Reason for optimism: Despite the mass exodus of talent since the glory days of 2011, the Brewers have remained competitive.
Reason for pessimism: If the means to achieve a repeat of those glory days in the intermediate future is by tanking, a respectable performance in the NL Central represents poor execution.
With Ryan Braun, Jonathan Lucroy and Jonathan Villar all playing materially above-average baseball in 2016, aided by Chris Carter's National League-leading 41 home runs and a surprisingly effective bullpen (6th in NL ERA), the Milwaukee Brewers' attempt at a tear-down tank job fell short.
The front office, of course, actively moved to correct one of those impediments by trading Lucroy to Texas at the trade deadline, but on offense at least, it looks like it's going to be just good enough to be respectable again.