Eye Black

Latest Statement from the Astros:

Assuming the below reporting from NPR correspondent David Folkenflik is correct it sounds like the target for his aggression and Taubman’s motivation are fairly simple to figure out...

At the risk of hijacking the thread, there is other big news in Cubs land regarding whether Kris Bryant becomes a free agent following next season or 2021, Kris Bryant's Service Time Grievance (via Bleacher Nation).

Through The Fence Baseball’s 2020 MLB Mock Draft 2.0 For the Brewers... 20. Milwaukee Brewers: Freddy Zamora, SS, Miami Freddy Zamora fits almost too perfect. The Miami product is a sure deal at short, and yes, he’s known for being a defense-first player but the improvements he has made as a hitter these past two season does raise is ceiling more. The power is starting to show and he looks more and more comfortable at the plate, given his walk-rate.

So I am rooting for the Nats, but when I don’t have a clear rooting interest (either for or against any particular team) I also root for whichever team wins the first game to just win the series in four. I’m one of those strange people that really enjoys the MLB off-season and want it to begin more than I want additional World Series baseball games... I recognize that this is a weird thing.

They don't celebrate all year long in terms of cake, candles and presents every day, but if someone asks how old they are after their 50th birthday they say "50 years old" even though they are now working on completing their 51st year of life. So in that sense it is similar to what the Brewers are doing by celebrating the anniversary year.

I wasn’t suggesting people here were misunderstanding, but sometimes the idea of celebrating seasons and anniversaries are used interchangeably and in those cases it is likely due to a misunderstanding. In the case of the Brewers their 25th anniversary season (not counting the year in Seattle) should have been 1995, not 1994. I’m of the opinion they just made a mistake in their wording at the time, one I assume they would admit to since they are now celebrating their 50th anniversary during the 2020 season. The Brewers aren’t the only organization that has made this mistake in the past. Here is their logo from that season... http://content.sportslogos.net/logos/53/1477/full/fi5yye3vgeh3dyfr6yvfy5fe9.png Also, I am not certain what you mean by a single date, but technically the “anniversary year” can be the entire season since all season long can be considered an anniversary of first of something (i.e. anniversary of random things such as first opening day, first road game, first MLB draft, first All-Star break, first September baseball, etc.). I do agree with you that I prefer celebrating the idea of it being the milestone season similar to what the NFL is doing (100 seasons of existence), but that is actually less common among teams as compared to those that celebrate their anniversary year instead. I guess if you compare it to how we celebrate birthdays, then the anniversary year does make some sense.

Some organizations celebrate “years” and some celebrate an “anniversary.” As others have pointed out they are different things, and this was indeed the Brewers’ 50th season of baseball in Milwaukee (not counting the 1969 season in Seattle). The easiest way to think of it is your 1st anniversary would be the start of the second season, so a 50th anniversary is the start of the 51st season. I actually asked Adam McCalvy before the season if he knew which one the Brewers would celebrate and he confirmed they were going to celebrate the 50th anniversary in 2020. In 1994 the Brewers mistakenly celebrated their “25th Anniversary” which was inaccurate wording, it was their 25th season (unless they were counting the 1969 season as the Pilots, but since they listed 1970 in the logo I assume they weren’t). I think they just made a mistake, and I think it’s typical that people misunderstand the difference between seasons and anniversaries.

I am a little curious if the team will try to unveil the new primary uniforms in the near future or wait until an event such as Brewers On Deck (or possibly even later). The advantage to unveiling it in the near future would obviously be an opportunity to maximize merchandise (jersey) sales during the holiday season.

Yes, I took the middle one from this year’s Spring Training logo (LINK).

Let’s assume that they are definitely switching to the Ball and Glove logo for their primary uniforms. Which of the following color schemes would you most prefer (the third one is a concept someone did with the current color scheme)?

I found this leaked image on the internet that clearly does a nice job capturing the teams half century of existence...

The founder of the Baseball Trade Values website, John Bitzer, came up with the following proposal, and I am curious if others would be willing to make this move? I am on the fence about it, but thought it might make for an interesting conversation... Reminder: John is a registered poster here at Brewerfan.net, and may join the discussion on this one at some point. Here is a LINK to the below trade proposal: John also left these comments on the site regarding his proposal: ”The Brewers need to go all-in at this point, while their Yelich/Cain window is still open. Story matches that window, and he’s a perfect fit for Milwaukee, as they’re one of the few contending teams looking for a SS upgrade. They also need starting pitching (hence Gray), would be willing to take on Davis as he still has some field value, and might take a shot on a change of scenery guy in Hoffman. Oh, and they could use Wolters to help replace Grandal. It’s a one-stop shop trade for them! In return, they give up Hiura, a franchise talent who would go to Coors Field and hit like bananas. He’d pair with Rodgers for a young up-the-middle combination that, when coupled with Arenado, could form a new core for Colorado.” So would you support this deal from the Brewers standpoint?

Last year we invested some effort in Solving the Catcher Position for 2019, and it turns out 16% of us came up with what in hindsight appears to have been the correct answer. While we will forgo the poll this time around, I figured we should start a thread dedicated to finding the solution for 2020. I know re-signing Grandal has it’s own thread, but if the Brewers are simply outbid for Grandal’s services what other options would you prefer to see explored this offseason? Here is the list of likely Catcher free agents from MLB.com... Yasmani Grandal (31 years old, 5.2 WAR) -- $16 million mutual option for 2020 ($2.25 million buyout) Robinson Chirinos (36, 2.3) Tyler Flowers (34, 2.1) -- $6 million club option for 2020 ($2 million buyout) Jason Castro (33, 1.6) Travis d’Arnaud (31, 1.6) Alex Avila (33, 1.3) Russell Martin (37, 1.2) Brian McCann (36, 1.1) Austin Romine (31, 0.9) Martin Maldonado (33, 0.8) Yan Gomes (32, 0.8) -- $9 million club option for 2020 ($1 million buyout) Francisco Cervelli (34, 0.1) Nick Hundley (36, -0.3) Matt Wieters (34, -0.3) Jonathan Lucroy (34, -0.5) Chris Iannetta (37, -0.5) Welington Castillo (33, -1.0) -- $8 million club option for 2020 ($500,000 buyout) So that list isn’t all that encouraging. What are some potential trade possibilities? Here is one I came across this morning on the Baseball Trade Values site. Brewers trade: RHP Corbin Burnes Mariners trade: Catcher Omar Narváez and LHP Aaron Fletcher I thought this was interesting from the standpoint Omar Narváez looks intriguing on paper. Admittedly I did not catch many Mariners games this year, and was only slightly familiar with him from his White Sox days. Omar Narváez is under team control for 3 more seasons and is entering his age-28 season in 2020. So assuming the Brewers are not able to retain or re-sign Yasmani Grandal, what are your preferred moves for the catcher position (if any) heading into 2020?

I think the biggest problem lies with finding an answer to these two questions. Means is among the top 2-3 assets in the entire Orioles organization. If the Orioles were willing to listen to offers there are several teams that are much better positioned to have the prospect talent to entice Baltimore. I think any trade offer from the Brewers would have to start with Turang plus at least two of Lutz, Small, Feliciano, Abreu, Ashby. Even at that I am not sure Turang as a headliner would excite the Orioles to the point of being willing to move a LH starter they have under control for 5 more seasons.

Taylor is an interesting option. Had not thought about him. If they were willing to trade him, I hope the Brewers would be interested in Chris Taylor. His ceiling might not be particularly high, but he seems like a safe bet to offer solid production. I think his presence as a good right-handed bat would help stabilize the lineup. Also, Taylor is an example of how the Dodgers’ emphasis on developing defensive versatility over the past 5 years has really paid off. Players like Taylor are seemingly far more valuable in the context of being able to adequately cover 3-4 different positions with regularity.

One intriguing bullpen option would be LHRP Edwin Escobar who excelled in 75.1 innings in the NPB this season. MLB Trade Rumors took a look at both leagues and went through how former MLB players fared this season. Familiar names include Zelous Wheeler, Taylor Jungmann, Christian Bethancourt, and who knew Kosuke Fukudome was still going at age 42. The links to each article is below. Former Big Leaguers Playing Abroad: NPB Hitters Roundup Former Big Leaguers Playing Abroad: NPB Pitchers Roundup Former Big Leaguers Playing Abroad: KBO Hitter Roundup Former Big Leaguers Playing Abroad: KBO Pitcher Roundup

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (All times CT and subject to change) Friday, Oct. 11: WSH at STL Game 1, 7:08 p.m., TBS Saturday, Oct. 12: WSH at STL Game 2, 3:08 p.m., TBS Saturday, Oct. 12: NYY at HOU Game 1, 7:08 p.m., FOX Sunday, Oct. 13: NYY at HOU Game 2, 7:08 p.m., FS1 Monday, Oct. 14: STL at WSH Game 3, TBS Tuesday, Oct. 15: HOU at NYY Game 3, FOX or FS1 Tuesday, Oct. 15: STL at WSH Game 4, TBS Wednesday, Oct. 16: HOU at NYY Game 4, FOX or FS1 Wednesday, Oct. 16: STL at WSH Game 5 (if necessary), TBS Thursday, Oct. 17: HOU at NYY Game 5 (if necessary), FOX or FS1 Friday, Oct. 18: WSH at STL Game 6 (if necessary), TBS Saturday, Oct. 19: NYY at HOU Game 6 (if necessary), FOX or FS1 Saturday, Oct. 19: WSH at STL Game 7 (if necessary), TBS Sunday, Oct. 20: NYY at HOU Game 7 (if necessary), FOX or FS1

From Thursday night, Cole had his record of 73 consecutive innings with a strikeout snapped. Here is the leaderboard since the start of the expansion era (1961)... I think it’s safe to say Gerrit Cole is about to get paid.

I wonder if the Dodgers end up signing Chapman themselves this off-season. He is able to opt out of the final two years and $34.4 million on his deal, and the Dodgers would seem like the perfect landing spot for a new deal. I agree with the premise though that the Dodgers are a team that should place a higher value on an elite reliever upgrade. Another team I wouldn’t totally discount is the Twins, as I’ve mentioned before Derek Falvey was involved with acquiring Andrew Miller via trade for the Indians in 2016.

Could we have a page dedicated to the organization’s bizarre off-field injury history? Greinke playing pickup basketball. Lucroy dropped suitcase incident. K-Rod stepping on a cactus in Spring Training. Narveson scissors accident fixing glove. Nilsson’s bout with Ross River Fever.

I’m impressed they scored 10 runs in the 1st inning without a single home run. That seems difficult to do?

One player that was originally supposed to be making the move to MLB for the 2020 season was KBO outfielder and left-handed batter Sung-Bum Na (also known as Seong-Beom Na). He suffered a gruesome leg injury back in May and I haven’t heard much of an update regarding whether or not that officially derailed his plans to come stateside. Anyone have more information on him or his situation?

I am reviving this thread because acquiring Robbie Ray is an off-season move I would like to see the Brewers consider. The Diamondbacks have a lot of young pitching talent that falls into the 26 and younger category (i.e. Luke Weaver, Zac Gallen, Jon Duplantier, Alex Young, Corbin Martin, J.B. Bukauskas, Yoan López, Taijuan Walker, Kevin Ginkel, Archie Bradley). They have Robbie Ray under contract for just one more season, and as with Paul Goldschmidt seem willing to deal players they don’t plan to re-sign. In addition to just having him for a full season, one positive element of trading for Ray in the off-season as opposed to July is he would be eligible to receive a qualifying offer next off-season. This could be a good option of the Brewers decide they need a #2/#3 type starting pitcher (not to mention a LH starter) in the rotation behind Woodruff.