Brewcrew82

Typical Dodgers/big market fan thinking. That deal is an insult. If the Brewers were to trade Burnes right now, the deal would have to look something like this: Bobby Miller, Miguel Vargas, Nick Nastrini (or Outman and Sheehan).

Roof maintenance is by far the biggest expense for the stadium. A good chunk of the funds will go there. And, as landlord, the state is responsible for footing the bill. Plus, the Brewers leaving would cost the state significantly more than $290 million...Loss of payroll taxes alone pretty much gets you there. You sure have a heck of lot more trust than I (and I would argue most people) do in the government using the funds in a way that actually solves issues. Finally, the Brewers would definitely leave if Am Fam is not renovated. A's are pretty much headed to Las Vegas at this point, while the Rays and St. Petersburg are working towards an agreement on a replacement for Tropicana Field. Once those situations are resolved, probably within the next year or two, the Brewers would be next up if the state reneges on its preexisting contractual obligations. If you want to have a professional sports team in your city, this is the way things work. I don't like it, and I certainly wouldn't just hand Attanasio and co. a blank check, but I want my elected representatives to get this done as the cost of the Brewers leaving far exceeds the benefit of "saving" $290 million.

Lol. No I'm not Jake. I just want to win as many games as possible this season and believe that rostering Jake over Wilson starting on OD would help with that. As far as Wilson being no less promising than Lauer, I strongly disagree: Lauer (2018-2019 w/ SD): 4.40 ERA/108 ERA-/103 FIP-/3.1 fWAR Wilson (2021-2022 w/ PIT&ATL): 5.47 ERA/131 ERA-/127.5 FIP/0 fWAR Lauer was still a strong back-end starter w/ SD, while Wilson has been objectively terrible by every measure since 2021. And, as Brock highlighted, there's nothing in his profile to suggest that he'll drastically improve on those numbers.

I don't get why people keep bringing up the X-Golf thing. Brewers paid for that with their own money. The planned use of the funds from the state is available online. Most of it is going to go to maintenance, such as roof repairs, etc. You know, stuff that a landlord (which the state is in this situation) is generally responsible for.... It's but $290 million of a $7 billion dollar surplus. If the state demurs, the Brewers will leave, and the state will lose even more than that.

Right, because we can trust the government to actually spend the funds on one of those "pressing needs"... State will lose more money from the Brewers leaving than they'll gain by not paying $290 million of a $7 billion annual budget surplus for stadium renovations which they're contractually responsible for providing as the landlord in the relationship.

Yeah. I just don't see it with Wilson. Unlike some of our other reclamation projects, there's not much to work with here imo. Would be a shame if they felt compelled to keep him on the roster over a guy such as Cousins.

By far the biggest mistake on Gard’s part was having two defenders inside the paint in that situation. Even if they get a layup there, you can just toss the ball to the other end of the court on the ensuing inbound, and the game is over. Inexcusable. Now, Purdue becomes a must-win.

No they are not. If they beat Purdue and Minnesota they are definitely in. It was a horrific loss, but not a season-ending one. That being said, Jordan Davis has served his purpose as a Badger by getting us Johnny. Time for him and a couple others to leave.

Wow. Keep putting it in the air, Garrett!

lol Peguero Vargas isn't even going to swing, and you walk him...

Meh. We dispatched them pretty easily the last time we met in the playoffs. And they're a much worse team now.

WHY IS COUNSELL BATTING MITCHELL LEADOFF OVER FRELICK!!! Sorry, couldn't resist. lol. Had to have the first lineup freakout of the season.

That's why I said, "until last year". Ottavino's BB%'s from 2017-2021: 16%, 11.7%, 14.1%, 10.6%, 13%. And Ottavino was still a really good pitcher most of those years...Cousins has walk issues, yes, but they're not that dissimilar from Ottavino's before last year. And his peripherals are very solid. "Their success against him was largely on the back of a .392 BABIP." Well, Ottavino also has a career .796 OPS against LHH, nearly 200 points higher than against RHH..... More diverse arsenal than Cousins? I suppose, though that doesn't change the fact that they're both heavy slider/sinker pitchers... Far from a pointless comparison. Fact of the matter is that Cousins has been one of our best relievers over the past two seasons when healthy. Stashing him in AAA for the sake of keeping Bryse Wilson on the roster would be silly.

Counterpoint: Adam Ottavino, who Cousins has a similar arsenal to in terms of relying almost exclusively on a mid 90s two-seamer and a sharp, biting slider, put up the following splits last season: .301/.358/.479/.837 vs. RHP; .160/.226/.253/.479 So, like Cousins, Ottavino also has sharp splits largely due to his reliance on his slider. Yet, Ottavino was one of the best relievers in the majors last year as the set-up man for Edwin Diaz (and has been really good before then). Yes, you probably don't want to use him in situations with multiple lefties up and he could stand to improve his control (which is quite similar to Ottavino before last year fwiw), but Cousins has proven himself to be a capable high-leverage arm with the ability to rack-up K's in droves. A tandem with Strzelecki and Cousins in the 6th/7th innings could be lethal. I have no idea why the Brewers would want to stash him in AAA in favor of Bryse Wilson.

I think Cousins and Strzelecki are definitely same tier, meaning guys who are right after Devin and Bush in the bullpen pecking order due to their combination of results and strikeout ability. Strzelecki has better control, as you say, but Cousins also has superior strikeout ability. Their peripherals are very similar as well. Again, we're talking about a guy who has already proven himself at the major league level (in some high leverage spots no less) and who has been probably our 4th best reliever since 2021 (after Hader, Devin, and Boxberger). I see tremendous downside in trying to be cute and stash him in AAA just so you can keep a guy like Bryse Wilson and his 5.54 ERA. I do think there's a possibility that the Brewers will adopt your perspective, but that would be a real mistake imo.

There's also a fine line to walk here. A case could certainly be made that stashing Cousins in AAA just so you can keep a guy like Bryse Wilson and his career 5.54 ERA (232 innings) crosses that line. Games in April are every bit as important as games in August or September. Last year was a good teacher in that sense.

It's so sad that I can think of at least 5 games we had no business losing last year off the top of my head.

Devin walked almost as much, but, like Cousins, is able to overcome it due to his strikeout ability. Cousins’ peripherals were strong too, with a 3.19 FIP and 3.24 xERA. I don’t understand having Strzelecki as a lock or not even having Cousins as part of the competition with Payamps, Guerra, or Varland.

I sort of get what you mean, but we are just about the last team that should be worrying about how adding more talent impacts the walk-ons right now...Either they use it as fuel to compete for playing time, or they move on. But no way in heck should we be turning down transfers because it might upset one of our walk-on players.

Cousins is hurt by the fact that he has options remaining, but when healthy, he's probably been our 3rd/4th best reliever over the past two seasons. He also has high-leverage experience. Varland has a lot more to prove, as we would have to play the rule 5 game with him the entire season.

And how many 18 year olds played in AA last season. How many have played there in the last decade?

While Klesmit and Davis are set to return, I’m not sure that’s an obstacle for Blackwell to get minutes. Klesmit in particular has been a godsend this year due to his defense and toughness. But I think Blackwell will manage to find a role as someone who can help negate our long-standing issues with athletic guards who can penetrate inside and drive to the rim. Not to mention he can play the point as well. I appreciate Kamari and Jordan, but Kamari is too small for most guards and Jordan is too inconsistent. Blackwell may not receive many minutes in the beginning of the season and may even pick up a DNP or two, but I think he eventually finds his way into playing time due to his defensive skill set. Especially for a defensive-oriented program such as UW.

Yeah. The more I study Cousins, the more I'm thinking he could be Adam Ottavino 2.0, with the mid 90s sinker to complement his devastating, sharp slider. Needless to say, that would be a big development for this team.

Whispers about Andrew Rhode, from Brookfield, transferring to us from St. Thomas after the season. 6'6 Freshman guard averaging 16.2 points and 3.8 assists per game. Put up 15 against Creighton and 16 against Utah. He'd be a perfect addition at the starting 3 spot next to Connor and Chucky, which also would enable Klesmit to come off the bench. Then, if Wahl comes back for his COVID year, you'd have 4 guys who can pass the rock really well in the starting lineup between Rohde, Wahl, Hepburn, and Crowl, with Connor leading the scoring charge. That being said, we have to cross our fingers and hope that none of those guys transfer after the season, while one other scholarship player transfers out (Davis? Hodges? Ilver?), Would be nice if we didn't have Gilmore on scholarship, but I doubt they're taking him off at this point. Incoming freshman class should also add some real punch to the bench, too. Gus, I anticipate, will leap over Gilmore for the top reserve big, while Blackwell could find his way into key minutes at guard because of his length and defensive ability. Winter is difficult to get a read on. I think he has the most potential in the class, and he's really upped his game during his senior season, but that frame has me thinking he should redshirt. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if he ends up forcing his way into the rotation. As I've stated before, a big spring and summer ahead for Gard, between trying to eke this team into the tournament and close in on our top transfer portal and 2024 targets. If he succeeds, this program will be set up really well to take the next step. If he has a repeat of last summer, then this season could represent the beginning of the end for him.

Agreed. Though, I'm still mystified why they kept Cousins down in AAA as long as they did. Did he really take that long to recover from his injury? Because he's probably been our 3/4th best reliever over the past two years when healthy. Between Strzelecki and Cousins, and then Devin and Bush, I'm optimistic about our ability to hold down leads in the later innings. Would love the bullpen even more if it included Ashby, but hopefully he can return in May/June and star there.