Fear The Chorizo

EVs are cheaper and they're going to be getting a LOT cheaper over the next 10-15 years. It's not that they're going to be alot cheaper, it's that the cost of ICE vehicles is going to be forced upwards to make those costs of new vehicles similar based on manufacturing limitations and continued strong demand for them. That's already been happening for years. If those manufacturing limitations are taken away and the incentives are removed, EVs are more expensive. And I stated EVs "are not the answer" on a global scale multiple times much earlier in this thread based on the limitations they themselves have with battery technology, the waste streams that scale of production would generate, etc. The notion that EVs are cheaper to maintain is based on the fact the timeframe most non-engine related components of a vehicle need to be replaced (besides the routine tire/brake replacements that are increasingly more $$$ for any type of vehicle) falls in line with the typical lifespan of an EV battery. Drive an EV until the battery needs replacement outside of its warranty and it's time to trade it in (unless you want to drop $8-$20K for a new one to throw in your ~8 yr old vehicle). So instead, people with the kind of means to buy an EV in the first place just buy a new one for close to six figures and say "well, it's cheaper to maintain". If well-taken care of and maintained, ICE vehicles can remain on the road just as long if not longer than EVs without being stuck with the decision to replace their engine or buy a brand new vehicle instead.

He honestly should be in the MVP conversation

Honest question here - With the current administration already pushing back some of the timelines for when automakers have to have certain significant percentages of their new vehicles be EVs due to "unforeseen" lack of demand earlier this year, growing sentiment/skepticism internationally and even more so domestically about emissions/production mandates that essentially will force consumers to buy vehicles they don't want, and the initial takeaways from Thursday night, aren't the current mandates in plenty of jeopardy of ever reaching their goals and quite possibly being reversed/eliminated about a year from now? Govmint Mandates are not the way to dramatically increase the number of consumers driving EVs - innovation and technological advancements in batteries and manufacturing should be able to drive consumer demand and increase supply if EVs are the answer to widespread ICE vehicle replacements (hint: They are not). As long as EV carmakers are trying to make a "smartphone with wheels", they are going to price themselves out of far too many markets globally and even in the US for them to have more than a niche consumer base. Currently, there are a large percentage of EV owners who actually prefer their next vehicle to be powered by an ICE.

He has been really good over the past month...and he is TWENTY.... Granted , it was AA, but this was about the time Chourio went scorched earth for about 6 weeks last season.

Mitchell is the right way to go soon, and Frelick should go back down to AAA....and in all honesty, if the Brewers are entertaining a trade to add a significant starting pitcher they should make a deal with Frelick as a trade chip. He is actually blocked longterm as an everyday player with Chourio and Mitchell in the fold as an outfielder.

They had a sketchy bullpen and had an offense that overperformed for a good chunk of the season - two items that can help explain the inflated run differential. This year their bullpen remains sketchy and their offense is more in line with expectations and perhaps even underperforming....at least they have an $8+M a year manager to help navigate the rudderless superyacht that is the Chicago Cubs organization.

The Dbacks got to the world series and if not for some Game 1 heroics by the Rangers could have won last year's title as a 7th-seeded wild card that won 84 regular season games. The Cardinals won a WS as an 83-win wild card team, too. The key is to build a roster that can reliably contend for the postseason every offseason, without dramatically sacrificing that opportunity in future years by blowing up your budget on payroll or emptying the farm via trades over the winter. Then, see how the league shakes out over the first half of the season and make a splash move or two at the deadline to solidify your roster and hope for good luck on the injury front for the playoffs. That's what the Brewers have been doing for quite awhile now, and I have a hard time seeing how they could be in much better shape as an organization right now given their market size/financial limitations.

I'm going to go out on what I think is a pretty sturdy limb and say "no" to the question posed in the title of this post. I think he can serve ok as a rotation filler for a bit, but his stuff isn't good enough to generate the consistent poor contact it did back when he was a really good MLB pitcher anymore. I think we'll see pretty much the same as what we did yesterday - he'll get his share of Ks by hitters by fooling them a bit, but when the ball gets put into play it's crossing fingers for a bunch of loud outs and hoping he keeps the ball in the yard. Regarding Keuchel's past MLB success, it not only occurred much earlier in his career, but also before the seemingly league-wide shift in increasing swing launch angles. When Keuchel's pitches aren't at the perfect locations on corners/at the knees, his stuff plays right into most hitters' grooved swing paths and there isn't enough velo to miss bats up in the zone.

Craig Counsell isn't a deft at shepherding a bullpen that isn't loaded up with "best reliever in all of baseball" arms at the back end, after all. I still find it comical that if CC would find his old mitt and sneak onto the field as a Brewer, he'd be the 4th highest salaried player on their roster this year.

On the baseball field, in your opinion exactly what has Trevor Bauer been doing that tells you he couldn't still be a really good starting pitcher at the MLB level at 33 yrs old and in seemingly good health? It's not the Phillies, but he did just strike out 19 guys over 8.2 IP in his last start south of the border. Had he not been suspended by MLB in 2021, Bauer's last MLB partial season with the Dodgers when he was sporting a 2.59 ERA, Corbin Burnes may not have a Cy Young and Bauer could have at least two in the last 4 mlb seasons.

He looks like a batting tee

If it's on the internet it must be true I didn't think Edwin won a Cy Young, though

Fully on board with this - they could even bring in one still in his pitching prime instead of one who has been washed up for several years.

Maybe it'll work out better than I expect it to....at least I'll tell myself that and hope for the best. Guessing this is most likely going to wind up like a "hope for 4ish innings where he leaves and the game is still winnable" sort of arrangement for a few weeks, and not really do anything to help keep the bullpen fresh. Would have honestly preferred to let Rodriguez continue providing that level of pitching to keep getting his feet wet in MLB, but I'm not the GM.

I sincerely hope the Cubs attempt to be soft buyers at the trade deadline because they feel like they have no choice. Somehow that team has a $230M payroll while also carrying a boatload of pre-arbitration players....and finds themselves in the cellar of a Central division. This is what happens when your pricey vets underperform and all the young talent winds up not being as productive as anticipated at the MLB level. Honest question, based on his MLB production to date, would PCA take playing time away from a healthy Wiemer?

Again, I really don't care - because Winker isn't on this team - the combination of guys the Brewers have thrown at DH haven't set the world on fire, but they also can all play decent defense at their primary positions when it isn't their turn to DH. It's not how I'd prefer the Brewers utilize the DH roster spot, but Hoskins in his current form is more or less their primary DH when healthy anyways. Based on how Hoskins is performing so far this season, maybe the lesson the Brewers have to learn is to not acquire hitters coming off a major injury - but instead wait until the following offseason when they could be had for even cheaper. And, Winker has primarily been a LF this year as a National - his numbers as their DH are actually pretty bad in limited playing time there (2023-esque 0.597 OPS). We can continue arguing about whether or not Winker's 2024 #'s would be a net help or harm to this year's Brewers team, but frankly I'm glad he's not on this roster despite him not continuing to be historically awful offensively like he was last season. Would you have preferred they signed him last winter for any amount of money based on what Winker did for the Brewers in 2023? This year's team is built around speed and defense - two tools Winker doesn't have at all even when fully healthy.

I don't care - Winker shouldn't be a left fielder, he should be a DH. The fact he's OPS-ing under 0.800 with his defensive "prowess" further diminishes his value to a team that has any sort of sights set on contending. I really don't have anything against him, just that I'm not going to lose sleep over him putting together a decent offensive season the year after he was atrocious as a Brewer. Glad they didn't entertain adding Winker last offseason, because they have better options at corner OF and DH positions on their roster right now.

with arms like Knoth not far behind - this is the healthiest the Brewer organization has been as a whole (MLB all the way down through Rookie Ball/DSL) that I can remember.

Meh, still a sub 800 ops from a guy you really hope can be closer to .900 at just 30 yrs old. Also, not lost on me that the team he is doing it with isn't exactly built to be a contender - similar to many of those good years as a Red.

Please play Chourio every day.. Please.

Specific to Hiura - his K rate was always pretty high, but when he got the bat to the ball early in his career he consistently did damage...albeit prior to 2020 he was more of a line drive hitter with enough pop to hit 30 HR in a full season. The launch angle adjustment made gave him the swing to potentially hit 40+HR over a full season, but also created such a huge hole in his swing that any sort of good fastball could exploit that he never was able to make enough contact at the MLB level to warrant getting 600+ plate appearances in order to hit those 40HR. I think Hiura winds up back in MLB with the Angels later this year, and I hope he runs with that opportunity. The K rate once again isn't great but he's currently sitting at about a 1.200 OPS in Salt Lake City and the Angels aren't exactly headed to the WS this season. Black and Hiura are vastly different hitters, so I don't like the comparison between the two in this article.

Frelick's bat is probably the last one I'd want moving over to 3b, thus the reason why I wondered aloud what they were trying to prove by throwing him over there at times in spring training. I hope he gets hot enough to warrant being trade bait, because he shouldn't take away at bats from Chourio or a healthy Mitchell, and he shouldn't be playing everyday as a corner OF, either.

I'd at least kick the tires on a former Cy Young winner who is currently 8-0 in 10 starts and striking out about 13 per 9IP...especially when he could be signed for peanuts and no prospect capital would need to be sent away to acquire him.

Iowa cubs

keep finding ways to win series, Brewers!