Cool Hand Lucroy

Haha. Yeah, I just want Aguilar to pitch. 50-1 is wishful thinking. I think it should be Perez pitching. Move him all around the diamond these last five innings and make him like the nine positions in one day guy. I think that would inject some levity and why not grab a small piece of baseball history. It doesn't matter at this point, right? So let's have fun and let Perez run around the diamond. It's better than beaning someone...although, yes, Harper is tempting. Trying to ensure better angels prevail...

It's possible, even likely, that we are witnessing the end of the Wily Peralta era in Milwaukee. When you can't get through mop-up innings, you can't be on the roster.

Might as well have some fun. Homemade, totally illogical odds on which position player pitches: Pina 2-1 Perez 3-1 Bandy 5-1 Villar 10-1 Arcia 15-1 Sogard 25-1 (he's gritty) Thames 40-1 Santana 45-1 Aguilar 50-1 Brinson 250-1 Shaw 500-1 Braun 1000-1

Only thing holding back this pitch count plan is Dusty Baker. If the Brewers don't get a hit soon, Scherzer might throw 130.

With the exception of Perez, not bad ABs so far against Scherzer. Blazek's job is just to keep this to 2-3 runs and then hope the offense drives up the pitch count. Maybe the Crew can return the favor against the Nats bullpen. I don't have a great feeling, but you never know. The spiteful part of me wishes MLB suspended guys for displays like Harper's last night. A bit like they do in soccer. He's just hard to root for, and as frustrating as umpires are, that was just boorish and over-the-top. Not like it's the first time, either.

I see the point, and I agree that starting unproven guys in the OF is not exactly the epitome of a "win now" attitude. That said, I don't agree that proposing the idea is disrespectful to Santana, or that it "isn't logical." I think Santana's been really good. He's incredibly valuable given his offensive production. I would love for him to be a Brewer for the next half-decade. If he turns into a controllable #2 starting pitcher, though? On a staff that's going to need pitching down the line? I mean, I think that's worth doing. It helps the team both now and in the future, and that's the philosophy the whole front office keeps talking about. Ultimately, I can see DS thinking that Santana is untouchable, but I can see him thinking let's get a really good pitcher through 2019 or 2020 too. You can make a case either way. No doubt, trading Domingo would be bold, but I don't think it would be illogical given the organizational roster.

Is it possible Santana is part of a move? He seems to be someone with a lot of value, and maybe the team has a lot of faith in Brinson/Phillips. Maybe Domingo's numbers and contract situation replace high level prospects in a trade for someone like Gray. Curious to see where it all goes.

I thought the same thing and wondered if maybe that's why the broadcast hasn't mentioned anything yet. Waiting on medicals to make it official.

Wow. Where would this team be w/o the Mayor? 135 wRC+. That trade is looking really good...

Looked out to me too. Thanks, Dusty I guess.

Can Ryan Zimmerman not throw underhanded? If you can't throw, why try from that distance? That was hard to watch, even though it helps.

Prefer more control as well, but this is a pretty good deal from my side. Swarzak makes this team better, and Cordell wasn't going to be a significant part of the future. Like it more if Swarzak is re-signable. He might be. Making 900K per BR. Could probably extend for what? 2.5 if they like what they get in August/September? My biggest worry is that he hasn't figured much out and is the guy from last year instead of this year. We'll see. Worth a shot, anyway. Position of strength for position of need.

I think this "all-in" versus "stand pat" is a false dichotomy in some ways. There's a difference between refusing to make any move and not wanting to sell a good chunk of the farm, like the Cubs did for Chapman last year and Quintana this year. It really just depends on fit. Cooper for Webb was a good low-level move to me, and there may be more opportunities like that out there. The Twins rumored Jaime Garcia deal is another one in that camp. Going "all-in" right now feels too risky given the number of unknowns with this roster. Point is, I think Stearns will be aggressive about seeking moves but perhaps not making them if that makes sense. The worst thing you can do right now is overpay. Especially since we have multiple holes to fill (back end of starting rotation, relief pitching, outfield consistency on offense), I just don't think Sonny Gray for a boatload of prospects is that right fit. Kinsler may be better depending on price. I think the hope is that Stearns has designated the right guys as "untouchable" and isn't being stingy about the ones who don't make that list.

I mean, the Crew has run into some good pitching lately. It happens. But the lack of big hits, bad breaks, and one-inning pitching breakdowns has been very frustrating. Hard to believe this will still be a first place team. The thing that's tough is that all you can really ask of this roster is to hang around for as long as possible. They were never realistically going to run away with the division. But they look far from even hanging around over the last week.

Not being negative intentionally here, but I just don't understand the logic of sticking with Torres OR prepping Scahill to replace him. Neither of those guys have shown the ability to get major league hitters out with consistency this year. I know all relievers have to pitch eventually, but you've got Hader, Blazek, Hughes all available. None of those guys have been really stretched lately unless I'm blanking completely on something. This bullpen management just seems illogical. If anyone can think of a reason why those are the two guys pitching in this situation, I'd love to hear it.

Broxton swings and misses at strikes more than anyone I've seen in a long time. It's one thing if a guy lacks strike zone discipline. It's another if he can't connect with fastballs down the middle.

Two really nice innings from Garza. Hard to complain too much about the pitching during this bad stretch.

Boy, this offense is struggling lately. Double plays, quick innings, maybe overswinging a bit. Hope the third time through is different.

The pitch to Santana was a true borderline pitch. Gameday had it as a strike. Perez, though, yikes. That's just an umpire giving in. On the bright side, Odubel Herrera made an out against the Brewers.

There's not enough time when the Brewers are hacking into double plays, but there's way too much when it's a vintage Matt Garza inning. Thankfully, there haven't been nearly as many of those this year.

It's hard not to be frustrated with the bullpen, but as I think about, what else can we really expect? The Crew flipped all of its best relievers for prospects either at the deadline last year or in the offseason. Management basically decided relief pitching was a crap shoot and got value where the market was willing to overpay. We knew going in that that course of action was going to leave the team without a proven bullpen option, and so far that's hurt. I think Knebel and Barnes will be fine, and it's good they've had a chance to run through a pressure, MLB season. Hughes has looked good other than last (and both him and Knebel weren't exactly hit hard), and I feel good about Hader going forward wherever he ends up. Even Drake seems like a usable piece. Point is, we kind of knew this was going to be the way of the season. I remember lots of posts talking about how the Brewers were going to have to win games 7-6. I think these types of streaks are what happens when you get a young team and a young, unproven bullpen. The fun part is watching how they respond. I'm excited to see what happens over the next week. Be good to get a look at how these guys play under pressure/nerves.

The unbeatable Cubs traded their best prospect for Quintana. The Pirates may not get anything for McCutcheon and have an aging roster. It seems the Reds have less starting pitching than just about anyone save Baltimore. St. Louis looks like it's losing some magic. Milwaukee, meanwhile, is a) in first place, b) has a well-stocked, deep farm system, c) has a GM who has a plan and tons of payroll flexibility. I hate losing four in a row, but it was going to happen at some point. Avoid the sweep and there's lots to be optimistic about both near-term and down the road. Feels like 2007 to me, and that kicked off about the best five-year stretch we've seen from a Milwaukee baseball team. Go Brewers!

We have a much better chance of making the playoffs today than on Opening Day! Gotta love it.

My expectation was always for this team to be "in the mix" by 2018. I don't think that should change now. A lot will depend on how Stearns and co. decide to balance the young talent in terms of offense versus pitching. There are a lot of talented OFs in the system, and Dubon is someone I feel good about too. Then you've got Villar, who, well, who really knows what he is at this point. So, do you trade some of these guys for another starting pitcher? Do you assume Nelson and Anderson are for real and try to add a solid #3-#4 type to solidify the rotation? Or do you roll with the young starting possibilities (Hader, Woodruff, etc.) and see what happens? If it were me, I'd look to move Garza this offseason (maybe even before the deadline) while he's got some value as an innings-eater on a team-friendly deal. I have to think the Twins would pay for him given that they just tried to bring back Colon. Some other teams might have interest. Maybe you get a bullpen arm or something while clearing some space. I'd also look to package some of the OF glut to see if we can get a middle of rotation arm. I think the Crew can win with five #3 type starting pitchers, and we may not be all that far off from that right now. I think a corollary to this thread is "What would make 2017 a success?" What would provide reason to believe the window was opening for the Crew? I have to say it feels like we're there. Fangraphs has our true roster W% as .440, or 72 wins. Obviously this is a team with a lot of error margin on either side because of its youth, but if the Crew ends up in the 80-85 range that's a signal to me that expectations need to be higher entering next season.

Tough to win when you don't score more than three. Umps don't determine outcomes, but they did cost the Crew a run in about the only way that's still possible with instant replay. Offense needs a big hit with runners on at some point. Davies and Nelson in the last two, and I do think the offense will wake up. Still 8 over .500 and 4 over for July. They'll get back on track.