UpandIn

Agreed(mostly). He was throwing the ball much better. Not trying to put as much touch on it every play. His throw to Davis was a bit high, but hit him in both hands. The pick on the Doubs play was I thought a great play by the CB to take it away, but also a great throw and a weird fluke play that...it's pretty much impossible to put on the QB. Love did have the poor throw to Winfree where he got lucky, so two throws that should have been picked...one that was, but apparently WRers ran the wrong route, so it's always a bit tough to tell as we just see the end result. Should have eaten the other one...but he didn't. The back shoulder to Davis was also an obvious adjustment and...PERFECTLY encapsulated his growth. 49ers showed blitz, mugged the A gaps(same thing KD did all game last year year). Saw Davis had man coverage and threw a back shoulder pass to give his WRer a chance. Rodgers does that and we're all applauding what a smart throw it was, knowing the CB was running with him and he was giving his WRer a chance with pressure coming. It's night and day different. You can see what people there every day in camp are talking about. I've been there a few times, but it's a bit of a drive for me. He made some mistakes, but I really liked that adjustment and I loved the way he was just letting it rip. Especially playing against quite a few of the 49ers rotational players. Getting the ball, throwing it on time for the most part.

I only mentioned Turang and Frelick as I think they're safer bets than Mitchell and Weimer to have impacts next season, both of whom I anticipate taking a little longer to adjust. With regard to Ruiz, I just don't know a whole lot about him and haven't ever seen him or really followed him. Just the scouting reports and the big breakout year he had. He certainly does look like a candidate to maybe be the #9 hitter. Hits for power, steals bases and if his adjustments this year are legit, it's that kinda double leadoff hitter we were aiming for when we used to hit the pitcher 8th. Now...if only we could figure out how to get like...90% of '18-'19 Yelich back!

I know speed and batting average is so...old school, but damn, it's sure be nice to be able to put Frelick and Turang atop the order. Hit .280, draw some walks, steal some bases...put some pressure on the opposing pitchers and defense. And it doesn't hurt that they're not exactly butchers with the glove.

I really don't care if we are 4-5 games back after the Dodgers series, even then saying the season is "over" is...silly. A 90 MPH slider that didn't move and was probably in the reddest part of Goldschmidt's zone was the difference tonight. I don't think we're dropping 4-5 games back, but hypothetically, that'd be with 45 games left. And...this team does tend to play the best in Sept. Things suck right now, we're not playing well. We're still got a VERY good team and our #4 pitcher just got beat. I think things are fine with Burnes and Ashby going, the later going against a pitcher we've done pretty well against. The fatalism is a bit over the top...but it's also a Game Thread. But it's spilling over quite a bit more.

Yeah, I suppose. I haven't really even started to think about the WC yet. I still think we're the best team in the Division, Counsell will get this team rolling in Craigtember(god that's corny...but I'm good with it) and I think we win the division and end up the #3 seed. If WE'RE healthy and playing well, I'm less concerned with the other teams. But you're obviously objectively right. I just have faith in this organization and this team. I have no doubt the playoff race will play into the schadenfreude many Brewers fans feel(particularly those on Twitter who were getting it from SD fans).

Oof...that is BRUTAL. That's about as tough as it gets. Being a Pads fan, you go from the high of getting Hader, Bell and Soto, Tatis Jr coming back... Hader has a blow up again and then...Tatis pops. Just rough.

It's not just about WRers getting open, it's about them getting open ON TIME. Yeah, they'll uncover eventually, but for all the hype about the Badgers OL the last 4-5 years...it really hasn't been that good. Mertz has been getting lit up on a regular basis. PS, ND, IND, Iowa and Michigan, they've...abused him. It reminds me of Love vs KC...and the Packers OL without Jenkins and Bahktiari. So many plays when we have 4 to block 4 and there's just a basic breakdown and a backer comes on a delayed blitz and the Guard doesn't pick him up. Things that you need an elite QB, a smart QB or a mobile QB to overcome. The Badgers OL, good as it's been historically, it hasn't been a good pass blocking OL in a while now. Not giving Mertz a pass. He's been a disappointment, but if the OL is good this year, I think Mertz will settle in. And god knows it should be with most of our best recruits the last few years being OL...or OLBers.

Agreed. There's only so many starters you can run out there who throw in the upper 90s(and we do seem to try and add as many as possible). You hope you hit on Misiorowski, Gasser...I'd say Kelly, but we've moved on. But Ashby, Peralta, and keep developing, maybe you get some power arms back from Burnes/Woodruff, but the Brewers newfound ability to scout and develop pitching is why I don't believe our entire future the next decade comes down to Burnes/Woodruff's arbitration. Some TOR arms and then you've gotta fill the back of the rotation with the Smith's and Henderson's of the world. And maybe they exceed expectations, add a couple MPH and become Eric Lauer's. I'll enjoy the Burnes/Woody future, maybe...we can actually re-sign one(chances ranging from unlikely to impossible) but we're seeing a system with guys who've been exceeding expectations, I like the idea of continual success and cheap #4/5 swing men, middle relief, that plays a huge role.

Binelas has been putting together a real solid season this year in HiA, struggled in AA, but all told, .208/.317/.444 with 22 HRs and 8/0 SB/CS with most of his production coming at HiA...but man, as much as I'd like to see him in the farm system manning 3rd with black at 2nd, pretty good bargain to unload JBJ and get Renfroe back. Hamilton on the other hand...He's also been playing almost exclusively 1B and in AA from what I can tell. So the questionable glove hasn't played up. Hamilton, he's...stolen a lot of bases, little power, but an incredible deal. Great deal by Stearns, though slightly off topic.

Scherzer wasn't being paid last year IIRC and the Dodgers only ended up paying the final 15M of his deferred money(Which was a lot of his money). But they got two elite prospects that the Brewers just...didn't have last year at this time. Who WERE the top 100 prospects we had last year? Again, maybe Mitchell and Turang? That's not on the same level as Ruiz, Gray and the two other fliers they got back. Particularly last year.

I don't get how you can make that distinction. The All-Star SS was every bit the headliner as Scherzer. That was the protection against Seager leaving. As for trading for Gallo...yeah, that I'm sure would have gone over REAL well. Trading away a better prospect, which, by the way, the Dodgers have....what, 6 or 7 guys in the top 100 right now and a much more highly regarded system -but trading FOR, never mind who we traded away, trading for a guy hitting .159 with a .282 OBP? That wouldn't have made anyone happier. And sure. Bell was a throw in. And when you're getting back Abrams, Gore, Hassell and a couple other incredibly talented young players, you're really gonna risk that to make a trade with the Brewers?

Nah...we're good!

Trea Turner 2.0, new and...slightly worse, but still pretty damn good!

When are we talking about when there were fewer competitive teams? It seems like with 12 playoff teams, there are more competitive teams now than there's ever been.

I really can't imagine a scenario in which Turner would have been available at this deadline. He's just too valuable to the Dodgers. He's their best player(or their most valuable IMO). And if you're going back to last year...well, what prospects did we have? Our system has elevated quite a bit the last year and I think we should be in a hoarding phase right now. Trying to build that farm up, get a top 5 farm system and if they can't re-sign Burnes or Woody(which I don't anticipate them doing)...I feel pretty good about the talent this team has coming up. Especially if the latest Juco kid is as good as people are saying, Gasser, Ashby and a whole bunch of arms. I think we'll see some trades and maneuvering with some of our prospects this off-season. Maybe we trade a Weimer/Ruiz or whoever, but I don't think we'll be trading away the type of talent needed to acquire someone like Trea Turner unless they have more team control.

His ERA in the 6th inning this year is 1.93. Now...that's only 9 1/3 IP...but that's also about a quarter of the innings Hader has thrown ALL year. The most valuable thing you can have in baseball is a true ace. It's really nice to have a dominant closer...but it's not even NEARLY as valuable. For his career, the only innings he's been better in are the 2nd and then the 8th inning. 6th inning, he's been pretty dominant. A reliever is like an...Guard in the NFL. You don't move a pitcher(or Offensive linemen) there unless you they fail as a starter(or an OT). Woody has not only NOT failed as a starter, he's thrived. He's one of the two main reasons this team has a chance to win a World Series.

They've got go further this year AND next year? I'd think if they just go further this year and maybe Ruiz looks good, then by next year Gasser is throwing out of the pen and looking good...we could have something. Lamet looking good for the Rockies is another twist is all this that is gonna be annoying.

It's weird. But he was so filthy in his last outing vs Boston and then his first outing for the Pads. First couple. But it's weird. I will use this on Twitter either way though as I'm so sick of the "the Brewers gave up" crowd. Matt Bush was dominant last night and Hader was terrible. Not sure I believe it's more than he's just going through another little mini-slump, but I'm not above being petty. That's what Twitter was made for.

Brice Turang says 0...but, I'll say 20%. I do think both could be in Milwaukee in 3-4 years and productive...and maybe before that.

Agreed. And all those prospects, it was the throw in that really ended up playing well elsewhere. People weren't big fans of Lawrie even though he accumulated a pretty good WAR, but it was mostly based on his defense. The trade I didn't like was Sabathia. I thought Greinke would have been better at that time(and they were shopping him). Team control. But CC got us into the playoffs and no other pitcher that year would have. Also with you on the Pads. I hope they enjoy what they've got now. It COULD really crush them in the future(or they re-load and they're fine, who knows, but it looks like the prior). But that's for 3 years from now. I also DO think the Brewers can still win it. The way Bush looked tonight? Absolutely filthy. Get him, Rogers and Rosenthal going with the starters, we could easily get hot at the right time. Get in, you got a chance.

Sacrifice a Chicken? Cleanse Hiura and Yelich's bats of the strikeouts?

Sure...and I believe they were probably trying to do that. I think they got Ruiz to flip him for another bat(complete guess on my behalf) and then when the trade Attanasio talked about fell apart, Stearns had to try and salvage the BP and quickly moved to get Bush and Rosenthal. BUT, with regard to Soto, never wanted that type of deal. I'll be honest, I didn't even want the CC type of deal. If you're gonna "go for it," it's gotta be a Bryan Reynolds or a stud with 2+ years left and not the over the top haul Soto would have cost. Still...I see what I think are a lot of residual passive-aggressive comments relitigating the Brewers deadline moves(in response to more aggressive-aggressive comments) doing the 'see, going for it hasn't worked out,' in response to the, 'Mark A won't spend money,' comments. I view what the Brewers are doing now to what they did in the early days of Rodgers(sports are a bad match, but I'll get there). They were building great for the future, little bad luck. Then, Finley and Collins career ending injuries. Now, Yelich and Hiura career altering...issues nobody would expect. But they were always kinda playing it safe, looking at the big picture and you always just wanted that ONE move. Not one that'd wreck your cap or blow up the farm, just a little more urgency. Sometimes, you've gotta go out and force the action a bit. You can still win a trade even if you "lose it," and again, CC. 4.9WAR for CC(which is crazy in ~3 months). 24.0WAR for Brantley is a big loss, but that was also a big season. Even the Rays have made the occasional "go for it" move...in their own small way. This year was just NOT the year to do that. There was almost nothing available offensively, but there's a lot of rigidity among some. And to be honest, Stearns has done a little of that. Yelich, Cain AND they had a 9 figure offer on the table to Yu Darvish that year.

Eh, the Lauer/Urias trade I'm happy with...and we've "lost" that one as of now. The kinda "told ya so," with the "all-in" trades are a bit mis-leading. We got back Segura for Greinke(plus two pitching prospects who have high upside) and then Diaz for Segura who we helped flip to get Yelich. I don't know what the Sabathia trade looks like, but it's gotta be overwhelmingly in favor of Cleveland and I don't think you can quantify that just by WAR only with the team. Hell, if the Yankees don't swoop in to sign Tex, that may end up being the greatest sequence of transactions in Brewers history! I don't think the takeaway is don't go "all in," which is really just code for being aggressive, it's pick your spots and understand it'll cost you in the future.

I can't square this. If it's nonsense that he's not being used correctly, why is he in there starting vs lefties and then lifted when a RHed pitcher comes in? That kinda seems like they're completely ignoring his current trends and...using him incorrectly.