Matt Breen

Nelson, Garza, Davies, Suter and Guerra. I don't see us making a big move. When Anderson comes back, we'll see who gets shipped to AAA or the bullpen (either Suter or Guerra is my guess).

I've quietly rooted for Garret Cooper over the past couple of years, but I think it's pretty obvious that there isn't room for him at the major league level. Thames and Aguilar have been very productive - there just wasn't an opening in the near future for Cooper. Hopefully, this gives him a chance to play on the big stage. Don't know anything about Webb other than looking at his stats. He has been a nice and consistent performer in his career - mid-3.00 ERA reliever. If he can bring that to the big leagues, it's a nice addition. Good luck to Cooper.

I think Jiménez is going to be a beast. The White Sox are picking up some nice players to build around.

People can get very serious about this kind of stuff, so I'm good with a little humor. I mean, I saw the title of the thread and just smiled. It worked. Of course, perhaps I'm the wrong guy to chime in. I'm posting videos of baby goats in pajamas in the minor league forum.

Agree. Thank you. Awww. I was hoping for more baby goat videos.

In 1996, everyone's favorite person, Scott Boros, found a loophole in the draft rules that allowed four 1st round picks to become free agents. The rules stipulated that draft picks had to be made a written offer within 15 days of the draft. The crazy thing was that most of the teams didn't realize this rule was in effect. A bunch of teams hadn't followed the rule. In the end, four players were declared free agents, including San Diego State first baseman Travis Lee (No. 2, Twins), Texas high school righthander John Patterson (No. 5, Expos) and Pennsylvania high school righthander Matt White (No. 7, Giants) Florida high school lefthander Bobby Seay (No. 12, White Sox). They were the first U.S. players ever to gain free agency in the summer in which they were drafted. Tampa signed White for a $10.2 million bonus and Seay for $3 million, while the Diamondbacks signed Lee for $10 million and Patterson for $6.075 million. The top pick in the draft in 1996 - Kirk Bensen - got a $2M signing bonus. BA has a good write up on this and other draft hold outs here: http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/top-10-draft-holdouts-time/#000YMDdvfFHH0kP7.99

Brewers get RP Ryan Madson from Oakland. A's get OF Ryan Cordell from Milwaukee.

Nice. Made me laugh.

Put that way, all thing being equal, I would take Aguilar. Doesn't strike out as much, patient at the plate. Very close call though. This year, Thames has a 27.1% strikeout rate. Aguilar has a 29.5% rate. Thames also has a 15.5% walk rate - more than double Aguilar (7.4%).

Even against a lefty?

Brinson has such enormous potential that I would have no problem bringing him up again if we needed another OF and the club thinks he is ready or near ready. He looked overmatched in his first stint, but the talent is there. He is going to have growing pains, whether we bring him up next week or a month or a year from now. The payoff is (hopefully) a guy hitting his stride come September and ready to contribute for the playoffs. Obviously the club would have to live with his growing pains - but that's the risk you take. The good part is that he could contribute defensively right from the get go. It could compensate a bit for his bat if he struggles for a while. And then, when the bat comes around, you have someone who could be a difference maker in a playoff race (and the playoffs). To me the question is what do the Brewers have in Broxton. I was cautiously optimistic about the guy coming into the season. I figured if he could hit .250 with some power and quality defense, he'd be a great CF. Offensively, he's been okay. What's disappointed has been his defense, which was so good last year. He's looked pretty mediocre this year - a few highlight reel plays here and there, but otherwise, lots of smaller mistakes, including poor routes and slow jumps. I believe Brinson (or Phillips) would be an upgrade in the field. What I could see happening is if by the end of the month Broxton is still still struggling with the bat and on defense, the team could send him down to AAA to work on his game. They then give Brinson a full time shot in CF for a month. At that time, they make a call on Keon. Perhaps the stint at AAA would help him - just like it did last year. Just a thought.

Agree. Thank you.

I saw Bloodsport on its original theatrical run - must have been nearly 30 years ago. I feel old...

I prefer cat and dog videos. Baby animals of any kind are usually pretty good too. I like this one a lot - goat babies in pajamas! Enjoy.

Lutz homers in his debut. Nice way to start.

I don't think you are wrong to be concerned. Guerra's limited history, coupled with the injuries, just make him more than a bit of a wild card. Barring a trade, I'm guessing the club sticks with him until Anderson is back. Because if Guerra can right the ship - he can be really good. However, if Guerra continues to pitching poorly (and he has looked pretty bad lately), and Anderson gets back, I wouldn't be shocked if he was replaced in the rotation by Suter or Woodruff (assuming he gets back to health). Right now: Nelson, Davies, Garza, Guerra, Suter When Anderson gets back, you go with your top five. If Guerra gets squeezed out at that time, then so be it.

The Brewers having one all star isn't a big deal. It shows you the club has been built with breadth and depth in mind. While I'd love to have a Trout anchoring the lineup, that's just not how we have been constructed. We have eight hitters projecting to to produce 2.0+ WAR or better. No, we don't have any guys who will likely produce a 5.0 or 6.0 WAR or better - but that's okay. We've got all around solid production. It isn't sexy, and outside of Shaw, probably none of the hitters is all star worthy. I've said before that I like how the team has been built. It's built to withstand loses. When someone gets hurt, you have others guys step up and production doesn't suffer that dramatically. We've also taken chances on several players - and it's paid off. Again, not all the moves work out, but the point is you bring in the next man when they don't - and see how it goes.

Nope. 25 is fine. We talk about this every year as well. It's actually a bit of work doing the Top 25 - and the more slots, the more work. Plus, I don't want to discourage people by making it too in depth. Knowing minor league guys is pretty geeky. I am cool with that. But the Top 25 is supposed to be for fun. And I really want as many people as possible to participate. Making it too much of a task might discourage some participation. And as I said - the more slots to have - the more tabulating of votes there is involved. So 25 it is.

Well, the Lutz signing is good news. It was more than I anticipated - but getting him signed is the most important thing.

Samardzija is a bit of a frustrating player. He seems like he's kind of guy who should put up better numbers - and does so every now and then - just to tease everyone. That said, I'd be wary of taking on nearly $20M in salary over the next 3.5 years. Not that Samardzija wouldn't be really nice to have in the rotation at this time - but more to maintain financial flexibility. You commit $20M to one guy, and there's not a lot more we're going to be able to do. Honestly, a 200 inning guy - even just a good, not great, one - would be wonderful for this team. I just don't know if he's worth it. I guess it all comes down to what is the cost to make the deal happen.

Good for Corey. I honestly don't really care. I haven't watched an all-star game (from any sport) in probably 10-15 years. I just find them boring. But it's a nice feather in the guy's cap - and a deserved one. He's been great. Glad he's on our team.

Yes, we do debate this every year. The reasoning we wait until August 1 is a combination of things. 1. The trade deadline is probably the biggest reason we wait. People like to see what moves we make (both additions and subtractions). Last year we slotted in Brinson and Bickford and Ortiz in our mid-season poll. Those trades generated a ton of interest (we had 60+ poll submissions last summer - by far a record). Doing the poll a few weeks before the trade deadline is just a bit premature for a lot of people. As an example, we did the mid-season poll in 2015 in July. Less than two weeks later Gomez was dealt, and Phillips, Houser, Hader and Santana were added to the system. So our Top 25 sat there for three months without any of those guys on it. 2. With poll before the trade deadline, there is always the risk of a trade happening during the vote time frame that totally screws up your voting. Example: let's say you run a vote from July 1 to July 10. On July 5, the Brewers make a big trade, acquiring several good prospects. At this point, what do you do? Do you restart the vote? Do you hope everyone comes back and updates their list? I have to admit, that isn't that likely to happen - but the threat of it is still there. During the 2015 poll, I was worried that Gomez was going to get dealt during the voting - and I'd have to figure out how to deal with the situation. Thankfully, the trade didn't happen until after the poll was done. 3. It does give us some data from short season ball to react to. Even if it's only 6-8 weeks, people like to see that data. In the end, I think the biggest thing is that the trade deadline generates a ton of interest on the boards and about the team in general. People like to weigh in on the shinny new toys. I don't think either way is really that much better - but users seem to like to see how things stand after the trade deadline before making any decisions. Totally understandable.

You know, I understand the desire to make trades - including big trades - but I'm also a bit in the boat of we got this far in this fight with what we brought, so I'm good with finishing it that way. I like our offense, so I don't see the need to mess with that. For starting pitching, Anderson is out, but he'll be back in August (assuming all goes well). I'm happy to see how guys do for the next few weeks. Who knows, maybe someone steps up and really shines. Woodruff will be back this month - maybe he's the guy that steps up. As for relievers, there's Lopez and Suter and Hader and a few others guys. Cool. Just let them play. I'm not adverse to some minor deals (or even a big deal if the price is right) - trading marginal prospects for a reliever or even a starter. Maybe take on some payroll. That's great. I like that flexibility. But I don't want to give up on our young players for a rental or an aging veteran or whomever. Again, I'm not adverse to making a major deal - just has to be at our price. I'm enjoying the club this year. I'm happy to see how they play out - even without making a lot of moves. I can see some tweaks - but I'm good with letting the kids play and rolling the dice. I want this kind of stuff happening every year - not just once a decade.

Coulter's fourth inning homer lifts Shuckers over Barons Jon Perrin tossed four shutout innings in relief to earn victory By Biloxi Shuckers Clint Coulter launches his team-leading eighth home run in Friday night's win in Birmingham (Mark P Driscoll) Biloxi Shuckers Box Score Quick Summary: Taylor Williams was back on the mound tonight and went two innings on what I imagine is a pretty strict pitch count coming off injury. Williams has not been very efficient or effective in his two outings since coming back racking up 40 pitches today in just two innings. Blake Allemand with 3 hits and Clint Coulter with a homer power the offense to a 5-2 win. Pitching Summary: On the mound, Taylor Williams (2.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, K) started the game while Jon Perrin (4.0 IP, 3 H, 5 K), Travis Hissong (2.0 IP, 2 BB, K), Tayler Scott (0.2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB), and Matt Ramsey (0.1 IP, K) provided the relief. Hitting Summary: Clint Coulter (1-4, 2 RBI, R, HR) Dustin Houle (2-4, 2B, R) Blake Allemand (3-4, R, 3B, RBI) Biloxi Shuckers Game Log Clint Coulter goes deep. Biloxi Top of the 3rd Biloxi Top of the 4th Blake Allemand singles on a line drive to right fielder Mason Robbins. Michael Choice strikes out swinging. Art Charles Jr. grounds out to first baseman Keon Barnum. Blake Allemand to 2nd. Clint Coulter homers (8) on a fly ball to left field. Blake Allemand scores. Javier Betancourt strikes out swinging.

Great article about the making of the classic "Bull Durham." http://sportsrip2.blogspot.com/2017/06/bull-durham-at-29-true-hollywood-story.html?curator=SportsREDEF Hard to believe it was made 29 years ago. The article is from Paul Devlin, who worked on the film and appeared as one of the players (he played a couple of years of minor league ball and is now a sports film maker). It's a pretty awesome story.