Humans Need Water

OMG you're going to venture into the *ghetto* to watch baseball? Don't forget your bullet proof vest All kidding aside, we always purchase tix immediately when they go on sale and at Maryvale we always sit directly behind home plate but within the top 5 rows as it's guaranteed shade. Tix are like $25 or so with tax/fees (Cubs games might cost more). If you don't care about the sun beating on you then there's no bad seat in the house. It's easy to get in/out of parking area. Get to Maryvale a couple hours before game time and head to the outer 4 diamonds (minor league area but some Brewers will be getting work in as well). It's as up close and personal as you can get. Easy to talk to players and coaches, get balls/autographs, etc. Also, if you're going to be there for several games ask one of the coaches to see their itinerary for the next day or two as they usually have it on them and you can see what time they'll be there as well as what's planned for that day and which players are in which groupings along with their time if you're targeting certain players to see. I also recommend going to away games or non-Brewers games to see other stadiums. Salt River (DBacks/Rockies) is easily the best but tix are sold out quick for good games so snatch those up right away if you ultimately want to go there. Camelback (Dodgers/White Sox) is an older, not as modern version of Salt River but have free parking and it's a nice walk from the lot to the stadium (visually appealing) if you're entering from the OF. Goodyear (Indians/Reds) is a nice place to watch a game. Cubs stadium is obviously newer so it's nicer. Giants stadium in downtown Scottsdale literally almost has no shaded seats/spots anywhere and prices are insane - think we paid $65 last year and made it through 6 innings in the 96 degree heat. Top Golf is across the street from Salt River (along with Talking Stick resort - casino inside) and that's always a great time even if you're not a golfer. If you go there it's best to go earlier in the morning or could always pay a $55 fee just to just people in line but you still might be waiting a bit. If you go at night there's typically a long wait. Plenty of bars, restaurants, shopping in downtown Scottsdale/Old Town Scottsdale, which is why we always stay in Scottsdale. Grimaldi's pizza is in that area too - they just opened a location in Brookfield (need new servers already unfortunately). Their downtown Scottsdale location is consistently amazing. Huge mall is there (Fashion Square). Shoot out to Glendale and bum around Westgate Entertainment District. If you're hockey fans their team's arena is in the middle of that. Can always tour the Cardinals (NFL) stadium (can tour DBacks stadium downtown PHX as well or catch a Suns game if NBA fans). Camelback stadium is less than 5min straight west of here so can make it a day packing all this in. There's a bunch of stuff to do in the greater area within a 2hr drive. We've gone white water rafting during ST before (Mild 2 Wild). Red Rock State Park in Sedona is less than 2hrs away. We typically catch an ASU baseball game at night too and have headed to Tuscon to catch an U of Arizona game and see the campus. K1 and Octane have indoor racing/go-karts with high-performance electric carts if into that.

*Assuming* the reasons for job changes will cause you to lose great candidates - if they look good on paper then always speak with them. Every decision maker can carve out 20-30min to learn about that person and their experience, including reasons for job changes (or have HR or a recruiter feel them out first). Spending 2-3yrs at a company has already started to become common place for a variety of reasons, including people chasing the dollar. And if it's taking 2-3yrs to get trained and understand how your company works then your company has issues...

Loyalty is for fools especially in the corporate world. It is very common for people to jump from job to job in the corporate world especially for people under the senior level management. For the banking industry if you want to get paid but don't want to climb the corporate ladder jumping from one bank to the next is actually a very good move financially. For example the current company I work for if I want a real raise I will need to leave and then come back otherwise just moving up is a "lateral move" according to HR. So no pay increase and if you do get a pay increase it is less than what they would pay someone outside of the bank. So where does loyalty get you in corporate America? The answer is absolutely no where. Working for an employer that values its employees and their development will change your opinion. Or maybe find an employer that provides an opportunity for vertical growth and doesn't require an external jump. And until you get to a certain level, comp increase for an internal promotion (vertical or otherwise) will typically be less than that seen by an external candidate.

At best? Nottingham is 22. He's 22 and improved last season at AA. Catching is a very difficult position and he's already making huge strides defensively. Not only that but his offensive numbers did improve. Only by the most technical of technicalities is the statement that he improved on offense a correct statement. By any measure he is a terrible hitter. Technicalities? By any measure? Fine, how about wRC+ going from 87 to 103 (above average)? Or don't you like that measure because it doesn't fit your narrative? You got schooled earlier when a ton of info was provided *proving* he improved on both sides of the ball. Just keep ignoring all data

Caramel on ice cream is delicious, especially with cashews mixed in. I have nothing else to contribute

It's not just about age. Most of them had much better years than what you would realistically expect based on their prior history. A player's 5-year track record trumps his previous season when making projections. That should be painfully obvious. Maybe Santana isn't a regression candidate but a large chunk of the team is. You're being a homer if you argue otherwise. lol at your last line *Most* of the 2017 team did not have *much better* years than *realistically* expected. Nelson, Chase, Knebel, Sogard are the guys that nobody saw performing at that level. If you're surprised by Santana, Thames, Shaw, Arcia, etc I suggest you dig much deeper into one's background, skill set, mechanics, swing/approach adjustments, etc etc etc because there's an absurd amount of variables in play and not everyone fits the same mold - it goes well beyond their 5yr track record vs previous season. And why a 5yr track record and not say 3yrs? If you argue against 3yrs you're probably a homer

He fits Stearns profile of up the middle with tools so I'm sure it's being discussed one way or the other

Agreed 100% with this. Harrison was a true 3 sport athlete; about as raw as they get. Everyone knew he was a project, but his raw talent was unquestioned. Add that with his two freak injuries that cost him a lot of valuable time, and of course he will be behind in comparison to players like Santana. That doesn't make his ceiling lower than Santana's. If Harrison takes another step forward offensively, we're talking about a top 50 prospect. Except we're not talking about *ceilings* - he specifically alluded to Harrison *currently* putting up Santana like numbers in the minors if you neglect XYZ. Harrison hasn't shown to be the hitter Santana was/is - there's literally *zero evidence* to suggest it. You can't say "hit pause on everything/everyone else but automatically give 2yrs extra experience to Harrison and he's doing exactly what Santana is, or better". That's where his *belief* comes into play vs reality of what's been done. Those are two different conversations.

That first line you posted Santana was 4yrs young for level at AA while Harrison was split between age level (A) and 1.5yrs young (A+). Harrison at 21 split age level (A) and 1.5yrs young (A+) 272/350/832 Santana at 21 was 5.5yrs young (AAA) 296/384/858 This all revolves around what you *believe*. Plain and simple. Rationalizing this by saying Santana got a head start by playing rookie ball at 16 and A at 17 is absurd (he was trash in A at 17) as he still has to perform. Harrison had 200 more PA this year than each of the previous 2yrs - but you attempt to make it seem as though Harrison barely touched a ball prior to being drafted and has played injured nonstop for 3yrs

I'm a fan of Bickford and hope he's in AA at some point in May. Will make it easy to decide if you want to protect him next year knowing he'd be a year away or trade him at this deadline

Holy cow, I said before we were starting to overrate Harrison a bit, not blow the cover off of reality. 7 WAR? Andrew McCutchen? Harrison is a 22 year old who has never played above High A. McCutchen was a rookie in MLB at age 22 with an OPS+ of 121. Harrison has, probably generously, a 1 in 50 chance or so of ever being a 7 WAR player at the MLB level or enjoying the kind of career that McCutchen has. Domingo Santana is a much more realistic projection for Harrison and he's got a LONG ways to go to even get there. And thats just it. A Santana projection offensively with better defensively equals what? I dont get fully how War is made via defensive metrics and how it adds up. Why one 1 positive DWar with 2positive OWar can lead to a 2 War player and another a 4War player. How a 0 OWar and 2 DWar can lead to a 1War - 3War player. Harrison can play in CF, certainly in corner. Hes faster. So, taking a projection like Santana and adding for position/speed/&defense, how high can it go? Also if some prospect ranking are putting him 3-5th in our minors, thats easily top 100 no? Or do we now only possess 2-4 top 100 guys? There are so many other pieces to use for trade bait. Harrison, much as Brinson who Stearns set off limits, has to be just that off limits. Trade Ray, Clark, Stokes all 3 for that matter. Harrison has too much going for him in what is his 1st truly full healthy season, since you want to knock him on age. Harrison hasn't done anything remotely close to be put in Santana's ballpark offensively. Santana was 3.5 - 7yrs young at every level going back to A in 2011 and put up better numbers everywhere than what Harrison did this past year - outside of SB. And his age for level absolutely is a major factor - he was basically age level in A this year so his numbers lose some of that shine. A+ is better for him since numbers were the same and he's 1.5yrs young. Given Harrison is Rule 5 eligible next year I'd assume the Brewers will start him in AA and make him earn protection. But I'm not sure how he would be a Top 100 (3-5 in our org) after posting those numbers this year being age level half the season while previously producing nothing. Also, my perspective, Harrison hit 5HR in AZFL so that would put him on pace for 47HR in 500 AB and 57HR in 600 AB. He's never done that and never will do that. Outside of his HRs he hit .208 the other 48 AB. That's not good but I also don't know what kind of contact he made so maybe it's much better than it looks or maybe not. The kid has tools but pump the brakes, especially on the Santana comparisons. Simply put, the Brewers are set at the MLB level for the next 3yrs+ if they choose to be. Braun 3yrs, Santana 4yrs, Brinson 6yrs, Phillips 6yrs (Broxton 5yrs). Signing Santana to an extension and buying out a couple FA years could make sense as it's much easier to find a serviceable 4th OF moving forward and that would lock an OF of Santana/Brinson/Phillips for 6yrs. Building a strong system is twofold - internal replacement and trade bait. Brinson and Phillips should *not* be traded. *All* of Ray, Harrison, Clark, Stokes, etc should be potential trade bait since they're all 2-3yrs away from being MLB ready with nobody in between. Ray/Clark aren't Rule 5 eligible after this year either so they have that going for them unlike Harrison/Stokes.

Nottingham has improved significantly since last season. Keep in mind he was a 21 year old catcher in AA last year, obviously still young for the league at 22 this year. His slash line improved from 234/295/347 to 209/326/369. Avg went down slightly, but the other number improved. His BB rate increased from 6.4% to 9.6% and his k rate decreased from 30.3% to 22.6%. His BABIP also went from .320 down to .255 last year, suggesting he was very unlucky on balls in play last year. And that doesn't mention his fielding, which improved significantly from last season. He dropped from 21 PB to 9 and improved from 29% CS rate to 40%. I wouldn't be surprised to see him bumped to AAA to start next season and potentially enjoy a breakout year. Thank you for saving my time presenting this info. But I'll add to it. He did a better job of getting the ball off the ground as his ground ball rate dropped 3.2% as well. Not only do his BB and K rate indicate significant improvements in his approach but so does the fact he dropped his pull rate by 6.4% and increased his middle rate by 5.5% and oppo rate by 0.9%. He also finished with a wRC+ of 103 - slightly better than average and much improved upon his 87 last year. (side note: he also played 95 innings at 1b without an error). Additionally, people continue to view catchers in the same light as position players when they're not even remotely close. Catchers have significant learning curves compared to position players due to everything involved with their position - building rapport with every pitcher on staff, calling pitches, framing pitches, blocking balls in the dirt, throwing to different bases and the positioning/footwork involved, mental side of catching, etc. And that's just one side of the ball. Every catcher is different when it comes to development. But the *younger* a catcher is for level the greater the challenge and learning curve. He was still 2yrs young for level - that's still young. Offensively, catchers suck as a whole in general. At every level. Of the 25 catchers that had 300+ AB only 14 hit above 255. Of those 25 there were 17 with a 335 or lower OBP. 10 had an OPS of 735 or lower. Nottingham should continue to be challenged and start in AAA. He absolutely should have been protected and without hesitation. All 4 that were protected were obvious choices.

If the Brewers weren't willing to part with what it took to acquire Quintana then I can't see them doing so to acquire Archer. The Brewers almost won the division and finished 1 game out of the WC having zero big name pitchers, a CF and 2b who didn't perform anywhere near their ability, a 22yr old rookie SS, a 1b who hasn't played in MLB in 3yrs, their best bat playing 30-35 fewer than previous years and a bullpen that wasn't built for a contender because this team wasn't supposed to be one. We have 4 arms rated Top 30-80, including Hader. Hader, Woodruff can start right now with Burnes inserted at some point this year as well. Combine them with Chase and Davies and you have a rotation that can all be competitive #3 pitchers worst case, or better. That's an improvement upon the 2017 rotation as a whole. Given we still need 1 arm to start this year I can see signing someone like Chatwood or trading for a backend arm with control and upside as we keep all top org prospects in place. Brinson should not be traded at this point in time. He has the highest ceiling moving forward of anyone in our system and at the MLB level right now. Trading him because Phillips finished the season with a good 10 game stretch is short-sighted. Brinson's numbers on the surface were trash but his second stint in those 5 starts he had 2HR, 4BB vs 4K and was robbed of 2-3 hits. His approach and contact were greatly improved from his first stint. It's great to see production in the numbers but this is ultimately what's most important - making adjustments. Phillips made them as well. I've always loved and defended Phillips and think he's absolutely an every day player but Brinson is without question more talented and should be starting in CF next year with Phillips getting 450 PA as the "4th". Ray, Harrison are next in line and they're 2-3yrs away. Stay the course in 2018. Give Hader, Woodruff rotation experience. Give Brinson, Phillips consistent PT. You need to see what you have in these guys before making big moves. We have the financial flexibility to sign a FA in the meantime or trade from a position of depth at the MLB level (ie Broxton, Perez) while potentially packaging prospects outside of the Top 15-20 as well.

1) Trade Broxton 2017 OF was Braun/Broxton/Santana/Perez. *if* Brinson or Phillips is traded the OF of Braun/Brinson or Phillips/Santana/Broxton is at least an upgrade over last year. However, Braun/Brinson/Santana/Phillips is not only an upgrade over that but a significant upgrade over 2017 and will allow Phillips to get 450 PA covering all spots (similar to Javy Baez). Broxton plays solid defense in CF (can play all 3 spots), has a solid arm, big time speed and was 20/20 last year taking a step back from 2016. With 5yrs control and being a quality 4th OF with the realistic potential to be an average every day CF (or better) absolutely gives him value. Package him with prospect(s) if need be. 2) Trade Perez His extreme versatility is his greatest asset. With Brinson/Phillips in CF/4th spot there's no need for Perez in the OF as Thames can always play a game here and there in a pinch as the 5th. Perez isn't needed in the IF either with the signing of Sogard, who can cover 3 IF spots with Aguilar handling 1b (best bench bat too). The positives of Sogard offensively - he's a lefty, is a strong contact bat, has a great plate approach, makes pitchers work to get him out. He's most likely not repeating last year but he was finally healthy and made adjustments so he should still be much better than what he previously was. Perez has more pop and speed on the bases but his inability to work the count, draw a walk and generally get on base makes him expendable, especially with Dubon potentially ready by mid-season to contribute at MLB level. 3yrs of control left for Perez. He has value for a contender and maybe a non-contender wants to give him a shot at starting full time. 3) Pen Acquire 3 arms - there are plenty of FA options who can be targets - (LHP) Minor, McGee, Watson and (RHP) Reed, Shaw, Cishek, Hunter, Neshek, Nicasio, Morrow or acquiring someone via trade. Knebel, Jeffress, Barnes, Hughes, Suter I personally like for a solid 5 with Suter being a swinging door to the rotation to fill in when needed but has been very good in strict pen role over his 24IP. That's 8 spots after acquiring arms. Hughes is a FA after this year so I can see us letting him walk or signing/trading at the deadline allowing that spot to then be used by someone like T.Williams. I don't see the need for having the 8th spot be a shuffle board between minors as if someone is injured put them on the DL and bring up T.Williams, Derby types. 4) Rotation Chase, Davies, Woodruff should be locks. So their strategy depends on what they want to do with Hader. Him, Woodruff, Burnes, Ortiz are all Top 30-80 prospects so I'm of the opinion to continue to develop this internal talent at the MLB level. I can see them signing someone like Garcia, Cashner, Tillman, Vargas, Chacin who can fill a backend rotation spot given the uncertainty with how Nelson will recover/perform once the 2nd half comes around (some of them have spent time in the pen too in careers). Burnes waits in the wings to fill a spot in case of injury or ineffectiveness. That turns into 2019 rotation of Chase, Nelson, Davies, Hader, Woodruff, Burnes so someone gets traded (assuming Hader is now a full time rotation arm) with Ortiz waiting in the wings. If Hader is ineffective in the rotation and moved permanently to the pen then Nelson can take his spot once back this year (or Burnes) then next year you're sitting at Chase, Nelson, Davies, Woodruff, Burnes with Ortiz waiting in the wings. If they're planning on Hader being in the pen full time starting now then I can see them targeting a higher quality arm from the one's listed above but not one of the 100M arms. I could also see them using Broxton and prospect(s) to land a backend controllable starter with upside (ie when we acquired Chase). All of this keeps plenty of financial flexibility as well as the rest of the top prospects in the system to be used moving forward either internally or as trade bait once they see how these guys up now perform and what their potential looks like. We can compete in 2018 but we need to see what we have when it comes to Brinson, Phillips, Woodruff playing full seasons (and for me, ideally Hader in rotation seeing what he has). Stearns has an absurd amount of options.

Nobody goes to Brewers spring training to stay or hang out in the area surrounding the stadium...just like with almost every other stadium in the Cactus League. It's absurd that people continue to mention it when there are zero issues involving spring training games. I've never once heard anyone complain about that area outside of people on this site. Yes, it's not sexy but there's literally nothing to worry about and it's 3min directly north of the freeway on a heavily traveled road. There are MLB stadiums in worse neighborhoods (i.e. 90min south). A few blocks from the BOB in downtown PHX there are neighborhoods filled with metal bars on their front doors and all the windows...people park there for MLB games (I've done it before because a structure was full). The PHX metro area is massive with a ton of entertainment and restaurant/bar options greatly scattered. Everyone has a car unless you're a Giants fan staying in downtown Scottsdale and enjoy walking a mile to everything....and if I recall correctly there's a decent setup by Cubs stadium too. Westgate district in Glendale is 15min away. Peoria is 20. Scottsdale is 30. Tempe is 25. Nobody hangs out in the immediate surrounding area in Maryvale just like nobody hangs out in the immediate surrounding area for the Reds/Indians, Dodgers/White Sox, Rockies/Dbacks (unless staying at Talking Stick), As, Angels, etc. The Brewers grounds are nice as is but a renovation will make it look even better. The access to the players/coaches at all levels, especially the minor leagues, is second to none (this can't be emphasized enough). Everything about it is easy - entering/exiting parking lot and stadium, buying tix, walking the concourse, plenty of shaded seat options, prices are cheap ($23 to sit in shade 16 rows behind home plate). It's a nice relaxing setting to watch a game. I've gone 6 of the past 7yrs. Crazy happy they're staying put. And I don't see the access to the players going away - I see the focus being a facelift everywhere along with better clubhouse/locker room, workout facilities, etc. None of this restricts the accessibility on minor league side

You're saying "my issue is" but then not saying what your "issue" with it actually is. And this "nonsense" is him picking from all the top programs in the country and trying to find the one that gives him the best chance to go into a profession in which he'll make more in 2-3 years than most of us will make is a lifetime and he can have a whole other career and start collecting...70K or whatever it is exactly at age 50(plus health which is like another 30K a year)...and that's if he just hangs around and doesn't do anything in the league. And since that's kinda the whole point of college...to improve your future potential earnings...I can't see how you could in good conscious advise him to do anything but that. Duke...Kentucky, UNC, Nova, Arizona...all schools who have clearly done a better job of developing and showcasing NBA talent than Wisconsin. It's not like Wisconsin doesn't and can't produce NBA talent....it's just that they don't nearly as much as those other programs. I actually think Gard's system will end up showcasing guys moreso than Ryan did, but they still operate in a much different fashion. I would obviously rather see him become a Badger because I have a rooting interest of the team. But if a kid wanted to go into Law, wouldn't you recommend he go to school that is going to be the most advantageous for him? I don't see why this would be any different. The one thing I do wish these leagues could/would do is try to find some way to help these kids invest their money more wisely...but that's impossible to do other than just telling them and pointing them in the right direction. At least the NBA has a great pension plan(they should all be thanking Bob Cousey for founding the NBAPA). But I digress. Huh? Is this real life? I clearly stated the "issue" I had with it and why. Herro committed to WI over a year ago. The past couple months people have been in his ear telling him he's a ONE AND DONE candidate because of his recent showings. As a result, he backed out of WI and is targeting KY (his top choice) but is also interested in UNC, AZ (+ others but those are the top 3) but he still needs official offers from them - I thought he already had AZ a long time ago but haven't paid attention to any updated offers. But he's interested in those programs because they do a much better job at getting players to the next level than WI. But if people weren't in his ear about ONE AND DONE then he'd still be committed to WI. He's not a ONE AND DONE kid though. He's not an elite HS player. As a freshman you need to be elite - you need to be a top 2 option on your team and have a great year showing great potential to continue to grow. How is Herro going to be a top 2 option on KY, UNC? Guess what happens when he's not a ONE AND DONE? The following year he's now competing against the incoming Top 10 elite players coming out of HS and that will be an annual trend at those programs. He's a 6'5 guard - there's a ton of guards his size and bigger who are quicker, faster, better ball handlers, better passers, better rebounders, better shot creators (Herro is a legit shooter though). Again, he's not targeting those schools to help him develop into a NBA player after 3-4yrs. He's targeting them now because he's being told he's a ONE AND DONE. Hence the "nonsense" comment. He hears that and sees dollar signs (so does his family). Same with Diamond Stone. He wasn't a ONE AND DONE to the point he could contribute in the NBA as a 19yr old. He should have stayed at least one more year to refine his game, put up much better numbers as he could have been a 1st Rd pick and been set for life with a guaranteed rookie contract. Instead he went in the 2nd Rd and has been cut 3x in the past calendar year. And you can't understand how someone, in good conscience, could advise him NOT to head to KY or UNC? My goodness. He's not a Top 10 elite player. He's an overrated guard who's rated as highly as he is solely because he's been on the circuit for 4yrs compared to someone like McCabe who just joined the circuit, which is why he's rated much lower. My advice to any kid is to choose the right program for their style of play, coaching staff, team around them, school, etc etc. Choose the right fit. Not choose the best of the best solely because people are putting garbage thoughts in your head.

Villar was solid in 2015 and close to AS production as a 25yr old in 2016 then has a terrible first half/pretty decent second half and all of a sudden he holds "no" value and should be traded (or worse - not even offered a contract) even though he's a switch hitter, plays several positions defensively, has solid power for MI, steals a lot of bases with 3yrs of cheapish control being productive in 2.5 of past 3yrs? Ok. He's starting and bouncing back. Perez and Sogard aren't capable of reaching his abilities. Brinson had a better AAA than Phillips, was POY, is very highly regarded for a reason and happens to be MLB ready. Thinking Broxton or Perez should be the 4th OF over Brinson (or Phillips if Brinson is starting) is insane. Braun/Brinson/Santana/Phillips "should" be your OF so Perez isn't needed, especially since Thames can play both corners a couple games per month if absolutely needed (acting as a 5th). Sogard is solid defensively at 3 spots, is lefty, good bat to balls skills, consistently has good ABs and gets on base. He's not going to repeat last year but he'll be valuable in this role. Aguilar is a righty bat with power who also typically has good ABs. Obviously a backup catcher is needed. If they want to keep 13 pitchers then Broxton and Perez should be traded. Perez is fine defensively and has extreme versatility but he's taking steps backwards/laterally offensively and still doesn't get on base. His defensive versatility shouldn't keep him here when he won't be seeing any OF time unless there's a significant injury and even then he's the 4th OF. If there's an injury to the IF and you need a righty bench bat then you briefly turn to AAA (same with OF - it's why they're there) until Dubon is ready, which might be by mid-season. Extreme defensive versatility is valuable, especially to contending teams. Perez can be a stop gap and super utility for someone and has 3yrs cheap control. Broxton plays all 3 spots well, brings excellent speed with 20/40 ability from the CF spot if playing close to full time and has 5yrs cheap control (he definitely has the ability to be a regular). This is what you use to target arms in the upper minors or MLB that are under-performing to their ability. We landed our best pitcher in 2017 by trading Segura after multiple brutal offensive seasons and our 3rd best pitcher by trading a quality 4th OF (Gerardo Parra). We also have the system depth to add to a package with these guys (if needed) because clearly Perez doesn't have the upside Segura did. But maybe someone believes they can get him to draw more walks making him a starting MI then. Both players are entering their prime as well. Not a big Joe Maddon fan but his response to the Cubs system being gutted after the Quintana trade was spot on. "The best farm system is your MLB team."

You forgot hockey too! I think Women's VBall has been great as well (at least recently). Herro is a WI fan, which is why he committed over a year ago. What's changed is he's being fed he's a 1 and Done and that's just not what the WI bball program does. That's what KY and such do and that's why his interests changed. It is what it is. As everyone's mentioned there's still good talent and depth at the guard position for the next 3yrs without him and they'll add additional talent there over the next couple years too.

Won't be Duke. Herro is overrated anyway. Wisconsin's style aligns with his game and he's making a mistake going with a big name as he's not a 1 and Done player. But the whispers in his ear are saying such things, hence his announcement yesterday Not sure if he's overrated. He's a very good spot shooter, shooter off the dribble, ball handler, and passer. He doesn't have crazy athletesim or much defense at this point. I agree he fits Wisconsin's style of play so much better than UNC, Kentucky, or Oregon's style of play. Does this suck, yes, but it's his decision. I'll take the players that truly want to be Badgers over players like Herro. I do get a annoyed with Herro decommiting a month before signing day when he's be "solid" for over a year. Now Wisconsin is left hanging. If there is any silver lining it's that his position has good, young depth. It will obviosly hurt not having him, but having King and crew softens the blow. His best asset is his shooting ability. He's solid handling the ball and passing but by no means is he very good in those areas. Someone like McCabe destroys him there. And as you mentioned he lacks the great athleticism that others possess at the schools he wants (KY, UNC, etc) and he won't hold up defensively because he also lacks the quickness. Factor all this in and that's why I say he's overrated - I think he's rated 27-38 area on most lists. Reality is people are in his ear about being a 1 and Done and his eyes are widening. He thinks going to KY, UNC, etc give him a much better chance to become that 1 and Done. However, if you can play at that level it doesn't matter if you play for WI or KY. Additionally, if he wants KY, UNC he's also competing against the other 1 and Done kids who will be his teammates not to mention the next class of 1 and Done's if he stays beyond 1yr - all those kids are better players and athletes. Yes, it's his decision. But that doesn't mean he's making the best choice for his future. I don't care if he plays for WI or not because his decision doesn't affect my life now or in the future. My issue is with kids, and their parents, who allow this type of nonsense to happen because all they see and hear is big money after freshman year when that's not going to happen.

Won't be Duke. Herro is overrated anyway. Wisconsin's style aligns with his game and he's making a mistake going with a big name as he's not a 1 and Done player. But the whispers in his ear are saying such things, hence his announcement yesterday

1 - Lewis Brinson 2 - Keston Hiura 3 - Luis Ortiz 4 - Brandon Woodruff 5 - Brett Phillips 6 - Corbin Burnes 7 - Isan Diaz 8 - Phil Bickford 9 - Mauricio Dubon 10 - Lucas Erceg 11 - Corey Ray 12 - Freddy Peralta 13 - Tristen Lutz 14 - Kodi Medeiros (reliever) 15 - Monte Harrison 16 - Trent Clark 17 - Marcos Diplan 18 - Jacob Nottingham 19 - KJ Harrison 20 - Taylor Williams 21 - Nathan Kirby 22 - Bubba Derby 23 - Carlos Herrera 24 - Trey Supak 25 - Josh Pennington

Plush, if you simply said you think Sogard is gone because there are better options for the 25th man then nobody would take issue (he certainly won't be starting next year so he'll be the 25th man if here). But saying Sogard was arguably terrible this year is down right absurd. You can point to his 2nd half numbers as a whole for the player you believe he is except you'd be ignoring his mechanical adjustments prior to the season (Nelson, Chase, Thames in Korea, Broxton last year, Pina 2yrs ago, etc ALL made mechanical adjustments for the better), finally got healthy from whatever nagging injury he had for a long time as well as his production upon returning from a 3wk stretch of not playing due to injury. Post injury he started 2-33 in 11 games/8 starts. Was it just a slump or did the time off/injury affect him upon returning? No idea. I ask because he was great until the injury and post 2-33 stretch he finished 263/410 the final 7wks. Sogard will never be an OPS guy. He's a scrappy player not a power hitting middle IF. He's there to provide defensive versatility and be a lefty contact bat who gets on base. And that's exactly what he did and did it well. What Sogard did this year and what you believe he actually is are two different things. This is also why breaking down numbers, looking at game logs and playing in the weeds matters, especially when someone isn't getting a full season's worth of run because numbers can severely change over a couple bad weeks (see Braun) when not getting 550 AB. Sogard's second half numbers, and overall numbers, are dragged down hard due to a 33 AB stretch immediately following injury. Just like a pitcher having a couple horrendous performances can alter their numbers... Take Hughes for example: 67 appearances - 59.2 IP, 49H, 20 ER, 7.4 H9, 1.22 whip, 3.02 ERA (overall numbers) 65 appearances - 58.2 IP, 41 H, 12 ER, 6.29 H9, 1.07 whip, 1.84 ERA 2 appearances - 1 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 72.0 H9, 90.0 whip, 72.0 ERA (4H, 4ER in each appearance) All this said, if Sogard's here I don't care. If he's elsewhere I don't care. But he most certainly was very good this year.

Ok. What is your suggested upgrade for 1B this offseason that increases our chances of a World Series in Milwaukee? The situation you're describing will be an issue with any platoon (and really isn't that bad in that case as Aguilar does okay vs. RHP). Platoons are a necessary evil at times . It's very difficult to find lefty bats that are highly effective against LHP and you probably won't find such a 1B on the market this off-season. You say it doesn't have to be Hosmer; ok, then who? Logan Morrison? Won't be cheap and he can't hit lefties either. If you're looking for a guy you don't have to platoon, maybe Carlos Santana is your guy, but again you're spending a lot of money and he doesn't scream guaranteed upgrade over a Thames/Aguilar platoon to me. 3and2Fastball - so it boils down to you think the Brewers need to upgrade 1b because Thames/Aguilar K at 30% and Thames can't hit LHP (side note - Aguilar slashed 244/311/808 vs RHP so your assertion that he "can barely hit RHP" is inaccurate). 6M = 269/361/906 with 36 doubles, 6 triples, 41HR, 96rbi 20M = 318/385/882 with 31 doubles, 1 triple, 25HR, 94rbi *should we look at Hosmer's typical year over his career vs Thames/Aguilar? The MLB rankings for the Brewers 1b spot.... runs - 2 hits - 10 doubles - 12 triples - 3 HR - 3 total bases - 4 rbi - 16 BA - 12 OBP - 9 SLG - 5 OPS - 6 *KC finished higher than the Brewers in Hits, BA, OBP (they had 625 team AB and Hosmer had 603 of those so you're basically looking at Hosmer's numbers in these rankings) Also, Hosmer's OPS vs LHP during 5 of his 7yr career....2011 (585), 2012 (591), 2014 (676), 2015 (730 - serviceable), 2016 (656). 2013/2017 were great. But there's no ignoring that lack of production and inconsistency vs LHP over his career and from a power position (1b) to boot. This was also Thames first year back in MLB after 3yrs in Korea and Aguilar's first full MLB season.

I see no need to drop an additional 9M+ to replace Villar when he's making peanuts and most likely bounces back (already started too in second half). However, if they do bring on a steady vet just give Walker 2/26 area until Hiura/Diaz are ready then trade Villar. Walker would take over Garza's money and you know what you're getting in Walker as he's been consistent his past 4yrs. Prefer to roll with Villar though. The pen needs to be bolstered to 8 strong that provides Counsell with plenty of options for the back-end vs using the same 2 guys. I mentioned Addison Reed a couple months ago as a target and think he should be near the top of the list while also resigning Swarzak then adding another really good vet. This is where the money needs to be spent. I'd like to see Chase, Davies, Hader, Woodruff in the rotation so that leaves 1 spot left (plus Nelson should be back at some point, hopefully, combined with Burnes up too). There aren't any FA SPs that excite me unless you're paying an absurd amount, which I want nothing to do with. 17M for Lynn or Cobb is a hard pass for me because I believe our internal options are equal with potential of being better (Hader, Woodruff, Burnes, Ortiz) and are MLB ready or about to be. I'd be curious as to what we'd have to give up to land someone like Garrett Richards, who was paid 6.8M this year, is coming off back-to-back injury riddled seasons and has 1yr before FA. Shelby Miller has 2yrs before FA and is coming off a brutal 2015 and injured 2016 but showed signs of bouncing back. Might make sense to kick the tires in this direction hoping they have a healthy year as they perform well when they do. We wouldn't be breaking the bank on prospects we'd give up either. If they get injured again then you have Suter + Wilkerson types holding down the spot until Nelson is back. I prefer this route in 2018 vs FA. Come 2019 I think they're hoping to roll with Hader, Woodruff, Burnes, Davies + 1 with 3-4yrs control (I'd personally trade Nelson/Chase while pitching well). This + 1 is where packaging Ortiz comes into play as the other 3 rotation arms are already up, Ortiz still Top 100 and Peralta is still coming behind too. It also gives Ray, Harrison, Clark etc the 2018 season to showcase because both Brinson and Phillips should be in our OF moving forward. Thames/Aguilar manned 1b the vast, vast majority of the season. The 1b spot slashed 269/361/906 with 36 doubles, 6 triples, 41HR, 96rbi. No point in looking at this position moving forward and definitely shouldn't be paying 3-4x the price (ie Hosmer) we're paying for these two to put up these numbers.

Ryan Braun had 99 starts last season and he played a huge chunk of that injured. Your plan would have had him at like 60 games started. And the three seasons before that he played 135, 140, and 135 games. I think KeithStone's more on track than your rhetoric. Heck, even the fact that you won't give him his 104 games that he started because for some reason you won't count the DH makes me giggle. Because those games don't count... Braun's injuries this year won't carry over. They'll be resolved come spring. The suspension year doesn't count so outside of this year he's never had fewer than 564 PAs and he's always dealt with nagging injuries here and there. Plush, every single year you talk about how Braun misses way too much time yet there's no evidence of that outside of 2017. Based on his PAs the past 3yrs that means he would have played what amounts to 1.5 fewer games per month than Santana and Shaw this year. He'll be back to his usual PAs because that's what history and evidence shows. Even if you target Braun at 500 healthy PAs the next 3yrs he'll kill it because that's what he does when he's healthy. And his 17-19M annual contract will still be plenty fine. History/evidence also prove that to be true.