Warning Track Power

I am on board with banning the shift and requiring all IF to remain on the dirt. Unfortunately, the launch angle revolution and birth of 3TO baseball is a result of the shift and ballplayers' inability/laziness/unsexiness (call it what you want) of not wanting to learn to hit the other way or punch the ball through holes. By requiring all IF must remain on the IF or the IF grass prior to a pitch AND there must be two players on both sides of second base, I believe it accomplishes what MLB wants and that is the elimination of 3TO baseball. Do I love this solution? No. It upsets me that people in the game can't go the other way or have learned to accept a K rather than hit it where the opposing fielders are not. I truly believe this is laziness on the players' part and not wanting to look like a punch and Judy hitter. As a first-step solution to 3TO baseball though, I will accept it.

I agree with this. People point to Carlos Gomez and his figuring it out in his age 26-27 season as a reason to not give up on him just yet. While I can understand the point, one has nothing to do with the other. To the eye test, Arcia's defense has started to slip already and he makes the routine plays more difficult than need be. Additionally, he has made zero effort to change his approach at the plate. How many times does he have to step in the bucket and open up his entire left side when the pitch is down and away? His approach leads one to believe he thinks he is Javier Baez and he has never approached that type of production. Nothing personal to Arcia but I give Urias at least the first two months to at least show what he has as an everyday player. If Urias is still meddling, a timeshare might make sense, and see what could potentially be had on the trade market or free agency next year.

While I agree with your sentiment, if I am a Padres fan, I want the Padres to make the moves necessary to win now. I get that is why fans are not GMs, but windows for teams like the Brewers and Padres are typically so small, making a trade that might hurt you at some point to complete a roster for not only 2021 but for 2022 & 2023 as well, may make some sense. I doubt the Cubs win the World Series in 2016 without trading Gleyber Torres for Aroldis Chapman and I don't think too many of their fans would trade that title for Torres playing SS. You have a team that is ready to win the World Series now with Darvish, Snell, Lamet, Paddack, Musgrove in the rotation and Tatis-Machado-Grisham-Hosmer-Nola-Pham-Myers in the lineup. The only real weakness I see is a dominant closer like Hader. Imagine if in 2011, knowing Prince's impending FA meant a slight rebuild was coming if the Brewers had been able to trade their remaining top prospect for a top-flight SS to replace Betancourt. Maybe that might have made the difference between flaming out in the NLCS and winning the World Series. Who knows? Hindsight is 20-20 but you never know when that window might slam shut because of injury, underperformance or the behemoths that are the Dodgers in your own division. The playoffs are not even guaranteed for the Padres if they underachieve just a little with the Dodgers in their division and the Mets, Braves, Nationals, and Phillies fighting it out in the East. Perhaps I am a fan that is tired of not seeing my team winning a World Series, but if Abrams is the cost for Hader, if I am a Padre fan, I do it and don't blink an eye. I want that title.

Totally understood but 2021 is going to be a season unlike any other. Going from 60 ~9 inning games (540 innings) in 2020 to 162 ~9 inning games (1,458 innings) in 2021, will likely require planning at this type of level. All best-laid plans go to waste, but the piggybacking of pitchers in this year is going to be appropriate more than any other.

Strictly from a fantasy baseball perspective, 2021 is going to be an interesting season, and stacking team pitching staffs may be worthwhile. Why am I bringing this up? With the news that Rasmussen is being groomed as the RH version of Suter, Peralta being stretched out as a starter, and Woodruff, Burnes, and Anderson not known for going deep into games, I think you are going to see a lot of piggybacking of SP in 2021 and not just with the Brewers. I have to imagine the pairings will look something like this: -Suter/Lauer paired with Burnes/Woodruff -Rasmussen paired with Anderson -Peralta paired with Lindblom -Bullpen paired with Houser The bullpen pieces are matched with the starters that offer different handedness, speed of pitches and repertoire. I think this is the plan for "stretching out" Peralta and Rasmussen. I wouldn't look at it solely as they are being groomed as starters, but rather "bullpen starters" (Suter, Lauer, Peralta, and Rasmussen) are all being looked at as throwing 3-4 innings every 5th day. I am guessing this is how the Brewers are hoping to get through 162 games after only having 60 last season.

I am pulling for him too but you have to watch the ABs. They are much better than what I remember of him in 2019. In a very small sample size, he's 2-11. The game against the Angels the other day, he had a rocket that was hit to the shifted 2B right behind the base. Give him that hit and he's all of a sudden his AVG is at .273 instead of .182. Additionally, he had a line drive double down the line in RF yesterday. The approach is very promising.

I know we have been hammering the point all offseason, but man if the Brewers O just plays to career averages this team could be in very good shape to make the postseason for a fourth straight year. I think we would all sign up for the above numbers in 2021 right now if given the chance.

While the Brewers don't have the financial resources to carry a $16m a year leader, I will say that Cain's role in the clubhouse cannot be understated and I think that was evident in 2020. Whereas Braun always seemed like a more quiet lead-by-example kind of guy, Cain seemed to be the heartbeat of the team since his return. I share some concern about his early spring injury concerns and the year off, but I think a majority of his value is in the intangibles. While he can't hit .240 and provide no power, a season of 80% of normal Cain D and a .275/.340 slash will play. I think he can do it.

Shaw has looked better today than most of 2019. Bases loaded walk against a LHP (Andrew Heaney), a relatively challenging grounder back at the pitcher in his second AB against another LHP, and a rocket past the mound to a perfectly positioned 2B next to the base. I hope he keeps it up.

You know who else was #41. Thank god the Brewers aren’t counting on JBJ being what he was supposed to be.

I loathe the DH and think baseball should go to 8 batters if they do not think pitchers should hit. Something about a dude sitting all game only to hit just irritates me. However, being a realist and understanding the DH is never going away and my previous idea will never come to pass, if there is ever a time to implement a DH for another season this is it. 60 games at 9 innings each in 2020 was 540 innings. 162 games at 9 innings is 1,458 innings. Teams already have enough to worry about with stretching pitchers arms out to accommodate 1,000 extra innings, let alone pitchers hitting and potentially getting hurt there. Oh yes...and if it means Ryan Braun is back in 2021, bring back the DH.

Keeping Vogelbach would be a nod to the Brewers teams of lore and not the current iteration of pitching and defense. Vogelbach aka Russell Branyan aka Rob Deer aka Gorman Thomas. Let's keep him around for old times sakes!

While I anticipate the Brewers offense to return to superstar level (Yelich), career form (Garcia, Narvaez) and somewhere in between 2019-2020 (Hiura), I anticipate the Brewers winning a lot of 3-2 and 4-3 type games. This team reminds me a lot of the SF Giants teams of the early 2010s with Bumgarner, Cain, and Lincecum assuming Woodruff and Burnes are the aces they showed in 2020.

My initial thoughts on the signing: 1. I have never seen a pitching and defense Milwaukee Brewers team and I am 38 years old. 2. I love the player culture the Brewers have developed recently. Everything you read about the team as constituted, but then the signings of high character guys like Wong and JBJ make this team easy to root for. 3. On the baseball side, I think this is Garcia's last year with the Brewers. Unless he comes out and hits .300 with 20 HR, I don't see his game profile as fitting with the team. 4. I doubt JBJ will live up to the offensive side of the deal in 2021 (say he hits .250, 15-20 HR) to warrant NOT exercising his end of the option. This will be 2 years at $24m. 5. The Brewers will either have two FA OF after 2021 (JBJ & Garcia) or three after 2022 (Cain, JBJ & Garcia). Regardless, they have positioned themselves well to possibly replace JBJ with Garcia if JBJ explodes in 2021. 6. The signing allows for the Brewers to continue to try and rebuild OF depth in the Minors via the draft or International Free Agency. By the time they will truly need more OF in 2023, hopefully Mitchell, Lutz, etc. are ready and the OF system has been somewhat rebuilt.

I hope Knebel gets cut and comes back to Milwaukee. I hated that trade but understood they couldn’t risk the $5m contract he received from the Dodgers.

I hope Knebel gets cut and comes back to Milwaukee. I hated that trade but understood they couldn’t risk the $5m contract he received from the Dodgers.

Arcia as everyday 3B... You gotta be kidding me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My favorite part is how so many people on this board are penciling Shaw in as the every day 3B when Arica has outplayed him each of the last 2 seasons. I don't know about everyone else but I'm still a skeptic when it comes to Shaw. A kinda, sorta, squint-your-eyes-real-hard minor bounce back in 50 games last season wasn't enough for me. I don't dislike him and I'm open minded but I need to see him prove that he deserves playing time. Three things related to this: 1. I think people, myself included, remember the 2017-2018 Shaw and don't think Arcia at his peak could come close to producing a .258/.347/.844 slash with 30+ HR potential. If you took Arcia's peak #s of any year in his career, you get .277(2017)/.324(2017)/.734 (2019) with 15-20 HR potential 2. Arcia is not a 3B and is not a guy who you have to find a spot for in the lineup because of his bat. Arcia's career slash is still .244/.295/.660. In arguably his best offensive season of 2020, Arcia was .260/.317/.734. In 2020, Shaw produced .239/.306/.717. Even in a "down" Shaw year in 2020, he almost reached Arcia's career peaks in OBP and SLG and still almost produced the same in OBP & SLG as Arcia did in 2020. 3. I think most people are rooting for Shaw as he was quickly becoming a fan favorite at the time of his slump. While not the face of the franchise, the blue-collar type production (e.g. solid not elite offense coupled with solid not elite defense) really resonates to this fanbase. In terms of production, you generally know what Arcia is. A .250/.300/.700 guy. Shaw has a wider range of outcomes but if he approaches something close to his peak, significantly passes Arcia's OBP and SLG and is an actual 3B. I give Shaw every chance to lose the job.

Arcia as everyday 3B... You gotta be kidding me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My favorite part is how so many people on this board are penciling Shaw in as the every day 3B when Arica has outplayed him each of the last 2 seasons. I don't know about everyone else but I'm still a skeptic when it comes to Shaw. A kinda, sorta, squint-your-eyes-real-hard minor bounce back in 50 games last season wasn't enough for me. I don't dislike him and I'm open minded but I need to see him prove that he deserves playing time. Three things related to this: 1. I think people, myself included, remember the 2017-2018 Shaw and don't think Arcia at his peak could come close to producing a .258/.347/.844 slash with 30+ HR potential. If you took Arcia's peak #s of any year in his career, you get .277(2017)/.324(2017)/.734 (2019) with 15-20 HR potential 2. Arcia is not a 3B and is not a guy who you have to find a spot for in the lineup because of his bat. Arcia's career slash is still .244/.295/.660. In arguably his best offensive season of 2020, Arcia was .260/.317/.734. In 2020, Shaw produced .239/.306/.717. Even in a "down" Shaw year in 2020, he almost reached Arcia's career peaks in OBP and SLG and still almost produced the same in OBP & SLG as Arcia did in 2020. 3. I think most people are rooting for Shaw as he was quickly becoming a fan favorite at the time of his slump. While not the face of the franchise, the blue-collar type production (e.g. solid not elite offense coupled with solid not elite defense) really resonates to this fanbase. In terms of production, you generally know what Arcia is. A .250/.300/.700 guy. Shaw has a wider range of outcomes but if he approaches something close to his peak, significantly passes Arcia's OBP and SLG and is an actual 3B. I give Shaw every chance to lose the job.

I think the point is that relatively speaking, a young SP with ace potential has far more value than we think he does. Absolutely and it is why the Brewers should continue to hold onto Hader until someone meets their demands for what they are looking for, be it a high-end SP like Gore or an impact bat like 1B Andrew Vaughn from the White Sox. For what it's worth, I still think the White Sox are the place for Hader. They are set in the everyday lineup with Anderson-Robert-Jimenez-Abreu-Moncada-Grandal-Eaton-Madrigal and at the top of the rotation with Giolitio-Keuchel-Lynn. I understand they signed Hendriks to be their closer but trading for Hader allows him to go back into that multi-inning shutdown role leading to the 9th. If I am them, I am constantly calling the Brewers to try and work something out for Hader and offering Vaughn or Kopech as the headliner. Hader in their pen makes them the AL favorites to me.

I think the point is that relatively speaking, a young SP with ace potential has far more value than we think he does. Absolutely and it is why the Brewers should continue to hold onto Hader until someone meets their demands for what they are looking for, be it a high-end SP like Gore or an impact bat like 1B Andrew Vaughn from the White Sox. For what it's worth, I still think the White Sox are the place for Hader. They are set in the everyday lineup with Anderson-Robert-Jimenez-Abreu-Moncada-Grandal-Eaton-Madrigal and at the top of the rotation with Giolitio-Keuchel-Lynn. I understand they signed Hendriks to be their closer but trading for Hader allows him to go back into that multi-inning shutdown role leading to the 9th. If I am them, I am constantly calling the Brewers to try and work something out for Hader and offering Vaughn or Kopech as the headliner. Hader in their pen makes them the AL favorites to me.

Haven't we felt that way about Arcia for about 3 years already? We absolutely have. Just now he won't just be starting at SS over Urias, but also will be starting over Shaw or Robertson at 3B and Wong at 2B...and god forbid CF over Cain or Taylor

Haven't we felt that way about Arcia for about 3 years already? We absolutely have. Just now he won't just be starting at SS over Urias, but also will be starting over Shaw or Robertson at 3B and Wong at 2B...and god forbid CF over Cain or Taylor

Agreed with the good for Sogard but I know he is going to have a better year with the Cubs than he ever had for the Brewers. He will probably be worth the $4.5m he got in 2020 from the Brewers but on the cheap for the Cubs. No doubt in my mind.

Agreed with the good for Sogard but I know he is going to have a better year with the Cubs than he ever had for the Brewers. He will probably be worth the $4.5m he got in 2020 from the Brewers but on the cheap for the Cubs. No doubt in my mind.

Arcia is going to be the new Hernan Perez. A guy where we all get frustrated because he is playing far more than he should