RollieTime

The ref that steps over him and casually kicks the foot on his clearly broken leg should be fined 5 bajillion dollars, and then fired. Unbelievable.... Every single player just "noped" and walked away. It was that bad. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the ref step over him and kick the foot on his broken leg. My only guess is that the ref was in shock and was trying to not look at it and walk past him, but didn’t move over far enough. Either way, I agree. There’s no excuse for the ref walking into Nurkic’s clearly broken leg.

Trailblazers center Jusuf Nurkic had a devastating leg injury in their game this evening. Nurkic went up for a rebound and landed awkwardly, snapping his shin. The audio of his shin snapping can be clearly heard on the tv broadcast. Hate to see that happen to any player. Hopefully he will be able to fully recover and continue his basketball career. He is one of the great young talents in the game. Get well Nurkic.

Interesting choice of Cain for the most disappointing player. I was contemplating picking him as well since I think there might be a slight regression in his offensive numbers that could be a little concerning with 4 years left on his contract. He does turn 33 early this season and his ability to beat out a lot of infield hits might turn into being out by half a step in the next season or two. It’ll be interesting to see if his legs will allow him to do what he has always done or if it will start to be an issue for him as early as this season.

I can understand where you’re coming from about getting the pitching now and having guys pitch for us all season. But what if Chacin gets hurt and someone like Woodruff underperforms? There wouldn’t be much wiggle room to make it work financially at the deadline if the payroll is maxed out prior to the season starting. Again, this is where I take issue with this logic. You think Attansio is going to spend 150 million and then went it comes down to adding a couple million dollars at the trade deadline to add a piece, he's going to scoff? That seems far fetched. The term in for a penny, in for a pound comes to mind. That’s not at all what I’m saying. He would definitely spend a couple million more for a piece. There’s a big difference between a couple million and adding an impact pitcher where you need to pay him $12 million for the rest of the season. It makes more sense to start at $130 and add 3 or 4 pieces mid season to fill the holes that arise during the season whether it’s from injuries or lack of production, than to start the season at $150 million and have a lot of areas that need to be addressed, but not much money left where it makes it more difficult to take on a big name guy on a large contract plus addressing the other areas of need. At some point, there is a financial limit though. Whether it’s $150 million or $170 million, the money runs out at some point and you can’t spend more because you just don’t have it.

I would put Alex Wilson in that group. Possibly Taylor Williams, but I’m a little leery about him. He would probably be a guy to come in to put the fire out in the 6th for the starter and hopefully get through the 7th unscathed to get it to the backend guys like Hader, Claudio, and Wilson. Once Fields is up, I think he will be a backend guy as well. I'm a big fan of Taylor Williams and would hope he can be the late inning reliever we need. He got absolutely destroyed by lefties last year (1057 OPS), but was dominant vs RH's (567 OPS). Hopefully that's a small sample issue and not a trend. He wont be able to last long in that role with splits like that. I think Williams could be one of the key bullpen pieces this season as to how successful the Brewers will be at slamming the door in the later innings. Williams is a breakout candidate in the bullpen that could be huge for us if Knebel is unable to get back on the field this season.

I can understand where you’re coming from about getting the pitching now and having guys pitch for us all season. But what if Chacin gets hurt and someone like Woodruff underperforms? There wouldn’t be much wiggle room to make it work financially at the deadline if the payroll is maxed out prior to the season starting.

That’s true, but good cpa’s Can work magic so I used conservative estimates on revenue increases to I think more than offset that. Also IF low end playoff revenue added to just this years payroll that comes to: 186 mil one time payroll for 2019. So no wonder all these one year signings. Almost 60 million more for this year to spend so as not to lose $. This is NOT a small market team at the present time. This not including the following: Larger national tv deal to pay owners this year Larger local tv deal starting next year More income from mlb tv & streaming There’s more ........ but I’ll stop there As someone in a earlier post said > mark bought a cash cow Just stop and think about this information for a time, ruminate on it. If the payroll is 135-140 mil that’s a 40-45 mil gross profit again in a year we need a certain pitcher not yet signed. If we spend 20+ on him This year we’d still have 8-13 mil to spend at trade deadline & call ups plus 20-25 mil gross profit. Payroll in 2017 was $69 million. Even if we say the 67 million in operating income was straight profit from 2017, that brings the break even point up to $136 million. Where are you getting the $186 million payroll from? I know that playoff revenue could probably push it a little higher for this season since we made the playoffs, but where is the extra $50 million coming from?

My Predictions: 2019 Brewers Season Predictions Win-Loss Record: 92-70 Playoffs (Yes, No): Yes Highest Playoff Level Achieved: NLCS All-Star Game Representative(s): Yelich, Shaw, Hader Offensive Player of the Year: Yelich Starting Pitcher of the Year: Burnes Relief Pitcher of the Year: Hader Most Surprising Player: Braun Most Disappointing Player: Albers Brewers are going to have a very potent offense with Yelich putting up another MVP season, Braun hitting 30 homers while hitting .290, Grandal giving a big offensive boost from the catching position, and Shaw taking a step forward from last season. The starting staff will prove to be a strength with Chacin leading the rotation with Burnes and Woodruff solidifying themselves as rotation pieces for years to come. Peralta will show promise, but have an up and down year similar to last season. Peralta’s big break-out season will be on the horizon in 2020. The bullpen will be the achilles heel for the Brewers this season. Hader will dominate all season long, but Jeffress will regress from his fantastic season last season. Albers will continue his struggles and cost us a few games early in the season and be cut by June. The Brewers will have a difficult time finding reliable options early in the season and be forced to make multiple midseason moves to solidify the bullpen for down the stretch. It’ll come back to bite the Brewers later in the season though when the Cardinals win the division by two games over the Brewers and the Brewers are forced to play in the Wild Card Game. I’m looking forward to seeing everybody’s predictions for the 2019 season! Go Brewers!

With Opening Day just a few short days away, I thought it would be a good time to make some predictions about the Brewers for the upcoming season. Feel free to add other predictions if you think of another category to include. 2019 Brewers Predictions Win-Loss Record: Playoffs (Yes, No): Highest Playoff Level Achieved: All-Star Game Representative(s): Offensive Player of the Year: Starting Pitcher of the Year: Relief Pitcher of the Year: Most Surprising Player: Most Disappointing Player:

I would put Alex Wilson in that group. Possibly Taylor Williams, but I’m a little leery about him. He would probably be a guy to come in to put the fire out in the 6th for the starter and hopefully get through the 7th unscathed to get it to the backend guys like Hader, Claudio, and Wilson. Once Fields is up, I think he will be a backend guy as well.

It’s nauseating that a business owner doesn’t want to lose money? He should just lose millions of dollars and take a big loss? From what I can find online, Mark is the majority owner and owns 38% of the Brewers. If you think he’s personally gaining $100 million in his pocket this year then wow. Their valuation went up 6% from last year to this year alone. How much of that is Mark’s at a 38% stake? $10 million? Also, just because a value of a business goes up does not mean there is an increase in cash in his pocket to throw at payroll. Stearns can dump the payroll to whatever when we aren’t contending? That proves my point. Brewers won’t draw 3 million fans winning 70 games and fielding a team with a $70 million payroll after spending $130 million on it a couple years earlier. How is he gaining his money back now to fund another competitive team down the road if he blows it all now, but can’t make it back up down the road since they are fielding a poor team with a low payroll? They will still draw fans, but a lot of people won’t pay to watch a non-competitive team, especially after an extended competitive window. Many fans will lose interest in the team if they start losing a bunch of games and they will feel slighted when they are paying more for tickets, but the payroll is the lowest it’s been in years. There is a lot that goes into these decisions. It’s not as simple as it’s being made out to be. Are you trying to infer that's a statement that was made that you're replying to? Because at no poing in there did he say he thought it was nauseating for a business owner to not want to take a loss. What he said was that Mark A has already made hundreds of Millions of dollars on his investment(that's true, though it's like almost all rich people's money, it's not actual money, it's valuation) and that he doesn't believe that he(Mark A) would lose money and that he finds the ARGUMENT being made nauseating. I find it nauseating when people create a fictional argument or ascribe a comment to a person that a person never made, then argue against that so as to argue their point stronger. I stated earlier that “I know people don’t mind Mark taking a loss, because it’s obviously not their money”. His response was “I can’t hear how Mark could possibly take a loss for us to win a World Series ever again, it’s nauseating”. That is a direct response saying it’s nauseating for him to hear about Mark taking a loss this year to attempt to get a World Series. He stated that the valuation of the Brewers has increased, but failed to realize that doesn’t directly affect the amount of money available for Mark to spend. You stated “he (Brew crew 92) doesn't believe that he(Mark A) would lose money and that he finds the ARGUMENT being made nauseating”. Him saying “we deserve A payroll of whatever it takes to win a World Series when we’re contending“ added with his quote of “I can’t hear how Mark could possibly take a loss for us to win a World Series ever again, it’s nauseating”, he is definitely suggesting Mark to take a loss. I don’t think trying to say that I’m pretty much lying and making up what he says is fair at all. These are direct quotes that were stated in this thread.

I could see Kimbrel signing with the Brewers if they can find a taker for Thames and/or Anderson. Maybe that’s why it’s being delayed is that Stearns is trying to work something out before pulling the trigger? I could see that as a reasonable option since those two make around $12.5 million combined. Maybe something like 1/$18 million is reasonable if they can rid themselves of those contracts. Maybe he wants to keep his leverage in trade negotiations by moving Thames and Anderson first before signing Kimbrel? Teams would know that we are desperate to clear space if Kimbrel was signed first, which would lower the return on those two. Just an idea...

Absolutely. This Brewers team is going to be a lot of fun to watch this season!

It’s nauseating that a business owner doesn’t want to lose money? He should just lose millions of dollars and take a big loss? From what I can find online, Mark is the majority owner and owns 38% of the Brewers. If you think he’s personally gaining $100 million in his pocket this year then wow. Their valuation went up 6% from last year to this year alone. How much of that is Mark’s at a 38% stake? $10 million? Also, just because a value of a business goes up does not mean there is an increase in cash in his pocket to throw at payroll. Stearns can dump the payroll to whatever when we aren’t contending? That proves my point. Brewers won’t draw 3 million fans winning 70 games and fielding a team with a $70 million payroll after spending $130 million on it a couple years earlier. How is he gaining his money back now to fund another competitive team down the road if he blows it all now, but can’t make it back up down the road since they are fielding a poor team with a low payroll? They will still draw fans, but a lot of people won’t pay to watch a non-competitive team, especially after an extended competitive window. Many fans will lose interest in the team if they start losing a bunch of games and they will feel slighted when they are paying more for tickets, but the payroll is the lowest it’s been in years. There is a lot that goes into these decisions. It’s not as simple as it’s being made out to be.

If there is anything we have learned since Stearns has been in charge is he rarely will pay more (in terms of salary, players, etc) than he believes a player is worth. All of his moves have been about getting value for assets expended, and while he is willing to pay a premium price for production now that the Brewers are competitive he doesn't appear to be willing to overpay. I think Stearns would like to add Kimbrel. I think the Brewers are in a good position to add expensive pieces like Kimbrel because competing for a championship is realistic. I don't think, however, Stearns is going to pay Kimbrel more than he thinks he's worth, regardless of factors such as cash on hand, current roster makeup, etc. If Kimbrel's price remains significantly outside of what Stearns thinks he's worth, I doubt we'll see Kimbrel sign with the Brewers. The only possible scenario I could see where Stearns overpays for Kimbrel would be on a one-year deal, and even then I doubt he significantly overpays. EDIT: I don't know Kimbrel's asking price or that it is "significantly" outside of what Stearns is willing to pay. I am assuming the gap must be somewhat large because if it were not the two sides would have agreed on a contract. I am perfectly willing to concede the gap may be closer than the situation would seem to indicate. Yes that is certainly stearns m/o up to this point. Only difference I see now is the market in all likelihood is down enough to where we can get tremendous value on a pitcher of need just by ante up above what’s comfortable. There are exceptions to every rule. If the reports are true and it’s down to the braves and brewers and Kimbrel doesn’t want to wait til the second week of June, I think that time to break that rule is now. I don’t think anyone is gonna care that he overpaid for one year of arguably the best closer in baseball. I think some of us are so focused on the trees we miss the forest. Or possibly we shouldn’t be starting the season at a $145 million payroll since we haven’t even played Game 1 yet and there will be plenty of guys coming up from the minors filling in for injuries, mid season signings, trade deadline trades that would push the payroll over $160 million by seasons end. You continue to say that we have all this money to spend on guys. It’s been discussed quite a bit that the payroll can probably be around $145-$150 million by season’s end to be close to breaking even. I think signing Kimbrel and expecting the ending payroll on the season to push $165 million is much too aggressive. I know people don’t mind Mark taking a loss, because it’s obviously not their money. But then what about when their window closes down the road if Mark was just breaking even or losing money for a few years? Are we still going to draw 3 million fans for a 70 win team so he can make his money back through ticket sales, food sales, merchandise sales, and no playoff revenue? I don’t think expecting him to lose $50 million or more in a 3-5 year window is realistic by any means. We all want the Brewers to win a World Series. Appreciate what Mark is doing to make that happen. He doesn’t just have hundreds of millions of dollars in his bank to dish out for payroll. Most of his net worth is in his assets associated with the Brewers. It really isn’t as simple as just opening the wallet to spend more.

I don’t think he is on the hot seat yet, but it is definitely warm. If the Badgers struggle to begin next season, I think he will really start to hear about it. I don’t see him gone before the start of the 2019 season, but I definitely wouldn’t mind it if it were to happen. I don’t think he’s the right guy.

Well, except the Knebel thing. That kinda makes us worse. Adding Fields and Wilson and removing two of Albers, Barnes, or Petricka pretty much makes up the loss of Knebel. Yes having Knebel would be awesome, but having 5 or 6 guys that you can count on consistently to get outs is awesome as well. Adding those two in with Hader, Jeffress when he’s healthy, Claudio, and Guerra is a well above average bullpen.

This is a solid signing. This signing just made us better and it’s getting frustrating seeing people complain about every signing. It seemed to work out well last year when we brought in guys that people didn’t really like. Not every single move is going to be flashy. We are a better team now than we were yesterday.

I was hoping the Brewers would have an opportunity to get Goldschmidt after this season. I think he will age well and be productive throughout the entire contract for the Cardinals.

I would think we will be seeing Josh Fields as possibly making the Opening Day roster now with Jeffress and Knebel having injuries. He could be a very good under the radar signing that could really help solidify the bullpen.

Looks like trading Knebel this offseason would of been a wise decision... Could of really cashed in on him with having 3 years of control remaining.

This is exciting! Time to sink or swim with the young guys that came up through the system. Hopefully the experience they got last season helps them start the season strong without too many growing pains. Love seeing the Brewers produce high quality young pitching!

Looks like he will be missing 2-4 weeks with a fractured left thumb.

X-Rays on Mirotic’s thumb revealed a sprained thumb and a fracture. Mirotic will be listed as out without a set timetable yet as to when he will return. The injury bug is sure hitting the Bucks hard. Hopefully they can get mostly healthy by the time the playoffs come around. Otherwise it could be a very disappointing early exit in the playoffs.

I agree in that Trout probably could of commanded something along the lines of $500 million if he were to test free agency, but $430 million is $430 million. Tough to say no to that kind of money. Get the guaranteed money now and not risk getting seriously injured at some point the next couple seasons.