Brewers 2012-2013 Offseason Optimism Thread

[torts]

So much to be optimistic about, even just a day after the year ended. Here are a few things to look forward to this winter and through spring training...

 

NL Awards Braun for MVP! A-Ram for Gold glove! Aoki for Rookie of the Year!

Going after that elusive FA arm!

Our rotation young arms!

1400 strike outs! By Pitchers!

The offense! No major changes needed! A tweet here or there!

Possible extensions! (Hart, Aoki, Gomez)

 

I for one am excited for AZL/Winter league ball, heres hoping some of the young bucks can keep up their performance from the summer, through winter and into spring ball!

 

Let's keep this optimism going! If anything was proven in the second half, is that this team is good. Dealt two vet arms from the rotation, won a ton of games, bats woke up, bounced back from losing every-day 1B and SS, THIS IS EXCITING!

[torts]

from the presser today for winter and plans for 2013:

 

Hart at 1B

Aoki at RF

Gamel from the Bench

Segura is nice at SS, apparently Gonzalez could still be in the mix?

Axford will be the closer

very unlikely to spend big money on rotation arm (RIP Return of the Greink-i)

[Thurston Fluff]

The offense alone makes me feel optimistic for next season. Not only was it productive but it was diverse. It can win in so many different ways. Lead the league in steals and homeruns, second in sac bunts. It's great to have an offense than can do one thing very well. To have on that does everything well should be illegal.

[Patrick425]

from the presser today for winter and plans for 2013:

 

very unlikely to spend big money on rotation arm (RIP Return of the Greink-i)

 

As we know, what Melvin states and what he does are often times two different things. There was also this (from Brewers Blog on JS Online):

 

Are you worried about going with four young guys in the rotation next year if that's the case: That's something we'll take a look at. We'll have to figure that out.

 

So take from that what you will. If they do not add another experienced dependable arm (and please, something more than a Wolf or Suppan), I would be disappointed. Yes, they have several young arms to choose from, but I would hate to take a chance when most other pieces (other than bullpen) seem to be in place. From what I can tell, even with the scheduled raises and arbitration eligible raises, the payroll would currently stand somewhere between $70 and $75 mil if I'm looking at it correctly ($75 mil may actually be on the high end). Assuming they don't make extreme cut's to payroll, it seems like they could still be in the market for someone like Edwin Jackson.

 

Although, I also know that quality FA pitchers market values often increase substantially once the bidding wars begin...so, maybe someone like Jackson will end up being out of their price range, especially considering they need to add a couple of quality arms to the bullpen as well. I'm thinking Jackson should be somewhere between $10 and $15 mil/yr...however, I guess that it could easily escalate to between $15 - $20 mil per year (which would be crazy imho.....J. Werth type crazy).

[FVBrewerFan]

I'm opimistic becaue they don't NEED to make any moves at all. That's a pretty good position to be in going into the hot stove league. They CAN extend Hart, Gomez, or Aoki but don't NEED to. They could trade Hart, Ramirez (or anyone else for that matter) but don't have to do so. Just sit back and see if someone offers outstanding value. You can sign a Marcum or someone similar, but again you don't NEED to do that.

 

This team as it stands today needs to add a couple bullpen arms, and they're in contention again for the division and beyond. (And they have already addressed the BP to some degree internally, and have a couple more options they can go to internally.)

 

Now, you can say I'm overly-optimistic about such a young rotation. Maybe I am. But I'm generally not a very optimistic person when it comes to the Brewers. I have just seen enough of the young guns to be convinced they can be good enough to keep this team in contention. And if they are in contention come August, well, they can always trade for a rotation arm to help down the stretch.

[TURBO]

I'm opimistic becaue they don't NEED to make any moves at all.

 

I agree with your post except for the above sentence.

 

We NEED to make some bullpen moves.

 

Carry on.

[bork]

The outlook for 2013 is certainly brighter than it was just a few months ago. You had questions about who would replace Wolf, Grainke, and Marcum or if you needed to extend one or two of them. Question at 1B and SS. Questions about Ramirez. Questions about defense. Answered a lot of questions this year.

[TURBO]

I'm not sure anyone ever questioned Ramirez and his talent, I think there were just a lot of people who didn't like the contract. We all knew he could hit.

[adambr2]

It was definitely an interesting season and I think the best part of it was still getting that late season excitement of a playoff race. After burying ourselves in the standings in July to the point where even Melvin had to concede that selling was the right move, it was quite an amazing run. Came up short, but they definitely had us believing again.

 

Even though things didn't quite work out mid-season, I think it's important to remember that because we were so bad mid-season, we got our starting SS for the next 6 years, and a pretty darn good starting pitching prospect. I'm sure we would rather be in the playoffs right now, but that's an awfully good consolation prize.

 

This is somehow still maybe a bit overlooked, but we had the best offense in the National League. Give a lot of credit to Narron when people were calling for his head early in the season and most were panicking that this offense was ruined post-Prince. Didn't happen. The offense remains in tact for 2013, so expect them again to be among the best.

 

You would have thought with an offense like that, that we be talking playoffs right now -- also didn't happen. Let's be frank, the bullpen ruined this season. They were the worst bullpen in the NL, and there was no reason for that.

 

It's hard to say who will be brought back from the pen, but it's clearly the area that is going to need the most attention. Axford had a disappointing year, so he will be a big determining factor moving forward as to how much this pen improves. No one else is a sure thing for next year's pen, so there could be a lot of turnover. We'll see.

 

As bad as the bullpen was, the young starters (Peralta, Fiers, Rogers) have given hope to the future. It looked like 2012 was a last shot season, and instead of worrying how they would ever put together a contending rotation after losing Greinke and Marcum, they can now feel good about their chances moving forward. They are likely to make a move or two in free agency to tie up the lose ends, and it wouldn't be surprising if a starting pitcher or two is among those additions. I'm not taking their statement of not going after a FA starter at face value -- yet.

 

FWIW, I think they pretty much have the bench figured out next year, and to me it looks like it'll be a really strong one. They have pretty much already said that Gamel will be the guy off the bench, Hart will keep his spot at 1st, with Gomez in CF and Hart in RF. They are keeping a really good lineup together, and Gamel, Schafer, Maldonado, and Bianchi will be a strong bench.

 

It's going to be a pretty exciting offseason, and fortunately it does look like they are in a position to be able to look at 2013 as a possible contending season. We'll see what happens between now and next spring and especially how the rotation is going to pan out.

[adambr2]

I'm curious as to what he means by not spending big money on a FA pitcher. Does that just mean that they won't be in the Zack Greinke sweepstakes, or also that they won't be looking at guys like Ryan Dempster, Edwin Jackson, etc?

[torts]

I'm curious as to what he means by not spending big money on a FA pitcher. Does that just mean that they won't be in the Zack Greinke sweepstakes, or also that they won't be looking at guys like Ryan Dempster, Edwin Jackson, etc?

 

I'd assume it means no Return of the Greink-i, but not necessarly Dempy or Jackson

[bork]

FWIW, I think they pretty much have the bench figured out next year, and to me it looks like it'll be a really strong one. They have pretty much already said that Gamel will be the guy off the bench, Hart will keep his spot at 1st, with Gomez in CF and Hart in RF. They are keeping a really good lineup together, and Gamel, Schafer, Maldonado, and Bianchi will be a strong bench.

 

The one question I have is Ishikawa. He was probably the best pinch hitter on the team, but there's probably not a place for him with Gamel on the team.

[torts]

FWIW, I think they pretty much have the bench figured out next year, and to me it looks like it'll be a really strong one. They have pretty much already said that Gamel will be the guy off the bench, Hart will keep his spot at 1st, with Gomez in CF and Hart in RF. They are keeping a really good lineup together, and Gamel, Schafer, Maldonado, and Bianchi will be a strong bench.

 

The one question I have is Ishikawa. He was probably the best pinch hitter on the team, but there's probably not a place for him with Gamel on the team.

 

I mentioned him in another thread, he's a cheap bench option, only in his first year of arbitration, I think you'll see him on the bench and Bianchi in AAA to start the year of Segura hits Spring Training at a decent clip.

[JohnBriggs12]

The question about "having 4 young guys in the rotation" is based on a false premise. Estrada is 29 (turns 30) next year and has 32 major league starts. Fiers is 27 and like Estrada is older than Gallardo. He's got 22 starts. Rogers will be 27 on opening day next year. The only one of the group that's still "young" by baseball standards is Peralta, and he's not a kid.

 

Yes they are relatively inexperienced with 66 major league starts between them but consider Oakland's 2012 staff. They had 4 guys combine for 90 starts this year that came into this season with 14 major league starts between them. One was a first round pick. Two were middle round draft picks. One was a 29 year old that was never drafted.

[Outlander]

 

I mentioned him in another thread, he's a cheap bench option, only in his first year of arbitration, I think you'll see him on the bench and Bianchi in AAA to start the year of Segura hits Spring Training at a decent clip.

 

Who is backing up the middle infield then? I don't know if there is room for Ishikawa and Gamel since they both play first and bat left handed. I would rather see Maldonado, Schafer, middle infielder (Bianchi/Gonzalez/FA), Gamel or Ishikawa and another right handed bat with pop. If they get the right handed hitter off the bench this off season I would feel real confident in the position players on this team.

[torts]

 

I mentioned him in another thread, he's a cheap bench option, only in his first year of arbitration, I think you'll see him on the bench and Bianchi in AAA to start the year of Segura hits Spring Training at a decent clip.

 

Who is backing up the middle infield then? I don't know if there is room for Ishikawa and Gamel since they both play first and bat left handed. I would rather see Maldonado, Schafer, middle infielder (Bianchi/Gonzalez/FA), Gamel or Ishikawa and another right handed bat with pop. If they get the right handed hitter off the bench this off season I would feel real confident in the position players on this team.

 

honestly, you could have a bench with the following players,

C: Maldy

IF: Bianchi/Ishikawa/Gamel

OF: Schafer/Gamel

 

that bench would be better than what we started 2012 off with

C: Kottarras

IF: Ishikawa, Izturis/Ransom, Conrad

OF: Morgan

[adambr2]

It would be, but I can't see them going with only one backup for 3B, 2B, and SS and then three first basemen. Just don't think there is room for Ishikawa, unless Gamel is traded or something.

 

The 5th bench guy might be Green.

[torts]

It would be, but I can't see them going with only one backup for 3B, 2B, and SS and then three first basemen. Just don't think there is room for Ishikawa, unless Gamel is traded or something.

 

The 5th bench guy might be Green.

 

I didnt even think of Green, good point, he's more versatile than Gamel. I feel bad for him, I just dont know how he fits anymore now that Hart made that transition to 1B so well. It really put a wrench in Gamels future...

[Baldkin]

I'm not sure anyone ever questioned Ramirez and his talent, I think there were just a lot of people who didn't like the contract. We all knew he could hit.

 

I questioned it because the odds of a guy in his mid 30's who's never been healthy staying healthy for 3 seasons was slim to none.

[logan82]

I'm not sure anyone ever questioned Ramirez and his talent, I think there were just a lot of people who didn't like the contract. We all knew he could hit.

 

I questioned it because the odds of a guy in his mid 30's who's never been healthy staying healthy for 3 seasons was slim to none.

He didn't have a healthy season this year either so those questions have not gone away.

[And That]

1400 strike outs! By Pitchers!

 

This made me laugh. Thank you.

[torts]

1400 strike outs! By Pitchers!

 

This made me laugh. Thank you.

 

 

[jjfanec]

He didn't have a healthy season this year either so those questions have not gone away.

 

Here played in all but 13 games which was 8th for all of 3B in baseball. He may have not have been perfectly healthy but he played more games that your average MLB starter so I dont think I would say he didnt have a healthy season. What is a healthy season? Playing every game. Over the course of 162 games - I would assume missing 10-15 games is pretty normal which is right where Ramirez was at and he put up the 3rd best offensive numbers for any 3B.

[torts]

no worries about the return of Dillard or Chulk!!!! LATER GATOR!

[Mr Southpaw]

As the Hart contract expires at the end of 2013, I would love to see Lucroy make the move away from catcher to another position (right field or first base, like Charlie Moore did). Maldanado moves into the main catcher position with a third catcher (power lefty, like Kottaras) as the backup. That backup needs to also be able to play another position like first base. I love having three catchers on the roster as it gives you that extra pinch hitter option every game and does not "waste" the reserve catcher position. We have our best defensive catcher playing the majority of games and have great flexibility.

 

A bench of Biachi (ss, 2b, 3b), Green (3b, 2b 1b), Schafer (of), extra lefty catcher. and a cheaper version of Corey Hart (of, 1b, 3b) maybe it is Gamel maybe a right handed hitter.

 

With a starting lineup of..

 

Weeks 2b

Aoki rf

Braun lf

Ramerez 3b

Lucroy 1b

Gomez cf

Segura ss

Maldanado c

 

I love the way that lineup looks like two 1-4. When the first inning end with Ramerez, having Lucroy and Gomez 1-2 is similar to Weeks and Aoki.