SoupTown

I honestly liked the Florida operation. Win a WS, then sell the lot. Have fun watching youngsters... then in three years win a world series, then sell the lot. I liked it.

It does seem to me that Gomez is indeed the only piece we have that will net quality prospects. And it does seem to me that Mark is likely after a retool for a 2017 hope. Which means that Lucroy and Garza and Segura are not tradable. It also is clear there is no third base prospect in our organisation that looks likely to contribute in 2017. It also appears we are woeful at catcher post Lucroy (could Leal be the next big thing?). It also is clear there is no number one arm type that could be around for 2017. So my trade of Gomez, yields the following: a AA or AAA third base prospect plus an A+ catching prospect plus an AA starter with upside. 2016 will tell you how you 'did' in your trade (and all the other minor trades... Lind, Cotts, Lohse, ARAM). Your third base prospect needs to be in Milwaukee after a month of two of 2016. Your high end starter needs to be in Milwaukee by July or so, 2016. This will tells you if you can have a decent team in 2017. If your trade was not successful, and you will know by trade deadline 2016, then Lucroy is traded for similar targets that Gomez is now. And I think Sergura would be traded as well. And KROD is traded. You are then focused on the chance 2017 can be the run up, practice, for 2018+. So, really, our future rides very much on the prospects we get back for Gomez. I think Doug did well on the return for Grienke. And he did well on the return for Gallardo. Doug seems to be OK trading FOR prospects. He seems very poor in trading his prospects away for short term rentals.

I am really sad (listening on radio here) it seems the players have decided to not work any counts. It is swing and foul or swing a miss to almost every pitch. Why oh why not make the other guy work only a little. If the guy is throwing 90% strikes, fine. But I doubt that.

I guess we should be thankful RRR was held onto until May this. What if he had been released end of last year. Then the horror start would be the blame of the new manager. At least the events cause the focus to now be OFF the manager. Where oh where will the focus fall. There are not so, so many place left, hey!

One thing, over the years, that really irked me was how (aside from last year) the Brewers were September wonders... in terms of destroying their draft position. So, come 1 Sept, they may be drafting 7th or 10th or the like. All the teams around them, in July and Aug, have jettisoned their assets for prospects of any type. The Brewers remain intact with their .480 team. Yet their .480 team starts beating up on the other .480 teams. Because the other teams are now playing prospects and seeing what they have. So the Brewers climb to .500 and end up drafting 17th or 19th. They seemed to do this so, so many years. Then in winter, management would say how strong they finished. I mean remember when Doug said re a guy they did NOT call up when they knew they were first basemanless the next year (maybe about Matt Clark or somebody else... on the 40 man): 'oh, maybe it was a mistake to not play XYZ in Sept last, as it would have been good to see what he was like, now that we have a hole to fill, and maybe he could fill it, but we dont know, because we did not call him up... oh, well, bad luck... maybe we should have' This is from a GM with over 20 years experience NOT BOTHERING to call up a guy on the 40 man, in September, when we were .460 or whatever, and we knew the next year we need to know if that guy can play. It will be like when ARAM gets released we sign Yuni to a one month contract at third base... just because. I dont think Rogers is a 3rd baseman, but maybe, just maybe he should get some games there so in 2016 Doug wont say 'well, we dont really know if Jason can play third, because we never really tried him there... geez, doh, maybe we should have'. Maybe this resurrected thread is for me. I loathe DUMB management in charge of MILLIONS and, supposedly, in charge of true, sports state's team. Wisconsin deserves better than a Doug and Mark comedy show.

from mlbtraderumors latest post: Brewers outfielder Khris Davis has torn the meniscus in his right-knee, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. He’ll undergo surgery on Tuesday. Davis is hitting .252/.339/.449 in 168 plate appearances. While no timetable has been announced, past meniscus surgeries have required six to eight weeks of recovery – sometimes more if there are other complicating factors. The Milwaukee lineup has been plagued by various injuries this season, only Adam Lind has been available every day.

AAA is an intriguing place to me. What should it be? And now that we have been forced to be in a place we, seemingly dont like, the clouds of Colorado, again, we can ask... 'what should it be?' Should it be the place of grizzled vets - ex MLB guys having one last year, ready to come up and fill in when needed? The roster would be rebuilt every year from the 'last cut' guys of spring training all around the league. Should it be the place of the 26 year old 'give me a chance, skip' hopeful, ready to fill in a gap (ala Peterson for Davis), and hopefully prove they can be MLB average players for their couple of peak years - 26 to 28 ages? Should it have any prospects at all? Maybe for that part year you stash them to get that 'extra year' service time. Maybe prospects need to go there so learn the nuances, be schooled, by playing with and against those crafty vets. It does seem in AA you learn to hit quality pitching. In AAA you learn to hit Bartolo Colon. Should it be purgatory for the 'fall from grace guys' (Scooter who may be redeemed, and Logan who seems destined to not be redeemed). I guess if an organisation was full of prospects you need AAA (somewhere to put them). But in the Brewers case, they need to figure out, really what to do with AAA - on a philosophical level.

I guess there is a difference between 'game calling' and 'framing'. In fact, it is MORE than that. They say they have, re catching, "crafted a statistical model that attempts to quantify the value of everything" Surely they must have arrived at the number 42, as their answer.

If it is true that Braun is not good in RF and ok in left, we might as well start the retooling now. BUT!, when Davis is back, either later this year or next, he is only a left fielder.

Wow. Surgery already scheduled for Tuesday. Who would have thought Lind would be our MOST HEALTHY starter. Lucroy, Gomez, Segura, Scooter, Davis all DL'ed. Braun needing the odd game off. ARAM needing a LOT of days off. That is SEVEN of the EIGHT starters not in good health so far. Number 8, Mr Lind, well, he is model of non injury. I guess Peralta just is salt in the wound. And you KNOW the Front Office will be saying 'if only it were not for the injuries'. Heck, it may even be true. With no injuries at all maybe we were a .500 team. Hooray.

I wonder how the Brewers would look if they simply let every guy go year to year - and they did not trade prospects for MLB guys. If they trade prospects, trade for other prospects. Like now we should trade one of our middle infield guys for a similar 3rd base guy. My point is the arby system makes you pay for what the guy did last year. That is, management are always ahead of the curve. And you never, ever have dud contracts. And I would be happy to keep our good guys for six years (actually, it is always up to 6.9). And if we are too dumb to draft and develop and international sign well, you just end up really bad. This current 'really bad' where we are having old and expensive and forward expensive contracts really breaks my heart.

I think Maldy is a classic backup guy. I thought he would do really well, based on that stint 3 years or so, ago. But I will guess his body is such that he just cannot handle every day. The dearth of catchers we have makes me think Lucroy cannot be traded. I will guess Gomez is traded, we give up on this year and next, and we re-tool for 2017 - with Lucroy as the main man. And Maldy will be the backup.

Can I give another exhibit of the Brewer players' 'me first' attitude. Kintzler. Last year he complained he was not used in high leverage situations. I applauded that boldness. I thought his fire was for the team 'give me the ball for the team'. Yet now when he has been pitching very poorly, and he is DFAed, he suddenly pipes in his knee is hurt. So we have yet ANOTHER example of a player putting himself before the team. If his knee was hurt then he should have said so 1 day, 3, days, 5 days ago. But his actions show he cares not for the team, but for himself, firstly. If you keep your eyes open, you will see countless examples of this over these lean years. The entire ethos of the organisation is a bunch of people (from top to bottom) trying to cover their bums - and keep their special MLB 'cool' jobs.

I am amazed this thread was in dormant from 26 April to 29 May. It is saying something when the season is so far gone that people cannot even be positive enough to post in the negative thread.

"I've always attended games as much or more for hanging out with friends and tailgating on a hot summer day/night than caring if the team wins the game i'm at." A true fan, and Mark and Doug love you for it. I wonder if the MLB squad would get the 'message' if there were a few nights where they were venue swapped with Appleton. Since that would not fly, how about double headers. The Brewers play an early, entree game, then the Rattlers put on the main show. Even our AA team with no home ground would likely be happy to have the Brewers be an intro act for them at an MLB stadium. It could be billed as 'the past' and 'the future' double header. (since there is no present)

Broxton really show cased his trade value there. $9 mill for the year. Hooray. Doug and Mark are GEEEEENIUSES at picking the expensive, ageing, retirement bound, still breathing ball players. At least they make sure they are still breathing, and in the 1990s they were superstars.

Rammy really showcased his trade value there. $14 mill for the year. Hooray.

As I noted earlier. I 'feel' Counsell is very quick to letting Doug know about guys that are just not up to it. Schafer lasted like 2 games with Craig. And Schafer is struggling at AAA. So, honestly, somehom Doug and Mark and RRR thought Logan was indeed the best 5th outfielder. So we can now line up Peterson and Schafer. And we can see Scooter has hit the ground running at AAA. So, the hope for me is the AAA squad will be a place to give some of our dead wood a last chance. If relievers go down there and put in 6 eras. Well, they dont deserve to be in Milwaukee... do they. Similarly, .750 batters at Colorado should not be in Milwaukee. What I did notice was the great start Jungmann put up. But too late. AFTER Wager got the call. I really hope the AAA and AA guys SEE their chance. And if they cant perform now, well, likely they never will

In a 'farm interview' the other day, I heard that the Colorado AAA park is middle of the pack in home runs allowed. Maybe the fences are at 450 ft. I dont know. But in the other PCL parks you have dry air, as opposed to thin air. By the way, what does this say about Cravy's 4.04 ERA after 8 or 10 starts at AAA. I thought he would get the call.

"please show your work." Exhibit A (or Z, depending on order) is the team 'giving up' on RRR. What the heck is that all about. The 'team' gives up because they are not handled the right way by a manager. These are not T-ballers. They are supposed to be professionals. They are to play 100% all the time no matter what face is on the top step of the dugout. And we hear this is not the first time. (another exhibit) I have been following this team since 1970. I dont mind a team that loses, as long as they are ALL IN ALWAYS. Who was the guy with the 'untuckem'. The Cards complained. I would say through the media, "we have a player and guys respecting a dad of player.. now shut up, or wear extra padding in your backsides next time we face you." The way Gomez is treated by the Braves, I would hit two Braves a game, until they figure out how to treat us with respect. When Prince did the bowling ball thing at home... why oh why did MLB journos complain. It is all fine and good fun. And it is not disrespectful to the other team. If the Brewers from top to bottom were tight knit and TEAM first, NONE of these problems would happen, and the other teams would respect us. Currently, we garner no respect. And we brought that on ourselves. Edited by homer on 6/1 - please see inbox.

I was hoping Tyler Cravy would have been called up. The guys has a 4.04 era in that horror staff at AAA. Then I would have gone Thornburg. But Wagner is also a great start to the 25 man ROSTER CLEANING that is required.

I think the problem did not go away when the 'player manager' went away. The Brewers are a laid back, semi-retirement home - and a half way house for young under achievers. This aura infects any player that comes in. The players are very ME FIRST - and DONT PUSH ME - and DONT ANNOY ME with trivial things like performance and accountability. The problem, over the winter was identified, by management, as Mark Reynolds. So he was let go. Upper management and the owners do all they can to keep the spot light off themselves. And they dont want to annoy the players, so the manager will always be the meat in the sandwich - with a side salad of sacrificial lamb... a single fringe player or a bench coach. Our team (players) lack courage, because they are never asked to show it or use it or develop it. The simplest way forward is to grade players on ATTITUDE above all. I mean good attitude. We have too many players with a bad attitude. Sadly, our management have shown that is not a high quality required in the players they sign. So our Brewer-beat will just go on and on and on.

I was always interested in how seamlessly, and quietly, and 'no body cares'ly Peralta slotted into the Cards roster. I guess there is a 'right way' to sign, and play, and look the other way, re a past PED user. In fact, is it only Braun who is the devil? If there was an all PED team on the field, would only Braun be boo'ed?

Fiers on short rest is just dumb. If Blazek last pitched Friday, three innings, he can be slotted in for four innings on schedule. You then use your bullpen for the rest. I dont get pushing Fiers for the reason of: ...insert unknown reason here...

Monty's three headed post is very spot on. Let us say you dont trade Gomez, Segura, Lucroy. You are, in my opinion punting 2015 to 2020. You will be a .480 team for six year. Hooray. If you trade Gomez, you are punting 2016 for the future. If you trade Gomez and Lucroy, you are punting 2016 and 2017 for the future. If you trade Segura you are wise, BUT Doug and Mark may think they are punting 2016, 2017, 2018, if they trade The evil 'converse' of all this... does not Boras represent both Gomez and Segura... we could sign both Gomez and Segura to 10 year 200 mill contracts - and never rebuild... we can, indeed be a .480 team F O R E V E R My guess is we punt 2016 (trade Gomez and Segura). Mark and Doug eyeball 2017, hence keeping Lucroy to anchor that team. The best hope we have is Counsell being where he is. He seems to not mind evaluating the players and making swift moves (Scooter to AAA). Mabye after a month he will say to Doug and Mark... the players you have given me are not so good.... take them away and get me some new ones.