Joseph Zarr

Agreed. Lara's defense is Turang 2B level but for a much more premium position. He is legitimately a highlight reel on a game-by-game basis. He has just as good an arm as Frelick too. He just turned 21 (11/17) swiped 44 bags. Has a very good OPS for a 20-year-old in the OPS maligned Southern League. Has a very disciplined BB:K ratio. Switch Hits. There is no Brewers world I live in where I don't view Him as, in the very least, a meaningful rotational OF member on the MLB club. AND, we know Pat Murphy absolutely loves Him - and for very good reason. He positively impacts the game in many many ways. With an org placing such an emphasis on plus defense, we could quite easily argue he is the best pure defender in the entire system.

Which also wasn't all that long ago. Amazing time to be a fan of the Brewers organization - definitively, for me at least, just not really solely focused on the MLB team. That's the eye candy high-paying fruit for fans - we all obviously love the MLB Brewers and hope for that World Series opportunity (or opportunities) - but what they are doing on an organizational level is absurdly impressive and simply deserves our admiration and appreciation. They just lost some pitching coaches and coaches who brought their career journeys elsewhere for new opportunities. Will they promote within? Promote within and hire from elsewhere? I expect Arnold and his greater staff to keep humming along with their incredible systems in place - finding more talent to add in to their current and extant mix of managerial and coaching talent. We are in the Golden era as nerds. It is incredible.

Well, he did delete all tweets dating back to 2021 after last night's debacle in Capita(c)l(e). He is listed as an 'NBA Level Athlete' - I don't really visit twitter at all but a small bit during the MiLB season. Did he always list himself this way? I think the NBA higher ups made it quite clear with the way they've manipulated the whistle of Bucks opponents this season: you may not like it but we need you in a bigger market to close your career. All the groundwork was laid by Shams in the off-season. This is blatantly obvious and the NBA knows they have Haslam and Horts to screw anything and everything up beyond Hort's ability to find meaningful fringe FA and UDFA roster additions. SO, given that this certainly appears to be the way this is headed - Bucks paying three coaches and employing the worst HC and coaching staff (very arguably) in the NBA - while completely fumbling Giannis' late years as a Buck driving Him to request a trade, I have to lean on Horts and his general incompetence (certainly his lack of autonomy to execute GM duties - I think we all know he has stayed as long as he has because he is a consummate 'Yes' man fall guy personality). The team I keep hearing that matches up best is Atlanta - their young assets and their draft capital. The obvious headliner would be Jalen Johnson and some premium draft capital. Given this, I can't help but think Horts will do right by his aging superstar and headline around Kennard and Porzingis and a handful of second rounders. Feels on brand. Maybe then sign Glenn to a three year extension to give Him a chance fight for that coveted play-in scenario? Spit balling here. Either way, I'll be extremely happy for Giannis if he can find a workable scenario giving him another chance at rings. This organization never deserved his amazingness but man did we luck out and he gave us fans an unlikely Championship ring - never ever thought I'd see that day in my lifetime - and did he give his heart and Soul as a representative of the city. I fully expect the Bucks and their higher ups to absolutely undoubtedly fumble this entire situation magnificently. Never. Trust. The. Bucks. I have clearly thrown in the towel. 😅 Here I was just hoping and praying we could get Buy-Out Khash back in the fold for a run...Glenn can't even manage that. Good god he is such a tragically bad NBA basketball coach.

UPDATE: Spencer and I intend to record episode #1 next week Thursday (12/11). As per last year, episode one will be the full macro run down of affiliate season results; releases and trades; any ML free agent signings; brief Rule 5 recap, and then zeroing in specifically on the adSL/ACL squads and seasons etc. I'd say "We'll try to keep it short and sweet..." but, let's be real: this will likely be our longest episode.😅

Hey now, Mr. Ray! Just a few years after his first opportunity coaching at the Cubs' Low-A affiliate (Myrtle Beach - Carolina League) and after a season as the Cubs' ACL manager and system base running coordinator, old friend OF Corey Ray is now an MLB coach!

Well, that still may happen right? They opened up One spot today and they'll IR Wyatt to open another:

Oh it gets a little more enticing, even. They activated hyper athlete blitz specialist in rookie LB Collin Oliver too:

Neat. Just hope both can stay healthy. They both offer unique explosiveness.

Well, it certainly appears there is very strong( and multiple) interest in one MLB returning RHP Cody Ponce. Lengthy write-up HERE (discussing his velo bump to 94-96 avg touching 98 as well as kick change and splitter adds). Of note, is his likely massive incoming pay bump: 😯

KPJ has returned to the basketball court in the Bucks starting line-up. Was absolutely not expecting that so soon! Let's hope they can start winning some games again.

The Bears run game has become Johnson's opus this season as he's recognized Williams massive step back and drop inefficiencies. He has the O-Line for it and they've made a living out of ground and pound with pre snap movements and PA/roll outs. They are a well oiled running machine right now. It's a game where the Packers are going to need to drill and adhere to disciplined lane assignments - no wandering eyes with all the movement eye candy and Edge defenders holding stout. They'll need Edge to lower his missed tackles; a healthy Quay (here's hoping) or one of those stalwart McDuffie games he absolutely showcases, the same rising star in Evan Williams to keep showing out, and a game of games from Bullard. I have no idea how they'll strategize replacing Wyatt but I have to think they'll be giving Stackhouse reps early to see if he can hold up and impact their run game in any manner - I don't know tho as the Bears O-Line often moves as a wall as their TE's burst through untouched to second level defenders. Not an ideal game One after losing Wyatt for the season that is for sure. It will be very interesting to see what Hafley and his stuff lean into. As an aside, this was a very fun watch and more validation for MLF the play caller and quick study. Fantastic multiple attack concepts for a flaw they surely saw in the Detroit/Giants game: Very encouraging stuff. We can only hope we see similar impact and results next weekend.

Any fan of the Packers/Beers historic rivalry has to Love this opportunity. Ben Johnson's opening introductory presser comments will surely be good bulletin material for the Packers locker room. The loss of Wyatt feels fairly large for this One with the Bears coming off 300 plus ground yards at Philly. That is an absolute ground game whooping..

2025 Brewers Spring Training Legend INF Vinny Capra finds a new Home

Jim, I have to Hans(el) it to you. That was some leg work!

Personally, I'm just ready for the Bucks to complete the Holy trinity of incompetent and incapable NBA HC's: fire Doc and hire Monty, of course. I couldn't think of a more desperately hilarious next Bucks outcome if I tried. It's pretty obvious this current Bucks team can't win without the gravity and amazingness of Giannis. They definitely can't win without the gravity of Giannis compounded by the absence of KPJ's ability to break defenses down. If you pair these current roster IL woes with the ongoing foul and FT disparities and general reffing inequities every night and a coaching staff offering absolutely nothing in terms of a team identity on either end then, well, then you get a team miraculously down 21 at Home to a Portland team on their second leg (on the road, none the less) of a B2B. @adambr2: I absolutely echo your sentiments. It's a sad realization, sure, but Giannis absolutely deserves wayyyyy better.

Two days from today (11/26) last year, the Brewers signed RHP Jon Duplantier. They went on to release Him for a stint with the NPB's Hanshin Tigers. I was a wee heartbroken as I'd always wanted Duplantier to get a chance to resurrect his career with the Brewers. He was fantastic for Hanshin in this past season. 90 2/3 IP. 6-3 overall record. 113:20 K:BB ratio. 1.39 ERA. Will the Brewers get another chance to bring him aboard? We will likely start seeing signings roll in within the next week.

This is maybe the very first time I've seen a prospect-head laud Adamczewski's defense above a high-ranked Brewers prospect like Adams - who I personally think can really shine at first base and has had great moments there; his inconsistent 3B play is what 'concerns' and has 'concerned' me. Honestly, it's about time the narrative shifts form Josh to a more reasonable body of takes. Is he a plus fielder there? No, I don't think so. But he definitely makes the vast majority of plays he should make and occasionally the surprising one. He certainly isn't losing any games because of defense in other words. He's not a glove first player and he definitely suffers from the occasional head-scratching error like any young player. We all know he is a plus plus bat profile first player. I remember earlier this off-season (I think it was Dykstra from MLB) a well-known prospect evaluator hinted that Josh's move to LF was mainly based on his near unplayability at 2B. It was an outlandishly inaccurate statement - the Brewers finally moved him to LF to diversify ways of getting his bat in the line up having a glut of high ranked middle infielders who profile more athletically up the middle. There's a bit of a log jam. It's refreshing seeing Callis both share he looked comfortable in LF but also saying this:

Someone even gave a random RHP Paul Hoff mention in the comments?!? Brewers fans constantly surprise me with their depth of knowledge of the greater Minor League system. Was not expecting to see that!

I snuck it by you, Jim! Blue font! Sneaky!

These are great so far, gents. Love these and could quite easily riff on these questions alone for a good hour (apiece!🤭).I Kid! 😮

My Wild are suddenly on a heater since Zuccarello's return to the line up. Wallstedt is having a major bounce back year as he states his case for future #1 GK. Just beat the Penguins 5-0 @ Pittsburgh. I'm going to treat this current heater like my Stanley Cup finals. I know the drill in the end. 😅

All I can say with near certainty is C Alex Jackson will likely go through a prolonged slump littered with massive swings and misses this season in his back-up role BUT he will also likely hit an absolute pull shot NUKE at some point. I can see that brief crack high aftermath now between Falvey and Zoll up in their Box:

It is the year 2025 and two MLB teams just traded for C Alex Jackson and OF Joey Wiemer. On the same day, more or less!

This AI assist lends me to believe a team could actually stash a Rule 5 drafted player on the IL all season long and punt the minimum 90-Day active until the next season (assuming he fulfilled 40-Man roster status, obviously) the R