JosephC

Mmm, haven't had Buck's in 30 years. Pizza Oven has recently closed. Is Buck's pizza the same as Buck's Bar? https://www.buckspizzamadison.com/ Still upset that Buck's swore that they would re-open on the west side after finding a new location, but never did.

Counsell probably looked at the stat sheet for the last two years and decided he doesn't want to pitch Pomeranz in any situation that could remotely be described as critical because Pomeranz has been complete crap over that timeframe. How bad does a pitcher need to be to actually post a negative WAR by Fangraph's metrics? Remember Matt Garza in 2015? 6-14 record, 6.3 K/9, 3.45 BB/9, 1.39 HR/9 (prior to juiced ball), 5.63 ERA, 1.57 WHIP...and he was a +0.4 fWAR with those atrocious numbers! Pomeranz was a negative fWAR AND a negative bWAR player in BOTH 2018 and 2019. Since the beginning of 2018, Pomeranz has a 5.84 ERA, a 5.29 FIP and a 1.68 WHIP...good bad for a -0.5 fWAR and a -1.0 bWAR. Do we really even know if the Brewers traded for Pomeranz to be a key bullpen piece? Or did Stearns just trade for him to be a swing-man insurance policy if Gio starts having problems and needs to go back to the DL for awhile? Or maybe the Brewers saw something in his delivery that they think they can fix and get him back on track? There is no question that there was a time where Pomeranz was a real good pitcher (much better at his peak than Wade Miley ever was IMO). But sometimes those adjustments just don't happen overnight, and maybe the master Hook needs to work with Pomeranz on the side for a couple weeks until they get a mechanical adjustment worked out? I don't blame Counsell, no way would I put Pomeranz in a close game with his last 1 2/3 season track record. That recent track record just sucks.

No offense my friend, but if you are looking to invest 500k+ then there are two things that you should absolutely not be doing. #1 is asking a bunch of anonymous people on a message board about how to invest. #2 is making investments heavily dependent on low management fees which appears to be what you are doing here. If your girlfriend's family has an financial advisor/investment broker they trust, then I would recommend using that individual's knowledge. For the record, I do not work in the financial industry.

To this point the metrics show that Braun has been a better right fielder than Santana. Braun has played 2287 innings in right field and has a -9 DRS and a -7.6 UZR/150. Santana has played 1927 1/3 innings in right field and has a -15 DRS and a -11.8 UZR/150. All of Braun's innings except one occurred during his age 30 and 31 seasons, and he'll be in his age 34 season in 2018. Santana will be entering his age 25 season in 2018. Santana's defensive metrics were much improved from 2016 to 2017. His DRS improved from -8 to -5 (not innings adjusted and he played over twice as many innings in right field in 2017, so the improvement was much more dramatic than the raw number demonstrates), and the UZR/150 improved from -28.9 to -4.9.

Have to admit that I've grown more cold on this deal since it went down. Love Yelich and the offensive skills he brings. I don't think it was an overpay by Milwaukee in any way. But I wouldn't have made this deal unless I already had a plan in place to move Braun to another team. Reviewed Braun's defensive plus/minus numbers from his 3B season and do not want to see him anywhere near a MLB infield unless he is holding a bat or running the bases. Braun still has a good enough bat where he needs to be in a lineup everyday. No question Yelich and Cain have quality bats, but a big part of the value they bring to a major league team is left field and centerfield defensive, respectively. It would be a real shame if the Brewers put Yelich in right field and his arm proved to play like Kris Davis' arm in left. And it would be a bigger shame if they eventually put Yelich in centerfield and moved Cain to right field. Also would point out that Braun is a career +24 DRS and -3.3 UZR/150 as a left fielder, but is a -9 DRS and -7.6 UZR/150 as a right fielder. Also should be noted that Braun's arm played at a -4 level in only 798 1/3 left field innings in 2017. So moving Braun to right field is also a significant downgrade. Really wish the Brewers could somehow dump Braun.

Just some past commentary from Baseball America's Prospect Handbooks on Yelich's arm-strength. 2011 - The Marlins will try him in center field in 2011, though he'll likely settle on a corner. His arm was a question going into the draft, but Florida tweaked his mechanics and believes his throwing can become at least close to average. 2012 - His raw arm strength is average, though his throwing is hindered by poor mechanics and a long arm stroke, which Miami believes can be ironed out. (Arm = 45). 2013 - A long arm stroke has hampered his throwing since high school, but extra repetitions and improved footwork means his arm plays as average. Biggest commentary on his arm would have to be that he played 5560 innings in the Marlin's outfield and did not have 1 inning as a right fielder. Obviously Stanton was there, but at the same time, Stanton was hurt a lot and it's pretty surprising that Yelich never played a single inning there. Will be interesting to see if the Brewers try Yelich as a right fielder, or if they put him in center and put Cain in right which wouldn't make much sense since Cain is probably the better centerfielder. I suppose I could hope beyond hope that the Brewers actually found a taker for Braun and Braun would approve the trade.

I dislike the move but would classify it as a small bargain for the Brewers. If Yelich is projected as a 4 WAR player over each of the next five years his surplus value is a bit over 150 million. Obviously he wasn't going to get that type of return. I figured the Marlins would ask the opposing team to take on Martin Prado's contract and if that wouldn't happen then the team getting Yelich would be looking at giving up somewhere from 120-130 million in surplus value for Yelich. I'd estimate the Brewers gave up 110 million here so it definitely in the ballpark but a bit under my projection. If the Brewers had added in one more player like Freddy Peralta it would have pretty much been as expected. I just don't understand why, with investing so much in bats when it comes to the draft and international signings, that the Brewers used what was by far their biggest trade chip for a bat. No way I would have moved Brinson unless I was getting some top end pitching back. I like Yelich but don't like this move by the Brewers.