BrewerFan

https://shepherdexpress.com/sports/brew-crew-confidential/messy-divorce-brewers-paul-molitor/

That guy is just another FREAK from Tennessee. They produce absolute monsters. Milton is 6'5, 240, can throw it a 85, had the 2nd hardest thrown ball in NFL history(that they've recorded) on a throw he was scrambling to his left and threw back across to the right and hit a Pats WR diving out of bounds in the EZ for a TD. Kinda a dream or a nightmare backup. He's going to show fans some amazing things in camp and but he'll need a few years yet to develop(a theme with Tenn QBs).

I thought about it. AGAIN, Selig game in town to try and offer Molitor the arbitration he originally hoped to get, he offered him a 2 year deal. But in the meantime, Bando had made a trade for Dante Bichette and called HIM their new DH. THEN when crying poor(They had spent pretty wildly the previous few years) but Bando offers Jesse Orosco a 1M a year deal and he offered Molitor, who'd made 3.2M 1.3M. Molitor, who repeatedly said, he desperately wanted to stay in Milwaukee said he'd have taken anything even remotely competitive. That offer, again, didn't come until right before the deadline when Selig tried to get Molitor to agree to arbitration. By this time, Molitor had already signed the 2/9M deal that was ~4X the offer the Brewers made. If you want to blame SELIG for this...have at it. It just doesn't line up with history.

It was just a footnote. Nobody really cares about tariffs. Now when the Fed Cuts another 25 basis points, THAT is what really matters. Not 54% tariffs on China or...10% tariffs on an UNINHABBITED ISLAND. And when I say uninhabited Island, I mean no humans live there. Penguins do live there. Every Economist in 1929 warned the US what would happen if they implemented Smoot-Hawley and every Republican since then, every FREE TRADE capitalist have pointed out how damaging tariffs were. All the same, #47 told Hoover...hold my Beer; He's merely talking about a footnote though.

Yes. And he did. Selig came back as interim Commish and tried to salvage the relationship, but it was too late. It was absolutely ALL Bando. He was running the team. This has been VERY-VERY well documented.

I don't think McMillan is the type of WR who is worth moving up for. Not at that cost. Johnson and Morrison would be an interesting duo at CB. I love Barron...again, I just think he's an amazing slot/bullard type safety, but not a boundry CB. He's a little tight, short armed. Again, a HR pick last year, but...not ideal this year. Can play the run and has speed though, so...would be up to Hafley to figure out.

This is a poor representation of what he said. This infers his goal isn't to win a WS.

He didn't run them into the ground, Bando did(then family) and he didn't even slash salary, Bando didn't wan tto pay Molitor as he thought that money could be better spent elsewhere. But that's just my Selig defense as I think he gets too much blame. Get Jimmy and Dee Haslem in there and tell them to let Arnold do what he wants, they write the checks. I'd eb happy. Probably add 50M to our payroll.

Johnson is in a similar situation at Morrison. Both top 10 coming into the year, both injured, neither has tested. But Johnson was good enough at Michigan I’d feel comfortable without seeing him run. I’m not sure I feel great about all the soft tissue injuries, but, no prospect at 23 is going to be flawless. Alexander looks great…and if he were 22, he’d likely be a 1st Rd pick, or in consideration. 25 years old…Clark was going into his 5th season at that age. He can still have value(and Clark might be wearing down from all the snaps, though I hope that was just one year). Simmons, I think San Fran takes him at 11(if they don’t go CB, but I think they go OL) and if not there, then I think he stays in state to play in the NFL as the Bengals desperately need OL help without hitting up the FA market. But, in the unlikely scenario that he makes it past the Bengals, I’m not sure there are a lot of teams that need a LT in that following group…and I also don’t think the Packers feel great about Walker’s future. He’ll be a FA next year and nobody has mentioned signing him. Given the knee injuries, the microfracture…THAT is problem that shortens your career by a few years. I think he’s maxed out at as a solid, above average starter, but one who is prone to injuries and who just gets beat badly by the elite edges. Simmons would have even more appeal if the Packers hadn’t moved to more of a one-gap scheme and I think the most likely scenario is that Tom ends up at LT after an extension…likely one bigger than we’ve even talked about(I’m gonna guess 4 at ~28M AAV on top of the final year for ~5/115). But I think this an under the radar need. I don’t think the Packers want to pay him the 15-20M he’ll get and I don’t know what the Packers think of Morgan. I was a fan last year, but I liked Fautanu, Guyton(though he was raw), Rosengarten(thought he was also raw). Also like Barton. I think it’s unlikely, but if the Packers think Morgan is best suited to play OG, and unless they like one of the big young Tackles they’ve got, Simmons falling to them might not be a bad thing. It would be WILDLY unpopular though. Later on, Conerly Jr reminds me of Fautanu a bit. Shorter, long arms, good athlete. Williams from Texas is raw and then there are some guys who may be worth a flyer on later(one of Hafley’s former recruits, Trapillo and then Millum’s stock is down, but I thought he looked good. Hopefully, Morgan makes strides but can’t beat out Walker this year and then next year they move Morgan from RG to RT and Tom over to the Left. As for Thorton Jr…I’d take another look at this kid. 4.0 GPA Class President Team Captain Helped raise his 4 siblings… 25.1 YPR in the SEC, over 21 for his career. BUT more than that, he’s just a FREAK athlete. 6’5, 4.30 40, he broke 29 tackles last year. And yeah, he’s not a refined route runner, but he tilts the field. I’d go back and check out the A22. He's…VERY similar to Watson, but he tracks the ball better and he’s more of a hands catcher. I think he’ll be better in 50/50 situations. Watson is great, he’s more sudden, he’s probably quicker, but I don’t buy this WRing core being in as much need as others do. I think Wicks has just had normal struggles and he can be a 1A, Reed has proven it. Doubs is an enigma to me. He’s clearly talented, but I don’t like the body language. Looks like he’s counting down his days in GB. Throw in Kraft, Musgrave….who looked great early as a rookie but he struggled with injury. But I don’t think there’s been a guy with this frame and 4.30 speed and the physicality he has. I mean…after all, Watson wasn’t very productive in College and we are MUCH better with him on the field. 6’4 and his speed. And…again, he’ll be a FA who MIGHT be back for…6-8 weeks next year. I'd just take another look at the A22 and watch the releases he gets and how fluid he is. He's not Jeremiah Smith, but I think at worst he's a big play threat and the upside is...very high.

I agree the first two will be gone. I'm good with Barron being gone. I think he's going to be a borderline AP type player, but just not a great fit. Stewart reminds me of Tyree Wilson. Hit or miss, but if he hits, he'll be a star. I guess that's the type of player people DON'T want? I don't know, I'd prefer a guy like that over a guy who is a safe bet to be solid early on, but never a star. Will Johnson is falling down some boards. I'd love him. Kenneth Grant is another guy I wouldn't mind...but I'd definitely prefer to move down. Darius Alexander out of Toledo looks really nice also, but the Packers aren't taking a 25 year old...which makes me think he's going to fall. What do you think of Simmons from OSU? He's looked good enough to me that...if he's at 23, with Houston and LA behind us, KC could move up and use a 2nd or their early 3rd to do so. I wouldn't even be opposed to taking him if there's not a CB or DL available. I also think the number of our "needs" is a little exaggerated. Oh, and Dont'e Thorton Jr look like a...GREAT fit for us. It's not like Watson's route running is a huge attribute. It's his big play speed and his body. If you can just approximate rookie MVS, we'd be set at WR in my opinion. We need a deep threat, help on the DL, Edge/CB...in inverse order and you can get a guy like Quincy Riley or Cobee Bryant in the middle of the draft who could play as rookies. Especially if Jaire sticks. Nohl Williams is another guy who could be there at 159 or even later who seems to fit what we want.

It's impressive...but the class of kids that just graduated last year...that was the best class Wisconsin has ever had...by a lot. Koy Hopke-HWT Minnesota Aedon Sinclair-Missouri-He was the 2nd highest rated prospect, but he's the best Wrestler IMO. Problem is, he does not cut weight. It's like a 6'2 Power Forward. You CAN play it, but it's a lot tougher. He Wrestled 220 in HS so he could avoid Connor Mirasola, but he had to make sure his weight was high enough so he could. He was just that much better. But he's 5'7, 5'8. He should be 174 and he should be in the finals. 184, he should be top 5 in the Country next year, but there's a lot more talent there. Connor and Cole Mirasola-Penn State 197/HWT Penn State is just comically talented and Connor is the more accomplished of the two and could probably be an All-American, but he has to make the lineup. They have a Freshmen who just took 2nd(against Buchanana from Loyal). Charlie Millard, Jake Stoefel, Braden Scholes(really good Freshmen, qualified this year for Nationals)...there are probably 15 more that I'm not going to be able to remember all of them, but...Wisconsin is producing as much talent as any state outside of Pennsylvania(which is like the Wrestling version of Florida, Texas and California combined), Ohio and California right now. At least on par with any others. Sadly, almost none that talent stays in-state due to...club coaches who don't get along with Bono after one...silly dispute.

"With the 2nd pick in the 2025 NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns select..." Or KC. Seems like they've earned enough Goodwill...despite it coming back and repeatedly biting them, that they could get away with it. I like Thomas better anyway. Better feel in man, more physical and just...seems to fit what they're going for better.

Well, he's from Podunk Wisconsin! Cumberland. Maranatha Baptist Bible in Watertown was where he was the coach for probably 30 years. He and my Uncle were close and I got to know Ben, not really John, but I went to his camp of Champs every year and he's just a good guy. I don't know Kemp, but I've met him quite a few times. He is one helluva motivational speaker. I've seen him, he's offered advice when I was wrestling to me and teammates about getting ready and mental preparation(again, so meticulous), the importance of routine and then one thing a lot of College guys miss, he makes this analogy, your body is like a car. If you have a high performance vehicle, you're not going to put just anything in it, right? Same with your body, you can't put Twinkies and Sugar and expect to be able to perform at a high level. I look at the dude now and...I'm pretty sure he hasn't had refined sugar since...ever. I'm not sure anyone got hurt more by the boycott in '80 than Kemp. In '84 when the Soviets boycotted, we had like 6 champs or something. You were missing most of the best Wrestlers in the field, but in 1980, Kemp had won the 1978, 1979 and 1981 World Titles...I think, and was the CLEAR favorite to win it in '80. Definitely a shame. Still, he's kinda up there with Dan Gable, John Smith, and Mark Schultz as the guys who helped grow the sport. His son, Adam Kemp, finished up his career from...Cal Poly I believe.

Sure...you can push it down the road. But the Packers were reportedly interested in Sweat. We always use the contract that player actually signed and then say, 'this is what it cost to sign Josh Sweat.' Do we know what it'd cost the Packers? What would it cost to convince him to play in Arizona with the Defensive Coordinator he was at his best under vs going to Green Bay? He would have been an outstanding signing, but how high do you go? 4/88? Might have been worth it... I wanted to solve our Center position, I wanted to keep Jaire(maybe foolishly) and I wanted to see our pass rush improved by a BIG move. I don't think that turned out to be realistic save for Hendrickson...and it's been discussed ad nauseum why some don't think that's a smart move. We'll see who is right in 2-3 years when he's got a cap hit of 50-60M and a dead cap of 70M with no 1sts. Has he had a couple of 15+ sack seasons and been a top 3-4 edge or has he fallen off. But aside from that, who should they have spent money on that they didn't?

I think the problem is...as the Cap goes up, we've still got the old salary numbers in our head. Giving an OG 27M over 3 years would have been insane 10 years ago unless it was an ELITE OL. I think we moved on from Sitton to save...6.5M. We'd brought back a KR for the price of a guy who'd been a 2nd team AP the previous 3 seasons in Josh Sitton in 2016. We were in the ~45M range if you assume Jaire is gone, but that doesn't seem to be the case as of yet(and assuming as post-June 1 trade). What's more, even if you WANTED to, who was the top WR, edge, CB and IOL you were signing? You COULD have gotten creative, but who were the players available that we should have signed? This is feelling very Brewers-ish. Despite actually making moves, it feels like we're talking about nobody or anybody. Just get someone...anyone.

Sorry, your post cut off after Bounceback...I didn't catch the rest! Looks good! But I'll play...even less than optimistic part. Cy Young-Cortes -I think working with the Brewers, they're going to get the most out of him. The Brewers are just so good at finding what a pitcher does well, helping them improve that and then ditch what they do poorly that I think bringing in a former All-Star on a contract year lines up VERY well for the Brewers...and we walk away with a comp pick for him(or a good pitcher next year). Best Newcomer-Jose Quintana I already used Cortes, he'll obviously be the best newcomer in this scenario, but I think Quintana can give us a really good 120IP and hopefully be there to lighten the load for Ashby, Hall, Misiorowski, our young arms who can't handle too many innings. WAR Leader-Chourio- 7.8, Turang 2nd at 5.4 HR Leader-Chourio 34 Breakout-Uribe -I'm hoping he can harness his emotions and his stuff as he could be dominant in the pen. Yoho seems to be a lock to be a very effective HL reliever, but Uribe has the best stuff of anyone in our Pen. Needs to serve his MLB suspension....and MiLB suspension for that matter, but if he can be the pitcher he's capable of, he can serve in that Hader role, coming in to get the middle of the order in the 7th or 8th. -Bounceback- Rhys Hoskins I was glad they didn't trade him. It would have likely cost 4-5M plus a decent prospect(some combination thereof). Worst year of his career. .245/.355/.480 30 HRs, 30 2B, 100 BB. Disappointments- -Upper Level Prospects. I don't think we're going to get much from Misirowski, Quero, Logan Henderson and...Tyler Black(not including Durbin). I think it'll be another year before the Brewers get impact talent from the farm. At that point, well, the flood gates open. Those three, Pratt, Wilken...maybe. Boeve...maybe even Made or Letson. 3B-I think our 3B will put up a ~680 ish OPS. Not real confident in Dunn or the reasons others are. His discipline and exit velo in the minors, but hope I'm wrong. Bold Prediction-We have 3 All-Star Game Starters in Turang, Contreas and Chourio...who will start in CF next to his comp, Ronald Acuna Jr and Mooke Betts.

It seems pretty unlikely he's going to be playing any DH. He's a 1B with a very good glove and not a great bat to this point. I don't think they used him at DH last year, so...seems unlikely they'd do so this year outside of a platoon issue later in a game.

Well, I just listed 4 players from the last two years and I don't see every team going out and signing a McKinney or solving the biggest hole on their offense by giving a LG a big deal so you can move Jenkins over to Center. That seems like a move made with some urgency. Trading a package that reportedly starts with multiple 1sts and then paying a 30 year old 40M a year(nearly all GTD) would be the definition of desperate. I would have been all for doing that for Crosby...mostly fine doing that with Garrett and I don't think it'd be a good idea to do it with Hendrickson.

Ok...well, Jones has been quite a bit worse than the LT we currently have who's similar in age. I'd have probably taken Broderick Jones myself...and that pick doesn't appear to be a good one thus far. If he's not a developmental pick, then he's just a bust He has been substantially worse than Walker or Tom. The later, fine, he's a stud, but Jones has not been very good. Gonzalez has been very good. He was taken after another CB Forbes. I thought we were talking about pass rushers, but...sure, there look like two picks that were clear hits in that draft after LVN. Kancey and Gonzalez. That's easier to identify later, so I'm asking for this year. Who are the developmental guys you want vs the immediate impact players you think or hope to be there at 23? Gary and LVN were not late 1st rd picks. Many of the players I mentioned were picked in the same range. The point is, it takes most pass rushers a couple years to develop. That's why you draft them before they are a major need. AS for Love, I...just don't know how we're still talking about that pick being anything but a nearly perfectly executed transition from one QB to another. I don't care about a QBs rookie contract. It only matters if you have a good QB and it's wildly overblown. We don't need a QB on a rookie contract, we need a good QB. We got one.

To be more accurate, Powell said he didn't know. He said they COULD be transitory or temporary...which I would guess would infer he thinks they're going to work something out, but he plainly said they didn't know if they were transitory or not. Well...the reason I think Powell couched it like he did was because he also said the inflation from Covid would be transitory and he's taken...more than a little heat for just how wrong he got that. But again, I don't think he knows any better than anyone else how long tariffs will be in place. Obviously if they stay in place, they will not be transitory. You're talking about adding 10-15K to the MSRP of a new car...

I don't agree and...it seems like you're mostly just talking about Hendrickson at this point. Urgency doesn't mean desperate. I think signing McKinney, Jacobs, Brooks, Hobbs, I think that's some urgency.

The Dan Gable-Larry Owings loss might be more...culturally significant because obviously VERY few Wrestlers are well known and everyone knew who Dan Gable was. I think it's like Cael Sanderson, but I'm not actually sure it is. Gable was the most manically driven man, the stories of him are famous. Coming back to the Hotel after winning the World Championships, the guys are going to get some beer and play cards and...Gable is going for a 10 mile run because "the guy that's trying to beat me already started training." He literally changed Wrestling in Russia, Japan. They don't have Folkstyle like we do(as I'm sure you know) so they have schools and they drill their techniques for years before ever even wrestling. It's weird, it's more like a job, but there were world champs who'd come off the mat and smoke! Back in the 60s, 70s. Gable just wore them down and gassed them so easily, even if they could wrestle with him, they were too gassed. American Wrestling as a whole did that. And Lee Kemp is one of the most Regimented people I've ever seen in my life. Even now in his 60s(70s?) he looks like he's in shape to Wrestle and he's so intensely focused on things. I've got to meet him and know him a little bit through the Peterson brothers, Ben and John...and he's just an incredible man. Those are the guys who built the sport...

Well...if you want to talk about Wisconsin guys who won, 165, Mitchell Mesenbrink(his Dad was Ben Askren's HS coach and runs their Wrestling School together) and then at 174...from the same high school as Askren and Mitchell(and 2 other Wrestlers in the tournament) was Keegan O'Toole. And at 184, the defending Champ was Parker Keckiesen. Wisconsin has become one of the top...4-5 States for producing College Talent in the last 3-4 years and they've got some kids coming in the next couple years who are going to be absolute studs. Mitchell Mesenbrink, he wrestles for Cael Sanderson, the only 4X undefeated National Champ. Last year, he was in what was by FAR the toughest weight class. He had to Wrestle a kid from Wisconsin in the B1G finals and the winner would be the #2 seed. On the other side of the Bracket was Arrowhead's Keegan O'Toole, the 3X National Champion who at that point was a 2X Champ and David Carr, a 1X Champ who'd taken 2 2nds. Mesenbrink was an undefeated Freshmen, he scored a TD late in the match to make it 8-8 and Mesenbrink has the best gas tank in Wrestling(literally probably the world, not hyperbole). So there's 30 seconds left, scoreboard shows 8-8, David Carr has a stalling, but he also has riding time. Mesenbrink lost track of the score. He'd just taken him down and gotten 2 stalling calls and he wasn't even tired, he just didn't force it. He ended up losing what will...almost certainly be his only Collegiate loss 9-8 to one of the better Wrestlers of our Era, a 6th year Sr as a Freshmen. But yeah, anyway, Wisconsin had a bunch of AA, but 165, 174, 197 were all Wisconsin guys. Edit-I take it back. Another huge upset for the night was Keegan O'Toole LOSING. He lost to Dean Hamiti from Okie State(he had Wrestled the last 3 years at Wisconsin). So Wisconsin won t 165, 197 and took 2nd at 174 and 184, but 184 was the guy who lost this year to the first ever 5X National Champ and then won it last year and lost the two years before that to the 6th ever 4X National Champ.

IF you care, this was another HISTORIC match. Because guys got that free 2021 season, there was a Wrestler for Penn State who had a chance to become a 5X National Champion. 10X National Champion with the team titles included as Penn Sate is so insanely dominant. The guy from Northern Iowa is a Wisconsin kid from Nicolet. Keckiesen took 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 1st. He lost twice to another Penn State Wrestler Aaron Brooks(also a 4X National Champ...and there are only 7 of them, so...it's pretty wild Parker had such bad luck). But Starocci is going for his FIFTH National Title Not a ton of scoring, but it was exciting(at least to me, but I love good Wrestling).

Oh, one more note you may or may not know. Lee Kemp, should have been the first 4X National Champ. Got cut from Basketball, went out for Wrestling. Was 11-8 as a Freshmen. Ended up winning two State Titles and then went to Wisconsin. Freshmen year, he's in the National Finals vs...Chuck Yagla from Iowa. Again, the old days of Wrestling, you Wrestled 7 minutes and if it was tied, you wrestled a 3 minute mini match. 1 minute neutral, Then you each got to pick, top or bottom. AT the end of 10 minutes, it was tied...I think it was 4-4 and 1-1 Lee Kemp had the only TD. The referees then just...pick the winner. Three of them, write a name down and put it in a hat. He lost on referees decision 2-1. The critera SHOULD have been more TDs, then more TD attempts, basically whoever was trying to score more. But what they actually ended up doing was giving it to the guy who was older figuring the underclassmen would have another chance. So Lee Kemp lost and the first 4X Champ would be Pat Smith almost 20 years later. But, Dan Gable, the guy who dominated the Russians(and there were like 8 Russians just as there are today as they'd have a Russian wrestle for Bulgaria and Poland and whoever else). But he went through the Olympics and I believe he won like 38-1. Just dominated everyone. 1975 or 76 and he was thinking about making a comeback. So he's training and he enters the Northern Open at 150 pounds. Same weight there was this Freshmen from Ohio wrestling for Wisconsin. Lee Kemp would beat him...I believe 7-5 and that was when Gable decided he was good at this coaching thing and to keep doing that!