DHonks

If I were the Nats and I could add Trout, I'd bet the farm to do so. You'd have 2 OF spots locked up with the best 2 players in the game both now AND likely still in 6-10 years. Why can't the Nats pay Trout? They have the wealthiest owner in the game

It's hard to say Perez is better offensively. Walsh hasn't been good, but he's thrived in the most important batting category. Perez hasn't done much well in MLB

I've never thought of competent as average. I think of competent as barely acceptable. A D-student shows some competency. They are FAR below average.

We've had far too few lefties with a last name of Lee in AA for several seasons now!

Not to mention Lucroy in 3 years will probably be competent at best. When his offense drops off he won't be all that special. I don't know why one would want us to overpay now when we can get a 33 year old Lucroy a lot cheaper in 3 years and also have the prospects from trading him. 33 is not that old for a catcher. 33 should be towards the end of his prime years. I would fully expect him to be well above average at 33. Once again, trading Lucroy can make sense, as can trading Braun. But until there's a legitimate trade for them they won't be traded. Neither needs to be traded this year. Teams need to overwhelm us. The Brewers are in great financial shape for 2016. Thus we need to be getting Gomez-like trades for them. Additionally, your choice of words is weird. "competent?" Sorry, there are lots of competent catchers in AAA. a 33 year old Lucroy should be average to above average...that's far better than "competent"

We all love walks....OBP is more important than OPS (according to Moneyball, as OPS undervalues OBP), but isn't that a bit of an overstatement?

in the past people have said it's a wrestling thing. But it's limited to about 3 or 4 cities that I'm aware of

So I'm back to muting all games in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. The damn wooing is so obnoxious! Can we request the broadcast crew close their windows???

I'd like to make "wooing" at ballgames a crime that banishes you from all MLB events with a $500 fine. It's made games in Pittsburgh and especially Cincinnati unbearable. I have to watch all the games in these parks on mute, especially tonight. I've heard it at Washington and Philly as well.

If most teams have problems at the catcher position, what makes it likely that we could "always trade for or sign on the FA market?" Like I've said before (and been ridiculed for), before trading Lucroy for a series of stud prospects, I'd consider looking into his previous request for a career contract. It's our only likely way of having a very good catcher when we're over .500 in 2-3 years. Plus he's young enough to be expected to perform well over a 3-5 year contract. If his demands are too high or he's no longer interested, then I would fully understand trading him at the right price.

Dude has a .551 OPS. I'm scared to ask what you expected. Not looking at that. Looking at some quality at bats, solid defense, and solid contact. He's been terrible for several years. Given that I thought he would never make the team, he's been better than expected. He's by no means part of the future, and I'd prefer to get Rivera more AB's (glad to see Walsh getting some AB's), but he's been much improved lately. Has his performance been better than expected...you bet! It's just I never expected him to actually see a Brewers' regular season uniform. Note that I never said he was doing well. I said "terrible"

It would add a passionate fanbase, but can it work financially and security-wise? Security would be an issue. the elevation and dry air would cause it to be a Coors Field-type. What about the Peso? and is there enough of a middle class to support a franchise?

With Capuano throwing harder this year (91-93) and his ERA under 4, I'd consider trying to stretch him out as a starter if I might be able to get something for him around the deadline. Heck, we may need to stretch him out due to lack of depth

His defense has been very good at SS, and his OBP is among the elite at SS after one month. Let's give it a few more months, but I like him at 3b in 2017

A - Jose Bautista B - Chris Davis C - Edwin Encarnacion D - I can't figure out. I thought maybe Big Papi but it doesn't look like it. EDIT: D - Nelson Cruz. Duh. Good job!!! While Carter is different (he had more good years early than the others), it doesn't change the idea that he can improve his contact. He's using the entire field, consistently driving the ball. And I also agree that if Carter hits .240, he's a top 10 first baseman.

JohnBriggs, I like the idea. A Zobrist or Loretta type. Teams tend to shy away from letting people be full-time players at no particular position, but it can also help keep others well rested.

I feel like I asked this somewhere before and I never got a reply, but where are these articles saying they will toss in a lot of money? Just curious to read them. I can't necessarily find the articles I found this week on daily web browsing, but here's a quick search (it includes several references to the same conjecture). I think one of the ones I originally found was nbc sports, and can't remember the others. Oh well, here are some links from the last week: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/finding-a-trade-partner-for-ryan-braun/ http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/04/rosenthals-latest-braun-angels-yanks-jays.html http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/05/cafardos-latest-hanley-kemp-braun-hill-panda.html http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/ryan-braun-s-hot-start-makes-his-future-in-milwaukee-uncertain-141612589.html https://fan-interference.com/2016/05/01/lets-talk-trades-already/ http://inningseaters.sportsblog.com/posts/17026448/ryan-braun-trade-rumors--la-dodgers--sf-giants.html

That commercial is pretty awful. If someone has a brain they wouldn't go to the University of Phoenix that is for sure. So is your post. That's ridiculously condescending!! It's helped millions of people, especially military personnel, get their undergraduate degrees. Additionally, that's the only affordable option that many of my fellow teachers have been able to utilize in order to continue their learning while working full-time.

MrTPlush, I've seen multiple articles this week mentioning trade candidates. All experts seem to assume that the Brewers are desperately trying to move Braun for prospects, and to do so we'll have to include a large sum of money. I'm not in favor of paying a potential MVP to play elsewhere. Teams need to overwhelm us. If we don't get a Gomez-like package, I don't consider moving Braun. We're in a position salary-wise where we don't need to move him at all. The team is going to make lots of profit this year even with Braun's salary.

I just don't get some of these claims you make. It would be true if he were plagued by nagging injuries or if he were old, but he's neither. He turns 30 this year...he should have a minimum of 3-4 good years left in him. Since when is 29 old? He's expected to still have several more years of his prime. As for injuries, he hasn't had chronically bad knees, a balky back, tender hamstrings, etc. He's had injuries, but so has every MLB player besides Ripken (who had injuries, just not bad ones). If we believe we can contend in 2-3 years, Lucroy may be our only path to having an above average contributor at catcher. Even factoring in aging, he should maintain having decent doubles-power and OBP. His whole field approach should age fairly well. He's signed VERY cheaply for next year as well. If a team overwhelms us, then a trade can be warranted. But there's no reason to actively be trying to move such a solid, affordable player who has previously attempted to negotiate a "career contract." Catcher, more than any other position, is one where I'm reluctant to dump someone. Maybe I have bad memories of the constant string of poor talent we had--Nilsson (nice bat, terrible D), Matheny, Blanco, Lampkin, Oliver, Harper, Hughes, Moeller, Estrada, Zaun, Kendall, etc. There aren't many catchers that are good defensively, good offensively, and affordable--Lucroy is one of them. Hence why I'd rather consider extending him than trading him, unless that notion of a career contract is gone. He may want to finish out his Brewers career as part of our next successful wave. If he won't re-sign, then I understand trading him in '16 if overwhelmed with an amazing offer (like Gomez)

I read it as an optimistic tone. I don't think we're waiting till 2019-2022 to contend. I think it's possible that we could be a surprise success story in 2017. I think 2018 will be our new 2007-08. Given that it's not that far off, I like to take a cautious approach to dealing Lucroy and Braun as they can be a part of the solution. It's also disheartening that in the 3 recent articles I've read about how Braun should be on the open-market, each one speculates that the Brewers would not ask much for Braun AND would have to kick in a lot of cash. Given our low payroll (likely lower next year), I have no problems paying Braun his current contract if he continues to perform. I do not feel some pressure to dump him on another team. If someone wants him, then they'd better be ready to pay fair-price for a player that is playing at--or below--his contract. There should be no dumping of him

Great post JohnBriggs. Remember, teams can be both playing for the present and the future. Some things I'm seeing: -Braun looks great with the thumb and back behind him -Lucroy is doing well. I'd both consider trade offers AND an extension with him. At a reasonable price, I'd consider making him a career Brewer. If this rebuild doesn't go well, we can trade him in 2-3 years. -Villar could be a potential solid solution at 2b/3b in the future. I'm not talking about a stud, but perhaps a nice Bill Mueller-type. -Carter is cheap and talented. He's outperforming expectations, but is at an age AND in a ballpark where he can be expected to have 3-4 peak years. This is just the beginning of the phase. -Nelson is doing great. -Peralta is teasing us at times. -I'd like to see the team take a page from the old Mike Maddux playbook. Remember how Sheets went from decent young starter when he began mixing a high 4-seamer in with his down/away 2-seamer and breaking ball? His strikeouts skyrocketed as a result changing batters' eye-levels. He always got plenty of K's on curves, but suddenly he got a lot of guys swinging through the high cheese. Peralta and Nelson throw lots of stuff down. I'd like to see them mix in some 4-seamers above the belt. -Hopefully Scooter can keep this up. -Aaron Hill is terrible, but better than expected -The bullpen looks strong with lots of talent -Santana is looking good. Despite his recent slump, he's putting up decent numbers. Perhaps this shoulder issue is a reason for declining production. he has a nice eye, and hits the ball hard. Despite his young age and inexperience, he's been league-average. He looks like a keeper

Freddy Peralta continue to shine as one of our top young prospects. He made a big jump for a 19-year old from the AZ league and he's doing very well. As we all thought at the time, looking like a very nice trade acquisition.

Not trying to suggest Carter is going to become a superstar, but as I've said before, we need to remember some historical strides hitters have made Player A (first 6 seasons, 1754 AB, 59 HR, .238/.329/729) Player A (next 6 seasons, 2962 AB, 227 HR, .268/.390/.945) Player B (first 4 seasons, 1005 AB, 44 HR, .252/.301/.749) Player B (next 4 seasons, 2122 AB, 159 HR, .256/.342/.876) Player C (first 7 seasons, 2731 AB, 117 HR, .260/.331/.784) Player C (next 4 seasons, 2077 AB, 151 HR, .274/.371/.919) Player D (first 4 seasons, 557 AB, 22HR, .251/.312/.743) Player D (next 7 seasons, 3537 AB, 219 HR, .277/.338/860) At some point with all 4 of these players, teams gave up on them. Given continued opportunities, they all thrived. Sometimes sluggers with raw power take longer to figure things out. These guys "figured it out" at 29, 26, 29, and 28. Carter is in his age 29 season. He may not sustain his current pace, but he'll quite possibly regress to something better than his career line of .221/.314/.778 for the next couple seasons. At this point I'm prepared to hold onto him until someone is willing to give a nice package for him (most likely July '17).

MadThinker88, Santa Clara does basically host the San Jose Giants. I think the San Jose stadium was about 10 minutes from my dorm in college. Unless the San Jose squad no longer plays in the Cal League