CheezWizHed

Ok, let's do this! I think this might be the first BF.net Bracket ever!

Anyone interested in doing a BF.net NCAA BB bracket?

Yeah, I almost wrote my lineup assuming we'd need a Contreras and Turang extension, but looked up Turang's contract status and was surprised (pleasantely) also.

Of course... but I don't recall a time in Brewer history where we had so many good prospects lumped together (and I go back 4 BF.net forums platforms!). The Fielder-Braun-Hardy-Weeks group turned out wonderfully, but they weren't even quite this clustered together. Here we have 4 position players on the top 100 ranked list with Quero a previous candidate all at AA and AAA. And I don't doubt Fischer will join the list this year.

I'll tweak it a bit to include Arb/Pre-Arb players and predict all position players: LF: Chourio CF: Jett RF: Frelick C: Quero 1B: Fischer - I'm a big fan here. Starting to give me Braun vibes. 2B: Turang - the star is rising here. People now seeing it on Team USA too. SS: Cooper/Made 3B: Made/Pena Personally, I'd like to see us extend Contreras. I was thinking we'd be out of the Yelich contract, but 2028 is his final guaranteed contract - woof! Between Jett, Cooper, and Pena, you'd think one or two won't pan out at the MLB level. Made just looks too good to doubt!. Quero is probably the most likely (of those I listed) to not make it, so extending Contreras would really help there. If both Fischer and Burke make it, you could really change the power (and height) profile of the club. Keep Fischer at 3B in that case with a Fischer-Made-Turang-Burke infield. Dream scenario: LF: Fischer - Might as well turn him into Braun! CF: Frelick RF: Chourio C: Contreras 1B: Burke 2B: Turang SS: Cooper 3B: Made Getting chills on the potential!

Seeing interest in trading for Josh Sweat. I was trying to figure out what the cap hit would look like to acquire him (most the tools focus on the sending team's cap hit). The cashflow looks like a flat $18.1M/year for 3 years. I wouldn't want to trade any picks from this year though... I wonder if the Cowboy's 4th round pick we got for Gary would work? Then focus depth at NT, CB, and OL in this year's draft. Things are getting interesting...

I'm really liking our offseason so far (which is funny to say considering we lost 5 FAs, cut two high $$ vets, and traded another). I'm a big proponent of using FA to establish a floor and the draft to define your ceiling. And it seems like we are filling that out. CB is still an area in need of a major update, but just as we stand, it is averagish. Depth still needs work. Zero upside right now, which is where the draft comes in. DT - Hargrave, Ford, and Stackhouse give us a nice floor at NT. Still needs another body in case Ford or Stackhouse don't develop. If you get better production from a backup NT, it wouldn't surprise me to see Hargrave at the 3 tech more too. C - Rhyan was a poor starter last year, but he did look like he was improving. And he wasn't horrible. Again... floor established. Losing Gary and Enagbare, but LVN was producing about as much as Gary at the end of the year. Barryn was taking some snaps in there too, so him taking Enagbare's role isn't too big a leap. Cox looks better in a 3-4 defense...and I think Oliver will be a big wild card this year. The OL floor feels a lot the same as last year, but could easily improve. Morgan has a higher ceiling and lower floor than Walker, but I'd guess he will produce about the same. Banks was improving as the season went on (health). Rhyan won't be worse than last year, but might be better. Belton could improve significantly. Tom will make the line better just be being healthy. And Kinnard was a decent backup. Depth is seriously lacking. WR - Golden has a higher ceiling than Doubs. Doub's experience might be the only loss. LB - I'm in wait and see to figure out the Franklin to Walker swap... but it was creative to say the least. Wooden was very good last year.. but not sure where he would've fit in this scheme anyway. There were a bunch of backup level signings too for some depth, which is needed and didn't cost much. I'm a fan of bringing back Whyle. Seems like a Musgrave replacement for next year. CB, DT, OL all still need some work, but I like it that we have NFL quality starters (better to be a bottom level starter than a backup quality) at all spots. Now go get a nice draft!

Well, that makes the failed physical a bit suspicious.... Oh wait, we will keep our 1st round draft picks and sign Trey instead. You lost me at "Bleacher Report". Has that place ever had anything worth reading? And I'm sure the podcasts are worse.

What is driving the MiLB contraction? Just the player cost (i.e. the cost of signing that many players) or are the teams operating at a loss? If you eliminate the HS draft and A league ball, I'd assume that independent leagues would suddenly pop up in the places that were eliminated?

I sure hope he will!!!

I do think Banks ended the year better than he started. If (big IF) he stays healthy, he probably won't be a complete bust as a FA, but still a hefty overpay.

Not sure I buy that. One year for $18M is a pretty big price for Hobbs. There was a bit more of a natural "out" at 2 years... which is why they needed to do the post June designation to save any cap space (~$800k vs $8+M savings ).

Being a #1 FA in the class doesn't mean much, IMO. That just means you are the best player that your original team didn't want to pay. FA is all about scarcity.... if you don't have much value, people still pay $$ for what is available. Often making bad choices. I saw an article comparing FA last year to this year... Mediocre CB and LB last year were getting more money than higher ranked players this year. Supply and demand...

I did post that a Megill trade made sense this past offseason - not to dump him, but to sell at a high point. Devon had some very uneasy moments in his last season as a Brewer. I was starting to get that vibe from Megill last season - though not as strong. Trevor is also (surprisingly) 32 years old. Hopefully none of this (age, usage) drives down this value for a potential future trade, but my gut says that he peaked.

For T-Mobile subscribers, look for your free MLB.TV subscription on March 24-30th (via the T-Life app).

I'm currently throwing down 44.7 ppg and 12.6 rpg in our local kindergarten league (I was held back). Unfortunately, I have to pull back my aggression a bit as I've reached 4 points of flagrant fouls and I don't want to be suspended.

Baseball metrics stunk (VORP)... until they didn't. Sometimes it takes a bit to figure out how to measure and calculate the metrics. Not to mention people handing out the checks realize that last year was a small sample of his career (which had poor PFF ratings prior). It can be both true that he had a nice year (as a backup) last year and not be highly valued due to his previous performances while starting.

Sounds a lot like my request to find a cheap CB with some upside (like Eric Stokes signing with the Raiders last year). At 28, he isn't exactly young, but at 6'3", he adds height to an otherwise short backfield.

I'm pretty sure that is Micah Parsons. I doubt Gary was ever triple teamed in his life. Ted Thompson was pretty frustrating that way. Ron Wolf had a better balance of FA, draft, and gap filling trades.

Amelia Earhart would approve!

In hindsight, it is too bad the Packers didn't include Gary last year instead of Clark. They might've given up much less in terms of draft picks and we'd have been better off last year too.

Linderbaum to the Raiders for $27M/yr. I know he is the best C in FA, but is he really that game changing to pay that much for a C?

We can only max at 4 compensation picks, so if Enagebare is the 5th, getting a FA of equivalent value won't cost any pick either.

Because draft picks are a team's lifeblood while FA is a double-edged sword. FA are picking through other team's leftovers while paying for a full price meal. Yes, you can find good players (McKinney, Jacobs), but also find out why teams didn't spend all the money on that player (Hobbs, Banks). In all cases, they tend to be expensive. It's fine to dip into the FA market to fill your gaps, but if you can't draft well and are constantly filling your roster with expensive FAs, you tend to be one of the worst teams in the league. And after giving up two 1st round picks, making sure we have more draft picks (even lower ones) is important. In fact, given Gute's history with 1st round picks, we might make out better with 3rd and 4th rounders.

I texted a friend of mine Saturday who is a huge Purdue BB fan. He complained that I only text him whenever the Badgers beat Purdue. I responded, at least that means I reach out yearly! 😂