True Blue Brew Crew

Well- "veterans signed", anyway. It's a bit misleading, as everybody with less than 6 years of MLB time aren't technically "signed," but they aren't going anywhere unless traded. True, but the non tender decisions are yet to come.

I'm not even expecting it much less predicting it for 2020. The options they're giving themselves are intriguing though. Just about anything could transpire when so few roster spots are locked in. If they were ever going to do what to me is inevitable, the door is wide open to it right now. And Chase's comment hints at something. It sure doesn't hint at calling up all the aces they have knocking on the door in the minors. And Stearns couldn't have told Chase Anderson the names of a bunch of starters they intend to sign. What he obviously told him was the outline of a new plan that Chase doesn't fit in. This will be fun.

The ties cut today hint towards going an entirely new direction in my opinion. Thames was a value at $7.5 million given his production. Arcia's production is non-existent. I've also never seen Stearns so openly call out a player when citing the need for more offensively and defensively as he publicly did with Arcia. That doesn't scream hoping for improvement from the same player to me. My gut tells me they're tired of this "all or nothing HR offense" and are trying to build a more balanced lineup. Either put the ball in play and get on base or hit balls over the fence, with a good mix of both. Arcia really does neither.

Not necessarily the most suited for it though. This is another one that we'll just have to wait and see.

So many ideas running through my head. I'm not going to even bring up the one I've debated so many here about in the past. Regardless, Anderson's comment is very exciting.

Yeah it's hard to come up with anything significant they've done in either of the last 2 offseasons. Just the usual bottom of the barrel scraping and mining for diamonds in the rough. The closest they've come to making as splash was trading for Yelich and signing Cain the same day in 2018 followed by signing Grandal and bringing back Moustakas in 2019. Other than those minor moves, it's hard to come up with anything significant. Hey! Look at the airplane buzzing your head! OSS wasn't saying he expected a big move imminently. He's just saying that these moves indicate an aggressive plan to reshape this roster. I'm sure he's aware that it may take months to play out. You're the one missing the point.

We say this all the time but nothing ever really is. Yeah it's hard to come up with anything significant they've done in either of the last 2 offseasons. Just the usual bottom of the barrel scraping and mining for diamonds in the rough. The closest they've come to making as splash was trading for Yelich and signing Cain the same day in 2018 followed by signing Grandal and bringing back Moustakas in 2019. Other than those minor moves, it's hard to come up with anything significant.

What were you expecting for Chase Anderson? Spanberger is at least an actual honest-to-goodness prospect. Not really as he wasn't even in the Blue Jays top 30 but also didn't expect much for Chase. Yeah this is more about not paying that option on Anderson. Spanberger is a lottery ticket.

Always makes me feel warm and fuzzy when Stearns does the same thing I would've done. I was worried they were going to pick up Chase's option. Instead it turns out they were trying to deal him and if they couldn't find a taker they were going to decline it. Allocate those dollars elsewhere.

I could be way off on how this technology works but it would seem that a simple solution would be to register the pitch at it's location when crossing the back of the plate as opposed to the front.

Who in particular are you thinking of to take Moose's place at 3B? Does a thirdbaseman who is an "on base machine" even exist in FA or the trade market at a price you're looking for? Remember, this is if they lock up Grandal, but yes, there are low(er) cost, short-term fill-ins who I'd be happy to add to this lineup. All of the players listed below can play a passable 3rd base and carried higher OBP than Moustakas' .329 last year. Ranked by a combination of preference weighed versus assumed cost of contract... Brock Holt .369 Howie Kendrick .395 Asdrubal Cabrera .342 (.404 w/ Was) Neil Walker .344 Brad Miller .331 Cabrera, Walker, and Miller are admittedly less desirable options but if it allows them to retain Grandal, I can live with them for 1 year. I'd be targeting Holt and Kendrick this offseason in any scenario.

It sounds like you simply miss the old days.

I like Moose but if they're going to be able to sign only 1 of Moose or Grandal, give me Grandal every day of the week. Not only does he play the position much harder to fill, but his ability to draw a walk is sorely needed in this lineup. Now if Grandal turns out to be impossible to bring back, then yeah sure Moose is a decent save. But I'm definitely exhausting every possibility with Grandal first. And if Grandal is secured, I move on from Moose and try to fill the 3B hole with a low strikeout, contact hitting, on base machine. This team has more than enough slugging. Let's get some runners on base and some guys who will get runners home from third and less than 2 outs. It's time to move on from Arcia as well. Easiest, most likely way to improve the roster.

HiAndTight, what you aren't addressing despite it being said by many, is that the Bears don't have the means to significantly add to what they have. And that's largely in part because of what they invested in a non-QB. Not one person has said that Mack isn't a good player. He is somewhat less effective without Hicks on the field though and that is an indicator that he's not quite the difference maker you're making him out to be. You keep bringing up the Broncos with Manning and Miller yet conveniently ignore the point made by nodakfan17 about Miller being on his rookie deal. The Broncos have been a bottom feeding team since they paid Miller. And that's a huge factor with Mack. Not only did they trade away the proven most likely means of acquiring a franchise QB (1st round picks) they handed out a massive contract to do it. The Bears have among the most depleted resources in the league with which to add talent. Both in terms of draft picks and cap. All those quotes and yet that one gets left out. The final head scratcher from you was excusing the Bears poor results this season due to their tough schedule. Yet no mention of the benefit realized last year due to a weak schedule. Could it be that the Bears folded in the playoffs because they finally played a good team? The "come out of nowhere season" on the strength of a weak schedule, bow out quickly in the playoffs, then fall off the cliff playing a first place schedule the following season, is a pattern repeated by fluke teams just about every season. The 2019 Bears are checking off every box to indicate 2018 was a fluke. And you really haven't answered how this bounce back is going to happen, somewhere in the next 6-7 years. That's quite the window you've allowed for your prediction. Is Trubisky going to learn how to read a defense, throw to 2nd or 3rd options on a play, or magically begin throwing an accurate pass downfield? Or are the Bears going to find a new franchise QB with no high draft picks and no cap space short of cutting players off an already hole-filled roster? And that's not even getting into the fact they have a head coach who decides a 40 yard plus FG is a chip shot with over 40 seconds, first down, and a timeout in his pocket. He didn't even think it was important to get the ball in the middle of the field, and instead had his kicker kick from the left hash on a miss that went just wide left. This in a game in which he declared his trust in his RB and o-line to get the job done then showed zero confidence in them getting a very conceivable 5-10 yards to make the FG a true chip shot. At minimum they could have run the ball to the center between the hashes to make the kick straight on. Nagy only adds to the likelihood 2018 was a fluke. New drastically different offense with unscouted looks, plays to his very limited QB's strengths, then the league catches up with them and turns them back into pumpkins. Last year they threw to Cohen like he was a WR and they guy looked like a video game. Now, when they throw to Cohen defenses are swallowing him up before he can get moving. A few weeks ago he had an eye-opening game where he caught 9 passes for a whopping 19 yards. That's what happens when a defense is no longer caught off guard by an offense. It's also what happens when a defense has no fear of the QB completing passes downfield. So, I could go on about the massive decline in their offensive line play and the fact they carry 4 TEs without having a single good one. Instead I'll just rest on the fact that the Bears don't have a QB, might not have a head coach, a cascade of holes on offense, and lack the resources to do much about it.

I know there will likely be posts of frustration about lack of free agent signings by the Brewers at some point but kudos for expressing yours before free agents are even allowed to sign. This offseason is shaping up to be a fun one.

Absolutely. Trading away all those picks for Mack became high risk not because of Mack. It was high risk because it ensured the Bears wouldn't have the draft capital to quickly recover if Trubisky was a bust and needed to be replaced. It was also a risk because the contract they gave Mack all but takes free agency off the table to find a QB short of gutting the rest of the roster. The Bears paths to success are about as narrow as anyone in the league unless Trubisky makes a complete 180 from what he looks like now.

I think it's clear that Turang is next in line so far as in-house options go, but unlikely that he'll be taking the reigns from Arcia. He's not close enough, and Arcia not producing enough, to assume there won't be someone brought in from outside to bridge the gap.

The Badgers have had 3 trip ups in the last 19 games. Trips ups happen when well coached teams meet predictable, rudimentary schemes. The Illinois defense played fast and above their talent level because they had a former NFL head coach who had no trouble deciphering UWs tendencies. Give Ohio State that kind of advantage and the results are predictably even uglier. UW doesn't need to change their recruiting, DC or head coach to take the next step. They just need to add sophistication to their offense and in turn not be so easy to defend.

I'm not assuming he'll drop off either, but he's not likely to get much better. And current, in his prime Mack is taking them nowhere.

All that glowing talk about Mack and not one mention of Akeem Hicks. Since Hicks went down, keeping Mack in check has become a much easier task. Perhaps Mack isn't on his own the difference maker many want to proclaim him to be. Lol at HaHa playing like an elite safety. If anything the Bears are proving what should be a hard and fast rule by now - only QBs are worth mortgaging the future for. And few of them are worth it at that. The Bears are going absolutely nowhere in the next (6-7 years!) unless they pull a QB out of their rear. Mack is 28 years old. Such an odd timeline to grant them (6-7 years!) to have an '85-type season because of Mack. By the time they have the draft capital and cap room to fix their gaping holes at QB, OL, and TE, Mack will be nearing the end of his contract and pushing his mid 30s.

So the assumption is the DiVincenzo, Wilson, and Brown are cast off to mop up duty for the entire season based on 4 games? That explains the unnecessary hand-wringing. Again, they're working in 3 new players. Once everyone gets acclimated, you see the youngins worked back in. Again, marathon not a sprint.

Their 3's aren't falling and they're working in 3 new members to what's currently a 10-man rotation. Sports are so much more enjoyable without the hot takes and the unnecessary highs and lows. It's a marathon not a sprint.

It's literally the easiest place they could make an upgrade without having to break the bank. Could he be the Brewers SS come Opening Day? Sure, but I'm definitely not betting on it. Assuming they don't address the worst SS group in major league baseball seems foolhardy.

I don't think it's quite that simple. I don't think the Brewers are going to approach this with the hope that improvement will come from the worst SS group in the game. A team such as the Brewers has to look at where it can improve most with limited resources in mind. sveumrules just demonstrated that just about anyone with a pulse would be an improvement over what Arcia is providing in terms of adding wins. From the looks of things, there are many low cost options that would provide an improvement over Arcia. When your team is carrying literally the only SS group that has a negative WAR rating, it signifies that 31 teams have SS groups adding wins via either the glove, bat, or both. Improving at other positions looks not only far more difficult but far more costly. Moving on from Arcia looks like not only the easiest move to improve the roster, it's the most obvious as well.

I'd like to also reiterate the difference it makes when your offense isn't extremely predictable and the defense isn't handed the advantage of knowing what's coming via your tendencies and formations. Urban Meyer spoke to Wisconsin's predictability at halftime on Saturday. We are witnessing the difference it makes each and every Sunday this season with the Green Bay Packers.