Harold Hutchison

We're trading Lucroy, Gennett and Gatewood, and not getting a single top-100 prospect or major league player in return??? Blair's a very good catching prospect from Oakland posting a .976 OPS at AA (http://www.baseball-reference.com/route.cgi?player=1&mlb_ID=542942), and Walsh (http://www.baseball-reference.com/route.cgi?player=1&mlb_ID=595023) is a switch-hitting second-baseman who's posting an OPS of .842, Correa's (http://www.baseball-reference.com/route.cgi?player=1&mlb_ID=621043) delivering huge offensive performance at age 20 in AA (I misspelled the name), Atherton (http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=athert001tim) and Hader (http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=hader-000jos) are posing good numbers so far, and Hader's 21 at AA. Phillips (http://www.baseball-reference.com/route.cgi?player=1&mlb_ID=621433) is putting up some huge numbers as well, and he's 21 at A+.

How about this: Oakland gets: C/1B Jon Lucroy (MIL) 2B Scooter Gennett (MIL) C Hank Conger (HOU) Houston gets: SS/3B Jacob Gatewood (MIL) 1B Ike Davis (OAK) Milwaukee gets: C Carson Blair (OAK) 2B Colin Walsh (OAK) SS Carlos Codiera (HOU) RHP Tim Atherton (OAK) OF Brett Phillips (HOU) LHP Josh Hader (HOU)

Because he's probably the closest thing to a "face of the franchise" the Brewers have, and he DID take less money to stay in Milwaukee. To trade him could be a huge negative in keeping home-grown talent in the future. Loyalty is a two -way street.

Yeah, they were. But recently, they have had a clue on the draft side (see Coulter). They also made a splash internationally (Lara). Also, if they get the salary relief, they can try to sign more international prospects like Lara. Just dumping Lohse and Garza sometime in may nets about 2/3 of $23.5 million for international signings and draft picks this year, and Garza'a also under contract for 2016 and 2017 ($12.5 million each year). Getting two or three more prospects like Lara on the international market each year could be a huge boost to the farm system. Plus, tanking this season nets a good pick in the June 2016 draft. You do know the international market is capped before penalties? Lara's signing alone basically put Milwaukee at that cap last season. Whether Milw save's 20mil this season and 12mil next season won't change their cap til penalties kick in limits. Can't fathom this being a team that signs up 20mil or so of Internationals taking an added 17mil hit roughly and the 2years limitations of now only being able to sign like 250k max for internationals. Now, Maybe you mean signing players like Jose Abreu or Alex Guerrero guys not under the internation draft limitations but in no means prospects essentially. Signing 27yr old Cuban players to ML contracts and hope they work out. I've always said, a contract like Garza who can net a prospect or two in return when traded is a perfect use of signing. Take 12.5mil for less than 2years sell off the 2.5years remaining for a prospect hopefully around top 100 and you again have 12.5mil to spend each of the next 2 seasons. Meanwhile you also have a prospect in your system you wouldn't have. Love it if the team could do that every couple of seasons with a FA signing. I thought Lohse would be that originally and he should have been dealt in 2013. Two Pitchers that would maybe fit that this offseason would be Mat Latos or Scott Kazmir. Kinda #3s with #2 type outings. Get one for 11-14mil a year for 3 or 4years and trade in a season or 2. I think that is the game Milw has to play in FA with SPs. It's not like prospects ranked in the 50-100 range for Pitching are TOR types generally. I remember Zach Lee being around 50 in 2013 with TOR maybe potential but really a #3 expectation. Hes now the Dodgers 14th ranked prospect vs the 2 I think he was 2 seasons ago. So I don't feel it's unrealistic for the Brewers to get a top 100 ish prospect for Garza in return under his deal. He is a proven #3 not a prospect with #3 profile and hopes to become a #2 at best. Is that impact for Milw in return? Depends how you look at it. The team getting a #3 like a Peralta at this point to pitch for them at that 500+k range to fill your back half of the rotation is a plus vs paying 10-12mil for that. It may be worth restrictions if there is a year where you can land two or three Lara-level prospects. The Brewers need to re-stock the system - and this could be a way to do it.

Yeah, they were. But recently, they have had a clue on the draft side (see Coulter). They also made a splash internationally (Lara). Also, if they get the salary relief, they can try to sign more international prospects like Lara. Just dumping Lohse and Garza sometime in may nets about 2/3 of $23.5 million for international signings and draft picks this year, and Garza'a also under contract for 2016 and 2017 ($12.5 million each year). Getting two or three more prospects like Lara on the international market each year could be a huge boost to the farm system. Plus, tanking this season nets a good pick in the June 2016 draft.

And to get the Lohse and Garza salaries off the books might not be bad things as well. The money could be re-directed to signing bonuses for the draft and international players.

To distract folks from this 2015 season, I'd like to give folks a look at a parallel universe, where Milwaukee Brewers baseball went a lot... better. I assumed that the Brewers did things differently in Baseball Mogul Diamond. They pull a bigger trade with Cleveland earlier in the season (they get BOTH CC Sabathia and Victor Martinez for a package of players. They also shipped Bill Hall for a bunch of prospects, and also were able to deal Gabe Kapler, Suppan, Jason Kendall, and Russell Branyan for prospects and other pieces. One of the other changes: Chris Saenz makes a comeback for the ages, and Nick Neugebauer also did so. The Brewers got very lucky health-wise as well. The biggest DL stint was Corey Hart, out 18 days with a strained neck. So, the 2008 World Champion Milwaukee Brewers: [attachment=0]2008 Milwaukee Brewers.jpg[/attachment]

Given how cheap he came from the Angels - and for how much of his salary the Angels paid, it would have been worth a flyer, IMO. Say as a platoon partner for Khris Davis at worst.

Ryan had a .863 OPS in the first half of last year. It wasn't 2011-era Braun performance, but I believe it's reasonable to think he can perform like that this year. I noted earlier his full-season WORST OPS prior to 2014 was .866 in 2010. So.. when do we resume the debate about moving Braun back to third base? Wouldn't that be much better to talk about???

It's getting those mechanics back. He spent a good chunk since mid-May 2013 adjusting his mechanics due to that thumb injury. Now, he just had to get the good ones back... Today... they were back. Hopefully it's consistent (although, over his last five games, he was hitting.313... so maybe it's coming back). Seriously, I think it's an .850-.900 OPS this season, and next year, he is really back to form.

I wouldn't say a loss of confidence... I'd say it's about working back to the "good" mechanics as opposed to his "compromised" mechanics. The way he will fix that is with reps, and playing time. Not trying to sound repetitive, look at Derrick Rose this NBA season after he had two lost years due to his knee issues. He was uneven, but look what he did to the Bucks in Game One. I think Braun can be a .900+ OPS player again... but he needs his mechanics back.

I think the core is as follows: Braun (OF/3B/1B?) [*]Mark my words, I think this year will be kinda like what Derrick Rose had with the Bulls this past NBA season - rough as he regains his mechanics and gets his confidence back, but he'll come back to close to the 2007-2012 form. If that is the case, he is part of the team's core, no question about it. Segura (SS/2B) Lucroy (C/1B) Gomez (CF) Peralta Nelson Thornburg Jeffress Smith On the major-league roster, that's it. Maybe keep Fiers around (he's cheap, and servicable), and a couple of the position players (Khris Davis, Gennett), but beyond that... there's not much.

In 2012, the year after he wins the appeal, he leads the NL in homers. In 2013, he is posting a .995 OPS at the end of the 18 May game, when he was hit on his right hand, causing the thumb injury. During that timeframe of 195 games played, if Braun had been "heavily cheating" - to use your term - he would have popped positive once before that thumb injury. The lack of PED evidence since that 2011 test, which the arbitrator threw out, points not to any PED-related performance, but the after-effects of that thumb injury suffered in mid-May of 2013.

It is the worst contract in Brewers history and it isn't close. This is a really good board, and most can separate feelings of hurt as you say vs reality. And the reality is that Braun is not a very good player and he is on the hook for 5 more years + deferred money. What evidence is there that Braun will hit to anything even approaching 2012 again? He hasn't been an elite or even good player for 2013, 2014, and the start of 2015. Checking splits and game logs at Baseball Reference: Braun's 2013 OPS was .869 - not the .950 he was at, but it was three points higher than his 2010 OPS of .866. So, we are dealing with Braun having an off 2014, but the bottom did not drop out until August/September of 2014 - but everyone else on the Brewers had that happen, too. As of the game played on 1 August, 2014, his OPS was .851, only 15 points lower than the previous career low of .866 in 2010. For the first half of 2014, his OPS was .863, only three points lower than the career low. Put my money on a Braun comeback to at least .850+ OPS level of production, and if the Brewers can get him some protection in the lineup (like he had with Prince Fielder in 2007-2011), then he may even be regularly above a .900 OPS.

I'd like to see the DFE process return, myself. That said... in the case of Leal, I think this is good news, and I hope the Brewers look for other players like him - and also look into other conversion projects. Not that they are always a good idea (we all know which conversion I'd take back if I could...), but sometimes a conversion can result in a gem or two.

Perhaps pitchers have been going more for ground balls? I think the Brewers have had their staff do that - and it was discussed somewhere here. I may know part of what you're implying on the Brewers staff. There was a post I think in the Draft subject of the Brewers Pitchers being taught a lean/tilt for a follow through. That it creates more downward motion but less lateral/sideways movement. Something like that, part of it is to create more ground balls, the other part is to help in location if I recall. the Less sideways movement meant less variance to miss the strike zone. Now is that what is happening all across baseball? Or just the Brewers pitching style? I think it's funny the comment above about Expansion thinning out the quality pitching and bringing back hitting. Expansion also thins out a team's quality hitting.....I think the pitchers would be more dominant with expansion vs less. I think it tends to go both ways a bit. There may be some dilution of hitting talent, but also, some players get chances they might not have elsewhere - either via trades to an expansion team or because someone on the major league roster went in the expansion draft. Pitching, OTOH, is more easily diluted, I think. Would Wayne Franklin be making 30+ starts in 2003 if there were only 10 teams in the NL?

Perhaps pitchers have been going more for ground balls? I think the Brewers have had their staff do that - and it was discussed somewhere here.

I'm willing to wait for the All-Star Break before hitting the panic button. What's coming to mind for me is the situation the Chicago Bulls had with Derrick Rose - who also had two lost years due to injury. I fully expect that this year, Braun's going to have to regain his mechanics - much as Derrick Rose had to. There may even be some setbacks (Rose missed time in this most recent season due to a setback vis-a-vis his meniscus). Per the J-S, Braun's right side is still not 100% after that Opening Day injury - which was why he got a day off. If he can post an .850 OPS over the whole 2015 season, and be closer to the 2007-2012 Braun in the second half, the contract will be okay.

The offense seems to have woken up some... 10 runs scored.

If it wasn't for bad luck, it seems the Brewers would have no luck at all...

Braun just homered... the first of many for this season?

One tidbit: The last time this team started 0-4 was in 2011. They ended up winning 96 games and got to the NLCS.

Mark AND Doug? The fact we haven't had a rebuild is Mark and ALL Mark. He thinks he can put a competitive team out there every year and always says the Brewers aren't a small market. Every off season he blows the same trumpet...saying the Brewers won't rebuild, don't need to rebuild, and will make the moves to try to win. Doug Melvin just does what his boss tell him to do...and his boss is great that he wants to win...but he needs to understand it gets to a point where you have to hold back a little and reload. I think it's also on Doug. At some point, he needs to tell Mark that the Brewers need to look to the long term - and be willing to put his job on the line if need be. Now, I think the Brewers can be a successful team and can, with proper preparation, avoid major rebuilding projects, and that they can maximize their market. But at the same time, to do that, the farm system is incredibly important, and the team needs to pay more attention there than it has lately.

I wonder if Hamilton could end up on the trading block. How much of Hamilton's salary would the Angels be willing to cover? Will they take a couple of second-tier prospects - maybe even toss us a first-tier prospect over to take more of the salary?

Where do you get that figure?