Have the Brewers done enough to be a 2020 contender?

[brewcrewdue80]

Lauer>Davies

 

That's why we got 5 years of Lauer for 2 of Davies?

 

Lindblom=Peralta

Houser=Woodruff.

 

If that 1st part plays out that way we are in trouble.

I don't believe the 2nd line at all.

 

Houser = Woodruff? hmmmm

 

Lauer > Davis, based on what?

 

Lindblom=Peralta Then why did we need Lindblom since we already have Peralta?

 

This is in comparison as noted by Ender above heading in to 2019.

 

Davies has had a career FIP of 4.22 It was 4.39 in 2018 in only 66IP and carried a 4.77ERA.

Lauer has a career 4.35 FIP 4.23 in 2019. 149.2IP with a 4.45 ERA. I posted awhile back at Coors he is awful, worse than Burnes last season in terms of stats. I'm not going to figure it out again, I think his ERA would have been below 3.55? Removing 11innings there. Brewers will only have 1game that they could foolishly start him in Coors in 2020 or his stats continue on what it's been outside of that Field.

 

Houser and Woodruff. Well both pitched games as a Starter and Relieved games in the bullpen the season prior. A little reverse though as Houser has more starts less RP compared to Woodruff's less starts and more RP. That should indicate that as a Starter heading in to 2020 we have a better idea what Houser should produce than Woodruff did coming in to 2019. And in the larger starting sample Houser had a better ERA than Woodruff did.

 

Lindblom equals Peralta. Well in this one I'm kinda putting Lindblom to Peralta's equal because his arm should last through a full season. You're looking at the #5 spot going in to 2019 with Peralta. So in that fact I just hope for an ERA below 4.5 in a full season of starts. Will he do it? We'll find out. If not you know the fall back is Peralta and Peralta Equals Peralta. lol.

[Eye Black]

The Brewers have now also added Brock Holt to the mix. If nothing else the Brewers should shake their “stars and scrubs” stigma of the past. They have added a whole bunch of league average type players including spots they can platoon to likely play a little better than league average. It’s certainly interesting, I guess we’ll see if it actually works.

[homer]

The Brewers have now also added Brock Holt to the mix. If nothing else the Brewers should shake their “stars and scrubs” stigma of the past. They have added a whole bunch of league average type players including spots they can platoon to likely play a little better than league average. It’s certainly interesting, I guess we’ll see if it actually works.

 

Yeah it certainly has made the team more interesting that's for sure. Kind of a fascinating way to build a roster. Works on paper at least. If Urias takes off this year they may have a really nice offense. They might even without him taking off.

[homer]

The Brewers have now also added Brock Holt to the mix. If nothing else the Brewers should shake their “stars and scrubs” stigma of the past. They have added a whole bunch of league average type players including spots they can platoon to likely play a little better than league average. It’s certainly interesting, I guess we’ll see if it actually works.

 

Yeah it certainly has made the team more interesting that's for sure. Kind of a fascinating way to build a roster. Works on paper at least. If Urias takes off this year they may have a really nice offense. They might even without him taking off.

[The stache]

My honest answer to the question? I don't know. The Brewers front office was highly successful with an outlier approach once before when they came up just shy of the World Series; they bet on a pitching staff heavily reliant on the bullpen, less so on the rotation. It almost got them an American....whoops, National League pennant for the first time (I'll never get used to that ).

 

I've loved baseball with an insatiable passion since I was eight years old. I've read more books, watched more games and documentaries, and done more statistical analyses than I feel comfortable admitting to. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that the game is constantly evolving. No two years are exactly alike. That evolution isn't always apparent at the start of a new season. Some changes are drastic. Others more nuanced, and the variables become more pronounced over time. Some teams have the resources to spend greatly on top free agents. Other franchises have to get creative, and hope to catch lightning in a bottle.

 

I feel we have smart people in positions of authority. I trust David Stearns. I think Craig Counsell is a damned fine manager. Not perfect. Sometimes he makes us all a bit nuts, but show me a Major League Manager that hasn't made their fanbase a bit batty from time to time. I trust our use of analytics, and I think that, while we're not going to knock anybody over with our off season moves, I believe David has put together a team of misfit toys that can compete for a playoff spot. Pardon the Moneyball nod there, please.

 

There are smart people on this forum. Smart people that know a hell of a lot about baseball. I might disagree with opinions, from time to time, but it's done with respect. There's a great deal of baseball knowledge, and if you guys are cautiously optimistic, I see no reason to voice a contrarian opinion.

 

One thing's for sure. It's going to be an interesting season.

[The stache]

My honest answer to the question? I don't know. The Brewers front office was highly successful with an outlier approach once before when they came up just shy of the World Series; they bet on a pitching staff heavily reliant on the bullpen, less so on the rotation. It almost got them an American....whoops, National League pennant for the first time (I'll never get used to that ).

 

I've loved baseball with an insatiable passion since I was eight years old. I've read more books, watched more games and documentaries, and done more statistical analyses than I feel comfortable admitting to. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that the game is constantly evolving. No two years are exactly alike. That evolution isn't always apparent at the start of a new season. Some changes are drastic. Others more nuanced, and the variables become more pronounced over time. Some teams have the resources to spend greatly on top free agents. Other franchises have to get creative, and hope to catch lightning in a bottle.

 

I feel we have smart people in positions of authority. I trust David Stearns. I think Craig Counsell is a damned fine manager. Not perfect. Sometimes he makes us all a bit nuts, but show me a Major League Manager that hasn't made their fanbase a bit batty from time to time. I trust our use of analytics, and I think that, while we're not going to knock anybody over with our off season moves, I believe David has put together a team of misfit toys that can compete for a playoff spot. Pardon the Moneyball nod there, please.

 

There are smart people on this forum. Smart people that know a hell of a lot about baseball. I might disagree with opinions, from time to time, but it's done with respect. There's a great deal of baseball knowledge, and if you guys are cautiously optimistic, I see no reason to voice a contrarian opinion.

 

One thing's for sure. It's going to be an interesting season.

[TJseven7]

I believe David has put together a team of misfit toys that can compete for a playoff spot. Pardon the Moneyball nod there, please.

 

I feel like the Holt signing really kicked me over the edge on the Moneyball line of thinking as well.

 

Narvaez can't field

Sogard Gyorko Holt?

Smoak Braun at 1st.

Lindblom from KBO and Phelps off the forgotten heap.

Anderson a notorious injury prone pitcher.

 

Team looks to platoon an infield. They signed a ton of guys and other than Garcia no ones paid over 5 mil. The entire infield is under 5 mil per except Braun.

I stated on the lineup thread. 1250 ish PA by guys under 650 OPS last year. Some WAY under. If career numbers hold and Urias develops to a 700 OPS guy the team, ON PAPER, has 100 Arcia PAs under 700 OPS. 1150 PAs go up over 50 OPS at the bottom. That's 2 starters worth of PA while paying no one over 5mil. Pretty incredible and many platoon even stronger.

 

Garcia has to be walking around with a strut in the locker room. Guy actually got paid over 1 WAR value per year. Big dog. 4th highest paid player on the team and all 4 are OFs. Again just stunning.

 

But

"The Yankees have invited right-hander Chad Bettis to camp on a minor-league deal that according to The Post’s Joel Sherman would pay him $1.5 million if he makes the big league club and includes $2 million in performances bonuses."

 

And Cashner would have made it much more stable.

[TJseven7]

I believe David has put together a team of misfit toys that can compete for a playoff spot. Pardon the Moneyball nod there, please.

 

I feel like the Holt signing really kicked me over the edge on the Moneyball line of thinking as well.

 

Narvaez can't field

Sogard Gyorko Holt?

Smoak Braun at 1st.

Lindblom from KBO and Phelps off the forgotten heap.

Anderson a notorious injury prone pitcher.

 

Team looks to platoon an infield. They signed a ton of guys and other than Garcia no ones paid over 5 mil. The entire infield is under 5 mil per except Braun.

I stated on the lineup thread. 1250 ish PA by guys under 650 OPS last year. Some WAY under. If career numbers hold and Urias develops to a 700 OPS guy the team, ON PAPER, has 100 Arcia PAs under 700 OPS. 1150 PAs go up over 50 OPS at the bottom. That's 2 starters worth of PA while paying no one over 5mil. Pretty incredible and many platoon even stronger.

 

Garcia has to be walking around with a strut in the locker room. Guy actually got paid over 1 WAR value per year. Big dog. 4th highest paid player on the team and all 4 are OFs. Again just stunning.

 

But

"The Yankees have invited right-hander Chad Bettis to camp on a minor-league deal that according to The Post’s Joel Sherman would pay him $1.5 million if he makes the big league club and includes $2 million in performances bonuses."

 

And Cashner would have made it much more stable.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

I'm excited to see what this team can do. I think the players are going to perform better than many expect.

 

Over the past couple of years we have seen Stearns assembly a pitching staff with mainly average starters coupled with a good bullpen and the result has been pretty successfull. He knew his starters are not good enough to be exposed a third time through, so they pull them before that happens.

 

Now with the extra position player on the roster, I think Stearns is taking that same approach for the hitters. He has signed a bunch of average infielders (Sogard, Holt, Gyorko) that can play multiple positions and can be used in situations where it is to their advantage. Its likely Counsell will be using multiple platoons in the normal LH vs RH type situations. But because the players are not truly platoon only types with huge splits (Holt was last year but not over his career), he could setup vs environment (wind blowing out against a flyball pitcher - put in Gyorko) or just individual player matchups.

 

It will be a fun season to watch!

[ClosetBrewerFan]

I'm excited to see what this team can do. I think the players are going to perform better than many expect.

 

Over the past couple of years we have seen Stearns assembly a pitching staff with mainly average starters coupled with a good bullpen and the result has been pretty successfull. He knew his starters are not good enough to be exposed a third time through, so they pull them before that happens.

 

Now with the extra position player on the roster, I think Stearns is taking that same approach for the hitters. He has signed a bunch of average infielders (Sogard, Holt, Gyorko) that can play multiple positions and can be used in situations where it is to their advantage. Its likely Counsell will be using multiple platoons in the normal LH vs RH type situations. But because the players are not truly platoon only types with huge splits (Holt was last year but not over his career), he could setup vs environment (wind blowing out against a flyball pitcher - put in Gyorko) or just individual player matchups.

 

It will be a fun season to watch!

[sveumrules]

Looks like the Brewers actually spent more this offseason on their 2020 team than any other team in the Central including the all in Reds...

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/mlb-team-payrolls-as-spring-training-begins/

[sveumrules]

Looks like the Brewers actually spent more this offseason on their 2020 team than any other team in the Central including the all in Reds...

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/mlb-team-payrolls-as-spring-training-begins/

[pacopete4]

The entire complaint about payroll is ridiculous to me. If you didn't know Grandal and Moose were one-year type of situations, that's on you. The Brewers had an opportunity to snag them for a year at a reasonable price and did so. It wasn't going to happen two seasons in a row. But here they are, with a roster that can compete and looks to have some good depth. Can't wait for the season to begin!

[pacopete4]

The entire complaint about payroll is ridiculous to me. If you didn't know Grandal and Moose were one-year type of situations, that's on you. The Brewers had an opportunity to snag them for a year at a reasonable price and did so. It wasn't going to happen two seasons in a row. But here they are, with a roster that can compete and looks to have some good depth. Can't wait for the season to begin!

[monty57]

Looks like the Brewers actually spent more this offseason on their 2020 team than any other team in the Central including the all in Reds...

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/mlb-team-payrolls-as-spring-training-begins/

 

That's not entirely accurate. They have spent more from Dec 4 to now, but their overall payroll is less since a lot of salaries were dropped or traded. I'm happy with this offseason and don't care that they cut payroll, but they did cut payroll.

[monty57]

Looks like the Brewers actually spent more this offseason on their 2020 team than any other team in the Central including the all in Reds...

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/mlb-team-payrolls-as-spring-training-begins/

 

That's not entirely accurate. They have spent more from Dec 4 to now, but their overall payroll is less since a lot of salaries were dropped or traded. I'm happy with this offseason and don't care that they cut payroll, but they did cut payroll.

[timpep]

Looks like the Brewers actually spent more this offseason on their 2020 team than any other team in the Central including the all in Reds...

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/mlb-team-payrolls-as-spring-training-begins/

 

I followed that link and was shocked to find... the Brewers actually cut their payroll more than all but 4 teams. It's easy to "spend" the most when you also cut the most.

[timpep]

Looks like the Brewers actually spent more this offseason on their 2020 team than any other team in the Central including the all in Reds...

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/mlb-team-payrolls-as-spring-training-begins/

 

I followed that link and was shocked to find... the Brewers actually cut their payroll more than all but 4 teams. It's easy to "spend" the most when you also cut the most.

[pacopete4]

It’s only viewed as a “cut” in payroll if you thought that the $25 million that were paid to Moose and Grandal would be a regular thing. The Brewers have a $100M+ opening day payroll. Last year, because of a rare circumstance, they extended($120M) to get Moose and Grandal. Comparing this season to last is very, very foolish. I wonder if MA regrets doing it because now he has so many Brewers fans that don’t understand this.

[pacopete4]

It’s only viewed as a “cut” in payroll if you thought that the $25 million that were paid to Moose and Grandal would be a regular thing. The Brewers have a $100M+ opening day payroll. Last year, because of a rare circumstance, they extended($120M) to get Moose and Grandal. Comparing this season to last is very, very foolish. I wonder if MA regrets doing it because now he has so many Brewers fans that don’t understand this.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

It’s only viewed as a “cut” in payroll if you thought that the $25 million that were paid to Moose and Grandal would be a regular thing. The Brewers have a $100M+ opening day payroll. Last year, because of a rare circumstance, they extended($120M) to get Moose and Grandal. Comparing this season to last is very, very foolish. I wonder if MA regrets doing it because now he has so many Brewers fans that don’t understand this.

 

i doubt Attanasio cares. He had the opportunity to make a couple "go for it"-type moves last year, and he did it. If those types of deals would have presented themselves again, he likely would have done it again. They've basically said that the only player they regret losing is Grandal. That makes me believe that he was the only one they considered signing to large multi-year deal. The fact that the Reds gave Moose a stupid contract doesn't make the Brewers look worse. He's eminently replaceable. The 2020 team isn't going to have as many recognizable "name" guys, which is going to make the casual fan upset. But this team is arguably deeper and should be more consistent. We'll see how it all plays out.

 

Just remember ... the 2019 team was pretty enigmatic, despite the All-Star years from Moose and Grandal, and an MVP showing from Yelich. It was a substantially poorer team than the 2018 model, which only had Moose for a short period, and won a ton of games with Pina and Kratz catching.

[monty57]

It’s only viewed as a “cut” in payroll if you thought that the $25 million that were paid to Moose and Grandal would be a regular thing. The Brewers have a $100M+ opening day payroll. Last year, because of a rare circumstance, they extended($120M) to get Moose and Grandal. Comparing this season to last is very, very foolish. I wonder if MA regrets doing it because now he has so many Brewers fans that don’t understand this.

 

By definition, it is considered a "cut" if it is less than last year, which it is.

 

I agree with you that we shouldn't have expected to retain the higher payroll level, nor should we have expected to retain Moose or Grandal. However, if the Brewers are spending less this year than we spent last year, then they have cut payroll.

 

I doubt that Attanasio cares that fans are a little concerned about the lowered payroll this year. I think he's happy that he has a strong fanbase that buys 2-3 million tickets a year and talk about the Brewers in the offseason (during Packer season). I think he understands that winning helps keep this going, so I doubt he regrets doing something that helped the Brewers make the playoffs for the second straight year. That may not seem like much, but it's not common in Brewer history, so we're currently living through one of the most successful stints in franchise history, and I'm sure he likes that.

 

I think that Attanasio used to be a bit more of a "hands on" owner, who now realizes that he needs to listen to the people he's paying to make those decisions. I think now that if Stearns believes adding a contract will help, Attanasio has shown willingness to do so, and now that Stearns seems to think that he can get the same (or more) value without spending as much money, that Attanasio is right there with him.

 

You always wish for a little more, but I generally like the way the team is built this year, and I'm happy that they have some wiggle room in the budget. Some team will be looking to dump some salary at the trade deadline, so if the Brewers are in the race, they should be able to pick up a player "for nothing" by simply taking on the remainder of the contract. That could be what helps push us into the playoffs.