A 2005 what-if...

[Harold Hutchison]

Eve of spring training, the following trade is announced between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Detroit Tigers:

 

Tigers get:

OF Carlos Lee

 

Brewers get:

RHP Justin Verlander

[brewtank34]

I would have been sad to not cheer for Mench.

[Harold Hutchison]

I would have been sad to not cheer for Mench.

On the other hand, there is now a 2005 rotation of: Sheets, Davis, Capuano, Verlander, and Santos/Obermueller/Helling

[Invader3K]

Trading Lee at that point would have created a colossal hole in the offense. Remember that Prince really wasn't ready at that point, and we still had Overbay playing 1B anyway.

[Harold Hutchison]

Trading Lee at that point would have created a colossal hole in the offense. Remember that Prince really wasn't ready at that point, and we still had Overbay playing 1B anyway.

True, but there would also be a rotation that would have been much stronger.

[TheCrew07]

I guess it depends on what you believe in. Was Lee going to be anything more than a temporary solution? I don't think so... in that case would you have rather flipped him for Cordero or Verlander? The answer to this hypothetical is obvious to me, I'll always take a front line starter over a hitter or reliever because I believe in building from the pitching staff on up.

[Flood Pants]

That would be a lot like trading Prince Fielder now. There would have been a fan outrage, for sure. But wow, what if...

[Ennder]

I find it hard to believe that Detroit would have even considered this. It isn't like Verlander came out of nowhere, he was a can't miss prospect and was the 2nd pick in the draft. I highly doubt they would trade that for 2 years of a defensive deficient LF who is a really good but not elite hitter.

[Invader3K]

I find it hard to believe that Detroit would have even considered this. It isn't like Verlander came out of nowhere, he was a can't miss prospect and was the 2nd pick in the draft. I highly doubt they would trade that for 2 years of a defensive deficient LF who is a really good but not elite hitter.

Yeah, that's how I tend to think. Fun to think about, though.

[JohnBriggs12]

I find it hard to believe that Detroit would have even considered this. It isn't like Verlander came out of nowhere, he was a can't miss prospect and was the 2nd pick in the draft. I highly doubt they would trade that for 2 years of a defensive deficient LF who is a really good but not elite hitter.

Ennder is correct. Detroit had just signed Ordonez as FA, and Craig Monroe in LF and Dmitri Young as DH were both coming off very productive years in 2004. They would not have seen a need to give up their number one pitching prospect for Carlos Lee.

 

[Harold Hutchison]

I find it hard to believe that Detroit would have even considered this. It isn't like Verlander came out of nowhere, he was a can't miss prospect and was the 2nd pick in the draft. I highly doubt they would trade that for 2 years of a defensive deficient LF who is a really good but not elite hitter.

Interesting.. but when Baseball Mogul's AI let the deal go through (and I ran it multiple times), I thought I'd throw it out there for y'all.

 

Figure Detroit decides to put Caballo at first base - per Baseball-Reference.com, they had Chris Shelton at 1B, and Rondell White was considered their top LF.

[jrodbrewcrew]

If that would have happened, at least the Brewers wouldn't have been the victim of Verlander's no-hitter.

[jerichoholicninja]

We'd be talking about who do we trade Verlander, Prince or both. I imagine the haul we could get for Verlander would be much better than Fielder. We'd probably have to trade both though.

 

Also we probably don't trade for Sabathia, Matt Holliday instead perhaps.

[Harold Hutchison]

We'd be talking about who do we trade Verlander, Prince or both. I imagine the haul we could get for Verlander would be much better than Fielder. We'd probably have to trade both though.

 

Also we probably don't trade for Sabathia, Matt Holliday instead perhaps.

When I ran the `05 season once, the Brewers DID get to the wild card in 2005, with Weeks at second full-time. They got swept, but a wild-card run in 2005, with the talent still coming up (Fielder, Braun, Hart), then the Brewers find themselves in an interesting position. Of course, I also went through with the Spivey for Ohka trade (albeit at the start of the season), so Helling ended up playing a big part in the bullpen instead.

 

So.. a wild card team in 2005 ends up with higher attendance, and that means more time to build up some funding. The Brewers have a chance to bank a lot of money, and that means they have the chance to keep Verlander and a better shot at Prince.

[CheezWizHed]

and we still had Overbay playing 1B anyway.

 

But Overbay could have played LF...

 

I'm not sure I understand the point of playing what-if for the past... We don't know if Detroit would have taken it. We don't know if Verlander would wanted to play in Milwaukee. For all we know, by changing where he pitched, Verlander could have blown out his arm and become worthless. Really! Don't you guys ever watch those SciFi shows about changing the timeline? It never turns out good. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[joepepsi]

Playing "what if" is interesting if you know there was a deal on the table but it never went through.

 

2005 was Lee's first season with the Brewers. Why trade for him, then trade for Verlander before he ever played an inning for the Crew? If Detroit was that interested in him, why wouldn't they just work out a deal with the White Sox?

[thebruce44]

I find it hard to believe that Detroit would have even considered this. It isn't like Verlander came out of nowhere, he was a can't miss prospect and was the 2nd pick in the draft. I highly doubt they would trade that for 2 years of a defensive deficient LF who is a really good but not elite hitter.

Interesting.. but when Baseball Mogul's AI let the deal go through (and I ran it multiple times), I thought I'd throw it out there for y'all.

 

Figure Detroit decides to put Caballo at first base - per Baseball-Reference.com, they had Chris Shelton at 1B, and Rondell White was considered their top LF.

If I recall correctly, Chris Shelton ended up being the best player in baseball for the first 2 months of the season.