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7-0 in the top of 9th. Gotta close it pit and get game 3 tomorrow. Let’s go shuckers

And Torres goes 1-2-3 with 3 Ks.

And Fischer adds 2 more RBI.

agree. OK. I am starting to feel better. Still bummed on the lack of success of Harrison/May/Senzatela. And the slow minor league pitching development. But your points are right and encouraging, still hasn't removed the disappointment I have. THanks

I hear you @sveumrules and I am not ignoring these things. But Stallings has been fine in the limited time here, and I was using Kuhnel as an example, along with McCullers, Woodford as types of pick up in years past we were able to develop a couple into serviceable outing. And yes Stalling has been fine but 6 appearnces and 2 of them in mop up games (our 20-0 blowout and another bad loss earlier I think), I would say that he is given some innings to save bullpen arms. In the minors, yes Hardin stats look good but has been uneven, Letson/Thompson have been hurt a fair bit, and Dubanewica/Dorchies are very young and fine numbers/peripherals but I don't think we can argue they broke out. I have been touting Mercedes and Torres as breakouts, and have to admit I fogot about them when posting this, along with Owens. I am not ready to point to the DSL crew yet (but yes Hoff/Sarmiento have been very good). But in years past I could rattle of a dozen pitchers who had truly break out seasons. This year in terms of truly great performances I will go wtih the 2 I posted about in Wagoner and Knoth, and add the ones I forgot in Owens/Torres/M. Mercedes. Also Mayorquin has been a surprise. But that is about it. Of course I have a lot belief that Letson/Thompson/Dubanewicz/Dorchies can be solid prospects but not quite the year we expected (partly due to health and partly due to whatever they did with that ball). But going back to the bigs, the "midas touch" that has seemingly been there since 2017 has not had the same impact this year. Again I am talking about the Priester of 2025, or the Jason Alexander of 2022, or the Montas of late 2024. We had a solid 2 months from Harrison, but Sproat really faltered. Gasser does not have Murphy trust. I am not trying to make too much of all this, as regression is expected, but the disappointments of Harrison/Sproat and then even McCullers or even Senzatela or May have not really provided much spark.

So serious question here - does anyone think that the brewers lost their “edge” in pitching development, or did the rest of the league start to adapt, or just reversion to the mean? I am not just picking on Harrison, but I recall back early in the season when we picked up Kuhnel and he was throwing triple digits, and the story was the brewers can turn anyone into a solid pitcher. But in the minors we had a lot (most) stall out due to injury or ineffectiveness (Letson seems oft injured and Thompson missed most of the year, while Hardin very up and down along with DeBerry). But in the bigs, Sproat is a mess, Harrison a 2-3 month wonder, and no real new breakthrough pitchers. In the past we turned waiver pick up or minor trades into Megill, Patrick, Koenig, and even got solid starts from Teheran, Montas among others. It seems the pitching we rely on this season are the ones we had in the past (uribe, Megill, Ashby, Patrick) and the key development was Henderson. Otherwise Kuhnel, McCullers, woodford did not make an impact, and zerpa injured and senzatela has been very up and down. In the minors Knoth and Wagoner have emerged but little more beyond those two. It had seemed for a decade the team can basically turn anyone into a competent pitcher (think Jason Alexander, or Adrian houser), and this year when an #3/#4 innings eating starter or a bullpen arm to complement Ashby/Uribe/Megill was needed they couldn’t replicate the successes of prior seasons.

once again love the title, Mass Let's see if Gordon can string together another solid start to close out the year. His last 4-5 starts have been solid/decent, although not spectacular.

from what I watched (mostly in 2024-2025) he is absolutely a catcher. His offense and age limited his ceiling, but I still see him as the most likely to be a back up or at worst 3rd catcher on a good MLB club. I think his floor is Payton Henry, but ceiling could be a Manny Pina, not truly in terms of talent/strengths/etc but in terms of a AAAA #3 catcher to a solid back up and occasional starter as the range.

Wow that is depressing and worse than I had imagined. Hard to read the names of players that we follow closely here (Moneys and Fenelon) specifically named. I do wonder if the academy the brewers have is a help - not beforehand as MLB and the owners and GMs are clearly fine looking the other way - but the despair and depression one could get from being used. Could the academy help them through what feels like a 'curse'.. Maybe too rose colored glasses that the Brewers are helping these kids out the right way, but certainly that could be an edge, if you can focus on the sport you love and not feel like every future deal is a losing proposition. Anyway, nice link, good (and long) read, and very sad, but given the state of a lot of the world not surprising ... won't go into any tangents here.

and it is not lost on me that as of last time I checked Craig Yoho was playing very well for Cleveland.

Yeah not sure if Sproat is all mental (like he is afraid to trust his stuff), or mechanical somehow. He just cannot locate Harrison seems to be major mental, but as had been written about he has a different arm angle and reduced velo. He reminds me of Eric Lauer in his 2021 break out when he was on he was great, but very small margin.

Demotion to AAA?? Trade?? I mean we got the best half season out of him and for that I am thankful. But right now he cannot get hitters out in consecutive innings. He got 2 outs in this inning and not all his fault, but he cannot get it done with runners on and then it just snowballs. This isn't a one bad pitch or lucky hit and gives up a few runs. It is a series of starts with blow up innings. At least we got Drohan in the deal. But next spring training we will be looking for starting pitching again.

hey when both Carlos' are playing for the Rays, and Carlos the pitcher serves up the pitch to Rickey Moneys that Carlos the hitter can't catch up to and it goes off his glove for a walk off home run in game 7 of the WS, your ball will be worth millions..... 😉

If you go back a decade - since 2017 (since the Cubs ended their curse) this team has been in the playoff race all 10 years. I grew up watching molitor and yount and that was the last time (1978 before I knew of them through 1992) where every year they could be a contender, but this is more impressive as every year in that decade they have been in the playoff race, 6 division titles, 8 playoff appearances in those 10 years. We are spoiled right now. This is an insane level of dominance - particularly for a team without a huge payroll, and with two other legit franchises (cardinals and cubs). But in the playoffs it’s been anything but. Referencing those awesome 1980s team, they made the playoffs twice (different era with fewer divisions with more teams in each division and no wild cards), but they did make the WS in one of those playoff appearances. i am hoping that the division dominance doesn’t leave any time soon, and that we can find a way to get some playoff magic going as well.

Interesting idea, but I would think that would be an offseason or early season move (like Chourio, Pratt and even Lara was closer to first half) if nothing more than the 40-man roster manipulation. But then I’ve been wrong a lot.

Yeah and this year has gotten me overly worried. 2026 started with the accident and serious injury to our young 2025 draftee and then Peña injury scares, multiple missed starts or IL stints for seemingly ever pitcher this year. Yikes. Hopefully Hardin will be fine and stringer next year and Made is ok. But color me worried given how the season has seemingly played out.

😪 I will unabashedly hug away. But Ragsdale looks legit, and Frias has such a high ceiling. And all that for .... May? Romero?? Let me get back to my hugging 😉

HR numbers are up throughout all of baseball. So I would probably give a 20% discount. Which still is impressive. With the number with over 24 HRs (I think 4 or 5), that is still more than we had over 20 last year. And with a 30% discount, it is more like 3, but Fischer would be sitll over 30 HR with that much of a discount which is still in elite territory.

Crap - Sproat has arm talent, but cannot be in the zone enough for MLB hitters to respect it and when he is in the zone they can hit it hard as we saw earlier this year. Sproat and Harrison were supposed to help solidify the starting staff, but they are the two biggest wild card, well Harrison is, Sproat should not be on the team in October, and will hopefully start next year in AAA and see if he can locate better. Bummer that Peralta trade looks even worse with a lost season for Jett as well.

When all said and done. That very nice start and game was perfect nice job Thomas. Congrats.

Pantone has pitched very well today, a very nice game so far

Wow. Great for him. I’ll be rooting for Jadher. He will be in the bigs.

You have to wonder if Harrison is another Eric Lauer / Bryan Hudson, or another pitcher with a great half season or so. It is possible, he and a new arm angle and more velocity earlier in the season and now that they have changed or regressed he is more hittable. The organization does sometimes get the best 0.5-2 years out of guys. No shame in his incredible first half. The problem is who is starter #3/4 in playoffs. It’s Miz (hope he is not overworked and get him on the home mound more often), then Henderson. Then Drohan and Gasser?? It would be nice if Woody came back he could be opener with Gasser or Drohan following as starter #3. Then game 4 is a bullpen game?

Just an awful season for Pena. Just hopeful he can get back playing next year and have a healthy season. Just puts the stamp on this year for me. Yes a lot of good, but a lot of injury stuff. Ugh

I know the ball or whatever is juiced, and HRs are inflated. But 44 HRs is ridiculous. It easily has to be “corrected “ to 30+. This season has seen a lot of hitters develop well. Way more from Dickinson, Antunez and now Mills than I was ever expecting. A few pitchers, but not enough, but I do like the international arms in Mercedes and Torres.