Sixto

Analytics and advanced stats are great tools. The downside of those can be if you forget to use the eyes and brain test. There are definite shortcomings to this team, but every year there is a story, and maybe this year it is us. The right mix of players, a few ascending guys, and that stars aligning stat. Still a long shot, but weirder things have happened

Forgive my stupidity on baseball finances, but could you frontload a deal similar to what the Packers do on occasion ?? If so, now would be the time to do so on Arcia while we have the lowest payroll in baseball. M.A. doesn't have the deepest pockets so absorb a good portion of that contract before you may want to make some expensive moves a few years down the road. Also, is it true that baseball players don't make as much of a fuss about re-doing their deals every 2 years like NFL players often do ? That may be another reason to lock him in. All in all - he isn't going to get any cheaper by waiting. He is going to carry that "potential" tag for quite a while regardless

Sell high, sell high, sell high sell, sell, sell

You can't replace a Scooter Gennett with one person. You have to re-create him in the aggregate. It would take 3 guys minimum to do that.

A little perspective is needed. If we started the season 15-30 no one would have blinked an eye. It was expected after trading everyone we could, including our entire bullpen two years running. Braun has been injured more often than not and guys like Broxton have fallen off a cliff. Don't know what's going to happen the next 20 games, but what did you guys expect ? You wanted to sell, and we did that. You don't want to buy, and we probably wont. But still complain if our island of misfit toys come back down to reality ?? Check yourself

That was a terrible at bat by Brinson. His previous at he looked patient and under control with a good eye. This last at bat looked like he pre-determined that he would just swing as hard as possible three times in a row Arcia looks like he is turning the corner though

No Braun Villar struggled now injured Broxton struggles Thames has cooled off Sogard has cooled slightly Crappy bullpen Actually amazing that we are hanging in as much as we are

Pitchers don't grow on trees and we traded every healthy bullpen arm the last 2 years. It was bound to leave a mark

Geez the guy is only 33 and already has the body of a 70 year old ?? Must be some kind of withdrawls from something. Can't imagine what though I was no pro athlete but I gotta think I was pretty unstoppable at 33. It's not like he's playing football It's always something with this guy lately

So Arrieta gets the high strike call that Anderson can't get

Not really, more so just sucks today. But I haven't seen any egregious problems with the strike zone . Before that dinger I thought there were 2 borderline pitches. Definitely not getting the high strike which is crucial

Seems like Anderson is getting squeezed

Cravy may not think so

Refresh my memory guys. Wasn't it not too long ago that we damn near had a 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th inning guy ? And it actually worked ok ? I'm not saying it's a good way to go, but it kind of goes back to my idea to add middle relief guys and try a little more smoke and mirrors magic. It's certainly cheaper and less risky than trying to add starters. Granted, we are a ways off from pulling that off too

Those are the same guys that wanted every bullpen arm traded the last two years, and then start a discussion about how the bullpen sucks. Some people love the agony of the never ending tank mode

I'm all for rewarding the guys, and the fans, if we can somehow stay in it. Being a buyer doesn't have to mean mortgaging the future. I doubt anyone here, or anyone in the organization is in favor of gutting the farm system for a one year run. Stearns certainly seems to have a good head on his shoulders and has proven very creative in his acquisitions. I'm pretty sure he can handle adding a few pieces and rolling the dice. Sports is a mighty fickle thing. No one can predict next year or the year after. No one can predict what other teams may do or how the other teams in our division may perform in the coming years. Turning your nose up at a possible playoff run, especially if you're the Brewers is far sighted. We have the lowest payroll and an already well stocked farm system. It is possible to be aggressive and smart at the same time. It would be a tremendous morale boost up and down the organization for us to make a playoff appearance (insert random number here) years ahead of schedule.

To avoid the juggernaut that is the Brewers

To be fair, we've traded every bullpen guy that could breathe the last two years. The assumption was most likely it wouldn't matter. No one could have imagined a competent bullpen could have us at a possible 30-11 record to this point. Just a guess of course

Hindsight is 20/20 but just wondering what you guys think our record would be right now if we had kept our relievers from last year ?

The MLB draft is far too much of a crapshoot to rely on it exclusively in order to keep a consistent talent level. Factor in that reliance while being a playoff team drafting at the back end, and IMO its asking far too much. The NFL draft is a piece of cake compared to the MLB as far as talent evaluation, and a team like the Packers who want to rely soley on the draft may piss away Rodgers career with only 1 Super Bowl. Players continue to move team to team with greater frequency. The idea that you can keep a window open long term without filling in the gaps via FA is fairy tale thinking. For every Royals story there are 10 stories of teams with big money throwing it around and buying a ring. I am actually shocked when I see someone trying to downplay the uneven playing field in the MLB. If the Brewers make a huge financial mistake it could set them back years. If the Yankees make a huge financial mistake it doesn't affect them at all. If the Brewers have 3 bad drafts in a row and gut their farm system, it paralyzes them for a decade. If the Yankees do the same, no affect at all. Major League baseball is the only sport with such archaic thinking with regard to financial equality. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like they will ever realize that shared equity might actually bring more fans to the ballpark and create even more money to share. Alienating the small markets just doesn't make good business sense and IMO tarnishes any trophy. By my definition, baseball can't even be considered a sport until all teams are forced to play by the same rules. The only teams that build the way we do are the teams that are forced to. And for good reason.

That is completely wrong. Plenty of mid range payroll teams have competed in the past 20 years and they didn't do it by simply mortgaging the future. The Brewers market may be low but their actual payroll range is mid range. That was Melvin's strategy and I was fine with it, but it isn't the only way for the team to find success. The question was how to add a franchise player. As long as you bring it up though, I'm not holding my breath for us to win a World Series without a ton of luck along with adding a piece or two that involves at least a partial mortgage. It's too hard to bring up all the necessary guys at the correct time and then keep the window open long enough. All the pixie dust and unicorns in the world doesnt change that. Plenty of payroll vs World Series winner articles out there that give the facts.

It's not popular, but I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned, because it's the only true way for us to get help on a level playing field with other teams. Via rental. Sabathia and Greinke are the main examples. Some say Greinke wasn't a rental, but by my definition he was. Obviously the timing has to be more precise and the pieces have to be all in place, but the model is there and close to home, we tried it before. Obvious drawbacks as you mortgage some of your farm system, but unless we sign a billion dollar tv deal, that's what you have to do. Any other way just involves way too much luck for everything to come together at the same time. Looking back, it's pretty amazing that Braun Fielder Weeks Hardy etc all came up at the same time. Pretty unlikely that perfect storm happens again. In some way shape or form, we will eventually have to go all in which means a partial mortgage. We simply can't go toe to toe with the rich any other way

I mean...the Brewers traded for Zach Greinke and CC Sabathia not so long ago. We rented them. One rental a bit longer than the other with zero chance of ever keeping either of them.

Feeling a little melancholy. The Red Sox get Thornburg and Sale today. The Brewers get guys that they can control cheaply for a long time. Why there isn't a bigger uproar over a level playing field in the MLB, I don't know. Every other sport has it. Certainly not my intention of derailing this thread with revenue talk, but it's hard to get excited when we have to operate on a level 10 tiers below the rich. I commend Stearns for doing what he has to do and how he has to do it, but some days the task just seems impossible. Playing the "hope the stars align in 5 years" vs "sign who you need and keep who you want" is discouraging to watch.

.215 .220 .222 .189 .187 It's amazing we score any runs