HarveysWBs

The Dodgers just trot up bench players with better OPS than anyone on the Brewers starting roster. I try not to hate, but…

You look at everybody’s OPS and it all just feels like deck chairs on the Titanic…

I watched him K four straight ABs in an A-ball game last week. I’m as excited about him as any prospect I’ve ever seen in the Brewers system. But he ain’t walking through that door this year.

There’s a scene in Moneyball where Beane wants to trade Carlos Peña, and the assistant GM says it’s the right move, but it’s still the kind of move that gets you fired. They pulled the trigger anyway and it worked out for Beane. Trading Hader with a year and a half of control left at the deadline while in first place might have been the right move for this club. Nobody on the outside knows all the details, like what Hader’s attitude to the team was, and what his internal scouting was showing, and what ownership wanted, and on and on. But this is a move that can get you fired. I’m not ready to say Stearns should be fired. I think he has more than earned a mulligan on a bad year (same for CC, by the way). But I’ve also long since given up the illusion that hirings and firings happen entirely or even mostly on the merits. Perception (often wrongly) counts for so much, especially in public positions like this. And the perception is now becoming horrendous.

Got to see him play Saturday in person. K’d four times and didn’t have too much to do in the outfield, so obviously my impressions aren’t worth much. But he did not strike me as overwhelmed by the experience. His numbers are down a bit since he joined the T-Rats, it seems, and I’m kind of excited about this. If he’s going to be the guy everybody hopes he can be, he will have to show how he responds to the inevitable slumps and struggles of professional ball. He has his first real opportunity now, and how he finishes the year should be revealing. Have to remind myself he’s just 18—incredible.

This team. My goodness.

The ballsyness of this Hader trade just went from solid pair of huevos to massive coconuts. Speaking only from my own vantage point (as it seems much of the rest of the fan base has a shorter leash on this) Stearns has earned a huge amount of slack from me. But this...not only does Stearns have to be right that Rogers is a negligible downgrade from Hader rest of season, he absolutely has to have hit a home run with Ruiz, and hit at least a solid single with Gasser. And Ruiz should probably be on the big league club making a difference sooner rather than later. Otherwise, I don't think there's any way to paint this other than a loss... ...But it all seems so strange that it makes me wonder if the Brewers brass know Hader is kind of broken. Why else would they hurry to do this deal now and not in the offseason? If it doesn't stand a reasonable chance to improve the club immediately (meaning Ruiz contributes in the stretch run), getting Hader out while the getting is still good is the only logical explanation. I guess we'll find out over the next two months.

The trade deadline is always kind of a mixed bag if you’re a Brewers fan, The only time we’re in a blockbuster is when we’re sellers. When we buy, we buy many tiers below the headliners. But I get a kick out of this: it is the only time we really get a glimpse into what the people who are in he best position to know anything really think about prospects. As a fan, and thus someone who otherwise has to rely on the amateur’s rankings, this is the fun part. If you keep expecting that all the prospects will stay and/or we’ll be in on big name acquisitions, you’re just going to be disappointed. Stearns doesn’t play that way, at least not at the deadline.

Assuming we got dramatically better at the MLB level by trading from our prospect OF depth, I’d sign off. Not sure the Mariners do, but crazier things have happened.

It’s not just impressive. It’s *nice*.

I'm wary of extreme, dualistic thinking about these things. Professional GMs rarely get taken to the cleaners on deals, and there are a whole range of possibilities between "Stearns is some god" and "he got fleeced." I assume Stearns is acutely aware of exactly what Hader's market value is at the moment, what it is likely to be this winter, and made a call on that basis. Going off of his comments (posted earlier in the thread and on Brewers media), this was a decision based on liking Gasser and Ruiz more than most rankings did (and, as a reminder to any who need it, such "rankings" are fairly amateurish exercises--but awfully fun for the fans and for the clicks), and also with an eye towards both immediate and long-term competitiveness. I think you can fairly disagree with the strategy, which Stearns has often referred to as an attempt to increase the number of "bites at the apple," but that is an argument about tactics. I think the fairest criticism one could make is that Stearns knows exactly what he is doing, but his strategy is a faulty one. I think a fact-based discussion about an all-in approach (yielding boom and bust cycles) vs. a consistently good approach (yielding teams that never do multi-year rebuilds and are always in the mix but never the "buzzy" team) would be the way to go with this.

This is a weird trade on so many levels. Two (likely) playoff teams in the same league, the most dominant reliever in the game exchanging hands mid-year—and while the Brewers are amidst a division race and smack dab in the middle of their competitive window, and after the Brewers had fielded so many calls for years about Hader and always declined. Obviously, a multitude of questions come to mind: what do the Brewers know about Hader that makes them think now was the time to move him? What do they see in the (largely major-league ready) talent coming back that made them pull the trigger? Does the brass remain confident in the team’s chances for this year (hence the major-leaguers or major-league adjacent return)? Is this step one in a larger deadline strategy? I am a little underwhelmed at first blush, and I think that’s a factor of two elements: 1) I was gearing up for a winter trade, assuming we’d want Hader in the fold for the stretch run and playoffs at least on more time and 2) I kind of figured Hader would yield prospects as part of a build for the future type move. Basically, the timing surprised me a lot and is making me reevaluate my expectations a little. But more is sure to come.

Good recovery, big guy. Good to see.

Good grief, Hader. Sure, a couple pitches could have been strikes, but you’re not exactly forcing the ump’s hand here…

Stop complaining? If #1 is a ball, how are you supposed to approach #3 as a hitter? I’d sure as heck complain.

It’s an unbelievably bad stretch of ball for Hader, obviously. As others have said before, Counsell has become much more reticent to mix things up in the bullpen pecking order, and I’ve always figured that was largely because Hader has expressed a strong preference for a defined role. Until this month, that has worked out well for all involved. Now? Maybe not so much. It’s obvious that he isn’t right. He’s got a bunch of stuff going on off the field, and who knows what complications that may or may not involve. If that’s the case, he needs time to work it out, and so taking the next week off may be a good start. Maybe it’s mechanical, and so again, a week to get the brain trust and Hader working through some tape could help, too. Not to state the obvious, but Hader suddenly losing his mojo and being unable to get it back would not only be a horrendous blow to the team’s chances for this season, but would be a disaster for the franchise. By most accounts, the decision has been made to keep Hader in the face of trade interest on a seemingly yearly basis. The assumption—which made a lot of sense, and I’m not second-guessing it—was that Hader would continue to be one of the best relievers in the game, and when he became too expensive, would net a haul of talent that would help sustain the team for years to come. If that bet ends up going bust, it could arguably be as bad as Yelich never returning to All-star status amidst his franchise-altering deal. Still, it’s only a bad couple of weeks, but it’s so bad, the mind begins wandering to worst-case scenario. At least, mine does…

“But men may construe things after their fashion, clean from the purpose of the thing themselves.” ************************************** There is this Brewers fan I know who is renowned for his wisdom, which is plainly apparent in his demeanor. While all around him lose their heads, he alone keeps his. Or maybe he’s just a quiet drunk. But I seek the truth of things, so I often belly up to the bar and occupy the stool next to his. Now, you see, I’m skeptical by nature. I’ve seen a lot of misfortune in my sporting lifetime, and have little patience for poets waxing on about the romanticism of baseball. Not this game, the game which I love and which takes my love and runs around with it to every fan of every franchise but mine, even Miami! No, not for me is such treacle. So I devised a test. I would query this wise old Brewers fan and ask him what he thinks of the Cream City Nine, and if his eyes twinkled and he gave me some platitude about keeping the faith, or showed me a hype video, or fed me some Brad Pitt/Aaron Sorkin line about an island of misfit toys or some such nonsense, I’d politely tell him to go pound suds. So it was opening weekend and as the Brewers dropped the first two against the lowly Cubs, I said to him, “Surely the Brewers are overrated.” And to my surprise, he did not do any of the things I feared. He simply replied, “we’ll see.” A fair assessment, after all, two games does not a season make. So I went about my life much as before, and the Crew finished April winning 15 of the next 20 games. I returned to the wise old Brewers fan and said to him, “the Brewers have righted the ship, the division will be assured.” To which he replied, “we’ll see.” But when the Cardinals played us tough and continued to hang around the division standings, I said to him, “our old enemies are back, and unlike last year, we won’t be able to hold them off in the end.” To which he replied, “we’ll see.” And when Yelich hit five bombs in his first 31 games, I said to him, “surely Yelich is back!” To which he replied, “We’ll see.” And when Yelich was putting up his lowest line drive percentage of his career and did nothing but kill worms in the second half of May, I said to him, “Yelich is never coming back.” To which he replied, “We’ll see.” And when the Brewers were 13 games over .500 near the end of May, I said, “this is the best Brewers team I’ve ever seen!” To which he replied, “We’ll see.” And when Woodruff and Peralta and Renfroe and Adames all hit the IL simultaneously, and Hader blew a save, and the Brewers lost so many games in a row, and the Cardinals took first place, and Counsell’s seat got warm for the first time ever, I said, “the Crew really sucks.” To which he replied, “Yeah, they suck.” J/k, he said, “we’ll see.”

I am the absolute fairest of the fair-weather bucks fans--they are a pleasant occasional distraction and nothing more. But c'mon, man. This statement is hugely debatable.

Really rough hit call on Rowdy’s glove side whiff in that inning. Classic home team scorer’s decision. I’m sure that isn’t motivated by Burnes being major Cy Young competition for Fried or anything. No, no, all these guys are professionals.

There really is no justification for any team to be this pathetic. They should be relegated to AAA. Time to make this like the Premier league.

Wait, Lo Cain is C-3P-Lo? How the heck did the sweaty nerd intern miss Lorenzo Cainrissian? It writes itself. Anyway, had to sign in just to complain about this. Go Crew.

Yeah I don’t follow CFB that closely, and had no idea about the domestic violence stuff. With Jarran Reed, that makes a couple potential land mines of bad behavior on the DL now. Not the kind of personnel decisions we’re used to seeing much of around here. I’m hoping for the best of course, but already wondering about Karlaftis.

I’m pretty pumped. I trust MLF and AR can make music with day 2 talent. What I haven’t seen in a good long while is a dominant front seven in Green Bay. This should be fun.

Age would not concern me much at this point. So a guy is 24. They don’t need to give him a second contract. Window is right now.

Gute did not hesitate sending in the pick here. Must love somebody out there, or else he’d still be fielding calls. Interesting.