Playing Catch

Offense: Tonje/Boyd/Blackwell have been so successful being ball-dominant studs in recent seasons, that it's easy to be a little concerned about their ability to score, but I already trust Foxwell so much more than any of them with the ball in his hands. His Floor General game is perfect for the other players on offense, and with their experienced wings, they shouldn't have any trouble finding offensive flow. With their size, they should make up for the lack of shot-making with getting to the glass before and after a shot goes up. They'll shoot a lot of FTs, and should get plenty of putbacks. Having a few guys that can shoot high-percentage dunks helps. They'll eat all the cupcakes for lunch, but time will tell if they can slice up the 3-tier cakes in the B1G. Defense: They have the bodies and the depth to defend the rim and rebound, moreso than any roster they've had in years. This is consistently my preseason concern, year after year, so the relative abundance of those qualities has me feeling warm and cozy, knowing that Gard will have them playing elite defense sooner than later. Can Foxwell and the other 1s/2s defend B1G quickness? Probably not, but that can be mitigated by Janicki/Carrington/Elmer's length, and the bigs being mobile enough to defend ball screens. I would absolutely love for Autry to get up to speed enough to be able to offer some gritty on-ball defense for pesky point guards, or for Kinziger to grow in this area. To my eye, this is the most complete Gard team, maybe ever? My only hesitation with announcing that they'll compete for a B1G title is that in this NIL era, all the big boys are stacked, so they'll probably finish anywhere from 1st to 15th.

As Home Run Derbys go, I'll be the AZ Fall League has some doozies.

I just love that each, in their own way, will need to prove the doubters wrong. One of them is going to take off, right? I feel like this reflects an aptitude for keeping pitchers healthy, no? My two favorite stats, runs and innings pitched. Innings pitched are so underrated as a statistic, as it reflects so much of a pitcher's worth to a team, whatever the other statistics.

Traditionally, team success has impacted voting, and Turang finished 2nd in bWAR... there's no way he could win it, right? I mean if you reward points based on such things, shouldn't THIS matter (Google AI - I haven't fact-checked it)? In head-to-head matchups during the 2026 MLB regular season, Brice Turang held a slight statistical edge offensively over Pete Crow-Armstrong, though both players struggled to get hits consistently against their respective division rivals. While both players had breakthrough campaigns overall—culminating in both being named finalists for the National League MVP Award and the NL Platinum Glove—their individual execution during the 2026 Brewers–Cubs series tells a tighter story. [1, 2] A side-by-side comparison of their individual stats against each other's teams during the 2026 season shows the following numbers: Statistic Brice Turang vs. Chicago Cubs Pete Crow-Armstrong vs. Milwaukee Brewers Games Played 13 13 Batting Average .240 .163 Hits 12 8 Home Runs 1 2 Runs Batted In (RBI) 4 3 Runs Scored 9 11 Key Takeaways Turang's Consistency: Turang put together a much higher batting average (.240 to .163) across their 13 games, finding ways to turn over the lineup even when the Cubs' pitching held him in check. PCA's Power Outburst: Though Crow-Armstrong struggled to get base hits, hitting below the Mendoza line against Milwaukee, he made his hits count for maximum damage by launching 2 home runs compared to Turang's 1. [1, 2]

Just one fan's opionion, but there's plenty of other threads for this convo.

Exactly. This was why I endorsed the seemingly lopsided Danny Jansen trade last season, too. He didn't contribute with his play, but with his presence. Luis Lara helped the Brewers win the World Series, despite not contributing on the field in any meaningful way, just by being available. Dustin May pitched 4 innings in the World Series for the World Champions allowing 2 ER. Extrapolating those numbers out against a regular season opponent is the equivalent of a quality start. No small contribution.

Good points. I like having some high-floor guys signed, and that's exactly what they've done with Ashby, Pratt, and Lara. It provides roster and payroll certianty, and of course, buys out FA years. But like we've seen with the Dodgers and all of their guaranteed contracts, or a team like the Phillies, who were begging teams to take Nick Castallanos off their hands; having guys locked into roster spots also takes away flexibility. My point isn't that they should/shouldn't try to extend Made, but rather that there are reasons you don't want a bunch of guys getting paid a big league salary while they are on the IL, or spend time in AAA. The risk-factor with extending Made for $150M, compared to extending Lara for $30M is pronounced, and yet currently, their floors are about the same. That is expected to change pretty quickly, of course, otherwise this wouldn't be a topic. I guess what I'm saying is that signing Ashby, Pratt and Lara to their extensions is risky because you need to roster them, but signing Chourio and/or Made means not only rostering them, but starting them every day. I don't think Made is there, yet, for the World Series Champions.

Thanks to all of them that contributed to being World Champions. Blessings.

This thread should forever be a unity thread with the Positivity thread. The two gravitational forces of Brewerfan.

https://www.mlb.com/brewers/fans/parade

As some have mentioned, I feel so much lighter this morning. Last night, just a feeling of "job's done," followed by fatigue. This morning? Lighter than a feather. Walking on air. I wasn't around in the beginning, but It's hard not to feel like this was 57 years in the making, or maybe 62 years, going back to the Braves leaving. It's hard not to feel like the whole journey was to get to this point. And they did it our way.

What an unbelievable opportunity.

I always thought Melvin was credited for being one of the leading voices in the front office for needing to overhaul the entirety of the organization. That while his GM activities certainly seemed to focus on the "now," he was fully aware of the need to invest a TON into the scouting and development if Attanasio was serious about winning consistently.

I just read another article citing his recent performances about Peralta being the best pitcher the Brewers have faced in the playoffs. Didn't we already hear that about King, Morejon, Miller, Skubal, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Snell, Martinez, and Rasmussen? There's not many "best" pitchers left. I wouldn't quibble with anyone talking about the Brewers 'pen as being the "reason" the Brewers have won their playoff games, but IMO, the reason is that the Brewers keep scoring more runs than the other team.