long ball

I think it's an enormous leap to assume either was anywhere close to available. Agreed. I think when it came down to it the Mets didn't want to trade any controllable players before getting their front office in place.

I don't think any complaints about not being able to buy NLCS games at face value are legitimate. 10 pack holders were able to buy up to 4 tickets for each NLCS game. 10 packs are like a $160 commitment for each ticket of the TR.

You could be right, but I have a hard time seeing them pay Schoop $10 mil next year or Moustakas $15 mil. I originally thought offering arb to Schoop was a no brainer, but I've turned on that a bit. Looking at the free agent market I think there are better 1 year bargains out there whether it be at third base or second base.

I agree with you that the Brewers could definitely use an upgrade to the line up. I just have a hard time paying the prospect price for Realmuto. He's a great player- probably the best catcher in the league right now. It's just tough for catchers to hold up offensively for multiple years. I'd rather spend the cash on Grandal than the prospects on Realmuto although I think both are unlikely to land in Milwaukee. A bat at second base or corner OF would be nice. That bat could be Santana though.

Nightengale tweeted out this morning that the D'Backs are likely to sell this winter. Which makes sense. They have several impact type players who are free agents this winter in Corbin and Pollock. Then Goldy and Boxberger are FA after 2019. Robbie Ray would be an interesting target. Two years of arbitration remaining and huge strike out numbers. EDIT: the more I look at the D'backs roster the more I think they could have a Brewers like turnaround if they make good trades. Goldy, Ray, Peralta, Boxberger, and Bradley could be their version of Lucroy, Gomez, Fiers, Thornburgh, Parra, Gallardo, etc. They actually probably have more interesting trade chips than the Brewers had.

This makes a lot of sense to me. It will be interesting to see how they line it up. I wonder if they'll be willing to pitch the starters on short rest. Especially if they're going to pull the starters after 2x through the order even if they're cruising. Then it might make sense to pitch whoever you want to possibly go 3x in game 1. That might actually be Miley- he's had two good starts vs LA this year and they hit righties better than lefties IIRC.

Here are the MLBTR projected arbitration figures: Brewers (15) Jonathan Schoop – $10.1MM Travis Shaw – $5.1MM Corey Knebel – $4.9MM Jeremy Jeffress – $4.8MM (has a $3.175MM club option) Jimmy Nelson – $3.7MM Stephen Vogt – $3.065MM Hernan Perez – $2.7MM Junior Guerra – $2.7MM Zach Davies – $2.4MM Domingo Santana – $2.0MM Manny Piña – $1.8MM Dan Jennings – $1.6MM Xavier Cedeño – $1.5MM Erik Kratz – $1.0MM Tyler Saladino – $1.0MM

I don't have an issue Schoop being on the roster, but when I think of what he brings to the roster in a playoff series I just think he brings less than Broxton, Santana, Granderson, and Perez. I definitely will concede the point that Counsell will need to be more selective with when he uses the infielder coming off the bench. We've seen he's been selective with where he's used Perez and Broxton off the bench already since he likely wants those guys to come in as defensive subs if they have a lead or pinch running in a critical late game situation. That's why we've seen Santana be the first guy off the bench in a PH role even if it isn't a particularly high leverage PA. Counsell has already shown that he's got what it takes to work with a short bench and utilize his players to the most favorable opportunities. I think it's highly likely they move to a 12 man pitching staff for the NLCS so that means reducing the position player group by one. Broxton is on the roster for me. Pinch runner in a key spot and defensive sub. For me, the decision is between Schoop and Granderson. Neither adds a ton of positional flexibility or important defensive ability (Schoop is fine at 2b and Granderson is poor in the OF). Both have some pop. Most of the Dodgers good relievers are right handed and I also trust Granderson to be more selective at the plate and draw a walk if it's being given to him. Give me Broxton, Granderson, Perez, Santana, and Pina off the bench. I won't be surprised either way on the Schoop though. That's just my thought process on it.

I think they will go to 12 pitchers. I would not be surprised if Schoop is left off. Schoop did end up hitting week stretch after his terrible start, but then faded again down the stretch. Roll with Arcia at SS every game and then use Perez at 2b against Kershaw and Hill. I think Cedeno will be on the roster. I'm not sure if Peralta will be on the roster or not. Seems possible that Davies replaces him.

Roberts announced today that Kershaw will start game 5 if necessary.

I was nervous about Miley going into yesterday. He hadn't been super sharp his past two times out. The Rockies hit lefties really well. Miley definitely delivered the results the Brewers needed.

I'd prefer the Brewers get the Braves in the NLCS, but I'll be super happy if Braves/Dodgers goes to a game 5 where Jansen needs to throw a couple innings after Kershaw. On the American league side, it would be nice if the Astros get eliminated at some point. If the Brewers advance to the World Series I don't want to face the Astros. I think they're pretty clearly the best team in the AL right now.

Like others have said, I expected Cedeno on the roster but now it makes a lot of sense. Blackmon is good vs RHP and LHP. Gonzalez, Parra, and Dahl don't really warrant carrying a loogy. On my roster prediction I just missed Peralta vs Cedeno, but after the press conference last night it almost confirmed Peralta would be on the roster. Rolling with the young guys!

Any team in the playoffs can be dangerous. Rockies are playing pretty well, but some of that was against teams just playing out the string like the Nats and Phillies. I think the Brewers have the advantage. My observations: 1) I agree the Rockies line up is pretty top heavy. Hopefully the Brewers can neutralize Story/Arenado late in games with their strong RH options out of the pen and Dahl/Blackmon/Cargo with the lefties in the pen. 2) Brewers have had a lot of recent success vs Wade Davis. Let's hope that continues. 3) Ottavino is nasty. This is where Granderson and Shaw/Moustakas off the bench could be huge. All can take a walk and hit righties well. 4) I'm also interested to see if they bring back Marquez on short rest for game two. 5) The rockies OF defense is poor. That could play to the Brewers advantage in a huge Coors outfield. That huge Coors outfield may be a reason to carry Broxton as a defensive sub. 6) Facing Freeland once in game 3 and likely out of the pen in game 5 is a win for the Brewers. I think the Brewers have a good chance to win games 1 and 2. If they do that I think they win in 4 games. If they split the initial 2 at MP I think it goes 5.

I won't pretend to know the meaning of JJ's "unavailability". Here's my guess: Woodruff warming in the 9th signaled to me that it was Hader's inning. They were either going to lose the game with Hader on the mound in the 9th, or Woodruff was coming in to pitch the 10th in a tie game.

From the outside, the job Counsell has done is nothing short of amazing. Every guy outside of probably Cain, Yelich, and Chacin has had to sacrifice personal success for team success. Obviously winning helps, but to have guys like Broxton, Santana, Arcia, Knebel, etc struggle mightily and even get demoted and then come back to play huge roles in September is crazy. Shaw, Moustakas, Thames, Schoop, Pina, and Braun all saw diminished roles this season for the good of the team. Jeffress, Hader, and Soria would be closers on many teams, but Knebel was the established closer for much of the season. Woodruff and Burnes taking on bullpen roles. The constant shuffling of guys from the minors to the majors. That directly affects player's finances, but time after time they had guys like Broxton, Lopez, Houser, Woodruff, etc come up and play important roles. Credit to Stearns and his staff for putting together a very deep roster and drafting a strategy to maximize the talent and payroll. Huge kudos to Counsell for getting the team to buy in and executing again and again. Part of the reason the Brewers shined so brightly in September is because their roster is so deep and the team stayed engaged. Counsell near flawlessly deployed the right player in the right situation. I can't imagine that's easy to do when you're picking from 35ish capable players. So beyond the win totals, the payroll, the division champs, etc. I'm proud of Counsell for leading this group of players and keeping everyone bought in.

I really lucked out with the Friday schedule. If it would have been noon I wouldn't have been able to make it. 3pm gives me just enough to to make it up there from Chicago.

A lot of good, useful players will be left off the roster. That's what happens when you use ~35 guys in September and just about all of them have done something good to help you win games. Here's my updated prediction on the NLDS roster: SP (3) Miley, Gio, Chacin RP (8) JJ, Hader, Knebel, Soria, Burnes, Woodruff, Cedeno, Guerra C (2) Kratz, Pina INF (6) Aguilar, Shaw, Schoop, Perez, Arcia, Moustakas OF (6) Braun, Yelich, Cain, Granderson, Santana, Broxton 3 of 4 teams went with 11 pitchers on their DS rosters last season. The other went with 12. This is the trickiest part. There isn't another pitcher I'm dying to get on the roster while all of the position players seemingly have an important role. I don't see either Davies or Anderson making the roster regardless of opponent. I think game 4 sets up nicely to be a bullpen game if 2 of Guerra/Woodruff/Burnes didn't have to pitch in game 3. If game 5 is needed there would be a day off to get some rest for the pen after a bullpen game.

I'm a little surprised it's Chacin, but let's get it. 2018 NL Central Champion Brewers has a nice sound to it.

A 12-4 type game would be great. I am getting a little nervous about the prospect of playing Monday and Tuesday. The A bullpen has worked hard this series.

Báez still MVP because *checks notes * Cool tags

After the trip on Wednesday and that Braun homer tonight this is starting to feel like a charmed season (If those exist lol) It wasn’t ideal the have Hader struggle again nor use their 4 best relievers. Ace Miley going tomorrow. Hoping for a meaningful game on Sunday.

This is going to be more fun to track than the division races!

For the Brewers sake, I think we just want to make sure that the Dodgers have to pitch Buehler on Sunday and the Cards have to pitch Flaherty on Sunday. If the Brewers end up in the WC game against the Dodgers I'd rather have to face Rich Hill than Buehler. For the Cardinals, as long as it's not Flaherty or Mikolas I can deal. The Rockies would have Marquez. I don't really want to face him in a WC game. Easiest solution is the Brewers win 3 and the Cubs lose 2

Not only that, you should see what's available on the secondary market. I wanted to go Friday, but Terrace tickets went from $25ish last night to around $40 now with the fees. Bleachers are like $60 and any good seat is going to be like a playoff ticket. And there really aren't even that many of those seats available, maybe 1,000 tickets or so to each of Friday and Saturday. The demand is seriously off the charts for a non-cub regular season game. Tickets are crazy. I had 2 TR tickets already as part of a 10 game pack, but I've got 5 people who wanted to go. I ended up just buying obstructed view tickets from the brewers website because i wasn't going to spend $50 apiece so we could all sit together. I listed my 2 TR428 at $55 apiece. Depending on what happens the next two days the prices may even go up more.