Friday, June 10, 2016
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney
The finals are here! It's been chalk up to this point, but now we have the two best prep pitchers in the draft class going head-to-head.
Jason Groome: A hard throwing lefty with a group of plus pitches and control Groome is regularly ranked as the best prospect in the class and by all accounts, should be available when the Brewers pick on Thursday.
Riley Pint: The top prospect heading into the year, Pint has fallen off a bit due to concerns about his mechanics. He struggles to consistently throw strikes, but who cares when you're throwing 102 MPH and already have 3 average or better pitches before you've graduated high school?
Vote below and let's see if the prospect the Brewer make on Thursday is the pick the fans want!
Jason Groome: A hard throwing lefty with a group of plus pitches and control Groome is regularly ranked as the best prospect in the class and by all accounts, should be available when the Brewers pick on Thursday.
Riley Pint: The top prospect heading into the year, Pint has fallen off a bit due to concerns about his mechanics. He struggles to consistently throw strikes, but who cares when you're throwing 102 MPH and already have 3 average or better pitches before you've graduated high school?
Vote below and let's see if the prospect the Brewer make on Thursday is the pick the fans want!
The finals are here! View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney.— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 7, 2016
Sunday, June 5, 2016
View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney
The View From Bernie's Chalet Brewers' Draft Twitter Poll Tourney is moving into round two! All of the favorites won, with the closest race being between Kyle Lewis and Mickey Moniak, but none of the winners had less than 70% of the vote.
Round two sees Jason Groome against Kyle Lewis and Riley Pint against Delvin Perez. Groome is regularly ranked as this draft's best prospect. A high school left-handed pitcher with huge potential, he has ace written all over him if he can put his skills together. I've seen complaints that his control is lacking for the value some teams are placing on him. Kyle Lewis is a potential major league center fielder ranked as having five average or better tools. Many scouts rank his power ability fairly high and say he has a chance to hit for a pretty high average to go with it, along with decent speed on the bases.
On the other side of the bracket, we see two of the draft's most exciting prospects. Riley Pint is a high school right-handed pitcher who reportedly hit 102 mph with his fastball early in the year. Pint's pitches are already regarded as plus or better, and he shows an advanced changeup for his age, however scouts worry about his aggressive throwing motion. They believe it will make it very hard for the talented prep-star to ever consistently throw strikes. Then there's Delvin Perez, one of the prospects most frequently linked to the Brewers in mock drafts. Perez is one of the youngest players in the draft and has a gigantic ceiling to go with no negotiating leverage, which could pay huge dividends when the Brewers are trying to draft high-stock players in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. A slick fielding shortstop out of Puerto Rico, Perez has the chance to develop a well-above average hit tool and even a little bit of pop. It's pretty fun to imagine partnering him at maxed potential alongside current top prospect Orlando Arcia.
So here's the bracket. The voting will be open for two days, and the Twitter polls can be found below. Let's see if the Brewers fanbase can get this pick right!
Round two sees Jason Groome against Kyle Lewis and Riley Pint against Delvin Perez. Groome is regularly ranked as this draft's best prospect. A high school left-handed pitcher with huge potential, he has ace written all over him if he can put his skills together. I've seen complaints that his control is lacking for the value some teams are placing on him. Kyle Lewis is a potential major league center fielder ranked as having five average or better tools. Many scouts rank his power ability fairly high and say he has a chance to hit for a pretty high average to go with it, along with decent speed on the bases.
On the other side of the bracket, we see two of the draft's most exciting prospects. Riley Pint is a high school right-handed pitcher who reportedly hit 102 mph with his fastball early in the year. Pint's pitches are already regarded as plus or better, and he shows an advanced changeup for his age, however scouts worry about his aggressive throwing motion. They believe it will make it very hard for the talented prep-star to ever consistently throw strikes. Then there's Delvin Perez, one of the prospects most frequently linked to the Brewers in mock drafts. Perez is one of the youngest players in the draft and has a gigantic ceiling to go with no negotiating leverage, which could pay huge dividends when the Brewers are trying to draft high-stock players in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. A slick fielding shortstop out of Puerto Rico, Perez has the chance to develop a well-above average hit tool and even a little bit of pop. It's pretty fun to imagine partnering him at maxed potential alongside current top prospect Orlando Arcia.
So here's the bracket. The voting will be open for two days, and the Twitter polls can be found below. Let's see if the Brewers fanbase can get this pick right!
View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney: Round 2— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 5, 2016
View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney: Round 2 #Fight— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 5, 2016
Don't Trade Braun, Ever (One Homer's Thoughts)
I am fully aware that it might be best for the club to trade Braun. And if a trade is made and the Brewers get a really good prospect haul in return and don't have to pay any of Ryan's salary for the duration of his contract then I would be fine with it. But selfishly I want Ryan Braun to be a Brewer for his entire career. I think it would be awesome to see him follow suit with guys like Yount, Ripken, Gwynn, Brett and Jones and spend his whole career in one teams uniform. It certainly is a rare sight in today's game of baseball. And we probably won't see too many more going forward.
The biggest reasons I personally don't want to see him traded are simple. First, I'm obviously a huge fan of Braun and he has brought me so much joy over the past 10 years and so many memorable moments that I would like that to continue. The second reason I'd like the Brewers to keep Braun ties into the first. I think he can be a big contributor still on the next Brewers teams that compete and go to the postseason. I know, I know. Braun has had some injury issues/concerns over the past four seasons. The thumb, the back, the wrist, etc. While he misses games here and there, he has still only been on the DL once in his career (2013). If he stays healthy and they manage his games played as they have done so far in 2016, he has a chance to still be very productive.
He is 32 now and will be 37 when his contract expires (including the option year in 2021). Why can't he still be a very productive bat in the last three years of that deal (19'-21') when the Brewers figure to be a contender again? David Ortiz is still productive at 40 years old. Only way he isn't in my opinion is if it's a health issue. And that really can't be predicted one way or the other. I also bet they have him move to 1B sometime in 2018 or 2019 if not sooner to make room for another young talented OF and to put him in a better position to stay healthy. And "IF" he is healthy, why wouldn't he still play and more specifically hit at a high level?
In the meantime I am sure we will continue to read tweets and articles from reporters giving us the latest Braun trade rumors. And when reading those rumors, remember he only has a handful of clubs that he can be traded to without having to agree to said trade. And players usually put those clauses in contracts for a reason. They want to stay where they are at.
Saturday, June 4, 2016
View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney
It’s the first ever View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney! Ok, maybe the name needs a little work.
Below is a bracket and four Twitter polls. Vote in each contest to determine the prospect you want the Brewers to draft next Thursday. It’s for fun and to determine which prospect the fans want most. Hell, maybe we’ll get it right and the fans can brag about their success and then be disappointed in 5 years when the prospect is bussing tables at a bar!
Twitter poll tourney! Which prospect would you rather draft?— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 3, 2016
Twitter poll tourney! Which prospect would you rather draft? Bracket 2— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 3, 2016
Bracket 3!— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 3, 2016
Bracket 4— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 3, 2016
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Trade Braun Now, Lucroy Later
We all know that Jonathan Lucroy likely won’t be a Brewer for much longer, and now the most successful -- and controversial -- Brewer in a long time is entering the rumor mill in Ryan Braun.
Braun is having his most successful season since the 2012 redemption season. Through 33 games he’s slashing an astounding .376/.439/.600, numbers that could justify any team taking on the remaining $90 million or so of his contract.
There has been some debate about whether or not Braun and Lucroy should be traded in the same year. This got me thinking, if they only traded only one of those players this year, would it be more beneficial to trade Braun or Lucroy? I think the answer needs to be Braun and here’s why:
- He’s Injury Prone
Ok, Braun hasn’t missed a huge percentage of the season since 2013 when he was suspended and injured, he will be on the field if he can be. There is one thing to note about his injuries over the last few years though, they cause a significant drop in his production. Through nagging muscle spasms and thumb injuries he went from a career OPS of .943 to .825. His number are already likely unsustainable throughout the year even if he’s returned to pre-2013 form and is only getting older and more susceptible each passing minute.
- He May Never Hold More Value Again
According to his performance from 2013-2015, Braun’s current performance is a stroke of luck. He’s carrying a fairly large price tag -- although small by most other modern MLB contracts -- and a negative perception due to his PED suspension and everything that came with it. The thing is, if he’s performing anywhere close to what he is now by the trading deadline, no one’s going to care. Any team that can get an MVP at his current cost will take all of those bad things, but if we see that production drop off he will go back to being nearly untradeable unless we see another astronomical spike.
On the other hand, Lucroy will only lose some value barring injury. Aside from last year and other freak incidents, Luc doesn’t come with those nagging injury concerns and has been a very consistent performer over the last few years. As long as he continues that straight line projection, he will still hold significant value in the offseason even if teams aren’t getting that extra half-year. You absolutely will lose value but Luc’s value isn’t nearly as volatile as Braun’s is and if I’m wagering a huge amount of prospects on who is most likely to maintain their stock, Luc is the safer bet.
- If He Goes I Want to Just Rip the Bandaid Off
I am far from a Braun apologist. He made it hard for me to put blind faith and true fandom into athletes. It was a valuable lesson most adults should learn, players can hurt you but the logo and team will always -- in most cases -- be there. However, something inside of me still cheers hard for Braun. He is a huge part of some of the most significant Brewer moments of my life time. I’ll never forget his huge home runs in 2007, 2008 and 2011. He is a part of my number one most cherished Brewers memory, CC Sabathia’s complete game victory over the Cubs. I don’t want to spend every season wondering if he’s gone or not, so rip off the bandaid and send him packing. I can watch Lucroy go, I’ve been campaigning for it longer than most fans and as much as I’ve liked him he is more Cecil Cooper than Robin Yount in terms of my personal feelings.
How do you feel about it? Do you want both Braun and Lucroy to be traded this season? Do you want one to be traded or the other? Or do you want them both to hang around? Weigh in on my Twitter poll.
-BradBy the trading deadline, I hope the Brewers...— Brew Crew Blue (@BrewCrewBlue) May 13, 2016
Friday, April 8, 2016
Brad's Top 5 Carlos Gomez Brewers Moments
It's happened. Carlos Gomez has returned to Milwaukee (albeit in a different uniform), and it is bringing out all of my feels.
Gomez was a pile of trouble to start out his Milwaukee Brewers career, but when the coaches finally let the leash loose, he took off like we all had hoped when the Crew swapped JJ Hardy for the troubled centerfielder.
So to celebrate what he meant to us when he was a Brewer and his return to Milwaukee, here are MY top 5 Carlos Gomez moments.
5. The Walk-off Run
This moment is truly Nyjer Morgan's, but it's one of my favorite Brewers moments of all times and Carlos Gomez was a huge part of it. Gomez was the second batter of the inning, singled to get on base and stole second, as he does. Morgan did the rest and drove him in, and the stadium was literally shaking with joy. I'll never forget hugging my family members in the club section, then turning around to Bill Schroeder, who was in a suite, and screaming, "Pound it!"
It may be Nyjer Morgan's hit, but that 10th inning walk-off was a lot of Gomez.
4. The Tall's Hill Snag
2013 might be the best defensive season the Brewers will ever get out of a center fielder, and this list has two of Gomez's amazing plays. Jason Castro nailed this ball, and most center fielders don't get within a foot. Gomez, going up a hill, has to adjust to make the over the shoulder catch. Who does that!? Gomez.
3. The Gomez Fight
Fights in baseball are never great, but this one I was fully behind Gomez. Gomez said recently that he always has fun and doesn't mean to disrespect anyone. In this play, Gomez bat flips and watches the baseball soar out of the stadium. It's Gomez, it's what he does. Every Braves player got mad. ALL of them, the douchiest being the king of douches: Brian McCann.
Why I loved it? Gomez is defending his right to have fun. He really didn't do anything wrong. He wrecked a Paul Maholm pitch (in 2013 who didn't?) and watched that sucker fly. Gomez defended his right to do so and I loved that he didn't take any crap from a bunch of cocky old-schoolers who demand an invisible rule book to be followed to its invisible t.
2. "Kiwis have three times as much potassium as bananas."
This is clearly not something that happened on the baseball diamond, but when I think of Gomez this is the type of stuff I imagine. It came out of a Sports Illustrated interview. While doing a feature on Gomez, Ryan Braun revealed that after signing a big contract in Milwaukee the center fielder was Googling "Things rich people talk about."
It's hysterical, it's random and it's amazing. That is everything that is Carlos Gomez off the field.
1. THE Game Saving Catch
Carlos Gomez has enough game-saving catches that we probably have forgotten more than we remember, but this one was special. At Miller Park, the 9th inning and K-Rod was up for the save. Reds were down 3-4 with Joey Votto at the plate and a runner on first. As K-Rod does, he threw a pitch that was hammered deep and to center, and as GoGo does, he sprinted to the wall, timed the fly ball and caught that S.O.B. I remember jumping out of my seat with joy and amazement. I'll never forget Votto telling the umps to check the glove for the ball and Gomez batting the the glove to show what he just did. Gomez jumped with joy, he smiled as big as he possibly could and was cocky as hell. It was everything that makes Gomez a great baseball player and enjoyable to watch.
I miss Carlos Gomez. He's everything I want in a baseball player and I am so excited that he's back in Milwaukee -- even if it's just for 3 games.
Did I miss one of your top GoGo moments? Tell us in the comments!
-Brad
Gomez was a pile of trouble to start out his Milwaukee Brewers career, but when the coaches finally let the leash loose, he took off like we all had hoped when the Crew swapped JJ Hardy for the troubled centerfielder.
So to celebrate what he meant to us when he was a Brewer and his return to Milwaukee, here are MY top 5 Carlos Gomez moments.
5. The Walk-off Run
This moment is truly Nyjer Morgan's, but it's one of my favorite Brewers moments of all times and Carlos Gomez was a huge part of it. Gomez was the second batter of the inning, singled to get on base and stole second, as he does. Morgan did the rest and drove him in, and the stadium was literally shaking with joy. I'll never forget hugging my family members in the club section, then turning around to Bill Schroeder, who was in a suite, and screaming, "Pound it!"
It may be Nyjer Morgan's hit, but that 10th inning walk-off was a lot of Gomez.
4. The Tall's Hill Snag
2013 might be the best defensive season the Brewers will ever get out of a center fielder, and this list has two of Gomez's amazing plays. Jason Castro nailed this ball, and most center fielders don't get within a foot. Gomez, going up a hill, has to adjust to make the over the shoulder catch. Who does that!? Gomez.
3. The Gomez Fight
Fights in baseball are never great, but this one I was fully behind Gomez. Gomez said recently that he always has fun and doesn't mean to disrespect anyone. In this play, Gomez bat flips and watches the baseball soar out of the stadium. It's Gomez, it's what he does. Every Braves player got mad. ALL of them, the douchiest being the king of douches: Brian McCann.
Why I loved it? Gomez is defending his right to have fun. He really didn't do anything wrong. He wrecked a Paul Maholm pitch (in 2013 who didn't?) and watched that sucker fly. Gomez defended his right to do so and I loved that he didn't take any crap from a bunch of cocky old-schoolers who demand an invisible rule book to be followed to its invisible t.
2. "Kiwis have three times as much potassium as bananas."
This is clearly not something that happened on the baseball diamond, but when I think of Gomez this is the type of stuff I imagine. It came out of a Sports Illustrated interview. While doing a feature on Gomez, Ryan Braun revealed that after signing a big contract in Milwaukee the center fielder was Googling "Things rich people talk about."
It's hysterical, it's random and it's amazing. That is everything that is Carlos Gomez off the field.
1. THE Game Saving Catch
Carlos Gomez has enough game-saving catches that we probably have forgotten more than we remember, but this one was special. At Miller Park, the 9th inning and K-Rod was up for the save. Reds were down 3-4 with Joey Votto at the plate and a runner on first. As K-Rod does, he threw a pitch that was hammered deep and to center, and as GoGo does, he sprinted to the wall, timed the fly ball and caught that S.O.B. I remember jumping out of my seat with joy and amazement. I'll never forget Votto telling the umps to check the glove for the ball and Gomez batting the the glove to show what he just did. Gomez jumped with joy, he smiled as big as he possibly could and was cocky as hell. It was everything that makes Gomez a great baseball player and enjoyable to watch.
I miss Carlos Gomez. He's everything I want in a baseball player and I am so excited that he's back in Milwaukee -- even if it's just for 3 games.
Did I miss one of your top GoGo moments? Tell us in the comments!
-Brad
Friday, April 1, 2016
#FireCraigCounsell
When the Brewers hired David Stearns, it was a sign of hitting the reset button. Milwaukee was ready to turn the page as the last chapter or its glory faded and the ashes stopped smoking. Yet, when they hit reset on the franchise, they gave him power to make about 2 dozen roster moves but demanded he hold onto a piece of old: Craig Counsell.
It’s completely unfair to ask any GM to take the franchise in a truly new direction when forcing them to hold onto a manager installed by the old regime. But Mark Attanasio made it perfectly clear when starting his search for a new GM, do not mess with Craig Counsell.
It’s another chapter in Mark A’s book of mistakes, forcing the signing of Lohse, bringing back K-Rod over and over again, hiring Ken Macha, the camo-shirt that was up for vote during free t-shirt Friday voting. You can’t start over and tell the GM that he needs to hold onto this old manager.
Not only is this being forced on Stearns, but Counsell is the face of that crumbling regime. He was on the roster for most of Doug Melvin’s glory period as GM, then when he retired decided to become Melvin’s pet project. Don’t you think it’s likely that there will be some loyalty to Melvin and a resistance to Stearns new age thinking?
On top of that connection to the ways of old, Counsell also has no success as manager. He’s 61-76 after managing the Brewers team for most of the year last year. This was mostly the same team that was in first place for a majority of the 2014 season!
The other fear is the affect he could have on players. Counsell was never that successful as a player and had one of the worst batting stances in baseball history. What happens when he tries to get players to experiment with extending batting stances that but their swing in danger?
Counsell needs to go and the team needs to start anew. I think the best move the Brewers could make is to fire Counsell and try to work Tony LaRussa from the Diamondbacks.
-Brad
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