At least we got this
Erik Kratz, 66 mph knuckle-ball. #Brewers pic.twitter.com/YDU4SaXv61
— Brewers Farm (@BrewersFarm) July 22, 2018
It would nice to have another bat, but they need starting pitching. The starting pitching is just not getting deep enough into games. As good as Hader, Jeffries, and a few others have been, it is not sustainable to have to use them as often as they did in the first half. They need an innings eater. Chacin is on pace for about 180 innings and Anderson for about 170. Guerra and Suter for about 150.
I know baseball has changed, but there is still a place for a guy to save your bullpen at least once every round through the rotation.
El-Ka-Bong posted:Music City posted:Braun a lineup black hole.
Braun squared up on both the outs with bases loaded. Those were not bad at bats
I'd like Braun to be what he before he got busted for PEDs, but he's not the problem.
The guy they really need is Orlando Arcia. He's an elite defensive shortstop - a Gold Glove level guy. The problem is that he hits like a pitcher at this point .
https://www.tmj4.com/sports/ba...-best-defense-in-mlb
Arcia seems to have had some success at Triple A the last few weeks. When he produces at the plate like he did last year (.277, 15 HR, 53 RBI, 731 OPS) he's elite. When he hits like this year (.197, 2, 15, 482) they feel they can't afford to play him even though his defensive WAR still makes him an average overall player despite having a terrible offensive WAR.
Arcia is the difference maker they need - even if it is to save some runs and pitch counts on defense for their overworked pitchers.
When Arcia has played they are 39-27 (granted some of those are as a defensive replacement - which still tells you something).
Without Arcia they are 17-20.
Arcia was exceptionally lost at the plate, I'm encouraged by what he is doing in the minors, but if this is for real we need to ship Darnell Coles ass to St. Louis and bring David Joppie up from the Sky Sox.
El-Ka-Bong posted:Music City posted:Braun a lineup black hole.
Braun squared up on both the outs with bases loaded. Those were not bad at bats
He’s getting paid too high a % of payroll to get a lot of loud outs and kicking the ball around the yard...
Arcia and Santana and Davies have been non factors this year. Nelson hasn’t returned. We forget how much those four guys made an impact last year.
Pina is hitting 30 points under his career average. Braun is hitting 65 points under his career average. Shaw is hitting about 20 points under his career average. Broxton is hitting 50 points under his career average. Kratz and Orf? Who gives a ****.
Guerra, Aguilar, Chacin, and Saladino have played very well, all things considered. Jeffries and Hader have been awesome, and I think Burnes can be very good. Cain and Yelich have been as advertised (solid to very good). Anderson and Knebel and Suter have been OK to above average at best.
Bottom line, this team banked on guys like Santana and Arcia and Braun playing well and they haven’t. Shaw has been dinged. The starting pitching can’t stay healthy and not sure Davies or Nelson or Anderson ever return to 2017 form. That’s a big hedge and all on Stearns.
This is why I would have dealt for DeGrom and Machado. Sure it would have cost them a lot, but they are fading fast and there’s no guarantee all these prospects work out. Have to strike while the iron is hot and they did not which means another 85 win season and miss the playoffs. Hope I am wrong but we have 2014 and 2017 as examples.
Music City posted:El-Ka-Bong posted:Music City posted:Braun a lineup black hole.
Braun squared up on both the outs with bases loaded. Those were not bad at bats
He’s getting paid too high a % of payroll to get a lot of loud outs and kicking the ball around the yard...
I agree we'll never see value return for Braun, that doesn't make every at bat bad.
I'd love to see more production from Braun, but I am not nearly as worried about him because I am not seeing horrible at bats (when he isn't on the DL).
Tschmack posted:Pina is hitting 30 points under his career average. Braun is hitting 65 points under his career average. Shaw is hitting about 20 points under his career average. Broxton is hitting 50 points under his career average. Kratz and Orf? Who gives a ****.
This is "Sogard is a better hitter than Orf" kind of thinking (PS- As of today, Orf is still a better hitter than Sogard).
The last thing I'm worried about Shaw doing is "raising that batting avg"
Tschmack posted:Arcia and Santana and Davies have been non factors this year. Nelson hasn’t returned. We forget how much those four guys made an impact last year.
Pina is hitting 30 points under his career average. Braun is hitting 65 points under his career average. Shaw is hitting about 20 points under his career average. Broxton is hitting 50 points under his career average. Kratz and Orf? Who gives a ****.
Guerra, Aguilar, Chacin, and Saladino have played very well, all things considered. Jeffries and Hader have been awesome, and I think Burnes can be very good. Cain and Yelich have been as advertised (solid to very good). Anderson and Knebel and Suter have been OK to above average at best.
Bottom line, this team banked on guys like Santana and Arcia and Braun playing well and they haven’t. Shaw has been dinged. The starting pitching can’t stay healthy and not sure Davies or Nelson or Anderson ever return to 2017 form. That’s a big hedge and all on Stearns.
This is why I would have dealt for DeGrom and Machado. Sure it would have cost them a lot, but they are fading fast and there’s no guarantee all these prospects work out. Have to strike while the iron is hot and they did not which means another 85 win season and miss the playoffs. Hope I am wrong but we have 2014 and 2017 as examples.
So lets see if I have this right. We should have traded 5-7 really good upcoming minor leaguers to replace 6 guys who are not playing well or at all for 2 guys that would save the season. Makes sense to me. 
Take a look at any team’s top prospects each year and you’ll realize most don’t have MLB careers of any significance, if at all.
I’m not sure it would have taken 5-7 guys to get both players. Supposedly, Stearns offered Phillips and Ortiz for Machado and that was considered the second best deal? Maybe throw in another A or AA prospect (not Hiura) and that may have put them over the top.
As for DeGrom, they likely would have had to give up a Burnes and a couple of more prospect and maybe a player (like Broxton or Arcia) but you get a legit #1 under team control for the next few seasons. That’s their window, correct? And I’m not sure there’s a guy in the system that can do what DeGrom can.
This idea that they gut their system for those two isn’t necessarily true. But in the end it doesn’t matter. It didn’t happen. We are stuck with what we have unless they make another deal which is still possible.