BrewerFan

That is the softest roughing penalty I've ever seen. Barnes tries to jump over him! I'll take it, but man, that's...ridiculous!

If you get the Khris Middleton we got last year in the playoffs, Dame is healthy and in better shape after not protecting himself all last off-season, Giannis is healthy, Brook is the same as he was last year, Trent has a big year(which...the guy was offered 16M and turned it down) and then the defensive length we brought in, AJax, Green... I think this team has a real chance. I think they're 3rd in the East if healthy, but...good enough to beat anyone They need a lot to go right, they need big minutes from young guys to rest the vets, but they're still dangerous. And again, Middleton, Giannis and Dame healthy, Prince, Wright, AJax and Connaughton/Green coming in and hitting some 3s, they CAN definitely win another title. They can't win 2-3 like we hoped coming off the Toronto series, or even after the Suns, but they could definitely have one last run in them.

Does anyone actually want them back down to 3-3.5%? If they get back down there in the near future, it's going to mean that the recession that's been predicted 15 times in the last 10 months will have come to fruition. Great week with the Jobs report revised up, CPI was solid. Things seem to be humming along pretty well at the moment. New records regularly, great news from the Tech Sector. If not for a Presidential Election, everyone would probably be in agreement things are looking pretty good! I mean, as long as the WHOLE Country doesn't become Detroit, life looks pretty good!

About as fitting as their National Championship when they got their arses kicked in the Rose Bowl.

I'm more alright with Nebraska as a B1G school...it's at least in the region, style of play, etc... But that was a big part of CFB. Conferences. The Northeast(Big East, ACC), SEC, B12, wider area, B1G, much smaller area. It was what, 7 States, 10 schools, and then the soft Pac-12. In Wrestling we call the Conference Tournament the Big Tens...that makes more sense now with 20 schools from Southern Cal, to Oregon to NJ to Maryland. The Big Tens...or the Big 20. But a 20-team Big 10 is...silly.

You lose Burnes, Woodruff from the rotation and your Ks will go down. I think we pitched great. Our defense let us down and things like that happen over 3 games or a game. I don't think we need to change anything fundamentally.

I don't think anyone's said they'll do it in order to make room for Black. He's just one of MANY players I listed and after Chourio, Yelich, Mitchell, and Perkins. And I anticipate a lot of Hoskins at 1B, Yelich at DH. Black has played 2B, 3B. If the Brewers and Murphy believe this strongly that Frelick can transition back to the IF...presumably it'd be because he's the best option...so who's to say they're forcing or wedging him in there? Edit-I'm not saying we shouldn't try and address 3B via trade. I think there are a lot of trades that could do that... I'd be thrilled with Suarez, McMahon, whoever. It's probably not great if Frelick is the only or best option there. Or...maybe he moves back as Betts moved to 2B.

Yeah...just like Wisdom, when you said him I thought that was a great suggestion...but his home/road splits and the 12M/16M/16M he's owed? The Rockies would have to eat a good chunk of that. 50%. And then I'd trade them Black and maybe a guy like Payamps. Although throwing out Rockies trade proposals is stupid because...they're just incredibly poorly run and they may want immediate impact players(which...I guess that accomplishes).

I was being facetious...one player isn't going to fix the Jets. That said, the Jets have all of those things...at least on paper. The OL's only hole is RT when Moses is out and they've got a a rookie there who should get better. They've got Breece Hall and Allen who should be a good fit. It's kinda like chemistry and culture ARE important.

Eh, he's not a good defender and in his good years he's in the low .200 and a sub .300 OBP. If he could put up the numbers for the Brewers that he puts up against the Brewers...yeah, I'd be on board. But he doesn't.

I think it's time we got on the phone with Scott Boras about a certain FA OF from the Bronx(I don't actually know it's Boras...I just assume it is). And hell, if we're going to defer that much, might as well go after Cole as well. But you have to be reasonable. 25M signing bonus. Then he can make sure his family is taken care of....forever with the deferred money! I'm actually curious what Soto gets. I think it's possible he gets more than Ohtani. Maybe not 700M, but if he got a 600M deal with no deferred money, that'd be considered more, right? Toronto was willing to sign Ohtani. Soto doesn't pitch...that we know of, but he's still just 26. If there's a guy I'm giving 12/600M to, it's...nobody, but if it has to be someone, it's a guy with his skill set. The funniest would be the Mets or the Red Sox(though...they apparently forgot they can spend money). However...we can all agree, the team that really needs a top-of-the-order left-handed bat is the Dodgers. Odds on them dropping another billion in FA to sign Soto, Adames, and...eh, whoever else they decide. I'm not sure what to put in blue at this point.

Why Bieber? He's returning from TJ and will be ready roughly when Gasser is, maybe a month or two earlier, but there's room for error either way. Civale was outstanding for us. Rea is a decent arm for...what, 5.5M. I wouldn't go after a guy who is going to miss a big chunk of next year when we're already got Woodruff and Gasser as question marks, plus Ashby/Hall or both if they're in the rotation.

They can ask that, but do you think anyone is giving a top ~40 prospect and...probably one of our top 2 prospects at this point? This is a guy who just had his second season in which he played a full 100 games, he's getting 12.5M next year and then 2 options at 20M per. But you don't need to make a deal for Robert Jr. He doesn't really address your IF issue...so I don't see the White Sox getting anywhere close to what you're suggesting. Black might be a reasonable deal, or Boeve...but he has very litlte value at this point. You're hoping he can get back to a couple years ago and have the 2nd season of his career where he plays over 100 games.

I don't know about we, but me does not think AZ would want to make such a trade. Lawler, I'd assume would cost much more than Black. Probably something like Black AND Pratt. So...I wouldn't be interested. I doubt they're trading a good defender at all 3 IF positions who's...performed similar to Turang(less SBs) for one year of a close. MAYBE Suarez given their lack of elite BP arms, but I don't think you'll get back an established young core player.

I just feel like a contract in which we defer 68M a year would make Clancy just...lose his mind with joy. He's proposed so many..."optimistic," signings with these massive deferrals, it's long past time we gave him one. @Matthew Truebloodwithout going as in-depth, care to give a quick overview where Frelick falls in on the short swing/bat speed spectrum? He seems like he may benefit with some shorter swings with less bat speed at times.

The whole positional OPS means very little to me. You want more out of Frelick irrespective of what position he's playing. You don't want a .665 OPS at C, SS, 2B, but Ortiz was fine. I expect to get more out of 1B, DH and LF next year...which is really just to say a full year of Chourio, Hoskins and a full year of Yelich. We'll lose something at SS, but if-IF Frelick can be a good defender at 3B, then a 700 OPS should be fine. The biggest thing is why are we going to be running out there. At the moment, it looks like a bunch of replacement-level players. So Frelick probably looks better than that group. I'd prefer a trade for Lowe, Suarez, signing Moncada, or anything that's short-term (two years probably being ideal). I don't know...but I think the Brewers have earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to self-evaluation. Also, Yelich(I'd guess he's 60/40 OF/DH), Chourio, Mitchell, Perkins, Frelick, Black, are all likely to play in the OF, no clearly answer at 3B and Murphy was talking about how shocked people would be this year with Frelick at 3B before Mitchell and then Yelich went down and Ortiz stepped up. I personally don't get the....reluctance to move or try Yelich unless he's really against it. He really shouldn't be playing in the OF with the defense we have out there and it's pretty easy to see him being at least as good as Hoskins with a little time back over there, but I guess if I'm trusting their self-scouting with Frelick, I'll trust it with Yelich.

Yeah, Rodgers just sucked at the end in GB. Not as a Player, I think he'd be doing great with this group TBH. There was a lot of manipulation with him though...just the games and his Festivus, the airing of grievances. The Jets must be having so much fun. Just one more former Packers great will do it. Yup! Trade that 2nd for Adams. See how much better off they are out from under Gute's thumb!

....would this be your way of saying you'd be against extending Turang?

I agree...mostly. But the Brewers didn't lack the ability to sign Molitor, Bando just didn't want to. He wanted to allocate that money elsewhere. That was the start of the real dark era in Brewers Baseball. Do fans remember celebrating getting over .500? Now we're regularly in the post-season. So no, I don't consider every year that doesn't end in the WS a failure. I don't consider this year a failure. But it sucks.

And in other news, Musgrave is finally going on IR. He looked especially gimpy as of late and has had no impact, so give him a month. Romeo Doubs has been back, the consummate professional per Andy Stenavich...who also said Jordan Morgan would play when he's able to said this about him; Sean Rhyan has played well as the RG. Much-much better than I'd have expected in pass protection.

Yeah, I remember there were concerns about both Preston and Za'Darius...even more so the later since he got paid more and had been less productive. As for guys rushing standing up, they're not as far as I can recall save for a handful of snaps in sub packages, but I'm going back to Hafley's opening press conference and interviews about what the defense would look like. He's said that's something he leaves up to the players. That was how he did it at BC. That's always been a preference...far as I've known for a pass rusher. It's a quicker get off in a 3-point stance and again, all of these guys started out in one way with their hand on the ground. Sure, Gary was raw, but it was a lack of pass-rushing technique(similar to LVN now...though Gary is a more fluid athlete). So again, I'd understand if you went the other way. If you were Peppers and spent all of College, 12 years in the NFL and THEN you're asked to stand up and drop in coverage and read and react before rushing at 34. That's a tough switch. If SF went to a 3-4 and Nick Bosa was struggling it'd make more sense, but the elite edges, Mack, Joey Bosa, Hunter, just to name a few, they've all seamlessly transitioned from DE to OLB or vice versa. I hope I'm wrong and this is just part of the transition... maybe Hafley is doing things differently. It's better than the alternative. Clark and Smith are slowing down. I think Gary is too good to struggle like this. On the bright side, we are creating pressure and getting some hits on the QBs with free runners.

4.6 WAR season and I think he's still got 20 and 30-40 points left on his BA/OBP respectively. All he has to do is balance out the home and road splits. .291/.341/.412 on the road. Pretty ugly at home, but he has a .258 BABIP...which I'd expect to be closer to his road ~.330 or so given his style of play, so, I don't expect a huge improvement in power, but I've always said he reminds me of Trea Turner. His defense, speed, and versatility, and how he played in the post-season was huge. Not gonna write off Ortiz because of a poor post-season, but it's a good sign to me when you have good ABs in the playoffs. Means you can handle the pressure, not trying to do too much. Kinda like going opposite field twice. Anyway, interesting write-up. Turang is a guy I'd like to extend right now....but that's a bit tricky. 4.6 WAR...how do you actually value him? If he were a FA, I doubt anyone would argue he's getting paid like Willy, so not all WAR is valued the same. Is 7/50 with a couple TOs for say 18-20M, 5M buyout reasonable?

The only way to have a reliably dominant Defense is to dominate the LOS. That means when you know they're going to run, stopping the run, when you know they're going to pass, hitting the QB. That's a more reliable way to create turnovers than a QB having time to throw and a Safety playing out of his mind and coming up with some errant passes. It's the difference between those Favre teams near the end with Ed Donatell and the 49ers with Buckner and Bosa, the Buccs when they pressured Mahomes over 20 times, and the Giants their SB years. There's too much talent. It's hardly time to get desperate, but I'm 100% on board if they wanted to give up those 2 1sts for a player like Maxx Crosby or Dexter Lawrence....though obviously I think those teams will keep those players.

I did a little double-take...I mistakenly thought you were the one who suggested signing Bregman... Anyway, I agree we shouldn't sign Adames. I don't agree that Correa and Swansby have been bad signings. I'd take that Correa deal in a heartbeat, he's still a star. And Swanson has three seasons with 4 WAR, the last two he's had 4.8 and 40. One season in the past he was 5.5, so...that's a solid signing. Correa's been injured, but a deal with a superstar that runs until he's 34 with team options? I'd take that. Baez was a bad deal and kinda predictably bad. So was Boegarts and it was one of those deals the Pads made just because they were looking for SOMEONE to give a big bag of money to. As for Willy, I'd sign him...if there was some scenario in which he took less to stay here. Given he's turned down 9 figures already...I'd guess that is unlikely. But 5/130, maybe a TO for 30 with a 5M buyout? I would go that far. He's such an important part of the team, that'd be worth it. I know his defensive metrics fell off, but I think that was an aberration. He had a disproportionate number of throwing errors or just routine plays where he fumbled the ball a bit. That's it. Not sure Ortiz covering so much ground at 3rd helped him either. He has great range for a 3B and I get they're supposed to take whatever they can get to, but I think that actually hurt him. Finally, he's SUCH an important part of this team. I've said before, I used to think Chemistry was overrated in Baseball. I mean, Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds went to a WS, but the Brewers teams the last decade show it sure helps. Willy is the heartbeat of this team. I'd throw that deal out there and MAYBE there's a chance he wants to stay. Of not, the QO and you move on. But I'm certainly not giving him the 170-200M I believe he'd get.

Yeah, I'd buy that, but they ALL come from backgrounds where they play with a hand in the ground AND Hafley's said he doesn't care if they're standing or not, whatever they're more comfortable with. Smith's 6'5 270, he was a 4-3 DE at Miss and played with his hand in the ground at times in Washington under...whoever was after Barry. Gary was a 3 tech in College, so he had to play with his hand on the ground. If any move would have been tough, it'd be that one... LVN obviously at Iowa, Enagbare 4-3 at SC. We draft big DEs and played that at OLB. We don't have the smaller Reddick types so... I don't know. Peppers played in a 4-3 his entire career, College and the NFL save for his time in GB, so that I'd get. That would make sense...similar to Aaron Kampman back when we moved him from DE to OLB. But there shoudn't be nearly as big of an issue going the other way. I'd feel better if I believed that was the issue as it'd mean it's just something they have to get used to, but I'm skeptical. I did just see PFF with a list of who gets chipped the most. Gary was near the top. Above Myles Garrett. TJ Watt at nearly 45%(double that of the next highest). And speaking of PFF, they have Smith and Enagbare grading out...pretty good thus far. I don't put too much stock in that at this point in the year(Wyatt for example has a very poor grade), but MAYBE it's just Gary and Clark playing poorly and once they get it going, it'll open things up for the rest of the DL. That and getting Wyatt back? I don't know what the issue is...but I'm...mostly confident they'll figure it out. It definitely should be better with the draft capital and money we've invested. -Karl Brooks was better as a DE than as a DT in College...maybe give him some snaps out there, let Gary play inside. Move guys around, something.