SoupTown

My bet is Gindl will start today and if he has a bright game will get another start on Saturday. He will then be replaced by Schafer on the roster. Braun will be kept on the team as a decoy for a few more days. Then if Braun is not ready, he will DL and a reliever will be called up for few days. Then at the end of Braun's DL, said reliever will be sent back. But in those few days the pen is rested/spread out, Braun comes back and we are all OK again. When Henderson is ready in a couple of weeks he comes back all rested for Wooten, I guess. I will be pretty happy if Davis is platooned for a while with Gindl/Schafer. What will really disappoint me is if Braun spends, say 10 days sidelined, no DL, comes back on day 11, and we had 10 days we could have had, say Figaro. But my feeling is Ron is little more proactive this year. So I expect, in a day or three for Braun to play or go on the DL for his last week of rest. I think our next 8 years of Ryan are going to be of the 120 games a year variety. Without his 'help' to cover the niggles, we do have a brittle guy. But a good 120 games is better than nothing.

I love all the Wang naysayers simply say the same thing over and over... 'on a contending team you cannot have the 13th man in the pen who is not lights out'. In spite of dozens and dozens of factual retorts, each retort is ignored the same ONE sentence is trotted out - with no logic or explanation or reasoning: 'simply you CANNOT have WANG on the BREWERS because WE SAID SO.'

Maybe this upcoming Wednesday, Wang wants to expand his dance moves.

So would Weeks do what is best for the team or what Weeks thinks is best for Weeks. Now, either way Weeks gets has $9 mill remaining salary. So it is not a money thing. And, to be honest, if Weeks went to AAA and batted .400 he will likely snag something in the future. If he remains at the MLB club with a sub .400 OPS for the year, then his career is finished.

anyone who thinks that "all" signing Lohse cost was a 1st round pick doesn't really have a good grasp of the draft and the trickle down effect of losing that pool money. I think that above statement is clearly false. If you don't have a first rounder, you lose the first rounder money from your pool. So whether you SPEND the first round money on a first rounder or LOSE the first round money... you don't have have the first round money for the later picks. Now you may want to put forth that you underspend on purpose in round one to pluck on an overspend in rounds 4 or 5, but that is a different discussion. Also, I did not put forth the Moneyball draft concept. As I don't know or care what it was. All I know is Moneyball was about finding (like you do on the stock market) undervalued wins. So if fat, ugly guys who get on base are undervalued, you buy them. And my feeling is the prospect or the CHANCE of a prospect (the draft) is now becoming the expensive - overvalued way. So, again, I think one (in 2014 can pick up talent cheap if your are willing to give up a prospect or a draft pick). Cruz was 8 mill? That seems a good buy. So, it appears the UNKNOWN person in the draft, the prospect, is worth $5 or $6 million. That is, Cruz with no draft give up, I guess, would have obtained 13 or 14 mill. Lohse, we likely saved 2 mill a year for three years... $6 mill for the first rounder. So, that is your weigh up... is HAVING the first round draft pick worth $6 mill. It seems the first rounder is not worth that. He can we Trout or he can be one of the guys who never make the major leagues. And back to poor Marco. He is not a prospect, so he is worth not much. The most value is to keep him - or even extend him!

I was thinking this morning... say you are in the playoffs and you are facing a leftie... who do you play at 2nd base. That answer (given the current roster) is clearly Weeks. So I wish this would happen: Rickie agrees to go to AAA to play EVERY DAY. He knows if Gennett gets hurt or becomes ineffective, he is called up. He knows (or is promised) that in September he is called up. And he knows he will even make it onto the playoff roster. This scenario offers the best situation for NOW and the PLAYOFFS and next year (that is, no Rickie, but he has retired with grace)

duplicate post from the game thread, but worth me posting twice: obviously Henderson being in the bullpen will tax the team entirely and cause our demise; we should cut him, or better yet, offer him to the Pirates; as that is the correct response to every bullpen quandary... offer the causer of the quandary to the Pirates

Can we offer Henderson to the Pirates. Obviously that ONE person even existing in the bullpen will drain all the other members and cause us to lose.

I suggest we just go 20-8 again in May. We pretty much do as we have been doing. Then we reassess the situation on June 1. We will be 40-16 at that stage. And it may be that we will need to start resting the best throwers from the bullpen (hmmmm, six of them). So, I think we then can have a few piggy back games or simply call up the Nashville shuttle and have guys like Figaro, Wooten, Hand, Fiers just pitch three innings every third day. That will likely cost us 3 or 4 games over June, so we will only go 16-12 But at the end of June we then have our rested bullpen and we are then 56-28. Now July is not a big problem with the all star break, so we can go back into full on mode, and until early August we go another 20-8. Now we are 76-36 early August. Of course, we need to rest the six bullpen guys again, so we go back with the Figaro, Wooten, Hand, Fiers every third day rotation. I guess we lose a couple games we should not have lost, so entering September we are, after having had a 12-8 stretch, 88 and 44. September we can expand rosters of course, and I think we really need to keep our six bull pen aces... and even our rotation a little rested. So we can go about half the month with our AAA guys - even for starting. So, let us say we go .500 in September. Add that 15-15 to our record, and we finish off the year 103-59. Now, this is all tongue in cheek, because some posters here think we need to protect against being so, so good, that we need to keep ourselves from winning 120 games, because we will be tired come the playoffs. So, since we are THAT good, I simply offer up a way to cut back to only 103 wins - and be rested in October. Now, in the possible (but unlikely) event we are NOT a 120 win team, there will be times it does not matter if Wang or Maldanado finish off a game. Just like today. Bad luck we coughed up a 3-1 lead and our starter got injured. But it gave our bullpen an off day, pretty much. And no bullpen in the world is going to throw up MINUS 2 runs. So once we were behind 4-3, and scoring no more runs, meant it did not matter WHO pitched. The fact that Wang got in 3 innings and 70 pitches is actually good. He does not hurt us throwing once a week in a game we are going to lose. I am happy Ron had him throw. And I am happy he is learning that the middle of the plate is not a good location to throw MLB hitters. I am sure throwing 96 mph, with a curve and a really good change and not walking people will play well in A ball. But not good in MLB if you make too many mistakes. Honestly, let the kid pitch his once a week. Let him give up 1 or 1.5 runs an inning for three innings in a dead game. Let him learn. He is only going to get better. Why you punt that away. Well, you don't.

"I'm wondering if baseball has reached a point where prospects have become overvalued" Amen to that. This is why I don't really mind giving up a first round draft pick for 3 or 4 years of a solid MLB guy. You are giving up a prospect (a very good one) for a very good MLB guy. That is a Moneyball concept. Buy low. I think from a draft point of view, you can only cover for that by drafting high ceiling guys. I would free agent and trade for the medium / good guys. And to get the superstars you need to draft flyer after flyer.

Any 'can't keep Wang' logic is always based on the conjecture that in three months our top six guys will be overworked The key word here is CONJECTURE

Very wise thinking. We can do this all year and give guys a rest ready for October and have the extra bullpen guy. And get the odd start by our up and comers. I hope they do this

Wang is not the issue. Let is say once every 5 days you get blown out. If Wang pitches the last three innings giving up a run an inning it is fine How someone can conjecture if fiers were here we would be 1 game better is silly. Would fiers have kept the cards to minus 2 runs over the last six innings leading to a victory

Ron was very clear today. He said it is not always about NOW. Meaning give up a little now On the MLB roster to keep Wang. The obvious correct move is cut Weels and bring up a multi inning reliever. My choice is Figaro I agree with the above comment: why lose Wang over a manufactured roster crunch And if we were 18-10 and got massacred a couple games this week there would be no problem. Non of the problem is Wangs. It is a silly 2nd base platoon and winning a lot and having close games. The last two we should not be grumpy about

Hey, be happy for those six runs by Mr Wang. It allows us to fly under the radar.

Down here in Australia there are about 4 games a week on ESPN and ESPN2. 2014, to date, NIL Brewers. The Yankees and Boston are on over 50% of the time. I kind of hoped when we played Boston or St Louis we may get show. But no. Even a couple of Cubs vs nobody were on. If the Crew ever make it on the TV here, I will consider that a watershed. I think in 2013 they were on two times for the entire year. So, you are talking 4 game a week times 25 weeks = 100 games = 200 teams. The Brewers twice. In 2014, 5 weeks = 20 games = 40 teams... nil Milwaukee. And MLB TV does not quite work. But I love listening to Bob and Joe. I actually like Joe Block. Even listening to the MLB 3 min daily coverage today, every game had 20 or 30 seconds and a couple of plays, or insight. Then came the Brewers... 'won today over the Cardinals'. That was it, 3 seconds. But, if the East and West Coast are too inbred to pay attention, it is their loss. At least we found one open eyed and open minded Cardinal fan. That is nice!

Strange thought: could a guy be sent down (10 days) and heal for a week. Then play a couple AAA games then come back. If a guy has options like Braun is that like a 10 day DL 15 day DLs for 5 day injuries are awful. And having a short bench for 5 days is awful

The 12 Steps 1: We admitted we were powerless over The Cardinals--that our lives had become unmanageable. 2: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves named Doug and Mark could restore us to sanity. 3: Made a decision to to turn our team over to the care of Doug and Mark as we understood them 4: Made a searching and fearless fan inventory of ourselves. 5: Admitted to Doug and Mark, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our doubts and fears 6: Were entirely ready to have Doug and Mark draft and trade and sign free agents 7: Humbly asked Doug and Mark to revamp our starters and bullpen. 8: Made a list of all players we had railed against and became willing to make amends to them all. 9: Made direct amends to such players wherever possible, except when to do so would require traveling to Japan 10: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our subconscious contact with Ron, our manager, as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of his will for the team and the power to carry that out. 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to prior discouraged Brewer fans, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Is deleriuos confusion the result of realism colliding with destiny?

5. Khris Davis has a K-BB ratio of 31-1 and lines of .203/.236/.377/.613 vs RHP and .375/.375/.583/.958 vs LHP. That is the definition of a platoon player. Sure he could turn it around but he's looked overmatched at the plate striking out 7 out of his last 10 times. Why continue to hurt a guys confidence when he's obviously pressing? 6. Caleb Gindl is hitting .322/.394/.525/.919 vs RHP in AAA and the next 5 starters are all right handed. thanks for that. Very interesting and telling.

You know how these happenings make us (and the team) believers. Yesterday I could not bear to watch. Today was like 'well, maybe... you never know.. could be... possible'. So going forward these guys are learning what they CAN DO. Not that they always will, but man, they will not be the old Brewers who cant score in the 7th to 9th. And all hack out on four pitches. These guys are amazing. What did Don Meredith used to joke about on Monday night football.. the 'mo' is with A or B. That is, the MOmentum is a tangible thing that is a powerful input to the outcome. (He said it more clever). The MO and the MOJO are with us. I have been following since 1971. Is it possible before I die I will 100% smile at the end of October one year?

where is dead simmons I want to buy him a beer or four

he he he x3 no idea what happened... just the famous out(s) hooray

he he he x 2 C'mon Frankie. Once may be good luck. Twice in two nights is... 'you are da man'

Gameday refuses to say what is happening... but one out. he he he