MNBrew

I don't have any really clever ideas, just a long list of things that I think need fixing, so I'd.... I'd permanently banish Rob Manfred -- ultimate source of dumb ideas, hair-brained rule changes & needless tinkering, and the relentless & clueless alienator of players. I'd also permanently ban the 3-batter rule for relievers, the notions of ads on uniforms, Manfred's ghost runner rule, and Nike's NBA-ish attempt at trendy (but actually horrendous) uniforms -- so far they're all as bad or worse as those awful Turn Ahead the Clock ones. I'd forever allow defensive shifts so players finally get around to figuring out again how to hit the ball where the fielders ain't. I'd insist that official scorers be consistently trained to recognize that is a fielding error is a fielding error, and then make the correct ruling, rather than often opting for a ruling that favors a hitter's stats. The HOF is full of guys that broke rules or gained competitive advantage (greenies, anyone? cocaine is an upper, you know -- faster recovery/fake energy??? hello!!!!). I'd remove all sanctimonous & self-righteous approaches within BBWA rules and HOF voters so that all steroid-era players with HOF-caliber numbers are judged solely on their on-field performance -- just like their predecessors from all other eras. I'd take the red (or whatever catchy color name they call it) OUT of the AZ uniforms and replace it with the purple that they first had. Both are "southwestern" colors on some level and neither are rattlesnake colors, so go with the one that's more unique. I'd also go back to minimizing interleague play & have four 8-team divisions. Toward that end, I'd add a Montreal Expos team back into MLB (with the early '80s versions of the uniforms, not the pinstripes), which would necessitate a 32nd team, too -- and that one CANNOT ever be in Las Vegas.... There was a time in the '80s & '90s that Buffalo was thought to be the next most-likely expansion city. . . . For that matter, I'd find a way to build a stadium in Tampa for the Rays. That's where everybody in that area lives, not out the causeway in St. Pete, which is a pleasant but definitely NOT "happening" area by comparison. I'd make packs & sets of baseball cards forever stay at early- to mid-'80s prices so they're always accessible & affordable for collectors & young kids alike. Finally, I'd bring back the previous Brewers uniforms & color scheme and incorporate the ball/glove logo as an official part of that look so it AND the M/barley logos could forever coexist. Bonus: I'd bring bag a modernized version of the giant stein & Bernie's chalet. The dugout & waterslide-into-the-hot-tub is alright, but nothing says "Milwaukee" like that stein did! (The warning moat idea is a pretty awesome idea, too.)

I witnessed a Scott Karl homer just hook fair inside the RF foul pole at County Stadium. He hit two career HRs, both in 1999, so I can say with confidence that '99 was the year I saw that happen. ? I remember Bronswell Patrick hitting one, too, but can't remember if I was in attendance for that or not (and I'm not going digging into my ticket stub collection to find out). He was in one game long enough to walk 10 guys, I think (unless it was Rafael Roque -- just as good of a chance with either guy), and I know I watched that adventure happen (upper box, 3rd base line -- a very good view of very shaky pitching!). I'm sure I've witnessed in-person a few other Brewer pitchers' homers over the years, but those two stood out because they were a fairly new phenomenon for the Brewers after moving to the NL. A little digging pointed out that Patrick's was the Brewers' first HR by a pitcher since 1971. In terms of impact, Woodruff's off of Kershaw tops my list.

MA has definitely shown that he'll pony up for what Stearns believes is the right big move. The move has to be there in the first place, though -- can't make a deal happen that's not there or that the right player's not interested in. There's a lot of action right now, but since this is really Hot Stove Part 2 going on, it becomes easy to get down when the Brewers don't get a big name when some action with big names happens. Stearns' actions back up his words, that the Opening Day roster isn't the be-all/end-all, and that moves to make the team better can happen at any time. Tom Haudricourt would routinely say once big names signed and it seemed like the Brewers "lost out" that it's proven true again and again that players generally seem to know where they want to go, and he was usually right about it (think: Justin Turner re-signing with LA among many, many others). It seems you're asking MA to do is throw big $$ at somebody . . . . and when he did that with Lohse, Suppan, etc. types a decade or whatever ago, he was berated for doing so non-stop on this board for years afterward. I'd pretty much always rather the Brewers make no deal than make a bad deal, as horribly disappointing and boring as that is.

The allure of another potent bat is real (Freddie Freeman, anyone? I know, I know, that's probably not realistic...), but there's also the reality of who already makes up this roster. I'm not sure what room there is for someone who's not a game-changer, a more elite-level player. If they can get a game-changer, then we either have that much more depth or we move someone to make room. Position players as things currently stand: Catcher: Narvaez, Severino IF: Tellez, Wong, Adames, Urias, Hiura OF: Cain, Yelich, Renfroe, McCutcheon, Taylor Utility: Peterson, Brosseau That's already 14 guys. Brosseau & Hiura have options remaining but if they're in AAA (I'm not saying they should be there) and going well, they need to have a way to earn a spot back in the MLB lineup.

I agree with questioning the feasibility of another addition. If Hiura makes the team and if/when the McCutcheon thing is announced, we have 14 guys for 13 position player spots. If there's another substantial bat acquired, at least one guy has to go. Brosseau having an option remaining helps, but his bat should also help. This makes for an interesting situation to watch. Plus David Dahl is in camp as an NRI. Whoever makes the team is part of the deal, but having some quality depth matters, too. Of course, if Freddie Freeman wants to join the Brewers, I'd take him as an upgrade over Tellez. ?

Apparently official, per MLBTR. Link

Strickland would be a good signing and likely wouldn't be too expensive based on what Boxberger just signed for. That would be 6 solid guys for 8 spots (or 7 spots if they at times use a 6-man rotation). You can't have enough depth. Cousins was super good for most of last year, but if he falters too much, doesn't he have options left? If so, that would give them more flexibility. And there are sure to be some injuries where guys miss time, even if just for shorter stints.

I'm not sure him returning to MIL was ever the most likely scenario, but it seemed cool. At that price and term, I'm glad we didn't pay it.

The Mets ask everybody about anyone who's any good. Just because they're interested doesn't mean anything about the Brewers being interested/willing to deal.

... cost of $4.14 for 5,000 Terrace level tickets

We all have our flaws. The guy was a dedicated professional and did his job quite well for a long, long time. That's honorable, and all the more so when other baseball media folks responded to his announcement on Twitter with the compliments that they did.

Definitely understood that. Wasn't pointing my response at you, rather at the idea. On some level we obviously have more good tools to understand how front offices may think & quantify data/stats, but unless any of us are parts of front office discussions, what player nets what return in a trade is still conjecture on our parts. One thing that doesn't seem to come up much in discussions about Hader is that besides the fact that he's been pretty darn consistent in his production -- and at a near-elite if not outright elite level -- he's also been really, really healthy & durable to date. That adds value beyond just stats.

The A's normally don't trade for guys who are in arbitration when they are looking to shred payroll. So Tellez makes zero sense along with Dominic Smith so I see the A's rejecting this trade. Yes the A's would have to replace Olson with someone but that someone would be someone making the league minimum and not someone in their 1st or 2nd year of arbitration. So someone is either adding Piscotty or Andrus to their team if the A's are taking on Smith or Tellez. I just do not see the A's taking on someone who is already in arbitration. I think a Yankees, Brewers and A's trade makes more sense. Brewers get: Gallo Voit Yankees get: Olson Houser A's get: Dominguez Peraza I agree with StearnsFTW. This proposed deal gains the Brewers a potentially solid (though obviously not flawless) return, filling some needs, without giving up the cream at the top of their prospect collection.

I know there's plenty of solid math behind these values & calculators, but there's no reason at all the Brewers should be giving up three top-level prospects AND the best closer in baseball for Jose Ramirez. That logic seems patently absurd. Hader himself is worth a considerable haul. On top of that, if it were just the Brewers-Jays part of this proposal, is Hader really worth only the three prospects shown here that don't even rate as highly as the three Brewers prospects would hypothetically have to include with Hader to net Jose Ramirez in the full deal? Part of the issue here seems to be that the value of prospects is still based on potential that may or may not ever be fully realized at the MLB, whereas Hader & Ramirez are known & fully proven.

The bullpen was usually similarly stellar when Lee Tunnell was the bullpen coach. In the big picture, the Brewers' bullpen has been really good under at least a couple straight pitching coaches. Heck, for the most part, the Brewers have had a good bullpen, good bullpen coaches, and a great track record for helping unheralded guys find big league success going back to Bill Castro's long tenure as the bullpen coach.

EXACTLY! Jim Bowden is an idiot. On one hand, he's experienced & connected. On the other, his takes ALWAYS favor moves that are biased toward big markets & trendy frontrunners. So in his mind, put a little spit-shine on the Mets' names who either were promising prospects or were previously good -- conveniently ignoring their faults -- and why wouldn't the Brewers agree to give up the best closer in baseball? Besides his track record as an MLB GM, takes like this reinforce why he hasn't been a candidate for a GM job since Washington fired him.

He was one of the best hitting coaches we ever had and that tool worked! I think too many guys on the current roster would look utterly foolish against it.

Announcers & writers would talk regularly during his Brewers tenure about how Carlos Lee (El Caballo for those who don't remember) would choke up just a little with two strikes him to focus all the more on making contact, and that approach made a very real positive impact. Continuing this aside: A friend and I also talk regularly about how a core of Brewers hitters in the late '90s era (Cirillo & Loretta, very notably, perhaps also Vina/Surhoff/Nilsson in some part) for a couple years would take batting practice using a machine that shot tennis balls at them at around 140 mph, and the balls had particular marks on them. The whole point was training their eyes and hand/eye that much more, and it clearly paid off because those guys were really good hitters with a good eye at the plate. For the past 15-ish years I keep wishing the Brewers had guys who were just plain good hitters who typically had quality ABs and also didn't feel the need to hit the ball over the fence every time.

I'd think Ray or David Dahl are the likely 5th OFs, with Dahl getting first crack. Assuming no injuries, I think they're likely to give Ray some AAA time first to try to get his groove going. Maybe he can start to figure it out better. Look how long Tyrone Taylor took to develop.

Trotting out an old line, but I've long felt your 4th OF needs to be a guy you'd be comfortable having start 100 games. Bradley should've been that guy -- and was defensively, but he totally forgot everything he ever learned or did about successfully hitting a baseball. I think Taylor's easily that 4th OF in 2022. If multiple guys get hurt, we have in-house multiple-position-playing options for the short run, plus Corey Ray on the 40-man and other guys in the system (prospects or AAA non-prospect types). Opportunities to pick up serviceable, experienced MLB OFs occur with some regularity over the course of a season.

I've held myself as a baseball traditionalist and loved the Brewers moving to the NL, too.... and I HATE the ideal of the DH and all of Manfred's other stupid ideas about changing baseball rules (the ghost runner in extra innings, pitch clocks, consider banning the shift, 3-batter minimum for relievers, etc. -- and ESPECIALLY the disingenuous idea of minimizing the length of the 2020 season and a handful of other things that have done nothing but alienate the players). Manfred was a good 1st lieutenant to Commissioner Selig. As a leader himself, he's nothing but an idiot and a fool.... Bud got incorrigible owners to work together and was a master at consensus building, working behind the scenes to get to smooth, good endings with the players every negotiation. Manfred is just plain clueless and his approach shows he just doesn't get it. He's so concerned about changing rules in the spirit of chasing the attention of the 20- and 30-somethings, yet he foolishly & myopically kills an interesting offseason with a lockout that, if it goes on for a significant length of time, risks pushing fans away permanently AGAIN. . . . If the players don't bargain in good faith, then that's on them, not Manfred. I get that neither side could/should be negotiating against themselves with no meaningful counteroffers. But in the end, the key to solving every labor stoppage has always been to get back to keeping talking until you figure it out. Stupid Manfred keeps blowing things up and seems completely clueless about the impact of his actions. I'm not an apologist or advocate for the players or the owners. Never have been, never will be. I can't stand Manfred. And back on topic, I hate the universal DH even though I'm inclined to think Josh Bell would make a nice addition. Sorry to hijack the thread to rant.

Keon Broxton? :-)

If Hiura can figure out how to swing his bat and actually make contact with a baseball again with any regularity at the major league level, we'll have our 1B for super cheap compared to a big, splashy move. While I'd love it to happen & know Hiura's pre-2020 track record, I'm wary given how whacked he's been at the plate for the last two seasons (to be more precise, full-length 2021 & the fraction of a season that was 2020). I like the Brosseau move. Typical Stearns. I'm guessing there's at least one Adames-like move coming (if it wasn't Brosseau) -- meaning a "non-sexy" acquisition guy with potential who actually starts living up to it in MIL. If more than one move turns out that way, even better. . . . And I'm guessing that the non-sexy but effective move is more likely under Stearns than a "holy crap, we just acquired a total stud" move.

I'm not big into launch angle, but I buy into the theory that the issue is his swing which makes this ^^^ explanation makes a ton of sense. Too many easy grounders when he's capable of better. I'm not into launch angle at all for the sake of HRs. But the solution for too many easy grounders obviously lies in driving the balls more of the time somewhere other than on the ground. On a related note, I'm not into JBJ at all because he's somehow not into getting hits. Remember a few years ago when Manny Pina somehow had about the worst BA w/ RISP in the history of mankind? JBJ is just about as worthless when it comes to hitting a baseball at all. Just imagine how much more productive the Brewers offense might be if JBJ were hitting anywhere close to his now-.231 career BA!!! I'd take that 65-point jump in a heartbeat!

I don't think you can overvalue pitching depth. Per FVBrewerFan's #4 above, I'd far prefer Houser & Lauer in the rotation as opposed to Lindblom, etc.