CheezWizHed

Maybe there is more to the quote, but nothing in the OP says that CC thinks he will be the starter. Just that he will focus at 3B. I would imagine that Hill is the safety net at 3B. You know within a certain range what he will give you and the top 2/3rds of that range is "acceptable" for a starter on a rebuilding team. For Cecchini or Middlebrooks, I'd say 1/3 to 1/2 of the possible outcomes are "acceptable". If Cecchini plays at the same level as Hill, I'd bet that Cecchini is starting. But if Cecchini and Middlebrooks flop, you have Hill as another ok option. CC never said Hill was going to start.

Hmmm... interesting "trade" addition.

Last night was a tale of two halves. They couldn't buy a bucket in the first half, then got every single lucky bounce (and ref call) in the second half. Of course, Illinois was streaky in the game too. They threw up some lucky shots in the middle of the game (late 1st half, early 2nd) then went cold late.

The team could use another shooter, which Novak is, but I don't know how you play that guy when defense has been so inconsistent for Milwaukee all year. He really can't guard anyone. I forgot about his D, but I was thinking that he really isn't a fit for the team going forward. A short-term patch, but not a long term solution. I've caught the last two games also (not seeing too many before) and was wondering what people were complaining about with Jabari; Especially last game. He drove well and was hitting the 12-15 ft jumpers. Even on defense, he was pretty active and in the right place. Give him another offseason and his outside shot could come along pretty well. He certainly moved faster/easier than earlier in the season.

How does anyone know if the Lind trade was bad? No one does. Nor do we know any of the trades were good. The OP was asking for our opinions not facts.

Well, certainly Braun to LF means that they assume Santana is going to get the lion share of the starts. Flores isn't known for his arm from what I've read (and the fact that ~60% of his games are in LF). Hard to say what Santana will bring next year. He probably won't hit over 250, but most likely will be above 320 OBP and 420 SLG (he exceeded both last year in 177 ABs). That (740 OPS) is about average for a corner OF in MLB. His career minor numbers (282/373/485/857) are interesting enough to make him the best corner OF prospect that is ready for MLB. Certainly we need to find out what we have in him. Flores is interesting, but profiles much more like Michael Reed. His career minors numbers (275/363/405/768) are certainly a step back from Santana. And he has only played 5 games at 1B since he was 20+. So I'm not sure he is a real option at 1B either. Rymer Liriano even has an advantage IMO than Flores. He is a year older (24) than either Flores or Santana, but that is hardly old. His minors numbers are a bit better (277/350/435/784) or probably statistically even. But he plays far more games in CF and RF (30% and 60% respectively), so he is more flexible defensively. He is right handed, which would be the only negative I can see vs. Flores. The other thing that intrigues me about Liriano is the direction of his development. He seems to be ascending his numbers as he climbs. His last two seasons he hit this: 2015: 292/383/460/843 and 2014: 291/362/473/836 - Edit: I just noticed that Flores had a similar effect the last two years: 2015: 308/401/454/855 and 2014: 247/339/443/782.

While not a lock, I'd assume Jones gets a long leash this year, a la Wang a couple years ago.

I would certainly agree that you emphasize your strengths and find another way to fill your weaknesses (and traditionally developing SPs has been a big weakness). But with the recent changes in both drafting and GM leadership, I wonder if that is something that will change. I'd be surprised (seeing all the SPs at the top of the draft) if we don't draft an SP this year.

Steve Novak? Any interest?

Agreed. They also couldn't buy a free throw. But MSU at home is tough. Especially after a statement game in Maryland and MIST making sure they weren't sleeping through the game. That was obvious with the energy MIST came out with from the very beginning. Looked like they were on FFWD and we were in slomo the first 5 minutes. Also, looks like Stone's suspension hurt Maryland after all. I wonder how far they will fall after losing to WI at home and to MN in a barn ..er THE barn.

Best: I agree with the consensus for the Segura trade. I am a Wagner fan, but I think you have to give up middling MLB talent in the pursuit of high end MLB talent (Diaz hopefully). Plus Anderson coming back is a very similar pitcher by results. Worst: None. Stearns has basically given up very little (Davis being the biggest piece leaving). The Lind trade intrigues me. Yes, it was unexpected and the players farther away from MLB than desired, but I think Carlos Herrera has Jorge Lopez type potential. A big risk, but the trade will exemplify Stearns' ability to find gems. Its been an arm-chair GM's dream of an offseason at the MiLB level.

"Pitchers and Catchers report" Forget the robins, this is always my first sign of spring.

Worked for the Badgers

I am all for a defensive minded catcher like Austin Hedges, but man it looks like he will be struggling with the Mendoza line constantly given his MiLB statistics. How well does he tell jokes?

Sounds like he walked...

[sarcasm]Well, it might trigger more tanking discussions...[/sarcasm]

The Cubs' total pool (draft + international) is just barely above the Brewer's international allotment. In a year where they are contending and we are floundering, you look for the silver linings. I am very pleased to hear this hope it true can always use prospects from there can use pitching and maybe a 3rd base prospect. Nope. These guys are so far away from MLB ready that our current needs to have less than zero impact on who we sign. The draft should be BPA. But these guys are normally even farther away than the draft-able guys (normally 18yo+).

That being said it has been very quiet so I doubt anything gets done. That seems to be league wide, so I'm not buying it as a sign of nothing going on. Kind of like when my kids are downstairs and quiet...

Since today is trade deadline day, I'll pose this question: If there aren't any trades this year, is that a failure for the Bucks? Any harm of letting the team gel for another 1/2 season?

I can't comment on Russell as I haven't followed him either. But in general, I'm not skittish by Jabari this year. Perhaps its because I kind of expected this from his draft selection (I didn't see a top-10 NBA type player) or maybe I just think he is young and needs more development time than expected, but I'm curious what next year would bring. This is really his rookie year and even the first half of that was limited by his knee. The second year is really when improvements are made when they can focus on weakspots. And of course, we all know he was healing in the offseason and not working on anything. Unrelated point to Jabari: I noticed that the top two players in the 3-point contest (Klay Thomas and Stephen Curry) were both from the league's best team. I don't think that is simply a coincidence. I was excited by Monroe and Monroe leads us in PER. But that hasn't really done anything in making us a better team. I think the Bucks would be better to look to Golden State as an example. A stronger outside game + slashing offense tied to a defensive/rebounding focused inside game is the best way to win in today's NBA (and really ever since MJ reigned).

They just took Pinto off of the roster, so my guess is no. Guessing they would just have an open competition amongst NRIs to secure the backup catcher role/a 40-man spot. I agree with this. Pinto is my personal favorite for non-rational fan reasons. But no one really has much of a lead on the others. I'm sure they will be evaluated in ST (not just stats, but how they work personally with the pitchers) and chosen from there. And to be honest, I'd guess all of them (including Maldonado) would be thrown in the same ring for the starting job. I doubt Maldy is just handed that job.

Interesting quote from the article: Clearly, the Brewers are hoarding prospects. But they aren’t hoarding top prospects. Instead, they’re collecting the most compelling minor leaguers they can get their hands on, and many of them cost next to nothing. Every one of these players has promising characteristics, but they also have notable flaws, which makes them somewhat risky. I think this is what intrigues me about what DM and DS have done this past year. They have gotten some of the "scouting darlings" that hit the top 100 lists. But they have also taken advantage of adding a bunch of very low cost guys that other teams are not valuing. We talk about what Moneyball did 15-20 years ago. Stearns might be have found the next means of finding undervalued talent. But of course, the proof is going to be in the pudding when and if these players actually hit the MLB level. The Lind trade intrigues me for this reason. Sure, he might have overpaid. Or maybe he overreached on a philosophy. But I'll be watching those three closely in the coming seasons. One of those guys reminds me (stature, scouting report, results) of a young Lopez. His results at A-ball weren't stellar, but we all suspected that it was only a matter of time. I think if this trade turns out a couple MLB players (one starter, one reliever) of any decent quality, it would lend a lot of credibility to the system of identifying talent. Even if DS's philosophy turns out poorly, its an interesting turn of events after years of the bad trades that sent away good talent and returned little. Four of the top 125 SPs in the MiLB is our system's Achilles heel.

Given current OF situation and the sheer number of guys that don't have options, I'd guess that at least one is released at the end of ST (or early in the season if Flores is injured for some time). So given that, plus the current opening, you have a lot of flexibility for non-roster invites or other waiver claims that will happen in ST.

I know you guys get a sense of great accomplishment and pride in your team when it's system is highly rated. I don't. I view baseball as entertainment 162 times a year. When I'm not entertained by my team, I'm cranky. That's what happens when you get to my age. I don't see much entertainment for 6 months starting in April. I don't think anyone here is saying, "Hooray! We are going to suck this year! Its going to be so much fun to lose 90+ games!" I think most people are focusing on two things: 1) In our current situation, this is the best direction forward to bring us into playoff contention again and not just a .500 team. 2) Most of us fancy ourselves as arm-chair GMs. Thus, we analyze moves, propose trades, speculate on drafts and look into minutia of player details and abilities. So we all know that we are going to lose this year. But we take solace in making things better in the long term rather than focusing on one more win in 2016.

I have to imagine (or hope) that Nieuwenhuis is here in the event that everyone else flops in ST. He has no upside anymore, but he also has enough MLB experience so that you know he won't be a complete flop. He is a bad starter or decent 4 OFer with good D. So, I expect that Liriano and Broxton (in that order) will get first crack at the starting CF job. But if they completely fail, Nieuwenhuis would be the safety blanket.