Bombers

@masnRoch: Source: Hardy deal 3 years, $40 mil with $6.5 mil deferred. Vesting option 4th year based on ABs #orioles @NYDNHarper: Showalter was pushing hard for O's to get a deal done with Hardy. Loves his makeup, likens him to Jeter in terms of intangibles, presence. On the eve of the ALCS, Hardy gets $40 million. Good deal for Hardy and an option gone for the Brewers. (Even though I doubt it ever was one)

I read this today. Since the 2010 playoffs, there have only been 13 postseason games in the NL that have not involved either the Cardinals or Giants. That is unreal. I am not a fan of either team, but one must admire their domination in the playoffs. They are both top notch when it comes crunch time.

Date, Times & Programming American League Game 1: Fri., Oct. 10, 7 p.m. CDT; KC vs. BAL; TBS Game 2: Sat., Oct. 11, 3 p.m. CDT; KC vs. BAL; TBS Game 3: Mon., Oct. 13, 7 p.m. CDT; BAL vs. KC; TBS Game 4: Tues., Oct. 14, 7 p.m. CDT; BAL vs. KC; TBS *Game 5: Wed., Oct. 15, 3 p.m. CDT; BAL vs. KC; TBS *Game 6: Fri., Oct. 17, 7 p.m. CDT; KC vs. BAL; TBS *Game 7: Sat., Oct. 18, 7 p.m. CDT; KC vs. BAL; TBS National League Game 1: Sat., Oct. 11, 7 p.m. CDT; SF vs. STL; FOX Game 2: Sun., Oct. 12, 7 p.m. CDT; SF vs. STL; FS1 Game 3: Tues., Oct. 14, 3 p.m. CDT; STL vs. SF; FS1 Game 4: Wed., Oct. 15, 7 p.m. CDT; STL vs. SF; FS1 *Game 5: Thurs., Oct. 16, 7 p.m. CDT; STL vs. SF; FS1 *Game 6: Sat., Oct. 18, 4 or 7 p.m. CDT; SF vs. STL; FOX *Game 7: Sun., Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m. CDT; SF vs. STL; FS1 *if necessary

JB - I agree - getting Braun back to being Braun is critical. Baldkin - I would like to can Narron too. Davis was ok but platooning him seems like the right approach with Parra around next year. RoCoBrewfan - That is what my main argument is. It appears we turn a blind eye to OBP and to me that is a really poor decision. I know the A's got knocked out of the playoffs but I heard they have a sign in their clubhouse that says Homeruns are rally killers. They drive home the thought of being on base and forcing starting pitchers to work from the stretch or pay attention to guys on base, can cause opposing pitchers to miss their location. To me, having guys on base a lot is critical to offensive success. But to Doug and some, it appears the long ball is the key.

I am also intrigued by him. I wonder what it would take. What does LA need? Catcher sucks for them. (They had a .181 batting average this year) So including Maldy could be a start. But they will probably just sign Russell Martin back. BP help, but what could we trade. Jeffress? I just don't see the Dodgers wanting prospects when they are so close.

Taking a look through our positions lets see where we ranked in OBP in MLB and how 3 positions were complete failures. LF - 25 / 30 teams .293 OBP (no playoff teams were worse than us) CF - 4 / 30 teams .352 OBP (Only teams better than us were Pitt, LAA, Hou) RF - 12 / 30 (.328 OBP) C - 2 / 30 - 372 OBP - Lucroy was amazing 1B - 29 / 30 - .287 OBP. We were horrible. 2B - 9 / 30 - .334 OBP. SS - 27 / 30 - .287 OBP 3B - 11 / 30 - .321 OBP I find it funny that the two easiest positions to fill in baseball (LF and 1B) are complete black holes for us. I am not a Davis fan. He swings at crap and seems to never be on base. (And it shows above) .... 1B has been a revolving door of "They are starting him?!?!?" To me the key to improving the hitting on this team is at 1B and LF. I also value OBP higher than HR's. I know, not as sexy as the long ball but Reynolds is useless with his 20+ solo shots. Maybe the fix at LF is already on the team and we straight platoon Parra and Davis. Then we just need a competent 1B. Of your 3 worst hitting positions, 2 of them shouldn't be LF and 1B. Everyone has a guy at those positions who can hit or get on base except for the Brewers. Many teams struggle with finding a SS and just value the defense over the hitting. (Which is why I am not so interested in finding a fix at SS, like some people seem to be.) Ok, done with my rant. Carry on.

This is silliness Aug 2012 - 209 .250 .239 .489 Sept 2012 - .309 .378 .407 .785 April 2013 - .367 .418 .567 .985 May 2013 - .345 .373 .538 .911 June 2013 - .277 .296 .429 .724 July 2013 - .281 .327 .354 .681 August 2013 - .252 .271 .313 .584 Sept 2013 - .214 .267 .286 .552 April 2014 - .244 .277 .344 .621 May 2014 - .288 .313 .360 .673 June 2014 - .196 .239 .294 .533 Early july - leaves team as his son dies July 2014 - .179 .220 .269 .489 August 2014 - .250 .343 .283 .626 Sept 2014 - .319 .364 .389 .753 14 total months 4 of those months were awesome. > .750 OPS (3 SS did this in 2014) 3 months were great .670 - .750 OPS (10 SS did this in 2014) 2 months were ok .600-.670 5 months were horrendous 7 months have been better than the average OPS at SS ... 7 have been under. To say only 3 months has he shown he "belongs" in the bigs is a huge stretch. 2 of those good months he would be an easy first ballot hall of famer with those numbers. 2 of his worst months came before/after the death of his infant son. When I look at the 2015 team, I am just sorry I don't look at it like we need to fix SS. SS is a crappy hitting position throughout baseball. Lets fix first base please. (We ranked 28th out of 30 teams in OPS and 29 out of 30 in OBP) or look at LF where we ranked 25th out of 30 teams in OBP. In all honesty, this is the key to me. We are not a very good OBP team. This is what needs to be addressed. Kicking Segura out and replacing him with JJ Hardy just doesn't do much for me. I am sorry. Kicking out Reynolds and inserting a competent 1B would be a bigger gain. (Especially because I think Segura is going to bounce back next year)

And if the Giants win tonight the Cards have home field for the NLCS. The Cardinals are just the chosen franchise. They always win.

And as I have always said. Spending has a direct correlation to making the playoffs. And I know how people quickly point to the diversity in WS winners. But that is turning a blind eye to the root problem. I just cannot understand how anyone can be a fan of this system. Clearly the teams who spend a lot love it.

If they honestly institute the 3 time out rule. That would be awesome. Rosenthal was struggling and now they get a huge time break. Which is complete garbage as the dodgers had him on the ropes. I hope this back fires

I agree and I look to none other than Alcides Escobar and the success he has had lately - Escobar's career has gone like this: Milwaukee 2009 - Age 22 - 134 PA - .304 / .333 / .368 / .701 2010 - Age 23 - 552 PA - .235 / .288 / .326 / .614 KC 2011 - Age 24 - 598 PA - .254 / .290 / .343 / .633 2012 - Age 25 - 605 PA - .293 / .331 / .390 / .721 2013 - Age 26 - 642 PA / .234 / .259 / .300 / .559 2014 - Age 27 - 620 PA / .285 / .317 / .377 / .694 Segura 2012 - Age 22 - 166 PA / .258 .315 .325 .640 2013 - Age 23 - 623 PA / .294 / .329 / .423 / .752 2014 - Age 24 - 513 PA / .246 / .289 / .326 / .614 So Segura had a decent year 1, great year 2 and a horrendous year 3 Escobar had a great year 1, his 2nd year in 2010 is almost identical to Segura's this year (bad), and then Escobar had a good year 3 and then an awesome year 4. Had a horrible year last year (year 5) and has been good again this year (year 6). Maybe Segura will just have a similar path and be extremely streaky. I am not sure why Escobar is good one year and not very good the next. Maybe as Escobar has gotten older, he has gotten more consistent? (Over the past 4 years, Escobar has only had 1 really bad year, 1 mediocre and 2 good) Hopefully Segura can do the same. He is only 24, had a personal situation and lets hope he can take a hold of the lead off spot next year like Escobar has done in KC.

to backup my reasoning. Lets look into the teams still alive and their closer: K Rod (5W - 5L) - 3.04 ERA / FIP 4.5 / WHIP .985 / HR/9: 1.9 / SO/9: 9.7 Royals - Greg Holland (1 - 3 ) - 1.44 ERA / FIP 1.83 / WHIP .914 / HR/9: .4 / SO/9: 13.0 (They also have 2 guys Davis & Herrera who are awesome too) Orioles - Zach Britton (3 - 2) - 1.65 ERA / FIP 3.13 / WHIP .904 / HR/9: .5 / SO/9: 7.3 (They also have 2 relievers who are pretty awesome Darren O'Day & Tommy Hunter) Cardinals Rosenthal (2 - 6) - 3.2 ERA / 2.99 FIP / 1.4 WHIP / HR9: .3 / SO9 / 11.1 (They also have Neshek who has been awesome) Dodgers - Kenley Jansen (2-3) - 2.76 ERA / 1.91 FIP / 1.133 WHIP / HR9 .7 / SO9 13.9 Giants Sergio Romo (6-4) - 3.72 ERA / 3.94 FIP / .948 WHIP / HR9 1.4 / SO9 9.2 Looking at the above, you need a closer who doesn't give up the gopher ball at such a high rate. Look at the ones with a very high HR/9 (K-Rod / Romo) or a bad WHIP (Rosenthal) and look at all the decided games they have. Even Jensen who has a higher WHIP than most on this list, over comes it with an awesome K rate and a very good HR9 rate. K Rod's numbers just don't scream at me as, yep - he can lead the charge on a world series team.

No

Great Question. My two cents are if they have relevant Major League experience put it in the Major League forum as more people read that forum. If it is a nobody, with really no major league experience, throw it in the minors forum. But, like I said - just my two cents. Lets have the mods chime in.

I will be rooting for the Orioles, Royals, Nationals and Dodgers. A Royals @ Orioles ALCS would be awesome.

My gut feel is they will have some of these changes in place by the 2015 season. Replay has added time. And it isn't trending in a positive direction. They need to do something

645 - The goal isn't to make the game 90 minutes. The issue is the game length has crept past 3 hours. They need to get back under 3 hours. They need to do something. It is a huge complaint of the standard fan. The Batter’s Box Rule: Ryan Braun steps out, picks up dirt, throws it, un does his gloves, digs in, holds hand up, touches the plate .... Ummmmm, not sure how changing this won't help No-Pitch Intentional Walks: I am fine with this. It would help. 20-Second Rule: Your argument isn't backed by stats. Check this out. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/pitcher-pace-time-between-pitches/ Trimming 6 seconds off per pitch would save 12 min in a 200 pitch game. This is huge. 2:05 Inning Break Clock: once again, this makes sense. They do not need endless time to get ready. If the SS isn't ready, and the pitcher doesn't pitch - it's a ball. Pretty straightforward. 2:30 Pitching Change Break Clock: This is simple. Should have been in place a long time ago. Pitchers who are completely warmed up, don't need an additional 5 min. If your pitcher isn't ready, then don't make the change and manage your staff better. Three “Time Out” Limit: this is one of the best rules changes. I can't stand all the meetings at the mound with the whole infield. Football / Basketball do not get unlimited TO's. This would be a huge change and awesome IMO.

I am in favor of pretty much all rules that speed up the game. My pet peeves are definitely batters repeatedly stepping out of the box for lengthy periods during an AB. There just isn't any reason for it. I also love the 3 time out rule.

What a game. Just an awesome example of working counts and having great at bats. Way to go KC!

What a game. I am rooting for the royals here. Aoki up, Cain on deck - can they get it done?

Hey Ned - let's just hold right and see how this one plays out. It's only 7-3

Yost isn't a good manager. He just doesn't know how to handle a staff

And he refused to try first base. And unfortunately that will be everyone's lasting image. Maybe his bat in the lineup could have made a difference. Oh well. Thanks for the decade of effort - Good luck to ya Rick.

American League Royals beat A's for WC O's beat Tigers in LCS Angels beat Royals in LCS Angel's beat O's for pennant National League Pirates beat Giants for WC Dodgers beat Cards in LCS Nats beat Giants in LCS Dodgers beat Nats for pennant and a Beltway WS World Series: Angels beat Dodgers in 6 Who I want to win: 1. Royals 2. Pirates 3. Orioles 4. Nats

Tiger -I think you are confusing what everyone is saying as what they want vs what we all believe is going to happen. I am not an owner of the Brewers. I don't need to concern myself with payroll, attendance, merch sales, etc. I am a fan, I can see we have an inferior product with no high minor help coming along. I can see the influx of talent sitting in A ball. I also understand that A ball talent is no less than 2 years off. So as a fan, YES, I want it all blown up. No one is saying start Schafer as your everyday CF. But many are saying Tyrone Taylor will be starting 2016/2017. Are you willing to Let Aram, Lohse, Gallardo, Parra and eventually Gomez all walk and get no return? At some point, investing for your future is the best hand on the table. Sure, will fans be put off? Sure, but Luc, Braun, and Peralta will still be there. You might suffer down attendance for 2 years. But what if 2017 brings you 90 wins? You think the fans are going to be "elsewhere" on a gorgeous summer day? I don't see it. As many have said, the Brewers will draw 2 million fans with ANY team they put out there. The difference is winning can bring in up to another Million. So why not, invest in your future and aim for 2017 and beyond? Setup another 10 year run of success. Reality tells us Brewer fans, that scenario is unlikely. Doug will be back, he will pick up a 1B. He will "go for it" again, team may or may not make the playoffs. Then you watch a lot of positions walk after 2015 with no comp.