RollieTime

It definitely looked like Davison took a swing at the groin area of the Iowa player. I tried looking at it like he may have been swinging his arm to run, but it certainly looks like it was not a typical arm swing running motion. He swung his arm pretty dang hard in a sort of upper cut motion.

Solid post I thought it was pretty... solid

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.amny.com/baseball/report-national-league-could-adopt-dh-in-2021/amp/ Just heard about it today on HighHeat, but wanted to link an article to the post. I am definitely all for the DH coming to the NL and hope that this is implemented. I would prefer Hiura being able to remain in the field and not need to become a DH, but it would allow a fallback option incase he doesn’t improve defensively. It also allows the Brewers to possibly retain Braun on a low one year deal to DH if he has another solid year this season. Or, it let’s us actually target other players we might not normally target like Castellanos. It would open up a lot of options for the Brewers and might even change how they operate with not needing as many pinch hitters. Might see them target a different tier of players instead of looking at a bunch of averageish talent to fill the bench with. This could also be why Stearns was targeting a ton of one year deals, wanting to have that financial flexibility next offseason when the NL game could be seeing a drastic change.

This is a solid signing. He’s always been a solid reliable bullpen arm. The Brewers are starting to put together a very solid bullpen. Hader Knebel (when healthy) Suter Peralta Phelps Claudio Wahl Feyereisen Yardley T. Williams D. Williams Black Really liking how the bullpen looks as it sits today. I’m hoping for maybe one more signing to really put us into the elite bullpen category.

I agree that I don’t think we have much chance of any minor league bats making any type of significant impact for us unfortunately. On the pitching side, Supak and Rasmussen will probably get their shot at some point. Rasmussen could be that mid season “acquisition” we need to help solidify the bullpen down the stretch. Luke Barker could be one of those guys as well that could be a nice bullpen arm starting to see some big league innings. Barker has been pretty dominant throughout his minor league career. Not a ton of K’s (9.1 K/9), but doesn’t walk many guys and keeps the ball in the park. I’m interested in seeing what he can do at the MLB level. Wouldn’t surprise me if he’s one of the first guys to be on the shuttle early on. If he pitches well early on, he could find himself with the big league club permanently.

It’s unfortunate that Urias might miss a couple weeks early on in the season, but it could have been a lot worse. A left side of the infield on Opening Day of Sogard and Arcia makes me want to vomit. *shudder*

The Brewers are an interesting team with the massive roster turnover. What do they have, 10-12 new faces? They could win 72 games or 92 games and neither would surprise me. I do think Lauer is going to take a jump and be the 1B to Woodruff’s 1A in our rotation. I love that addition as well as Urias. Urias is primed for a breakout as well. Hopefully that wrist injury isn’t anything serious. My main concerns are 3B, SS, and 1B. I advocated for Gyorko early in the offseason, but as the utility guy to cover first, second, and third. I don’t like him and Sogard as a platoon at 3B and feel that it was a missed opportunity (currently) to add another impact bat to the lineup at a position flush with talent to help put us over the top. My only concern with SS is if Urias’ injury is serious. If he’s healthy, SS is no concern to me. At first, I think we took a pretty big step back from Thames. I do not like Smoak as a player and his career .231 average (.208 last season). If he hits like that again, we could have an Aguilar 2.0 situation. I personally think the Brewers have not done enough and will fall short of the postseason as it sits today. I’m sure we will do our preseason projections in mid March or so and things can change by then (how about a Brian Anderson acquisition? ). But I think there is not enough known talent on the roster where they will endure one too many flameouts for us to overcome by season’s end.

I posted this in another place, but I figured much more people would see it here. I am posting it in here before I even read this thread. One thing I want to include here is that there has been an increase of people being attacked if they ever mention the Brewers possibly having a sub par team. But also, if other posters say something about the Reds being contenders or something along those lines, that person is basically dismissed and told the Reds aren’t contenders until the prove so and whatnot. Then how can you sit here and dismiss people that say the Brewers aren’t contenders until they do so? You can’t have it both ways. It just seems like there’s a group of people here that love everything the Brewers do. If you mention another team being decent, that’s not allowed it seems like. Because it’s early and who knows what will happen and the regular season isn’t won in January. If it’s not, then you can’t be sitting here talking up the Brewers here in January as being a competitive team either. It’s been pretty interesting recently how much it seems like only one way of thinking is the proper way here recently while talking out of both sides of their mouths. My point is that if the Reds can’t be contenders in January, neither can the Brewers. Don’t talk about the Dodgers either being good because they can’t be. It’s January. So then I guess we can’t really have much discussion. Which is almost what’s it’s gotten to recently. We are all better than this. Again, people can have varying viewpoints. And I think this entire offseason of thinking “it’s only December” or “it’s only January” and now switching to dismissing any discussion on other teams isn’t helping with adding additional angles to a topic on the board. Because it’s almost like they aren’t allowed. Let people have their discussions about other teams, or about the Brewers moves being underwhelming, or they love Gyorko and Sogard as being the 3B platoon. We are all fans and should be able to discuss different angles and topics here even if it’s different than what you think. Heck, even let people have their payroll discussions on here (maybe this one should have a delegated thread). But you get the point. It’s just more of a call out to let people discuss other teams, trades, and signings how they seem fit for that person. If you don’t like a certain comment, you don’t need to comment. Or if you want to respond, don’t dismiss their opinion completely because of what month it is or anything else. Let’s try to keep this place fresh with new interesting discussions and ideas instead of trying to shut them down all the time.

One thing I want to include here is that there has been an increase of people being attacked if they ever mention the Brewers possibly having a sub par team. But also, if other posters say something about the Reds being contenders or something along those lines, that person is basically dismissed and told the Reds aren’t contenders until the prove so and whatnot. Then how can you sit here and dismiss people that say the Brewers aren’t contenders until they do so? You can’t have it both ways. It just seems like there’s a group of people here that love everything the Brewers do. If you mention another team being decent, that’s not allowed it seems like. Because it’s early and who knows what will happen and the regular season isn’t won in January. If it’s not, then you can’t be sitting here talking up the Brewers here in January as being a competitive team either. It’s been pretty interesting recently how much it seems like only one way of thinking is the proper way here recently while talking out of both sides of their mouths. My point is that if the Reds can’t be contenders in January, neither can the Brewers. Don’t talk about the Dodgers either being good because they can’t be. It’s January. So then I guess we can’t really have much discussion. Which is almost what’s it’s gotten to recently. We are all better than this. Again, people can have varying viewpoints. And I think this entire offseason of thinking “it’s only December” or “it’s only January” and now switching to dismissing any discussion on other teams isn’t helping with adding additional angles to a topic on the board. Because it’s almost like they aren’t allowed. Let people have their discussions about other teams, or about the Brewers moves being underwhelming, or they love Gyorko and Sogard as being the 3B platoon. We are all fans and should be able to discuss different angles and topics here even if it’s different than what you think. Heck, even let people have their payroll discussions on here (maybe this one should have a delegated thread). But you get the point. It’s just more of a call out to let people discuss other teams, trades, and signings how they seem fit for that person. If you don’t like a certain comment, you don’t need to comment. Or if you want to respond, don’t dismiss their opinion completely because of what month it is or anything else. Let’s try to keep this place fresh with new interesting discussions and ideas instead of trying to shut them down all the time.

If nothing else it should serve as a sobering reminder to all of us. Whether it be flying in bad weather, rushing to get to work in time, trying to reply to that text while driving, taking an unnecessary risk at work, driving drunk... It's never worth your life. Ever. Just wait. Exactly this. I think this will be something that people will always keep in mind, particularly celebrities with planes or helicopters, that may be itching to get somewhere even if the weather is poor. Hopefully people look at this tragedy as something that can happen to anyone and that it is just not worth the risk. Sad sad situation all around.

Marte has one year and $11.5 million left on his contract with a club option for $12.5 million in 2021. It’ll end up being 2/$24 million. The Diamondbacks are a prime example of retooling and selling certain guys to remain competitive. Remember that they also had 5 or 6 draft picks in the top 90 picks or so in I believe the 2019 draft? They have been run extremely well the last few seasons. The selling of Greinke and Goldschmidt were brilliant moves that paid off big time for their future. It gave them the resources to go out and get a nice bat in Marte for a couple years while they are competing.

I would have done this deal and even went beyond it and made it a 5 year deal if it didn’t include an opt out just to get him locked up long term. He’s going to have a great season with the Reds as long as he remains healthy. He will get his 80 extra base hits, pop 35 homers, and hit .285 or so. I guess the one good thing is that he could be on the market again next year with the next bunch of great free agents. I think this will be a one year deal for him and he will opt out and secure himself a nice 6 or 7 year deal after having another fantastic season in 2020. He will still only be 28 next offseason. This was the offseason to get Castellanos at a decent price. He’s going to command quite a bit more money and additional years on a contract after the upcoming season than what he wanted this offseason in my opinion.

Totally agree with this statement. Don’t mess with a good thing. The engine is running perfectly the way it is. Don’t try to be too cute and risk messing it up.

Even with Castellanos, the Reds are a bit of a crap shoot. They have a lot of slightly odd parts that may or may not work. The defense doesn't look very good. Moose at 2B. Senzel in CF. Where does Castellanos play? It might all gel just fine - but then again, it might not. The club needs a couple of guys to rebound, including Joey Votto and Raisel Iglesias. I love Votto, but he really was not good last year. Was that a fluke? We will find out. Also, the club needs guys like Senzel and Winker to emerge as first-tier starters. They are good, young hitters with a ton of promise and tools, but they still have to end up producing. And what is Aristides Aquino? I personally think his start last year was a fluke, but we shall see. The rotation is really nice, but relief pitching is just okay (if Raisel Iglesias rebounds that's a huge deal). They lack depth here (but have a few nice guys at the back end - which is good to have). I don't think the Reds have any big prospects on the horizon, but I could be wrong on that. All in all, it's like I said, kind of an odd bag of stuff. They need a little luck, but could be very good (of course, a lot of teams can say that). Their rotation is really good, and a core of Votto, Suarez, Castellanos, Moose, Senzel, etc. is pretty good. Should be an interesting year. I would say the Brewers are even in a worse position than the Reds are. We brought in a rotation arm in Anderson who has hit 100 IP 2 times his last 10 years and Lindblom who is coming back from the KBO and struggled mightily in his small MLB sample. He is a complete wild card. Our new shortstop (Urias) would be playing at a position that might not be his ideal position. But with his now wrist injury, we will be pivoting to... the worst hitter in the MLB the last two years who might need to play significant time again?? So we could look at a mostly everyday infield of Smoak (average defender, career .230 hitter) or Braun at a new position, Hiura (poor defender), Sogard or Arcia at SS (yikes), and Gyorko. Not to mention arguably the worst defensive catcher in the game to round it out. You mentioned Votto needing to rebound, but I would say if he maintained what he did last year, which was still a .350+ OBP, slot him in the leadoff spot and you have guys like Castellanos, Moustakas, Suarez, Aquino, and Winker among others following him in the lineup, they are going to score a lot of runs. Votto is still better than what we have for 1B. And they definitely have the edge at 3B and SS if Arcia is what we are relying on. Moose isn’t exactly a bad 2B option either even if he struggles there defensively. But you know you’re getting a 30 homer middle of the order bat out of him. Looking at the rosters, I would honestly say the Brewers have much more of a wild card roster than the Reds. And it’s not particularly close. The modge podge of Smoak, moving Braun to a new position, needing a rebound from Cain, can Anderson stay healthy, will Lindblom’s KBO success carry over, will Hiura regress some offensively, needing a Gyorko rebound, is 2019 Sogard legit, can Narvaez learn to play defense, will Yelich come back healthy, can Arcia learn to hit a baseball, will Lauer take a step forward, is Burnes going to rebound, can Peralta learn how to effectively throw anything other than a fastball, is much much worse than trying to figure out how to get all your good hitters in the lineup like the Reds might struggle to do. And then we have arguably the worst minor league system in the game. I’m not saying the Brewers won’t be competitive, because I think they can be. Losing Urias is a big blow in that I feel like he was poised to have a coming out party of sorts this season and solidify himself as our everyday SS of the future, but with his health in jeopardy, knowing that we are looking at Sogard or Arcia and Gyorko as EVERYDAY guys, with a .230 career hitter at 1B, a low power CF that NEEDS to rebound, and the pitcher all in the lineup at once, this lineup could have serious issues scoring runs. I know this makes me sound extremely pessimistic, which I am not because I am sure that some of these moves will pay off. But a lot will need to go right for this team to win something like 90-92 games to compete for the division.

If the Reds pull this off, it would be extremely hard to not pick them as the favorite to win the central. They would arguably have the best starting staff and starting lineup in the division. Having the best team on paper doesn’t automatically result to wins in the regular season, but they certainly have a strong looking team heading into the 2020 season.

Just awful news with the passing of Kobe and his daughter Gianna. Police are not releasing any names involved in this incident as of yet. But they did confirm that there are actually NINE deceased in the helicopter crash. Just a tragic situation that continues to get worse as the day goes on.

Absolutely tragic news. My heart breaks for his wife and daughters. Kobe was taken much too young. He wasn’t just a great basketball player, but an even better person. This one is going to sting across the NBA for quite some time.

I completely agree with this. It’s sucks watching a game and being down 8-1 after the 8th inning, but it definitely does bring a little bit of fun/humor to the last inning watching a guy come in that never pitches. There is nothing that is degrading to the spirit of the game at all by having a backup infielder or catcher throwing a few pitches. The offense gets excited to face him, the defense is probably the most engaged they have been all game and get some enjoyment seeing their teammate out on the mound, and the fans get a kick out of it from both organizations. Seems like a win all the way around. It doesn't sound like that is being changed. Just that position players can't come in when the game isn't out of hand. Down 8-1 in the 9th, it adds entertainment, down 6-1 in the 8, just means surrender and stop watching. The use of position players pitching used to be a novelty (less than 10 games in 2010 and 2011), last year it was 90. Honestly, these rule changes are not huge and not going to radically change the game or the balance between pitchers and batters. They just dial back some of the gaming of the rules on the edges. In two years we'll wonder what took them so long to put them in. In 5 years we won't even think about them, it will just be the way the game is played. Isn’t it though that only players delegated as “pitchers” can pitch? Or will someone like Sogard be able to pitch this year?

A team in the AL West with the Astros should have a bobble head of one of their pitchers celebrating and have a miniature Altuve bobble sitting on the ground with a sad look on his face with a buzzer on his jersey and a trash can next to him. That would be bobble head gold!

Thanks for digging this up. I was pretty high on Lauer before, but I think this helps show just how effective he is and what he could possibly become in the future. And we have him for FIVE seasons! He could realistically make a jump in 2020 like Woodruff did in 2019 and be a very good option to pitch at or near the top of the rotation for a long time. Woodruff Anderson Lauer Lindblom Houser/Peralta/Burnes/FA This is a solid rotation that could probably finish in the 10-15 range in MLB with the variance mostly depending on how effective Lindblom is transitioning back into the MLB. I see no reason that Woodruff, Anderson, and Lauer couldn’t all have ERA’s around 4 or under. If Houser and Lindblom pitch to a 4.5 ERA, we will win a lot of games. If one of Peralta or Burnes takes off, we will be sitting pretty. I do still hope we add Taijuan Walker as the 5th starter and move Houser and Peralta to the pen with Burnes starting out in AAA. I feel that move alone would strengthen the rotation as well as the bullpen. While adding some much needed depth to the rotation in preparation for underperformance or injuries.

I completely agree with this. It’s sucks watching a game and being down 8-1 after the 8th inning, but it definitely does bring a little bit of fun/humor to the last inning watching a guy come in that never pitches. There is nothing that is degrading to the spirit of the game at all by having a backup infielder or catcher throwing a few pitches. The offense gets excited to face him, the defense is probably the most engaged they have been all game and get some enjoyment seeing their teammate out on the mound, and the fans get a kick out of it from both organizations. Seems like a win all the way around.

Good for him. He’s not exactly saying anything that people couldn’t already see. Down 27-0 at halftime in the NFCCG? That’s just horrendous. I see no issue with calling out your guys after that performance. They didn’t play like they cared much at all in the first half. Super Bowl appearance on the line and you can’t hype yourself up enough for that opportunity? Then there’s nothing that will get you out of bed in the morning if not even that will do it for you. Pretty much all season, the defense lacked that tenacity, aggressive, and loose/fun feeling outside of the Smith brothers. The 13-3 season was awesome, but it really was kind of an odd feeling it seemed like when watching the games. They just kind of lacked that “it” feeling. The offense was kind of clunky all season, but even they didn’t exactly show a ton of fire all season outside of a handful of games. I think part of the lack of attitude on the offensive side of the ball could be from the lack of consistency and learning a new system. The lack of having that swagger from the defense as a whole was more puzzling to me. Maybe if they bring in a couple young linebackers that have some attitude to them, it’ll help change that feeling on the defensive side. I was only able to watch about half the games this season, but that’s at least what I took away from watching them.

Using facts to prove something... Blasphemy!

Even though I don’t expect them to do so, the Brewers don’t need a number 5 starter until the 4th time through the rotation, which would be April 14th against the Phillies. The off days allow the Brewers to only need a 4 man rotation the first 3 weeks or so of the season. Just something to keep in mind as they could actually have 9 bullpen arms and 4 rotation arms to start the season with the 5th starter possibly making a start in AAA before coming up or just being used out of the pen early on. On a totally unrelated note, 14 of our first 22 games are against the Mets and Phillies.

On the Bucks being more of a SE Wisconsin sport, that is definitely true. Up here in the far northern part of Wisconsin, we didn’t even have the Bucks available on TV until I believe the start of the 2016 season. There are a lot of people that don’t even realize that Wisconsin has their own NBA team and are shocked when that is mentioned in conversation. I have literally NEVER seen a person wearing Bucks apparel up here that I can recall. There is, however, a massive following for Brewers baseball and Packers football, and a strong pull for Badgers basketball and football.