A BIG thank you to Go Go, ARam and Mike Fiers

[The stache]

While the argument could be made that these moves we have made recently will greatly benefit the Brewers franchise for a long time to come, it's still hard to say goodbye to three men who have been consummate professionals, and difference makers, while in Milwaukee.

 

Carlos Gomez came to Milwaukee with boatloads of unrealized potential, and when he asked the coaches to just let him play his game, he blossomed into a star. Though sometimes a lack of discipline could be maddening, his unmistakable love for the game always made him a joy to watch.

 

Aramis Ramirez was a Brewer killer, so when he came to Milwaukee in 2012, he was a welcome addition. A-Ram already had more than 300 home runs in his career, and he gave the Crew a big bat to replace the departed Prince Fielder. And he responded with a huge season, hitting .300 with 50 doubles, 27 home runs, 105 RBI, and a .901 OPS. His 80 extra base hits represents the sixth highest single season total in Brewers history. His performance dropped off as age and injuries took their toll, but he was still a valuable bat, and a great teammate.

 

Mike Fiers was an unheralded pitcher when he came up to Milwaukee full time in 2012, and he set the league on fire. In his first 13 starts, he was 6-4 with a 1.80 ERA and 80 Ks in 80 innings pitched. In 2014, he was 6-5 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 starts (14 appearances in total). He was a really strong back of the order pitcher, and a real pleasure to have in Milwaukee.

 

Baseball is a tough business, and unfortunately, fan favorites don't spend their career with one team the way they used to. But these three men embodied everything good about our franchise-heart, hard work, and class. You never heard a complaint from them. They all played the game the right way.

 

I don't think I'm the only one that will continue to cheer for these guys as they play for the Pirates and Astros. And I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all three of them for being great Milwaukee Brewers. You will all be missed!

[MoreTrife]

Well said.

[pitchleague]

Yep, well said.

 

I never grew to like A-Ram as a Brewer. I think too many bad memories of him being a Cub prevented me from getting past it. But I did appreciate that he did come here and played hard. I kind of thought he signed with the Brewers to ride off into the sunset but he kept playing pretty darn good baseball for the first couple of years. Now that he's gone, though, he's back to what he was pre-Brewers for me.

 

Fiers will always be looked at for his terrible 2013 season and cause many to say "meh" but the personal issues with his mother's health I'm sure was the key cog to why that season was what it was. If you throw that out, he has been a very decent to above average pitcher overall. I'd have liked to have kept him but I certainly understand that putting him in the deal netted the Brewers an even better prospect.

 

And I know Go-Go bugged some people to no end on how he played the game. He might not be everybody's cup of tea. But as Mark DeRosa said this morning on MLB Central, "Players like Carlos Gomez don't just grow on trees." He was his own player and played by his own rules. That may infuriate one fan while simultaneously making another fan pee their pants with glee. I'll definitely miss him and I routinely had to change my shorts.

 

Baseball doesn't infuriate me much anymore because I love the sport too much to make it affect my life that drastically. I'll be devastated if baseball disappears but I'm not going to let some caught stealing in the 9th inning on the road down by 2 runs ruin my night. Especially when we're 20 games out. Now, something like this happening in the playoffs would be a different story, of course. But I'd eventually get over it. Heck, I barely remembered that the Packers were thisclose to the Super Bowl last year until I started looking at fantasy football stuff.

 

So, yes, hear-hear! To Mr. Ramirez, Fiers, and Gomez and best wishes from this Brewer fan.

[gregmag]

Hear, hear.

 

Carlos Gomez is the anti-Cardinal. He plays baseball with joy, abandon, and a sense of fun. Besides his great play for us, I'll always try to remember what a blast it was to watch him.

 

Mike Fiers is a different kind of fun. He's this apparently low-talent, goofball-looking guy who inexplicably just gets people out. Trading him in this deal makes sense, but I was secretly, irrationally hoping we'd keep him.

 

Aramis . . . he's just a Hall of Famer, or close to it. Watching him get old has been interesting. I hope I (keep) get(ting) old with half his drive and bearing.

 

And now, apparently, Parra. I remember being annoyed by him when we beat the D-Backs, just because he didn't seem that great but kept doing good things. Nobody thought much of him when he came over here, but he just went out and kicked absolute butt in every facet of the game for a year. I'll root for him wherever he goes.

 

I have nothing sentimental to say about Cotts. Just putting that out there.

[dlk9s]

And I know Go-Go bugged some people to no end on how he played the game. He might not be everybody's cup of tea. But as Mark DeRosa said this morning on MLB Central, "Players like Carlos Gomez don't just grow on trees." He was his own player and played by his own rules. That may infuriate one fan while simultaneously making another fan pee their pants with glee. I'll definitely miss him and I routinely had to change my shorts.

 

Gomez is very much like Brett Favre. He may make some infuriatingly horrendous mistakes, but that's the yin to his greatness yang. If he played differently, under more control, with less unbridled enthusiasm, he would make fewer mistakes, but he wouldn't have become the All-Star and fan favorite that he did.

[bjkrautk]

Carlos' smile is infectious; you love having him play for your team, because he loves playing the game the only way he knows how (...for better and for worse).

For fans who can remember a former 2b being "devastated" to leave Arizona, it was nice to see the genuine sense of affection GoGo has for this organization, his teammates, and the fans during the interviews tonight. I wish him all the luck in the world.

 

 

I said it in another thread, but I didn't think Fiers was a guy the Brewers could get fair value for; thank you DM for proving me wrong. It's hard not to like a pitcher whose better than the sum of his "stuff." Control, deception, and movement made him a ton of fun to watch when he was right.

 

Ramirez is one of the guys who makes me feel old, because I remember his Major League debut (against the Brewers)...and 17 seasons later, he's retriring. I was about to say he didn't play his best baseball with the Brewers, but as it turns out, his highest WAR season (according to ESPN.com) came in 2012. If there was a player on this team I probably didn't appreciate enough, it would have been Aramis; I blame his time with the Cubs and Pirates for that.

[1992casey]

I was impressed by how hard Carlos worked to learn English. He didn't know any when he became a pro.

[The stache]

Seeing Carlos being interviewed tonight, and talking about his last practice with the Brewers...when he started to cry, it broke my heart. He's had a rough year with some nagging injuries, and hasn't been the productive player of the last few years. But it's clear he loved it in Milwaukee (he and his family), and while I think he'll be a great addition to Houston (and he looks to be getting back on track...slowly), I am just going to miss him. It didn't seem to matter if we were in first place, or out of the playoffs. He always played at Mach 2. The game is going to be less fun because he's not out there.

 

And Aramis is definitely approaching Hall of Fame worthiness as a third baseman. If he can stay healthy, and catch fire as we all know he can do, there's no reason to think he can't get to Cooperstown. There haven't been many third basemen in the last twenty five years that I'd put ahead of him. Chipper Jones, for sure, as he was just special. But who else is a clear step ahead of Aram? Adrian Beltre is the only other one I can really think of that might have a step on him now.

 

Look at his career numbers, all at third base save for 26 games played as a DH:

 

.284 AVG, 1,080 runs, 2,257 hits, 483 doubles, 380 home runs, 1,384 RBI, a slash line of .342/.493/.835. Ten seasons of 25 or more home runs, seven seasons of 100 + RBI. Somehow, his career numbers only translate into a 32.2 WAR, and the Sabermetric pundits will use that to knock him.

 

I think if he could get to 2,500 hits, and 400 home runs, he has a reasonable chance. He's not an all-timer (Mike Schmidt, Brooks Robinson, Eddie Matthews, Pie Traynor, "Home Run" Baker, George Brett, etc), but his offensive numbers compare favorably to those of Ron Santo. Different era, yes, and Santo was clearly the superior glove man. But Aramis is closing. He needs a bit more, but he's in the conversation now.

[Boomer5]

Agreed. These 3 guys were a joy to have on the Brewers. They were fun to watch.

[Polish Falcons]

I just took a look back on the bfnet reaction to Hardy for Gomez and how much this trade has exceeded expectations for many: viewtopic.php?f=63&t=20772

 

On top of two all star seasons from Gomez, the JJ Hardy trade could continue to reap benefits for many years to come with the new wave of prospects.

[craigharmann]

Hader's got great stuff, Phillips is a legit guy and Santana is above average. The Astros have GoGo for the rest of this year and next. Longer term, much better deal for the Brewers. Shorter term, the Astros could make a run of playoff and possible World Series appearances.

[folly412]

I was always a big Fiers fan. The stretches in 2012 and 2014 where he was arguably the best pitcher in baseball for a month-plus were fun to watch. Think he's been at his true expected level this year, which is a solid 4/5 starter. Being neither 25 nor a consistent top of the rotation guy, you can't hold when we're playing for 2018 and it was a good move by Melvin to get a nice return now.

[LouisEly]

The unofficial Mike Fiers bandwagon driver for the last five years tips his cap and says thank you.

 

I think I've found a reason to make Houston my AL team.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Love all three of these guys. Played hard, played well. Fun to watch.

 

GoGo...I'll miss that sexy beast.

 

Go Astros.

[craigharmann]

 

Go Astros.

 

 

Amen!!!

[hammytime]

I'll miss the enthusiasm with which GoGo played the game. He played hard and he played to win. Aggravating at times, but fun to watch.

 

ARam kind of grew on me. He's another guy who played hard, but in a different way from GoGo.

 

Fiers put up some very good numbers around the off-the-field things he had to deal with a couple of years ago. I enjoyed watching him develop.

 

Best wishes to all three of them.