Playing Catch

I'd be curious if there are certain "usage" rules attached to some contracts, in terms of number of days after a 4+ out outings, or things like that. The "you guys want me to do everything," certainly suggests that there is more to the story.

Reading people's ideas and mulling things over in my own head, I keep coming back to the same thing... The Brewers are currently in a really good spot with the talent in the organization. They should be able to compete for years to come. I'm not naive to the prospective loss of Burnes/Woodruff, and the impact that would have on being able to win division titles, but there isn't a true re-build in the foreseeable future, either. A re-fitting, perhaps, but they should remain competitive.

Fun thread, even if I don't play every day.

I've sensed other examples where the Brewers seem to keep reflecting and evolving. Just when we think we've pegged the front office as stubbornly choosing a prescribed strategy, whatever the results, they do things that we don't expect (e.g. drafting a bunch of corner-power prospects). Maybe they are more flexible in their thinking and planning than fans give them credit for?

That's my point. Those big-spending teams you just listed are NOT analytically driven... yet. Those teams are still, "sign 30 year-old stars," driven, regardless of how you support the team through scouting/analytics/pitching lab/defense/etc. Atlanta, after extending all of their young guys, chose to NOT re-sign a 33-year-old Freddie Freeman (happy birthday, BTW), choosing instead to extend a then, 28-year-old Matt Olson. We all know that the Dodgers like to re-make/recycle relievers to make them something special with what I would assume is their OWN pitching lab. What happens to baseball when all of the big spenders choose not to pay 30+ year old FAs and choose instead to use analytics to drive their winning operations? The fun part is that the MLBPA will riot... Both sides will, (fingers crossed), decide that revenue-sharing and competitive balance is better than what college football is choosing to do... kill the golden goose.

I realize that big-markets have gone all analytical before (Astros), but I do fear that the days of the Rays (and Brewers) being competitive by these means are numbered. Baseball really needs to figure out if they want to be the NFL, European (and Saudi) soccer, or a pleasant mesh in-between in terms of competitive balance. I hope we are able to keep most (all?) of the scouting staff.

I don't see why people close to the team couldn't be targets. I would presume that Dim Tillard would be ideal -- but I'd doubt the team would let him contribute. This isn't meant as a blanket endorsement of Dillard's work/Twitter or whatever, I often find him inane, and harmless. But I still would rather listen to ANY Brewers "personality" yammer compared to the Twins' patented "broadcasts of boredom". My gosh do Twins broadcasts make my ears bleed. Having a Brewers employee contribute would certainly be beneficial to the site, even if they're not directly relating to fans. But again, I'm guessing any sort of content from Brewers employees is contracted to go through the team site.

Because he has some thoughts that are much different than many others. Because there are nuggets here and there that I find interesting, even though I think they may be wrong. It's fresh. I like Ghostbear every once in awhile. Maybe, once a month.

I like the idea of a 10-game IL stint, even if he's healthy-ish. See what Donaldson has in the tank, give some ABs to the bench guys (who haven't been seeing many ABs lately, and I'd like to keep them in form), get Christian ship-shape for the stretch run.

No Yelich today. I have a feeling he's gunna do a short IL stint. I'm a little surprised that Anderson is going down the same Brewerfanatic-respect rabbit hole as the Jesse Winkers and Luke Voits of the world. Anderson is an awesome guy to have available with his excellent IF/OF defense. I swear something must've happened the week I was out of touch with the internet/baseball this summer. I think most of his "struggles," are really just the result of losing his job to Monasterio.

I am a believer that the kids need to be exposed to winning baseball, and important September baseball. It gets beaten into their heads that the season is a marathon, not a sprint, but EVERY team in the chase sprints through the finish. I suspect that the Cubs want him to experience that.

I appreciate the nod to historical feats, but until the Brewers score a run, the manager's job is to win the game. If it were 3-0, 4-0, perhaps there is an argument. But I think he absolutely made the correct decision to bring in Williams after Burnes left it all on the field with 109 pitches in 8 no-hit innings. It stinks, but the Brewers are in a playoff chase, and personal feats, regardless of their rarity, cannot be placed in front of team goals. Also, part of the team goals is keeping Burnes healthy. He's fundamental to the team's chances in reaching a world championship.

The Canha thread seems like a great place to ask this question: Is there a "consistency metric" somewhere? I've found over the years, that I LOVE the players that are consistent. Guys that can contribute in nearly all the ways a ballplayer can contribute, and nearly in every game, but never quite WOWs you into having a strong impression? I've loved Canha for years. I'm so glad he plays for my team.

Probably the wrong thread, but what Edwin Jimenez is doing this year seems pretty unusual to me. I can't remember the last time a 21-year-old or younger went 7 innings in back-to-back starts, let alone 4 of 6. His ERA and ERA+/FIP/xFIP etc. look pedestrian, but to have this many innings, and long starts with a season's WHIP under 1.20 is special.

So why don't the Angels REALLY convince Ohtani to stay and release him, too?! Give him a chance! He'll almost certainly return the goodwill in the offseason.

If that's the case, I'd love to be a fly on the wall in one of those borderline WC teams' front offices... Assistant to the assistant GM: "Passan reporting that the Angels just released a bunch of regulars." GM to Assistant GM: "So how many 40-man spots are open for waiver-wire pickups?"

What do realists and wet blankets say when their team wins a World Series? I mean, c'mon... we're all baseball fans here. If there were such thing as a definition for a team that "no one wants to run into in October," doesn't this Brewer team meet said definition?

The immaculate grid game is fun. It's fun to do while watching/listening to baseball. Anybody else comfortable just saying that the Padres hitched their wagon to Machado and Tatis Jr., and the baseball gods are punishing them for it? I don't like calling people bad names, but I can think of a few for those two.

I think this thread is a proxy for the larger argument between posters that want to criticize an organizational decision, but feel like the "defenders" of the organizational decision put too much trust in the decision-makers, and that bothers them. As one of the "defenders" of management's decisions, I feel like the Hiura situation comes down to my believing that there are "known unknowns," about why Hiura hasn't been promoted. If the Front Office was able to candidly explain what their criteria were, then perhaps all of us would have stronger arguments. Who knows? If I were privy to that privileged information, perhaps I would totally disagree with management.

I think the thread should simply be renamed "BREWERS DH WOAH SOLVDD"

I believe Alonso was worth a Quero or a Black. BUT, I think the difference between Alonso>Santana isn't as big as the difference between Black>Jhonny Severino, so I'm happy with how it worked out.

I think they meant, "one of Quero/Frelick/Black along with Rodriguez."

Tink Hence? Griff McGrarry? C'mon, you're just making these names up, aren't you?

Trying to balance the value of Adames is tricky. He's a good defender, He has some power, a positive in the clubhouse/leader (presumably). His on-field dollar value is probably around $8M/season, but he'll probably get about $20M/season in FA. There are enough big-spenders that would be happy to have him (Yankees, Dodgers, Braves), but will they be motivated to trade for him? Does he boost your SS production enough for 1 season to give up a good prospect for him? I mean, maybe. My guess is that his offensive production in that Braves lineup would be really, really good (The Braves 8/9 hitters, batting ahead of Acuna are batting a cool .279). So, yes, he has some value. Then for the Brewers... are you only willing to trade for MLB contributors, or are you willing to take teenagers in exchange? If you're requiring contributors in exchange, you're probably looking at 40-man roster filler, rather than high ceiling guys, and those guys won't fill the WAR void that they're losing with Adames. I think this goes for all of Burnes/Woody/Adames. I think the Brewers will either keep them through free agency, or trade them for high-ceiling teenagers. The only teams in the market for those 3 players will be competitive teams, so unless the Brewers are able to pluck a prospect that is perhaps, blocked, and/or up against rule-5 roster rules, they won't be getting back a big-league contributor for 2024. I think next season will really test their organizational strategy. Do they "go for it," keeping their core and adding a FA stick (Rhys Hoskins? He'd probably cost $20M/season). Or do they stay with their organizational strategy, take a half-step back, trading those guys for A-ballers, still trying to "compete" in 2024? I suppose they could still choose option C: package Adames with a guy like Wiemer for a guy with a couple of seasons of control (e.g. Ty France, Josh Naylor, WhiteSoxGuys) They are in a tough spot, but an enviable one. Even as a fan, I'm not sure which strategy I would prefer. Before this season, I would predict that they would trade 'em and take a step back, but with the strength of the farm right now, I wonder if they feel comfortable enough with 2025+ that they can envision letting those guys walk in free agency.

I agree with this, and I believe, too, that it is a reflection of ownership. Attanasio is one of the best owners the Brewers could hope for. Despite being one of, if not the smallest media markets in MLB, and him being comparatively less wealthy than most professional sports team owners, and responsible to the other investors in the club, they've managed to win on the field and at the same time, invest in a competitive infrastructure (minors/scouting/PHX complex/front office) that will help the team stay competitive going forward. The guy's barely took a bad step since taking over the team. It baffles me when people don't respect what he's done. (I reserve the right to hate him forever if he moves the team)