long ball

Jeez, the Pirates just can't lose. Up 7-1 and still hitting in the 2nd.

No Harper, Turner, or Adams in the line up for the Nats tonight. I'll take it.

Saladino is fine. The few errors/misplays he's made recently have mostly on on balls with 100+ mph exit velocities. Yes he needs to make more of those plays than he has in the past few games, but this is recency bias. He has mostly been fine at SS and is the best SS currently on the roster. Not to mention he has a 118 wRC+ with the Brewers. Some of that was due to the hot start, but still has a very respectable 91 wRC+ since coming off the DL (264/350/340). He's given the Brewers a little more flexibility to look at guys who are primarily second basemen instead of some one who needs to cover ss as well.

Should've figured it was Woodruff. He pitched 1 2/3 last night. He wasn't going to be available for a day or two anyway.

I'm going to guess this: Thames RF Cain CF Yelich LF Aguilar 1b Shaw 3b Saladino ss Miller 2b Pina C Guerra P

Thames and Guerra will be activated today so probably see Orf go for sure and then one of Broxton or Phillips. Tomorrow when Peralta returns is a more interesting decision. Depends if Lopez pitches tonight. If he pitches tonight they probably option him. Probably between Woodruff, Lopez, or the other of Broxton/phillips.

At this point, none of the rental players available are going to cost anyone you can't live without. Adding a middle infielder and a relief arm is going to happen. Probably similar to what they did last year and none of the guys they gave up are of much consequence to the health/depth of the organization.

Ya, I'm not sure how I feel about this. Moustakas has been pretty lousy since his hot start to the year. Cabrera, Dozier, or Escobar would make more sense.

This sucks. He's one of my favorite players. Suter beat the odds by making it to the bigs. I'd bet on him to get back to being a useful major leaguer.

I have absolutely no interest in Hamels.

Indians could also acquire a 3b and play Ramirez at 2b which opens up their options a little. Red Sox too if they've lost faith in Pedroia returning. Diamondbacks mayyyyybeee. Ultimately there are 2 starting caliber rental 2b out there between Dozier and Cabrera and ~3-4 contending teams who could use one. The Brewers need to come away with one of them.

I think it's pretty well established that the biggest areas of opportunity are at 2b, ss, C, and SP. This is what I'd look for: SP: I'd stand pat unless they're able to swing a trade for deGrom or Sydergaard. I don't see the Mets trading either this year so standing pat and stay the course with the current group makes the most sense. I don't really see any of the other potentially available arms are upgrades over the current group of guys. 2b/SS: I'll lump these together because I don't see them adding multiple middle infielders. I'd like someone who has played SS competently recently, but I can live with Saladino and Arcia being the primary SS for the remainder of the season if they're able to add a good bat at second. Main targets ranked in order: Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, Asdrubal Cabrera. and Solarte. C: I think they should ride out Pina as the primary starter. His defense is good and he seems to work well with all of the starters. I can live with Kratz as the primary back up, but would definitely pursue another guy to share time with Pina in a 60/40 type split like Ellis or Meseraco. I previously like the idea of targeting Ramos to be the primary catcher, but the injury scares me off. RP: I would try to double down on the strength of the bullpen. Guys like Hader, Knebel, Jeffress, Jennings, and Williams are seemingly entrenched in the pen. If Albers comes back from this injury he is there too. That leaves probably one spot to potentially add a significant piece to the pen. Someone like Familia or Britton. If it's not a clear cut upgrade I probably roll with group of Barnes, Burnes, Miley, Davies, Peralta, Woodruff, etc as the as the 7th/8th guy in the pen and 5th starter. Bench: Someone like Dietrich would make sense only if they're going to punt on Perez. Probably just hope to get healthier and get Braun back and hope Santana can come back and be useful. Mercer or another SS makes sense if you're punting on Arcia in 2018. August trade: Soria makes sense as an August target if he's still available. High salary and veteran arm having a useful season. Makes more sense to add a depth type arm heading into September when rosters expand. Overall I think they add 1 primary starter at either SS or 2b. 1 additional bat whether it be a C or utility type. I also think they add a bullpen arm in August.

I was originally on team Escobar, but he's cooled off significantly while Dozier has been heating up quite a bit over the past few weeks. It's easy as a fan to get swayed by recency bias, but Dozier has a very good track record. Post ASG stats for Dozier: 2017: 158 wRC+, 330 PA, 304/394/591, 21! homers. 2016: 155 wRC+, 332 PA, 291/344/646, 28! homers

Yes there is pressure to make the playoffs. I think whatever moves they do make will FEEL like more significant moves than in 2017. Even though Walker, Jeffress, and Swarzak all worked out very well it seemed like they could have done more to ensure a playoff spot in 2017. I would guess the Brewers add at least 2 pieces before the deadline and likely another August move. What those moves are I don't know, but with 2-3 obvious areas of opportunity in the every day line up even a Walker-type deal feels big at the moment.

I'm generally not compelled to vote for the ASG, but I genuinely want Aguilar to win the final vote and I've voted ~500x. He just seems to really want to go and his teammates seem to love the guy. Easy guy to root for and this may be his best chance to go.

They have an off day every week in in August and September. They will have opportunities to skip or push back starts as needed. The Brewers are in a tricky position of likely needing to win games to make the playoffs, but also preserve innings for potentially helping in the playoffs as well. If we get to September/October and Peralta is still one of their best 3 starters it will be tough to lose him to an innings limit.

Some double play luck works for me.

That Marlins line up is awfully ugly without Realmuto and Dietrich.

Guerra is fine, maybe even good. Like others have mentioned, the relatively short starts as compared to true TOR pitchers is the biggest difference. Pair Guerra wth this bullpen and he's quite a useful piece to the puzzle though.

I think Miley gets the Thursday start. Then either Suter, Wilkerson, or Woodruff gets the second Saturday start. Counsell said today that Wilkerson could factor into that Saturday start (not sure if the 10 day requirement comes into play when it's a double header) Regardless, I think the Brewers will go 6-2 to close out the first half.

This sorta has the feel that it's going to happen.

Another lefty reliever in the pen would be great to get through the rest of the season. Teams like the Reds, Nationals, Giants, Cubs, Dodgers, and Braves all have big lefty bats. Since Hader is only used with a lead another lefty reliever would be great to pair with Jennings. I don't have any confidence in Williams, Albers, and Barnes getting out multiple lefties in an inning. Hand likely isn't going to be the guy, but I think another good lefty in the pen is important.

If the Brewers acquire one infielder I hope it’s someone who has a recent track record of playing short stop. I think Eduardo Escobar makes the most sense for them as far as rentals go. Even though he’s primarily been a 3b, he’s played a significant amount of short stop as well. He’s played a handful of innings at second base so the brewers likely would give him some innings there as well. He’s a switch hitter with decent obp and good slugging. He’s hitting well from both sides this year which means he can play almost every day if needed. He isn’t great defensively per the metrics, but the Brewers rotation isn’t really a ground ball heavy staff. They can afford to sacrifice defense a little bit on the infield and make defensive changes once they get to the bullpen with a lead. Like what we’ve seen with Miller so far. He can also spell Shaw at third against lefties. I’m not exactly sure what the acquisition cost will be but I’m guessing something like a top 6-10ish prospect or a couple in the 10-30ish range. Probably no one you’ll cry about giving up.

100% on Escobar. I’ve been pounding that drum for a few weeks now. He’d fit perfectly Into this roster.

Well, they're 1st in the MLB in UZR 2nd in the MLB in defensive efficiency. Their OF is first in the MLB in OAA per statcast. First in DRS. Seems pretty good to me.