Analytics: If we use history as our guide, a great mane of hair usually leads to a Brewer winning the Cy Young Award. Evidence:
Further proof: Take a look at Corbin Burnes circa 2019:
No flowing locks of hair=an ERA just short of 9 and three demotions to the minor leagues. Forget about xFIP, BQR, tERA, or ERA+. The real stat to examine is Sampson Quotient. Hair=Dominance.
In all seriousness, what a turnaround for Corbin. A classic example of why you never give up on guys with great ‘stuff.’ Sometimes you invest 5 years in a guy and it never pans out (Manny Parra), sometimes you stick with a guy who had an 8.82 ERA and was literally demoted three separate times in 2019 and he turns it around the next year and wins the Cy Young the year after that. I would imagine there are PLENTY of Brewer fans that are scrubbing their Corbin Burnes takes on Twitter and Facebook from 2019. Some of them might even write a lightly read sports blog on the internet.
Also, how about Brandon Woodruff finishing 5th in the voting yesterday! Long gone are the days where the Brewers couldn’t develop a single homegrown starting pitcher. I maintain that if I had a time machine* I would transport Corbin and Woody to the 2009 and 2010 teams that had prime Prince/Braun/Hart on offense but had Braden Looper as their staff ace. Those two lost years, the Macha years, are tough to swallow because the offense was SO good, and all of those players were in their prime. Just couldn’t get a single pitcher to pan out.
The other good news is that this pitching staff will be completely in tact next season. Burnes/Woody/Peralta are all under team control. As is Devin Williams and the now 3-time Reliever of the Year, Josh Hader. Like we said in the season recap: This pitching will give you a 2 year window. You need to find some way to conjure up more consistent offense and fix Christian Yelich.
*I would also take Brandon Bostick off of special teams if I had a time machine. And kill Hitler. That too.
PS: You know who I would LOVE to see in a Brewer jersey next season? Trevor Story. He declined his offer from the Rockies yesterday and is now a free agent. You’d probably have to convince him to play 3rd because Adames is locked in a short, but he’s a career .272 hitter who is a 30 home run, 100 RBI type of player. Plug him into the middle of that lineup with Adames and a hopefully rejuvenated Yelich? You’re cooking.
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