Oldcity

I really doubt Detroit would trade a 24 year-old league-average starting pitcher for a 31 year-old league-average outfielder.

Unfortunately, I think this is correct. Gomez, Aoki, Gallardo, and possibly once he reestablishes value, Braun should be dealt within the next year. The Brewers have by far the worst minor league system in the division. They need to acquire impact young players instead of the system of "just guys" they have currently. They can target guys close to the bigs like they did with Greinke, so the turnaround won't have to take 5+ years this time.

Ha. That was awesome. Don't care much who it is, as long as any FA is on a two-year deal at most. Better yet, find a third baseman and move Ramirez to first. Maybe it will help keep him healthy.

I would definitely be interested in this as well.

This is exactly what they did with Aramis Ramirez last year when they could have actually gotten something meaningful for him. How is that decision working out now? Lohse is fairly risky at his age. He could fall to injury or just regression with his age. He has good value right now, as he's currently pitching better than any other SP on the market. The Brewers continuously hold on to players 1-2 years too long. For once, I'd love them to trade someone at peak value--but of course, they won't.

This is so frustrating. It is clear to anyone outside of the Brewers organization that the team will not compete next year. The Reds, Pirates, Cardinals, and now Cubs are all on the upswing, and they even all have better farm systems. It's insane to not deal Aoki and Lohse, and at minimum two more relievers should be traded too. The Brewers could really capitalize and put themselves in good position for 2-3 years from now, but instead they'll go year-to-year and this will be the foreseeable future. The Brewers are turning into the Bucks.

That is really frustrating. This is exactly like Ramirez last year, when they should have traded him when they had the chance. Lohse may not be movable again for the duration of his contract.

Unless someone is willing to pay equal to his value from a year or so ago, I don't see a reason to move Gallardo. The Brewers might as well cross their fingers that his velocity dip goes away instead of selling for .40 on the dollar. Hope he pitches well and trade him in the off-season, unless someone panics and blows you away.

Can someone jog my memory on players who are in their first year of a FA deal? Isn't there some clause that if he's traded, he can opt for FA again? For some reason I remember hearing this, but I also feel like that only might be until May/June. I'm assuming if this was the case teams would not be interested in Lohse.

Couldn't pick just one. http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Michael-scott-no-god-no.gif http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y279/apente/stare.gif http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6ytuaNezZ1ruej64o1_500.gif http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ls437uktEJ1r0ze3to1_500.gif

Best part of this gif is the security guard. Like the draw for both teams to get to the Sweet 16 at least. Henderson seems like some of the scorers that UW has bottled up in recent years in the tourney. He shoots over ten threes a game! And then the chance to knock out Kansas State for the third time in something like seven years.

This extension has been widely praised nationally among smart baseball people. I believe it was Jay Jaffe who called it a steal. Gomez was worth more than 9 mil each of the last two years, and last year Fangraphs had him worth $15. His OBP skills are poor, but he's above average at every other skill position-wise. Very good signing, and it allows him to be tradeable down the road if Schafer really stands out or something.

And look at the starting rotation this year compared to Opening Day last year. The Brewers didn't lose much when Lucroy was out, because Maldonado got pretty hot. Weeks had a poor year, but Gomez and Ramirez were both better than expected. They're clearly a worse team than one year ago. Again, I'm glad they aren't splurging on Kyle Lohse or something, but with this staff, things could get ugly.

Having no 8th inning guy would be the best thing for the bullpen. Not going to complain about essentially a no-risk signing, but it's hard to get excited about another bullpen signing when the rotation isn't currently good enough to win.

The "half-rebuild" scares me. I see them not being good enough to make the playoffs, but not bad enough to justify selling off pieces for the future. Therefore, no playoffs in 2013, but no big pieces for the future, either.

Would love to hear you elaborate on why.

I'm not one of the people freaking out because the Brewers haven't done much this off-season. I had no interest in DM handing out the contracts that Dempster, Sanchez, or Jackson got. But, because the price of FA pitching was that high, it seems like it is going to be very difficult to reach the playoffs. The Reds have really improved, and I see them as the clear favorite to win the division. The Caridinals are also ahead of the Brewers at this point. Without a 2/3 starter, it's very unlikely the Brewers will be able to hang with those teams, and I'm not interested in giving up another Brett Lawrie (not that we have one) to get one. So, I'm wondering if the Brewers shouldn't go for a rebuild with an eye on 2014-2015. They could trade Hart and Ramirez for near-MLB-ready players, like in the Greinke trade. This appeals to me because the Brewers would finally be selling high on a player while there's enough team control left to actually acquire good players, as opposed to waiting until the trade deadline of the player's final season. If you trade those two, you might as well deal Weeks, Axford, and Gomez as well. By trading all those players, you should easily be able to acquire a 3B and 2B of the future and either another OF or more SP. If they can land guys around the same proximity to the big leagues as Segura was, 2013 would be a year of growing pains, and possibly 2014 as well, but this would be a quicker turnaround than most rebuilding projects tend to be. Looking at their chances this season, I'm starting to think this would be the best option. The one thing holding me back, of course, is essentially wasting two years of Ryan Braun's prime. But that's something that they'd be doing anyway if they finished around .500 again. Not that I expect the Brewers to do this, of course. I don't think Mark A. would allow it.

This is unbelievable. The Phillies are also on fire, and their schedule is much easier than the Brewers'.

Only thing I can come up with for Weeks that would be different from just a bad slump is maybe his ankle wasn't at full strength yet. Roenicke was talking about how he was flat-footed when swinging instead of up on his toes, and that may have been because of the ankle. Other than that, no idea what it could have been.

I also don't see why this would be an unpopular opinion, as the offense is better than last year. I'm relieved they aren't paying Prince >$100 million.

While I normally agree that players being put on waivers is not a big deal, Marcum was one of the very few who was leaked. This leads me to believe there is expected to be interest in him. There does seem to be some smoke here in my opinion.

Ha, that's awesome.

I don't see an individual thread for this (would assume it gets one), but the Brewers have called up Segura.

1. 2011 NLDS Game 5 2. Braun's walk-off grand slam against Pittsburgh in 2008 3. Fielder's walk-off homer the day or two before Braun's 4. 2011 NLDS Game 1 5. Can't stand all of RRR's squeezing, but Lucroy's walk-off squeeze last year was exciting. I swear Braun would have stolen home if Lucroy had missed. 6. Game at PNC in which a Pirates fan was lamenting how bad the team was, that Damian Miller would probably hit a grand slam. The next pitch, Damian Miller hit a grand slam. 7. Shawn Green's 6-6 day with 19 total bases... Against the Brewers

The Brewers' lineup isn't an area of concern if you're trying to win next year. They're on pace to outscore last year's team (how will we replace Prince!?!?). The problem is all with pitching, and I'm not concerned at all about next year's bullpen; the bullpen is the easiest part of a team to overhaul in one year. No, the issue is all with the starting rotation. Without someone like Greinke at the top, the Brewers won't be a playoff contender. Therefore, their best bet is to let these young pitchers get their feet wet. That puts the Brewers in better position for 2014 and beyond. And if that's the way they go, there are a few things that should happen. First, no more Randy Wolf-type, number 4 pitcher signings. Let the young guys pitch. Trade Hart, Ramirez, and if he finishes the year strong, Weeks. By the time the young pitchers are any good, those players will be old/no longer under contract. Trade them now, and add some more pieces that you can pair with the next youth movement. If they target players around the AA level like in the Greinke trade, the rebuild shouldn't take very long. The team could be exciting as early as 2014 and be set up very well for the long run.