BruisedCrew

There’s a lot more to it as others have discussed. Your disagreement is noted. For one thing, almost half of the Brewers starts last year came from pitchers no longer on the roster. Are those starts going to be taken by pitchers who will cover as many innings and, as a group, be as effective as those pitchers? With potentially more innings to cover, will the bullpen be as effective as last year, even without a proven closer? Is the offense really going to be better than last year, and by enough to make up for what figures to be a less reliable pitching staff? Lots of big questions and several unproven players will be providing the answers.

The weather forecast for NYC tonight and tomorrow sounds very similar to what we had here the last few days. Rainy. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear, even as early as tonight, that the Mets are taking advantage of the built in off day to play Friday when conditions are expected to be much better.

78 wins. Way too many holes and question marks for me to expect more.

One other favorite Opening Day was in April of 1970 when I took a day off from my senior year in high school to see the Brewers first game ever. Even though they lost 12-0 it was great to have a team again.

This was mine too. Stuck it out in the bitter cold to see the great finish. Went to the second game that year too and saw the Brewers hit two grand slams in one inning in a rout over the Red Sox. After that the season was more than a slight disappointment.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2024/03/25/brewers-garrett-mitchell-suffers-hand-fracture-to-miss-opening-day/73099810007/

🤦🏻‍♂️

Lighten up everybody. Someone posted a few pages back that Brewers fans were the only ones who thought this was a bad trade for the Brewers so I was amused when I saw this one on a sidebar as I was doing something else. I didn’t post that because of its insightful analysis.

Cubs' Shot at Division Title Skyrocket After Trade (msn.com) This site thinks it was a great deal...for the Cubs.

Even if the pitching is no worse than 2018, the offense has to improve A LOT to contribute as much as 2018 with MVP Yelich, All Stars Cain and Aguilar, aging but still productive Ryan Braun, etc. The biggest thing in the Brewers favor is no obvious dominating team in the division.

That sounds like a lot of ifs, and also seems to assume that some of the young players that have been hyped on this board are no better than replacement level. I realize that trading Burnes was probably a move that had to be made and that the return they got might have been as much as could have been expected. What depresses me, though is that, once again, the future that looked bright a few years ago did not pan out as hoped, and the Brewers are forced to regroup and try to be competitive with a different formula. They seem to go through this cycle every 4-5 years since they broke out of the doldrums of 1993-2006. Don't get me wrong. The last 15 years have been much more entertaining than the 15 than preceded them. But the franchise seems to be following a Sisyphian pattern. In 2020, a generally mediocre team displayed some hope that the Brewers could succeed with an elite staff of starters and bullpen arms that could make them a difficult opponent in a playoff series. Adding Adames in 2021 threw an exciting young position player into the mix and led to one of the best Brewers seasons ever despite the late season and playoff swoon. Trading Burnes highlights that the elite pitching era for the Brewers is over and leaves the Brewers with a lot of question marks in both pitching and hitting. So, it's back to "the future is bright" and hoping that some players with no major league track record blossom into something above replacement level.

Is anyone taking the position that this trade will make the Brewers better this season?

A 25 year old who’s still in the minor leagues doesn’t strike me as a likely prospect.

I wish I had known this before renewing my 10 pack for this season.

My interpretation of Counsell’s “new challenge” comment seems to be similar to what others have said. He has dealt with the challenge of producing winning teams in a small market but probably feels like he has reached a ceiling. Now he wants to try the challenge of managing a team with deep pockets that can afford to acquire the kind of players who have a better chance to win a World Series. For many, Counsell’s legacy is that he has squeezed good results out of the Brewers but can’t win in the playoffs. Now he might have a chance to build a legacy that will get him mentioned alongside managers like Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker. Going to the Cubs made sense because he can keep his home in Whitefish Bay at least until his daughters finish high school. It will be a lot easier for his family to spend time with him during the season than if his team was in New York or somewhere further.

According to the Atlantic Didn't see that coming, though geographically it makes more sense than New York. ETA: Didn't notice that the Robert Murray thread had morphed into this.

First World Series title for the Washington Senators II in their 63rd season.

I would guess just a bit higher, like 13-14. For the game I expect a score like 27-10. I think the Badgers are going to have trouble moving the ball and scoring. I would take O$U at -14.

The PSU-OSU game highlighted that both teams have strong defenses but mediocre offenses with QBs that their coaches don’t really trust in tight spots. If UW can keep Harrison somewhat under control and not turn the ball over they could get into a relatively low scoring and competitive game. The Big 10 has so many painfully terrible teams, especially on offense, that it’s hard to evaluate the 3 decent teams.

I think the Phillies are just an outstanding team that can slug it out with the Braves. Their full season record is not as gaudy because they started 25-32 while they worked through some things, mainly waiting for Harper to return and get into condition and dealing with Hoskins’ season ending injury. Turner also got off to a terrible start. I looked up their records with different pitchers starting and they were 72-43 with their top 4 pitchers starting (Wheeler, Nola, Walker, and Suarez) but 18-29 when anyone else started. With the tightened rotations in the playoffs and that lineup clicking they are more formidable than just hot. I compare the Phillies to the 19 Nats. A team that was much stronger at the end of the season than indicated by their full season record.

The Brewers kind of did that in 2018, but they started in September to pull out the division, sweep the division series, and take a 2-1 lead over the Dodgers before they cooled off. We’ll see if the DBacks, who staggered to the end of the season and have now won 5 in a row, can maintain that into the NLCS.

You should be seeing from some of the lies that have been thrown around in the political arena how difficult it is for a public figure to sue successfully for defamation.

Not sure if you’re serious but there’s nothing there that would be a cause for a valid legal action.

I don’t think Brewers fans are complacent. I didn’t go to either playoff game this year but from reports I heard and what I could tell on TV the crowds were pretty fired up for both games. Seeing your ace pitcher serve up 3 gopher balls to surrender a 3 run lead will take the starch out of any crowd.

Having a superstar hitter like Harper is SO valuable in playoff games.