CheezWizHed

I tend to doubt any of the big 3 are moved... but it is the offseason. Got to talk about something. I just never saw Dame and Giannis as overly comfortable with each other. Granted it takes time to play together also and they barely had anything - preseason or in-season to really work on it. Throw in the coaching carousel that started with Stotts in and out... and there was little continuity for how to work together either.

So what are the odds that Lillard or Middleton are traded this year? Maybe another year with Giannis will help Lillard fit in better, but he certainly looked out of sorts last year.

I tend to disagree on both fronts. His defense might not be great, but I doubt that is what is holding him back from playing at the MLB level. His bat is simply unproven at the MLB level and he didn't (except for that wonderful debut) hit well this year. If he was hitting as well as Turang (who is certainly better than Frelick right now), Black would be starting at 1B over Bauers. The Club spent resources on Bauers and he was clearly going to get a shot. He caught lightning in a bottle when Black was up initially so you aren't going to dump him at that time for Black who was hitting worse. Now that Bauers has cooled off and unfortunately at the level of his previous poor production, there is clearly more upside in Black. Yes, that means dumping Bauers, but if they need to find another 1B with his current level of production, that isn't terribly hard.

Yes, the very short lived visual of pretending to shoot a bow and then turning to aim another direction. Not overly creative, but iconic.

Well, that confirms it then! It's always the last one you'd suspect! 😅

Jake had a hot streak going for a little while. But has been horrible for the last 28 days: 175/254/246/500 with a 44 OPS+ And his season stats are right in line with his career stats. The Brewers have been great at finding players that other teams want to be rid of and finding use in them (Perkins, Hudson), but when they don't work out, you can't make it worse by holding on to them. Bauers looks like he is going the way of Owens - flashed in the pan, but ultimately sizzled out. Know when to hold 'em, and when to fold 'em. But I think the player to look to for improvement is already in the organization. Time to give Black another shot a the MLB level. When he came up last time, Bauers was hot and made it hard to justify him sitting. Now, Black can be given an extended look.

After a 20-year hiatus, I started golfing again this year. My short game will still save me from my poor drives and get me on the greens, but then I'll 3 putt. 🤦‍♂️

Drive for show, putt for dough! Too bad I do neither well...

Yeah, putting him on 1st with it open to pitch to a sub-200 batter was easily the right decision.

He did the normal handshake routine. I saw him with a finger in his mouth so maybe a cut or something like that.

I was too late with the meme...

@edfunderburk, time to look now.

Ok, that was supposed to be a joke and not predictive...

Oh my goodness! you won't believe what just happened!

It was here and reputable scouting sites. Highest I could find for Burnes was at #69 out of 100 (as I referenced above). And there is a difference between "confidence in Burnes being a good SP at the MLB level" and "confidence that Burnes was going to be an ACE pitcher". The context of my comment was that few people expected Burnes to be an ACE before he became an ACE. Most of the discussion in 2019 (Hall's equivalent to 2023) was "would Burnes be a starter" not "would Burnes be an ACE".

Burney was one player for whom modern sabermetrics fails. I could not find anywhere a stat listing the numbers of bats that flew out of his hands an into the stands. I'm quite sure he is number one all time.

Remember at this point in Burnes' career (i.e. age 25 season), he was coming off a disastrous season: 8.82 ERA, 51 ERA+, 1.8 WHIP. Many people thought he was going to be a BP only guy for many of the same arguments. I was still confident that we needed to have him start (and I was also very high on him all the way through the MiLB ratings too). But many people (at that time) doubted it. Once he put together his age 25 season, he was pretty primed to have a great year when he won the Cy Young at age 26. But many pitchers like Burnes have all the skills but can't put it all together. Manny Parra is a good example of someone that couldn't just get it done when the lights were brightest. Being an ace at the MLB level is much more than just the skills. Further, in 2018 (last time Burnes was on a prospect list), he was listed at #69 of the top 100 and below Keston Huira. Comments were about him "probably" returning to the lineup. In 2017, he was #21 of the Brewer's top 30. He wasn't very highly thought of (i.e. ACE level) until 2020 when he broke out and cemented it in 2021 with the Cy Young.

How much was the signing bonus? Do we have much cap space left for that year??

Yes, I was trying to figure out who was the most likely to break 1000 yards and it was pretty difficult to predict. I mean, no one broke 100 yards in a game until late in the season and that was (probably) mostly due to injuries (i.e. fewer WRs available that game). I would suspect that we have few RB receptions though. Not that they can't catch, but as you said... I think there are multiple WR/TEs that can get open by themselves so the need to do check-downs will be diminished. Though I hope we prove to be a good RB screen team.

Much has been touted this year about the "no #1 WR" concept on the Packers, but there are only so many balls that can go around. So, while there might not be a #1, there will eventually be something of a pecking order. The WR development this year could be very interesting. Watson - Probably the game-changer of the group when healthy. This was most evident in 2022-23 when playing with Rodgers. When Watson was in the game, the underneath routes for others opened up; without Watson, everyone moved up 5 yards and dared us to go deep. He was expected to break out last year, but injuries sidelined him again. Still don't know what he can do with intermediate routes. Hands might be the most questionable of the group, but he is the biggest (literally) TD target among WRs. Doubs - Overplayed his draft position as a rookie with a mature approach to the offense, but didn't really grow last year. I was expecting more of a 2nd year jump, but he really just plateaued. Maybe he is already maxed out? Everything about him is pretty average, except his above average hands. Every team needs a good possession WR to ensure those drive moving 1st downs. Reed - Became Love's goto WR last year. And for a time was nearly the only WR healthy and productive. Reminds me a bit of a poor-man's JJ. Will be interesting to see him make the second year jump. Wicks - A real dark-horse candidate with maybe the biggest variation between possible outcomes. A bit average in size/speed (like Doubs), but his footwork seems like a major differentiator for him. You don't need to be a burner to get open if the CB is going the wrong way. Really seemed to click with Love last season too. Melton - Seems like a Reed clone size wise. Really came out of nowhere last year and clicked with Love. No one was paying attention to him and he made them pay. Seems like that ascension has continued this offseason to prove his 2023 season wasn't a fluke. Both he and Reed (but maybe a bit more from Melton) have added to the deep game to ensure it wasn't just Watson opening up the underneath game. Toure - Had his opportunities but seems a bit limited to running go routes. Doesn't seem to bring much to the short/intermediate route games. I tend to think he won't make this roster. Heath - A preseason darling that pretty much vanished in the regular season. Queued up to be the Lazard replacement - big, blocking WR that will catch the short/intermediate stuff. Maybe he takes off in that role this year (it took Lazard a couple years to get there), but stiff competition to make it this year. DuBose - Major question mark has he was injured in TC last year. Could be looked at as a rookie this year (since we didn't draft one), but should already know the offense. Wouldn't stun me to be the 6th WR on the 53-man - probably a fight between he and Heath. Not worth commenting on the rest. The top 5 spots are all but wrapped up. The 6th is there, but Heath and DuBose have a pretty good lead at this point. As for this year's "#1 WR" (i.e. the one with the most plays and/or targets), I still think Watson has the best chance... if healthy. Otherwise, it wouldn't shock me to see Wicks up there.

When I first started listening to Brewer games regularly, I remember trying to figure out why that bad actor from Mr. Belvedere was calling their games... 🤦‍♂️🤣

I've adopted two children out of Bulgaria and it wouldn't be my top choice. Sofia is a pretty modern city and we enjoyed staying there, but I have no interest in living in a city long term. The Black Sea was also beautiful area, but the country customs are a bit appalling. Just a very dirty country - trash along the roads everywhere. And yes, as you mentioned, very poorly built infrastructure just like typical USSR countries (I've spent time in Ukraine and Belarus also).

No one is saying Hall is going to be Burnes, just that he can still be a successful MLB SP (granted, most people didn't think Burnes would become ace Burnes until he did). However, there are some similarities. Burnes didn't get a significant SP role until 25 years old. Hall is 25 this year. Burnes struggled greatly with control before his breakout; Hall - same. (Though Hall has struggled in the minors on that too, unlike Burnes). Both were on the top 100 prospect list, but not in the elite. Hall has had 33 IP in the majors before coming to the Brewers with one start. That is a pretty small sample. This year, most suspect his FB deficiencies this year to be related to this injury. HIs certainly didn't resemble his scouting profile and its more than just losing a couple MPH on the FB for starting. Scouting report had him at mid-90s starting and hitting triple digits in relief. He was more like 90-91 this year. I'm more than happy to let him get a decent sample size as a starter before we push him into relief. HIs value is so much higher there.

or not...

I mean...technically they are tied.