BuckyBrewer61

Why think so little of Stearns? Not to derail the thread (or maybe to derail it...need a distraction!), but it's not like he's made any awful moves to this point. If anything I can understand not being sure about him yet, but to already think he's no good?

As much as I know the media is New York centric and the Mets are using them to do their bidding...I can't help but be a bit disheartened by these offers. The market seemed to be shaping up that Lucroy was going to bring in multiple top 100 prospects as well as a couple lower-level risky but high-ceiling guys. But apparently an oft-injured catcher with only 3 years of control left (aka MAYBE would be around for one year of a contending Brewers team) and a guy that has fallen out of the top 100 is considered a competitive deal? Earlier in the week it felt like an offer of D'Arnaud and Nimmo would be met with a laugh and a goodbye. Hopefully this is all just NY blowhards trying to mess with young DS and he turns around and grabs a big package from CLE, TEX, BOS, or the like.

Or maybe there are just one or two teams still involved offering more than those teams are willing/able to. At some point every team has be out except one. Or...this is all just posturing in the media, guys on twitter posting "news" without real sources, etc., and once a trade happens we'll actually know what's up. More likely this.

Posted it last year around this time and it applies again now. Every time I refresh Twitter today... http://media.giphy.com/media/13AbwdfEHTvih2/giphy.gif

Couldn't have said it better. And thing is, I think both sides are right. Sure the Brewers would like to move him as we are rebuilding, but Braun continues to produce year in and year out, and at about $17-20M over the next 4 years he is at or better than market value for his production. At the same time, he is in the only city in MLB who's fans will still embrace him and would be sad (to whatever degree) to see him go. Any other team would worry about his reception - although I think those worries would disappear quickly if he hit .315/.380/.500 the rest of the season for them. The intangibles make him worth just a bit more to MKE, and a bit less anywhere else, so I doubt he goes anywhere.

And batting 3rd, of course

Hard to believe they are even showcasing him at this point. I mean, if even he goes out and throws a perfect game next time out, is anyone going to suddenly think he doesn't suck? No.

Marlins? I don't remember the details that led up to their '97 championship, but they most definitely tore it all down to nothing right afterward and rebuilt before their 2003 run.

Agreed to a point, but problem is that big free agents don't take 2-3 year deals. And big stars only get traded for coveted prospects. And teams don't salary dump players that are playing up to that contract. Big stars get 8 years/$184M like Jason Heyward got from the Cubs...and he's hardly even a star, certainly isn't this year. Or the 8/$186M that Sabathia got, or 9/$214M that Fielder got. The guys getting 3-4 year deals that the Brewers can afford tend to be the likes of Suppan, Lohse, Garza... If you could pay guys for 2-3 years at a time, even big sums of money, it'd be much easier for the Brewers. But in order to get the best you basically have to sign them to too long a contract and throw away the money when they stink by the end of it. As someone said earlier, the Brewers could spend a lot of money to contend now, but it would be at the expense of being terrible again in a few years. Their best hope of contending and maintaining some level of success is Stearns' dogma of young, controllable talent. It's tough because there is absolutely no guarantee it will pan out, but the odds are just higher playing it that way.

Seconded. We've been talking a lot lately on the importance of trades for obvious reasons, but one thing the Brewers have been woeful at in recent years is drafting and developing players, especially starting pitchers. That's just about the only chance a team like the Brewers has to obtain a Kershaw, Strasburg, Harper, Trout, Bryant, etc. Drafting and developing is as, and perhaps more, important to the rebuild compared to any trades that Stearns will make.

Yep, this is why I like Stearns' approach of getting multiple players back in trades. I would've loved to get Espinoza, but what if he doesn't become a star? Or becomes a #5 starter someday? That's multiple years of all-star pitching given up for one guy, a lot of eggs in one 18 year-old basket. Some prospects will stick and some won't, that's just the way it is. Baseball may be the hardest of all the 4 major professional sports to predict which prospects will pan out in the end, and the guys that are projected to be stars or sure-things that people want in order to contend now just don't get traded away. Especially the projected stars that are MLB ready now.

Couldn't agree more on Ueck, but how would you propose we build a contender more quickly? It's not like we're one or two MLB-ready pieces away from being a playoff team.

Oh and PS, sorry if getting off topic, I also have to jump in on the Splitterpfj appreciation! I peruse twitter, MLB trade rumors, blogs ad nauseum this time of year, but of course the best info comes from Brewerfan!

Don't get me wrong, I think Epstein is a good GM. But in Milwaukee you could sign Papi as a nobody, then once he hits free agency he's gone and isn't around for a 2004 World Series run. Neither is Pedro nor Manny Ramirez. If Milwaukee had Boston, Chicago, or New York money, Sabathia is probably around for a few more playoff runs, and Prince and Greinke too. And you could say "Doug Melvin deserves credit for trading for CC and Zach, and for drafting Prince," which is undoubtedly true, but the large payroll would deserve credit for keeping them here. In Chicago Epstein has signed Hayward to an $184M deal, and yes I know he's been terrible but you can take that risk when there's more money where that came from. Case in point, the $12.5M they are paying Edwin Jackson this year...who they released. Also this year paying Lackey $16M, Fowler $13M ($5M deferred), Hammel $11 ($2M deferred). Their core is young and cheap and Epstein deserves plenty of credit for that, but they still have the 7th highest payroll in baseball. So yes, I think Epstein is a very good GM and I'd be thrilled if Stearns is that good too. But those aren't contracts you can hand out/absorb in Milwaukee, and so Stearns has a tougher job cut out for him. Epstein to me is like Derek Jeter - yes he is really good, but I doubt everyone would be talking so much about him if he spent his entire career in Cincinnati or Milwaukee. And that's not necessarily a knock on Theo, he knows what he's doing in job selection, and I give him credit for that too.

Agreed. He appears to be a good GM, but he also has taken jobs in Boston and Chicago - two clubs with massive payrolls (the Red Sox had the 2nd highest in baseball when they won the WS in 2004 - he's a genius!). And on top of that, just as in Boston, if he leads the Cubs to a championship he will be revered forever in that town. So really, smart guy in more ways than one, but it's a lot easier to do it in a big market with financial advantages than it is in Milwaukee or Tampa.

If it were as simple as that, all the first and second round draft picks would ultimately make their way to the MLB. But most don't, because predicting the development of young players is very difficult. Which is why going for volume is essential, can't pin your hopes on a select few players. Besides, AA players with "plus plus tools" don't get traded except in rare circumstances, they are coveted. Of course anyone would agree to get as many of these guys as you can, but you won't get those kind of guys for Khris Davis or Adam Lind. If you're going to rebuild a farm system, volume is key because some prospects will flame out, that's just the way it is.

Pretty early to try to make heads or tails of what Diaz, Peralta, Herrera, Missaki, Wilkerson, Rijo, Nottingham, Derby, and Supak will ultimately be (probably forgetting someone in there). But as you can tell from the list, he is assembling volume of young controllable talent, and has done it by trading guys that are far from stars - Lind, Davis, Segura, Wagner, Rogers, Hill. It's not like that's part of the roster of an MLB playoff team or anything, and you simply aren't getting Kris Bryant or Yoan Moncada for any of those guys. Again, time will tell, but if just a couple of these guys become decent MLB players he's done his job, and I like the odds of that. Not to mention he's also added good MLB talent (Villar, Carter) and took some flyers that haven't panned out to date, but at low risk (Flores, Broxton, Liriano). But I agree, he will ultimately be judged on his biggest trades, which are hopefully soon to come.

Was Supak hurt to start the year? Couldn't find info on it. Looks like he just started playing again in late June. Very small sample size (5G, 18 IP) but decent results so far (1.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 14K/3BB)

Whoops, yep you're right

Certainly an incomplete, but you're forgetting his biggest acquisitions in Santana, Phillips, and Hader (and hopefully Houser too?). Also, Anderson was always just going to be a stopgap pitcher for the rebuilding years, and look at the stats of who we gave up for Flores, Supak (who has done well in limited innings), and Broxton - Sardinas has somehow been even worse than Flores, and Jason Rogers has spent most of the year in AAA while doing nothing of value for PIT. Again, much more time is needed, but I'd say early returns on Stearns' deals are promising.

Ah the life of a Brewers fan, where the season peaks in July while we wait and hope we trade our best players.

As someone who goes to Sarasota on a yearly basis...yes please! Make it happen Brewers!

I feel like people overestimate how great professional athletes have it, particularly MLB players. Don't get me wrong, they've got a great gig, make ridiculous amounts of money, and I'd trade in a heartbeat. They've got it really good, I'm not arguing otherwise. But they show up around 1:00 for an evening game at 6-7:00. They have to (or at least should) keep their bodies in peak physical form including strict diet and intense exercise. By the time the game ends, they give some quotes, shower, they are done with work around 11:00. Home by midnight, be ready at 1:00 tomorrow again. Unless it's a day game, then be here by 8:00. Do that 6-7 times a week, and that means they put in 60-70 hour work weeks. And that doesn't include all the travel, living out of a suitcase (including while at "home" for many), many wondering every winter and July where their next job/home will be, many having no say in the matter. Being an MLB player would be a dream, but I wouldn't claim these guys have perfect lives. Unless you work 60-70 hours a week including travel weekly, this is not true. If you're arguing the offseason, then I can agree, though I'm sure many are working hard then as well.

Or they have 2 pitches max, most often one plus pitch and one other pitch. Enough to give a couple hitters fits, but not get through an order more than once.

I don't really mind home-field being decided by the all-star game, but if that's gonna be the case at least pick the team and manage the game like it matters. Tough lefty Andrew Miller comes in, and you send in lefties Belt and Bruce to face him in the first 3 batters? Turns out every righty that faced him reached base.