jay87shot

I am a little peeve that Roki said he wanted to go to a team that develops pitchers and then went to the Dodgers the team that has basically ruined every good pitching prospect with arm surgeries/issues or ineffectiveness since Kershaw (I guess Urias could count maybe). I never believed we had a chance but at least if you say something like you don't want to go to the big markets and be on a team that is a great organization live up to it. I don't mind him wanting to go there if it is for money or because the have Shohei and Yamamoto but just say it.

I like the idea of naming something important after Uke, however wouldn't it be more on brand to name a bunch of silly stuff after Uke. Maybe make every each vendor (food, clothing) something with Uke or name the parking lot after him. Maybe just name all the food after his famous lines and stories. Maybe change Bernie the Brewer to Bob the Brewer, expand the Chalet by the mug and slide into a Bob Uecker musuem and call the whole thing Bob's clubhouse. I love the idea of naming the whole stadium or field after him but really his influence was everywhere else.

They are super minor, 1 was that you can get awarded a base if teams lineup wrong (3 IF on one side of second) instead of pitch being a ball can. I think they said this happened twice last year. The second was dealing with the sliding and touching of 2nd (or 3rd) when essentially you have given yourself up and you overrun the base but there is an error. I think the was a free article on espn I read.

I think Bregman ends up in Detriot on a 1 year with options. I think the Red Sox go with Devers at 3rd and trade for Arenado at the deadline. In that scenario Jace Jung would likely be the blocked player we could go after. Maybe like Luke Adams and Elvis Peguero for Jung.

I would be crazy surprised to see any type of regression, some of how he hits might depend on where he hits in the order. My guess is that he hits 2, maybe 4, however I could see him leading off a bunch as well if Brice or Sal aren't hot early (especially against lefties like last year). I would like to see him increase his bb's and thus SB attempts. I will go .291/.355/.885 35 2B 31HR 102 RBI 34 SB and borderline gold glove defense in the OF. I will say like 5th in MVP. Those would be crazy numbers for a 21 year old but I don't think they are crazy at all.

It seems like we wait until late January/Feburary to make moves, I like this strategy because we don't overpay. I would add that we don't really don't need much. The Devin trade makes our pitching staff extemely solid and deep and by the sounds of it Murph is in love with Durbin so that might be the direction at 3B. I would still sign a 3B vet but with 5/6 good but not great options we can wait and save more money. I would guess at Wade Miley signing a minor league deal but there is still a lot of decent rotation arms that maybe come spring training could be had for very cheap. It seems strange that we lose Willy and Devin but I don't think this team is much different/worse off. There is a little more risk with this team and us having a rash of injuries than previous years, but we do have really good depth at most places.

I have been thinking about Marco Luciano from SF recently. He was a top 20 prospect for a couple of years. He is only 23 and wasn't to bad in AAA last year. The Giants have Willy, Chapman, and Fitzgerald long term with some decent utility pieces. He hasn't been great in the bigs but was rushed a bit the past couple years because of prospect rankings. He could start in AAA if need be but could a high upside get for a relative cheap price.

I am not one to complain to much about the Brewers payroll usually however our opening day payroll is looking like it is going to be slightly down again after being at a high of 131 m in 2022. I get that we are the smallest market, the tv contract uncertainty, and Attenasio is on of the poorer owners (not really a huge deal) but with the recent success it really seems like we should be able advance payroll and not go backwards. Currently spotrac has us at 99.1 million in payroll allocations with total payroll at 110.9 after deferred money and buyouts. Maybe the team overextended in 2022 but I struggle to see why we can't get to the 135 ish mark like 2022. I try not to complain to much when the Dodgers, Mets, Yanks, among others spend big, but it just makes it hard when the Dodgers utility players Taylor/Edman would be our 3rd highest players. I know owners don't have to disclose finances to the public but does anyone know if they need to share there finances to the league offices?

I think I would start Misi out as a starter regardless of how he looks in spring training in AAA. If he looks good 10% or less bb rate, I am all for getting him into the bigs rotation earlier rather than later. If his control is a little spotty like last year, 10-13% bb rate, I would like to find him a multi-inning piggyback role especially if we are at a 6 man rotation at that point and decide what his role is next offseason. If control goes backwards, at about mid-way I would transition him to a late-inning relief role and look to get him some big league innings in September to see if he can help potentially in the playoffs. Wonderful write up by the way.

Mlb.com has Boeve as the #10 3B and Bitonti as the keep an eye on player according to Dykstra. The top 7 are probably top 100 prospect, so he is likely top 125-150. Notably Wilken was 8 and Adams was 10. Likely that means 4 3rd baseman in probably the top 15-20 in the league unless he has Wilken falling alot since the end of the season. Quero was #5 catcher, no one in top 10 for 1B or 2B. Black fell out of top 10 after being #6 at the end of last years 1B prospects.

I give it 48 hours before they sign Estevez (or maybe Kirby Yates/David Robertson)

Without deferred money and just averaging out deals I have the Dodgers payroll at over 365 million. By splitting Ohtani's 70 being the rotation and position players, 180.3 on position players, 134.2 rotation (more when the resign Kershaw), 50.8 bullpen. I get that when you do the deferred money and whatever ever it is a lot less. That is also not counting the luxury tax bill and money sent to Japan for Yamamoto, Kim, Sasaki (if you spread out payment as AAV). My guess is that would put them near 500 million in team value.

I think both teams have solid lineups and starting pitching. The bullpen will likely determine alot as well as health. I wouldnt be surprised to see the Cubs add a bullpen arm or two before the year starts. I will give us the advantage but if the Cubs sign a couple of the better pen arms I will be a lot more worried. The same could probably be said for the Reds. There rotation is really solid with upside younger position players and an iffy bullpen. If they add a couple solid pen arms it becomes a wild race. The Cards could even be players if they can get better pitching after Gray and Fedde and guys like Jordan Walker make big improvements.

Hopefully the Badgers win, not just because it is us but to stop some (a little) of this this free agent craziness. How can you sign a 2 year contract and then a week later want to transfer and there isn't tampering. Honestly the ncaa is ridiculous, because the idea of a portal doesn't really exist. A player can unenroll at any point, enroll in another school, and pretty muchly be eligible the idea of a portal opening and closing isn't accurate at all. Now the idea that he signed a contract and then Miami improperly offered him more money is total conceivable and probably likely (Badgers said they have proof of improper contact). Not really Lucas' fault in my opinion, NCAA having ambiguous rules and corrupt teams doing whatever they want and there isn't a strong enough entity (ncaa) to do anything. You can't blame a 19/20 year old OF taking a couple 100 grand to move closer to home (like 30 miles I think I read).

I remember watching Rodriguez start a couple games a couple years ago for the Tigers. He had really good movement but got crushed. The Tigers stunk and pushed him up to early. Turns out he was tipping pitches. Love me some Jomboy clips.

Here is my plan. 1) re-sign McDuffie 2/8, McManus 2/5, and Slaton 2/7. 2)Trade Jaire post June 1 2026 3rd rounder and trade Romeo Doubs for a 2026 conditional 4th 3) Sign Chris Godwin 4/100, I think the Bengals use a 2nd tag on Higgins. Godwin doesn't drop balls, has good size, and would be a great possession reliever for us. 2nd option Davante Adams 2/40 (jets cut) 4) Sign Ryan Kelly 2/24 He might be past his prime but the veteran experience could be huge up the middle. 2nd option James Daniels 3/40? Could play C or shift Rhyan there 5) CB Paulson Adebo, 3/24 Broke his femur, but at 26 he the ability to be a solid #2 CB if doc's reports are good. 2nd option Bryon Murphy 3/42 more expensive but had 6 picks last year. Draft 1) CB Benjamin Morrison. Adebo and Morrison replace Jaire and Stokes. There are probably 4-5 solid CB I like who could go here depending on the next couple months. 2) WR Jaydin Higgins. Big, productive, probably a good blocker. Godwin, Reed, Watson, and Higgins make a super scary recieving Corp. 3) NT Nazir Stackhouse We love our Georgia guys here is a Slaton replacement with some long term ability to replace Kenny Clark. 4)CB Jordan Hancock Can't go wrong with OSU corners. 5)T Logan Brown. Former Badger with interesting upside. In the 5th, would provide solid depth and upside. 6) TE CJ Dippre. With Musgrave injuries some more TE depth would be nice. 7)WR Jamaal Pritchett. Small but could be a solid upside pick who could contribute as a return man early. I think we will probably have 2 more 7ths but I'll leave at at this.

I think as of now we have 50ish million in salary cap space and can free up 20+ million with a couple simple restructures. Top free agents include Josh Myers, Isiah McDuffie, TJ Slaton, Brandon McManus, and Eric Stokes (some other minor players) We can also save decent money with a post June 1 cut/trade of Jaire Alexander (like 6.8 million before June 1 and 17.1 post June 1). Obviously it is hard to figure out how much a free agent will get on the market but let's here it.

The Blue Jays just took Myles Straw from the Guardians for 2 million international bonus, that would seem like a get Roki style move. Maybe we can just swoop in and take some of the Blue Jays (or Dodgers) previously signed players and find a Quero who signs for a smaller amount.

Bob Uecker was my greatest idol growing up. When I 1st was 7 I got a radio and had my radio adjusted perfectly to listen to the Brewers and not alarm my parents. That was 1994 so the teams were bad but Bob Uecker single handedly made years of terrible baseball entertaining for me. Listening to blowouts were as good as close games. I know American Family Insurance is paying alot for the naming rights to the Stadium but I whole-hearted believer that they should rename the Stadium Uecker Field/Park/Stadium what ever.

Alfaro seems like a perfect signing as mentor for Quero in AAA and as protection if we need a catcher to call up earlier in the year. I think Haase fits our needs as a backup catcher perfectly, if he goes 0-4 with 3 k's one game and then 2-4 with a big hit then next game he plays that is fine. He isn't a great defensive catcher but he is good enough to give William a day off when necessary and enough of a veteran to do what is needed. He can also be a decent pinch hitter against lefties when needed.

The Red Sox have a lot of starting options, it is a nice idea but my guess is that the Sox would be looking for relief or middle infield help. Obviously they probably would have to add Arenado or Bregman to make Casas available I would mind the framework of that deal, I might try and swap Black out for a reliever or prospect.

I would love to get Lowe but Frelick is to much to give up maybe add in Pete Fairbanks and we can send a lesser reliever their way.

I am interested to see how his stuff progresses as he moves through the system. Being drafted throwing up to 95 with the high spin breaking balls there is clearly top of the rotation starter potential. If he can get a bit more consistent with control and develop the changeup (stay healthy) he will be a very nice pitcher in the bigs. If he can add a couple mph and sit like 95-96 there is likely some ace potential to be had. He seems like a guy who should be a level a year and have a chance to be in the bigs at 22 if things go to plan (some for Bishop Letson).

It will be more next year when we pay Woody $10 likely not to be on the team (unless we extend him during the season)

I think Megill can be a solid closer, but for how long is the question, I agree an injury could cause him mechanical issues for sure. I just think he is a guy who is great when throwing 98-100 but when he loses a couple mph he will be done quickly. At 31, he has maybe 2-3 good years and then I would expect him to decline if an injury doesn't get him sooner. Basically I am not worried about him this year or even next year but long term is iffy. He probably would be a great trade candidate after the year if he has a successful year (free agent after 2027) and Yoho and/or Uribe are looking like we hope.