How do we turn this sad franchise around?

[SoupTown]

2015 all in

2016 blow up and young,cheap homegrown; fans come for the local boys even if it there growing year; coulter, arcia, Taylor,smith and nelson in the rotation

[paul253]

If it makes sense to deal Gomez at some point to enhance the teams chances in the relative short term, MA would do it. But he wouldn't authorize dealing him for low level prospects.

 

And thus the problem. Mark A is ALWAYS thinking short term. And when you do that you eventually run low on resources and assets, which is exactly where we are now. I didn't come here to assess blame. I came to said what I would do to turn the franchise around. I think the best the organization could do is stop with the short sightedness and stop with the attitude that being in position to sneak into the playoffs is what we should shoot for every year. There is such a lack of high ceiling talent in this organization that it is almost laughable. And why is that? Because of all the shortsightedness. Let's draft Jungmann and Bradley because they can help us faster. Let's give up our first round pick to sign Lohse because he will help us win more games this season. Let's continue to sign expensive veteran FA pitchers like Garza as opposed to giving home grown guys a chance because home grown guys aren't sure things and may struggle. Let's hang on to every player we have for as long as possible instead of trading them for younger talent when their value is at it's peak, thus focusing on one or two more seasons now vs six seasons a little later on.

 

Every move this franchise makes is about winning now. But we don't have the talent to win now. That is why we are where we are. An middling, .500 team with no real high ceiling talent anywhere close to the majors. And it frustrates me to no end.

[reillymcshane]

I don't necessarily think 2015 is the last 'go for it' year. If the team can play to at least .500 ball in 2015, I wouldn't be shocked if they made another similar run in 2016 (and maybe beyond).

 

After 2015, A-Ram, Gallardo, Parra and Lohse are free agents. That's $44M in salaries coming off the books. You can plug some holes with $44 million.

 

2016 is the last year of Gomez, as well as Lind and Broxton. So if the team does well enough in 2015, I wouldn't be surprised if 2016 is the last stab at 'going for it'.

 

I just hope we don't trade young assets for one or two year stop gaps.

 

I've said before that ownership and management have a 'if everything goes right, we can contend' strategy. It's mostly foolhardy, but does work on rare occasions.

[3and2Fastball]

Another comment that Melvin made in that Bill Michaels interview really struck me: the Brewers passed on Madison Bumgarner in the draft because they thought his delivery would lead to arm problems.

 

Arguably the biggest mistake in Melvin's career

[jjgott]

Another comment that Melvin made in that Bill Michaels interview really struck me: the Brewers passed on Madison Bumgarner in the draft because they thought his delivery would lead to arm problems.

 

Arguably the biggest mistake in Melvin's career

 

And yet we draft a kid this past year with a similar delivery.

[MNBrew]

For goodness' sake, it's hardly an idiotic situation or an indefensible remark. The Brewers went on a doozy of a run of getting burned by lots of good pitchers with flawed deliveries who pretty much all NEVER panned out. Mark Rogers & Kyle Peterson are two whose names come to mind right away, and there was a whole run of others.

 

Some of these remarks are patently absurd. Pick, pick, pick, pick, pick!!!!!..... Cripes, some folks are so convinced that Melvin & Mark A have a cumulative IQ of 7 and are the root of all evil, it's downright unbelievable. They could lead the Brewers on a run of 5 straight World Series wins starting next year, cure cancer & defeat homelessness, plus solve world hunger & find the permanent solution to world peace while they're at it, and so many on this Board would do nothing but complain about them because they only went 16-2 against St. Louis each year & Melvin only tipped BF.net posters on 5 of the 6 winning Powerball numbers each time a drawing was held.

[logan82]

For goodness' sake, it's hardly an idiotic situation or an indefensible remark. The Brewers went on a doozy of a run of getting burned by lots of good pitchers with flawed deliveries who pretty much all NEVER panned out. Mark Rogers & Kyle Peterson are two whose names come to mind right away, and there was a whole run of others.

 

Some of these remarks are patently absurd. Pick, pick, pick, pick, pick!!!!!..... Cripes, some folks are so convinced that Melvin & Mark A have a cumulative IQ of 7 and are the root of all evil, it's downright unbelievable. They could lead the Brewers on a run of 5 straight World Series wins starting next year, cure cancer & defeat homelessness, plus solve world hunger & find the permanent solution to world peace while they're at it, and so many on this Board would do nothing but complain about them because they only went 16-2 against St. Louis each year & Melvin only tipped BF.net posters on 5 of the 6 winning Powerball numbers each time a drawing was held.

Give in to your anger.

[monty57]

Another comment that Melvin made in that Bill Michaels interview really struck me: the Brewers passed on Madison Bumgarner in the draft because they thought his delivery would lead to arm problems.

 

Arguably the biggest mistake in Melvin's career

 

I do remember a lot of speculation of trading Fielder for Bumgarner (and Hart for Minor) in the 2010 offseason. I don't know it that was ever a possibility, but imagine how that would have changed everything over the past several seasons.

[LouisEly]

For goodness' sake, it's hardly an idiotic situation or an indefensible remark. The Brewers went on a doozy of a run of getting burned by lots of good pitchers with flawed deliveries who pretty much all NEVER panned out. Mark Rogers & Kyle Peterson are two whose names come to mind right away, and there was a whole run of others.

Add to that Mike Jones, and Melvin saw the tail end of Neugebauer's and JM Gold's careers. However, I don't know if it was so much their deliveries as it was how many innings/pitches those guys threw their first full professional seasons. I think the evidence is starting to mount that it isn't deliveries so much that cause the injuries as it is a significant increase in workload from one year to the next.

[pacopete4]

8 other teams passed on his as well. It happens. We see it in all sports. Legends, like MadBum is becoming, slip by teams and they regret it.

 

Oh well...

[BrewBalls]

8 other teams passed on his as well. It happens. We see it in all sports. Legends, like MadBum is becoming, slip by teams and they regret it.

 

Oh well...

Agreed. Mike Trout was drafted 25th. Are you trying to say 24 teams (including the all mighty Cardinals) had incompetent scouting departments in 2009? Teams miss on players every year. Its far from an exact science like other sports. most 1st round picks never make it to the bigs.

[pacopete4]

8 other teams passed on his as well. It happens. We see it in all sports. Legends, like MadBum is becoming, slip by teams and they regret it.

 

Oh well...

Agreed. Mike Trpout was drafted 25th. Are you trying to say 24 teams (including the all mighty Cardinals) had incompetent scouting departments in 2009? Teams miss on players every year. Its far from an exact science like other sports. most 1st round picks never make it to the bigs.

 

Yes and the other aspect of it is that if he is drafted by another team, maybe he does not develop the way he did and never becomes "MadBum" = Mind Blown.

[adambr2]

For goodness' sake, it's hardly an idiotic situation or an indefensible remark. The Brewers went on a doozy of a run of getting burned by lots of good pitchers with flawed deliveries who pretty much all NEVER panned out. Mark Rogers & Kyle Peterson are two whose names come to mind right away, and there was a whole run of others.

 

Some of these remarks are patently absurd. Pick, pick, pick, pick, pick!!!!!..... Cripes, some folks are so convinced that Melvin & Mark A have a cumulative IQ of 7 and are the root of all evil, it's downright unbelievable. They could lead the Brewers on a run of 5 straight World Series wins starting next year, cure cancer & defeat homelessness, plus solve world hunger & find the permanent solution to world peace while they're at it, and so many on this Board would do nothing but complain about them because they only went 16-2 against St. Louis each year & Melvin only tipped BF.net posters on 5 of the 6 winning Powerball numbers each time a drawing was held.

 

If all of the above occurs I will be cool with Melvin. I believe 5 of 6 numbers is still a cool $1 million which would really come in handy for me these days.

[The stache]

If it makes sense to deal Gomez at some point to enhance the teams chances in the relative short term, MA would do it. But he wouldn't authorize dealing him for low level prospects.

 

And thus the problem. Mark A is ALWAYS thinking short term. And when you do that you eventually run low on resources and assets, which is exactly where we are now. I didn't come here to assess blame. I came to said what I would do to turn the franchise around. I think the best the organization could do is stop with the short sightedness and stop with the attitude that being in position to sneak into the playoffs is what we should shoot for every year. There is such a lack of high ceiling talent in this organization that it is almost laughable. And why is that? Because of all the shortsightedness. Let's draft Jungmann and Bradley because they can help us faster. Let's give up our first round pick to sign Lohse because he will help us win more games this season. Let's continue to sign expensive veteran FA pitchers like Garza as opposed to giving home grown guys a chance because home grown guys aren't sure things and may struggle. Let's hang on to every player we have for as long as possible instead of trading them for younger talent when their value is at it's peak, thus focusing on one or two more seasons now vs six seasons a little later on.

 

Every move this franchise makes is about winning now. But we don't have the talent to win now. That is why we are where we are. An middling, .500 team with no real high ceiling talent anywhere close to the majors. And it frustrates me to no end.

 

Bravo! You just communicated what I've been feeling for some time, and quite eloquently, I might add. The Brewers need to develop for the long term. If we look at what Kansas City received from us in Cain and Escobar (clearly just one example), we gave them two pieces that can be starters in Kansas City long term. We gave them two quality Major League players for a 1.5 season rental of a former Cy Young Award winner that performed well, but shockingly, once he arrived in Los Angeles, began pitching even better. What we should be doing is drafting the kinds of players that will factor in the long term. We need to get better at drafting and developing our own pitchers. I do believe a championship-caliber team should have an ace, but they should not overspend to acquire that ace. And sometimes, if an ace cannot be acquired, two #2s can be just as good.

 

The teams that have been winning lately-St. Louis, San Francisco and Boston, each have developed a ton of talent that they drafted. Heck, the Giants have developed so much great pitching that they were able to get rid of one of the best pitching prospects in baseball in Zack Wheeler. But they could do that because they had so much good pitching. They had Lincecum and Matt Cain, and Bumgarner was still a kid. And they have a pretty good catcher that calls a great game, and hits just a bit, too.

 

The Brewers should be focusing on pitching, and positional players with speed, strong fundamentals, great defensive capabilities, and strong offensive upside. A couple of guys that can hit the ball out of the park is enough. Because when a great pitcher is on, they can negate power. You need a team that can manufacture runs when facing an ace like Clayton Kershaw, or a future ace like Gerrit Cole. And this team beat some aces this year, including Kershaw. But too many times, when the offense stopped scoring runs, they tried to break out of it by hitting every ball out of the park, and all that accomplished was to dig them into a deeper funk.

 

The kind of player we look for in the draft has to change. I am very high on Tyrone Taylor, because I think he can be that kind of player. He's projected to be an above average hitter and fielder, and he has plus speed. Orlando Arcia may not have any power, but if he plays great defense, he really doesn't have to. He's going to be a good contact hitter, and he'll use his speed to get on base. MLB.com has his speed at below average. I think that's a misprint. The younger Arcia is supposed to have above average speed, and it showed some last year, as he stole 31 bases.

[monty57]

Re: Paul and 'stache:

 

This is why I've cut back on the criticism of Melvin over the past few seasons. Melvin seems to have realized a couple years ago the situation the team is in. The draft strategy changed, and he came out early in the offseasons saying they weren't going to make any big moves. He really seemed to be looking at "taking a step back to take two steps forward." Then ticket sales start coming in, Attanasio panics, Boras calls him and gets him to sign the "name" vet to a big, multi-year deal, and Melvin is stuck with a demand to "win now," with no resources to fix big holes in the roster.

 

This offseason is different, because everyone in the organization realizes that 2015 is potentially the last season before they'll lose too much talent to patch next offseason. Throw in that I think Melvin's ready to retire after the season, and I really think they're going to do anything they can to make a playoff run this season.

 

But, Melvin retiring won't change anything unless Attanasio is ready to change. Fans love that he "wants to win," but he's kind of like a race car driver that won't take his foot off the gas. Occasionally, you have to tap the brakes in order to be around to race another day.

[reillymcshane]

The team we are assembling for 2015-16 is solid, but unlikely to make the playoffs in my opinion. Instead, we should have thought long term - aiming at being relevant in 2017 and beyond.

 

We should have traded (this off season or during the 2015 season) Gomez, Gallardo, Garza, Lohse, Broxton, Maldonado, Parra, Kintzler and Estrada.

 

Gomez should net a top 20 player (probably more), but we'll be conservative and just say the one guy. Gallardo and Garza could potentially land us a Top 100 guy. Perhaps Lohse as well. But let's be conservative, and just say the latter doesn't quite get us a top 100 guy - more of a fringe 100-150 type.

 

With that in mind, I just picked some players in those ranges (one top 20 guy, two guys in the 60-90 range, and one guy more in the 100-150 range). I'm not saying we could get each of these guys specifically, but I'm just picking a guy who represents those ranges, just to try and put a realistic face on who could have potentially been in our organization. Here's the deals:

 

Gomez - Top 20 pitcher such as Dylan Bundy from Baltimore. Should be in the majors in 2015.

Gallardo - Top 100 3B such as Garin Cecchini from Boston - given 3B job next year

Garza - Top 100 pitcher such as Sean Manaea from KC. Should hit the majors around 2016.

Lohse - Top 100 player or fringe 100 player such as OF Steven Souza from Nats (led IL in hitting last season) - given starting job in CF in Milwaukee (even if he he's probably better as a corner OF)

 

Broxton, Maldonado, Parra, Kintzler and Estrada won't net you a ton. They could be throw ins to complete trades, or maybe net bullpen arms, a good reserve or a low level player with some upside. But we won't count on them for anything major. I would trade Braun if I could, but right now, he's untradeable. Maybe in the future, but not now.

 

Adding those four guys, here's a look at the 2017 team. I would be much more excited about this team than our current club. It's a lot of guys entering their prime years, mixed with some high upside youngsters, as well as a nice stable of potential starting pitchers. Salaries would not be outrageous, as all but Braun and Lucroy are in the arby or pre-arby years. The low costs would allow the team to make some targeted free agent signings if necessary, plus add quality back ups.

 

Lineup

C - Lucroy - age 31 (8th year)

1B - Braun - 33 (11th)

2B - Scooter - 27 (4th) or Segura - 27 (5th)

3B - Cecchini - 26 (3rd)

SS - Arcia - 22 ®

LF - Davis - 29 (4th) or Souza - 28 (3rd)

RF - Coulter - 23 ® or Souza - 28 (3rd)

CF - Taylor - 23 ®

 

Pitchers

Dylan Bundy - 24 (3rd)

Sean Manaea -25 (2nd)

Peralta - 28 (5th)

Fiers - 32 (4th)

Nelson - 28 (4th)

Jungmann - 27 (3rd)

Thornburg - 28 (4th)

Smith - 28 (4th)

Jeffress - 29 (4th)

Henderson - 34 (5th)

 

Other pitchers: Pena, Cravy, Wagner, Jed Bradley, Goforth, Gagnon, Wang, Wooten (I probably have forgotten some guys).

 

Is the above lineup playoff caliber? I don't know. But I think it's potential is better than the 2015 squad.

 

For 2015-16, you have a line up of Lucroy, Rogers or Clark, Scooter, Segura, Cecchini, Davis, Braun and Souza. Rotation is Peralta, Fiers, Nelson, Jungmann and someone like Thornburg.

 

By stripping the team of salaries, you could bring payroll down to less than $50M. Take $30M and invest wildly in international players in 2015 (similar to what Chicago and NY have done the past few years). This helps stock the minor league system with some top notch talent.

 

We'd get some good draft picks in 2016-17, and by 2018 or 2019, we'd start to see some of the lower level talents become potential big leaguers. This puts a steady stream of high quality prospects on the road to Milwaukee.

 

Of course, none of this is happening. We have A-Ram and Lind and so forth for 2015. Another .500 season will encourage us to 'go for it' again in 2016, then the bottom will likely drop out. You need a lot of prospects to be successful. For every prospect who succeeds, you have two or three who flop. Especially pitchers. So you need to load up on those guys to win.

[3and2Fastball]

Gomez was 10th in the enire MLB in WAR last year (according to Fangraphs), he would likely get us a very good return, and trading him would likely be very smart. Our perpetually "All-In" owner couldn't fathom it, though

[fondybrewfan]

Gomez could get traded in July of 2015 if the season isn't going well; but I would give it a 5% chance of happening this offseason. With the 2nd wildcard very few teams are out of it the winter before so its understandable why Melvin or most other GM's who have decent teams wouldn't want to trade good producing and cheap MLB players for prospects. Melvin's unwillingness to trade established player isn't unique to him. That 2nd wildcard has made it a lot harder to justify trading good assets and I can't necessarily disagree with Melvin or other GM's for not wanting to trade guys.

[SoupTown]

The wildcard.... 162 games played then you throw that away and play ONE GAME. What a joke. The season should be shortened and the playoffs changed so

 

1) all series are best of 5, until the seven game WS

2) there is some clear benefit to winning a division as opposed to dumping in the last wild card spot

 

Actually, why dont we just have 12 World Series each year. You split up the season into 12 half month seasons. Make all the playoffs one game, leading into each world series.

 

Heck, dont even PLAY to get into the playoffs. Just do a lottery. Then you could likely have 24 World Series. So the lottery is to get in. And to make things fair, if a team does not make an early World Series you just give them extra marbles in the lottery bag. So most likely every team would make the playoffs at least once. So, if there are 24 World Series - with say 8 teams lotteried into the playoffs, you will have 24x8 = 192 teams make the playoffs each year.

 

Now I have not quite got the exact plan laid out. In my early simulation I had Houston playing Houston in one of the World Series. And I dont think that is right. Actually, maybe it is OK. Where can I submit my plan?

[TooLiveBrew]

That post was amazing.

[logan82]

Our team was really lucky to have so few injuries, especially to starting pitching. I wouldn't count on being that lucky again. The team also aged a year. I think 6 wins is a lot to find somewhere even with our pathetic 1B production when you take into consideration we are pretty much locked in for every position player and starter.

 

I don't think we can expect much more from Lucroy. 2B was really good and unless we find a good platoon partner for Scooter that may drop off. I don't think we can expect much more from Gomez. The areas where we can pick up some production are 1B, 3B, LF, RF, and SS. 1B seems to be at least partially addressed. 3B and RF could possibly improve if they are given more rest. LF could be improved with a soft platoon. SS is where we could possibly see a big improvement.

 

Starting pitching could take a step forward if Fiers can continue to do what he has done so far over an entire season. Other than Fiers I don't see much upside there and considering the age could see a minor or big falloff.

 

The Cubs will be better. The only team that looks like they are aging and possibly declining is the Reds.

 

I guess I could see 6 wins somewhere. I could also see them losing a few wins.

[MNBrew]

Our team was really lucky to have so few injuries, especially to starting pitching. I wouldn't count on being that lucky again. The team also aged a year. I think 6 wins is a lot to find somewhere even with our pathetic 1B production when you take into consideration we are pretty much locked in for every position player and starter.

 

I don't think we can expect much more from Lucroy. 2B was really good and unless we find a good platoon partner for Scooter that may drop off. I don't think we can expect much more from Gomez. The areas where we can pick up some production are 1B, 3B, LF, RF, and SS. 1B seems to be at least partially addressed. 3B and RF could possibly improve if they are given more rest. LF could be improved with a soft platoon. SS is where we could possibly see a big improvement.

 

Starting pitching could take a step forward if Fiers can continue to do what he has done so far over an entire season. Other than Fiers I don't see much upside there and considering the age could see a minor or big falloff.

 

The Cubs will be better. The only team that looks like they are aging and possibly declining is the Reds.

I guess I could see 6 wins somewhere. I could also see them losing a few wins.

In all seriousness, that's probably a normal Brewers off-season in a nutshell right there (in the bold font).

 

SS could be a huge improvement. Ditto for 1B -- not because Lind's great, but because he's not putrid, so even an "average" year for him or league-avg. output could be the source of a decent bump upward. If Braun's wrist responds well and he regains his normal form, that could be the biggest upgrade of the 3 noted so far. On the pitching side, excluding the bullpen because of the certainty of at least a few "moving parts" due to its being an annual GM construction project (like on many, many teams), potentially Fiers represents a solid upgrade over Estrada's 1st half, and Jimmy Nelson's horrible 2nd half leaves some room for upgrading, too.

 

Granted, all those things occurring and without any significant backward steps anywhere obviously makes for a "perfect world" ("perfect storm???") scenario which, however improbable, still could happen.

[logan82]

Possible but I wouldn't say probable. That's what really bugs me about how the team has been handled in recent years. They are managing for possible outcomes not probable outcomes.

[reillymcshane]

I thought this was an appropriate thread to revive.

 

I would recommend reading Splitter's lengthy introduction at the start of the thread.

 

viewtopic.php?f=63&t=31991

 

Anyhow, here's my response to the question:

 

Recognize this franchise needs an overhaul, then do it, without prejudice. Know it's going to take time, and there will be some lean years.

 

Steps

 

- Trade Gomez once he's healthy. He can fetch a couple of top prospects. You have one of the clubs better prospects at AA, and Gomez is only signed through 2016, so he's not an answer

- Trade Parra, Cotts, K-Rod for whatever you can get for them, even if it's only a little salary relief.

- If Lind continues to hit, trade him. If he doesn't, just let him go after the season. He's not a long term solution. If he plays well this year, he might net a decent prospect.

- Give 1B to Rogers/Clark. See if either/both can make something out of the position.

- Trade Garza and Lohse if you get the chance. Both have to play better, but neither will be part of the next good Milwaukee team, so deal them if you can, getting whatever you can.

- Let Scooter play full time at 2B. If he falters against lefties, you learn that now, in the lost season. If he does okay, you can look at him as an everyday player going forward.

- Let Segura play. If he does well, it gives you options in the future. You can shift him to 2B (his original position) once Arcia is ready (assuming he profiles as a better player than Scooter). Or he becomes a quality trade chip. If he fails, that's life.

- Hope A-Ram gets his game back. If he does, then deal him for anything, even salary relief.

- Let Jimenez take over for A-Ram sooner than later. Jimenez is old enough that it's now or never. Let him show if he's a future starter or not.

- Leave Khris Davis alone. He might end up a bust, or he could be a 30 HR guy. Let him figure it out without fear of getting benched this year.

- Consider trading Lucroy once he's healthy. He's a top flight player in his prime, signed to a great contract, and (like Gomez) would bring back quality prospects. That said, you could look to extend Luc down the road, recognizing that there might not be a #1 catcher in the farm system. An aging Luc still might be the best thing for the club in a few years. A lot might depend if you can acquire a top catching prospect in the draft or via trade.

- Let Maldonado be the #1 catcher if you deal Lucroy. He's signed for cheap over the next two years. The young pitchers will benefit from having him (or Luc) behind the plate. If you elect to keep Luc, look to deal Maldy for a prospect.

- Give the CF job to Schafer (or someone similar). The guy has always hit minor league pitching. He's in his prime years. Maybe playing everyday will help him become an adequete starter. If he fails, you figure that out now when losing doesn't really matter. You can always find other players similar to Schafer - AAAA types who haven't gotten the chance. Either way, if the guy succeeds you have something - if not, no lose in this down year.

 

We need to do the following:

 

- Hire a GM and manager who will grow and develop the club. Get everyone (coaches, front office, ownership) on the same page so that the path we need to take is clearly defined. Internal strife will only lead to mixed priorities and mediocre results.

- Build through the draft, international signings, and being willing to trade established players for quality prospects.

- Don't be afraid to be bad for a few years. The high draft picks help.

- Don't be afraid to spend money on international players - anything to help stock the farm system.

- When acquiring prospects, aim to get as high upside players as possible. If that means the guys in A ball, so be it. I hate how teams are always saying they want 'Major league ready' players in a deal. Just get the best quality players as possible.

Understand that we are stuck with Braun. If he starts hitting well again, we might be able to deal him at some point. But the guy is making $20+ million annually starting next year. No one wants that contract right now.

- Keep payroll low for flexibility. When the club appears to show some signs of life, having the salary flexibility will help push us over the edge. Don't be foolish and add Lohse type players when we know we are destined to have a bad season. Nothing wrong with Lohse, just not at this time.

- Use free agency sparingly. FA is a bad game. I'd rather give Tyler Cravy a chance as our #5 starter than sign a guy like Kevin Correia for $5 million to throw mediocre (at best) ball. It doesn't mean it can't be used, but be wise about it. It's not an answer to the team's problems - it's a tool to be used when needed.

 

The future for Milwaukee is several years away. We need impact players. It's guys like Arcia, Taylor and Coulter at this point. But that's not enough. We have to make some deals and add several more players like them - guys who could be above average - even stars. We'll need to deal Gomez and maybe Luc to get such players. I want 6-7 Top 100 type players coming to Milwaukee in the next wave. Not 2-3. Then, keep drafting well, make some international signings, so we keep replenishing the well with top notch prospects such as Harrison and Medeiros and Lara. That's how you win - and that's how you sustain winning.

[MoreTrife]

reilly,

I came on brewerfan to read a summary on a path to the future and your post was exactly what i was looking for. well-written and i agree with everything. too bad that's where we're at but what're you gonna do. at this point just STOCK prospects.