By Adam Roberts – 11/20/2020

Minor league baseball is a section of sports that has both A) been completely ravished by COVID-19, and B) not discussed all that much about at the top levels of sports talk. Major realignment is coming to MiLB, and teams are rising up to and falling down to different levels on a seemingly daily basis.

One of those dipping down are the San Antonio Missions, the Brewers now-previously Triple-A affiliate. They will be returning to the AA level they had been at for a while before a recent jump up, and that leaves the Brewers currently without a Triple-A affiliate.

Reviewing The Brew wrote an article this morning about what the Brewers could do in this situation, laying out the three most likely scenarios that Milwaukee may pursue. It certainly isn’t likely to be the last of these kinds of situations this offseason, and certainly minor league baseball in 2021 will be much different than years in the past.

On a personal note, the RTB article does the community of Fresno, California pretty dirty. I’ve never been, but briefly considered taking a job out there after college, and as Ryan Stiles once put it, I’m sure it’s “a lovely town”.

By Adam Roberts – 11/19/2020

When this image popped up on Brewers’ Twitter this afternoon, it probably prompted a number of double-takes from Milwaukee fans:

But fear not Brewer faithful, David Stearns isn’t heading anywhere. While Mike Arnold is now the Crew’s Senior Vice President and General Manager, Stearns will remain with the team as the President of Baseball Operations.

Arnold previously served as the director of player personnel for the Tampa Bay Rays, and has been with the Brewers as the assistant general manager and vice president since 2015.

By Adam Roberts – 11/19/2020

In 1986, the British progressive rock group Genesis released their pop-oriented album Invisible Touch, with the third single “Land of Confusion” becoming the most memorable track (if you haven’t seen the music video, it’s a bizarre and fun trip back in time filled with Cold War references and wacky puppets crafted by the creators of the British TV show “Spitting Image”).  Right now, everything involving the Milwaukee Bucks and their sign-and-trade for Bogdan Bogdanovic is a land of confusion.

Yesterday evening, multiple sources including ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Bogdan’s camp was saying no deal had been reached, after it had previously been reported that he would be heading to Milwaukee along with Justin James for Donte Divincenzo, Ersan Ilyasova, and D.J. Wilson. Woj further went on to say that Bogdanovic will enter the marketplace to find an offer sheet or seek out other sign-and-trade scenarios.

However, there are several voices saying that all of this talk is just being orchestrated to keep tampering charges from being pressed against either the Bucks or Kings, since free agency doesn’t begin until Friday at 5pm CST. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst was one of these voices, adding that Giannis and Bogdanovic have had conversations about teaming up. It also bears mentioning that Woj did say on Keyshawn, JWill, and Zubin this morning on ESPN La Crosse that while there was some rumored interest by the Bucks in pursuing current Indiana Pacer guard Victor Oladipo, it’s unlikely Milwaukee has the assets that Indiana would want for Oladipo.

It’s important in a situation like this to mention that we at ESPN La Crosse always use due diligence when reporting stories like this, only reporting on things when reputable sources like Woj, Adam Schefter, Jeff Passan, and others are confirming stories, as had been the case when the sign-and-trade was announced earlier this week. We are all wondering what will come of this deal, and might learn more tomorrow evening. We of course will follow this story very closely and report on reputable information when it becomes available either here or on Twitter (@ESPNLaCrosseWI)

By Adam Roberts – 11/18/2020

A 4-5 matchup between Spring Grove and Houston in the 9-Man football Section 1A playoffs didn’t figure to be very close; Spring Grove has dominated the series for a decade now, and earlier this season the Lions took care of business against the Hurricanes to open the season on October 10th 33-16.

But Houston came to play last night, and with a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, things were knotted up at 14. The game-tying run by Caiden Olson was followed shortly after by an arching touchdown pass to Reid Bjerke, assuring the Lions would leave the victor 20-14.

Now we wait and see what will happen with the Lions’ scheduled game against top-ranked Grand Meadow. Minnesota governor Tim Walz is imposing new restrictions on the state’s bars, restaurants, and fitness centers later this week. According to the Star Tribune, this will also include a pause on youth sports, which would effectively end the football postseason before it can even start for most schools.

By Adam Roberts – 11/17/2020

As the Brewers continue to prepare for next year’s baseball season, they obviously aren’t the only team looking to take a step up from 2020. The New York Mets have made a bit of noise this offseason, namely through the Wilpon family’s sale of the team to hedge fund manager Steve Cohen. But the Metropolitans are also actively seeking a general manager after Brody Van Wagenen’s departure, and apparently they had their eyes at least somewhat set on current Brewer GM David Stearns.

But then owner Mark Attanasio said, to quote Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend!”

The Brewers blocked New York from meeting with Stearns, a common practice for major league teams when it comes to positions with the same title. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported that the Mets are also interested in current Indians GM Mike Chernoff as well as Rays executive Bobby Heck. In addition, the recent resignation of Theo Epstein from the Cubs could become interesting in the near future.

But as for Stearns, he appears locked in to the Crew; he did sign a multiyear contract prior to 2019 after all.