Playing Catch

This is my opinion as well. I just don't see any reason to rush him. He's too valuable. I also worry that fans will be disappointed by a couple of pedestrian seasons. I'm not predicting this, but it's entirely possible that he ends up being a good, not great, hitter, fielder, and baserunner. Spencer Torkleson was one of the most sure-fire hitting prospects in a long time, and his first two seasons in MLB featured wRC+ of 75 and 107. I'm not sure that was the best use of 2 years of service time.

In his first full season as a starter in 1975, Robin Yount committed a staggering 44 errors at shortstop, the most errors committed by a shortstop since 1951.

This defense hasn't allowed more than 24 points in any game this season. We all need to remember that the Badgers experienced some success in the Kevon Cosgrove, "bend don't break," defensive era, and that the aggro-defenses in the last 10 years have allowed BIG point totals to East division elites.

This is the key. If they are never given the chance, one may as well trade them. Repeating time in AAA does nothing for their development if they've already performed there. It's merely valuable as a way to stash guys that aren't quite good enough for MLB, or for service time manipulation.

It's been bothering me all season. I get that Air Raid isn't the same as Air Coryell, but I thought there would be a few more vertical routes. I don't go to the games, so I can't see on TV, but maybe they're running them, but they are never the correct read? Maybe the players haven't picked up the offense as quickly as I expected? I'm sure the Mordecai hand injury hasn't helped. Perhaps the defenses in the B1G really ARE just that much better than in the ACC or Big 12? Or maybe the players simply aren't that good, that the receivers STILL can't get any separation. It's probably a little bit of all of this. My 2 consolations to this season, are that this roster still is pretty young, actually, especially because other than Braelon, I don't see anyone leaving early. And secondly, I forgot how fun it was to win games (Nebraska), when you are no longer expected to challenge for the division title. It reminds me how much fun being an underdog can be. Now let's beat Minnesota today!

"Cutting payroll," suggests the roster decisions they make are primarily a function of finances. While I'm sure they always have a budget, if they decide to do a big rebuild with younger players given roster spots, they will necessarily be less expensive, thus having a lower payroll. This isn't necessarily about being "cheap," although certainly there have been many examples of other teams going cheap/cutting payroll.

I'm against it. 2 seconds shouldn't matter that much either way, but one of the reasons this season's pitch clock rules were so successful was because of the paucity of violations. We don't need to see more violations.

In all of sports, perhaps my favorite guy to root for is the backup catcher. This is a really important decision! I think, like so many of the other decisions the team makes, it depends if they are going for it or not. If they are going for it, then they are keeping their pitchers, and probably integrating Gasser and Misiorowski into the team as the season progresses, in which case I want a top-notch receiver/coach/grizzled guy that Burnes will like throwing to, and that Gasser can learn from. If they decide they aren't going for it, then I want any old guy who is a good influence on the younger players.

I think I'm optimistic because of the depth. I know, I know, Gard only plays 8 guys, so what's the point of having "depth"? The point is that in all of those games last year where the guys faded at the end of games, this year, they can be strong and finish games strong. The guys can play more aggressively throughout the game, trusting that if they get in foul trouble, or get winded, a legitimate player on the bench can step in and step up. And we've already seen that our bench guys are good enough to do that.

He's dynamic! He's polarizing! In AAA he's Eric Davis. In MLB he's... Joey Wiemer. In the months since he was last seen playing for the big club, I've forgiven and forgotten all of those Wiemer whiffs, and have somehow fallen in love with him all over again. His introduction to the big leagues was premature. Will this stunt his growth? Or will that crucible crack open all of that prospect promise? If he's a player that the team believes has value and a future as a big league hitter (we all know he's a big league defender), do you sell low on him? Do you hope that with some humility and maturity he will polish his game in Nashville? Or do you put him right back on the horse to start the season, and have him be part of an outfield mix? If they don't believe he'll ever be anything special, I suppose they can just bury him on the depth chart with his minor league options, and we fans will just have to wistfully daydream about what could have been... Ah! what to have a golden-haired, mustachioed Icarus flying around centerfield and feasting on center-cut fastballs, sending them into the leftfield bleachers! Bah! What could have been... what should have been.

Such a satisfying win yesterday. (Note that a week ago, I was so frustrated with UW sports, that I literally turned the Providence game off. I've never done that before). Per the conversation about the progression/regression of players under Gard, I think it's due almost entirely to guys needing to play outside of their role, or outside of their abilities, for the sake of the team. Wahl looks awesome when he can defend-rebound-faciliate, but when he's asked to score 15 points he struggles. Guys like Crowl, Wahl, and Klesmit were never meant to provide the scoring bulk on a championship team. But that's where Storr and Blackwell come in... A poster here or elsewhere said of this team after an earlier game that this team was "Too much glue, not enough wood." Cue Storr and Blackwell. They can be the wood to provide scoring as they both can score at all three levels and at the line, thus allowing the Wahls and Klesmits of the world to do what they do best. If Josh Gasser was expected to carry the scoring load night in and night out, he would have been frustrating to watch. Earlier Jim French mentioned the depth earlier. But he was especially correct mentioning the most important element of depth... defense. They can maintain the defensive intensity long enough to truly give Chucky, Crowl, and Wahl breathers. This will be vital whenever foul trouble hits, too. And we haven't even seen what a healthy CE3 can provide, and I have a lot of confidence that Winter will grow into a force as well. So long as guys like Gus keep rooting on the guys in front of them rather than become a distraction, this team has some really good ingredients.

I've long thought that this is how Yelich may end up. Case in point, Bryce Harper is now a 1Bman. With this said, I wonder if the ol' "let's just stick the butcher at first," mentality has shifted in the minds of the analytically-inclined. That First Basemen have been found to have more defensive importance than historically considered. With shift limitations, this is theoretically true, and anecdotally true as well. When the trade deadline hit, I believe it was Arnold, himself, that said they wouldn't be acquiring anyone who was going to threaten their run prevention unit. Sure enough, that brought in Santana, who looked dynamic playing over there. With the universal DH, I think the limited defensive First Basemen will slowly decline in number, and be solely the realm of the truly elite bats. (Edit to add: This doesn't mean they won't TRY Yelich at first, to see how capable he may be)

Yeah, I was a little disappointed with his comments on my guys! I like to think all of EBJr., Luke Adams, and Henderson are on the rise. And, I too, thought that Baez was pretty much a 3Bman. Good stuff, though, and fun to read. I marvel every time I think about the depth of this system, especially after that stellar draft this year.

Yeah, it just feels like a weird move to me. Maybe the team doesn't feel confident in being able to sign the guys who will be available? Maybe this is just a hedge? Or perhaps this gives them some kind of negotiating power? Like, "Well, we're interested in your services, but we do have Jake Bauers over there, so we aren't DESPERATE for your services."

I'm on the record as not liking this move, but is he a good defender?

It's fun to look through your old posts. Sometimes I imagine you are Brock in disguise just to drive traffic.

I don't like this trade. Avina may not be destined for greatness, but he seemed to have a legitimate shot at one day being a big-leaguer. Jake Bauers has not been good. If he had options, then fine, stick him in Nashville, but I would be really disappointed if has a 26-man roster spot out of Spring Training.

I like the Murphy/Weeks dugout combo. As I believe Ron Robinsons Beard stated, a boring, but probably correct hire. I like the Weeks hire because people don't just get hired to do those roles with little to no experience unless insiders vouch for, and believe in their leadership abilities. Counsell was similarly groomed. As to swearing in a public interviews, I'm tired of it. I don't like it at all. And it seems to be happening more and more. Call me old fashioned all you want, but it's jarring and inappropriate. It doesn't hype me up, it's just really really distracting and unprofessional in a public space.

For a guy who led the NCAAs in HRs his senior year, features prodigous walk-rates, and has never posted a below-average wRC+ in the minors, AND plays for a franchise whose fanbase clamors for a prototypical first base prospect, I'm surprised it took a huge year in the AFL for Wes Clarke to garner attention around here and elsewhere. I'm not meaning to suggest that he's some kind of special prospect or anything, but his path has always kind of reminded me of Mitch Haniger's.

Perhaps the more stats-savvy among us will point out the flaw of my hypothesis, but I've always felt that the way Counsell managed (probably by front office design) was to win low scoring games featuring our top starters along with our top relievers, and basically punt on the other days, often losing non-competitive blowouts.

I think a lot of this is simply managing the 40-man and minor league roster numbers. Not just for the present, but for the future. I think the Brewers wanted to improve their AAAA-IF depth, and knew they would need to release a few minor leaguers in order to bring guys stateside within roster limits. They may as well trade from their depth (Mendez a corner OF, Moore not good enough to be expected to offer MLB-worthy ABs next season). This seemed like trading the current Moore for the future, 26 year old version of Moore, and needed to include Mendez to off-set the difference in development risk associated with the current Moore.

I mentioned it in the other thread, but I would like them to pursue Mark Hallberg (age 37), who is supposedly a front-runner for the Giants job.

I want this guy... https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10093311-mlb-rumors-buster-poseys-close-friend-mark-hallberg-interviews-to-be-giants-manager Edit to add this link to the Athletic article a couple years back... https://theathletic.com/1154774/2019/08/23/35-under-35-the-story-behind-how-minor-league-manager-mark-hallberg-already-has-changed-giants-history/

You are correct that there are no guarantees, but the choices are essentially to give it one more 'go' in 2024 with Burnes/Williams leading the charge, and THEN doing a soft rebuild in 2025/2026 (w/o the players Burnes/Williams would get back in a trade), or to begin the process a year earlier. In my opinion, I think I would prefer trading Burnes and Williams this offseason to really try and maximize the return. I'm indifferent towards Adames. The reason I prefer this now, is that going into next season with nothing new except some manager, smacks of desperation to 'win now,' rather than trusting that this franchise has now built a strong enough foundation that it can do roster churns and still compete, like Tampa Bay has done. IMO, it's either now, or next off-season. Without Woody and Counsell, it just seems like the timing is right. In addition, I think that the jolt of fresh faces and youthful energy and feel would help fans get rid of the bitter taste of playoff failure since 2018. It's been a historically strong run for this franchise, but I'm ready to turn the page.

I felt differently before the Woodruff injury and Counsell leaving, but now, the fan in me would actually enjoy a refresh of the team. The "faces" of the franchise the last few seasons have been Counsell, Hader, Burnes, Woodruff, Adames, Stearns, Devin, Yelich. I think it may be refreshing and exciting to do a rebuild. And for the record, I don't mean that means we won't be competitive. I think the Brewers WILL be competitive even without any of thoses faces. Certainly not favorites, but with players that can be brought back in trades along with all of the young talent the organization has amassed allows for a new chapter in the Attanasio era. Let's bring in a fresh-faced, positive and energetic manager to grow with the players and look to go back to winning division titles in 2025.