joepepsi

Oh Thank God! I was convinced those idjits were going to give it to Cap'n Intangibles, Derek Jeter.

It would be a big deal for the Brewers, who have failed miserably at paying the "free agent rate" for wins. Among the guys Melvin has signed as a major league free agent only Cameron has been worth his contract (not even Hoffman made it, if you buy fangraphs. He missed out on earning his money by $100,000).Yeah, but JJ Hardy was worth $22 million so they got that going for 'em. Which is good.

Winning cures everything. The Mariners won 91 games with ARod, let him go, then won 116 the next year. The A's won 102 games with Giambi, 103 the next year without him. I grew up an Orioles fan. They had a winning season every year from 1968-1984. While they were able to hold onto some players for entire careers, they also constantly shuffled players in and out, and retooled every few years. My point is, if you build a winning organization, then the fans won't leave when a favorite player leaves. If an organization is solid, stays competitive, they'll build the fans' trust.

A lot of this would be cleared up if MLB and its teams opened their books to the public. It's easy to suspect they won't because the public would find even the smallest markets are doing just fine financially and diverting more cash to their investors than the average fan would like. Even if the books are cooked until profits are thoroughly steamed out, we can rest assured plenty of people in MLB are making plenty of money.

Here's something a New Englander friend and Red Sox fan wrote to me this morning: "He's good defensively. He was the personal catcher for Wakefield much of this past season and he did a great job handling the knuckler with a minimum of passed balls. That's no minor achievement--they tried Josh Bard a couple years ago and he couldn't handle it at all. Kottaras also throws better than Varitek. I heard Francona on the radio yesterday. He said they really hated to let him go because (I'm paraphrasing here) he has a good deal of talent and had been a really good kid, did everything they asked without any problems at all. But they had no choice because Varitek will now be the backup, and they didn't want to hold Kottaras's career back any longer. He was pretty highly thought of when Boston acquired him for David Wells in '06, and was touted as the heir apparent for Varitek before the Sawks grabbed VMart at this year's deadline. Look at what Kottaras did in '08 in the International League, a pitcher's league. He hit 22 HRs and drove in 65 with a .350 OBP in 395 ABs. He draws his share of walks. His career minor league averages are .269/.367/.444, for an .811 OPS. That's pretty good production from a catcher. I saw him hit his only ML homer, it was an absolute bomb over 400 feet. Kottaras is still only 26, and is a lefthanded-hitting catcher, which is a commodity. This is a guy who could develop into a regular for somebody who's willing to give him the time. At the very least, he's a competent major-league backup catcher right now. I figured he wouldn't last long. It was a smart move to grab him for just the waiver price."

The fallacy of baseball's blackout rules is the idea baseball is as good on TV as in person. It's not. I find football and basketball are actually better on TV than in person. But baseball is still best enjoyed in the stands, relaxing with a cool beverage and the tasty aroma of grilled, salted meats in the air. Blackouts don't persuade fans to go to the game. It tells them to find something else to do on a warm summer evening.

Given what goes on in these lots they should have named them after Wisconsin Beers.

I hope that's the plan. I suspect either Salome or Lucroy will be traded before Opening Day.

I've always found it curious they feel the MVP must come from a playoff contender, but often will give the Cy Young to the best pitcher in the league, regardless of his team's performance.

The Brewers had probably the worst possible scenario from their rotation last year yet still won 80 games. They were 15th in runs allowed. They gave up 103 more runs than the Rockies, who were middle of the pack at 7th in RA. That's a 10 win difference right there, correct? If the Brewers' pitching staff moves back to the middle of the pack in RA in 2010, they have a good chance to win 90 games.

That must mean Hardy really is worth $22 million, like fangraphs argues!

Over his last 196 starts (2004-2009) Davis' ERA is 4.12. Last year his ERA was 4.12. He averaged 6 ip over those 196 starts. Yes, his peripherals stink in general, but they always have. That's what makes him difficult to project. Despite the high walk rate, the middling K rate, the hit per inning pitch rate, he is remarkably consistent, annually proving his peripherals wrong. In short, he is no Braden Looper. Nor is he a "Suppan-type". Suppan's ERA from 2004-2009 is 4.43, but the last 3 years his ERA is 4.93. Davis' is 4.22 over the last 3. Davis is still an effective pitcher. I honestly don't know if he'd be a good choice for the Brewers, but I wish people would quit lumping him with replacement level performance. Just saying Davis is another Suppan doesn't make it so.

Hits were up, walks were up, strikeouts were down, he's 35. I thought he was a solid signing last year. He had some value to the team, but in the end didn't pitch all that well too many times. Most signs indicate he's not going to get better. If Suppan wasn't around there may be value in keeping him, but it doesn't make sense to keep him when all you can reasonably expect is replacement level (or below) performance. No anger and no regrets, Mr. Looper. You gave it your best shot but it's time to move on. Good luck. Please try the American League.

There's no way anybody picks up Zito's option, so counting the buyout that's a 4yr/$83 million contract. If the Giants take Suppan, you can deduct $14.5 million, down to 4yr/68.5 to add to the existing payroll obligations. That's still way too much for the Brewers. The Giants would have to take Suppan and pay $30-40 million of the salary. Even if they did that, the Brewers are still saddled with a big long term obligation. Zito hasn't pitched all that well at home for the Giants, so he could return to his post Cy Young/pre 2008 form. That's probably worth $10 million a year.

Don't you know, he strikes out too much.

Would love to see the Hurricane get a legitimate shot, but don't think he ever will in Milwaukee.

Maybe Cameron gets a last reward...

He's signed for the next two years at slightly over $16 total! I'd start with McGehee and few prospects. They actually might prefer Casey to Gamel....there are a lot of lefties in that lineup already.

Jeter's defensive numbers improved when ARod started playing alongside at 3B.

Great interview! It's a skill to get an interview subject to be so open, honest, and talkative. Great job, splitter. It's nice to hear an ex ballplayer be so frank and speak so passionately as a fan.

As fangraphs notes, Hardy has led all of baseball in STAR (Studliness Tally Above Replacement) 3 years running. How is Doug going to replace that? That's what I'd like to know.

It frees up a lot of cash. That has to be considered the underlying point of the deal. If they decline Looper's option that makes about $20 million to use elsewhere. Add in the $20 million they'll be free of after 2010 when Suppan and Hall are off the books, and the team has a lot more flexibility than they did going into the 2009 season. Hopefully that's used for a difference making pitcher or to extend Prince.

This takes $14 million off 2009's payroll. Gives them two options at CF with Gerut.

So they traded JJ for......Tony Gwynn Jr?

So if Jeffress has been suspended twice testing positive for pot, will Lincecum be suspended? Is it a banned substance in MLB? Or will this be one of those deals where he's not chosen for a random drug test for a couple years?