defensive side of the court. I think Gary Trent, Jr. was like, "I have to do something different. I'm glad it worked out." I noticed in the first two games that the Pacers would always be in the face and somewhat "handsy" on the ball. The Bucks did more of that last night which contributed to the success. There were a few plays early on that some crews would have called against the Bucks. I think it was a perfect storm of home court, having a better defensive plan, players keeping their heads in the game, and how the officials called the game. Each crew calls things differently, so we will see what happens.

I can see it now -- families moving out of Pembine to get a better deal!!!!

Whenever I am in a meeting with a Chinese lady, I think about the Family Guy skit with the untouched directional.