MKE81

I'm looking forward to watching the AAA team for a weekend series, Santana getting 500 ABs, Davies toeing the rubber every 5th day and watching young guys like Villar, Broxton on a regular basis as well as some PT from Walsh. Off the field I'm excited about everything Stearns has done and looking forward to more trades (Lucroy, Davis, etc hopefully before the season) and signings as well as how/who they draft. In a down season coming up there's plenty of intrigue for me

Arrogance much? Good to know that the "only" Brewers fans that have a clue about baseball are those that post on a blog site that the vast majority of fans haven't even heard of

Segura is 25yrs old and a couple years from his "prime" - he's also dealt with the loss of an infant child one year then took a bat to the eye the next. Does WAR factor these circumstances into their output? Segura will be in the 50th percentile for compensation. That's fine. You think he's worth 600K. Look at his production vs Escobar the past 3 seasons and tell me his value should be 600K. He's plenty serviceable at this point

Yes, hitting higher than 257 twice in the past 6yrs with an OBP higher than 293 twice over that same span is "above average". Segura's stats are extremely similar to Escobar's over the past 3yrs, offensively. Escobar isn't worth twice the price solely because of his defense. Segura is 4yrs younger too. If the Royals were a 500 team he's not winning the GG either. Escobar's stats are also extremely similar to Simmons, who has a higher OBP, OPS over past 3yrs as well as higher BA in 2 of past 3yrs. Simmons also walks more and Ks less. Similar doh les and triples and Simmons more HR. Simmons also has fewer ABs as well. So no, Escobar doesn't beat him across the board. Simmons is also much better defensively. Segura isn't good by any means but he's better than people believe. Doesn't matter anyway since Arcia is the future

arcia is the future. segura will be traded. he holds no value as a 2b (rivera, villar, etc) or 3b (cecchini, FA). he's not going to be kept as a utility. he'll be packaged with somebody in a trade or will be traded individually for a low level prospect. people can complain about his 2.6M all day but he's going to be gone from team so who cares. his comp is half that of Escobar and given Escobar sucks offensively as well is he really worth 5.25M for defense? compared to what brandon crawford is making...hell no

"...What are we telling our kids, that freedom of speech doesn’t exist? And any type of negative comment, you’re going to get somebody in trouble for? I just don’t agree with that." - A-A-Ron Rodgers hilarious coming from someone who plays in a league that fines players for wearing different colored socks. apparently Berkeley didn't teach him what freedom of speech actually means either. based on his comment i should be able to just scream derogatory remarks toward anyone at any time wherever i see fit, because of freedom of speech, and nothing should happen to me. what an awful world that would be to live in. i could care less about this topic at the end of the day; it shouldn't even demand attention. like everything else in life, it all starts with the parents. as a fan, never once did i feel the need to chant/scream anything toward any player at any level of sport. i'm there to watch and enjoy. people who chant/scream nonsense (sometimes they're actually clever though so you get a chuckle out of it at least) at players are the absolute worst. it's so stupid and always has been. and anybody who's coached within the past 5 years knows that chants, etc aren't the biggest problem. the parents are. parents nowadays are horrendous.

Agree. People can give up on Santana playing CF because it's not happening. That's why Broxton, Kirk, EY were acquired (plus Flores can fill in there too). Broxton is very intriguing to me and I hope he has a solid year as he's either the 4th OF moving forward or he's trade bait, still leaving us with Kirk, Flores, EY - whoever's on the team. Santana will be a corner OF (most likely RF due to his arm). I'm expecting Braun to be here through his contract, or at least the large majority of it. Braun is best in LF and I expect him to be back there once Davis is traded - and he will be traded because he doesn't fit the mold of what Stearns desires. Santana should be given every chance this year to prove he should be part of the future. If he's not going to start in April then have him play every day in AAA until Davis is traded during the season. You can't bury him on the bench at the MLB level and stunt his development. And what if Santana has a great ST? Doesn't make sense to send him to AAA then. If you insert him in the lineup with Braun and one of the true CFs now you're left with Davis on the bench and that can hurt the return in a trade, which is why I expect Davis to be traded prior to opening day

Davis will be traded and Santana will be in the OF. He's much younger and is better defensively. Doesn't have the power Davis has but he still has power. He can hit to all fields as well and is more patient at the plate. He's still young so can improve his contact cutting down on some Ks. I don't care what the OF looks like in April. I'm more concerned about the future. I think that's Braun, Phillips, Santana (Broxton/someone else in CF this year). But if Davis isn't traded prior to the start of the season he'll start with Santana in AAA as he won't be playing CF - he'll come up once Davis is then traded

Wouldn't it make more sense to have them back to back then? Increase your odds of popping one out of the park with guys on base? Maybe I'm mis-thinking this one but if you put one towards the bottom of the order, that's where there are guys who don't get on base as much as the top of your order. The past 3yrs 63% of Khris Davis' HRs have been solo. 60% of Chris Carter's are solo. Compared to 47% solo for someone like Braun. There's no right or wrong it's simply philosophical differences. You believing batting them back-to-back is logical and given your reasoning, it is, but it depends on the player in discussion. With 60-63% of their HRs being solo isn't good, especially when Davis was batting 4-5. I also prefer, and think it's logical, to have them separated given they both miss the ball a lot and Carter is only a decent at best OBP guy (Davis is definitely better but he's not great by any means). Therefore I would put a bat in between them. I have Scooter (lefty and even though not a high OBP guy his BA is still decent and doesn't K a lot) and Walsh (high OBP guy in minors). I actually have Davis being traded and not in my lineup but I did the same with Santana/Carter even though Santana is a better hitter and gets on base more than Davis (or should). Santana 5 and Carter 7. Regarding Perez, I have him on the bench because he can play multiple IF positions and has MLB experience. I don't even have Middlebrooks making the team although, depending how he performs in ST, I'd swap him in for Perez. I see a lot of people with Cecchini and Rivera on the roster/in the lineup and I have them in AAA. I like them starting there as the IF will be Cecchini, Arcia, Rivera and they all come up together - plus Cecchini was decently solid in AAA in 2014 but was awful there last year so I believe he should start there this year. Plus, he can be given time at both 1b and 3b too if need be. Rivera was good in AA and struggled in AAA so he needs to start there and spend the year there. Bring Cecchini up if he's playing well but I'd personally prefer to keep him there at least a couple months. It'll be interesting revisiting this thread by the start of ST as this very well could be drastically different - potentially no Segura, Scooter, Lucroy, Davis. I have Davis being traded anyway so didn't put him in my lineup because he's not close to fitting what Stearns looks for - technically neither does Carter but he's cheap, has a ton of power and plays a position we literally had nobody who could play it. No Davis means we have Braun, Broxton/Kirk, Santana starting with Flores as well (and Peterson I guess).

How will we compete during Arcia/Phillips era? Easy. With the talent we currently have in place combined with the future talent coming through system and future talent via trades/signings. Assuming none of the guys in minors are traded you're looking at Braun, Phillips, Santana in OF with 1b coming externally, lot of options at 2b (Villar/Rivera/Walsh/external), Arcia, 3b has options (Cecchini/external) and Lucroy C. Guys like Villar, Rivera, Walsh, Cecchini - if never become dependable starters - can offer strong bench play along with Broxton's tools in OF. Can also flip them individually or in packages for talent that aligns better with what Stearns wants to accomplish. Can add Reed, Taylor as potential contributors in OF coming up. There will be cap space to get quality FAs in spots that need to be filled. Nelson, Peralta, Jungmann, Davies, Lopez, Hader by 2017 plus add Houser, Barrios, Barnes, Magnifico to already strong pen (Houser also rotation candidate too). Now factor in the strong pitching prospects we already have in system that will be up in 2-3yrs after this wave if stay on course. Plus position guys like Trent Clark. Now add all the talent we'll get from trading other pieces I didn't even mention in 2017 roster (Garza, Khris Davis, Segura, Scooter). Those trades will bolster the organization at all levels, guaranteed. Plus, if Lucroy is traded you'll see a nice haul in return there too. Will Smoth and Jeffress most likely will be traded as well within a year or two and no doubt we'll add organizational talent in return. Now factor in the drafts! This is how you contend annually for the long-term. A strong foundation is in place with the 2017 talent. People act like Rogers was an automatic contributor as full time starter. He's most likely not. He played well in platoon. I liked Rogers but I'm more excited about Carter at 1b knowing he's not the long-term solution while hitting 30HR+. No way was Rogers part of the future and getting Broxton/Supek in return was a great move. Villar for Sneed also a great move. For me, Stearns hasn't made one head scratching move. They're analytical approaches statistically (player performance) and in terms of his vision for the future. He's playing chess while you're playing Uno (confession: I love Uno)

My Opening Day lineup/roster has Davis not on the team RHP Broxton CF Villar 3b Braun LF Lucroy C Santana RF Scooter 2b Carter 1b Segura SS LHP Broxton CF Villar 3b Braun LF Lucroy C Santana RF Walsh 2b Carter 1b Segura SS Bench: Nieuwenhuis, Flores, Perez, Maldy, Walsh/Scooter (they'll all work in and get plenty of PT, outside of Maldy if Lucroy is here) Rotation Nelson Garza Peralta Jungmann Davies Bullpen Smith Jeffress Blazek Thornburg Knebel Pena Z.Jones

I'd prefer he'd be traded before spring training but during the season is fine by me because that means he's not part of the future (nor should he be)!! Trading Davis leaves us with Braun, Broxton, Santana starting and Kirk/Flores on bench heading into March. Santana needs to play every day, nothing left to prove in minors.

There's no downside to this signing. Good move. Stearns is a beast.

Ben Sheets was a 2 pitch pitcher

Braun ranked 32nd in MLB in Defensive WAR among LF's in his MVP year of 2011. Khris Davis ranked 39th among LF's in Defensive WAR last year (minimum 300 at-bats) They are both well below average defenders. Arguably they are brutally poor defenders. Defensive WAR isn't close to being a legitimate statistic....yet. Braun is average in LF as a worst case scenario. He's actually pretty solid there. He's worse in RF. Additionally, to another poster who said Braun and Davis can hit. False. Braun can hit. Davis can solely hit home runs. There's a big difference between both. Braun is also much better defensively than Davis. Davis is decent at reading balls, taking routes and such but obviously had a horrendous arm. Braun covers more ground than Davis and has a much better arm. Brauns contract will turn out to be a steal based on what others are signing now and will sign over the next year or two. Davis will be traded as he's the opposite of what Stearns looks for and I'm all for that as I can't stand him, personally!! Lucroy, Segura, Scooter will all be traded as well eventually. Hopefully Garza comes out of the gates hot and gets traded too by the break. Maybe Will Smith or Jeffress as well. But regarding OF there might be 5 spots open between Braun, Santana, Broxton, Flores, Kirk, EY.

My answer is D) whatever Stearns does will benefit the organization

Davis has had monthly OPS splits of .683, .914, .799, .734, .758, .579, .699, .865, .620, .867 & .937 the last two seasons. With the average LF producing an OPS of .720 in 2014 & .730 in 2015 I'd say that's 4 good months, 3 better than average months and 4 below average months. Cheery picking stats again like some on here. Why choose OPS instead of OBP? Probably because all Davis does is hit HRs hence his SLG making his offensive production appear much better and more consistent than it is. his HR/rbi total over the past 2 seasons are dominated by 3 months. Prior the the final 2 months last year he was awful

Stop. Oh, ok. Anyone who builds a team solely based on analytics is going to lose same as anyone who builds it solely based on what they see. It's fine line and both must be used

Braun is NOT a liability in the OF. he can play LF or RF (he's better in LF clearly). i don't care what nerdy analytics you can dig up to support what you're saying - use your eyes as well (my eyes are what tells me Davis has the worst corner OF arm i'll ever see in my life). and Khris Davis is NOT a legit bat. he has legit power and literally nothing else. while his BB rate rose this past season in fewer ABs his K rate rose. he's proved at this level not to be a high OBP guy, not to have an understanding of the strike zone, not to hit line to line, not to hit for a solid avg, not a contact hitter and has not showed any consistency whatsoever. he's had 3 months over the past 2 seasons that have resulted in the majority of his power numbers (best tool). and that doesn't even include his avg at best defense with brutal arm. yes, you're correct that now is the time to move him especially after his final 2 months last year. but not because it's when you can maximize the return rather he's the opposite of what this team is becoming and because room needs to be made for Santana in RF. Please, I beg people, stop relying on wOBA, WAR, etc. That's part of the evaluation process but too many people use it as the final say. There isn't 1 GM that would take Khris Davis over Alex Gordon. Davis also had a higher wOBA than Heyward too lol

I'll never understand why some people say Stearns is possibly down on Santana because he traded him from Houston so read between the lines. He also traded Phillips (final piece of the trade), Hader (has done very well at every level through AA and killed AFL) and Houser (stock took a boost after final 7 starts of season and AFL). Houston had a ton of prospects and too many OFs for the number of spots. Therefore, you must give up something in order to get something (ie gold glove CF and all-star in Gomez and solid back end SP). I think too many people on this board over-analyze every decision (ie Stearns is down on Santana because he's acquiring OFs and traded him; Stearns is down on Phillips because he just acquired Broxton). It could be as simple as Stearns trading Davis, moving Braun back to LF with Santana in RF with Phillips starting in CF in AAA therefore one would assume Broxton is the leading candidate for CF for Brewers with Flores mixing in as well. This doesn't mean Stearns isn't high on Phillips nor that he's being blocked. Broxton fills a need right now. If Phillips performs how he has the past couple seasons he's easily the CF of the future. However, Broxton can then transition into a solid backup OF and play a dynamic role given his speed, great defense while offering some pop as well. If he has a good year he's trade bait too as people will take a CF with that skill set and we'd get a solid return. Flores isn't a long-term backup solution but fills a need next year. After that, guys like Reed are going to be in the mix followed by Taylor, etc if they continue to grow. Brewers have a lot of talent in AAA so a lot more trades of the 2016 roster and AAA guys will be coming up in the next year too. But Santana NEEDS to be given every opportunity as a starting RF this year. His skill set at his age you don't just pass over especially in a down season like next. This was a very good trade

I love Stearns. Wheel and deal like it ain't no thang. Don't understand why Santana wouldn't have a spot or would start in AAA though. He's dominated that level already and having a full MLB season under his belt in RF is what's needed to help this team moving forward. I would be completely and utterly shocked if Stearns doesn't trade Davis. He doesn't bring one thing to the table that Stearns has as a top priority when building his team

lol except this large supply of guys you mention also have to be talented enough to "compete" at that level. we're not talking about guys trying to get a minimum wage job as a cashier at a fast food chain, where literally 99% of adults qualify. so no, it's not supply and demand. it's wealthy owners and a wealthy league that, like the vast majority of wealthy business owners, don't care about folks at the bottom putting in the work. it eats into their money and that's all they care about. it's easy to give these "professional athletes" a standard salary based on their level with minimal bonus' based on performance (ie 5-10K for making all-star team, etc). as someone mentioned - 40K/60K/80K and such is very easy per level. these young adults might be starting families and they can actually assist in providing for their family when away just like any of us making these salaries. hilarious how someone mentioned that young kids getting money in their hands isn't a good thing (citing NBA, NFL). except these baseball playing teenagers/young adults aren't making millions hand over fist annually. in the real world - how many 18yr olds making 40K or 22yr olds with a college degree starting out at 50K throw money around like it's nothing?? apples and oranges for days

Khris Davis is average at best. Power is the only tool he possesses. So if you're looking for a guy that will hit 250/330 (maybe), 35HR, 70rbi with average speed, average routes to the ball and the worst arm you've probably ever seen allowing runners to take 3b on balls directly at your LF then Davis is your man. He's literally had 3 good months the past 2 seasons. There's zero consistency. Someone mentioned he walked more last year in 100 fewer ABs. Great. He also K'd the same amount. He has no understanding on the strike zone, swings at awful pitches consistently and doesn't use all fields. You can bury your head in all the analytics you want but watch a game once in a while

It's difficult to predict a teams attendance in general let alone a team with an absurd amount of fair weather fans

Thornburg should be traded and Blazek, Smith should never be removed from roles they've had success where their value's high or potential is high. Pena, Houser should be in the pen. Cravy should be traded as he's not better than any guys listed. Hader should be a SP at this point as he's had great success there through AA but worst case can easily transition to the pen and be very effective