Turning2

Maybe you don't understand the overall gist of my post. I have edited it a bit. I enjoy the team. I give them credit for fighting the intellectually insulting uphill battle they face against the league financial framework. They are competitive and contenders which is far better than being a perpetual cellar dweller with no hope. But the bridesmaid eventually wants to be the bride otherwise she stops being excited to be asked to be second in line. At some point, a man requires a climax to the situation or finds another interest. The Brewers are second only to the Padres in oldest franchises never to have won a World Series. The financial environment, the league playoff system and divisional set up has changed since SD was formed in '69 and the Brewers a year later. One helped the small market teams (expanded playoffs bracket), and one devastated them (the financial sea changes of the Players' Union driven CBAs). At the end of the day... it's going to take a miraculous alignment of serendipity in order for MIL to win a championship. In today's world, attention spans grow shorter and shorter. Some of us old timers still hang in there, but MIL's business plan of stringing people along being "close but no cigar" will only play so long. There are a lot of younger generation Brewer "fans" who are only there for the spectacle, the attractions, the circus rather than the nuts and bolts of baseball. They will only be teased along for so long too before a brighter social media butterfly comes along.

It's just another close but no cigar roster. They have just enough talent, chemistry, coaching to compete, to sell tickets, to keep fans invested and buying merch, and most importantly ... to keep the books of the investment group in the black and withing the targeted profit margin. It was my contention that this season was a deferral to get past the lockout and to reach the maturation of a handful of prospects. The lack of meaningful offensive offseason upgrades supports that. They made roster changes, but didn't alter the makeup of the roster. They mostly switched guys out for other guys of the same makeup. Those moves perhaps added incremental upgrades overall. Again, I believe they are hoping those incremental upgrades blossom simultaneously with the maturation of some prospects, and thus ... kind of a placeholder season. Truly competing for a championship this season would require moves to upgrade for known offensive talent. They need at least one outfield position upgrade and probably 2. Obviously they need more competitive offense from either 3B or SS. And that's not going to happen this year. I'm mostly content that they can compete and be entertaining for several months in a league financial framework that is stacked against them. As long as they don't become dogs (in the 10+ games below .500 range) with no hope I can continue to tepidly support the MLB INC / Player's Union machine.

Mitchell is a bigger disappointment than Sal in my book at this point. Where is the HR pop for GM? Maybe they will both turn it around soon.

Is there a somewhat "typical" timeframe in the season for when guys get bumped up to AA if they're going to get moved? Last year, I wanted to see Burke and managed to just catch his last game. Thinking of maybe a June trip, hoping to see most of those position players.

Lots of intriguing prospects at this level this year. I'm a several hours drive away also. Hoping to take a mini vacation weekend drive with my fam and maybe a couple other friends.

I've been in Black's corner for the past couple years. Nice to see him get regular playing time and produce. It's weird that he is still in somewhat on the bubble because they don't believe in his defense anywhere. Seems odd that a (prominently) non power bat can travel all the way through the minors without having enough glove to be trusted by a big league club. Perhaps that is more specific to MIL though since they put a premium on defense more than some other teams.

A rare pitching lab project acquisition that hasn't panned out so far and may not. Didn't like to see Mears and Collins go, but gave them the benefit of the doubt that this was a good trade. Yes, I'm aware Collins isn't exactly tearing it up, but Baddoo and Matos offered less. And I'd rather have Mears than Zerpa.

Biggest weakness is a shortage of healthy All Star caliber talent. Yeah, that's pretty obvious, but it's hard to pinpoint an area. They CAN score runs. Collectively, the offense hasn't been that bad. But who wouldn't want another consistent .275+ / 30+HR leader on this team. Who wouldn't want another .280-ish hitter good for lots of doubles? Pitching is still largely unproven. Priester could have been a fluke in '25. Mis isn't proven yet as a consistent, grizzled vet yet. Woody is always a health risk and a short timer. And then you have another 7-8 guys that are little more that hype, hope, and prospect potential, and will be in my view for awhile. I need two consecutive better than average years before I get sold on a player. Too many froth at the mouth about prospect status. Yeah, they have to come from somewhere, top prospects bomb too. They have speed aplenty, but speed that can't get hit is worthless. They have defense. Shaky lately, but I suspect that will level out. Regardless, great defense wins you division championships not the big prize. I do think there might be a "swagger / confidence" aspect they are deficient in. But swagger/confidence tends to equate to jerk personalities, and I'd rather my team lose with quality humans than egomaniac jag offs. So biggest weakness... impossible to say in my opinion.

True, but also .... not necessarily true. The long run isn't guaranteed to pay off. It's subjective if getting 2 or 3 serviceable guys or prospects (and lots of service time years) who "might" become somebody special is worth 1 All Star (or near All Star) caliber player. Every team has serviceable guys and good prospects in their farm system. Don't need to trade for them. Just shows how overvalued the prospect hype can be sometimes. Early results point to Harrison as a good get from Boston, but I'd have rather they just shipped Durbin and Mona or Seigler for Duran to bolster the OF. But again, I think they are setting themselves up for after the lock out rather than 2026.

I feel they will turn it around eventually and at least be respectably competitive. Said previously, I felt like they were positioning themselves for post lock out and that 2026 was kind of a mail it in season. They did nothing to help the offensive power, and they brought in more young, unproven pitching. The latter will have this year to get some seasoning for post lockout ball. Trading off some of the best players in exchange for a handful of prospects is a gamble. Sometimes you lose that gamble. Perhaps that is catching up with them alongside the injuries. They need more trades in a 1:1 mode - proven player for proven player. Easier said than done I realize.

LOL.. I won’t connect W’s or L’s to the connects, I’m just a traditionalist who doesn’t appreciate tampering with the uniforms. Seems unprofessional, Leave the silly gags to the Savanah Bananas. I’ll add, I don’t blame the Brewers. It’s the league pushing this from what I can tell.

The answer is a solid.... maybe.

I'm not a sucker. Won't pay for merchandising and marketing garbage designed to fleece the fans in order to keep paying ridiculous salaries. At least they look a little more professional than the kindergarten cartoonish Brew Crew version last year.

Too many of the same type of complimentary players in the OF.

Exactly. Pratt is the best SS prospect defensively from what I've seen. I still think Made ends up at 2B somehow. And no, I don't know how that works with Turang here for a few more seasons.