Austin Tatious

Personally, I think Susac's time for MLB is now. I suppose if he collapses you could use an option for him to get back on track. But I think it's time to see what he's got at the MLB level.

I'm most excited to see some of our minor leaguers who will be in big league camp. Hader, Brinson, Woody, and some of those guys. That's my favorite part of spring training. Watching Matt Garza pitch 1 1/3 -- not so much.

I agree that this is a possible scenario. Matt Arnold would know their system so that might be interesting. The bloom has fallen off the rose for Chris Betts. MLB has dropped him to their 30th prospect. He's had elbow problems but they are still going to try him at catcher. He's young so he's a boom or bust guy. A lot of their other prospects are somewhat on the older side. I wouldn't say Betts is enough. Scooter is an established MLB player with some pop and Betts is a pure lottery ticket.

Sad story. 25 years old. That's tough to stomach regardless of the circumstance. RIP

The five game losing streak is tough to stomach. But, obviously Giannis starting the all star game is a plus. Sounds like we may be drafting around 12. It's a good draft so there should be a very nice player at that spot. Maybe somebody like a Miles Bridges at MSU. He's impressed me. But there are a ton of guys.

There is some high level talent on defense, when you look at Nick Perry, Mathews, Clinton-Dix. I don't think Hyde or Ryan are bad. But, really, all three levels of the defense need help. D-tackle, speed at linebacker and corner. The offense is fine. A healthy Lacy would have helped. Montgomery was ok, but I'd find a solid backup in there too for Lacy. I'm not going to be surprised at all if Ted gets a new title as an overseer and they let Eliot Wolf or Gutenkist become the day to day GM.

Sorry about that. I know his name but not sure what happened there. Could have been autocorrect. I know Feliz started to come out as Perez.

With or without Feliz, I'm going to predict this bullpen will be poor and will cost us ten extra losses with meltdowns. So, if you look at the offense and some potential bounce backs in the rotation to put you on a 77 win level, you'd fall to 67 wins with bullpen implosions. I probably wouldn't get Feliz myself but I can see the attempt to minimize heinous losses caused by a subpar pen. I think a lineup of: 2b Villar Cf Broxton Lf Braun 1b Thames Rf Santiago 3b Shaw/Perez SS Arcia C Susac/Bandy With a rotation of Guerra, Davies, Garza, Peralta, Nelson That's 77-81 win talent if things go well. But the bullpen blows ten from there.

http://www.gammonsdaily.com/peter-gammons-ten-thoughts-when-not-slipping-on-black-ice/

Agreed. Brogdon 15 10 and 12 with a 4-1 a/to ratio. It's a stark contrast to MCW who went for like 4-1-4 and a 2-1 a/to ratio. MCW was a bigger name than Snell but the Bucks had Brogdon ready to step in. Brogdon is a complete player. If Maker can develop at the five and they can acquire a legit shooter or two, watch out. You don't need Ricky Pierce or Brian Winters. It would be helpful even if they get a limited guy in the Steve Kerr or John Paxson mode. They need a dead eye shooter to receive the ball off penetration.

2b Villar (s) Cf Broxton ® lf Braun ® 1b Thames (l) rf Santiago ® 3b Shaw (l) ss Arcia ® c Bandy/Susac ® Pitchers Guerra, Davies, Garza, Nelson, Peralta Relief Anderson (some spot starts), Suter (l), Milone (l), Marinez, Torres (set up), Barnes, Knebel (closer) Bench, Perez (super utility, 350-400 abs), Niuewy, Rivera, Susac, Gennett I think you win 70 ish games with that roster. Would be more but I'd expect some bullpen losses.

From Nick Cafardo today. https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2016/12/17/nick-cafardo-why-chris-sale-delivery-works-for-him/j5slTzAgR7miJUAsQoAgHM/story.html "3. Ryan Braun, LF, Brewers — The Brewers would listen on Braun but there hasn’t been much interest despite his reasonable long-term contract and the fact he’s been a very good player since putting his PED use behind him. One team executive reasoned, “When a guy with that contract has been busted once, it’s hard to commit those dollars and those player resources because if he gets busted again, you lose all of your guys and you lose Braun. Nobody is saying he’d do it again, but while he’s a very good impact player, it’s just a tough one.”

Speaking of Gennett he doesnt have much value. Maybe hang onto him until some team has an injury and needs a stopgap. Minimal demand for him now.

I hope the signing of Milone is used as depth to allow for trades of Guerra (for a good return) or others (e,g., Nelson).

Good thoughts. I would not dump Garza here to lower the return. He's coming off the books anyway soon, plus the Brewers have financial flexibility with a low payroll overall. We should use our money flexibility to increase talent. The Giants are more bold than the Dodgers. They can be decisive and make big moves. Smardizja. Cueto. Pence. Will Smith. Melancon. They'll move guys. I'd ask for Brian Reynolds, Shaw, Beede and Cain for Braun and maybe a second tier guy. Other than Reynolds, the other prospects are not all that enticing. Beede may be a back of rotation guy or bullpen arm. Shaw is a fairly limited, unversatile bopper. Reynolds looks toolsy and good. You get Braun on the Giants and absolutely watch out. They'll be stacked everywhere. I'd put them ahead of the Cubs at that point. On offense, they'd have Posey, Braun, Belt, Crawford and Pence. Bumgarner, Cueto, Smardizja in the rotation. Melancon and Will Smith at the back end. Yikes. They'd have to pay up though.

Did you guys catch the David Stearns interview on WSSP, I think yesterday? I thought it was a good interview and he was reasonably candid. In the past, he'd speak in obvious generalities. How many times can his answer possibly be "we are trying to accumulate as much controllable talent as we possibly can?" But, he's getting better at the media thing and let out some goodies. On Braun, he acknowledged he's had offers but that they weren't good enough to motivate him to move him. He anticipates Braun being here next year (and beyond). I like and applaud that Stearns is only moving Braun for the right package. I'm not going to slit my wrists if Braun stays here. In fact, I'd want significant talent back or I wouldn't bother. The worst thing in the world is to move him as a salary dump. There's talk on here whether Braun is worth $25 m or $30 m. It really doesn't matter. He's at $20 m without even addressing the deferred component. No one is seriously arguing that's an overpay. His contract is appropriate. As for the Dodgers, I can't possibly imagine they wouldn't love Braun in their lineup. If you saw them in the playoffs, he's exactly the type of bat they were missing. That's my opinion. You're free to have your own opinions. You'd watch the Dodgers in the playoffs, and Gonzalez and Seager are obviously outstanding. Turner has been good. But they could really use a guy like Braun as a professional hitter type who can mash at a .300 clip with power and RBI. If they want to nickel and dime the Brewers, then that's their prerogative. But, their fan base can be ticked about it since they are in a window to win now. They sit there paralyzed and watch other teams hold up the trophy. With the Cubs being so strong, and the Giants being winners who solved their bullpen woes, the Dodgers need that hitter in my view. But, sure, they can be stingy with their prospects and not try to get over the hump. Look at Bellinger. Good prospect. But he's not amazing with his .265 average. DeLeon is mid rotation. These guys are hardly untouchables. They are good, but not tremendous prospects. The Dodgers have built a tremendous system, depth wise, though. Sure, they have money for foreign guys like Alvarez. But they have an excellent idea on how to draft. I agree Walker Buehler may be a good guy to get from them. Overall, if the Dodgers get Dozier as may be inevitable, at the summer deadline, they may have a come to Jesus moment and realize Braun or McCutchen would really help them and then they'd pay up.

These guys sound like good fliers. I can remember being jacked that we got Michael Olmstead from Boston as a possible reliever, and he didn't work out. But, you look for certain traits and keep trying these fliers, and some may actually hit, like a John Axford.

lol I was about to tell a similar joke. Maybe we can sign Manny Trillo too.

Of our incumbents, I probably like Barnes the most, with Knebel. Both of these guys could be useful in high leverage 7th-8th inning situations, if we can land a closer. The guy I like is Holland. He was lights out from 2012-2014 and had a couple of all star game appearances. He could throw upper 90s. Then in '15 he dropped off, and his velocity was more like 93 when it was released that he had an ulnar tear. He's had TJ surgery and could regain his form. He's 31. I don't know what dollar figure we are talking about here. There may be some bidding because of the need for relievers. But the Brewer payroll is low enough that they can pay up. Take advantage of the low payroll and use it wisely for targeted acquisitions.

I like Arcia's quickness with the bat. I think in good time, he will settle down and be a solid hitter. IMO he will generate bat speed and be a nice all-around ss. I also like Dubon. If Arcia's hitting does not emerge, then Dubon is a nice hedge to have. I've seen Dubon play and think he can handle the bat. Plus, heaven forbid that Arcia gets hurt, then you've got Dubon as a potentially effective option. I'd keep them both and let it play out. Right now, the team is trying to acquire as much high end talent and both of these guys are the type of guys we are accumulating. The caveat is if you get an eye popping offer. You would think it would have to blow Stearns away to even consider it.

Not a good sign regarding the "makeup" that is deemed important for pitchers.

Agreed. I didn't look at his WAR but I suspect his defense hurts. If the move to second stabilizes his defense and he produces offense like last year he can be an incredible asset. .285 with 19 homers and 62 steals. He tailed off a bit to even drop to .285. He has top of the order talent that can be hard to come by. Look at what Eaton just pulled. But I'm fine keeping him. Baseball is hard but I don't think his offense was a mirage last year if he keeps the approach. Between Arcia and Dubon you have ss who can hit for average. But will either develop pop for extra bases. Between Isan and Johnny Villar we have pop but less defense. Yadiel will get his shot while we wait on Dubon and Isan. Let's say we have Isan at 2b and Arcia at ss. If one of them tears something, it's nice to have another starting caliber guy in Dubon. I like and am confident in what is coming together in the middle infield. And not all our eggs are in one basket. You could even hope a Rijo or even a Betancourt find the light although I wouldn't keep my hopes too high.

I love what the Chisox have done. Stacking young talent, particularly pitching. Love the approach. Giolito. Kopech. Geez that's two guys that fit the profile for TOR talent. Obviously, Moncada. They may not be done and could move a couple more like Quintana, Robertson, and Frazier. There are more highly valued guys they can move. It's interesting to me that I've seen a couple of reports that the Nats became less enthusiastic about Giolito and moved him. That's not to say they didn't like him. I have seen that their untouchable guy is Trea Turner. The Brewers still have some ammo hopefully for the trade deadline. I always like keeping your powder dry for opportunities. Hopefully, Guerra picks up where he left off last year. We have a top ten draft pick and 3 picks in the first 50. There is still lots of room to get fresh new talent in here.

Thanks! Very positive article, obviously. The Globe has a great sports page, and Cafardo is a very knowledgeable writer. Not only does he know the Bosox but he has great command on baseball as a whole, with great contacts. I try not to miss his Sunday baseball column which is usually a real treat.

I happened to catch Dubon on the MLB network. I forgot what game it was, but it may have been an AFL game or all star game. He was very memorable, particularly because he is from Honduras. I was impressed, and thought he really could handle the bat. He seemed slim, so he will need to bulk up. He looked like he was rangy defensively. I think he's a really nice prospect to obtain. In my prior homework of the Bosox system, I liked Basabe, Diaz, and Dubon. I am happy we got Dubon for a variety of reasons. I think he can hit for average and hopefully eventually fill out and develop bat speed and power. He gives us a hedge in case Arcia's upside doesn't get to what we hope. Unlike Betancourt and the other Bosox kid we got for Aaron Hill, Dubon looks more legit in the middle of the infield. Shaw is just a guy to keep the 3rd base seat warm for Erceg or some other prospect. Pennington is obviously a classic lottery ticket. Not a huge guy but very powerful arm. He's likely a power reliever if he can develop movement on his fastball, improve his curve, and gain command. He's got a long way to go. But, as far as lottery tickets go, he makes sense. In classic Stearns fashion, he tried to nab Pennington based on metrics and scouting before his value becomes proven. By definition, a lottery ticket can be boom, or bust.