SoCal Brew Crew Fan

They must feel the new CBA will see a cut in player control, so trying to get ahead of that as much as possible with Pratt, Lara...probably Made next. By the time these kick in Yelich, etc gone. Only issue is at some point one of these guys is going to bust. Have to hope they hit more than bust.

Team has done a nice job of getting the bullpen rested up. Between Miz/Harrison length and the piggybacking even Ashby is rested. About to get tougher heading into All Star break so nice to have pen in a strong position.

This is a fair criticism...agree and might have gone Koenig to open.

Brewers getting a lot of criticism on using the openers and Ashby certainly showing some signs of wear...but that Ohtani sticking the bat out was some serious mid season Brewers luck. It's not like Miz is going more than he did anyway. They've given up 10 runs in 3 games with a barebones rotation and a bullpen on fumes...against the best lineup in the game. It's not the pitching or the management...it's amazing they've done as well as they have with what they have. Outside of Bauers their LH bats look utterly lost. They are facing great pitching but there have been places to apply more pressure than they have. Treinen still looks every bit of the garbage he's been the last two months and Turang swings at uncompetitive pitch Monday then others swinging through meatballs yesterday. Raleigh or Vladdy will chew that guy up hard.

Former Brewer Bernie Carbo on the list!

Totally agree. I think it’s the superior strategy but he’s got the inferior pen to pull it off. Schildt had the hand to play and didn’t.

Schildt getting Craigtembered today. He’s got the superior pen but waits where Counsell pulls his starter at first sign of trouble.

The 2019 Cubs sure remind me of the 2018 Reds

Would love to get to that weak pen early. Put some innings on them in game one too.

Thames is such a renaissance man. The guy is so upbeat and interesting. Would love to see him sing at Miller Park next year. Maybe the National Anthem, but he does it in Korean.

I think what Yankees are doing is brilliant. It’s Brewers strategy through Free Agency. They’ve got the payroll to execute. While everyone has been focused on Machado & Harper...these guys just built one of the best bullpens in baseball. I’m glad they scooped them up so LA & the Cubs didn’t. If I was one of those teams, adding a pen arm would have been top of the list. Man, if the Brewers could even get the payroll to to $150mm, imagine our team with another pen arm like Ottavino and a couple other pieces.

I wonder how much is an adjustment to the post-steroids era. Players windows are shorter now and teams have adjusted. The pendulum swung from players to owners and the players will likely seek some relief in years of control which seems reasonable. I only care how it impacts competitive balance and the Brewers. Wealthy owners and a powerful, fully empowered union sounds like a fair fight. The hard part is it’s a 3-way negotiation with the owners split by revenue pie. Competitively it’s more balanced than it’s been since the reserve clause. I might not feel like that if my owner was milking it, but Mark A has been great. It’s all about balance. I want to watch the best players play, but if they aren’t wearing Brewers uniforms I won’t care. Hopefully reasonable heads prevail.

Seems like a good return for Crew. More pen arms and a promising young call option. Keon a good fit with that larger OF...defense a premium for Mets. Brewers can always shift Yelich to CF if needed and subs can play corners if Cain out.

I love Cubs adding older, expensive starters. It could work for them, but increasing payroll and risk profile just raises odds of being hamstrung.

Surprising given relative level of health this season...must be something we don’t know. Tunnell’s big claim to fame was fixing Axford. Maybe he’s just been around too long. He was also known more for being a roving instructor so maybe that’s a better fit for him. Would guess he just didn’t see eye to eye with DJ.

Puig didn't bother me. I know others don't like him, but I view him as a free spirit. There was plenty of animation from the Brewers when they were in LA from Pina, Aguilar & Cain that the fans were riding them on...I thought they were just excited. He reminds me of Carlos Gomez and we all loved the way he played. More unbridled enthusiasm than any malice. Machado is different. He plays cheap and he's a punk. Yelich said it the best, "Dirty play by a dirty player". I'm not one to go all baseball machismo, but if there is ever a guy that needs to wear one it's that piece of garbage. I rooted hard for the Dodgers last year and have plenty of great friends I'd be very happy for if they won. I also feel there are plenty of upstanding guys on the Dodgers that are easy to root for like Turner, Taylor & Kershaw, but the thought of that turd getting a ring is way too raw right now. Go Sox.

The rotation will take more than 5 arms. Injuries, performance, fatigue... There is often a regression of arms that worked late into the year the following year which worries me a little about the pen. I'd want another stud down there at least at the beginning of the season. With all the starting options they have, starting a Woody or Burnes in the pen leads to plenty of options as the year moves on. We'll be lucky to get through the year using only 8-9 starters. I think Miley is looking for more of a contract than the Brewers will give him. I doubt he's back. I'd expect them to sign another Miley/Chacin-type for cheap and see if they can get the improvement. Considering they were also in on Mikolas, they seem to be doing their homework. Goldschmidt not happening. Others have the prospect capital and there is no way we give up on Hiura. Will be interesting to see if they part with Corey Ray and what he could get in return. Trading off some depth for prospect capital could make some sense too. They've traded a ton of depth from the system...all in good use, but at some point some replenishment at the lower levels could make sense.

I’d bet one of Woodruff or Burnes stays in pen. Pen depth is huge and keeping the premium arms fresh will be important, especially after going an extra month this year. I’d go Burnes. His ability to go 2-3 innings at a high level would be extremely valuable. Can always move him to rotation late in year. I also wonder about Moose. Obviously he’s an awesome guy, but he’ll be looking for at least a 3 year deal. I’m not sure that fits. Would rather see them add a RH bat for infield. Getting Hiura up could really help the contact issue for the team. Always tough to predict a youngster, but sliding him into the 3 hole behind Cain/Yelich is awfully intriguing come June. I’d also want some type of backup plan for Aguilar. At his cost he’s a great option, but the late season contact issues were concerning.

I may be the only guy walking around in a Brewers jersey in LA today! So fired up. Got my tix for next week too so very much looking forward to this. Aside from my obvious excitement for the Crew...I love some things about this series. Both teams are extremely likable. I don't think you've always been able to say that about the Dodgers, but there has been a real culture change in the organization since McCourt sold that has made the team fun to watch and root for. I even find Puig entertaining...the guy is harmless. The Brewers clubhouse has been amazing...it's been so fun to watch this team gel. You've got the best two front offices in the NL. I love what Stearns/Counsell have done. A scrappy counter insurgent move to get competitive and try new things. Exactly what they should do as a small market team. The Dodgers have certainly used their payroll power to ramp up, but to their credit it's been more than that with guys like Turner, Muncy & Taylor. Funny thing is their young guys are just starting to hit...the Dodgers are built much more for the future than other big market NL teams like the Cubs. I'll give the nod to the Dodgers in talent and acknowledge they should be the favorite, but what I love about the Brewers is they are perfectly built to exceed expectations and win close games. That makes them dangerous. I think they pull it out...Crew in 7!

Now that Yelich has locked up the race...Cain ahead of Baez is both fWAR & bWAR...just sayin'...

A wild card game could see 2 innings of Knebel, 3 of Hader and another 2 of JJ. This has to be a different type of bullpen make up early. If they worked their big three hard it would burn them the rest of the series.

I would absolute love this. Sounds like Broadway. Not a bad idea.

Could probably go to 140, but 154 would be an easy cut given historical precedence. Only two reasons against it: 1) Revenue - but would 4 home games in crappy weather really hurt most teams? If the salaries come down, they get most of it back. & 2) Records - So many of the records I cherished in my youth mean little to me now after the steroids era and the way the game is played/measured. It's now impossible to compare eras by raw numbers anyway.

This will probably work out like Swarzak where they want to keep him but his performance prices him away. Hope he keeps it rolling and gets too expensive. Stearns has plenty of young arms, Nelson coming back and can always find the next Miley. Miley will do great but so will Brewers either way.

I decided to do some simple attendance math off of baseball-reference. Let's compare the Cubs & Milwaukee. Chicago Metro is 9.5mm, about 2x the size of Wisconsin & 6x the Milwaukee MSA. Yes, they split with the Sox, but also draw more regionally. Needless to say it's a much larger fanbase. Since 1970, the Cubs have drawn 110.4mm fans. The Brewers 91.2mm. Cubs will say they didn't have lights until the early 80s. The Brewers had to rebuild a fanbase after the Braves left and went through some dark years at the end of County Stadium & the late Selig years. The Cubs have won a WS with 9 playoff appearances. The Brewers have been to one WS & lost, with 4 playoff appearances. Given the disparity...not a dramatic attendance difference. Let's tack on the Braves. They outdrew the Cubs in 11 of 13 years, only dipping below after the team announced they were moving. Cumulative (removing the 4 years Milwaukee had no baseball), the attendance is 110.8mm for Milwaukee to 120.5mm for Chicago. Add in two additional WS appearances for Milwaukee including one Championship and nothing for the Cubs. In the 65 years since MLB landed on the shores of Lake Michigan, Milwaukeeans have treated their team and baseball a helluva lot better than they've been treated at times given what happened with the Braves. It's a loyal fanbase and a great baseball town. My exercise is actually dumb, since Milwaukee has no reason to measure itself against Chicago. The teams, the history and the fans stand on their own, regardless of how many idiots from Naperville come up for games or what some temporary pitcher who is begging for a contract says. You rock Brewers fans! Fly the St. Augie & Fly the L!