Playing Catch

Luke Adams now 2nd across all of A-ball in wRC+. At 19, he's gotta start getting some national attention, right? (also sorry about the false alarm on Black at 2nd. I must've just looked at it wrong)

Black starts for Biloxi at 2B.

Those Statcast numbers are nuts. He must have really short fingers.

Where's Tyler Black? No listed transaction. Not in Biloxi's lineup yesterday. Did I miss something? Perhaps he's en route to MKE?

I think this is a fair observation toward my own views of Urias. But Urias is making $4.7M this season. Would someone really want to pay him nearly $5M next season? I mean, Brian Anderson is only making $3.5M. Additionally, I don't view Blalock as "... anything we can get." I think the Brewers see a guy who is destined to pitch in the big leagues sooner rather than later, and that he's got good upside. Anytime you can get a cheap guy that can contribute to the big league club in a trade for an expensive guy that can't, that's probably a good trade. (Edit to add: "Basically what LouisEly said.)

Gotta expect a number of promotions coming soon. If not today/tomorrow, Then maybe not until Tuesday?

In a word, no. I don't necessarily enjoy watching it. But I do enjoy that there is a strategy that lesser teams employ to combat being so outmatched. I like that soccer features David versus Goliath situations. I like the idea of these huge clubs going to play in some 5,000-seat stadium in the middle of nowhere, England, and have to decide whether or not to even play their best players, but risk bowing out of the tourney early. The fact that there are opportunities for huge upsets is fun for me. I prefer college football/basketball to NFL/NBA for the same reason. I like that fans for most soccer clubs seem to have their own definition of what a successful result is, or a successful season looks like, which doesn't have to end in victory or a championship. Historically, I like the limited substitutions as it puts a real emphasis on being able to run that much in 90 minutes. But there's no doubt that having more substitutions makes for a better viewing experience. As for the USWNT, it seems clear to me that Rapinoe and, perhaps to a lesser degree, Morgan, are washed up and shouldn't get much time from here on out. I haven't seen enough of Rodman, Smith, and Thompson to have an opinion on their quality, but if they aren't better than Rapinoe and Morgan, the US isn't going to advance that far in this tournament. I don't mind that Rapinoe and Morgan are on the roster, but they shouldn't be playing much more than as late-match substitutes.

Wow, when I logged on this morning, I really didn't think this was going to be the trade-thread with all the bickering! I like to think that I put posters "on ignore" in my mind. Once I've done that, it's easier to not take them so seriously. Heck, Jeffrey Leonard probably has a healthier relationship to baseball than I do, as it clearly is only something that brings him some casual entertainment, including being able to post his opinions here. I, on the other hand, am an obsessive; I'm probably close to the fringes of unhealthy, LOL. If Jeffrey doesn't mind mortgaging the future of the franchise because they won't miss winning baseball when it's gone, well, that's the kind of fan they are, which is fine. Who among us don't enjoy the idea of the "big score," putting all one's betting budget on the longshot to win?

I expect the Brewers to keep Miller on the 40 until he runs out of options. He's performed admirably for the team this season as a guy that can play pretty good defense at multiple positions, hold his own with the stick, and add some baserunning moxie to the lineup. He's performed his role as a depth infielder with aplomb.

Very happy with this trade. Urias has been getting squeezed for playing time, and his limitations are kind of irritating limitations (e.g. speed, baserunning, contact, arm, inability to play SS). You trade 2.5 years of control of a UTL for 6 years of a guy with backend bullpen upside. I had higher expectations for Urias coming into the season. I was on record not believing that there was much difference between him and other options, but I really liked what Anderson brought to the team with his skillset and ability to play really, really good defense at two positions (it's really nice from a roster-perspective to have a guy that can play IF AND OF). I hope they re-sign Anderson for next season, allowing Black to get some more reps at 3rd next season in the minors as well as better gauge the timetables for Adams, Wilken and Boeve.

I'm guessing that was part of the motivation. Probably explained the Caratini rumors as well. Brewers just happened to have a logjam of catchers at the top of the organization. I'm thrilled with the McKendry and Blalock pickups.

Blalock and Jimenez... let's keep the pitching pipeline going!! Also, I can't seem to find the bonus info on Alastre. That little highlight reel was impressive.

Offsides is the most fundamental part of soccer, IMO. Without it, the game would be completely different. I like that the defense can strategically condense the playing field with the rule (playing a high line), thus forcing offenses to adapt. The lack of timeouts/commercials is fantastic. Relegation leagues are awesome. I like that regular season greatness is held in a higher regard than tournament-style championships (although the Champion's League is probably challenging that assertion). I like that when there is a dead-ball event, the game can sometimes just start up again without all of the exactness of American sports. Same thing with 90 minutes. You just keep playing until the ref says the game is over. It's like the game just isn't taken so seriously... With this said, VAR (video assisted referee) has been horrible to this effect. Who cares if the player was an inch offside, let them play! I don't love penalty kicks, as they seem to disproportionately penalize the offending team for certain fouls in the box. But I also don't always love the way free throws in basketball, either. Flopping doesn't bother me at all in either basketball or soccer, but only because it's the only way to get refs to call the foul. If basketball players didn't flop, there would never be an offensive foul called, and if the most talented players in soccer didn't go down easy every now and then, they'd just keep getting kicked over and over without the ref calling the foul. In many ways, I like soccer because it hasn't been so Americanized. It just feels different.

I mean, if guys are on base, I'd prefer that to a guy that swings and misses.

I just love a post that expresses admiration for the current team and manager instead of doubt, dread, doom, and disappointment.

I dunno, I feel like the players that decide to make the jump to Japan have, perhaps not given up on big league dreams, but have seen the writing on the wall, and would prefer to be a contributor in Japan instead of playing the 40-man roster shuffle for their career. While some of them come back, I don't know that many are looking at it as a springboard. It seems like other than the young kids who sign for MLS, most of the mid-career players are expecting to stay in MLS for their career. And the clubs that sign the young kids are signing them because they will increase value and solicit high transfer fees.

I'm new to the thread, but am curious about others' curiosity/fandom of soccer. As a kid from rural Wisconsin, with so little opportunity to experience soccer, I tended to ridicule it. But then I started playing soccer video games with my college buddies and became curious, particularly about the World Cup... How can billions of fans be so wrong? Anyway, after many years, I now love the sport.

Oh, I totally agree. I'm mostly against trying to acquire him based on his injury history. I was merely stating that in a universe where he's always healthy, he may be a "star".

I think he'd be a "star" if he played more than 80 games in a season. I mean, he batted .295 with 16 HRs in one-half season last year, and has similar old-school numbers this year. He doesn't walk a ton, but he also doesn't strike out a ton. I mean, if you're batting .290 with 30 bombs, are you a star?

Before reading your analysis, I would rather have Canha (and actually think he fits the Brewers' "philosophy" really well). The extra years of control for Rooker, though, are intriguing. Although, I'd probably just prefer they use Hiura instead of Rooker.

I'm sure it's not for everyone, but I think it would be so cool to be able to be good enough to play in Japan/Korea. Just an amazing experience. I applaud him to taking the leap, and wish him the best. Reminds me of international soccer players playing in MLS, or Sam Dekker enjoying success playing in London, except that the fanbase is probably about 10x as rabid.

I agree that it is odd. I was very surprised that's where they put him. But I get the sense that they really are liking the Yelich/Contreras 1-2, and with Santana, 1-2-3. It probably speaks to the paucity of hitting talent on the squad. He'll probably get a lot of baserunners ahead of him, and comparatively, he doesn't strike out, he gets hits, is able to expand the zone to get sacrifice flies, etc. He's just a really advanced hitter, even without the HR power.

He's only 26. I think if he wasn't riddled with injuries, he wouldn't be on the market at all, even with his defensive issues, because when healthy, he is a true middle-of-the-order bat (a star).

There's no games tomorrow. This could all just be a "get ready for trade OR promotion," including Hiura.

Depending on the return, I am okay with trading Lara, Brown, and/or Hiura... I've become attached to Adams, but there's a ton of variability/risk with his future outcomes. If they traded Brown, I would guess it means that they are comfortable with Turang and their teenage middle infielders.