JohnBriggs12

The amazing part of the story is that his official year of birth has been wrong all these years. Apparently this must have been a more common practice back then. We know that players from Latin countries have fudged on ages. Uecker was already 21 when he first signed professionally. Back then especially players routinely were given up on at 22 and 23 so being a year younger, had it's advantages. I had always wondered about Uecker talking about his amateur baseball in the area and the fact that he also played fast pitch softball. Knowing he had another year to have done that makes more sense. A few years ago, I had read that Billy Bruton might have been as many as 5 years older than his official listed age. One wonders how many other guys got away with it.

You nailed it. The only reason Overbay was brought in was because they fear being too right handed and still are far from sold on Francisco. Reynolds is the logical main guy at 1B, but they will want to use a LH bat there a couple games a week. For the same reason, I think Gindl is going to see far more playing time than many project. Melvin hinted at it, but I think the guy he really wants is Mitch Moreland but Texas isn't shopping him. Yet. Second on his list is Smoak, and Seattle hasn't yet shopped him either but may well at some point. Carp is another guy who seems to be logical, depending on how Boston sees his role.

I'd be really excited if Lepay got the radio gig. Two seasons of Joe Block have been two too many. I'm still waiting for him to describe a play in a manner which accurately tells me what's happening at the time it happens.

Here's hoping Bob can continue on for a least a few more years. We've heard his stories so many times that most of us can tell them ourselves. Yet I can't wait to hear again about his days in the heat at Waycross, Ga with his fellow Brave farmhands back in the 50's. It's not officially spring training until I hear that. We get all caught up in what's going on with this team that sometimes we forget the real connection Ueck and his fans, particularly those in their advanced years have. Happy birthday!

The typical number of guys in major league camps 30-40 years was around 45, now it's not uncommon for 55-60. In Uecker's day it was even less. NRI status was unheard of back then. Part of that is incentives for guys signing minor league deals. Of course with more pitchers, the need for virtually every catcher in the system too.

vs. RHP (A) SS Segura 2B Gennett RF Braun C Lucroy 3B Ramirez CF Gomez LF Gindl 1B Reynolds Vs. RHP (B) SS Segura 2B Gennett RF Braun C Lucroy 3B Ramirez CF Gomez 1B Francisco/Overbay LF Davis VS LHP SS Segura LF Davis RF Braun C Lucroy 3B Ramirez CF Gomez 1B Reynolds 2B Gennett/Bianchi Against RHP, I have either Gindl in LF or Francisco/Overbay at 1B. Not a strict platoon at either spot, but just to get one more lefty bat in there. Bianchi gets about half the starts vs. LHP at 2B, keeping Gennett in there the other half for developmental purposes. In my world Weeks is playing for another team somewhere. Schafer gets a start once a week for Gomez in CF. Once a week Reynolds moves across the diamond to rest Ramirez and whichever lefty bat, presumably Francisco or Overbay plays 1B on those days. On days were Maldanado is playing, he bats 8th vs. RHP and 7th vs. LHP.

Considering the middle of the diamond on the major league roster consists of 4 players who are all under 30 and who are under team control from 3 to 6 more seasons, it's hardly a crisis situation that their are no real middle of the diamond prospects above low A ball. There's 3 more drafts and 3 more years to develop the likes of middle of the diamond types like Taylor, Arcia and Coulter before the first of those four, Gomez, hits FA following the 2016 season. That's not even mentioning the ability to acquire other team's prospects at those positions via trade.

Having not seen much of Seattle, all you can do is look at the numbers, which all look okay. He's got the size and he throws left handed. If I had to guess, he's likely around average.

Don't overlook Burgos. He profiles a lot like Carlos Villanueva who has carved out a nice career as a guy who can handle a variety of bullpen roles and start if needed. If he's not needed to start, I expect Thornburg to be getting work in high leverage situations out of the pen. He just might end up being a closer at some point.

I think it's way premature to expect any contribution from Overbay. He fell off a cliff in the 2nd half last year (his 2nd half OPS was .586; Yuni's was .664) in NY and Yankee Stadium is a great hitters park for lefty bats. Plus he turns 37 today. In the post PED era, that's old. If he's any more than a once a week starter/PH, that's not a good omen. My preference is he gets cut and they find an alternative. There's at least hope for Reynolds who's young enough to revert to the all or nothing producer he was not that long ago.

I still think Smoak or Carp are guys to keep an eye on. Both are extra pieces on their teams. Smoak is insurance if Hart's knees prove problematic, but I think he'll be available at some point as will Carp depending on what needs those teams have.

The trouble with the June 8th date especially regarding pitchers is that they will have a hard time getting/being ready to pitch on or near that date. They could sign with an indy league team but that carries its own risks.

Thurston, and now Orr? Guess that speaks to the dearth in the system of infielders at the higher levels. It also seems more and more that former fringe major leaguers are willing to keep playing as long as possible. With nicer AAA parks and easier travel I suppose it's not a bad way to make a living.

It's still a very mediocre offensive team that got career years out of virtually every one on their pitching staff. When guys like Melancon are posting 1.38 and Mazzaro is posting 2.81 and a 36 year old closer is unhittable, you know everything is going right. They have some young position players coming, but they are probably a year away too.

If Melvin were confident he could get Butler, why just days before the Garza negotiations became public would he have signed Overbay? He may see the signing of Garza as an opportunity to move Thornburg to short relief and not have spend money on a veteran reliever. I still think Thornburg is highly valued by the Brewers.

I think they'll look from within now. The signing of Garza allows them to use Thornburg in a key relief role. While I don't think they've given up on him starting, he can contribute now in the pen and I think they feel he's got the stuff to do just that. Duke is insurance if Gorzelanny isn't ready to start the season. I'm certainly no big fan of Duke, but that was based on him as a failed starter. Burgos is another guy who's strong winter ball season has him in the bullpen mix. It's still possible they'll bring back K-Rod or some other guy if the price is right, but it's not as pressing now.

He's a Brewer not a Yankee. Seriously I've heard Peralta compared to a young Bartolo Colon. He still has to show more consistency but he's certainly has the stuff to emerge into a top flight pitcher and this could be the year. I'd bet Melvin gets a ton of calls about Peralta. The insiders/scouts know his upside.

Exactly with interest rates at almost zero, it barely figures into the calculation but that's true on both ends so it's ridiculous for it to cause a hangup. Plus all teams are getting an extra $26 million from new tv contract so they should have cash available to handle it.

I get where you are going with this, it's not the first time I've seen the idea floated around, and I think it could work for large market teams, but unfortunately not for the Brewers... not if we're talking about trying to win a championship. If the bar is set at a Wild Card appearance, then maybe. You can win a ton of games with mediocre pitching and a top tier offense, but no one has won a World Series with that kind of setup. Conversely teams like the Giants and Rays have won or gotten to the World Series with a pretty average offensive team but elite pitching. Baseball is about pitching, your pitching sets the ceiling of your team. If you're the Brewers and the best you can afford in FA is averagish/older/declining pitchers, then the ceiling of your team is that of a pretender. Garza is a fine pitcher, obviously with my affinity for the Rays he's been on my radar for a very long time, but he's not a top of rotation starter anymore. He hasn't been healthy in years, but the flip side is that he's about the best kind of talent the Brewers can afford to target in FA. He's still a #2 best case when healthy and effective but in reality he's more like #3, and we unfortunately still don't match-up unless someone like Peralta takes a big step forward. Even if he does what if Lohse starts to slide? Or Gallardo continues to lose velocity? Recent Brewer teams have been littered with upper tier offenses and mid tier to below average pitching... how far did any of those teams get? We need young impact pitching (actually we need young impact players in general to balance out the payroll), and if we aren't able to draft and develop it then we better figure out a way to trade for it, because we aren't getting that kind of talent in Free Agency. To me this signing is more about ticket sales anything else... bring in a "name" that people know and hope he stays healthy enough to contribute. He's just this year's version of the same recurring theme... Ramirez, Lohse, and now Garza if he signs. None of these guys are good enough to put the Brewers over the top, even as a group. Much like the Lohse signing the organization continues to just tread water, there's a reasonable chance that the Brewers will be significantly better than last year, but that's a far cry from being a legit contender. I would much rather be the Cards or Pirates... I think the Reds are nearing the end of their run, they are about the same place as the Brewers were in 2010... A roster that's starting age with little help coming from the farm, though if Stephenson stays healthy he's going to be a beast and has the ability to bolster the rotation by himself. The Cubs are the wild card in the division, they have very little pitching coming, but they have the most impressive core of hitters any team has had in a long time. If those hitters turn out way that our first wave of hitting prospects did (Fielder, Hardy, Hart, Weeks, Braun) the division is in serious trouble, because the Cubs can buy pitching in FA and they will also have surplus hitting talent to trade for an impact pitcher. I don't see how adding Garza bumps the Brewers up from the 4th best team in the division now or in the immediate future. The Reds, Pirates, and Cardinals all have better MLB rosters today. Over the next couple of seasons the Pirates and Cardinals have enough young talent to continue to ascend, the Reds will likely start to slowly slide, the Brewers will probably continue to tread water with FA patches, and the Cubs could explode. Being the 3rd best team in your own division (best case) isn't a recipe for success, even playing in the best division in the NL, it's pretty difficult to get enough wins to get a Wild Card spot, and yes I do remember that both WC teams came the Central last year. It's much easier for the 2nd place team in weak division to get those wins... like the 2nd place team in the NL Central when our division was pretty awful and it was just a 2 horse race for the division crown every year. I don't know what roster you are looking at but the Pirates and the Reds aren't better. Pittsburgh is without Burnett, and the chances it's bullpen can repeat it's level of performance two years in a row is almost nil. The Brewers still have an edge on the Pirate lineup too. Now that may change in another year or two as a couple of their young players arrive, but that's all the more reason to go for it sooner rather than later. As for the Reds unless Billy Hamilton can steal first base, the loss of Choo and innings eater Arroyo will affect them. Maybe their rotation is good enough to overcome that, but maybe not. Their lineup is top heavy.

They may be comfortable with Thornburg in a short reliever role. Burgos had a great winter in PR and he got himself in the picture as well.

Interesting item on LaHair. His lefty/righty splits are pretty stark. He handles RHP. Don't think he has much value in the OF though. Only reason Cubs played him there in 2012 was to make room for Rizzo. As I recall he was pretty bad.

Seattle could use a back end starter. They've been linked to Scott Baker. Estrada is a guy I might dangle to get Smoak. Smoak had an .839 OPS vs. RHP last year. Reynolds could be saved for lefties. Seattle could then turn around and re-sign Morales.

Sean Halton is Garza's winter workout buddy. Maybe big Sean was planting stuff in his ear.

I know I'm in the minority, but I completely disagree with this. Your reasoning is probably true, I just don't feel like that's valid reasoning to retire a number. I don't feel that guys should have numbers retired based on the CITY they played in. Teams move, players move with them, they're still part of THAT franchise. It just so happened that the Braves moved during Aaron's career and after NINE seasons in Atlanta, he came back to Milwaukee (and a completely different team) for two mediocre seasons. That just doesn't warrant a Brewers number being retired. Again, I know I'm in the minority on this, but to me, retiring numbers belongs to the team/franchise and not the city. Sure, players and fans get attached to cities, but ultimately, if the franchise moves, so do the players/stats with it. And if you're retiring a number, it should be for contributions to YOUR franchise, not the city. Wrong on virtually all points. You had to be there to understand the emotion of the time. The Brave franchise was basically stolen from Milwaukee by a bunch of Chicago hotshots, not coincidentally who were neighbors of Cubs owner at the time. Don't think Aaron had connection to Milwaukee?? Read his book "I had a Hammer". The return of Aaron to Milwaukee on opening day 1975 literally had fans in tears. He meant that much and his hiatus in Atlanta from 66 to 74 hurt and to me still does. I was there on opening day 1975 and witnessed his next to last (no. 754) which was a walk off vs. Rangers. He points to that HR as being one of his most treasured. Braun blew his chance for number retirement with the PED scandal. Had he owned up to it, he'd have had it retired. Fielder walked away so end of discussion. Hoffman's time in Milwaukee was nothing more than a footnote to his career. Of course it it was up to me I wouldn't have retired Molitor's number either. It wasn't so much the act of signing elsewhere, but it was his signing with the only team to finish ahead of the Brewers the prior year, and then when they wanted him back later on, he went instead to the Twins. I'd have retired Jenkins before any of those. Not advocating that but he gutted it out for this franchise.

That's an early deadline. Frankly I don't see the Kotsay comparison at all. Kotsay could play all 3 OF positions and had proven he could handle coming off the bench. Overbay coming off the bench is a .222/.303/.340 hitter in his career with one strikeout in every 3 ABs. That compares very unfavorably with his starter numbers of .269/.350/.437 and 1 strikeout in every 4.6 ABs. Kotsay had a lot more experience coming off the bench (about twice as many AB's), and his numbers as a sub: .283/.340/.406 were actually better than as a starter: .276/.332/.404. Plus Kotsay was a lot tougher to strike out both as a regular and a sub, (once every 9.58 as starter and once every 6.36 as sub). With bullpens as they are today, with max power high strikeout rate pitchers, the ability to hang in there and eventually put the ball in play or take a walk can't be underrated. Overbay isn't that guy. Not even close. Overbay had a couple decent seasons, but in general he's been a very mediocre bat. At an offensive position, he's posted an OPS over .800 just once since 2007. Two of his last 3 years he was sub .700. I'd go with Reynolds and hope he rebounds to 35 HR form and I'd look for a more versatile and more contact oriented lefty bench bat than Overbay or Francisco for goodness sakes.