When the Milwaukee Brewers non-tendered Chris Carter and his projected $8.1 million arbitration salary, many wondered why the team would get rid of the National Leagues home run co-leader and how they would replace his run production in the middle of the Brewers lineup. Almost immediately, the team announced the signing of Eric Thames on a […]
Tag: Chris Carter
Eric Thames and Defensive Value
It’s time we addressed the question of the winter on the minds of Brewer fans. The question that’s keeping us up at night, refreshing our favorite projection system in our web browser, just hoping for some new information that will finally allow us to just get some sleep and put our minds at ease, knowing […]
Assessing Roster Moves II: Trending Sideways
It was difficult to discern a roster building plan during the Brewers’ two week stretch of Rule 5 roster protection and waiver-and-designate, but that sense has disappeared completely this week. First, GM David Stearns effectively closed his waiver spree by signing Korean Baseball Organization superstar Eric Thames, adding a well-priced value play to the MLB […]
Making Sense of the First Base Shuffle
I have spent nearly all of David Stearns’ tenure as Brewers’ GM praising basically everything he has done. Even the moves that have not worked out have been logical and defensible, such as the signings last offseason of Will Middlebrooks and Garin Cecchini. But I am having a hard time understanding what exactly the thought […]
Assessing Roster Moves I: To Protect and Tender
Marginal theory is central to economic valuation because it provides tools for analyzing the cost and benefit of one additional unit added (or subtracted) from a current situation. In one economic game, the competitive market, marginal theory can be used to help find an equilibrium between supply and demand; in another economic game, such as […]
Examining The Carter-Broxton Mold of Plate Discipline
When you think about plate discipline — specifically good plate discipline — what comes to mind? Sabermetricians fall into two broad schools of thought on what defines the term. On the one hand, some will look at how well a player can detect the difference between a ball and a strike. On the other hand, some will […]
Game 123 Recap: Brewers 7, Mariners 6
Against an inexperienced starter and a couple of solid bullpen arms, the Brewers offense couldn’t accomplish much. Against one of the worst relievers in baseball, the hitters finally broke through. Losing streak: OVER! Record: STILL BAD! Best Play: Matt Garza struggled, Ariel Miranda did pretty well, yada yada yada, Tom Wilhelmsen came on in the ninth. The score […]
Making Sense of Chris Carter’s 2016
Chris Carter got off to an excellent start in 2016, as he put up a .922 OPS in April. He has since cooled off considerably, as his season TAv stands at just .280. That makes him a solid hitter, but nowhere near good enough for a first baseman—and especially nowhere near good enough for a […]
Game 104 Recap: Padres 7 Brewers 3
The final day, the final hours of the trade deadline were hectic. Jonathan Lucroy, Will Smith, and Jeremy Jeffress were all traded, leaving the Brewers with somewhat of a depleted roster for tonight’s game. But, all of these trades, while hurting the overall quality of the team, will open spots for other players. Top Play […]
Game 103 Recap: Brewers 4, Pirates 2
For what may be Jonathan Lucroy’s last game as a Brewer, the club sent him off with a victory and a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh. Best Play: In a tight contest where no one scored more than once per inning, the final run would make the biggest difference. When Chris Carter stepped in with two outs in the bottom of […]