MrTPlush

I think it was in the other thread, but I already explained that Cespedes>Braun money wise. I will copy paste it over here later. There is not $8.5mil surplus value on Brauns contract yearly. Yasiel Puig not opting into arbitration was more than just 2017 salary. Opting into arbitration would have wiped out his $9mil 2018 salary that is a sure thing. Arvitration would not have been kind to his down years. And he would have risked losing the 2018 year he is already assured. Arbitration would have given him a similar salary with upside to gain even more in 2018.

How is that any more fair. What if I am playing the AL East and you get to play the AL Central?

Most places you don't even need a little key chain card for rewards. Everywhere I go they just ask for my phone number or I punch it in myself.

It is about ratings and $$$. Ratings for the All Star game were already plummetting before the tie. Giving homefield advantage to the winner was a nice attempt to right the ship. Unfortunately it just didn't gain much steam though it did keep ratings steady for a little while. The players didn't put in the effort Bud Selig was hoping for and the managers didn't really manage to win. It was a good idea, but it didn't work.

Correct it bothers me when people try to subtract Puig's contract to make Braun look cheaper. They could salary dump Puig to multiple teams tomorrow if they wanted to for nothing in return. This was proved when two other teams, outside of the Brewers, claimed Puig back in August. I can imagine that number has grown due to it being the offseason.

[sarcasm]Oh no! But what if that opens the door for more All-Star games ending in a tie?! How horrible that would be!![/sarcasm] Laugh all you want, but the home field advantage thing was a really good idea at the time. Might have worked out better if teams actually tried, but they didn't really play 100% so it turned into a bit of a joke.

Honestly I don't think I have ever said that. Unless of course is was prior to the idea of trading Braun at the same time. That or I might have questioned his fit with Brinson on the way, but I don't think so. Assuming Keon plays CF, Santana in RF/LF, and Puig in RF/LF there is room. Brinson is on the way, but you have a year before that is a pressing issue.

People would love to see Santana at 1B, but honestly I think he would be pretty bad. He is a very awkward fielder and I can't imagine that playing well in the infield. Honestly watching him makes me think of Khris Davis. Probably a guy who can only catch flyballs.

[sarcasm]Around here we like to get pumped signing someone to a 3/$16mil deal who has done nothing at the MLB level and mashes 85mph fastballs in the KBO. Players who are only 25 and have multiple 5 WAR season under their belt are too mainstream.[/sarcasm] Most people will disregard a player at even the slightest notion they are a problem in the clubhouse because it is a wide assumption it will do horrible things to your team. Dodgers do pretty good every year with Puig on the team and didn't Greinke hate him? Greinke seemed to play well dispite the clubhouse cancer annoying him. Maybe it is just me, but I think his problems are really overblown and their effects on the team even more so.

Yah if he can pull together a sub 4.00 ERA then teams will be flocking to the Brewers. The Brewers will be willing to eat 2017 money and obviously 2018 will be very cheap at $5mil. Teams looking to save money or that can only afford a bargain option will want him pretty badly. Of course he needs to actually pitch good before we can plan on that situation.

This makes a ton more sense than the straight up Braun for Puig trade we heard about. I have no idea why the Brewers would want Puig at all It was never that. It was always Braun for Puig/McCarthy/Prospects(s). Because he is a good buy low candidate with a high ceiling. We just handed out $16mil to Eric Thames. I am not complaining if Puig were to come back. He can be a good player...really good. Puig is not the end of the world and there was and likely won't be the option of Puig or prospects. You can't just assume Stearns is preferring Puig over getting more prospects. Or maybe the prospect option instead of Puig is little to nothing.

Good perspective on Braun's contract. This just shows how much of a bargain he is and why if you do trade him, you better get a haul. Actually in my opinion it is just proof that Ryan Braun isn't a bargain and more like market value. Offensively they are very similar production wise. Both we at 135 for their OPS+. So sure at face value that is $7.5mil surplus value for Braun a year which is great. However once we start factoring in other things that surplus will shrink fast: 1) Age- Yoenis Cespedes is two years younger which is a huge deal once we start talking about 30+ year olds. Rumor has it the Dodgers were scared to offer too much because of the back end of Braun's deal. If Braun was two years younger that probably wouldn't be a problem and Bellinger would be a Brewer and Braun a Dodger. 2) Defense- Yoenis Cespedes the last two years has played approximetely half his time in CF while Braun spends all of his time LF. Versatility is valuable and even more so at a premium position like CF. 3) Injury Concerns- Like it or not, but Ryan Braun is very sketchy with the injury past. Thumb/back are really big chronic concerns and he is always having leg issues. Teams are scared of that stuff with older guys and even more so when they run around the outfield. If Ryan Braun was such a bargain we would not have to pick up money and take on bad contracts to trade him. He is about market value. Maybe there is a little bit or surplus value on the contract, but to call it a bargain is probably a bit extreme. If they want anthing good in return the will have to pay for it by either kicking in money or by taking on bad contracts.

I don't think that's really how it works. I don't think they're putting that in a piggy bank and saying "ok, well we didn't spend it this year, so we'll be able to spend MORE money next year. If they didn't spend it, they didn't spend it. Whatever they don't spend in 2016 is just profit. Well it does in some way because Attanasio has mentioned saving money to spend more when they are competing. Though I take that as more of a 2011/2012/2014(or whatever year it was high) when they maxed out payroll and supposably were losing a bit of money. Not a, Hey we saved $150mil the last 5 years, lets go sign an ace!!!" type of thing.

Haha that was some good stuff http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2016/11/29/209853258/brewers-sign-eric-thames-to-three-year-contract?partnerId=as_mlb_20161129_68336856&adbid=1313850015313301&adbpl=fb&adbpr=196554717042842

I think people have been overlooking/not considering outcome B here. I gotta think the Brewers wouldn't have much interest in trading Eric Thames if he turns into a nice little bargain at 1B. I understand he is older, but I wouldn't be overly concerned with a 1B who is in his early 30s. If the Brewers find a starting lefty 1B and proceed to trade him with years of control that would be...erm...pretty interesting. Stearns mentioned him as a building block for the next competitive team and I think he was pretty serious. If he works out he won't be going anywhere.

Benefactors of a lot of close games falling their way. They have close wins over the Vikings twice(coming after the Vikings nosedived), the Rams(yikes), and the Jaguars. They then have losses to the Titans, Bears(woah), and Texans. That is pretty bad and their overall schedule is about as easy as it can get. They have had zero dominating wins this year. They all have been nailbiters against not so great opponents for the most part. Not saying the Packers are any better, but the Lions are not a very good team themselves. Definitely not 7-3 material.

Notable both the Vikings/Lions both have to play the Cowboys...the Lions have to go on the road for both the Cowboys and Giants, ouch.

It's called scouting, watching how a player plays the game, and just flat out athletic ability. Thames couldn't hold Abreu's bat even if he wanted to. It means nothing where they played. Korea, Cuba, Antarctica...doesn't matter. Abreu got paid because he had an incredible ceiling/tools. Not really because he played in Cuba vs. Korea.

Well the positive side to that is the fact they don't play anymore strong offenses. Actually most of them are pretty poor offenses with scrub QBs.

You lost me. This is nothing more than trying to catch lightning in a bottle. Jose Abreu has talent...and a lot of it. That is why he was paid $50mil+ mil. I am guessing Stearns saw the barren wasteland in the minors and likes Thames as a guy who can be average at 1B. Even average 1B get really pricey so if Thames can be that guy we save a nice chunk of money. I don't think Stearns envisions Thames as a high ceiling guy, but more of a role player or to atleast fill a black hole with something. Stearns views him more than a role player. He's penciled in as the first baseman for the next three plus years. Because there flat out isn't any other option right now. Not to mention the money is so minimal they could release him without shedding a tear pretty fast.

You lost me. This is nothing more than trying to catch lightning in a bottle. Jose Abreu has talent...and a lot of it. That is why he was paid $50mil+ mil. I am guessing Stearns saw the barren wasteland in the minors and likes Thames as a guy who can be average at 1B. Even average 1B get really pricey so if Thames can be that guy we save a nice chunk of money. I don't think Stearns envisions Thames as a high ceiling guy, but more of a role player or to atleast fill a black hole with something.

That's the rub with signings like this for players from say Japan or Korea. Scouting matters. We'll see if the Brewers scouting of Thames was correct and he can be a productive MLB hitter. None of us know whether that will happen. Yup it is all about scouting. Any stats are 100% meaningless. Some people are comparing the Korean league to AAA and in my opinion that is being pretty generous. A lot of the guys in the Korean league are throwing 85mph fastballs. They don't have the pitching depth the MLB has and it is easy to pad up different stats facing subpar talent. There are an endless amount of players that look like Albert Pujols in the Korean/Japanese leagues and can't hit the broad side of a barn in the MLB. I like the move and find it very intriguing we just gave a guy 3/$16mil who didn't do well in his short time in his MLB stay, hasn't been stateside for nearly half a decade, and is 30 years old. Honestly I can't believe such a situation just happened.

You can't compare numbers like that. Not everyone translates so perfectly.

International Draft is unlikely now.

Cy Sneed was traded in return for Jonathan Villar.