Playing Catch

I mean, he said it like 3 separate times!! Just hilarious.

That was a great win. Anyone else see Murphy's post-game presser on Brewers Live? Someone needs to give him a different term for warming up relievers without putting them in the game. Holy cow.

This conversation is giving me deja vu from last year.

A team can't replace him in free agency, or via trade. If the Brewers intend to contend next season, keeping him would be the best way to "maximize his value". With this said, I believe Peralta could pull in a blocked, starting caliber player (better than Durbin) with years of control remaining.

Subscription required, I think... Baseball America: Breaking Down Jacob Misiorowski Basically, they are really impressed with his start to 2025, and are feeling like he's been too promising lately to move to the pen. They feel like the best thing for Brewers (win now, put him in pen), and best thing for his development (let him develop as a starter in AAA) may be tricky to navigate.

It's all happening! Four for four, and then four more for four more! 4-man rotation, 4 piggy-backs.

Wow, that Durbin play was awesome. Winning baseball.

I don't think he thinks he's funny. I think he thinks his stuff is goofy. But try to be anything but dry over the course of a baseball season. I'll bet it's hard. I would also suspect that he does better with 8-12 year olds. Not an unimportant demographic.

I presume BA will grace us with his presence sometime after the NBA and golf seasons. For the record, I like BA, but it's probably time.

I don't often listen to post-game sound or read up on the games, but has anyone seen anything from Yelich, himself, during his slump?

I guess it seems to me that they've done a nice job of that, over time. They "modernized" the old ball-in-glove logo as a connection with the team's heritage. The smell of the Usingers and/or Klements or Johnsonville brats grilling in the Molitor Lot while listening to Ueck on your car's radio with your grandpa. Integrating Bernie's slide into the "new" ballpark. I mean, it was called Miller Park, and American Family Field. Very strong national brands that recognize the "M" and the "B" in the old hat's logo.

Not sure what you are arguing, here. You are lauding Nike for selling a vibe instead of quality. Well, what vibe is Walmart selling? Marketing is more than selling a "vibe". Rick Schlesinger is selling to a much broader market than Nike. It isn't a national or global brand, no. But it is a brand that appeals to 7-year-olds (sliding sausages), 17-year olds (City Connect) and 70-year olds (Cribbage Boards) in equal measure. Uecker embodied the market the Brewers are trying to capitalize on, which is anyone who loves the Brewers, and anyone whose "vibe" is an AmFam tailgate. Multiple uniforms are a problem? There is a slice of Brewer fan that LOVES the 1994 Motre Bame logo. I'm guessing they were about 7 years old at the time, just like the fans that love the '82 logo, the Barrelman logo, or heck, even Milwaukee Braves designs. I think the strength of the marketing is its inclusiveness, like one big family living together with a portrait of great grand-pappy Uecker above the mantel. Grandchildren, children, moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents, neighbors. They are all in the Brewers family, and the marketing reflects that mélange.

I wonder if we all have different motivations in mind when it comes to booing. For example, when imagine myself booing Counsell, I imagine it to be playful, and from a place of respect for what he did with Milwaukee. He can't seriously claim that he was naive to the importance of that rivalry. He knows what he did. He signed up for it, and again, that's fun, to have rivalries. So what if he plays the heel in this drama. Adames isn't a heel, he's a prodigal son. I can't even remember a time when I booed a player out of frustration, or anger. Perhaps an ump or two, but never a player.

I've always figured that organizations valued secondary coaches more as "clubhouse presences," and sagacious elders than for any sort of tactical masterminds. Ed Sedar being a delightful guy may be the exact reason they held on to him. Or maybe, and I'm making this up, but maybe Julio Borbon has a great reputation of working with young Latin players, Like Jackson Chourio. For my money, that's probably worth more than a guy that yells, "back," when the pitcher tries to pick you off, or "go for 2!" when you line a ball into the gap.

Winning Streak!

I guess I haven't considered how tough the schedule has been lately. Astros, Rays, Guardians, Twins. Thats 4 teams that know how run prevention works.

I think I'm getting closer to the opinion that the Brewers should be sellers. I mean, if they go on a 20-5 run or something, they'll be what? Tied with the Cubs? At best? I think this 2025 season is the remaining core of the apple the Brewers have been munching on since 2016 or so. But the Brewers have more apples. A bunch more. 2025 can be a reloading season. The Brewers can not only trade guys away for a few lottery tickets and empty roster spots, but they can use those spots to play some intriguing, but not as heralded prospects, like Ernesto Martinez Jr. or Mike Boeve. It wouldn't be that weird if a couple of those types turned out to have significant value for the big club. But in order for that to even be possible, they'd have to play. I also am wondering if the Front Office has already had this conversation with Murph, and that's why he's been so cranky lately. edit to add: 2026 fresh start under Weeks? That would be a similar story to how Counsell was originally hired. (Ooops, thought this was the other thread)

If the Brewers stand pat with this production through May 30, I will suspect that they think of themselves as sellers, and as such, they may intend to try out Martinez Jr., Wilken, and/or Boeve? Heck, maybe even Pratt, for those roster spots?

Counsell would get a standing ovation had he signed with the Giants.

Subjectively, I disagree. I think the Brewers marketing is strong. But I haven't seen any data to support this. Anecdotally, it seems to me that the branding is well-regarded nationally. I think the Brewers should buy targeted ad space before every road series outside of the division, with a tagline of, "Your 2nd favorite team is coming to town!" If I was a Yankees, Angels, or Astros fan, it would be fun to also root for the Brewers. Maybe even buy a hat or a Chourio jersey.

Was anyone else watching the Twins' broadcast today? I could've sworn I heard Cory Provus say that the Brewers haven't been 5 games under .500 since 2016. Did I hear that right?? Is that accurate?

It's a fact that the Brewers have been really bad lately. It's a fact that they will need to play a lot better in order to challenge for the division. These aren't defensible opinions. These are the facts. With that said, I think many of us here believe that the roster, as conceived and constructed, can improve merely by getting healthy, and having players improve individually. How many of us believe that Yelich will finish the season batting under the Uecker line, for example? How many of us believe that Jackson Chourio won't improve on his .285 BABIP, or .700 OPS as the season goes on? How many of us pictured the Brewers' innings-pitched leaderboard to look like this, with two of those listed being acquired after the season started? How many of us thought the left-side of the infield to be THIS bad? In my opinion, the Brewers season has started off about as bad as imaginable, save for the first base production (irony!), and they are by no means dead and buried. I think making a number of moves out of fear that they have to catch up to the Cubs by June is a little reactionary. Ortiz has only recently passed one year of MLB service time, and Durbin is an unheralded rookie. Simply expecting normal professional progression from those two isn't a stretch of the imagination. Look at Turang and Frelick, who have grown into being average hitters, along with their elite defense. I'm not predicting guys like Durbin and Ortiz to magically transform into all-stars, or for Woodruff and Ashby to suddenly return to peak form, but one doesn't have to squint too much to imagine improvement across the board, even defensively.

Honestly, I don't think the posts here have been that overly negative. But if you look at some of the words used in Brewerfanatic News Headlines this week, you will find the following... Mediocrity Urgency Dangerous Mistake Prevent Frustratingly Sellers Red Flags Wrong Salvage Make-a-change

Perhaps the winning recipe includes a dash of Easton McGee? Came up with the Rays, (of course), as a 6'7" kitchen-sink starter with decent movement and excellent control. The Brewers must be trying to convert him into a swingman with a little more swing and miss, as both his K% and BB% this season are the highest of his minors' career, while coming exclusively out of the pen. Here's his 2023 Statcast. I think it's likely they need some innings in the short term, and they are prepared to simply option him back down, of course. But he's "only" 27. (I'm not predicting anything, He's probably just roster churn, but this team is kinda boring at the moment).