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How many extra wins do you think good chemistry gives a team over the course of a season? 0. It's a fun concept for fans to enjoy, but it's not tangible. This team doesn't hit well and certainly doesn't situationally hit well. Until that changes, no amount of chemistry in the clubhouse will change that.

The talent assembled is a .470 baseball team. Don't let the emotions of a big winning month (April 2014) or a big losing month (April 2015), cloud your judgment. Craig Counsell brings excitement, but the talent on the field needs to change for perpetual winning to return.

Lind seems to hit tough lefties just fine. :shrugs:

I'm skeptical "he" emailed back. I'd reckon he has handlers or PR folks. I could be mistaken. That said, I don't think I'm the right person to give him advice or criticize his $750M business. I enjoy the Brewers for entertainment value. The decisions, as maddening as they may be, are not my place to offer consulting.

Except, that isn't what's coming out of the coffers in any of those years. His max is $15M.

Not to mention that $15M in 2020 won't fetch talent near what it does today. $15M just won't be that overly cumbersome in a few years. Heck, Aramis Ramirez is nearly making that this year and it's not straining any part of the business operations. I can't imagine the financial committment it's going to take to come to a long term agreement with a Gilbert Lara, assuming he pans out as a superstar.

AFTER IT'S ALL PLAYED OUT...couldn't agree more! +1

I actually think you are overly emotional about the whole situation. It's Mark A's money, not mine. I'm emotionally detached from the revenue and expenses of the Milwaukee Brewers. As long as they are entertaining, I could care less about the characters on my favorite ballclubs. I'd personally give him a $100M bonus alone for his 2R HR in Game 162 of the 2008 season. Braun was grossly underpaid in accordance with his production from 2006-2012. So I don't really have a problem that he is overpaid in accordance with his production over the past couple of years. As it stands today, it's probably nearing a wash. Could it be a bad contract come 2020? Absolutely. But the worst contract ever? That's just emotional hyperbole. Jeffery Hammonds never gave the Brewers anything. As of RIGHT NOW, he's nearing a wash on value vs dollars paid. Ping me again in 2020.

Perfect! Let's analyze it in 2020.

Is it too late to change our minds?

Citizens don't get the same punishments in criminal prosecutions, why should employees in the business world? I personally love the discretionary process. Know a surefire way to keep your name out of the media?.... "Stop Breaking the Law!"

If you eliminate the phrase, "go for it" and any other similiar phrase from your vernacular, I'll gladly remove "bandwagon" and any derogatory reference to you jumping from it. I suspect we have a deal?

Ownership is awake. They just aren't doing what you want them do. Jumping off the bandwagon and not supporting the organization is not only "not the best way to fix things", it shouldn't even be a consideration.

I guess LambeauLeap is dead?

Great, we should just change our team name to the Huntsville Stars. Have a player like Giancarlo Stanton...trade him to get younger just before his arby years run out? I don't understand the logic of #5. A major league ballclub needs a variety of ages, experiences, talent types, etc. If not, you're just a minor league ballclub. Continually rotating to get younger and cheaper is something farm teams do. We need to acquire talent. It doesn't HAVE to be young talent. It doesn't have to be cheap talent.

What flippin' difference does it make if the owner spends $110M on player payroll or $60M on player payroll? They have to field a team. They have to pay 25+ guys. It's not like spending on player payroll has caused Mark A. to ignore infrastructure, stadium improvements, etc. Payroll isn't the problem. What evidence is there that the Marlins have done anything right? Stanton and the like are drafted in the same manner regardless of what number the payroll is at.

I said earlier and I'll say again: The hot start by us and poor start by St. Louis and Pittsburgh last season was the worst thing that could have happened to this franchise. Everyone was all obsessed with how long we were in first place last season. But they didn't notice apparently that after April the team had one winning month and played 10 games under .500. Playing 83% of your season 10 games under .500 does not equal a good team. But because of the fact that they were still in first place there was this illusion that they were much better than they really were. ~~ Paul253 ^This. Spot on. This. Last season wasn't a historic collapse. It was just a slow regress to the mean of who they really are. And given more time (say, adding April 2015) is a true indicator of how talented, or lack thereof, that they really are. There is a ton of conjecture in this thread that simply can't be confirmed and reads as quite silliness. "Mark A. is obsessed with not wanting to rebuild and thusly is to blame" Patrick has it right. There needs to be a happy medium with regards to acquiring talent when a clear window is available to contend. "Signing A. Ramirez" doesn't mean they went for it. "Signing K. Lohse" didn't mean they were all in. They just aren't that good of a team in terms of talent. It's not that they have bad approaches. It's not a mental problem. It's not a hustle problem. It's not a coaching problem. It's not a game management scheme problem. They just don't hit. Wishing for them to walk more or slap more singles isn't the difference between winning and losing. This team needs to acquire talent. Whether that happens via draft and development over 6 years, or by trade, or by the owner paying out of his own deep pockets (none of which impacts us as fans) is irrelevant to me. The hurdle to that, as many have mentioned, is the indentification of that talent. For that, DM can't retire or otherwise soon enough. This organization doesn't have a philosophy problem. They have a talent problem.

This is a .470 baseball team. Has been since the start of 2014, but Melvin and Co. have hung their hats on a crazy April 2014 and thought that was the real team that they had assembled. This team doesn't hit. The last thing we need is more bunting. Discipline isn't the problem, it's having guys that can hit the ball and hit with RISP. I sure hope Lara & Co. pan out. It's going to be a long 4 years. Still don't understand offering Ramirez his option. Whether is Roenicke or someone else is irrelvant. The Brewers are .470 talent. I used to defend DM 100%. My patience is just about wore thin.

^This. There seems to be an increase in the past 5 years or so in sports fandom that fans simply think if a player just WANTS to do something more that it will happen. ie, "he can't throw strikes, it must be mental" "he can't draw a walk, it must be mental" "he cant make over 65% of his free throws, it must be mental". This kind of thinking makes me crazy. As if they could just do it, if they wanted to. It must be all in their heads why they can't. This just simply isn't true. Most deficiencies can't be explained as being mental in origin. But it sure is a conveinent scapegoat for the average fan. "Eh, we'll just chalk it up to he's dumb and management puts up with it. Must be a mental problem"

That's because they aren't mental lapses. I just don't have the skillset to accurately throw at great distances.

Why does the performance have to be pegged dumb, boneheaded or mental? It's likely just the hole in his skillset. I do the same thing as an outfielder in softball. I know where the ball is supposed to go. I try and it just doesn't matter. No amount of practice is gonna change that.

I said last year and repeated it this off-season. This is a .470 baseball team. April 2014 was a mirage.

If you get together tomorrow, Saturday (4/11), I am in town and would love to come out and run around. Otherwise, I'm gonna find some place to play 18. You'll probably see this well past saturday though Matt.

In Milwaukee for the weekend. What's a decent tract to play at moderate cost?

I'm sitting in Lucas Oil and it's about 70-30 in favor of Kentucky fans.