TooLiveBrew

Then it's a good thing the two sets of voters are completely different http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Iirc Lawrie wanted to catch initially, since he thought his bat would play best there (correct), but then he decided he didn't want to (or couldn't) learn the position after all.

It's almost like MassHaas & co. might have lives away from BF.net! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Glad to see Parra win it. Guys like him (read: guys that aren't established vets that can hit) just never seem to win the GGs. He's certainly deserving; that's one amazing outfield in Arizona.

Yeah, could definitely be "Hart-y" Takashi-y Nice!

Target Field would be one amazing office to work from for half of your games. Best of luck to Corey, and I hope if he does move on, WTMJ can mine out another good one.

Hearing him use "Esc-y" (for Alcides in KC) annoyed me. I think that's Ned's worst to date... which is saying something. Corey I don't care what this one would actually be in real life -- in MY Ned Yost Nickname Generator 8000-y (NYNG8000y), it would be "Corey-y"

One other factor to consider when it comes to Reyes is that it's entirely possible he'd want nothing to do with playing in Milwaukee. This is a guy who's spent nine seasons playing & living in one of the world's most incredible cities. Milwaukee doesn't hold a candle to NYC (or San Fran -- also likely in the market for a SS -- , etc.), if that's a factor he'd weigh.

Yeah, it didn't offend me. But I think if I didn't stick up for her, I'd have been in trouble. Even she can admit that she understands why that guy is the stereotype of Yankees fans.

I think it's time for the Brewers to move on from Kottaras as a 25-man player. I'd much rather see Martin Maldonado as Lucroy's backup at this point. Lucroy isn't an asset in throwing out runners, but Kottaras makes him look like Pudge. Time to upgrade the defense behind the dish imo. I wouldn't non-tender Kottaras, as he was obviously able to clear waivers last season... but I sure don't want to see him as the organization's #2 catcher anymore.

It's not just a difference of $2M or $3M, though. Guys like Barmes or Pena have been mentioned because they could be had on one-year deals, unlike Reyes. You're talking a difference of appx. $75M if you're comparing signing Reyes with signing Barmes & Pena.

Figured the many possibilities at this position warranted a standalone thread, independent of speculation on Reyes. Clint Barmes (type B) & Ramon Santiago are the (seemingly) likely candidates if the Brewers act via free agency. However, what about some other ideas? I think the Nationals would be a worthwhile organization to explore, as they have Ian Desmond & Danny Espinosa on the big-league club, with Anthony Rendon ('11 #6 overall pick) being cast as a second baseman due to the presence of Ryan Zimmerman. I admit I don't know much about either Desmond's or Espinosa's defense. Going off his hitting & fielding stats, Desmond wouldn't be much of an upgrade over Betancourt, unless someone expected him to improve at the plate. I don't know if Espinosa has played 2B for the Nats because they view Desmond as the superior fielder, or because Espinosa doesn't have the arm for short. Desmond & Espinosa are both still easily pre-arby, in terms of their salaries. The Marlins may be willing to deal Omar Infante, although they did just extend him through 2013 ($4M/yr). Alexei Ramirez is a name that's popped up before in connection with Brewers trade rumors, and still probably makes sense to look at. Prior to this past season, he signed an extension with the White Sox that runs through 2015 ('16 club option). He doesn't get too expensive until 2014. He has an excellent reputation as a defender, & can handle the bat. This is probably my favorite candidate, though I'm not sure how realistic the idea is. Jack Wilson is a free agent; after the '09 season he signed a 2-yr/$10M extension with Seattle. Mariner Brendan Ryan is also a trade candidate, set to make $1.75M next season. Ryan would be my pick if the Brewers were interested in being very tight with the purse-strings, since (like Wilson) he's such a good defender. Rafael Furcal (type B) & Alex Gonzalez (type B) are also free agents. Given the contracts signed by Wilson & Infante, the market value of an average-ish FA shortstop is somewhere around $4-5M AAV. Do any of these candidates appeal to you? If not, what are some other players you think the Brewers should look at for shortstop in 2012 and beyond? Sources:Cot's Baseball ContractsMLBTradeRumorsFanGraphs

What's funny is that the Braun "rumor" about trying to sign Reyes -- all stemming from Braun saying he thought there was a greater chance to sign Reyes than re-sign Fielder (0%) -- seems to be a factor in influencing some of these national writers.

I don't know for sure, I didn't create the image, but I assume he's flaunting the championship rings. Also, my gf is a diehard, life-long Yankees fan who posts here semi-regularly & is nothing like what you described!

Matt Kemp putting up the numbers he did playing in the NL West isn't getting the respect it should, imo. I love Braun, & will be ecstatic if he wins the MVP, but Kemp's season was incredible. Here are the 2011 park factors for NL West parks; % of his PAs parenthetically -- ARZ: 1.146 (5.8%) COL: 1.347 (5.7%) LAD: .936 (49.2%) SDP: .819 (5.7%) SFG: .737 (5.4%) That's 60% of his plate appearances in three of the most pitching-friendly parks in all of baseball.

I think Barmes would be a good investment, not to mention a big improvement at his position. He was essentially league-avg. at SS last season, including good defense (which matches up with his reputation). It allows the Brewers the opportunity to be more creative for a long-term SS solution than just blowing over $100M on a guy whose best baseball is likely behind him. EDIT: I forgot to mention that Ramon Santiago is also a decent FA option, if he doesn't re-sign with Detroit It's not that I dislike Reyes, given many of the comments in this thread I think I like him at least as much as most here do. He's just not worth the kind of money it's going to take to sign him. Organizations like the Brewers simply cannot afford that kind of risk. You want to sign the 'home run' guy? Then sign Greinke. The Brewers can't afford both Reyes & Greinke, long-term.

We need a Ned Yost nickname-generator, because I'm pretty sure he would've called Kotsay "Kot-sie"

I love how so many people complain that our SS is the worst player in the majors and then dislike the fact that the Crew could sign arguably one of the best SS's in MLB. I know that the length of the possible deal seems a bit scary but it's time for the Brewers to step in with the big boys. If Reyes weren't a gigantic injury risk, I might agree. Imo it's not hard to see why guaranteeing him ~$15-20M AAV until he's about 34 isn't a good idea.

Imo Reyes at this point is a classic example of a player that an organization like the Brewers shouldn't even entertain signing for a long-term, big-money contract. He's also (again, imo) the classic guy a big-market team that's in win-now mode should snap up in a heartbeat. For a big market & win-now team, if you believe he's the missing piece to making it to the World Series, the simple fact that you're probably going to get at least one ~5 WAR season out of him in the next two seasons is probably reason enough to cough up the 6/$100-120M deal it's probably going to take to sign him. But for a team like the Brewers, imo it's really important to remember that Reyes is just the best talent that's available right now, and not necessarily a good idea to sign. For the Brewers, this would be a deal that you need to see nearly 100% return on in order to consider it a good decision. If Reyes's lack of durability continues, that's a gigantic problem -- both in that the team would be without its starting shortstop, and that the guy would be getting paid big-time for being a player that only plays 66.66-75% of the time (or worse). Be patient, make a good investment like signing Barmes for a year or two, & see what develops in your own farm system & on the trade market. If the Brewers are going to take a chance on a big contract, make it Greinke.

http://i.imgur.com/L5Quz.jpg

Thanks for addressing my questions. Am I remembering correctly that type A FAs always net at least two sandwich-round picks (after the first & second rounds)? Or do even teams with protected 1st-round picks also still lose their 2nd-rounders, in addition to the departing FA's former team netting two sandwich-round picks? So like for your K-Rod example -- wouldn't the Brewers still get a pair of sandwich picks too, regardless of the protection (or priority to other signed FAs) of a team's picks? I guess my larger point is that even if the Brewers wind up with a worst-case scenario with their type A & B FAs, [insert re-signing Betancourt joke here], they'll still get quite a haul of draft picks. This is a really critical offseason for the franchise, & I hope they don't opt for another 'all-in' type of season. This is a really special opportunity to retool for the future, & build around an already strong foundation for the next 5-10 seasons.

The best comp I can think of for Fiers, in terms of physical gifts, is Mark DiFelice. Freese looks the part more than Fiers. I think endaround's right to be critical of Fiers's upside, but I do think he could be a valuable bullpen guy... a ROOGY or more.

With two type A guys & one type B, I hope the Brewers can come away with three to four high draft picks. Unfortunately, what I expect is Prince to sign with a team whose first-round pick is protected, & getting a comp pick as the highest pick via Fielder leaving in free agency. Is the worst-case scenario for the Brewers from Fielder/K-Rod/Betancourt two comp picks/two comp picks/one comp pick? I don't remember exactly what Type A & B guys get you, in terms of draft pick compensation.

Corrected that for youYou know, this really is a good thing to emphasize. Gomez is that good on defense.

Sizemore would be so much more expensive & would have such a negative downside that you'd be hard-pressed to improve over Morgan on the LHB side of a CF platoon. I don't mind the concept of buying a risky (production-wise) guy with elite talents, & if you could get Sizemore to agree to play 1B -- incredibly unlikely, since it'd kill his value... perceived or real -- or RF & deal Gamel or Hart for a nice upgrade, it's a nice creative way to improve the team.