Boomer5

I cant imagine the Brewers giving up anything even remotely considered one of the organization's top 20 prospect level for a guy the Phillies pretty much need to unload. I sure hope Im wrong, because Papelbon's loss in velocity, cost (even if Phil picks up some), and apparently bad chemistry is not much of trade piece.

On one hand, the guy is a jerk, grossly over paid, and is declining. On the other hand, compared to KRod, he is probably 3-4 wins better, which is of course huge. Philly wants to dump him in the worst way due to his closing games vesting option and his behavior. No way should the Brewers give up anything more than a fringe type player if they are picking up the option.

I was of course a fan of Hart. But to paraphrase Pitino, 2012 Hart isn't coming through the door. I'd rather have Reynolds than Hart at this point though I can't say either is a difference maker.

203/271/319 590 'Nuff Said.

I like this idea a lot. If we can somehow land him - Crown Us!

Archie Bradley apparently has had a fall from mega stardom, as allegedly AZ offered him up for Kemp?? http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/12/nl-west-notes-kemp-kim-giants-arruebarrena.html That's the kind of asset I would want for Krush.

Agreed. He is the sort of player that if traded, it would have to be for a significant return. At 5 years of control, and good production, guys like him are gold to a small market team.

A lot of cash for 1.6 fWAR

Powerhouse, elite and miracle, eh - seems like a little hyperbole. Obviously the Brewers would need better pitching and hitting from last year. If Lohse, Gallardo can pitch the same as last year and we get improvement from Garza and Peralta and one of Fiers/Nelson is a legitimate #4 type starter, that is a good enough rotation to get into the playoffs. No ace, but depth of above average pitching. I'm not confident that the relief pitching will be league average as it stands now, but DM will probably acquire someone and it is also the easiest position to improve at the trading deadline. The offense does need the good Braun as I don't expect to count on the same results from Gomez and Lucroy next season. But if we get the good Braun and a decent season from ARam, better Davis combined with Lind we would produce enough offense to also get into the playoffs. A bunch of ifs, but I don't think I would consider it a miracle for the above to happen. Just need to stay healthy where there is no decent backup plan, but that is the case for a lot of teams. Off the top of my head, I think there is a 25% of winning ~90 games, 40% of winning ~81 games, 35% of winning ~72 games. I can see the rotation being decent. If nothing else, they have real depth. Garza, Lohse, and Gallardo are what they are. I don't see improvement. I have much more bullish on Nelson than most. Fiers has been good except that one disastrous stretch. Im very concerned about the offense. Its just not good enough and not patient enough to make me think this is a 90 win team. Maybe Coles will help the approach??? I see this team being 75-84 wins and not much more. A LOT would have to go right to get to 90.

For the Brewers to get to 90 wins, Nelson and Wily will need to form a powerhouse 1-2, Broxton/Smith will need to be elite, and the offense needs a miracle. I am not sure who on offense can turn this team to a somewhat slump proof line up????

Soler isn't a strike out machine. He's the real deal. Rizzo, Bryant and Soler is one powerful middle of a lineup. You are also forgetting that Rizzo's just 25 and is coming off a breakout year and Castro is still just 24. They can probably live for now with vets like Sweeney and Coghlan in the OF and once Bryant takes over third, they can shift Valbuena to 2nd if Alcantara and Baez still struggle. I would suspect they still aren't done though. You are right, Solar looks like a legitimate prospect. As much as I found the Cubs mega hype to be more laughable than real, the reality is I like the Cubs plan a whole lot better than the Brewers right now. The Cubs have upside to see 100 wins by 2016 with another #1-2 type starter FA, the Brewers don't.

Great. Its a done deal that Weeks with be a 850 ops player now. He will gladly play the OF of course. This sucks.

This is a good signing for the Cubs, no doubt about it. Their prospects so far have been very underwhelming despite the hype. Bryant looks like the real deal though. The rest are strike out machines. Their stats are actually quite funny. As one poster pointed out, this is the Cubs, so they will mess this up somehow, someway. The Brewers were in the Reds class anyhow for last place. Maybe the prospects + Lester for the Cubs take them to contention, but that doesn't change that the Brewers are not going to compete with StL and Pitt as of now anyhow.

Bullpens surprise us one way or another year after year. I am less worried about the pen, though for no good reason. I am very worried that Braun is a 800 guy, which leaves us with no anchor type offensive player. Lucroy is fantastic but he can't carry an offense like Braun could. I fear Gomez is a series of breakdowns which is why Id trade high on him now. From the current roster, the only hope for upside is Krush making the leap, Segura rebounding, and maybe Lind finding something better than good platoon type. I don't like my odds, which is why Gomez needs to bring in some elite young talent. DM never makes sell high trades like that, however. His specialty is the bargain bin with guys better than you think. Wren maybe?

None of us know "for sure" if was on PEDS, and yes the risk was really, really high. Still, he wouldn't be the first athlete to push the envelope based on the cheating technology always being ahead of testing procedures. I wish he wasn't but falling from 950 to 780 doesn't look good. I sure hope it was his now famous thumb but once burned, the cynic in me says its a church lady level convenient excuse. For the record I bought into the herpes treatment thing, to show you how gullible and big a fan I was of him. Now, all i know is what i see. And what I saw wasn't the elite player from 2012. Going forward, I think we can expect a 120-130 game 800 guy and the team needs to plan the roster around those numbers.

I feel the same way. I know people want a winner next year but I honestly would be OK with struggling next year if it meant securing an opportunity at the future. It's just hard to believe this team can win it all the way it is set up now. Compete, yes. But other than that, just really uncertain. I would be dealing guys like Gallardo, Lohse, Gomez, Ramirez, Parra, Broxton, etc... Get the best and biggest return of prospects we can get and lets build something great for 2-3 years down the road. This team doesn't do that. They have the Herb Kohl keep the team marginally competitive as long as they can mentality. I am still furious about the Carlos Lee trade. Kevin Mench? I mean, seriously. Who trades for a Kevin Mench?

Assuming they are done, to me Braun is the key. I had my doubts about him being "Braun" without PEDS. Maybe his off year was his thumb, maybe it was his inability to heal his thumb without help. I am no dr, all i know is he failed the eye test. If he is just an 800 OPS guy, the Brewers are in big trouble. They need a bat and a bullpen arm in the worst way if they have any chance to make things fun next year. Without a big FA splash or an unlikely Gomez mega trade, this teams like a 500 team again. Decent players across the board, but no one that can carry them when needed.

Segura has virtually no value on the trade market. Id use him more as a utility and take my chances with Coles getting through to him. I can't say Im sold on Coles but sometimes a different teacher/approach might produce some results. I hate selling so low on an asset, its such a Milwaukee thing to do be it Bucks or Brewers. Gomez is the only real piece that makes sense. They can obtain a game changing prospects package for him. I don't think DM will do that, he will go for major ready asset, which is just more churning. It's not my money, but I'd go big for Lester. Even if we don't get him, it will bump up the price to a painful level for the Cubs because we can not allow them to get him without bleeding.

While the 7 game losing streak has been heart breaking, ultimately this team looked like a .500 team from day one. Regression as they say. I doubt anyone gets fired here, but it doesn't make this any easier. Personally, anyone and everyone that has anything to do with our drafts needs to go, but that's just me. Edit: Well, I didnt see Seid passed away before I typed this. Now I feel bad. I guess its time to admit this team was never very good from the start and we are what we are. A team that has some nice pieces but isn't particularly good at any one thing.

Medeiros looks like he has calmed down a bit since his initial games at least statistically. Anyone know how he actually looked in his last two games?

That's true. Theo will have to show he can pick up pitching though for his plan to work. The line up looks to be frightening offensively to be sure.

I can't speak for everyone here, but my point was Theo was horrible in FA with the Red Sox. I didn't make any comments comparing him to Melvin. I have plenty of criticism for Melvin, and more specifically, the Brewers lack of ability to draft.

I agree here. Obviously having Cain, Brantley, Jake O, and especially Escobar would be great now. But these guys are just now in 2014 putting it together and the trades were made in 08 and 11. In 2014 the Brewers are in the play offs picuture even with out them The Brewers got quality and gave up quality. If Segura was hitting as advertised, this really wouldn't even be a discussion.

Both trades were the right moves. The Sabathia trade put the Brewers on the map so to speak. The Grienke trade was a bit tougher on our farm system, but it lead to the play offs and they flipped him for what we are hoping is a decent haul. All we need a certain SS to learn to hit again. Perhaps Pena isn't fully written off yet? I still never understood the Lawrie move. I guess he was a major jerk so they wanted to move him ASAP. But Marcum was such a weak return, despite having a very good first 5 months for us.

Correct on LBJ. The two year deal is only to maximize his future salary. He is not leaving. I can't imagine the backlash for his legacy if he leaves twice especially after that open letter explanation. I heard Love had agreed to an extension in principle, or is that premature?