Can we stop winning please

[homer]

Completely disagree. They failed at tanking as well. This team, much like the 2013 team, just couldn't do anything right.

 

 

They finished 8 and 19.

[splitterpfj]

I can't imagine wasting any energy being unhappy about the Brewers picking fifth. They'll have excellent options to pick from, and plenty of cash to use on that pick, and anyone who may slide to them in round two.

 

The farm system is much better than it was a year ago, and picking early, it should get another nice boost the next time around.

[jerichoholicninja]

Completely disagree. They failed at tanking as well. This team, much like the 2013 team, just couldn't do anything right.

 

I guess Brewer fans just can't be happy about anything.

[logan82]

Yeah I can see how we should be happy about losing $2m to spend in the draft. We can just shift that money over to spending on on players from Central America since that isn't capped.

[MrTPlush]

Man why complain so much about draft position? It's baseball...we won some games and lost some games. Yup a few more losses would have given us more draft money, but we could not control that. You can't intentionally tank and the Brewers did about as close to tanking as you can. Counsell can't just intentionally trot out fans and force players to throw 65 down the middle of the plate. Players still have to go out there and play baseball.

 

The Brewers will pick #5 and that is about where the talent level was this year...actually I would argue they could easily be drafting closer to 10. So just be happy to be in the top 5.

[jerichoholicninja]

Yeah I can see how we should be happy about losing $2m to spend in the draft. We can just shift that money over to spending on on players from Central America since that isn't capped.

 

It is though.

[homer]

Man why complain so much about draft position? It's baseball...we won some games and lost some games. Yup a few more losses would have given us more draft money, but we could not control that. You can't intentionally tank and the Brewers did about as close to tanking as you can. Counsel can't just intentionally trot out fans and force players to throw 65 down the middle of the plate. Players still have to go out there and play baseball.

 

The Brewers will pick #5 and that is about where the talent level was this year...actually I would argue they could easily be drafting closer to 10. So just be happy to be in the top 5.

 

 

Agreed. Baseball drafts are so unpredictable. Getting a pick in the top five is pretty much just like getting the top pick talent wise.

 

If you want to say we lost money over the draft position so be it but I don't think that's going to mean much at the end of the day. I mean they traded away some of their best players mid season and played basically a AAA lineup most nights. Can't really harp on them for winning with those guys.

[Patrick425]

I guess I have not always paid attention to how draft position is determined in baseball. Looks like the Brewers finished tied for 5th worst record so it makes sense that they would get the 5th draft pick, as pointed out in this thread. Maybe I'm mistaken, but didn't the picks use to alternate between leagues, so that if you finished with the 5th overall worse record in baseball that did not mean that you would necessarily pick fifth? For example, there were no teams in the AL that had a worse record than the Brewers this year so under how I somehow remember how the draft use to work, the Brewers would get the 9th or 10th pick (because picks would have to alternate between leagues). Is my memory just bad? If not, when did this change?

 

Edit: From what I can tell by looking back at previous year draft results, it appears that my memory is correct and that this process changed in 2005. Guess I should have looked at that before posing the question.

[1992casey]

It's good you brought up the question and subsequently found the answer. I thought that MLB stopped alternating between leagues more recently than 2005.

 

Teams can't purposely tank. They can trade for the future, but when it comes to lineups and in-game moves, they need to respect the integrity of the pennant race and play more or less normally. Having said that, the Brewers could have started younger infielders rather than Herrera; it's fine to play youngsters when they're about as good as the older guys they're replacing. But it wouldn't have been appropriate to sit Lohse and Garza in favor of youngsters had those two been pitching well.

 

Craig mentioned that he took advantage of a Padres game to put lots of youngsters in the lineup. But that's giving guys an opportunity and giving regulars a day off rather than "trying to lose."

[monty57]

Completely disagree. They failed at tanking as well. This team, much like the 2013 team, just couldn't do anything right.

 

I'm not too worried about "not tanking enough" this year. In 2012 and 2013, they won enough post-trade deadline that not only did they move their draft position to the teens, but they also gave ownership the feeling that they were really a good team that just had a slow start, leading them to spend on aging free agents. That isn't going to happen this year, so I'm fine with where they are sitting. Sure 3 would be better than 5, but 5 is a whole lot better than 15 and a Kyle Lohse/Matt Garza signing.

 

After 2012, I heard Attanasio lamenting that maybe they shouldn't have traded Greinke, and that may have cost them the playoffs. You will not hear him lamenting trading Gomez, Fiers, Parra, etc. this season.

[1992casey]

Well, they didn't get nearly as much for Greinke as they did for this year's vets. Teams weren't all that willing to part with prospects in 2012.

[reillymcshane]

Well, they didn't get nearly as much for Greinke as they did for this year's vets. Teams weren't all that willing to part with prospects in 2012.

We gave up a lot more to get this year's haul. Greinke was 2 months of play plus a draft comp pick. Fiers is 4.33 years of control and Gomez is 1.33 years of control (and Gomez can be traded next year if the club is out of the race or they can get a comp pick for him).

[sveumrules]

When this thread started we had the 7th draft position and we ended up with the 5th pick, so mission accomplished?

 

I can't imagine that if you told any "blow-it-up" leaning Brewer fan before the season started that we would trade Gomez, Fiers, Parra, Broxton, Aramis and Cotts for an array of prospects and end up with the 5th pick in the 2016 draft all while reassigning Melvin to a new role and hiring a 30 year old analytically minded GM to take his place that said fan would have anything but thrilled.

[LouisEly]

Lighting up Rosenthal twice in the 9th inning - and hopefully putting a little doubt in Matheny's mind this offseason - was worth one spot in the draft.

 

Let's also remember that having #1 overall in 2014 hurt the Astros, as the issue with Aiken also cost them their 5th round pick Jacob Nix as they no longer had the $ they thought they would have to sign him.

[TURBO]

Lighting up Rosenthal twice in the 9th inning - and hopefully putting a little doubt in Matheny's mind this offseason - was worth one spot in the draft.

 

 

That is just Cardinals hate talking, there is no way that Matheny is thinking about the games that Rosenthal blew vs the 5th worst team in baseball. he has a year of pretty dominating pitching to make him forget those 2 games against the Brewers.

[logan82]

Two more losses would have put us in the third pick so two draft places.

[homer]

Two more losses would have put us in the third pick so two draft places.

 

 

And one more win....

 

Record is what it is. Probably worse than expected so be happy they are top five and not top ten.

[logan82]

Two more losses would have put us in the third pick so two draft places.

 

 

And one more win....

 

Record is what it is. Probably worse than expected so be happy they are top five and not top ten.

Be upset we didn't get a better pick.

[homer]

Two more losses would have put us in the third pick so two draft places.

 

 

And one more win....

 

Record is what it is. Probably worse than expected so be happy they are top five and not top ten.

Be upset we didn't get a better pick.

 

 

No. Life is too short.

[pacopete4]

Logan, knock it off. It is what it is.

[LouisEly]

If "but"s and "and"s were pots and pans we'd all be gourmet chefs. Any one of a hundred things could have happened that could have caused the Brewers, A's, Rockies, or Braves to win or lose two more games. The Braves swept three from the Cardinals and five of six from the Cards and Nats, the A's lost 10 of their last 14 but won three of their last four, and the Rockies won five of six versus the Dodgers and Giants - who would've thought that would happen?

 

How the Braves, A's, Rockies, and Reds finished had more to do with the Brewers draft spot than a few late wins by the Brewers.

[Jenkins5]

Honestly, slot value is all that matter this season for the difference between 3-5. Unless some drastic things happen and somehow this large amount of depth at the top breaks up, We are going to be in position to land someone who could be special. As of right now Alec Hansen seems to have pulled ahead as top pitching prospect with Blake Rutherford being the top Bat. They may both be gone. But I would like to know looking at draft, what do you feel is the drop off in talent from 3-5? We are going to get someone we want.