BarremlensTSSC

Heading out to see the TRats tomorrow. Got a feeling the roster is going to look different by the next homestand. Probably the last chance to see one, and likely more than one, of these players in Appleton.

Have to give them a ton of credit for figuring out a way to stop the bleeding. Next couple of weeks are about trying to scratch out enough wins to play .500 ball and hope they get some breaks on the health front in May.

Yep. It's incredibly frustrating, but you can't blame the hitting coaching staff when you're missing 3 guys out of your projected 1 through 5 lineup. And they scored 6 runs last night. That should be enough, but the pen imploded again.

Murphy got away with it, but imo pulling Patrick when he did was an unforced error. Why you'd want to turn two extra outs over to a pen that is flopping around the way the Brewers pen has been is beyond me. I'll give him a pass for the rest because Patrick likely gets to 90+ pitches if he finishes the inning and probably doesn't come out for the 8th regardless.

Honestly wouldn't have taken Patrick out just yet myself.

I was at that one too. I prefer the Chourio from last year a little bit but the Frelick jersey this yea was pretty good for a freebie. On par quality wise with the Yelich freebie I got at AMFAM a couple of Memorial Days ago.

I'll acknowledge the logic of most of that, although I think the World Cup/Soccer analogy breaks down because the World Cup, particularly for non-Europe based players, presents a significant opportunity to make money off the tournament itself (i.e. prize money and payments from FIFA through national federations) that are signficantly more than they are likely to receive in salary from regional leagues or even semi-pro leagues in some countries. WBC is attempting to mimic that model, hopefully with less revenue loss due to FIFA's "administration" (i.e. corruption), but they aren't there at least not yet (there are other issues there too because of dual nationals taking up so much of the oxygen that semi-pro baseball players in other countries end up on the outside looking in a lot of times). Beyond that, part of the FIFA World Cup is the opportunity to showcase skills and get attention from leagues that operate all over the planet, so even if they're playing for love of game/country and sheer competitive spirit, the opportunity for financial remuneration after the fact based on world cup play (i.e., play in Mexico, MLS, or even at various levels in Europe) is way more developed than it is for the WBC. Part of that is just time, because the WBC is so young in its history. But part of that is because the World Cup exists BECAUSE soccer (football) is a global sport. The WBC exists because MLB wants baseball to become a global sport. When it's not. Not even close. I'm not unaware how much many/all of the players who played in the WBC this year or in previous cycles love the chance to play for the crest/culture/country/teammates. But I know an MLB owner money play when I see one and I'm sorry but I hate the fact that some of these players, especially relievers whose efficacy windows are often short and cyclical to begin with, will end up losing significant money if the injuries they suffer from quick ramp ups and inning loads end up being ill timed relative to their opportunities on the open market. I'm just not a fan of the WBC at all. It's meaningless to me personally, but I'm likely in the minority on that (although I don't think I'm alone). I also think the players aren't fairly compensated for their play, let alone their risk, not that that's new from MLB owners.

Wait... a pitcher who ramps up early and pitches games like it's the playoffs a month before the season normally starts for the WBC is suddenly less effective in April even without a reported injury? I'm shocked. I hate the WBC. I know a lot of people like it and the players who participate seem to enjoy it and take it seriously enough to act contrary to their financial and health interests at times (especially the pitchers) and MLB sees it as a money maker so I know it's not going anywhere, but I hate it. It's the same stuff every four years: random injuries, dead arms in April, and an offseason of planning for GMs go out the window on the possibility that 30 ownership groups might have a more valuable investment on their hands. *cue the people who tell me "well actually, injury rates, velocity loss, etc. are the same over time for players who participate in the WBC and those who do not." (You lost me at "well actually...") 🤣 Yes, this is me:

About 10 days ago I heard/read a number of people saying this might be the best bullpen the Brewers have ever had. That was right about the time people started noticing how many guys had lost velocity year to year.

Soup to nuts, this is some bad baseball right now. They really aren't doing anything well today (with apologies to Turang's game today).

I remain convinced that they thought Woodruff would pass and hit the market.

Bauers tries to make up for the ole' play at 1B.

Can deal with the cold stretches from a lineup that is missing a couple of guys. I can live with the growing pains from the young pitchers. But the bad defense is pissing me off.

Top of the lineup wasn't much better tonight. They need Contreras to get going for one thing.

Just bad baseball all night long.