Cliff Lee or Jake Westbrook

[brewers255]

The indians put Lee and Westbrook up for trade and the Cubs made a offer of either Howry or Eyre for Westbrokk with 1 prosoect going to CLE who would you ofer for Lee or Westbrook?

[TooLiveBrew]

That's interesting to hear, those are two guys I was going to mention in the GM mtgs. thread, instead of just Vazquez & Escobar. Geoff Jenkins is the guy I'd offer, but he alone wouldn't get it done. I think we could swing a deal of Davis & Jenkins for Westbrook and Jason Michaels.

 

The rumor of dealing Clark to Colorado is what makes me look at Michaels. He'd be a nice bench OFer. Was .291/.349/.450 vs. LHP in 2006, and having both Michaels & Gross off the bench would make not only for versatile lineup options, but also strong pinch-hitting situations.

 

Again, when the opportunity comes to add a pitcher as nice as Westbrook, I put that first and worry about adding the third OF later -- and the rumors are becoming that we're going to land/are the favorites to land Dave Roberts

[trwi7]

I'd prefer Westbrook to Lee. Only downside is Westbrook is a FA after 2007. I'd assume they'd want a major leaguer (perhaps Jenkins) to platoon in their outfield and they'd probably want a pitching prospect.

[brettac1]

I think Westbrook, because of his severe groundball tendencies, would probably be a bad match for the Brewers infield. If the Brewers begin with an IF of Fielder, Weeks, Hall, and Koskie (as I expect them to), they have one plus defender - Koskie. Chances are, teams would be hitting balls through the infield all day long. Poor infield defense (and a high amount of balls allowed into play) is a big reason why his numbers fluctuated so much in Cleveland. Lee kind of has the other problem, which is he gives up too many bombs, and his K rate has dropped two straight years.

 

The Brewers need to try and get high K pitchers, which is a more expensive game.

[colbyjack]

A few years ago Melvin was trying to find as many groundball pitchers as he could. I agree that the defense is shaky at best, but I don't think that would stop Melvin from acquiring a guy like Westbrook.

 

I'll take either one, with a preference to Lee given better peripheral stats and ratios. I don't think either will come cheap in trade. I'm actually a little surprised that the Indians are thinking about moving an arm.

[brettac1]

I personally love groundball guys, too, but I think guys like Westbrook would fall apart with that defense behind him (like he has since Vizquel left Cleveland). If there were fewer questions about the offense, finding a phenomenal middle IF to hit 8th wouldn't be a terrible idea (maybe part of the reason they signed Perez?).

[sbrylski]

I would much prefer Westbrook to Lee. I think it would be a great aquisition as well.

 

The rumor out there is that Melvin wants to grab some arms and then deal Davis. Adding Lopez and Westbrook for Mench, Jenkins and a prospect (or similar type deal), would allow us to easily deal Davis. And I think this Davis deal will be our best chance to add a stud hitter. (Hopefully something will materialize before Melvin inks Roberts)

[rpmeehan]

I was under the impression that the Brewers had inquired about Westbrook a few years ago. It was immediately following the Sexson trade. One rumor had us asking for Alex Escobar in exchange for Spivey and being turned down. And then I thought they had actually offered us Westbrook instead, and we rejected that proposal. Not sure if my memory is cloudy here...

[Weirdos19]

DD was so inconsistent this year. Most of the time, he couldn't find the strike zone. I think either Lee or Westbrook would be an improvement.

[Oldcity]

Is Doug Davis really enough to be the main part of a deal to add a stud hitter? I guess I might not be as excited about his trade value as some.

[sbrylski]

He'd probably have to be packaged, or else we'd have to take on a real bad contract or a player coming off a down year.

 

But I think if we were to try and make a deal for a quality batter, Davis would be a main piece.

[JohnBriggs12]

I'd take Westbrook over Lee.

 

He's certainly a groundball pitcher who pitches to contact.

 

But here's another factor. In the NL Central, except for Cincinnatti with Dunn and Griffey, and Berkman who is a switch hitter, most of the stud hitters in the division that can really hurt you are right handed, Pujols, Bay, Rolen, D. Lee, Ramirez, probably C. Lee.

 

No team in baseball is more righthanded offensively than the Cubs. Houston's ballpark favors righthanded pull hitters.

 

I think the Brewers would be better off with 4 right handed starters and just one lefty (Capuano).