MrTPlush

Rough way for Wisconsin to start their March resume off with two Top 25 losses. Not being a fan of a Big Ten team I don’t know how strong the Conference is overall, but certainly not a great start to the season. Would have been great for hem to pull off at least one of those games.

Right...but that guy actually will cost to more like $8mil possibly more depending on the factors involved due to frontloading the big contract. I really doubt we are so maxed out on payroll in 2020-2021 where we are trying to scrap together $5mil

Option 2 has the higher present value by about $3mil by my personal calculations. That number could vary depending on the return rate you decide the player gets by investing.

So what's wrong with offering Arrieta $30/$25/$25/20 with an opt-out after 2 years? Seems like that's best for all parties. I get that Mark may have other business priorities, but if he's going Y2Y and Arrieta and a reliever are the signings this year, he may like this. That is so minimal. Are we really going to be crunching for $5mil in 4 years? I think the frontloading someone was suggesting was a lot more major than that.

Financially front loading is a poor choice for quite a few reasons...simply put. For whom? For the team financially front loading can be bad but for the player financially front loading a contract is actually better due to time value of money. If you expect to have a higher team salary in the future front loading a contract might be a better idea for a team. For example if the Brewers expect to have a higher team salary in 2020 than they do now front loading a contract like Arrieta would be a wise move as it will save you space on that salary then. Simply put your statement is rather vague. The team. That is why you don't really see it done in baseball. Someone mentioned Heyward(and a few others) and he doesn't really make sense. His is frontloaded because of the opt out and Heyward used it to his leverage. The situtation we are talking about here is the Brewers voluntarily looking to front load a contract. I am not arguing it could help a baseball team competively, but is extra payroll space come 2020 worth the cost? It is easy for fans to say frontload it without knowing the hidden costs. Every time I mention this when frontloading comes up I think people forget a baseball team is a business looking to make money and increase their value. The order you pay the player a contract makes a gigantic difference.

Financially front loading is a poor choice for quite a few reasons...simply put.

Something about signing a guy who sucked 4/6 of the months of the year to be a TOR guy seems like a pretty solid disaster waiting to happen. You are gambling he looks more like July/August than the rest of the year. If there was a gun to my head and someone said Chase Anderson or Jake Arrieta I think I take Anderson. So I think that sums up what I think of this possibility.

Come on, I have been to Maryvale and I know its not the greatest place in the world, but Phoenix has way worst areas to put up a spring training home. I’m comparing it specifically the the other locations that have ST complexes. I’m also not just referring to how “dangerous” it is according to some. I’m referring to just overall the area is lacking. We have by far the worst location putting up the biggest investment. Not necessarily shocked and agree the public paying for these is in the past...but man you’d think we could have gotten a bit more lucky and gotten the Gilbert location for all the money we are throwing in.

Seriously. We are putting in a ridiculous % of money in a renovation project no team has ever come close to in MLB history...and here we are in grand ole...Maryvale. I am just saying I would have expected a better location for such an investment. I’m not saying the most important thing is the facilities for players, but jeez if we are investing ridiculous money when ever other team in history hasn’t I would expect a world class complex in a world class location. Not the worst location imaginable.

There are some pretty terrible QBs out there. He could end up lower starter material due to his legs. He does make some really idiotic plays though. Sitting around on a bench only helps so much. My top two fails of the week were when he dived onto his throwing shoulder for absolutely no reason and when he chucked the ball out of bounds when he easily had some positive yard to run for. I don’t even expect that out of a 18 year old college freshman.

Salaries for relievers explode...if you can get into position for one of those contracts. Honestly most relievers implode before their salary ever explodes.

They are playing garbage. You should probably score at will vs. garbage. The coaches after these types of games usually sum up the meaningless pretty darn well.

I am sure it was spread out over time. Better investment wise alone before considering the positives for building a baseball roster.

I blame the Brewers. It didn’t take an expert to see the direction public funded stadiums was going. Should have went out and paid a lions share of a new stadium deal years ago when cities were still looking to add spring training sites. You would easily have been preferred when most teams were still pushing for cities to football the bill. Instead now they have to pay the majority to renovate a complex because no city even wants a team. They have no one else to blame...except themselves. They gambled and played their hand wrong thinking eventually a city would cough up money to bring them in. They were wrong.

We spend a ridiculous amount of money on our spring training complex(more than any other team does) and probably stay in the worst one in the worst area. Props to the Brewers for managing that one.

No thanks. Banking on prospects is almost garaunteed to fail.

Seriously just fire him at this point. The defense this year talent wise actually seems pretty decent. Yet still lacking results. The thing with him is the fact it continues to be bad and it literally can’t get much worse.

If those players all have great years and we win 10 less games, something sure went very wrong elsewhere. Very very wrong considering off season additions too. If we win 10 less games nothing will make that better because really bad things would need to happen.

It hurts them more than it helps. I love the positive thinking, but pounding your chest over a 9-0 record against complete garbage is more embarrassing than impressive. None of those teams are even remotely close to being playoff caliber. The Badgers just don’t really impress me that much. The offense can be pretty ugly and even today were more lucky than good. They recovered a pile of their own fumbles where normally your odds aren’t so good. If that would have not happened the results would have swayed the other way real quick. A win is a win, but on paper when trying to pick four teams that are the best those things do matter.

Uh, the owner is still there. If Stearns is strong enough to make his own decisions and Melvin wasn't than it's safe to call them "Doug Melvin moves" It’s called a change of philosophy by the owner and giving the reins to the GM fully(or near fully as you can get. Doug Melvin never had that kind of control and was forced to do whatever he had to do to put a “competing” team on the field. I’m not going to derail the thread and argue this topic because it is a pretty easy concept to understand.

I wouldn’t mind going crazy for a few relievers and then Walker or a starter. Make a super pen.

If one more person say “such a Doug Melvin move” I may burn down Miller Park. It was MARK ATTANASIO pushing for most of if not all of those big contracts for aging pitchers.

If Jake Arrieta gives me 3 great years he can fall off a cliff the fourth year and I won't shed a single tear.

1. Lewis Brinson- Brinson is the complete package. Something no other player among our top prospects can really say. He has a lot of potential and has shown it in the high minors. 2. Keston Hiura- This kid can flat out hit and has impressive bat speed. He looks like a prime candidate to be a fast mover which has value in itself. I am not concerned about the defense presently which is why I rank him aggresively. 3. Corbin Burnes- Has he been phenominal or what? This guy is doing everything and not missing a beat. Burnes could be something really special with his pitches and great control. Cannot wait for him to make his debut. 4. Luis Ortiz I think he has a higher ceiling than Hader, but there are health concerns and he is farther off. 5. Brandon Woodruff- Three solid to good pitches and he commands them well. He is going to be a solid mid rotation guy. 6. Tristan Lutz- I loved this pick. His tools are big and full of potential. The only thing he lacks is speed on the base paths. However his other skills will make us forget about that downside. 7. Brett Phillips- He showed stellar defense in his extended debut and also held his own with the bat. Really excited for what may be to come. 8. Corey Ray- It isn't that I don't like Ray, but he just hasn't been showing much since being drafted. He still has a high ceiling in my opinion, but he needs to start producing. Easily the biggest dissapointment in the entire system this year. 9. Trent Clark- Clark has elite OBP skills and has been very surprising on defense since being drafted. I think the power is about to show up. He just needs to up his average a bit and we have a dream lead off hitter on our hands. 10. Monte Harrison- If you had to chisel yourself an athlete Harrison would be it. After early career struggles with injuries his power showed up full force this year. He already has 21 homeruns this year(including AS game). 11. Lucas Erceg 12. Isan Diaz 13. Freddy Peralta 14. Phil Bickford 15. Mauricio Dubon 16. Jacob Nottingham 17. Marcos Diplan 18. Mario Feliciano 19. Jake Gatewood 20. KJ Harrison 21. Troy Stokes Jr. 22. Larry Ernesto 23. Caden Lemons 24. Cody Ponce 25. Trey SupaK

Winter Meetings...that is where a lot of the offseason action occurs.