True Blue Brew Crew

Yeah, this is right in line with what people were saying. No one was calling for the latter.

Does that make today a "must win?" No, no it doesn't. Massively overused term.

I wouldn't say that. A lot of people were hoping/expecting his HR total to bump up near 30. He had 18 last year and if they were all at MP he would have had 8 more plus a lot of wall scrappers. Not hard to imagine his HR total being what it is right now...I personally expected him to float around 30 HRs a year with us. That is where a huge majority of his stat bump comes from. What is a little surprising is the .320 average to really juice up his stats. Personally I was expecting about .300 as a safe bet. I had just read the entire thread. Somehow I must have missed your prescient scouting report. I don't recall anyone projecting THESE numbers for Yelich or that he'd be the best bat in the NL. It was well known that MP would give a boost to his numbers. No one took it this far. The only one who should be tooting their own horn is the guy who put him in the MVP race when the trade was made.

It's a tall task getting a pitcher even considered for MVP, much less one with a 9-9 record on a bad team. The Brewers have the NL's most valuable player.

What a fun read. Some real cringe-worthy reactions in those early pages. As struck as I was by some of the over the top negative reactions, it was a fun reminder that no one saw THIS coming. I think one guy said he expected Yelich to be in the MVP mix. The Brewers have the best GM in baseball. Hopefully they'll be able to keep him.

Colorado Springs is much more palatable for rookie league placement because the focus is on pitching development without much concern for the stat line. You can have young pitchers literally spend their whole short season working on nothing but keeping the ball down and fastball location. Whereas in AAA you often have guys on the doorstep of the majors who need work on offspeed offerings. The thin air was not the place to be working on spinning the baseball. Inflating young batters' statuses as prospects will be an added bonus.

Once Braun realizes that his physical strength (especially core) isn't what it used to be, and goes with a lighter, shorter bat he will likely have a resurgence. Age slows the best of us down and the giant, heavy bat he uses is starting to do him more harm than good. He just hasn't conceded it yet.

Welcome to baseball.

Well, people have started to take "MIP" to mean most improved player. At least that makes a lot more sense than trying to say there's a difference between most valuable and most important.

'18 Scooter vs Cubs: .237 BA, .303 OBP, .271 SLG, .574 OPS '18 Scooter vs Brewers: .224 BA, .278 OBP, .388 SLG, .666 OPS

And starting Monday, the Rockies and Dodgers start a 3-gamer in LA. It's going to be really hard for the 3 teams chasing the Brewers to all make up ground whilst playing one another. Probably why the Brewers playoff odds are all the way up to 98.2%.

And looky here, the Dodgers and Cardinals begin a 4 game series tomorrow in St. Louis. They both can't gain on the Brewers on the same day all the way through this weekend. If the Brewers take care of business vs Pittsburgh, even just 2 of 3, they'll gain ground on one if not both teams. A 2-2 split between StL/LA means a half game gained on both by Milwaukee if they can manage 2 of 3. Conversely, a 3-1 or 4-0 series win by either StL or LA could really help bury the loser.

With Arizona's tough loss tonight, the Brewers basically just have to hold off one of either St. Louis OR the NL West runner-up. It's essentially now a 6 team race for 5 spots... NL East - Atlanta (Division) NL Central - Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis (Division and 1-2 Wild Cards) NL West - Colorado, Los Angeles (Division and 0-1 Wild Card) The Brewers have 5 more wins than the Dodgers. LA needs to win 5 more games than the Brewers do from here on out just to tie the Crew.

Not an interesting answer, but fact is - it's entirely dependent on the opponent.

Good thing Granderson didn't know that stat... Well that stat included Granderson who was 1 for 4 with 2 BBs and 2 SOs career vs Cishek prior to the HR.

Prior to the home run by Granderson, Brewers batters were a career 6-58 (.103) with 0 HRs vs Cishek.

Cubs fans are convinced the Brewers are going to win the division and it's all because MLB screwed them over with decision making on weather and postponement delays.

Well then I guess there a lot of casual fans who are casually posting 10-20 times a day on this site. From best I can tell, a lot of Brewers fans were basically spoiled overnight rather than enjoying the ride as they all said they would when this rebuild began. This is far from a finished product which is why they can be frustrating at times. Yet, the Brewers are likely to make the playoffs this year and will put together an even better team next year. This forum is a great source of info and there are some very strong contributors here. But the idea that a fair amount of what's posted here is any different from the mess on Twitter or other social media is disingenuous.

You can develop it though. And right now Peralta is the one who has shown the glimpses of it. You can have depth and still make sure a guy like that is in your rotation making those steps to stardom. I think you guys are all making great points and I think your viewpoints and expectations are very sound-minded. I really hope Freddy continues to step up and meet the challenge the team is going to put in front of him. It's going to be a blast watching people come to the realization of what the Brewers have here. And not just with him, the current core and a few overlooked, underappreciated youngsters in the minors as well.

I'm going to kindly disagree with you there. Peralta had jumped both of those guys in the team's pecking order well before that first start against Colorado. As nothing more than a regular fan who's lucky enough to get some occasional insight from a longtime baseball scout and exec, I'm downright giddy at the fun ride ahead. I had no idea how mildly regarded Peralta was to people here. Thinking ahead to how fans will be potentially be talking about him this time next year, and the path getting there, has me bursting with excitement.

Fully aware, and I understand the convenience of seeing who has options when trying to solve a perceived logjam. That's a fair point for sure. What I can't fathom is how it would be a good idea to stunt Peralta's development by sending him back to AAA where he has has nothing to prove. If he hadn't shown anything in the majors, then sure, give him more time to season in the minors. But he's been ace-level unhittable. He needs to work on location and control against major league hitters to cut down on free passes. Part of that is simply confidence. Confidence not gained pitching to free-swinging minor league batters who will do nothing to help Freddy make that final step. We'll know at the end of March or early April at the latest when a 5th starter is needed, but conversations I've had with someone who would know, tell me Peralta is here to stay barring injury or a disastrous spring training. Anderson and/or Davies don't even have to go anywhere for there to be a spot for Freddy. But those 2 sure aren't going to stand in the way of giving him the chance to be special. Even if Peralta doesn't improve his command one iota, he's already an average major league pitcher who has shown elite level ability to miss the sweet spot of MLB bats. That's not something a major league team fails to explore fully. The only way to do that is in Milwaukee. I hope people aren't mistaking his late season, virtual shut down for the team not being sold on him. They're protecting one of their most valuable assets for 2019. If he makes a reasonable progression in the control department, you're looking at a guy who could top the rotation. It doesn't make sense not to continue with aggressive development when a guy has responded each and every time to said aggressive development. Scouts, instructors, and front offices love the rare guys who answer every call. You don't backtrack with those types.

To be completely fair to Burnes, I do think he's shown enough in the majors to be penned in for the 2019 rotation at some point as well. His innings will have to be managed a little more than Peralta which is why Burnes is no lock in my mind to be in the 5-man group come Opening Day. I think they'll stretch him out as the season goes on so he can be a fixture in the rotation in the 2nd half.

And I don't think you or anyone else is off base with their guesses either. Just surprised at how few have Peralta in the top 5 next year. And my having Peralta as the 2nd surest bet to be in the rotation isn't the same as slotting him in as the #2. Two different things. My confidence in him being in the rotation stems from the fact I don't think there's any chance the move him to the pen or put him back in AAA. That doesn't make an ounce of sense. Both of those options stunt his development as a starting pitcher. Once a young pitcher has had success as a starter in the big leagues, you don't back track. And make no mistake, Peralta HAS proven some things at the MLB level. He's really, really hard to hit. His command at the major league level will improve by pitching at the major league level. The difference with Burnes is that he made his most immediate contribution as a reliever. They wouldn't work backwards with him either. But Burnes came up in the pen and hasn't had the chance to prove anything as a starter just yet. Still think they've got eyes on both Peralta and Burnes in the 2019 rotation.

I would disagree with this. First, Anderson has multi million dollar contract. Second, Davies is proven for two years. Maybe if he blows up the rest of the year it becomes questionable, otherwise he's a lock. Nelson if healthy is a lock. I suppose it's debatable between him and Burnes but I'd guess they go Burnes before him. Peralta has had like one good game the 2 months or however it long it took for those 7 or 8 starts. Consider who they'd be willing to trade. Anderson and Davies don't have the years of cheap control Peralta has. Nelson isn't as much of a lock as Peralta because of the health question. If Nelson hadn't tore up shoulder of course he'd be more of a sure thing. And Peralta has already jumped Burnes in the developmental tree so I'm not sure why anyone would place higher odds on Burnes being in the rotation than Peralta. That's not to say Burnes won't be in the rotation. I think Burnes is more of a lock to be in the Brewers rotation than Anderson and Davies. If neither Anderson or Davies are traded, they'll be in the rotation. But you can bet the Brewers will be looking to move either of those guys before they trade the cost controlled Peralta and Burnes.

And since the cutter dives across the plate its an effective pitch to neutralize L/R matchups. A LHP can use it to jam right hand batters and a RHP can jam left hand batters with it.