Positive thoughts thread 2013

[The stache]

There's a lot of things to be positive about. When his neck isn't bothering him, Ryan Braun is putting up Ryan Braun numbers again. Batting .500 right now. Not too shabby. Ramirez was looking good before tweaking the knee.

 

The thing that really encourages me the most is the step forward Jean Segura has seemingly taken at the plate. This kid is going to be a star, all there is to it.

[The stache]

As I am watching yesterday's game for the first time on MLB.tv, I've got a few other things to be positive about. Things that give me a lot of hope that we'll not only weather this storm, but get back into contention.

 

The Brewers are manufacturing runs without the long ball. In seven games (three without Braun, all of 'em without Corey Hart, a couple now without Ramirez and Segura), we're still 15th out of 30 teams in scoring. And that's with only 5 home runs. And we're really not stealing bases yet as a team. Two thus far into the season. You have to figure that Segura, Aoki, Gomez, Braun, Aoki and Schafer will all have double digit steals, so when we start running, that will help us create more runs.

 

Nori Aoki's signing before last season paid off last year, and I think he's going to be even better this year. He's really seeing the ball well. I think he hits .300 this year.

 

And while our pitching has been terrible thus far, I'm liking what I'm seeing from Marco Estrada. 10.5 K per 9 IP is a nice start, and a 1.25 WHIP after two starts is about where I expect him, maybe slightly higher.

 

It's easy to get down after a 1-5 start, and I'm as guilty as anybody. But this is a long season, and if last year's finish showed us anything, this team has a lot of fight in it.

[Bombers]

Here are the records after 1 week into the season last year. I have them sorted by final standings. Bold is division winner, * for wild card. As you can see 2 teams (DET, WAS) who won their division started with a winning record after week 1.

2012 - AL

AL East After 6 AL Central After 6 AL West After 6

NYY 3-3 DET 5-1 OAK 3-4

BAL* 3-3 CWS 3-2 TEX* 5-2

TB 4-2 KC 3-3 LAA 2-4

TOR 4-2 CLE 1-4 SEA 4-4

BOS 1-5 MIN 2-4 HOU 3-3

2012 - NL

NL East After 6 NL Central After 6 NL West After 6

WAS 5-2 CIN 3-4 SF 2-4

ATL* 2-4 STL* 5-2 LAD 6-1

PHI 3-3 MIL 4-3 ARZ 5-1

NYM 4-2 PIT 2-4 SD 2-5

MIA 2-5 CHC 2-5 COL 2-4

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

The starting pitching has looked much better this series. Good outings from Estrada and Peralta. If those two are throwing well, Lohse and Gallardo make the starting rotation pretty solid.

 

The offense, when healthy, is great.

 

This team is playing really, really poorly right now. BUT from what I can tell the bullpen might be the only glaring weakness going forward. Put together a few wins. There are 18 games left in April. Just win 10.

 

37 games into 2011, this team was 16-21. I'm not going into panic mode yet.

[rluzinski]

Segura and Peralta may turn out to be the real deal.

[Eye Black]

Segura and Peralta may turn out to be the real deal.

This is my silver lining also.

[brewmann04]

I think we be getting a top 10 pick in 2014

[crossface21]

Nobody has literally caught on fire yet. So we got that going for us.

[Taylor Blue]

My positive thoughts:

- There are 154 games left (to make up only 3 games back in the division!)

- We have Ryan Braun

- A-Ram and Hart will be back

- Segura looks great, Aoki looks great

- Gallardo & Lohse should be strong, Estrada & Peralta should be average to above average

- There are 2 wild card teams these days

- Bullpen early struggles will lead to early changes (and hopefully someone will step up)

[Eye Black]

Nobody has literally caught on fire yet. So we got that going for us.

Not so fast...

http://i47.tinypic.com/24xiaur.jpg

[crossface21]

Nobody has literally caught on fire yet. So we got that going for us.

Not so fast...

http://i47.tinypic.com/24xiaur.jpg

 

I said YET.........

[Ennder]

Segura looks like he might be a really good SS. Aoki is confirming that he is a very good player(I had my doubts to be honest). Peralta looks like a legit #3 starter or better and Estrada looks like he wasn't a fluke.

[TooLiveBrew]

Man, I hope no Brewers player literally catches on fire. Or anyone, for that matter.

[RobDeer 45]

Man, I hope no Brewers player literally catches on fire. Or anyone, for that matter.

 

+1

 

I'm actually holding a pretty positive attitude when there seems like there isn't much to hold on to. Sure I yell a little at the tv but for the most part I'm still enjoying them. As we get healthier and start to get players in the normal positions, I think we'll play much better. If guys in the bullpen or rotation fail, I'm ok with it because we have some young pitchers that will get a shot to prove themselves. It' so early and last year taught us that even a team you're not expecting, can get hot, and go on a big run. They might end up out of the race early but that doesn't mean they can't play good baseball.

[Outlander]

I'm happy that John Axford and Mike Gonzalez only have one year deals. I'm also happy that Melvin got lucky and didn't end up signing McGehee and Axford to long term deals when it looked like both were going to happen.

[jjkoestler]

- Segura and Peralta look legit.

- Aoki could win a batting title. He is way better than I expected.

- Ryan Braun is good at playing baseball.

[djoctagone]

i'm happy that the brewers are patient at this point and seeking replacements in-house, rather than giving up great minor league talent in desperation for infield and bullpen help.

[JohnBriggs12]

Positives:

 

Axford has options.

 

Starting pitching is deep if not great.

 

I've posted before I thought Aoki could contend for a batting title. The Greinke for Segura trade may go down as one of the best ever.

 

The injuries, particularly to the corner infielders, exposed the one of two areas where lack of depth would pose a problem. The other was corner OF. There's still plenty of time for them to realize accumulating shortstops is not the answer to that issue. I'm rooting for either Halton or Morris to get hot enough to force there way here.

[faede]

Positives:

The Greinke for Segura trade may go down as one of the best ever.

 

Hellweg is the cherry on top!

[logan82]

Positives:

 

Axford has options.

 

Starting pitching is deep if not great.

He can't be sent down without passing through waivers.

[Invader3K]

Positives:

 

Axford has options.

 

Starting pitching is deep if not great.

He can't be sent down without passing through waivers.

 

I doubt anyone would dare claim him at this point.

[Outlander]

Positives:

 

Axford has options.

 

Starting pitching is deep if not great.

He can't be sent down without passing through waivers.

That would be a huge positive if somebody actually claimed him.

[pitchleague]

Ryan Franklin absolutely stunk it up in the closer role for STL in 2011 and lost his job by the end of April. They went on to win the World Series.

 

I'm just sayin' . . . .

[monty57]

There's plenty to be positive about:

 

-Braun is one of the best players in baseball, and we are witnessing first hand what Brewers fans have not seen much... a potential Hall of Famer playing his career with the Brewers.

-While I wasn't the biggest fan of the Gomez extension, it's not because he's dull. He is a fun (albeit sometimes frustrating) player to watch.

-I've liked the Aoki pickup since we won the bid. Turning a negative around, Gamel's injury last year did allow Aoki to get everyday playing time to showcase what he can do.

-Weeks is hopefully fully over the injury which slowed him down at the start of last season, so I'm hoping for a big year out of him.

-This is a pivitol year to see how the pitching progresses, both with the guys on the MLB squad, and those in the upper minors. Some of these guys will "grow up" to become MLB starters, and some will finally allow us to have a homegrown bullpen.

-Trading a veteran for some young guys brought in some exciting players. Segura is really fun to watch, and Hellweg has the stuff to be a good MLB pitcher.

-Turning another negative around, we could have the opportunity to trade some more veterans for some more exciting young players at the deadline this year, which could really change my outlook on the future of the franchise.

[Warning Track Power]

Turning another negative around, we could have the opportunity to trade some more veterans for some more exciting young players at the deadline this year, which could really change my outlook on the future of the franchise.

While I want the Brewers to be competitive and win, if they don't, what I wouldn't give to see the Brewers trade Ramirez to the Dodgers at the deadline for Yasiel Puig. 3B is the only real hole in that Dodger lineup and they have nowehre to put Puig with Kemp under contract through 2019, Ethier through 2018 & Crawford through 2017.