Turning2

I love it when stupid spending blows up in an organization’s face. Can’t believe SF took on that contract off Boston’s plate, but then again I can. Just like in real life, people with big money often throw it around carelessly.

I mentioned early, maybe in spring training, that I felt like MIL was approaching '26 as a mail in year, waiting for the CBA results and biding time until the prospects arrive. They did nothing to markedly improve the offense on a 97 win team whose bats fell flat in the biggest moment last fall. It was a logical conclusion to me. I don't think that's changed. They are winning just like they did last year, with small ball, hustle and defense. Entertaining fans, putting butts in the seats with an air of hope. But they won't add a meaningful bat via a trade most likely. Maybe next couple of years after they know the ramifications of the new CBA, they would feel like they could be more aggressive. Talking and speculating about trades is entertaining regardless.

Definitely a league problem. As mentioned, this was part of a recent Brewers Territory episode. The overall theme of the show was mulling whether MIL needs to add a bat or two. I was a bit surprised that they both voted so low actually.

I borrowed this poll query from the Brewers Territory Youtube channel with Hogg and Knebel. They answered 5 and 6 respectively. I voted 7. They can hit. They can score at a respectable, competitive level. It's just the hot or cold tendency and lack of power that holds them back. Can't have the big guns go cold in October. That's likely true with many teams.

Take the poll. I'm not going to add caveats for the various rating levels like "7 - if the pitching stays healthy", "8 - if they get a few lucky breaks" etc.

That is the silver lining if they did bring him up I suppose. They could try him out for a month and have a month left to make a move if he wasn't providing an impactful upgrade. He would have to hit at least . 235-.240 with some pop in my book. And I doubt he has that ability just yet.

Yes the bar is low. The downside is that people aren’t looking for a lateral move. If Pratt is called and flounders in that .193 - .204 range, that’s what it would be. Sure, he would be getting valuable experience for next year, but that wouldn’t help a stretch run. At present, fans are looking for upgrades not on the job training.

Fair enough. I'd just suspect the odds of a guy who has already proven he can hit MLB pitching, continuing to do so after being traded are better than a rookie prospect providing a meaningful upgrade. If Pratt was hitting .275, showing good power, I'd feel different of course. What if their "big" move is to call up Pratt and he falls flat after the deadline, like .180 flat? Lots of fans would be mighty upset. I never think they should go crazy on trading for somebody huge. Castro was a small upgrade that I thought could be a good move last year. Turns out it didn't work for CHI, but I doubt they gave up much either. Low risk / reward is still better than shooting the moon for a guy in my view. More often than not, you need a guy to complement a roster rather than carry it.

Unless a AAA prospect is hitting lights out, why do people expect they're going to come up, step in and produce immediately at the level needed to actually upgrade for a championship chase?

Are we certain they're going to be looking to move him? Everybody seems to think so. HOU is only 6 games out, albeit in 4th place currently. But we just hit June.

Fair points. Not really interested in Skubal, but if they did go for it.... I just view him as a proven, known asset versus Lara's zero experience in the bigs. Yes, Skubal's injury does throw a worrisome unknown into the works too. I am admittedly biased, preferring players with more size, especially in the OF. But then again.. Mitchell's size hasn't exactly parlayed into the power hitting CF we many thought he would be either. Still find it more likely that a bigger frame is going to bring more big pop. There are always a few exceptions. Perhaps Lara is one. Hard to climb a wall and pull back a HR though. I'm not as down on him as it may seem, but if they were to make a splash gamble on Skubal, you have to give something up, and Lara is one I could live with knowing Adamcewski and Payne are in the pipeline. Yes, I probably undervalued Letson. Looks like he is in their top ten prospect list. I only knew of him a bit as a standout from Appleton last year, who seemed to have more name cred than on field production. Probably wrong, didn't check the stats. I recall he was hurt for a good portion early on. There are too many pitchers at all the affiliate levels to keep track of for me. I hear various names tossed out Meccage, Hardin, Knoth etc. They all go in a pool of "unfamiliar with them" for me.. LOL. I'd rather hang onto Letson, but again, you have to give something of value up. Jett is the only guy I have no problem with using as trade bait. Yes, he showed some respectable power at AA for his size. But again, we don't know if that will translate at the majors. Mostly though, I don't see anything but a utility role for him in MIL. I don't expect them to trade for a BIG bat like an Alvarez level hitter. Wouldn't want them to actually, because it would be too cost prohibitive. I would like to see them hunt for a big-ger bat, an upgrade but not a premier hitter, preferably for 3B. Who exactly that is, that makes sense from cost to commitment, to blocking prospects etc, I don't know. I'm a bit of a prospect hugger, but am open to happy medium trades trying to plug holes at what I consider reasonable risk / reward odds.

Assuming health and if MIL was intent on it, I could live with that. Williams seemed like an odd piece to acquire and perhaps was only added to be part of a deadline trade package. Lara potentially adds an upgrade to Frelick and Perkins in the Brewers current situation, but do we need yet another small, fast, defensive guy who may or may not be able to hit MLB pitching? Do any of the big market teams trot out 5'7" outfielders? I'm familiar of Letson as a standout in the lower affiliates but seems like there are a number of guys like that. Still think a bigger, veteran bat is more of a priority.

Not a big fan of trading for a pitching rental coming off an injury. On the positive, that might keep the trade price down some. I see the appeal, just would prefer a bigger bat

Thought the same thing. I would be livid

Yeli with a clutch walk

Hamilton was an excellent utility upgrade

Sal “Finally” Frelick with the clutch knock

LOL, yes I can get long winded. True, we are stuck with managing expectations. That doesn't address the mental aspect of the players involved though. Rightly or wrongly, fans can reach the "just glad we made the playoffs" submission mindset. I don't want the guys I cheer for to adopt that perspective, however. Maybe they don't. Sure looks like it sometimes though.

The Dodgers are in the Brewers head in my view. At least somewhat. It happens. The Packers have (some might say "had"?) owned the Bears for decades. The Yanks owned the Twins in the early 'OO's. No doubt, LA's favored MLB son status allows them to spend on talent with impunity. That can't be entirely overlooked nor entirely blamed for their cat and mouse toying with MIL. However.... its not just the illegitimate "competition" which MLB Inc and the Players' Union foists upon small market fans. One star player on a team with no spending limits may make 3-4x what a star player on a small market team makes. That does not mean that the one guy is 3-4x as talented. At some point, it comes down to not only talent, but heart, determination, mental fortitude, and pride. They could use a little more leadership, more emotion driven by competitive indignation now and then. That's not a clubhouse cancer. That is a guy fed up with settling for being "the bridesmaid but never the bride" so to speak. This team does not have a leader everyone looks to and can count on to produce and spur the others when the chips are down against the elite payrolls. They were beat last night after the Tucker triple and Pages HR. The team has grit. That is indisputable. They can come back from that kick to the competitive balls by the Cubs, Padres, DBacks etc... but not L.A. Sure, there might be an exception here and there on that. The Dodgers have the best All Star pitching staff money can buy. They have a bevy of the best hitters money can lure. It's insulting and ridiculous. It's the reality of today's illegitimate MLB structure. But you can't tell me that L.A.'s roster overall is 3-4x more talented. I doubt it's even twice as talented overall. The Brewers' Goliath conundrum with L.A. is at least partially mental. When they can't dictate the flow of the game by "drag'em" at bats, often resulting in weak infield dribblers aided by speed, bunting, forced errors and timely hitting, followed up by top defense, and solid pitching.... they are cooked. That is overcome by pursuing a couple of reliable veteran power bats that have come from a different clubhouse culture. That requires a front office willingness to sacrifice what you can afford to sacrifice - namely... prospect capital, Milwaukee's default is to resist the age old wisdom of "a bird in hand is better than two in the bush". They have an obsessive preference with their young talent in the minors over proven, "better than mediocre" quality MLB players. They know full well that most of their supposedly deep farm system will not become above average to star major leaguers. But they can afford them. They use them to tease us fans along with their potential. This is how we end up with the "meh" rosters of over hyped prospects like Mitchell, Frelick, Black etc. It's effective enough to keep fans emotionally invested ("entertained"). It sells tickets, merch and overpriced concessions which keeps the ownership investors in the black and MLB INC healthy. It makes suckers out of small market fans who expect a level playing field but continue to bend over and take it because they love the game. We have no power or choice other than to divorce our financial support from the game that many of us love and still want to believe has integrity. Drug cartels profit handsomely, live in opulence by leveraging addiction against their clients too. To sum up.. the Brewers aren't mentally tough enough, are fighting an insulting set of financial tied competitive circumstances, and the unholy alliance of the MLB investors AND the Players Union laughs all the way to the bank while taking us all for the addicted suckers we are in small market America.

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.