HiAndTight

I'll just add ONE more thing. There was no NEED for the Astros to go out and add a guy like Cole to their rotation this year....a rotation that still would have been 5 GOOD starters deep and coming off a WS title...but they found the most talented arm available and targeted him. I guess I'm just of the belief that there's nothing wrong with building upon a area of strength by making it that much stronger....especially when I can't find a fit in our lineup or a player that I can see making that type of impact sans MAYBE Realmuto..and his stock is higher now than ever and I don't believe they trade him without one of Burnes/Hirura/Peralta/ or a slew of talented prospects in the 6-15 range in our system. And if Yelich doesn't struggle in the post-season, we're likely playing tonight in Boston...so I see your point, I just don't agree with it in this particular scenario. If we were talking about Darvish or Arietta from last year, or Happ or whoever makes it this year, I'd agree. But I think Corbin's an ace and I believe he'll only pitch better the next 2-3 years.

Because I don't think throwing out #4-5 starters minus Nelson(with whom their are enormous question marks given the nature of his injury....I'd be far more confident if he were coming back from a TJ injury) is a sustainable road to success. What's more, if you're moving Woody, Burnes and Peralta into your rotation, what type of BP do you really have next year? We all know how volatile relievers are. Would ANYONE be surprised if Jeffress posts an ERA of 4 next year? Or if Knebel loses it? So you add that to a weakened BP and what WAS the strength of this team is now a enormous weakness(potentially). Couple that with the fact that I believe we have a difference making bat on it's way up and will be up next year and COULD be a ROY candidate and I'm not sure where we add this bat? 1st, SS, 3rd are all covered, be it Braun/Aguilar, Arcia/Dubon and Shaw. 2nd base should be fine if we keep Schoop, if we go with a Perez/Dubon combo until Hirura gets ready... Adding a Catcher would be nice, but expensive and I don't see that massive upgrade unless we end up with Realmuto which wouldn't really impact our payroll that significantly anyway....but I'm not sure how we get him now without giving up one of the young pitchers we're counting on or Hirura. Our OF is loaded with Yelly, Braun, Cain, Santana and I'll even throw Broxton into the mix. So I'm not sure where we're going to pick up this impact bat to a lineup that was already second in the league in HR's. On the flip side, I think I spelled out already why I'd want Corbin. He's a legit ace. A lefty with a wipeout slider who we could pair with Nelson, another potential ace, Chacin as our 3 and then still keep some of our talented arms in the BP and build off that strength. All of that and our offense was 2nd in HR's, 1st in Stolen Bases and 4th in OPS. So I'm not seeing where that's the problem. We're in the world series if Jeffress doesn't blow game 2 or if we can move a guy from 2nd and no outs over and then in. PLUS...while trying to not get too long winded, the impact players this off-season are Machado...who'd be a great addition, but I don't like the guy and he cost the Dodgers in our series by just not running, Harper who I love....but again, we don't really have a spot for with our crowded OF and both are likely to get double what Corbin is going to get. So our offense was actually better than our pitching this year and I'm not counting on another Wade Miley to come throw and I just believe that BP is THAT much better if you have two guys atop your rotation who you can count on to give you 6-7 innings every 5th day(and the fact he's a lefty). I guess give me an alternative to adding to this team that you think would be more beneficial while being realistic? I think Mark A would be willing to pony up for a guy like Corbin, but I don't think he or anyone on here wants to go 10 years and 300-400 million for one of the top two position players available. Next Sept Lineup 1-Cain 2-Hirura 3-Yelich(L) 4-Aguilar 5-Shaw(L) 6-Braun 7-Catcher, probably Pina 8-Arcia Rotation 1-Corbin(L) 2-Nelson 3-Chacin(who I'm also not confident in him duplicating his perforamance and I'd actually like to sell high on but doubt it) 4-Burnes 5-Peralta BP This is always a question mark. You seldom know how guys will respond year after year...but as of NOW.. Knebel Hader Woodruff Jeffress And not only am I forgetting a couple guys, but I'm sure we'll add guys. But my point is, if you're going to move all these guys into the rotation, you go from having a dominant pen to a question mark in the pen. And maybe Brown, Diplan, Ponce, Houser and those guys will force their way in....But I just don't see this team significantly improving(and one could argue they don't NEED to significantly improve their peronsonel given they won 100+ games this year). Long story short, this offense was pretty good all year long and I'm more confident that the offense will be able to continue to produce than I am that our starting pitchers will and I'm not gonna let game 7 of the NLCS when we faced a filthy young ace in Buehler and then Jensen and Kershaw to overshadow what they did as a whole during the year.

I have a ton of thoughts on this entire thread, namely how I am 100 pct in on the Brewers signing Corbin if possible as a Free Agent...something I'm seldom in favor of. I just think he's got the type of stuff and being a lefty that if you sign him for 5 years, you'll get 3 really good years and then as he ages, I think he'll still be able to be a good middle of the rotation type pitcher. But as far as Barnes, I won't be fooled by him again. Last year..as in 2017 I looked at him as a guy who looked a lot like Knebel statistically. He also pitches similar to him. The difference is....Barnes has been given chance after chance and can't get it done. So while relievers are ridiculously unpredictable and he may VERY WELL jump out next year and have an ERA around 2.00 and get 14 K's per 9, I'm no longer looking at him as a future fixture in our pen. I also think too many people think that the way we approached the playoffs is a sustainable template for a competitive team. That was born out of necessity. I'm sure the Brewers would rather have a rotation that can give them 5-6 quality innings in those situation and then go to a great pen. I don't think we can(or will have to) go back into 2019 with guys starting who are so unremarkable and only pitch them 2-4 innings and compete. Nelson helps fix that. A Corbin(again, a dream) would CERTAINLY help fix that. But for right now I would like to see Woodruff stick in the pen and go with a rotation of Nelson/(my dream FA Burnes)/Chacin/Peralta/Burnes(try to skip those last two every few times through the rotation so they can keep their innings low). And then you still have Woodruff, Anderson(who remember, was pitching like a really good 3 or even #2 before struggling this year). And whoever mentioned Brown, we have no idea how the young guys in the minors will pitch. It's entirely reasonable that we could have a couple guys(I'm even thinking Ponce, Diplan, Supak along with the obvious Houser) that we're not counting on now, but who force their way into the staff in some way come Sept 2019. Finally, I know just about everyone on here realizes this, but I think some are expecting Burnes to come in as a starter and hit 98 and sit in the 95-96 area and Peralta's going to hit 97 and sit in the 93-95 area as starters. I think Burnes is more in the 92-95 range and..we already saw Peralta. His fastball is effective because of deception and delivery, but he's usually 91-92 for the most part. So their stuff is gonna "play down" if they're throwing 175 innings next year.

I don't think Thames has much value at all...but I don't think it's because of the way he goes about playing the game, ie, being hard on himself or what he does to calm his mind. I would guess that the vast majority of players have similar issues, including those who play in NY, they just don't talk about it. It's a hard game. The harder you try, the worse your results are going to be. That said, it's really a moot point because if the 100 win Yanks can't do better than Brewers cast-offs, they're probably in trouble..and that's what Thames would be at this point. A cast-off. I would think a team like the Rays may see some value there without really knowing their roster and DH/1B situation and he could fit there....with some money going there way. I'm 100 pct all in on Patrick Corbin. If the Yanks do actually go after a Machado or Harper, they'll likely have trouble signing Corbin and with their newfound desire to stay under the luxury tax. Of course you also read that Corbin, a Syracuse born and raised Yankee fan, is the Yanks top target. But Corbin's really the only guy I've seen in the last couple years that I would like to see the Brewers spend big boy money on. He fits this team so perfectly. A lefty with good velo, great peripherals, 29 years old and a TOR arm to pair with Nelson. You could then figure out who else starts and if you want to keep a guy like Burnes in the pen to compliment Hader as a multi inning dominant reliever. Personally I want to see Burnes in the rotation, but the same obviously holds true with the rest of the young arms, Peralta, Woodruff(best candidate IMO). Help keep that dominant pen and give yourself a really nice starting rotation as well. And while there is some overlap(or likely would be) with Corbin's contract and when we're really gonna have to pony up to keep some young guys, I'm confident enough in Stearns to navigate that. 5 years 130 works for me. He's also a guy who figures to continue to have success even if he loses a bit of velocity with that slider he throws. Oh, and if we did manage to sign Corbin, I'd definitely look to move Chacin. Doubtful many will agree, but I just don't see him repeating his performance this past year and I think we could get something for him. I'd also simplify our lineup. We don't need Moose back IMO...at least not anywhere near his option, move Shaw back to 3rd where he's an above average defender and I think he'll bounce back(BABIP dropped what 70 points this year). Schoop would be hard to watch him leave and maybe that'd be a mistake, but I can't reconcile paying the guy I watched look clueless his entire time in Milwaukee, 10 million...even if I know he's been a very good player in the past. Lets see where Dubon is in ST'ing. You can almost always add an adequate 2nd basemen...or even go with Perez through may. Maybe bring back Luc to play Catcher with Pina..(or go crazy and try and trade for Realmuto again....). Either way, I love the look of this team right now for the next 2-3 years so much that I hope Stearns can pull off another big move this off-season like he did last year(I don't expect him to be AS successful). A smart move that benefits the team for multiple years. And I think Mark A would be willing to once again go past the normal payroll threshold in order to pull in a TOR arm. However I do believe it should be Corbin or bust. No 4 years 90 million for J.A Happ or big money for lower cieling type guys.

Any time you need to outlet like reading to calm yourself, I consider that a baseball mental health issue. Either way, your post was rude and we can agree to disagree because I really have no need to further post back to you. No, I think it's a lot more rude to take such a ridiculous leap from needing to read to get your head right while playing the most mentally trying sport to him having some sort of mental health issue.

I'll be shocked if he goes 4 to be honest. I'm thinking 3 innings planned, then the bullpen takes over. Chacin hasn't given up a run in three postseason starts...it's great that the pen is essentially all hands on deck and in good shape, but that doesn't mean they have to start burning through them immediately. I doubt Chacin sees the 6th, but if he's pitching well he's going to get more than 1 run through the Dodger order. Maybe....maybe we load the bases in the third and want to go with Granderson to PH? It's game 7....it's whatever you have to do. And with a fully rested Hader....we should be good to go. Just gotta try and jump on Buehler early in the game. 24 year old rookie pitching in a game 7? Could be Josh Beckett....could be wild and give the Brewers a shot at some early runs.

It's the first full year OF his career...so it seems premature to say this was his career year. Aguilar is a guy who has power to all fields and in part time action two years ago and as a starter this year looks like a outstanding hitter. It seems like a lot of the people who warn about sample sizes on here seem to put more emphasis on a poor small sampling than the opposite. I'm sure the D-backs would want more back for an MVP type bat, but Aguilar seems to be exactly like the type of guy they'd want. They have the talent to make a playoff push now. You could plug Aguilar in a have a great replacement for Goldshmidt. But that's not the direction they're going if they're selling Goldschmidt, that's the thing. If Goldschmidt goes, it's likely a full fire sale. And if Aguilar is indeed for real, why are we trading him + pieces for 1 year of Goldschmidt? He fits our necessary model of cost control perfectly. Well, first of all, I'm not in favor of trading for Goldschmidt...I'd love to have him, but not given what it'd likely take in terms of prospects and money over Aguilar who's already here. As for AZ not trying to win anymore if they move Goldschmidt, you often see teams move on from an elite player and move around resources and continue to be a contender. As long as they have pitching, they can compete. And they have a good core group of starters. In this scenario, from a D-backs view point, they trade Goldy, plug in Aguilar...a downgrade obviously, but one that has more team control and they can look to upgrade elsewhere. I personally think losing Corbin is going to be a bigger problem for them than losing Goldy in this hypothetical scenario...

Amazing how things can change so quickly. When you wrote this, it was absolutely a plausible scenario...instead, he's getting the last 6 outs of game 6 in the NLCS and has become a key part of our dynamic pen. On another not, can someone give me an update on Kirby? How's he looking...last I'd heard was that his velocity was back(actually better than his UV days)...but his command was understandably inconsistent. Anyone know how he's looking now? I'd like to get a power lefty into the upper levels.

And that's totally fine with me given everyone else's availability. Sorta separate note - how much fun will spring training be next year knowing some of these guys are fighting for rotation spots? Yeah, I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I keep watching this team thinking about how...they really haven't sacrificed anything to get here. They have room to add payroll...quite a bit if they really want*cough*Corbin*cough.....and they still have guys on their way from the farm system. I know signing Corbin could be risky, and a lot would depend on the FA market this year, but if Kershaw opts out, Machado and Harper taking precedent, I'm hoping we can maybe get him for 5/120 or so. But even if they don't, Woody, Burnes, Peralta to go with a healthy Nelson, Chacin...I still think Anderson can bounce back, and who knows who is going to progress and become the next fast riser next year.

I am getting greedy, but I would like the option of having Burnes (over Soria) for an inning tomorrow. Absolutely....but is there any reason if he gets through the 9th clean, he can't go one tomorrow? I also wonder about the availability of Woodruff. He's likely available to come in for an inning or two.....right? Knebel and his rubber arm, Peralta, Hader, JJ....Burnes...I'm feeling good about the pen. We just need to hope that the young budding ace for the Dodgers lets us put a couple up on the board early...

Well, now it's fun. Game 7 at Miller Park....TORTURE! The levels of torture just keeps elevating.

They'd probably say the same about our power arms and being able to spot that high fastball...but they really do have a lot of those.

Has done it all night. Yes he has. He was giving Miley quite a bit on both sides...... And that extra run is HUGE!

In this case it isn't opinion though. There is the way the game is actually played and there is basically back seat driving. With 2 outs and 2 strikes the runner on 1st is supposed to go all out for 2nd base on contact, they are not supposed to be watching the ball off of the bat. That is how baseball is actually played. He can glance back and pick up the ball after he hits full speed but if he looked back right away he was not playing the game properly. By the time he could look back the ball was on top of him. There are plenty of times people disagree with me on these forums and I'm fine with it because the game has a ton of gray areas in it. This was just one of those times where if you actually understand the game of baseball there is no way you complain about what happened. You're absolutely right. It sounds like you're talking about the Braun interference....that wasn't on Braun AT ALL. But to answer the question, it's torture. It's torture because I know these chances are rare and I don't like reading the message board because the negative statements seem to take over when things just start going bad.

It's the first full year OF his career...so it seems premature to say this was his career year. Aguilar is a guy who has power to all fields and in part time action two years ago and as a starter this year looks like a outstanding hitter. It seems like a lot of the people who warn about sample sizes on here seem to put more emphasis on a poor small sampling than the opposite. I'm sure the D-backs would want more back for an MVP type bat, but Aguilar seems to be exactly like the type of guy they'd want. They have the talent to make a playoff push now. You could plug Aguilar in a have a great replacement for Goldshmidt.

That's atrocious. Hard hit ball that took a tough bounce. Not exactly Machado's fault there. This is MLB, if it's hit right at you and not like a 110 mph screamer...it's an error. We get this is MLB. That doesn't change the definition of what an error is...and I don't think the average SS is making that play. That was a screamer that took a bad hop right near the edge of the grass.

You've never heard of anyone losing a business due to the estate tax? I'm certainly not saying it's the norm, but it is certainly not unheard of. Of course by "losing it," we're talking about having to sell in order to cover it in this context. With regard to gifting it, I know people with those types of means are far more adept at working around the tax laws, but I think you can only "gift" like 13K a year now to your kids tax free. In any event, billionaires have plenty of resources and corporate lawyers to figure these things out. The main point is really that Mark is isn't planning on selling this team to make a billion dollars on his investment. He wants to keep it and it looks pretty obvious he losts what he's doing.

This is exactly my roster as well. I would love to find a way to get Broxton on there... but I think the extra arm is needed. I'd be good taking Cedano out. That's not based on the stats, just on my gut..which I undersetand most wouldn't agree with. But I did not like seeing Cedano pitch when he did in game 163. I'm hoping Burnes and Woodruff throw multiple innings in multiple games. Hell, same with Guerra. His splitter in shorter stints, 2-3 innings is devastating. At least it has been. Also, how many teams would guys like Barnes and Jennings not make in a given year? Those are two good relievers, especially good back of the pen arms and they've got virtually zero shot. Can't help but wish that the two guys we hoped would be atop our rotation 2-3 years ago could pitch, Nelson and Wily Peralta, but wishing doesn't do much good.

Him as a Blue Jay still is cringe worthy to this day. Granted i was only 9 when that happened.. but... still... BARF This was when I too lost my sports innocence. I remember I'd read the sports section in 2nd grade and read about Reggie and him visiting the Browns and it was just a given to me that he'd come to GB. And of course Molly would stay. It's one of those, "I can remember where I was when that happened" moments. Staying over at my Grandparents from watching SOME sporting event the night before getting ready for 2nd grade. I was devastated. My B-Day is the 4th, lucky number is 4...and we have the same first name. He was my hero. Only later did I learn the Brewers screwed up and didn't leave him a lot of a decicions.

His OBP was also close to .300 Well...it was .326. I wouldn't say that Aguilar hit close to .300 this year. And Baseball reference has him at about 1 WAR defensively. You can prove just about anything with defensive metrics. But the larger point I was making was that Baez is a really good player who plays in the middle of the IF, or far more important positions than Yellich and it's still not even close. I'm not trying to argue that he should win it.

but the 1 x 4 guy did apply a couple tags, so there is that... Not tags, TAGS. It has to be in all caps to convey the significance. I know we're being sarcastic, but if it was a little closer I think you go with the Cubs best defensive 2nd, 3rd and SS who can also hit close to .300, 35 and 110in the counting stats. But it wasn't closer and Yellich ran away with it.

I'm not a fan and it has nothing to do with being a Cub. He is just too much of a showboat, those kind of guys really bug me. I don't see that. I see guys like Gomez, Lindor and others just playing baseball and having so much fun. They're playing a kids game earning a ton of money, but that makes their enthusiasm that much more fun.

Yeah, but up 2 in the 9th, you ask a lot out of your guys with the Division and HFA on the line. My best guess, the same injury that flared up a week ago. If we were so scared about tomorrow, we wouldn't have gone with Hader for two innings.

NO chance IMO you replace Hader with a righty Woodruff vs Rizzo. I assumed that Jeffress had spasms again...but hopeful that's it. He's been a beast for us. 1st round pick, filler in a trade, bounces around, trade back for him, one of the elite high leverage relievers for the team that drafted him.

Hang a Brewers flag out back? No, OVER THE TOP niceness. Like...corny niceness combined with sarcastic cluelessness. "well golly gee, isn't it great to see you guys today. How was your day yesterday? Anything happen? Me, I just did a little yard work, nothing special on TV...watched a little bit late, but it was basically a rerun of the past 6 months shows(Hader). And when they get mad, go all Queen of England on them, put your hand out limply and say, Oh my, have I offended you? I surely meant no harm....whatEVER could I have said that may have offended you?