Brewcrew82

Except no one here is writing off the Cardinals. We're just saying that it's highly improbable at this point, and that there are bigger worries.

Context is key my friend. In baseball as in life. Can we count the Cardinals out completely? No. Should we be worried about them right now? Also, no.

They also have to jump a lot more teams now than they did then due to their position in the standings...And they're currently 14 games below .500. The 2011 team never crept below .500 after mid-April. That Cardinals team was solid for most of the season and got insanely hot at the end. This Cardinals team isn't good and has shown no signs that they're going to have the sort of hot stretch they need to propel themselves into playoff contention. Can we count them out? no Should we be worried about them right now? Also, no.

Those Cardinals weren't in nearly as bad a position in the standings or pitching/defense-wise as the current iteration...

Yelich has just matched his fWAR (2.2) from last year in less than half the games played. Not even halfway into the season, Yelich is worth as much as he has been since 2019…

Artificial turf these days is effectively grass. We're a long ways removed from Astroturf. Recent ballparks with retractable roofs like ours, such as Texas and Miami, have artificial turf.

Yikes. Would be fun if we decided to win some games instead of losing 6 straight.

Free Clayton Andrews/Abner Uribe!

Just under two months until the deadline. We're in first place and suddenly playing good ball with significant positive regression and injury returns seemingly forthcoming. At this point, it seems pretty unlikely we'll be sellers, and with the way things are trending, "buying" appears to be our likely course. Should we indeed become "buyers" in what is almost certainly the final year of the Burnes/Woodruff/Adames window, what do you think we should primarily be in the market for? My current trade deadline "shopping list" for the Brewers: 1) Outfielder/Right-handed masher: We're set in LF with Yelich and Wiemer is on his way to solidifying one of the two remaining OF spots. Anderson is a solid option in RF and Frelick is on the mend and almost certainly going to factor into the discussion during the stretch, however, with Taylor likely headed for TJ surgery, we're seemingly short of a veteran OFer. Particularly one who hits from the right-side and doesn't have reverse splits. To me, the perfect fit here would be Ramon Laureano from the A's. Currently sporting a 1.4 bWAR and slashing a sublime .300/.340/.520/.860 against LHP. 2) Designated Hitter: We also need to figure out DH, a position that has really been holding us back offensively this year. Winker is currently on rehab and hit his first HR of the year today, but it's still a major question whether he can return to something close to his career norms. Ruf was a great add from the right-side and an improvement over Voit, but he banged up his knee pretty bad the other night. Who knows how long he'll be out for and how that will affect him. And then you have the true wild card, Keston Hiura. Hard not to be inspired by his contact gains in AAA, but, again, he's mashed there before and is currently on the IL. Perhaps a reunion w/ Andrew McCutchen in in store? Having a resurgent season with a .816 OPS and getting on-base really well. Would cost less than Laureano as a "rental". 3) High-leverage Reliever: Obviously, every contender is always in need of more relief pitching. We're clearly set at closer w/ Devin and Strzelecki/Payamps/Peguero have been really solid in their opportunities in high-leverage. Still, we could probably use one more reliever with great stuff to serve as a bridge to Devin. Abner Uribe could potentially fill this need without having to look to outside the organization. However, if Uribe doesn't prove ready for prime-time or one of our high-leverage guys gets injured, it might be worth getting involved in the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes. Overall, I think these are pretty clearly our three biggest priorities right now. Starting pitching depth could still become a need, but we've had pretty good news on that front lately with Miley, Lauer, and Woodruff. Gasser is spinning the ball better these days, too. In terms of prospect capital, I think we should be willing to discuss all players not named Chourio, Quero, and Misiorowski.... Thoughts?

Another shot. Not saying to give him a long leash. We've got Singleton playing right now.

If he's hitting homers now, you gotta give him another shot as opposed to just DFAing him when he comes off the IL.

If we can get the rotation back in line with expectations as the season goes on, then I think we've got the Central division pretty well solidified.

Absolutely devastating for the Rangers and DeGrom’s HOF case. I would say the Mets knew what they were doing, but then they went ahead and signed a 40 year old Justin Verlander…

That’s interesting because I actually have high confidence we’ll get meaningful improvement in the rotation when Woody and Miley get healthy and Burnes and Peralta pitch closer to their abilities.

"Extreme homerism" First of all, this is a Brewers fan site. That stuff does tend to appear from time to time. Second of all, how is simply pointing out the models viewing the Brewers as division favorites extreme homerism? That's as neutral and objective as it gets... Finally, what's also not objective is saying the Cardinals' rotation is underperforming close to the extent the Brewers is, as Wiguy has pointed out to you. That's once again just pro-Cardinals spin.

Yeah. Something is clearly wrong with Winker. Suffice to say, he hasn't recovered from neck surgery. Did they rush him back too soon or is he simply done at the age of 29? Should get the answer to this question by what they do with him after this IL stint and whether he can show any semblance of power on rehab. Ready to see what Toro can bring. An offensive breakout like Owen Miller would be nice. The positional versatility over Winker will also be much appreciated.

They actually have a good shot at making a deep run with how the bracket is lined up. Could potentially be the first US men's team to ever make a final at a World Cup. Didn't concede a single goal in the group stage. And they ran roughshod over CONCACAF last summer.

Yeah. I don't see how anyone could reasonably draw the conclusion that the Cardinals are better positioned with their SP right now. The evidence just isn't there. ERA isn't a great stat, but despite everything going wrong in their rotation the Brewers are currently 10th in the majors and the Cardinals are 23rd. I think that pretty well encapsulates things. And the upside for the Brewers with Burnes, Peralta, and eventually Woodruff is so much higher. Brewers right now are tentative favorites followed fairly closely by the Cardinals/Cubs, and behind them the Pirates and Reds. A mediocre division for sure. Still the Brewers can't continue their May play and expect to win the division. Thankfully, due to the extent of injuries and underperformance combined with their current position, there's good reason to think that they won't.

And I take that into account too when I see you swiftly dismiss ERA-, WPA, etc. All the while spinning everything in favor of the Cardinals and against the Brewers despite the Brewers currently being the consensus division favorites by the models. I may not have your quantity of years, but I've lived and died with the Brewers all the same. FWIW, like Wiguy I don't actually question whether you're a Brewers fan....It's just very unusual the lengths you'll go to defend the Cardinals and attack the Brewers sometimes.

Lol. No one is saying the Cardinals are dead. Just that they're not the favorites to win the division at this point and that the Brewers, for all their flaws, are. Which is backed up by the projections. (I don't think anyone is willing to consider the Brewers a shoe-in by any stretch). As Wiguy points out, the Cardinals have factually had less injuries than the Brewers and an easier schedule to this point. Their offense is performing right in line with expectations and yet they've still been mediocre to bad and are 7 games behind the Brewers in the loss column. You consistently going out of your way to qualify these simple facts and twist them in favor of the Cardinals is what's getting others to wonder/joke about your leanings.

Hitting/underperformance and injuries.... Cardinals have been hitting really well and yet are still barely over .500 on the month due to their SP.

I'm a Brewers homer, obviously, but I'm not sure if I see it from them unless they pull one of those 17 game winning streaks out of their hats. Thing that's preventing them from stringing wins together, though, is that one of their SPs is having a blowup start every couple games or so. Not that I think the Brewers are sure bets to clear 90 wins or anything...I'm honestly just as concerned by the Cubs as I am the Cardinals at this point.

They're known for that.

How is the Cards' SP going to improve, though?? Especially when this is shaping up to be one of the weakest deadlines for starting pitching in recent memory... Brewers are experiencing severe underperformance and injuries across their roster and yet are still clear of the Cardinals by 7 games in the loss column. If the Brewers can get healthy (Urias, Woodruff, Frelick, etc.) and get the positive regression they're seemingly due for (Burnes, Peralta, Adames, Taylor, etc.), I think you have to look at them as the favorites to win this weak division.

They actually have the funds remaining for the scoreboard, which needs to be replaced every 10 years like your TV. They don’t for the roof since the 5 county sales tax expired. Hence, why they’re asking the govt, which is the lessor, for the necessary funds.