Cool Hand Lucroy

Agreed. I mean, part of the reason for this is because the Dempsey, Howard guys are aging, and the next wave isn't ready yet (Pulisic is a wunderkind). Sill, that shows there's a gap in the development strategy. I keep hearing how missing the World Cup is going to really set the youth development back, but people always talk, every World Cup cycle, about how USMNT success is going to really kickstart soccer and allow them to sustain momentum. Yet, it seems to me like the program has been on a treadmill, where we do things basically the same, and sometimes we're lucky enough to get to a quarterfinal, and sometimes we go 0-3 (or fail to qualify, apparently). Probably means the system is either not capitalizing on momentum or there just isn't as much as people want to pretend. For me, I don't think the US is ever going to commit to soccer in a way that makes the team among the "world elite." The American sports landscape is too crowded, and the game just doesn't have that kind of base. That's fine, really, to me. But you do have to cultivate more than the same old same old players. You've got to be able to turn out a Pulisic pretty regularly (with how much the US pours into sports, it's pretty shocking that American players aren't regularly playing big roles for European clubs). You've got to diversify the talent base enough to keep the team near the top of CONCACAF. You certainly have to develop players who aren't entitled, and it does seem like there was a lack of real competition for roster spots this cycle. Maybe this failure shakes something loose. You have to hope so.

I think watching the split screen view, there's a pretty good chance he held the tag on. In what world is "a pretty good chance" worthy of overturning a call. Replays call for "convincing" evidence. I hope the Dodgers destroy the Cubs in 4 games and cost mlb 3 games worth of revenue. I mean, we can disagree about how clear the split screen is and whether MLB has a better view and financial interest and all that (it's admittedly not a good look to have replay reviews occurring in what's essentially a black box, with no one really knowing exactly which angles they have in Chelsea). I just think the fact that we'd be disagreeing over whether Lobaton's foot came off the bag for half a second while Rizzo is tagging him is kind of silly. That play is just not meant to be an out to me. The runner is back to the bag in time. It takes a super-human eye to even detect the out, and getting that micro about it seems to violate the point of replay. No baserunner gains an advantage by being able to pop off the bag briefly in the course of a slide. Replay has given defenders an advantage on plays like that that feels pointless. The tag is late. The runner is back to the bag before the defender completes the play. Yet, the runner is still out, despite making no attempt to advance to the next base. Why that runner should be out is a mystery to me. It's making a fetish out of the base as physical object when it's really just supposed to represent a point in space. And Baldkin's point about the "K" to Baez was an even clearer violation of the rules. Amazing how the luck of the Cubs has turned in the last three postseasons. I really hope nobody is giving Joe Maddon credit for this one either. That's like three times in huge, postseason games he's asked a guy clearly on fumes to get like 5+ outs. The fact that Chapman didn't cough up a run in the 9th in Game 7 last year and Davis somehow held on this time is a miracle, and dude's bullpen was totally empty otherwise. What a wild game. EDIT: As I'm reading this piece: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-nationals-protest-case/ I'm reconsidering whether or not Baez making contact with Wieters was as clear-cut as I thought above. It's probably more complicated than it being a clear violation of the rules. Still, seems like the Nats would have a case that that call was wrong.

I thought Lobaton was out by the rules. Bigger problem is it's a stupid rule. Lobaton was safe in spirit just as Sogard was in game 2 of the four-gamer against the Cubs. I really think MLB needs to have a discussion about this. It's tough to keep full contact with the bag when you're being tagged and trying not to get stepped on. I have no problem with a Bryce Harper K to end the game, though, even if it means the Cubs advance to the NLCS for the third straight year. I think the Cub window will be closing as the Brewer one opens. Go Crew.

FiveThirtyEight said odds were 93 percent of US qualifying before Trinidad match. Lots had to go wrong. Of course, the team definitely put itself in a really bad position too.

Ugly all-around display from a team that hasn't been much fun to follow during the Hex. Not a lot of bright spots other than Pulisic. Seems like they had a bunch of old faces who looked plenty old surrounded by the usual MLS crew. Seems to me like the U.S. is always really shaky at the back line compared to other nations I watch. Whether that's lack of talent or discipline, I don't know. I don't want to be one of those people that criticizes effort from athletes knowing how much work they put in, but, for the most part, I have to say that there seemed to be a pretty stunning lack of urgency from the US in every game I watched, with the exception of Mexico away and Panama home. I'm not even all that upset given that this team clearly doesn't deserve to be on the same stage as the rest of the world. In fact, I think I almost feel better Panama managed to qualify given how things turned out for them last cycle. I'm with those calling for a top-to-bottom rethinking of the US soccer system. There's nothing to say other than that, if we can't qualify given our budget and talent pool, the system is broken. Arena saying no wholesale changes are necessary in the post-match presser (I get it, what else is he supposed to say?) felt empty and just wrong-headed. If I were FS1 and just paid a bunch for first-time Wold Cup broadcast rights stateside, I think I'd be agitating daily.

Kind of shocked Dusty pulled Scherzer yesterday, especially given his history. Rizzo gets a cheap hit, and the Cubs turn it over to their one unquestionably reliable bullpen piece (Edwards is getting there). I don't necessarily mind that pitching staff piling up October innings, though listening to Joe Maddon annoys more and more every time for some reason... Edit: Radar for Game 4 looks nasty. Surprised they didn't try to start earlier. Also, surprised the Nats aren't going with Strasburg on short rest, but that's probably partly because of the rain threat. Have to think any delay is beneficial for Washington, given that it lets them avoid starting Tanner Roark in an elimination game. Of course, if it's 5-1 Cubs in the 4th when it starts pouring, I would think they'd opt to suspend...

Not sure if this would be better in the off topic forum given the Wisconsin theme here but thought, with World Cup Qualifying entering the late stages and the actual World Cup coming next summer, it might be good to have a place to chat about soccer for those interested. If we want to make this a club thread too, that's fine. Yesterday completed one of my favorite sports stories of the year. Iceland, population 334,000 qualified for the World Cup out of Europe, probably the toughest of all qualifying regions. They're the smallest nation ever to make the World Cup by population, with the next smallest (Trinidad and Tobago) clocking in at 4x larger (1.2 mil). There's really no overstating how amazing this feat is. Despite being a small market, the Brewers can still theoretically sign anyone from anywhere. There are financial constraints, of course, but imagine only being able to generate talent by developing players from the Milwaukee area (population what? 2 million?). I've been to Iceland once, and it's a great place, but even independent of that, this is one of those stories that keeps me watching sports. Really, a remarkable achievement for everyone involved with Icelandic soccer. That's a team worth rooting for, I think. Speaking of Trinidad, the US can qualify by beating them tonight. It's been a pretty crappy cycle for the USMNT, and not qualifying would be a big embarrassment given the region and our budget. Still, one away win pretty much means everything is okay. Hope Pulisic plays as he did against Panama, where he looked like everything the US has always wanted in an attacking player.

I can agree with a good chunk of this. Aguilar is certainly expendable depending on how one feels about Thames and whether or not Braun is willing to play 1B. There's certainly a world where the Brewers keep 5 outfielders plus Perez, with Braun getting time at first and Aguilar gone. The big reason that's not my own preference is that I think Aguilar is a valuable offensive piece vs. LHP. More valuable than Broxton. Some of this is just based on watching ABs and Broxton's incredibly low Zone Contact %. Some is watching Aguilar's consistently ability, all year, really, to hit balls hard (45% hard contact vs. Keon's 35%). I also think Broxton's value as a late-inning defensive replacement is redundant on a roster that would hypothetically include Brinson and Phillips. Of course, the big question is how other teams value Aguilar vs. Broxton. My thought was actually that Broxton's more diverse skill set (and perhaps optimism about his offensive potential--maybe a team thinks they can get his ZContact up) would attract more interest and he'd therefore be more movable. Aguilar, as you say, is limited. I guess my idea is basically that Aguilar's limited skills are more useful for this potential roster than Broxton's more versatile ones. Which guy they end up keeping (or if they end up keeping both) probably depends on how the market responds.

Regardless of what ends up happening with Santana (I'm on board with exploring potential deals, as I've said elsewhere), I think the Brewers outfield situation is what I'm most interested in following this offseason. Braun, Santana, Brinson, Phillips, Broxton, and Perez (if you want to count him) won't all be here on Opening Day. I have a hard time seeing Braun finding a home, and it would be very surprising if they let Brinson go after being so reluctant to include him in anything at the deadline. That leaves Phillips and Santana as two guys that should be getting regular at-bats somewhere. Broxton's probably the guy there isn't room for, but I wonder what his value is. Just seems like there are a ton of different ways to go.

This is super cool. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you, torts! Can't wait for next year's version, which will hopefully remain active until November (heck, let's just make it active forever in order to best remember the inaugural World Series champion Brewers).

I agree on listening to every offer and seeing, especially w/r/t Santana. Knebel feels trickier to me. It's great to trade controllable bullpen pieces when you're expecting to rebuild (or at least, it was with the market last trade deadline and offseason). When you're trying to contend, though, those pieces are SO valuable. It seems you just have to have a great to elite bullpen to really make a run, and so you can't trade them all. Knebel feels like someone to build around, so any offer would have to be Chapman-like for me personally. I'm with madtown for the most part, just more reluctant on Knebel than Santana.

The Cubs really turned it on in the second half. Arrieta was great, Hendricks came off the DL, and Schwarber didn't look as much like a minor leaguer. Plus, they got a great year from John Jay and the versatile role players came through. Not as painful as 2014 for me since Chicago basically earned it (unlike 2014 STL who I feel like we had chances to really bury). As far as the division goes, I'm kicking myself over the what? 4 extra-inning games we lost to the Cubs this year? As well as the two blown leads very early, with the Russell three-run homer on getaway day. I'm hopeful that another year of experience and some BP help puts us in a position to get a few more of those head-to-head matchups and just generally perform more consistently offensively/with leads in the middle-late innings. Figure the Pirates will take a step back next year, the Reds a small step forward depending on what they do pitching wise, and who knows about the Cardinals and Cubs, though you figure both will have a lot of talent and payroll. Honestly, a deep Cubs run just to add innings to those pitchers wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, as much as some here would hate to see a second WS on the north side.

It is nice to win after another gut-punch yesterday. I think it does say something that the team got up and didn't really hang their heads at all. I hope we keep the same attitude all next year. I don't think CC is the best in-game manager. I disagree with him fairly often. That said, if he's responsible for the way this club carries itself and the way they seem to interact with each other, I think he deserves credit. Maybe he's the guy. He did it as a player, and if he wins one as a manager in Milwaukee, that would be amazing. Honestly? I think it's possible. Go Brewers! Fun year!

86! What a great number. Who would have thought that? Really impressive work from this Crew.

Well, he got out of it. Good work. I'm guessing that's the last we'll see of Carlos. He was a pleasant surprise last year but couldn't recapture the magic. Looking forward to the BP getting a bit younger.

Knew it right away. That's real bad, JV. Come on, Crew! Hold onto this one, will ya?

I love being reminded of great ones I've forgotten! Here's one. Man I was pumped after that Arcia throw.

What a difference a year makes for Carlos Torres. One of the most reliable bullpen arms to a guy who struggles to throw strikes with a five-run lead. In a meaningless game no less. I'm awed by Stanton hitting a 142 mph ground ball. Looking forward to watching that.

I know the game matters not at all, but it would leave a real bad taste in my mouth if the Crew took a big lead the last two days and lost twice. Really would like to see CC manage to win, even if it means Knebel in the 9th. Just feels better going into the offseason on a W.

Well, I blame Rock for jinxing it. Still, great outing from Wilkerson.

I mean, it's also not like there's a defensive downgrade either, apparently. Wow. Nice play to get Diaz.

I don't think BA and Rock really want to overlay WTMJ...Not to restart any kind of announcer debate because our TV crew is fine and professional, but it's just...Ueck. And Jeff. And like legitimately one of the best crews in baseball. Not sure you want people to want every broadcast to just feature the TMJ overlay...

I would be a fan of the 9 positions game. Rock says CC is not into that stuff. I recall something being said on that same front during the blowout in Washington. I guess the argument is that it feels too gimmicky and not "real" enough. That's fine, though I think the levity of it is enjoyable, and it's not like it isn't a skill showcase.

Just judging from the opening few shots, the Brewers look loose and excited to be playing today. That's nice to see.