RollieTime

Cirillo and Money didn’t spend much time at 2nd at all and the way I picked guys for my lineup was based on if they played multiple years at a position. Viña is a solid option for second. Molitor didn’t play much second after his first few years and that’s why I didn’t put him at second. It’s all in how you want to make your own lineup though. I like how you put Jenkins into your lineup. I was always a big fan of his.

I thought it would be fun to make an All-Time Brewers team/lineup and have discussions about some of the all-time greats to wear a Brewers uniform. I filled out a lineup with guys that played at least a handful of seasons with the Brewers and played multiple seasons at the position listed for them. I did include a starting pitcher and relief pitcher for my all-time Brewers lineup. 3B Paul Molitor SS Robin Yount LF Ryan Braun 1B Prince Fielder C Jonathan Lucroy RF Jeromy Burnitz CF Gorman Thomas 2B Jim Gantner SP Ben Sheets RP Rollie Fingers

Nelson, Chacin, Anderson, Davies, and Burnes is the way I see it. Woodruff should remain in the bullpen with Peralta being the first guy up when needed.

How is this guy an agent?

Let’s see the Padres sign Harper now to a 10 year, $300 million contract.....

Good place for him. I think the Padres will regret this contract a month into the season when they are losing a bunch of games and his attitude is the center of discussions around the team.

54 years of being a fan and you’re going to stop because of the Brewers getting the DH? The Brewers were in the AL through the 1997 season and obviously used a DH during those years. The Brewers have spent more time in franchise history using a DH for the pitcher than not using one. What team were you a fan of before the 1998 season? You’ve been a fan for a long time and since DH baseball isn’t “real baseball”, what “real baseball” team did you affiliate yourself with?

Uh...

An important note on this signing is that it is only a one year deal and allows the Brewers to have financial flexibility next offseason to address the needs heading into the 2020 season. With Moose’s $10 million, Grandal’s $18 million, Thames’ $6 million, and Braun’s contract being a little cheaper, there will be approximately $36 million coming off the books. Anderson is a trade candidate as well. Stearns will have plenty of money to play with next offseason to bring in guys that fit in around our core players.

Is Thames worth keeping though as mostly a pinch hitter? Very small sample size, but he is 7/55 with a .127 average pinch hitting for his career. And looks completely lost while up there in those limited opportunities. He is mostly blocked at first with Aguilar, Shaw, Grandal, or even Moose getting time there if need be. In the outfield, Gamel is the 4th guy with Perez being the 5th outfield option. I totally agree on the rest of the bench guys though. Perez, Gamel, and Pina are mostly locks. Comes down to if they want 12 or 13 pitchers on the roster to start the season.

For a team that is going to use its bullpen a lot, I love having Thames as a huge weapon vs. RHP on the bench. Moustakas helps with that too because now on days that Perez is starting we will have Shaw on the bench rather than Spangenberg. And if a LHP is on the mound, there should always be one of Perez or Gamel on the bench (both roughly league average hitters vs LHP) I’ve never been a fan of Thames and stated last offseason that we should trade Thames and keep Choi, so I may be a little biased against him. He does have undeniable power, but K’s a lot more than I would like. He’s a first base only guy that really shouldn’t play another inning in the outfield. What would the bench look like in your opinion with him being part of the roster?

Love the signing. Thames’ days are limited with Milwaukee now in my opinion. Moose will play mostly everyday at third. Shaw can fill in at third and start most games at second. Aguilar will be at first with Shaw getting some time there, Grandal, and even Braun if needed for a day or two. This lineup is going to put up a lot of runs this season. Shaw and Braun should have better luck this season with balls in play and Arcia will definitely hit better this season than last. Getting Grandal to upgrade the catching position was a big get as well. Opening Day can’t get here soon enough!

I think it’s pretty common for people to be pretty skinny when they are 16-21 year old and begin to bulk up when they are 22-25. Part of it could be his diet, but it’s also the maturation process of people reaching that age. Stating that lack of effort and stamina go hand in hand with him being benched is false in my opinion. Lack of effort is throwing the ball away and not getting back on D to help out, not crashing the boards, not diving for a loose ball, letting a guy shoot an open shot and not getting out on him. That’s a lack of effort that Bud must of seen from Middleton and benched him for it. If it was stamina related, wouldn’t it make more sense to have him playing to build up his stamina? It’s also possible that Middleton has an attitude that Bud wanted to set straight and showed the team he isn’t going to tolerate that on this team. I don’t see Middleton putting his back to the guy as a lack of effort and poor stamina either. I think that’s his way of protecting the ball. Him shooting a bunch of mid range 2’s isn’t because of stamina either. He lacks elite quickness and can’t beat a ton of guys to the basket. He relies on a quick first step and getting to his spot and pulling up. He’s a good mid range shooter, so I don’t see the issue here either. He has to play to his strengths and he does that.

Sounds like Melissa is doing well, but the twins still have quite a ways to go before they are in the clear. Hopefully things go smoothly the rest of the way for their family.

I don’t remember seeing this anywhere, but this is very concerning news for Jimmy Nelson and his wife Melissa. https://mobile.twitter.com/Jimmy_J_Nelson/status/1089973466143563776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-37771901383191869881.ampproject.net%2F1902072121410%2Fframe.html Melissa is pregnant with twin girls and they have twin to twin transfusion, which carries a 95% mortality rate. There is a laser procedure to reverse the progression of the transfusion, but there is still a high chance of losing one or both of the twins; plus complications for Melissa that can happen post operation. Hopefully things turn out well for Jimmy, Melissa, and their twin girls. It is a very stressful time for Jimmy and Melissa that will hopefully have the outcome we are all looking for.

One thing I don’t think that’s been discussed much is how much a 20 second pitch clock would totally affect the game. It goes much further than just being one rule change. The 20 second pitch clock could work in theory for when there are no baserunners. Once a guy gets on base, the batter needs to be able to step out to get signs for the next pitch, as well as allow the base runner time to get back to the bag and get the signs as well. If the batter is stepped out for 15 seconds, does the pitcher just need to rush his pitch in 5 seconds then? That doesn’t seem fair for the pitcher. It also wouldn’t make sense in that the baserunner now knows that the pitcher only has two seconds left to pitch it otherwise violates the rule. He could time it up and steal more bases much more easily. But what if the pitcher were to step off? Does the clock automatically reset to 20 seconds? Couldn’t a pitcher continue to do that if he is running out of time? Seems like baseball would then need to implement a limit of how many times a pitcher can step off such as 10 times in a game. Would throwing over to first base reset the clock as well? Couldn’t a pitcher stall and throw it over 3 or 4 times in a row? On top of that, now we need pitchers to be aware of step off rules and possibly not being able to step off if all 10 were used up or only being able to pick off so many times after each pitch. Now the baserunner can just take off running knowing that the pitcher can no longer step off or try to pick them off. To me, a pitch clock is going to cause a lot more rule changes and totally change the game that we all love. Having baseball get more complex and adding a ton of rules will really turn people away from the game. Baseball is simple and to me they are just muddying the waters, making it much more complex than it is meant to be, and creating their own issues that will result in a lot of people questioning the future of Major League Baseball.

Love the signing. He has always been a solid player. We will see him on the major league roster at some point this season.

Looks like the Bucks have approximately $55 million in payroll for next season. The luxury tax is around $123 million. The Bucks are right around that number for this season. They will have about $70 million or so to spend, but a max contract would be around $38 million per season. They could theoretically sign Durant and bring back Brogdon and Lopez for around $60 million. Ilyasova could probably be traded to just clear his $7 million. That might free up enough to entice someone like Bledsoe or Mirotic to stick around for $15 million. But Middleton and one of Mirotic or Bledsoe would most likely be on the move. Of course, this is all just speculation. The Bucks would need guys like DiVincenzo, Brown, Wilson, Connaughton, and Snell to step up like they have for most of this season. And I think they could.

Looks pretty legit to me since it’s coming from him. He is a career .275 hitter against lefties and can play second or third. Could be the platoon option with Shaw at third? If it’s a major league deal, somebody might be on the move (Thames?). Aguilar can be the everyday guy at first to start the year with Shaw getting time there if Aguilar struggles. Braun and Perez can play first as well if the need arises.

Bucks owner Marc Lasry releases a statement today saying “we hope it would be players like Anthony Davis and others who want to come to Milwaukee”. Whether or not it is tampering, Brian Windhorst believes he is letting the upcoming free agents know that the Bucks have the financial room to offer a max contract to a player this offseason. If the Bucks finish strong and make some noise in the postseason, could Giannis and the Bucks convince a top free agent to come play for Milwaukee? Some of the top players that are free agents this summer as it sits right now are Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Demarcus Cousins, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris, and Kristaps Porzingis. It may seem crazy, but Durant probably has the highest likelihood of leaving where he’s at. Durant, Thompson, Walker, and Tobias Harris are the guys I think could realistically be on the move next offseason. With Giannis becoming the face of the eastern conference for years to come, could the Bucks have a realistic shot at signing one of these guys? Could the Bucks entice Durant to sign with Milwaukee?

Manfred has stated that there will be no DH or draft changes for this season and that the focus is on pace of play for the 2019 season. Looks like the DH and draft changes could be addressed in the new CBA for the 2022 season.

Cardinals: 94-68 Brewers: 92-70 Reds: 85-77 Cubs: 84-78 Pirates: 73-89

Doesn’t strike anybody out and gives up a ton of home runs, but doesn’t walk many people at all. They must of saw something they want to try with him that could help him be successful. Possibly an insurance bullpen arm?

MLB’s “Disabled List” will now be called “Injured List” as the word “Disabled” can be misconstrued.

Makes me wonder if the Brewers were ever engaged with the Marlins on Realmuto, pre-Grandal signing? I think I would have given up a Peralta/Ashby/Nottingham package and not looked back. I would think Stearns had conversations with the Marlins. The value in giving up 6 years of Hiura, Burnes, or Peralta for just 2 years of Realmuto was probably just too much. Plus, signing Grandal “only” costs money and we are able to keep all of our prospects. That’s the big thing. Grandal might not be the top catcher in the game, but he is definitely a top 3 catcher in baseball while keeping all of our minor league and major league talent.