Fear The Chorizo

I'm in my early 30s and I remember how kids were and the things kids said and did. Especially immature teenagers, can say and do things without truly understanding what they mean or the implications of their actions. I imagine it's only gotten worse with social media. I agree with this, but it doesn't take away the fact that Hader has had 6-7 years of maturity since posting these statements to gather enough cultural understanding and self awareness to delete those posts if "that's not who he is" as a person before the public outcry forces him to address it. I'm actually shocked this hasn't surfaced sooner with the pub Hader has gotten due to his on-field performance over the past 1.5 seasons.

I get the sentiment that, as a 17-18 yr old, Hader wrote stupid things on what at the time was very much an emerging social media platform - Twitter was in its infancy at that time and I guarantee a teenage kid had no clue that those posts were going to come back and haunt him while writing them. Still inexcusable and disturbing for Hader (or anyone) to post such intolerant statements - in the end it's on him to deal with the repercussions for his actions, as he chose to spew that garbage. However, what's almost as bad (and stupid) as the actual posts is the fact that they were still publicly available on his account until a couple hours ago - after Twitter has blown up and all the stories about celebs/people getting burned for stuff they posted, how does Hader/his agent/Brewer PR people not address it? It's not like he wasn't active on Twitter and this was just dredged up from an account he had long since stopped using and thought no longer existed... IMO it also stinks and shows where our culture is in this day and age that these tweets got pulled up by someone who was sitting at their computer doing keyword searches for racist/sexist comments on player twitter accounts while the AS game was going on - but hey, to each their own.

I had always assumed the Dodgers were going to eventually land Machado following Seager's injury - I had been cautiously optimistic they were going to scuffle long enough to potentially scrap those plans to upgrade at SS, but they got healthy and hot at the right time for their management to give up a higher-valued prospect than what the Brewers would've been comfortable doing for a rental. That all being said, had this trade gone down ~10 days ago and the Brewers lost out, I'd all but guarantee many more on this board would be very disappointed - that 1-7 road trip against the Marlins and Pirates really sucked the helium from this team's 2018 outlook. Having to face the Dodgers 7 times right after they pick up Machado is going to be rough. But, the last week of Brewer baseball actually took me away from wanting them to go after Manny as hard as other teams were obviously doing. Nelson's slow recovery, IMO, sealed the deal for DS to not get nuts dealing prospects for Machado - because realistically, this team needs both an impact bat at one of their offensive holes (SS, C) AND 2 quality starters capable of carrying a team if they were going to hold off a reasonably healthy Cubs squad let alone do any kind of playoff damage this year. A healthy Nelson would have been one of those starters. Not having him left too many holes requiring too much in prospect capital for the Brewers to "sell out" without remortgaging future seasons that their two key offseason acquisitions (Cain & Yelich) will still be around for. I still think they'll make a few moves that will have a positive impact on this year's squad, and I expect them to hang around the division lead and wild card contention down to the wire again, simply because they seem to find enough ways to win games despite how frustrating they are at times. I'm looking forward to seeing how Burnes, Peralta, and Woodruff are used, keeping fingers crossed Davies finds a way to provide a rotation lift, and hold out hope the offense finds a way to get on a sustained role to match preseason expectations.

Continuing to keep an eye on this guy as he keeps putting up solid appearances and the velo is back. I know getting Albers back will help the pen, but adding Britton would give the brewers yet another solid late inning reliever - and perhaps open the door for a less defined closer role to give CC plenty of options to finish games out. There are plenty of teams showing interest, to be sure...

At this point his skillset fits somewhere between Polanco and Marte with the pirates if Ray continues his current development curve...with the potential to be better in some aspects and weaker in others as a player. If his contact rate improves, Ray's glass half full projection is still an all-star caliber talent, and an elite level talent if he can stick at CF defensively.

Next year they hopefully get a healthy Nelson and Davies back. I would be surprised if Davies is on the Brewers' opening day roster in 2019. While this essentially lost season for him should hamper how much he gets in his opening arbitration year, he's going to start costing more - and I think with Nelson, Anderson, Chacin, and Peralta presumably 2019 rotation locks, it would leave only spot open for guys like Burnes, Guerra, Woodruff, Suter, etc to compete for. It stinks, because Davies' value has been diminished due to his performance/injuries this year...I still expect him to be traded this offseason - he just won't bring as much in return as I would've liked. Specific to this thread - I think there should be pressure to at least make the playoffs this year - the team has had the best record across the NL for most of the season to date. If the fizzle out this second half, it'll be really deflating to a fanbase who has taken interest in this roster.

I agree with this. Admittedly I thought the starting pitching would tank early. I was wrong, it took them until mid-way through for the short comings to catch up to them. The offensive uptick that was to portend a better offense never materialized because of regression and injuries with other players. The bullpen was definitely improved but not to the point where it could overcome the shortcomings of the rest of the team. Starting pitching is still far from this teams biggest weakness...they are not a good offensive club

Naw, he will probably pitch 3 innings in the all star game so they skip the opening dodger series with him after the break

If it wasn't so predictable, it'd be that much more disappointing... Sigh brewers...

Definitely has the feel of a gassed team getting slapped around before th AS break...pirates were playing poorly before this series, too. Pitching on fumes, hitting overmatched and wounded.

It looks more and more like last season was a fluke. So many strikeouts and weak grounders. If he's truly hurt, DL him and start dealing. I mean, shaw is basically mirroring his 2017 production if you factor in 1 hot week between now and the end of the season. Not sure if you are expecting him to be better than he was last year

This is gonna be one of those series, isn't it?

I think you're being overly dramatic in how many quality prospects are on that list. I think if the Brewers were to leave that entire list unprotected, there might be a dozen names that stood the chance of being picked in the Rule 5 draft. Realistically, there are probably at least 6 40-man roster spots that could easily be given to half those dozen simply by getting rid of guys like Asher, Miley, Kraatz, Perez, Wilkerson, Orf, etc...so then you could prioritize getting guys like Modeiros, Kirby, Ortiz, Gatewood, Stokes, Williams, and a few other talented arms added relatively easily. The problem with adding so many prospects who still need developing to the 40-man is it really hamstrings MLB active roster flexibility (unless you have no care about when MLB service time starts for players) Their situation isn't as dire as it was looking on the 40 man protection front prior to the Yelich trade, and I'd expect any trades made between now and then to make it even less of a factor. That being said, it's not like the system looks at all like what Houston's did a few years back when they were including top 100 guys left and right in trades because they were littered all over their system and more talented players were forcing their way up through the ranks. Houston was so loaded a few years ago that they had to make trades so they'd get some value out of those prospects before Rule 5 drafts came around. They STILL have a bunch of quality in their system despite all the trades and many graduations to the MLB club.

They have the best record in the league, the can't have passed on that many. The thing is though, is that I know that I've thought about this in at least a half dozen losses that were winnable this year. The best record in the league is great, but it's the 1.0 game lead over the Cubs that concerns me. If the Brewers didn't waste those half dozen opportunities we'd be sitting in a much better position with more than a 5.0 game lead. Your train of thought is shared by every other baseball fan of every other MLB team...always focus on the handful of losses that could've/should've been wins, but forget about the handful of wins that could've/should've been losses. Cub fans have just as many games they feel their team should've won but didn't as Brewer fans do - it's just the nature of looking at every game in a vacuum as a fan. If you play every game like it's do or die / game 7 of the World Series, your team eventually dies. It's always a bummer when the team your root for loses - the beauty of baseball is there's normally another chance for a win the next day.

I get it on Ortiz, but even though he's still young his time is about up before he needs to get added to the 40 man roster - and some of his 3-4 inning stints are still racking up high pitch counts. Sure, they could potentially stretch out his season into the AFL and get him up around 130IP with a bunch more 4-inning starts, but does that really set him up for future workloads where he'll be expected to consistently go 6IP+? I'd rather they not piggyback with him and just let the kid pitch and shut him down early after he reaches 130IP while making full starts. He's been between 90-95 innings the last two seasons. This is the season where he needs to take that workload jump, to be honest.

I'll believe Ortiz hits 130 innings when I see it, and I will gladly eat crow if it winds up happening because that would mean he's taken a big next step in his development. That being said, based on his minor league career thus far I'd much rather they let Ortiz have a normal starter's workload and have to shut him down in August should he actually get to 120-130IP instead of projecting a couple dozen 3-4 inning outings between mid May and October. That appears to have been their initial plan when he opened the season until he injured his hamstring 4 starts in. He's been in the minors long enough hovering around 90-100IP, if he's healthy and effective get him the innings while there are plenty to be had and sort out minor league playoffs / AFL innings later. Ortiz has basically been a 3-4 inning pitcher since his late April hamstring injury - it might not be conditioning-related, but what's more concerning to me is he's still finding a way to rack up high pitch count outings over these shorter stints. Sorry, this is getting off topic aside from the fact that I think Ortiz would be a possible trade candidate for Machado.

Stearns has set the precedent thus far for being willing to trade prospects he has acquired from earlier trades, but I don't believe he has actually traded one of his draft picks as of yet - for that reason I feel like Burnes, Hiura, Ray, Brown, etc. aren't going anywhere. Peralta, Ortiz, Nottingham, Stokes, Gatewood, Phillips, and others would be among the names of guys Stearns' limited record to date would be more inclined to move. I tried looking into Ortiz's appearance yesterday that only lasted 3 innings and 49 pitches - nothing on the injury front and while he is pitching in the futures game Sunday, I'm not sure that alone should prompt a designed short start for him given he really should be trying to ramp up his innings. The short appearance could've been been by design for a scout or two to get a good in-person look at him before putting him on the shelf while trade discussions involving him progress. Adding my 2 cents to the Peralta discussion - to me he's not untouchable, but I really want nothing to do with trading him for any rental. If he headlines a Realmuto package or perhaps a package that brings back a controllable and better unicorn rotation arm (DeGrom, Manaea, etc), I'm ok with it - but I don't see those type of trades happening this deadline, either.

Ray was David Stearns' 1st draft pick as Brewers' GM - until the ice gets broken and some of his actual picks start getting included in trades, I doubt Ray will be going to another organization anytime soon. To this point, the trades Stearns has made have included a combo of Melvin draft picks, Melvin acquisitions, and Stearns prospect acquisitions via trade. It wouldn't surprise me if that trend continues with this year's deadline - that's why I feel like Burnes and Hiura are also not going anywhere, regardless of how big a name comes to Milwaukee.

gut punch of a game to come back and tie it, have multiple chances to take the lead and fail, only to essentially punt away the game in the 12th. I would think Lopez goes down, and Orf probably should too, so they can get a couple more relievers up before tomorrow night's game.

that was a long, loud out...now let's get some runs!

Nottingham could use a more gung-ho approach at the plate...like swing at the pitches right down broadway when you have two strikes on you. ugh...losing this game would sting alot prior to traveling to Pitt late tonight and having 5 more to play this weekend. Hopefully Lopez gets through another inning and the top of the order can put up a crooked # in the 12th.

c'mon Jesus - let's have a night here

Great approach and really doesn't give away too many ABs - even when he's not raking he finds a way to get on base plenty

here we go...making it interesting!

There are some really good teams in the AL this year - there are also a bunch of awful teams in that league that are inflating alot of records by just losing to everyone. I hate to remember, but one of the Cards' WS years came after winning only 83 regular season games - and they had a stretch around this time of year where they were routinely getting pasted. Anything can happen in the postseason - gotta get in to win.