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The press conference is what has stuck to Braun, much more so than the PED use - that's just the way it is, and he has to live with it. One other point to anyone who hasn't realized yet - sports fans are hypocrites. I was at a game in St Louis, in 2013, and one lady near me was just merciless each time Braun was announced, so finally, I said, "What about Mark McGwire?" She said, "We still love him." I said, "That seems a bit odd, since he was a cheater and a liar who refused to admit it when under oath." She never said another word. It's what fans do, if Braun wasn't a Brewer, I'm sure Brewers fans would carve him up too, but since he hits game winning bombs for the home team, we ask why he's so hated.

Yes, Staub was an excellent hitter, but not just regular slow. I remember watching a Tigers game on NBC back when, and Detroit’s third baseman, Aurelio Rodriguez, lined a clean single to right .... only to see Staub thrown out advancing to second base. Perhaps with some wheels, Rusty gets to 3,000 hits.

At this point, I’m taking Mr Stearns’ word for it - I think the Brewers will open the season with the pitchers they have.

Ah, it wasn't me that said that. Sorry .... fixed it.

Plush, the Brewers didn’t burn a year of control with Arcia, he’s got five years left.

The Brewers should want Archer, and the Brewers do want Archer. We can quibble all you want about whether Archer is a “1”, a “2”, or some other label - the fact is he’s an immediate upgrade where the Brewers need one most, and he’s on a great contract. The only question is - can the two sides agree on a price? We shall see .....

Chris Tillman is off the board, he has agreed to terms with the Orioles.

I think Archer stays in Tampa to start the season, there are always teams looking for pitching in July, and it sounds like Brent Honeywell will be kept in AAA to open the season.

I agree, a free agent seems more likely than a trade right now, and if Nelson isn’t “right “ when he gets back, or if someone else breaks down, then they can trade for a pitcher.

I have no idea if the Odorizzi trade will impact the free agent market, or anything the Brewers might be working on - but seeing the three “big” free agent pitchers still sitting there, how can you not wonder?

Even though I think the team will add a more significant pitcher before the season begins, I’m going to say - beginning the season with Wade Miley or Yovani Gallardo in the rotation is complete failure.

There are several quotes here from Joshua Kusnick, our own, “Agent39”: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2018/02/12/mlb-union-camp-free-agents/329194002/

As much fun as it would be to get both guys - you may be sending Santana , and your top five prospects to the Rays - any takers?

Adding talent for current and future bullpens should be a key concern for the Indians - whichever kids they like, yes, I would expect them to put emphasis there. Santana, and young arms for starting pitching, and perhaps a prospect at a different position looks very logical to me.

Domingo makes sense for Cleveland, for sure, but if you’re after a big deal with Cleveland - expect them to go for bullpen help. The Indians last two free agents out of their bullpen this winter, and they have both Cody Allen and Andrew Miller headed to free agency after the season. It doesn’t make sense for the Brewers to trade Knebel or Hader right now, but perhaps Freddy Peralta is an option for future years in Cleveland. I think Tristan McKenzie is the only kid you can’t pry loose, and I’m not convinced you can’t get Clevinger - but young arms for the bullpen may be the key.

Tampa is at least listening on Colome, because he’s making 5.3M this year, with two more arbitration years left - they want to cut some more payroll. Is the Brewers’ bullpen good enough for you, or would you pursue this?

you can win with a staff full of #3's if your bullpen and offense are solid enough. Look at the Royals in '15. Now, take what you said, and walk it out a little further - KC chose an approach and built to it, they had players who fielded well and ran the bases well, with less emphasis on power. They built a dominant bullpen, and an, "acceptable" rotation, but remember, they traded kids for James Shields, and later, for Johnny Cueto (and Ben Zobrist). The core they built got them to within a win of a World Series win, then the push for Cueto and Zobrist got them over the top. Maybe that's what the Brewers have chosen - they build to whatever philosophy it is they've chosen (so far, clearly more OBP and glove, and less reliance on home runs), and they finish the job at the trade deadline. They needed to improve the offense, which they have, and they needed to replace the depth that was lost when Garza got hurt and become ineffective, and more significantly, they have to fill the hole left by Nelson's injury. Chacin in Garza's former spot - ok - but simply patching, and hoping Nelson pitches as though he'd never been hurt for at least half the season seems to counteract what they've done with the offense. I see no way around it, to make the moves for Yelich and Cain make sense for 2018, they need a starting pitcher they don't currently have. Honestly, I'd prefer it to be a younger, probably better pitcher obtained through trade, but I think the need is big enough to force things a bit - if the trade isn't there, I think it's going to be Cobb or Lynn.

My point is, after Darvish got 6, I don't see a reason to believe Mr Boras won't find 5 for Arrieta - there's too much need, even in a year where most teams seem content to admit defeat. Given that, I expect the Brewers to be outbid, whatever the numbers are, as they were for Darvish. Hence .... prepare for Cobb or Lynn - one in Milwaukee, and one in Minnesota.

We have no idea what, if any, offers Arrieta has at this point, so it's possible he's looking at shorter term deals than he expected, but honestly, if Darvish got 6 years, I don't think anyone should expect Jake to wind up with less than five. Why should he? The market forces favor the player in this case, whether the press says so or not - there are too many teams who need a pitcher, and Jake is clearly the most accomplished starter available. For those who say Jake's numbers have gone backwards, his agent will point to his strong second half of 2017. For everyone who says teams aren't spending, Darvish wound up with two six-year offers. For everyone who says loss of velocity, his agent will talk about postseason experience, etc. My point is, I think the odds are in favor of a contract in the same neighborhood as Darvish got, for Arrieta - maybe not quite as much, but more than it has sounded like all winter. I would say the biggest number the Brewers might put out there is 5/110, but as others have said, I'd prefer something like 2/50, if both sides are willing. (Prepare yourselves for Cobb or Lynn)

Cotton, and Jed Lowrie might interest me, depending on who Oakland gets back - Cotton is who he is, a young guy who pitched well until last year, which was a mess across the board, Lowrie has one year, and 6 million left.

I'm running out of reasons why any team would want to sign Arrieta. I have absolutely no issue with signing Arrieta, but I have a huge problem with signing him to anything beyond two years, which someone most assuredly will.

Then you aren’t getting a pitcher. Because they won’t be there in June. Perhaps this is why the Brewers are rumored to be compiling a list of pitchers to watch as trade deadline possibilities - maybe they simply don't see a match on the market right now. That's definitely not my favorite development, if true, I absolutely want to see a significant starting rotation upgrade prior to the season, but if a bad deal is all they can get, I'll side with no deal at the moment.

I’m sorry the Brewers didn’t get Darvish, but not sorry they didn’t sign Darvish for six years. In the end, it’s not about Darvish for me, it’s about improving the rotation from where it currently is - whether by trade or free agency, I just want an obvious upgrade.

Kipnis had a lousy year last year, but he’s also had several good ones, he only has negative trade value if you take on all or most of his contract at this point. The thing is, anyone can see that, which means Stearns sees it too, so I have no reason to think Milwaukee would just deal a good prospect for Kipnis, unless Cleveland pays a good amount of that contract. To me, the tricky part is agreeing on how much the Brewers will pay Kipnis - if they can get that far, I’m sure they could sort out the players.

I get the risk with Kipnis, but I would never compare him to Sogard. For example, in a very down year last year, Kipnis hit one more home runs than Sogard has in his career - he also beat Sogard’s career OPS with ease.