Playing Catch

I'm not sure that either of those guys, in a blind study, would fit YOUR definition of "stud".

I love this.

It looks like his struggles against righties was what doomed Robles. In the last two seasons, Chourio had, wait for it... reverse splits.

So baseball-wise, the worst-case scenario is that you have a cost-controlled $10M annual speedy CF who has a low average (.220) with power to all fields (15 HRs) and some stolen base ability. That's not too bad. I don't really think that his bust potential would be lower than this outcome regardless the fact prospects aren't guarantees. Obviously a best-case scenario would be more like Acuna, where the rest of the league envies the player and contract. I really love the 2 team options. As others have stated, that's the potential equivalent of signing the best FA for only a 2 year deal. I wonder what the buyout(s) are worth.

In terms of the bowl season conversation, I've always felt they should have kept the traditional bowl system perfectly intact. Just add the playoff afterwards. But the kicker would be if you LOSE your bowl, you are OUT of the playoff. Michigan goes to Rose Bowl, loses to Washington? They are ineligible for the playoff.

I think it stinks he won't play the bowl game. He makes them so much better. This will sound like sour grapes, but it's not... I don't think I'll miss him next season, and I don't think he'll make it in the pros. He's simply hurt too often. I think his lack of availability will also crush his draft stock. When he's 100% he's a stud, but he's NEVER 100%.

I would love love love that trade, and I agree strongly with your point about a Burnes trade. I think that has been my hesitation with trading Burnes is due to the lack of depth in our MLB/AAA stable of pitchers, the team would not only lose their ace, but pitchers 2-5 all get bumped up a spot, and suddenly the team is trotting out Junk every five days. Woo has already had success in MLB, and to get near-ready Hancock as well would go a LONG way to stabalizing the starting pitching in the post-Burnes/Woodruff era I've also always preferred Frelick's floor to Mitchell's ceiling.

I'm on the fence with this decision. I agree with those that don't like doing a deal like this for a player with no MLB experience. It makes me kind of nervous. With that said, I would be pretty excited to start the year with Chourio on the roster, and if he ends up being even an average player, I'll be excited to have him locked up for years. Of course if he ends up being an all-star, this will end up being a great decision.

What is the "value" attached to trying to win the division? We all like to talk about maximizing "value," (myself included), but the whole point of this exercise is that the Brewers win a World Series. Having Corbin Burnes and Wily Adames and Devin Williams on the roster MUST improve the chances of said outcome, no? Can one quantify the value of a winning season? Perhaps THAT is the part of the equation we have a hard time with.

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?