MadThinker88

Update time, with games thru 6-3-16. at least the Brewer ranking improved from last week. As of end of 6/3/2016 # Franchise W L Pct 1 Cleveland Indians 134 83 0.6175 2 New York Yankees 130 85 0.6047 3 Texas Rangers 124 90 0.5794 4 Seattle Mariners 124 92 0.5741 5 Washington Nationals 118 93 0.5592 6 Pittsburgh Pirates 118 96 0.5514 7 Philadelphia Phillies 117 99 0.5417 8 Minnesota Twins 113 104 0.5207 9 Los Angeles Dodgers 109 103 0.5142 10 Arizona Diamondbacks 110 106 0.5093 11 Chicago Cubs 108 105 0.5070 12 Houston Astros 108 106 0.5047 13 Detroit Tigers 106 106 0.5000 14 Boston Red Sox 107 110 0.4931 15 Oakland Athletics 106 109 0.4930 16 St. Louis Cardinals 106 109 0.4930 17 Tampa Bay Rays 107 113 0.4864 18 Colorado Rockies 104 111 0.4837 19 San Diego Padres 104 112 0.4815 20 Toronto Blue Jays 108 118 0.4779 21 New York Mets 103 113 0.4769 22 Miami Marlins 103 114 0.4747 23 Milwaukee Brewers 100 113 0.4695 24 San Francisco Giants 101 117 0.4633 25 Cincinnati Reds 98 119 0.4516 26 Baltimore Orioles 96 120 0.4444 27 Kansas City Royals 92 121 0.4319 28 Atlanta Braves 93 123 0.4306 29 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 91 124 0.4233 30 Chicago White Sox 93 127 0.4227

update time.. As of end of 5/27/2016 Franchise W L Pct 1 Cleveland Indians 119 71 0.6263 2 Texas Rangers 114 77 0.5969 3 New York Yankees 114 77 0.5969 4 Washington Nationals 103 80 0.5628 5 Philadelphia Phillies 105 85 0.5526 6 Seattle Mariners 105 85 0.5526 7 Pittsburgh Pirates 100 87 0.5348 8 Los Angeles Dodgers 99 89 0.5266 9 Minnesota Twins 100 92 0.5208 10 Chicago Cubs 97 90 0.5187 11 Arizona Diamondbacks 97 93 0.5105 12 Colorado Rockies 95 93 0.5053 13 Oakland Athletics 96 94 0.5053 14 New York Mets 94 95 0.4974 15 Houston Astros 93 94 0.4973 16 Boston Red Sox 93 97 0.4895 17 St. Louis Cardinals 92 97 0.4868 18 Detroit Tigers 90 95 0.4865 19 Toronto Blue Jays 91 98 0.4815 20 Tampa Bay Rays 92 100 0.4792 21 Miami Marlins 90 101 0.4712 22 San Diego Padres 89 102 0.4660 23 San Francisco Giants 87 103 0.4579 24 Milwaukee Brewers 86 102 0.4574 25 Cincinnati Reds 87 105 0.4531 26 Baltimore Orioles 85 104 0.4497 27 Atlanta Braves 83 108 0.4346 28 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 82 108 0.4316 29 Kansas City Royals 80 106 0.4301 30 Chicago White Sox 82 112 0.4227 I am not liking the trend the Brewers have taken over these 3 postings (18-21-24). Here is to hoping they can turn it around and win a little more often

Sounds very challenging to coordinate a AAA & MLB schedule out of the same location.

Considering the division, a 5+ year rebuild plan makes the most sense. The Cubs and Pirates are not going away anytime soon and until the Cards actually fall out of contention, I will not make any plans for a funeral... The interesting situation is the Reds... The key will be being in better position than the Reds in 2020 and be ready to take advantage of one of the other 3 teams slipping back to the Brewers / Reds. Now is the time to keep stock piling talent and work on building a winning culture throughout the minor league system so when the talents reach the majors, they are ready to move the big league club into winning..

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this idea that a 6 year contract (ie extension) for a pitcher is a good idea for a club, any club. There are many clubs that refuse to go over 4 years for pitchers because of injury risks and volatility. Heck, players are even looking for opt outs after a couple of seasons. Yes, there some clubs that will go with 6 or 7 year deals for pitchers but how many of those deals workout over the entire course of the contract. Most of them blow up on the club at some point. I'm not saying Nelson isn't worthy of a long term deal but I do think it's premature to do it now and I think going 6 years is asking for all sorts of problems down the road...

update time.. As of end of 5/20/2016 # Franchise W L Pct 1 Cleveland Indians 106 57 0.6503 2 Texas Rangers 101 61 0.6235 3 New York Yankees 98 66 0.5976 4 Philadelphia Phillies 92 71 0.5644 5 Washington Nationals 88 69 0.5605 6 Los Angeles Dodgers 87 73 0.5438 7 Seattle Mariners 88 75 0.5399 8 Pittsburgh Pirates 85 75 0.5313 9 Minnesota Twins 88 78 0.5301 10 Chicago Cubs 82 77 0.5157 11 Arizona Diamondbacks 83 79 0.5123 12 Boston Red Sox 83 81 0.5061 13 Tampa Bay Rays 84 82 0.5060 14 New York Mets 80 80 0.5000 15 Colorado Rockies 80 81 0.4969 16 Oakland Athletics 79 83 0.4877 17 Detroit Tigers 77 82 0.4843 18 St. Louis Cardinals 77 84 0.4783 19 Houston Astros 76 83 0.4780 20 Toronto Blue Jays 77 85 0.4753 21 Milwaukee Brewers 75 84 0.4717 22 San Diego Padres 75 88 0.4601 23 Cincinnati Reds 75 90 0.4545 24 Baltimore Orioles 73 91 0.4451 25 Kansas City Royals 71 89 0.4438 26 Miami Marlins 72 91 0.4417 27 Chicago White Sox 73 94 0.4371 28 San Francisco Giants 69 93 0.4259 29 Atlanta Braves 70 96 0.4217 30 Los Angeles Angels 68 94 0.4198

IF Hader can stick as a starter (& be good at it), it will be a big help with the rebuild. I hope he does. The jury is still out on that and there are a number of "experts" that doubt he will make it as a starter, that he will be a very good reliever. I was listening to a Tribe game during this week and Tom Hamilton relayed a comment from Bud Black made years ago: Its tougher to find a pitcher that can get 21 outs in a game then one that can get 1 or 3. Develop guys to be starters as long as possible. I think that is sound advice...

I recall that Garza was transferred to the 60 day DL. Any news on when he might be ready for a rehab assignment?? Unless Chase and 'Free Willie' have gotten themselves straightened out (& effective) by then, Garza might be in line to fill one of those spots in the rotation...

Thanks to a little help from a person on another board, I was able to put the following chart together without spending too much time & effort. I realize that winning is secondary to developing the talent with the minors league teams, but it is still fun to watch & compare the records. Here is to hoping that the winning done early will continue to bred a strong culture of winning & result in more wins at the major league level. My plan is to update this every couple of weeks with a new posting. Enjoy. As of end of 5/13/2016 # Franchise W L Pct 1 Cleveland Indians 89 48 0.6496 2 Texas Rangers 87 50 0.6350 3 New York Yankees 79 57 0.5809 4 Philadelphia Phillies 75 61 0.5515 5 Seattle Mariners 74 61 0.5481 6 Washington Nationals 72 60 0.5455 7 Los Angeles Dodgers 73 61 0.5448 8 Tampa Bay Rays 75 66 0.5319 9 Chicago Cubs 71 63 0.5299 10 Colorado Rockies 71 64 0.5259 11 Arizona Diamondbacks 70 64 0.5224 12 Minnesota Twins 73 67 0.5214 13 New York Mets 69 65 0.5149 14 Pittsburgh Pirates 69 66 0.5111 15 Boston Red Sox 69 67 0.5074 16 Oakland Athletics 67 69 0.4926 17 Detroit Tigers 65 69 0.4851 18 Milwaukee Brewers 64 71 0.4741 19 Toronto Blue Jays 63 71 0.4701 20 St. Louis Cardinals 62 73 0.4593 21 Houston Astros 61 72 0.4586 22 San Diego Padres 63 75 0.4565 23 Baltimore Orioles 62 75 0.4526 24 Chicago White Sox 63 77 0.4500 25 Kansas City Royals 60 74 0.4478 26 Cincinnati Reds 62 77 0.4460 27 Atlanta Braves 59 78 0.4307 28 San Francisco Giants 58 78 0.4265 29 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 58 80 0.4203 30 Miami Marlins 58 80 0.4203

As the resident Tribe fan here let me respond to this trade idea... ONLY if you include $75 Million to cover the cost of the Braun contract. Seriously. Explain why Cleveland or any other club is going to trade roughly 24 years worth of major league time for about 6 seasons worth in this day of prospect value. Maybe 15 years ago but not now. Not going to happen. On top of that the Tribe payroll is under $90 million at this point and that is with them paying dead weight money for Bourne, Swisher and Chris Johnson this year. Looking for them to pay even half the Braun contract is a longer shot then the Clowns (err Browns) going undefeated and winning the Super Bowl this next season. Again, not going to happen.

If only Matt Garza was healthy.... Not necessarily pitching well, just healthy and pitching regularly... There might actually be a taker for his services...

Solid ideas (about Milone and not rushing arms) but to bring in Milone you need a 40 man roster space. Who goes? At this point Wily would have LIMITED trade value. Are you willing to take the cash considerations or bucket of balls or 3 guys playing in extended spring training?? Even with some teams DESPARATE for pitching help (LAA, SF) they will not send top assets for Wily. (Although I wish I was wrong on that).

At the start of Spring Training I felt the Crew was destined for 4th place and 95 or so defeats this year. I also believe the Reds are destined to lose around 105. The way its gone so far has not swayed my thoughts... I firmly believe the rebuild is still in its beginnings. I'm preparing for 4 to 5 years before the Brewers are truly being able to contend. Having monsters like the Cubs, Pirates and Cards (until they crash & burn, I refuse to count them out) in the division means almost 60 games against the top teams in the National League. Measuring those games will be a true test. Hopefully the Brewers can take at 33 to 40% of those contests this year.

That would explain why it did not stand out when I went thru the MiLB website. Yes, San Jose is still in the High A league (Lynchburg / Brevard County level equivalent)... Still the point of a rival MLB team that is 50 miles away is a lot different then one that is 250 miles away. Although Manfred is talking Montreal and Mexico City, the issues with Oakland and Tampa Bay still need to be worked out...

Comparing Charlotte, NC (& impact to the Braves) to Santa Clara, CA (& impact to the SF Giants) is apples to oranges. Charlotte hosts a successful AAA team (not affiliated with the Braves) and is 250 miles away from Atlanta. Santa Clara does not host ANY level in minor league ball and is under 50 miles away from San Fran. There are plenty of MLB teams within 250 miles of one another. A lot fewer are within 50 miles.

Did anyone see who Keith Law listed for his top 10 (or top 20) Brewers prospects this year??? I have seen where someone with premium access to the ESPN listed the players for the Indians (on another site) but I have not seen the names for the Brewer listing.. If someone can copy/ paste those names, I would appreciate it...

Interesting read... One other interesting wrinkle NOT being discussed at this point (& needs to be looked at) is the comments made about major league expansion earlier this week. Not sure where the expansion clubs will be but it will have some impact on the minor league setup. There is a chance that one (or both) expansion spots will be current spots of AAA clubs. Even if not a current minor league host city, there will need to be two more host cities on each level. Those new organizations will need farm systems as well..

Agreed, especially those 3 youngsters from the Lind trade. It will be interesting to see how those 3 appear (& where they ended the year) once this season is over...

I understand your thoughts. It was a very good 'minor' deal for both teams in the Marco Estrada for Adam Lind deal with Lind coming to Milwaukee. The FO seems to be taking a long term view with the rebuild and this deal (& that is the correct path IMHO). I guess there are many thinking if the deal was focused on more immediate help, the rebuild will be over in 2 or 3 years. Many people recall that Chris Archer of the Rays was acquired from the Cubs in a big time trade. What most forget is he was drafted and in the low minors with Cleveland before being part of a 3 pitchers for 1 position deal (Mark DeRosa to Cleveland for Jeff Stevens (of Brandon Phillips trade infamy), John Gaub and Chris Archer..

Just for 'option' understanding... The option used for Broxton to go down is the only one he will burn up this season (2016). He can go back & forth between the Brewers and the Sky Sox 5 more times (or more) this season and no other options will be used....

Every time I see Wily Peralta on the mound, I have flashbacks to Roberto Hernandez aka Fausto Carmona.. Cy Young contender in 2007, many struggles there after and a demotion to Low A ball in either 2009 or 2010. One thing I found interesting, MLB had an opening special on that first Sunday and questions were poised on different topics. One question was about first player from the Brewers/ Reds to be traded away this season and Ken Rosenthal said Wily Peralta.

I would agree that Texas has a deeper farm system and their need for catching help is more pronounced at this point, but they are taking a longer term view for contention. The Detroit Tigers is in more of a win now mode. It would be interesting to see what sort of trade package they would put together. Perhaps they would be willing to part with a James McCann and another piece. McCann would fill the immediate need in the bigs & allow Nottingham all the time he needs to develop. If Nottingham proves to be a MLB bat but can't stick behind the plate, the Crew would have time to source out another back-stop.

Based on what? You can bet if he wants to come back to MLB there are plenty of other clubs willing to give him more money and years than the Brewers. I'm not sure why the Brewers would want him either. He'll be on the wrong side of 30 and has never at any level or league played 1B. I think the organization has moved past the point of just shoveling anyone there. Unless they send Ryan Braun out there in a few years (assuming other players take the OF spots - D Santana, Brett Phillips, Reed, etc) Carter is a worthwhile lottery ticket at this point. If he works out, great. If not, no big loss and time has been bought for others to develop.

Yes, this is a positive post thread. And Yes, the current FO is doing a good job with the rebuild so far. But come on!!! The Brewers are further away then those 2 pieces. Although they are winning games now, I feel confident that the Reds will crash back very hard and end up in last place with roughly 105 loses this season...

Not a bad option but attempting to relocate a team to another town isn't a snap of the fingers... Issues of location & league balance need to be considered.. After the Indians got involved with Columbus RedStixx (South Atlantic League) it took years to get the franchise moved to Lake County (OH) and then another of years to get realigned and part of the Midwest League.. The Colorado Springs move is going to lead to like 4 other teams moving. I think moving one team would be easy. Especially since there is only one AAA league as opposed to the multiple leagues at every other level, so location is really irrelevant. If Nashville can play in the Pacific Coast League, then geography is meaningless. There are 2 AAA leagues - the PCL and the International League (that already has 3 unbalanced divisions)..