JohnBriggs12

Mother's Day and the Shaw walk-off are the easy choices. In 2nd place are all the rest of the wins over the Cubs.

Thames wasn't good as a big leaguer before playing in Korea either. Japan is a step above Korea. He struggled with command as a young pitcher in the big leagues. Last year in Japan, he walked just 23 in 188 innings. He doesn't have a ceiling as an ace, and won't get all that much, but taking a flyer on Thames proved to be pretty savvy, so if the price is right, you can never get enough pitching.

He's extremely tough to hit the first two times through the order. However, the third time through, teams hit .302/.366/.486 off him. The Rays treated him as their "ace" and so they weren't inclined to pull him when he got in trouble before the 7th inning. Used properly and with a good middle inning bullpen, he'd be closer to his FIP of 3.40. The Ray's pen wasn't very deep. No doubt the manager stuck with Archer a lot, and when he did get pulled, the pen let in his runners. So while he's a very good pitcher, with excellent stuff, he's not a true ace as he's basically a 6 inning guy. I'd still be very interested with Santana as a part of a package if the plan is to sign another big bat like Hosmer which would allow them to move Thames to RF in platoon with Perez or use Phillips there when Brinson shows he can hit enough to play nearly every day in CF. A Thames/Perez platoon could be as productive as Santana alone. The key would be replacing the production at 1B.

De Jesus like Sogard has little power (5 career HR in 545 PA), but unlike Sogard he is contact challenged with 130 K's in those 545 PA. I can live with a power/high K combo but not a no power/high K combo. Besides they already have one RH utility player in Perez. Sogard/Perez as your two utility players is about as solid a utility combo as they come. Heck as a platoon duo, they'd make a better option than Villar at 2B. Remember Craig Counsell who was essentially the same player as Sogard, actually had multi year contracts that paid him up to $2.8 million in his mid 30's.

Was a fringe MLB pitcher, who went to Japan in 2015 and became a star with a 2.25 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 8-1 K/BB rate in 2017. Is said to be looking to return to MLB. He turned 29 in August.

The trouble with multiple years for an average guy at best is that guy takes a spot that might block a young guy with better upside. I'd be more inclined to take a look at some of the bargain FA out there who'll end up on one year or minor league deals. Get enough to keep yourself in it for the first half and then make a deal for a premium starter if you need one. They do need to upgrade the lineup first.

The only way Villar is back is if they don't sign either Sogard or Walker. I think he's gone and I'm certain one if not both of those guys return. Walker's value in FA isn't what he thinks it is. So is Broxton, and the obvious arms, Torres, Drake, Garza, There will be 1-3 or so other guys who don't return. Bring back Vogt or go after a guy like Avila in FA? The latter can throw out an occasional runner.

We know this, the Cardinals and the Cubs aren't going to stick with the status quo. The Cards will be bidders for Hosmer and other bats as well as relievers. The Cubs will look to fill the void if as expected Arrieta departs. The Brewers have obvious issues that need to be addressed, mainly they were a little too reliant on the HR and their defense needs to be tightened up. If the prognosis isn't clear on Nelson, they need a starter who at the least is a fall back guy if the young arms falter. They need to target an all around hitter, hence why I'd go after Hosmer.

How about CC on a one or two year deal? He's had a pretty nice season. He's more of a 5-6 inning guy now, but his veteran presence might be good for this team.

Hosmer is a premium talent. He has power/contact ability that few possess in today's game. Think Anthony Rizzo, who I contend is the most valuable Cub. Machado is likely to command $250 million over 7-8 years. Hosmer won't be cheap, but $150 million over 6 years is a lot more doable than $250 million. If you want to move Shaw to 1B, then Moustakas makes a ton of sense too. He doesn't walk all that much but doesn't strikeout a lot either.

I'd be all over Hosmer too. Hosmer: 104 K's in 671 PA Thames: 163 K's in 551 PA Having a bat that's not a big strikeout guy in the middle of the order is critical to solve the problem of getting runners in from scoring position and 3B with less than 2 outs. The biggest edge the Cubs have over the Brewers is at 1B. Yes, Hosmer has been up and down, but he's right in his prime. His 2018 was very Rizzo like. Miller Park is also a better hitters park than is Royals Stadium. If there were ever a time when the Brewers have the means and the motivation to go after a premier FA, this year is it.

One game. That's it. Some excruciating losses. Some thrilling moments. Late inning offensive woes did them in. One game here or there. That's how close they were. It's great they kept us on the edge up until the last day but nothing's guaranteed for 2018. That's why missing out by one game hurts. We'll never know when the next opportunity comes along. Hope it's next year. Should be an interesting offseason for sure. Would sure like to see a lineup that doesn't strike out as often and can create runs in crunch time.

The statement could also be, "Not sure how much worse than Garza $5M is going to get you." Either way it's true. $5M gets you jack squat on the free agent market. Maybe you luck in to a minor league signing or two but $5M gets you a no bat, aging, utility infielder or burned out pitcher. The Padres got 3 FA starters on one year deals for $1.75 million each (total $5.25 million). Combined they made 75 starts, combined for a 25-28 record and an ERA of 4.27. The Brewers let a starter at a position in his prime go prior to this season because they didn't want to pay him $2.53 million to come off the bench and he proceeded to drive in more runs with his new team than all but one member of his former team. It's not so much the money as it is knowing how to use it, even a paltry $5 million.

I'm guessing the plan will be for the Dodgers to piggyback Darvish and Wood on Sunday.

It wouldn't shock me if he yanked that throw on purpose.

The Cubs have dominated the Cardinals this year. Assuming they clinch tonight, the concern is Maddon will probably start the Iowa Cubs the next two games.

I agree, but I also don't think they have guys sit all 3 days. Key guys might play 2 of 3, Turner and other guys that have been nicked up might get more rest...but even still their bench is pretty darn good. They can win games with 1 or 2 key hitters sitting, especially if guys like kershaw and co are pitching. They won't rest their everyday lineup. There's too much time between the end of the season and their first playoff games. Their starting pitchers will likely be removed after 5 innings though.

You make it seem so easy. You just have to acquire a whole bunch of talented minor leaguers and then that will always automatically turn into a successful winning franchise. The problem is that's what we did in the late 2000s. We had two possible future Hall of Famers in the middle of our lineup plus three or four very good secondary pieces for a number of years. What did we win? One wild card birth and one division title three years later. And why did we even win that? Becuase we traded minor leaguers for big name talent. Without CC we don't make the playoffs in 08. Without Greinke and maybe even Marcum we don't make the playoffs in 11. I understand your love for prospects and I agree that a franchise like Milwaukee has to build from within. But there is absolutely a place for big name talent. Prospects fail like.....all the time. We cannot solely rely on our prospects and expect to win year in and year out. Gray was there for the having and we balked. It's understandable but now because of a series of unfortunate events not only are we unlikely to make the playoffs this season but we have a big hole to fill in our 2018 rotation. Very good points. At best most prospects turn out to be solid major league contributors. That's great but won't win championships. If you are lucky, as the Brewers were a decade ago, you get a couple difference makers like Braun and Fielder. If the Brewers fall a game or two short this year, it's a fair assessment that their timidity cost a rare playoff appearance. Granted getting bounced after wild card game is barely worth mentioning, but winning that one game puts you on equal footing with the division winners.

Completely agree but here's some thoughts. I don't think Villar will be back. Brewers have too many contact challenged hitters and the fact that he's not starting down the stretch is telling. Either he gets traded or is non-tendered. Either Sogard or Walker will be signed and return though likely not both. Walker's cost at age 32 will not be prohibitive and will be nowhere near his current salary. Sogard has proven to be a handy piece as well and will be a value FA. Broxton will go in a trade (most likely a fairly minor one). They'll start next year with Phillips in CF and bring Brinson up early in the season. Until Brinson arrives, look for Perez to platoon with Phillips. Guerra will be in the mix to fill a rotation spot in Arizona, but could very well wind up in the pen taking up Torres' spot. Either way, I think he makes to opening day roster. When healthy, he still misses bats. I think they'll try and keep Swarzak too. They might have to pay a little more than they'd like, but they aren't bringing back Torres and won't have Feliz' salary either so they'll invest in some bullpen veterans so why not Swarzak? He's not going to command more than 2 years, and he's not going to get closer money. Other trade candidates: Aguilar, Perez, Barnes, Hughes, Braun

Chacin has a 2.1 WAR this year and a 16.7 WAR for his career and has 3 double digit win seasons in his career and just did the Brewers a huge favor by shutting down the Rockies with 6 shutout innings. Nobody said sign him to a long term deal, just rent him for the stretch or see if he'll take a short term bargain deal. Obviously you haven't watched Chacin pitch or you wouldn't be comparing him to Espino.

The problem is the discrepancy in population between Chicago and Milwaukee metro areas. Chicago is 5 or 6 times larger. If it were reversed, the opposite would occur at Wrigley. What annoys me is this discrepancy is never brought up. The media lavishes praise on what a great fan base the Cubs have. It's strictly the numbers.

The problem is the discrepancy in population between Chicago and Milwaukee metro areas. Chicago is 5 or 6 times larger. If it were reversed, the opposite would occur at Wrigley. What annoys me is this discrepancy is never brought up. The media lavished praise on what a great fan base the Cubs have. It's strictly the numbers.

Jeffress did his job pitching, but he took his time getting over to cover and that was costly. My problem was starting the 10th with Drake. No way was he going to get through both Bryant and Rizzo. Take a chance with Guerra, who was your opening day starter for goodness sake. He's got a chance. Or use Wang with 2 lefties scheduled or Hughes who was up earlier and should have had an inning in him.

Brewers have lost twice to Cubs this year when leading going into 9th. The first was in April at Wrigley and then last night. Both were hard to stomach. Win those two and they are a half game back. Last night was preventable. Jeffress lollygagged to first and Arcia didn't lay out to keep Baez grounder in the infield. Loss to Dodgers in early June when they blew a 3 run 9th inning lead in large part because Aguilar refused to take an out looms large too.

Unfortunately this has been our Achilles' Heel since the AS break. We had multiple opportunities to get runs across last night - just a deep fly ball would have done the trick a couple of times - but we just couldn't put the ball in play. And when we did we hit into double plays. Until our hitting woes are corrected it won't matter who is relieving, even if we pass Colorado for that second WC spot. Santana failed in the clutch by swinging at a ball that was chin high. Until he proves he can command the zone in pressure situations, he'll not be elite. It was close but Arcia might have swung at ball four too.