Fear The Chorizo

I bet he does...his current deal is up after next year, right? Just take CC's contract and tack on a few million extra bucks annually due to the Phillies being in the WS and LCS the last couple season.

I simply don't buy the notion that the "ceiling" for the Brewers is to meekly bow out of the playoffs every year because they can't afford to field a roster full of bloated veteran contracts over $200M. And there's also more to it than playoff randomness - the Brewers have built rosters prioritizing defensive versatility and run prevention, and how those rosters are managed over the course of a regular season doesn't appear to line up well with playoff success. That falls on both a team's front office and manager - particularly with CC and how he did carry some sway with how the 40 man rosters have been put together and managed over the years. From an onfield perspective, I'm ok with CC no longer managing the Brewers even if it means the Brewers take a step back this season - I think it was time for both parties to move on in order for the Brewers to take a different organizational approach to try and win a title instead of treading water. I also don't expect the Brewers to lose 20 fewer games just because CC isn't in the dugout anymore - W/L record depends more on the quality of the roster they'll be working with. And, I won't hold it against CC personally to go manage the team that threw an insane contract at him, even if it's the Cubs. However, I'll also have no problem holding him unnecessarily more accountable for them failing to win WS championships because they're paying him like he can find ways to consistently win in October when his onfield playoff results are anything but. As a big market club, the Cubs don't need the best manager in the history of baseball based on what they're paying him to make the playoffs consistently. If there aren't WS parades on the north side in the next couple of seasons, CC should get more heat than he deserves. The Brewers have built their recent window off dominant bullpens with plenty of depth to navigate through 162 games - CC gets credit for adept bullpen management, but he's also been given a ton of bullpen talent to work with. One way to really handcuff that organizational strategy is to be poor at developing pitching, not identifying journeyman relievers capable of big years with small mechanical/pitch selection tweaks, and instead throwing a pile of free agent dollars and prospect capital to build a better MLB bullpen. If you get that typical reliever volatility with high-priced relievers or a key injury, you then get stuck with them and cheaper internal options with talent still aren't on your 40 man. Essentially, this likely describes what the Cubs are about to try and do over this offseason.

IMO it's much easier to maintain a 90ish win average in MLB when you have 3 divisions per league, particularly if you play in a central division that constantly has at least two teams fighting to lose 100x a year. Those 80s Brewers teams were doing it in the AL east and had HOFers on their rosters. if they had a similar playoff format then to what they do now I'd wager there would be at least 1 WS title in brewer history - they had some damn good teams not make the playoffs who could've went on a title run. It's been a good run of winning Brewer teams lately, but the early 80s brewer teams were better.

Chicago isn't new York in terms of sports media scrutiny...but the Cubs' organization and fans aren't those loveable losers anymore either and that town can be brutal on a baseball team that fails to live up to expectations. CC hasn't dealt with that kind of environment as a manager or as a player, so it will be interesting to see how he handles that, because he doesn't come off as an A type personality that enjoys being in the headlines (good or bad) I'm not exactly sure what the Cubs should be expected to do just because they paid a guy to manage them close to double what the average mlb player salary currently is. Obviously a whole offseason of more changes, but right now they might be the 4th best team in the division if people assume the cards 2023 season was an aberration.

I mean, he retired a brewer and currently works for them, right? Pretty sure that's water under the bridge. And what better way for Luc to get more of Mark A's money now that the market rate for a mlb skipper is pushing 8 figures annually?, lol?

Lucroy?

How about 1-8 since video game Yelich fouled a ball off his kneecap?

I don't think paying a manager $8M would prevent any MLB team from improving their roster on the field if they wanted to. That doesn't mean any manager is actually worth that kind of salary, though. I've got friends who are Cub fans wondering what the hell they're doing paying CC like AmFam's running out of flagpoles to hang pennants, knowing if the Brewers played in one of the east or west divisions all the recent playoff appearances that resulted in quick exits under CC likely never would've happened to begin with. I mean, the Cubs are paying Nico Hoerner and Taillon a combined $30M next season - so they're no strangers to lighting $$ on fire. I say let them have at it.

CC is 7-12 as a playoff manager....1-8 since the calendar got to 2019. Resting laurels on a NLCS trip 6 seasons ago is the sort of stuff that gets high priced managers fired...

They are paying him $8m a year, not $5M. Honestly any mlb team can throw that much money at a manager - the fact nobody has come close to paying a manager that amount annually ever before tells me it's insane. It would be the equivalent of Ohtani signing a free agent deal for $90m a season for 10 years - completely out of bounds no matter how good they are.

Disagree - paying a manager basically double what the highest annual salary previously was for that position makes zero sense when said skipper hasn't gotten a team to a world series. CC is obviously the "it" manager right now - I just have a hard time understanding why that's the case outside of brewerland.

They don't really have money to burn though. They are obviously a big market club, but they just had about a $200m payroll roster that didn't make the playoffs, and right now they have more holes to fill than the Brewers do after both Stroman and Bellinger opted out. The move from their perspective just feels weird.

8 mil a season for a manager who hasn't won a playoff series in 6 seasons would be deemed an immense overpay by everyone here if it wasn't the former Brewers manager going to Chicago. I'll stick my neck out and say right now that the Cubs are going to regret throwing this kind of money to CC. I can't blame CC for taking that kind of $$ no matter what team is crazy enough to offer it. this 5 yr contract basically doubles his career earnings as a mlb player over 15 seasons - that's insanity for a manager contract.

I think that team should be the Brewers - Bauer has shown a willingness to go year to year or sign short term deals, betting on himself. Even if the Brewers are going through a bit of uncertainty with trading or retaining Burnes, and the Woodruff injury/arbitration situation, signing an arm like Bauer to the rotation at worst could set up for flipping him at the trade deadline and at best it would give the rotation a ~#2-3 caliber starter that can log a ton of innings for a team that wants to contend.

I think the Runyan benching that series had to do with him lining up offsides on that 4th and 1 attempt the drive prior - what was troubling to me is after the fact Rhyan came in and performed well that Runyan was back on the field later in the game. If you're going to finally start sending an accountability message for making those kind of mental mistakes, you shouldn't get your spot back on the field if the guy who subbed in for you performs well. We know what Runyan is...but there was a reason he was a 6th round pick a couple years ago - I think Rhyan needs to get on the field more. Jenkins has had an uneven, injury-filled 2023 - however, wondering if there is any thought to trying him back at LT and potentially inserting Rhyan next to him at LG?

The ridiculous thing is, after this W the Packers will be roughly 1 game back in the standings for a playoff berth in the NFC. They are peak NFL blob right now.

More of that, with an athletic TE streaking up the seam, please... been a dog of a season so far, but tough not to see glimmers amongst the dumpster fire, too.

thinking the ball knocked the wind out of him there...either that or Watson is out the next month after making a catch

silver lining, is injuries on the defensive side of the ball have forced a bunch of the young defensive players onto the field this game - and these are the type of offenses that give developing defensive players opportunities to build some confidence. Brooks, Van Ness, Valentine, Wooden are flashing today - yes it's against a bad team, but it's better than them not making plays. The youth on this roster needs to be on the field for the rest of this season for it to have any longterm value for future seasons. Dillon picked a terrible spot to bounce that 3rd and short run...it was blocked up and wide open on the left side and he went the opposite direction.

It's to the point where a Packer offensive series that doesn't end in a turnover is a win - even if it's a 3 and out.

agreed...terrible flag on Myers there Did Rhyan do anything to come back off the field after he subbed in for Runyan because Runyan couldn't line up onsides? Missed part of the 2nd quarter - I thought Rhyan started out pretty good there. It's insane how many bad things happen...can't event get a thought out without something else falling apart.

Trying to understand what Wicks was even attempting to do - why not turn around and get upfield instead of diving to get a 1st by 6 inches on 1st down when nobody's within 10 feet of you? Carl Brooks is having himself a game, btw

Defense isn't an issue with this year's Badger team that is undergoing a huge transition, no matter how much you have a crush on Leonard.

Dillon racked up a ton of yards in college because he was their offense - they lined up in run heavy formations with the QB under center and his job was to hand it to Dillon 35+ times a game that would wear down a collegiate front 7. I don't think there is any team in the NFL that runs that type of offense anymore given how hard it is to sustain that type of running game against defenses knowing it's coming. So instead, Dillon has been getting most of his carries out of pistol or shotgun formations and he's just not able to get the type of momentum headed towards the line of scrimmage that he did in college. He's a big back but not super tall, and he doesn't have the agility to make the first guy miss in the hole or be able to bounce it a little without losing all his speed and letting pursuit defenders bring him down. In short, his running style is not a good fit in today's NFL running game that is no longer built like the Jimmy Johnson Cowboys. Dillon was moderately effective early in his career when the Packers had a passing offense to be feared and defenses couldn't stack the box with even the standard 7 defenders - now defenses are basically daring the Packers to throw downfield by stacking boxes and playing safeties up, so there are very limited running lanes for any Packer back to exploit consistently...and that's even assuming the Oline isn't botching blocking assignments.

And that is one of the reasons the current Packer offensive roster is the lowest paid offense in the entire NFL in terms of actual salary paid out this season. There is still value in developing young players through a growing pain NFL season that was inevitable to happen - but you need to have the right coaching/development staff in place to make that worth the onfield growing pains. Jury is very much out in that regard when it comes to coaching/young player development in Green Bay right now. To me, the biggest disappointment on the offensive side of the ball is the O-line and terrible run game. Jones/Bakh/Jenkins injuries definitely doesn't help that, but their line had long been a unit of strength and depth - and now it just looks plain bad. A good amount of personnel turnover and what appears to be a lack of young player development Packer fans had grown accustomed to once Stenavich become OC the past few seasons are both to blame for this. Not having any semblance of a running game or competent Oline really puts a young quarterback on an island - couple that with young receivers who don't seem to know what routes to run half the time and an NFL offense winds up looking like what it has the past month or so in Green Bay.