Thurston Fluff

I'm happy with Arnold so it's pretty much an I don't care situation. The only way I'm sort of interested in how he does in that I have a suspicion that the only instance a single person can make or break a franchise is when it's the owner. If Stearns can come in and turn around a pretty terribly run franchise with an egomaniac as an owner I may have to rethink that suspicion.

While I want to win the division because simply it's a division title and it's either us or the Cubs I don't think it matters for how well we do in the playoffs. It doesn't appear to matter how good (or bad) the opponent is or if it's home or away. The Brewers have shown all year long than the quality of the opponent matters about as much as where they play them. Which is to say not much at all.

Dang this kid can play.

But they're not needle movers!!!!

I was walking my dog today and someone wanted to pet my dog. They asked what her name was and I told them Trillian. They asked if she was named after the character in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I said she was. The lady said she loved the books and loves English humor in general. To which is responded I wonder if commas aren't just apostrophes who are afraid of heights. The blank stare I got either meant she didn't get the English part or it really is that dumb of a joke.

We get our fair share of beggars in our shop. They always have a hardship story and usually want money for gas to get their paycheck or some other lame reason and always promised to repay us. On occasion we'd give them a bit on the off chance they were being honest and really did need the money. It usually ended up with them coming back a few more times to beg money off us and never to return the money we gave them. Instead of just saying no we decided to give them the money if they gave us their license which we would give back to them once they repaid us. Not once did anyone accept that proposal until about two weeks ago. We gave her $20 and today we got it back with a self addressed envelope asking for us to send her license back and a very kind note of thanks. Not only did I send it back but I also let her have the $20 along with a note that $20 to know I helped an honest person in need was a bargain.

I doubt there's an actual reason being a DH makes him a poorer hitter than when he plays left field other than luck and small sample size variance. I guess so but add in the others who occasionally need a break and three off days in the next two weeks and it's down to 3 or 4 games a week. That changes in August and there's less of a problem keeping him on the roster if he's not the best option for regular playing time for whatever reason.

I doubt they want to stop playing Yelich and Contreras at DH so anyone who only DH's is not going to be an everyday player. If I were to guess, and it's only a guess, is they don't want to bring Hiura up to be a part time player.

I think history has shown any team that makes the playoffs has a chance to win the World Series. I'm not against them making a few moves but I don't think any of the options available are going to change the odds of winning it all by much. We got here with pitching and defense and are going to have to win it with pitching and defense.

Given they're leading the division with this lineup I think maybe you're wrong.

If you're asking if I thought he should have been the answer is no for the reasons I mentioned.

I just started watching Ted Lasso and it's fantastic. It's got a feel good vibe combined with good humor. Hard to beat. One that I've found better than expected is Halo. I was leery of shows based off video games but I must say I'm warming up to them.

I was going to say the exact same thing.

I never understood why someone who wasn't coming back form injury or other type of absence can be a comeback player. It'd be one thing if someone sucked so bad they were out of baseball but to be playing but just not up to their standards and be a comeback player? Not so much.

From what I've seen teams tend to use the closer at home in a tie game in the 9th inning for a long time. With the Ghost runner in extra innings does that make sense now? It seems like giving a lesser pitcher a clean inning vs a runner at second is better. Last night was a perfect example. Williams comes in and shuts the door stranding the runner. That only happened because the Brewers were behind going into the bottom of the 9th. Would standing the runner in the 10th been as likely if the Brewers had been tied going into the 9th and Williams pitched the 9th?

Low fastball spin rate = low chase rate = high walk rate?

Apples and oranges. In the NFL there's a salary cap and revenue sharing so the only way to outspend other teams is through the front office and coaches. In college sports players don't get a salary at all so again the only way to outspend is on coaches. In baseball why spend a ridiculous amount of money on scouts and other front office personnel when you can just buy the players already developed and ready to go? It doesn't take a mastermind to target Corbin Burnes as the best pitcher and pay him more than anyone else.

But we can predict that going for it works? I think we all get you don't care about watching a craptastic team for the next five years as long as the team goes for it now. That has been well established. What I think many of us are trying to get across to you is how little major trades change the odds of winning now.

This times ten. Where is the evidence that going for it gets us any closer to winning it all than being consistently good? I'm trying to think when the last time a team went for it and won the trade deadline or off season and also won the World Series. Essentially it's trading years of good baseball for one year of hype and a 90% chance if disappointment in the end. Frankly, I think most of the people who like the go for it mentality like the hype at the time instead of at the end of the season.

If you're going to look at our history and ignore who's making the trades then lets talk about how great the Francisco Rodriguez and Jeremy Jeffress trades were. They have about as much to do with Arnold as Stearns trades do.

I'm guessing Mark A will be the one who says they can't.

There are far too many examples of flawed teams making the playoffs and making a deep run to say minor fixes don't change the course of the season. It also matters what the team acquires in how much of a boost it gives them. A team like the Reds won't get the same boost from acquiring a league average bat just like the Brewers won't get the same boost as the Reds by acquiring a league average starting pitcher. The Brewers may not have made a weakness a strength but they did take a weakness and made it average. Given the weakness was never supposed to be a strength average is good enough to make a run.

I'd argue these moves show it is a team with a direction. One stated many times over. They're going to ride pitching and defense while getting enough offense to win games and make deadline moves that help the current team without hurting the future. Suddenly picking up a bunch of terrible fielding, good hitting players, giving up a boatload of prospects in the process would have indicated a team without direction. I get that some don't like the approach but that doesn't mean it isn't a planned approach that they're staying with.

But going all in an giving up top farm talent for a "needle mover" is a guaranteed certainty to win us a World Series?

How they do in a mid season series against the Braves proves nothing. I seriously doubt the Brewers would send out Teheran, Rea and Hauser as their starters in a playoff series. They just got done playing six series against winning teams and won four of them. The fact they have a winning record, and have had one all season long, is because they've been good enough to be the playoff contender they have been so far. I also don't get the "If it wasn't for the division they play in they'd be sellers" comment. I'm not directing it at you personally since it's been a standard comment all over. If the division is so inept why do they have the same number of teams who'd make the playoffs if the season ended today as the other two divisions? Why do they have the same number of teams with a winning record as the other two if it's so much worse than the others? Obviously that can't be blamed on an unbalanced schedule. While it may not be the best division, it's not so far behind that it's a lock only one team will advance. Given the fact the Brewers are the number two wild card team today kind of shows maybe there's more than one route to the playoffs for the NL Central division teams. Or perhaps it shows there aren't a whole lot of great teams in any division. Either way the Brewers position as a playoff contender is far from simply being in a weak division. All that said, I agree we shouldn't trade the farm for a one season run. Not because they don't stand a chance in the playoffs but because there's enough in the system and what trades would give us in return to think this team can be a contender for the foreseeable future. I'm not a fan of the all in mantra.