Warning Track Power

This is fair and the Brewers under Counsell tend to get hot in August and September. The only issue with that is that in order to make up games in the standings it is REQUIRED they get hot. If they don't, games like yesterday sting a lot more in retrospect.

All good points that you make. Specific to the bold part, it is early, however the offense in the first week appears to be eerily similar to what it was in 2020. Fair or not, we as fans are going to be upset given that the Brewers FINALLY appear to have two potential Aces in Woodruff & Burnes, with a third possible in Peralta, and now they cannot hit at all.

I have seen this topic slip into a few other topics recently and I think it is time to give it its own thread. The big question I am grappling with related to the Brewers: Is Craig Counsell regressing as a manager? This is not to question whether or not Counsell should remain as the manager. He should. I think he is the best manager the Brewers have had that I can recall in my 39 years on this planet. However, after watching last season, as well as the first 7 games into this season, his decision-making during the game has started to remind me of later years Mike McCarthy with the Packers, where I am questioning more of his moves than I am in support of them and his approach is becoming increasingly stale. It seems like Counsell has fallen a bit into the traditional manager role rather than being the cutting-edge manager he was in the earlier years of his tenure. Pulling Burnes at 86 pitches during his second start of the season is understandable but I would have given him until 100 pitches. Maybe he gets through the 7th, maybe you have to go to Williams early. Designating Williams as the 8th inning guy and Hader as the 9th inning guy is lazy managing to me and Counsell has fallen into this rut over the past season +. The bullpen can't just be Williams-Hader, but with the offense providing very little, you need to win ballgames the best way you can until it comes around. With Yardley and Rasmussen called on to protect a 1-0 lead, I think we all knew that the Brewers would need more than 1 run to win and that was going to be challenging given the offense's start to the season. There were many more examples of this last year that I felt in the moment and can't remember specifics of today. Yesterday's game was a microcosm of how things have changed with Counsell in the last season +. In addition, the team's offensive slump over the past year cannot simply be ignored either. A manager and his coach's jobs are to aid and assist players when they are slumping. As an example, we can all see Hiura's swing has become way too much uppercut. Why aren't Counsell and Haines addressing? Are they coaching him to swing this way? If so, it isn't working. Another example, Garcia's career OPS prior to playing in Milwaukee is .751 in 3000 PAs. In Milwaukee, it is .629 in 229 PAs. Small sample size sure, but in 58 games played he has 10 2B and 2 HR which translates to 28 2B and 6 HRs in a 162 game season. That is an expected Luis Urias line, not a $10m per year corner OF. So what has happened to Garcia? There appear to be no answers or solutions coming from the manager's office. This may seem like a vent thread but it is not. It is more of an obvious observation that things aren't right in Brewers world and I think Counsell deserves more scrutiny than he is currently getting, both as an in-game manager and his coaching staff's abilities to solve issues.

Do the Brewers have any advanced prospects at any offensive position? The dearth of positional talent in the upper minor leagues is scary.

Gonna quote myself on this one. What a typical way for the Cardinals to welcome their big acquisition that they got for absolutely nothing.

This game has all the feelings of the Devil Magic Cardinal Win.

Yardley gives me the K-Rod vibe every time he pitches. I assume he will give up run(s) every game.

Doesn't really have power though. MLB pitchers are going to challenge you when they know that the worst that's going to happen is maybe a double but more likely a single. Absolutely agree and with those challenge pitches, assuming they're in the strike zone, I would think Urias would be crushing (meaning hard-hit singles/doubles) them. His hit tool was a 70 according to MLB.com as he was coming up through the minors and his MLB.com profile is below: Scouting grades: Hit: 70 | Power: 45 | Run: 50 | Arm: 55 | Field: 60 | Overall: 55 Signed out of the Mexican League in December 2013, Urias has since developed into one of the more accomplished hitters in the Minor Leagues. The California League's youngest everyday player on Opening Day in 2016, Urias went on to win the circuit's batting title and MVP award at age 19, and then garnered Double-A Texas League All-Star honors in 2017 before a standout turn in the prestigious Arizona Fall League. Urias stands out as much for his approach and plate discipline as he does for his pure hitting ability. He has an advanced knowledge of the strike zone as well as excellent pitch recognition, a combination that netted him the Texas League's top on-base percentage (.398) in 2017, and has resulted in more walks (153) than strikeouts (135) in four professional seasons. Urias' bat-to-ball skills are impressive, and he produces hard line drives across the entire field with a compact, level swing. His raw power, meanwhile, is better than his numbers suggest, though Urias' should be a consistent source of extra-base hits thanks to his knack for pounding the gaps. Urias has solid arm strength and can get the job done at shortstop, but he offers more upside at second base, where he's a plus defender and has spent the bulk of his pro career. Urias proved plenty capable at shortstop in 2017, first in Double-A and then in the Arizona Fall League, and should continue to see some time there moving forward. His ultimate defensive home, however, is likely second base, where he profiles as an above-average defender with good range and arm strength. Overall, Urias has the ingredients to hit atop a lineup while manning a middle-infield position for a long, long time. Like I said, I was expecting a Wong line this year and, possibly in a few seasons, a batting title contender. Urias, in my view, could be a Mark Loretta clone that could match his 162-game average line of .295/.360/.754, doubles machine out of the leadoff spot. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/loretma01.shtml It is still WAY too early to say he won't hit that, it's just he looks more like Lewis Brinson than Mark Loretta.

Luis Urias is the big surprise to me through the first week of the season. Small sample size certainly, but as has been mentioned in other places, he was a very highly thought of prospect (was low 30s in 2018-2019 in Baseball America and low 20s in 2019 on MLB.com) with an advanced hit tool (career .308/.397/.830 slash in 2401 PAs in MiLB) and has just looked lost at the MLB level. Little to no hard contact and high K levels. If anything, I could have anticipated little to no hard contact given his size but the K levels are concerning. In our annual predictions of the season, I predicted him to be the pleasant surprise of the season and becoming the Kolten Wong of SS, meaning .260-.270 AVG, 10ish HR power and solid if not spectacular D. Obviously he is only 23 and the season is young, but the results thus far are concerning.

Imagine how upset we would be if the Brewers lineup read Happ-Bryant-Rizzo-Contreras-Baez the past few years and have zero playoff wins since 2017.

Cheating scandal. Lack of responsibility for it. Chip on his shoulder like the backlash from it wasn’t deserved. Insulted by a 6 year $120m offer from the Astros in the last month when has hit .257 with 41 HR in 1000 PAs since 2018. Guy just rubs me 100% the wrong way. Arcia may have been frustrating but at least you felt like he was a good teammate and tried hard. This guy seems like he’s quite unaware of who/what he is.

Yankees acquired Rougned Odor. You have to imagine he is mildly annoyed by their absolutely strange no facial hair policy

This would be a good guess and someone I wouldn't mind. He was a highly regarded prospect at one point. The old change of scenery deal may help.

Odd trade to me. San Diego makes sense with Tatis injury but Atlanta is a head scratcher. Is Swanson hurt?

Braves

I think my bottom line for the Brewers is that it isn't just the Yelichs (former MVPs), it isn't just the Hiuras (top 15 prospect with a 60 hit tool), and it isn't just the Garcias and Narvaezs (a career .273 and .276 hitter respectively) that have looked bad at the plate. It is the lack of adjustments that show progress toward something that resembles their career norms. Forget the MVP version of Yelich, just remember the Marlin version of Yelich who was a .290 hitter. Forget the .300 version of Hiura, just remember the guy who didn't have holes in his swing on balls middle-middle. Forget the .330 version of Garcia or 22 HR version of Narvaez, just remember their career averages over 3000 PAs and 1200 PAs prior to joining the Brewers. Haines, and to a certain extent Counsell, have to be held accountable for not helping these guys get out of the offensive funk that has plagued them since 2020. Covid 2020 season was tough for a number of reasons but through the first 4 games of 2021, this team's ABs resemble 2020 too much. Uppercut swings and launch angle seem to be a Haines special and it appears to have changed the approaches of proven, successful MLB players. If it were just Yelich or Garcia or Hiura or Narvaez, certainly could understand keeping Haines. But it's not. It's all of them and that tells me it is an approach to hitting that is being coached.

Yelich leads the league with 9Ks. Hiura has 8. Scary times for the Brewers finances if Yelich doesn’t return to something close to pre-knee injury.

I’m frustrated as a fan. Can we please stop hearing Brewers beat writers saying “The Man Can Hit” when it comes to Keston Hiura? No, he can not. The league has figured him out and his hitting coach hasn’t helped him adjust to the league. Quite frankly the same goes for Yelich. It’s four games but he looks the same as he did in 2020 so far. Being honest, it is the first time I have had my faith in Counsell as a manager questioned. He also appears to have no answers when it comes to his teams complete and total lack of hitting. To be almost no hit by Jose Berrios is one thing, he’s a very highly thought of pitcher. But to go 5 innings with nothing against a journeyman like Trevor Williams is another. Twice in 2 days to have no hits through five innings is alarming to say the least coming off of the disaster that was 2020.

This guy is just a huge...fill in the blank. I would not enjoy rooting for him in Milwaukee regardless of how well he did for the team.

NL CENTRAL Brewers - 87-75 Cardinals - 83-79 Reds - 75-87 Cubs - 74-88 Pirates - 60-102 Brewers surprise in the NLDS and upset the NL East winner (Mets if they sign Lindor, Braves if Lindor isn't extended) before losing to the Dodgers in the NLCS. Brewers are just a little bit better in the rotation and bullpen to pull away from the Cardinals in the last two weeks of the season. Reds have the O and are competitive through the first half but end up dealing Gray and maybe Castillo at the deadline allowing them to fade in the second half. Cubs have the talent to compete but have a miserable season due to impending FA and lack of extensions with Bryant, Rizzo, and Baez. MVP - Christian Yelich: Returns to form and has the year of his career. Thinking: .330, 50 HR, 110 RBI, 25 SB and another MVP Cy Young - Corbin Burnes Burnes becomes what we all hoped he would be and pitches to a 18 win season, with a 3.00 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. Woodruff is no slouch either but slots in a pinch below Burnes. Breakout - Luis Urias Urias becomes a Wong clone at SS, producing a .270 AVG/.340 OBP with 10 HRs and solid if unspectacular defense. Disappointment- Keston Hiura The holes in his swing remain and he hits .240. The power remains but at a lesser level (25-30 HR) but comes with close to 200 Ks and below-average D at 1B. By the end of the year, Milwaukee sports radio becomes dominated by comparisons to Khris Davis (power, strikeouts, and positionless) rather than the second coming of Ryan Braun (power, average, tolerable defense because of the offense). Under the Radar Player to Watch - Travis Shaw I think most fans, while rooting for him, expect him to fail miserably. I think he comes back to something close to what he was and produces a .250/.330, 22 HR, 70 RBI season. More than acceptable production given what expectations are. Rookie of the Year - No One With Yelich, Cain, Bradley and Garcia in the OF, Hiura, Vogelbach, Wong, Urias, Arcia, Shaw and Robertson on the IF and Narvaez and Pina at C, the need for a rookie on offense should be limited. With the rotation and depth of Burnes, Woodruff, Peralta, Houser, Anderson, Linblom, Suter and Rasmussen, and Hader and Williams in the end game, need for rookies will hopefully be limited there as well. If pushed, I will say I anticipate Rasmussen, who I believe is no longer a rookie, to take the leap and become the next Brewer reliever phenom.

It is a step in the right direction but it isn't complete yet. It needs to be a slide in a stein of beer to truly complete the look. If you are going to call your team the Brewers and have the Barrelman as a mascot, then it shouldn't be all that off-putting to have him slide into a beer. Fully embrace the identity, don't embrace some and shun other parts of it.

If the decision is between Vogelbach, McKinney and Fisher, it’s not particularly close for me. Vogelbach is the guy. He’s not my kind of ball player, too much 3TO, but compared to the other two, I would rather risk losing them than Big Dan. Put another way, I will be upset if Vogelbach is cut because of McKinney or Fisher.

Whatever happens, I really don't like the idea of giving him two months to prove himself before giving up on him. He's far too young, with too much potential for that. The thought that he's too important right now to send him to the minors, but in two months we'll be ready to start studying next year's free agent market doesn't make sense to me.I misspoke here. I should clarify that I did not mean give him two months and if he isn't hitting to give up on him. I meant at that point I would be ok with sending him down to work on his game at Nashville and allow him the time to develop to eventually replace Wong at 2B or the interim solution at SS (be it Arcia/Robertson or a trade target in season).