What is a successful season

[Bulldogboy]

In most of the conversations during the games it boils down to two camps. Those like myself who feel this team despite being in first place are underachieving and those who think things are fine after all they are in first place. I believe both have valid points but the big question is what is the goal of this year's team? Is it to just be competitive and maybe make the playoffs or is it to repeat as division winners and get to the world series. If the goal is the latter I think there is no way to feel good about that goal with what we have seen to this point. Personel decisions and the lack of pitching make this goal as it stands hard to fathom. If it's the former then you can see the glass half full and be correct. I had high hopes that bringing back everybody from last year and adding Grandal this team would be better but it isn't. The pitching decisions in spring training were the first warning signs that this team was not of that mindset. It's been a struggle since. Just wondering what is everyone's here goal? What would

be a successful season? Is it to try and win it all this year or just win the wildcard? No guarantee that Moose or Grandal will be back. No guarantee Yelich will be Mickey Mantle next year. No guarantee that Cain will be better another year older. Don't you have to push for winning now if possible? I think so. I think the window for this team is not as big as some would suggest and the league as a whole has many teams positioned for a good run at it. The league is down except for the Dodgers and you took them to the 5th inning of game 7. They appear to be better. Shouldn't we expect the same?

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I think playing consistent, winning baseball is a tough thing to accomplish for any team. The best teams over the last decade all had stretches of the regular season where they looked like crap. A regular season is a marathon, and there are 88 games left to this season. Last year's team went through very similar stretches where they played terrible baseball, and fans proclaimed them to not be a good team.

 

By all means, showing frustration in the way the team is currently playing is warranted. However, I think a little bit of perspective and humility also needs to come into play. Most fans realized going into the year that the April and May schedule for this team was a gauntlet of very tough, playoff-worthy teams, whereas last year's team feasted off lower-rung teams while building their great early season record. And as of today, this team sits at 40-34, while last year's squad sat at 44-30 at the same point of the season. That's only a four game difference, which is quite literally nothing when you have 88 remaining.

 

To sum it up, I think we should have high expectations, but living and dying on every game in a 162-game season is probably a fool's errand. The story of this season is yet to be written.

[phnxcrew]

You bring up a lot of great points. While in game

Threads are in the moment venting, there are

Some serious roadblocks to a World Series quality team that many see. I think the “it’s all gonna be great just enjoy the ride” camp simply doesn’t have the same expectations or requirements for this to be an enjoyable season. It’s great to recognize that while you might be enjoying a mediocre squad who might sneak into the playoffs- after last year many of us expect an all in approach. That’s the same reason I struggled to watch the packers for so long. Just being “good enough” when you’ve been good enough for a long time isn’t enjoyable. You need to try to improve every year and If you fail at that, retool- don’t just sit around and waste an Aaron Rodgers/ Christian Yelich talent.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I expected the win total to drop, I think most people did. What has been frustrating about this team is that they are basically one notch above middling, and there is blame to go around everywhere. The SP, which has looked really bad at times especially early on, solidified nicely and for example was not why they just got swept by San Diego.

 

Despite that, the offense is just way too streaky. Especially for one with as many good, experienced major league hitters as it has. There's been this 6-7 games over .500 hump that they just haven't been able to break out of, because they're never firing on all cylinders. They did just get to +10, and you thought with the teams coming up it was going to be the time to separate from some other teams, but instead they do the same stuff again, bats disappear, and we're back at +6.

 

So, I'm basically at a point of thinking this team is either merely just good, or has a really hot streak coming at some point. I do get the feeling CHC is going to have much better 2nd half than first. Their record does not matter much to me, they just have to get to the playoffs, and at that point, it's anyone's game. There are countless incidents where a team in the 80s takes out the top regular season team, so I really couldn't care less.

 

But to me a successful season is the playoffs. Not the play-in game, the actual playoffs. Anything beyond that has such a luck element to it I don't really think the outcome is fair to pin on anybody.

[Bulldogboy]

You bring up a lot of great points. While in game

Threads are in the moment venting, there are

Some serious roadblocks to a World Series quality team that many see. I think the “it’s all gonna be great just enjoy the ride” camp simply doesn’t have the same expectations or requirements for this to be an enjoyable season. It’s great to recognize that while you might be enjoying a mediocre squad who might sneak into the playoffs- after last year many of us expect an all in approach. That’s the same reason I struggled to watch the packers for so long. Just being “good enough” when you’ve been good enough for a long time isn’t enjoyable. You need to try to improve every year and If you fail at that, retool- don’t just sit around and waste an Aaron Rodgers/ Christian Yelich talent.

I agree. The Rodgers situation is a great point in not letting a Yelich type talent go for naught. Bucks in the same window with Giannis. These players come around so rarely and in markets like our even more so. You have to look at these situations in my view as all in. How do you go all in starting the season with three rookie starters? In my view this told you this was in part a developmental year. Then they sign Moose and Grandal. I am not sure how they feel but the frustration is real.

[KeithStone53151]

You bring up a lot of great points. While in game

Threads are in the moment venting, there are

Some serious roadblocks to a World Series quality team that many see. I think the “it’s all gonna be great just enjoy the ride” camp simply doesn’t have the same expectations or requirements for this to be an enjoyable season. It’s great to recognize that while you might be enjoying a mediocre squad who might sneak into the playoffs- after last year many of us expect an all in approach. That’s the same reason I struggled to watch the packers for so long. Just being “good enough” when you’ve been good enough for a long time isn’t enjoyable. You need to try to improve every year and If you fail at that, retool- don’t just sit around and waste an Aaron Rodgers/ Christian Yelich talent.

I agree. The Rodgers situation is a great point in not letting a Yelich type talent go for naught. Bucks in the same window with Giannis. These players come around so rarely and in markets like our even more so. You have to look at these situations in my view as all in. How do you go all in starting the season with three rookie starters? In my view this told you this was in part a developmental year. Then they sign Moose and Grandal. I am not sure how they feel but the frustration is real.

 

I find this completely ridiculous. The Brewers are a team that has to get production from young players, we can't go sign Lester or Scherzer or whoever else and hope they pan out. I'm sure the FO found it likely that not all 3 would meet expectations and be mainstays in the rotation. But from throwing 3 against the wall as we did, we found one ready to go in Woodruff...and he's arguably our best starter right now. To say starting 3 rookie starters means it's a developmental year is just crazy. We opened the season that way, but obviously we were able to adapt as 2 didn't work out in the rotation at this moment...you're seeing the contingency plan of 2 of those 3 guys not working out in the rotation. It hasn't been ideal, but our SP is keeping us in games for the most part...and that should be good enough most of the time with this team.

[Oxy]

As others have said in this thread, the baseball season is a marathon. They just had a bad road trip. Earlier in the year they had a bad series against the Angels and 2 bad games against the Marlins. Otherwise they've mostly played well enough against the toughest competition.

 

They have a very talented roster that has been inconsistent. If the talent in the pitching staff steps up and performs like it can (and DID last year) then this will be a very good team again come playoff time. If not, it won't be.

 

As far as the question in the title--if they win the division then it's a successful season. If they win 95 games then it's a successful season. If neither of those things happen but they get to the WS then it's a successful season.

[MrTPlush]

Any year where we compete that doesn’t include a major collapse or require a major streak to end it just to be “in the hunt”. So translation 2012 and 2014 weren’t successful to me. For the Brewers being in the race start to end is success in an incredibly hard sport.

 

I suppose you could have successful rebuilding years, but that is getting way too technical.

 

If you look at our history and other similar teams just competing is successful and a postseason birth is special. Sad reality.

[BruisedCrew]

I think playing consistent, winning baseball is a tough thing to accomplish for any team. The best teams over the last decade all had stretches of the regular season where they looked like crap. A regular season is a marathon, and there are 88 games left to this season. Last year's team went through very similar stretches where they played terrible baseball, and fans proclaimed them to not be a good team.

 

By all means, showing frustration in the way the team is currently playing is warranted. However, I think a little bit of perspective and humility also needs to come into play. Most fans realized going into the year that the April and May schedule for this team was a gauntlet of very tough, playoff-worthy teams, whereas last year's team feasted off lower-rung teams while building their great early season record. And as of today, this team sits at 40-34, while last year's squad sat at 44-30 at the same point of the season. That's only a four game difference, which is quite literally nothing when you have 88 remaining.

 

To sum it up, I think we should have high expectations, but living and dying on every game in a 162-game season is probably a fool's errand. The story of this season is yet to be written.

 

I don’t think the concerns being expressed about this year’s team and where they are headed involves living and dying on every game. I think it’s fair and understandable for a fan to focus on every game because, as the Brewers marketing slogan says, “Every Game Counts”. Plus, on a day to day basis, today’s game is the only one that counts. How that game fits into the bigger picture is something else again, and it is foolish to let one game have too much impact on your feeling about the bigger picture.

 

Speaking for myself only, a game like yesterday's is maddening by itself but, even if the Brewers had held on to win 7-5 or 7-6, I wouldn’t have come away from it thinking that all is well because the Brewers would still be in first place. Another rocky outing from Davies does nothing to alleviate concerns about the starting pitching and how all of the short starts are going to wear on an already shaky bullpen. The Brewers have to be able to win some games without getting two innings from Hader, but those have been pretty rare lately.

 

I’m also wary of comparing this year’s record to last year’s because there is more than a 99% chance that the Brewers won’t finish as strong as they did last year. I was feeling pretty good when the Brewers got to 10 games over .500 and their pitching seemed to be stabilizing. But now the pitching has gotten worse and the Brewers are losing a lot more series than they are winning, including some to teams that we reasonably could have expected them to beat.

 

On the subject of the thread, given the Brewers history, my minimum requirement is to have a season in which the team is in the running for a playoff spot well into September. But this year my threshold has been raised significantly. Anything short of making it to the Division Series will be a significant disappointment. I thought that with Grandal added, having Moustakas for the whole season, Arcia avoiding the huge slump he had last year, improvement from the young pitchers, and the possibility of Nelson returning, the team should be better than last year, even if it didn’t win as many as 96 games. But injuries to Knebel and Wahl and underperformance from several key pitchers and position players have resulted in a team that is not what I had hoped for. They may be at a crossroads heading into the All Star break. They are still just a half game behind the Cubs, who I expect to be a lot better in the second half, but there are a lot of teams no more than a handful of games behind them in the division and wild card races. And some of those teams have significantly better run differentials than the Brewers, suggesting that they are poised to start winning more than they have so far. The Reds and their solid pitching rotation are one of those teams.

 

Instead of using the supposedly weaker part of their schedule to separate a little from the pack they have instead drifted back toward that pack. The fact that the Cubs haven’t separated either isn’t much consolation.

 

The other thing that concerns me is thinking about where this team would be without Moustakas and Grandal, both of whom probably won’t be here next year. Other than Hiura, whose initial trial was a success, I’m not seeing many everyday players to support Yelich as Cain and Braun age and Shaw and Aguilar plummet from being extremely productive to complete black holes in the batting order. I’m afraid that 18 and 19 will be for the Brewers what 15 and 16 were for the Royals, except that getting one game from the World Series will be the Brewers high point before they drift back like they did after playoff appearances in 1982, 2008, and 2011.

 

These next two weeks leading up to the All Star Game may tell us a lot about where the 2019 Brewers are headed.

[brewers888]

Anything less than making the playoffs and playing in an actual series would be a bitter disappointment in my eyes. With basically the same roster and upgrading as much as we did at catcher missing the playoffs or losing a wild card game is not good enough. If this season does end up as a disappointment you can blame two things; the departure of Derek Johnson who has an underwhelming Cincinnatti staff with the third best ERA in baseball while our staff struggles and the mismanagement of the roster specifically Hiura being in AAA and the lack of right handed bats in the lineup.

 

Most disagreed with me when I suggested making a move for Encarnacion and the majority of posters didn't realize how much we would miss Johnson. It would be a total shame of we can't even make the playoffs with basically the same roster.

[yourout]

Anything less than making the playoffs and playing in an actual series would be a bitter disappointment in my eyes. With basically the same roster and upgrading as much as we did at catcher missing the playoffs or losing a wild card game is not good enough. If this season does end up as a disappointment you can blame two things; the departure of Derek Johnson who has an underwhelming Cincinnatti staff with the third best ERA in baseball while our staff struggles and the mismanagement of the roster specifically Hiura being in AAA and the lack of right handed bats in the lineup.

 

Most disagreed with me when I suggested making a move for Encarnacion and the majority of posters didn't realize how much we would miss Johnson. It would be a total shame of we can't even make the playoffs with basically the same roster.

 

As much as I ragged Darnell Coles last year if it meant keeping Derek Johnson I would have wholeheartedly agreed with keeping Coles. Far and Away the biggest mistake in Stearns tenure was letting Johnson leave..

[sveumrules]

At the beginning of the season we were about a 50/50 shot to make the playoffs.

 

To me that means that being competitive for a playoff spot all season is a success.

 

If we miss the playoffs by a couple two tree games, or even lose in the Wild Card game, I would not consider the season a failure because those were always realistic outcomes.

[Bulldogboy]

You bring up a lot of great points. While in game

Threads are in the moment venting, there are

Some serious roadblocks to a World Series quality team that many see. I think the “it’s all gonna be great just enjoy the ride” camp simply doesn’t have the same expectations or requirements for this to be an enjoyable season. It’s great to recognize that while you might be enjoying a mediocre squad who might sneak into the playoffs- after last year many of us expect an all in approach. That’s the same reason I struggled to watch the packers for so long. Just being “good enough” when you’ve been good enough for a long time isn’t enjoyable. You need to try to improve every year and If you fail at that, retool- don’t just sit around and waste an Aaron Rodgers/ Christian Yelich talent.

I agree. The Rodgers situation is a great point in not letting a Yelich type talent go for naught. Bucks in the same window with Giannis. These players come around so rarely and in markets like our even more so. You have to look at these situations in my view as all in. How do you go all in starting the season with three rookie starters? In my view this told you this was in part a developmental year. Then they sign Moose and Grandal. I am not sure how they feel but the frustration is real.

 

I find this completely ridiculous. The Brewers are a team that has to get production from young players, we can't go sign Lester or Scherzer or whoever else and hope they pan out. I'm sure the FO found it likely that not all 3 would meet expectations and be mainstays in the rotation. But from throwing 3 against the wall as we did, we found one ready to go in Woodruff...and he's arguably our best starter right now. To say starting 3 rookie starters means it's a developmental year is just crazy. We opened the season that way, but obviously we were able to adapt as 2 didn't work out in the rotation at this moment...you're seeing the contingency plan of 2 of those 3 guys not working out in the rotation. It hasn't been ideal, but our SP is keeping us in games for the most part...and that should be good enough most of the time with this team.

Name the last team to make the playoffs with 3 rookie starting pitchers. If this was a all in year this would not have been the case especially considering you let cheap options like Miley and Gio get away. Not to mention letting Kuechel sit it out. As for starting pitching keeping us in games 29th in quality starts means this is not accurate. Average outing of 4.9 innings also says this is false.

[Bulldogboy]

You bring up a lot of great points. While in game

Threads are in the moment venting, there are

Some serious roadblocks to a World Series quality team that many see. I think the “it’s all gonna be great just enjoy the ride” camp simply doesn’t have the same expectations or requirements for this to be an enjoyable season. It’s great to recognize that while you might be enjoying a mediocre squad who might sneak into the playoffs- after last year many of us expect an all in approach. That’s the same reason I struggled to watch the packers for so long. Just being “good enough” when you’ve been good enough for a long time isn’t enjoyable. You need to try to improve every year and If you fail at that, retool- don’t just sit around and waste an Aaron Rodgers/ Christian Yelich talent.

I agree. The Rodgers situation is a great point in not letting a Yelich type talent go for naught. Bucks in the same window with Giannis. These players come around so rarely and in markets like our even more so. You have to look at these situations in my view as all in. How do you go all in starting the season with three rookie starters? In my view this told you this was in part a developmental year. Then they sign Moose and Grandal. I am not sure how they feel but the frustration is real.

 

I find this completely ridiculous. The Brewers are a team that has to get production from young players, we can't go sign Lester or Scherzer or whoever else and hope they pan out. I'm sure the FO found it likely that not all 3 would meet expectations and be mainstays in the rotation. But from throwing 3 against the wall as we did, we found one ready to go in Woodruff...and he's arguably our best starter right now. To say starting 3 rookie starters means it's a developmental year is just crazy. We opened the season that way, but obviously we were able to adapt as 2 didn't work out in the rotation at this moment...you're seeing the contingency plan of 2 of those 3 guys not working out in the rotation. It hasn't been ideal, but our SP is keeping us in games for the most part...and that should be good enough most of the time with this team.

Name the last team to make the playoffs with 3 rookie starting pitchers. If this was a all in year this would not have been the case especially considering you let cheap options like Miley and Gio get away. Not to mention letting Kuechel sit it out. As for starting pitching keeping us in games 29th in quality starts means this is not accurate. Average outing of 4.9 innings also says this is false.

[BillScottCanRake]

While there are a lot of opinions in this thread, there are two that kinda jump out at me. They are hard for me to articulate, but I'll try.

 

First, if you want results all you have to do is "try" harder. I put try in quotes because it isn't the right word, but I can't think of a more appropriate word so it will have to do. But it is a sentiment which was also very prevalent in the Kimbrel and Kuechel threads. If the Brewers wanted to win, they should sign of those guys. If they don't, it must mean they don't want to win. It is almost as if signing one or both of those players was like pre-paying for a World Series. I think Milwaukee's best chance to win a World Series is to make the playoffs as many times a possible, not by going "all in" at the expense of future years.

 

The other opinion I see expressed a lot is "why are so many people satisfied with 'just making the playoffs'?" Almost as if being a playoff team is easy, and not being more is the result of being incompetent or lazy; a choice rather than an outcome. While winning your division or having your leagues best regular season record can make your path to a championship easier, it doesn't make it easy. History is littered with historically good teams failing to win championships because it is just plain old hard to do.

 

As great as the Patriots have been since 2001, as hard as they have tried and as much as they have cared about winning, they have "only" won six championships. So if you went into each season with an expectation that only a championship season would be successful, as a fan you'd consider your team a failure 2/3 of the time.

 

I am perfectly content with Milwaukee's current position in the standings. If they make the playoffs, I'll be content with that, too. I'd love to see them win the division, too. All the while hoping for a World Series without expecting one, and perfectly willing to consider the season a successful without a World Series title.

[KeithStone53151]

Name the last team to make the playoffs with 3 rookie starting pitchers. If this was a all in year this would not have been the case especially considering you let cheap options like Miley and Gio get away. Not to mention letting Kuechel sit it out. As for starting pitching keeping us in games 29th in quality starts means this is not accurate. Average outing of 4.9 innings also says this is false.

 

Just because we opened the season with 3 starting pitchers didn't necessarily mean our rotation was permanently set with those 3 SP. Nelson was due back, and there were FA available along with trades. Plenty of ways to add SP. And opening with 3 rookie SP allowed us to find a gem in Woodruff, who might be better than most arms we could potentially trade for. Also you can look and see that Nelson/Chacin have been just as bad as Peralta/Burnes as SP...while Woodruff is arguably the best SP on the staff this year. The SP has not been as good as we'd like it to be, but pointing at the 3 rookies as the reason is ridiculous.

[Jopal78]

As much as I ragged Darnell Coles last year if it meant keeping Derek Johnson I would have wholeheartedly agreed with keeping Coles. Far and Away the biggest mistake in Stearns tenure was letting Johnson leave..

 

Talent makes coaches look good. Luis Castillo has always been good for the Reds, his numbers so far this year (15 starts) are nearly identical to those of his rookie year in 2017 (15 starts). Sonny Gray's hits allowed, walks allowed and strikeouts in 2019 are virtually identical to his career marks with Oakland and his first season with the Yankees. DeScalfani is pitching to his career marks, and Roark has been a little worse than his career averages so far this season. Tyler Mahle was a very successful pitcher in the minor leagues as well, and like our own Woodruff has improved as he gains experience in the major leagues.

 

I don't think Derek Johnson can take credit for talented players pitching to their career averages. If the Reds' improved pitching is attributable to any thing it is that they swapped out Homer Bailey (5.55 FIP) and Sal Romano (4.95 FIP) and replaced them with Gray (3.23 FIP) and Roark (3.30 FIP), so the credit would go to their GM recognizing opportunity to add quality arms to their rotation without giving up much in return.

 

In terms of a successful season, I recently read that the Padres have had 14 winning seasons out of 50. The Brewers have had 18 winning seasons out of 50. Really two teams that are associated with futility more than anything else. So I'd consider a winning season to be successful. That being said, it is so hard to win year in year out, when you have a team that's playoff caliber with playoff expectations like the '12 Brewers, '14 Brewers and the '19 Brewers, to miss the playoffs regardless of what the ultimate win total has to be an unsuccessful season.

[Bulldogboy]

Name the last team to make the playoffs with 3 rookie starting pitchers. If this was a all in year this would not have been the case especially considering you let cheap options like Miley and Gio get away. Not to mention letting Kuechel sit it out. As for starting pitching keeping us in games 29th in quality starts means this is not accurate. Average outing of 4.9 innings also says this is false.

 

Just because we opened the season with 3 starting pitchers didn't necessarily mean our rotation was permanently set with those 3 SP. Nelson was due back, and there were FA available along with trades. Plenty of ways to add SP. And opening with 3 rookie SP allowed us to find a gem in Woodruff, who might be better than most arms we could potentially trade for. Also you can look and see that Nelson/Chacin have been just as bad as Peralta/Burnes as SP...while Woodruff is arguably the best SP on the staff this year. The SP has not been as good as we'd like it to be, but pointing at the 3 rookies as the reason is ridiculous.

My point is most organizations that are in a win now mode do not trust 3/5 of the rotation to rookies. Far from blue chip rookies at that. I am not saying this season is on them just that it was an unusual move for an organization that was one game from the world series. I don't think it's ever been done. It was a risk at the time and it blew up on them. The season is far from over but we are no closer to solving this issue going forward.

[pacopete4]

Win-now mode is something fans make up. We are in a position to win, yes. But that doesn’t mean that every single move made is for this season alone. That’s the toughest part of the job Stearns has. He has to have balance. Longevity for this organization is something we have never had. Establishing it, making the right moves to achieve it, is something I admire Stearns for attempting to do.

 

While I would be down about this season if there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (as I was while sitting in the stands watching the Dodgers celebrate last season), I also understand how hard it is for any tram to replicate success in this league. It doesn’t happen all too often. Too many variables in place. There is a lot of talented players across the league and things may just not go your way. That’s baseball in a nutshell. What I do know is the Brewers haven’t played their best baseball yet and they find themselves in the mix for winning the division. Hopefully something will click for them and we can make another run. But if it doesn’t happen, we will all survive and should feel really good about the direction of the Brewers.

[LouisEly]

Anything less than making the playoffs and playing in an actual series would be a bitter disappointment in my eyes. With basically the same roster and upgrading as much as we did at catcher missing the playoffs or losing a wild card game is not good enough. If this season does end up as a disappointment you can blame two things; the departure of Derek Johnson who has an underwhelming Cincinnatti staff with the third best ERA in baseball while our staff struggles and the mismanagement of the roster specifically Hiura being in AAA and the lack of right handed bats in the lineup.

 

Most disagreed with me when I suggested making a move for Encarnacion and the majority of posters didn't realize how much we would miss Johnson. It would be a total shame of we can't even make the playoffs with basically the same roster.

For those who don't remember, the Brewers starters didn't exactly light the world on fire when DJ came to Milwaukee. They struggled the first couple of months, and some (including myself) questioned if DJ was the right person for the job. The Brewers' starters had a first half ERA of 4.77 in 2016.

 

The Brewers have a new pitching coach and a new hitting coach. There may be an adjustment period to their coaching.

 

Those who are in the "R-E-L-A-X" camp aren't saying they're satisfied with just making the playoffs. They're saying that there is a lot of baseball left in the season, and what you see now may not be what you see in August and September.

[JimH5]

I think anything short of making the postseason would be failure.

 

Even a wild card game loss could be explained as the randomness of the game, but they have boasted about their payroll and came into the season as the winningest team in the NL last year. That shouldn't have been a fluke.

 

They are a legit postseason contender and to me, that's the line between success and failure.

[treego14]

I think anything short of making the postseason would be failure.

 

Even a wild card game loss could be explained as the randomness of the game, but they have boasted about their payroll and came into the season as the winningest team in the NL last year. That shouldn't have been a fluke.

 

They are a legit postseason contender and to me, that's the line between success and failure.

Yes!

 

This team has enough talent to win the division again and make noise in the playoffs once again.

 

This team needs to bring up Hiura, though, and bench Shaw for at least a month.

 

I think Arcia will be fine -- though letting Perez or Saladino play a couple days a week might not be a bad idea while Arcia is "cool" or "cold."

 

Grandal/Braun and Thames should play first base; Aguilar will have to be a pinch-hitter until an injury for one of those 1B platooning regulars occurs.

 

Cain will need to sit against some righties/Gamel is good enough to not rot on the bench while Cain continues to demonstrate an inability to hit against righties as he has in the past.

 

Houser/Peralta have to replace Nelson in the rotation ... Nelson needs to go back to the minors.

 

Do these things and the rest of the NL Central will be shaking in their boots!

[treego14]

It sounds like Counsell wants to win now (this season), but there is some inconsistency here when he says this about Nelson, but doesn't say it about some of our position players.

[Eye Black]

I think anything short of making the postseason would be failure.

 

Even a wild card game loss could be explained as the randomness of the game, but they have boasted about their payroll and came into the season as the winningest team in the NL last year. That shouldn't have been a fluke.

 

They are a legit postseason contender and to me, that's the line between success and failure.

I have a similar opinion. The best teams don’t always win (and advance) in the playoffs, but you have to at least get into the playoffs to have a shot at the ultimate goal. If on October 1st their season is still alive than I am at least content that after a long season they have put themselves in a position to make a run at a championship.

 

As far as evaluating “success” with the benefit of hindsight, I think it goes beyond just this season. If this current window closes without the Brewers appearing in a World Series it is always going to be a bit disappointing. Maybe that is due in part to the fact they were so close last season, but it seems like this is the window where they have a real chance to win an NL pennant and make a World Series.

[MadScientist]

Successful season =