JohnBriggs12

Sure, lets sign Pavano and bring back Looper, then we'd have the two guys that led their respective leagues in earned runs allowed. Just say no to guys who surrender 235 hits in 199 innings. Pavano gives up a lot of hits because he's very, very hittable. The Brewers tatooed him in June. FIP is the pitcher's equivalent of BABIP. It's fallacy is it assumes the pitcher has no control over where (or how hard) a ball is hit that doesn't leave the park, the same as BABIP assumes no control by the hitter over how hard or where he hits a ball that stays in the park. The problem of course is that some pitches are easier to center on the bat than others, and over the course of a full season, those pitcher that throw more fat pitches are going to give up more hits.

There was a point when Parra was so bad last year that I started looking at various indy leagues online to see what and who was out there. I stumbled across Halama pitching in the Atlantic League where he was 8-1 for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. I told myself to check back on him in another couple weeks because the Atlantic League by far the most veteran laden indy league and maybe this guy could make it back to the big leagues. About a day or two later, the Braves signed him and sent him to AAA where he was so-so but certainly not terrible. Look, Halama had a pretty decent major league career, 56-48, 4.65 ERA, mostly all in the AL. He turns 38 in January, but he's never stopped pitching. He could provide some starter depth at AAA. As for low 80's, well Moyer won a lot of games after he turned 38 throwing in that range. Who's to say Halama couldn't do it? Another old lefty that pitched in indy ball last year was non other than Bill Pulsipher, who split last year between the Mexican League and Winnipeg of the Northern League where he went 4-2 with a 3.35 ERA. As long as they are considering Halama, why not Pulsipher too?

The two aren't mutually exclusive. They need pitching in 2010 and 2011. Fielder is under their control those two years. Pitchers like Davis and Washburn aren't going to get more than 2 years and an option (at likely fairly reasonable dollars) in this market of financial uncertainty for a lot of teams. The Brewers have already cleared close to $20 million. They could clear more if they chose. This is not the same market as in 06 when Suppan signed.

I think the parking lot names should reflect the relative abilities of the guys taking the cash and making change as you enter: Slow, Slower and Slowest. For some reason, they all seem to want to engage in conversation instead of taking your cash and making change quickly if needed and getting you into the lot.

Escobar continues to rake in Venezuela going 4 for 4 on Thursday with a HR and 2 RBI. His numbers now read: .385/.414/.492, in 65 AB's. Iribarren did not play.

Braves are delusional if they think that if Lowe were on the market now, he'd be 2nd in demand behind only Lackey. Sure if teams completely ignored his 2009, but how can you? Especially for a guy who's 36.

This potential deal, Jackson to Brewers, Gamel to Mariners, and Morrow to Tigers makes so much sense on all levels for all teams, it would be a shame if it doesn't go through. Gamel has more value to the M's than he does to the Brewers. M's have holes at 3B, and not great options in LF, 1B or DH either and overall need cheap bats. Tigers must clear some payroll to address needs in middle infield and they can absorb Jackson's loss by getting a healthy Bonderman back and adding Morrow (who could bolster a thin bullpen if not become a starter). Because the Brewers have cleared so much payroll and potentially could clear more if they were to non-tender Bush, they can easily absorb Jackson's arby increase and still have plenty left over for a decent FA starter. Besides as of now, Gamel has no position.

Al, why are you limiting him to the OF? He played 98 games at 2B at Nashville and made just 5 errors. He's certainly a viable guy to use there if Weeks can't go. Speaking of Catalanotto, I thought he made fine 5th outfielder. He too had the ability to play some infield but his primary job was as late inning PH. What are you expecting to find for a minimum wage 5th OF? No knock on Heether, but he's 2 1/2 years older than Iribarren. Sure, he's shown a little more power, but he's older and still it's not the type of power you equate with an everyday corner OF either. So your point about Iribarren being older than Escobar works both ways. Plus if you look closer, you'll see Iribarren's numbers at Nashville were actually a little better than Escobar's anyway. Hernan had for him an off year in 08, but most of his career he's hit, as a lifetime .314 minor league BA attests. My whole point is why would you expose Iribarren to waivers and hurt your depth, when you can keep Iribarren either as the 6th infielder or 5th outfielder (actually both) and option Heether who can still be called up at a moments notice. I don't think the difference between the two justifies risking losing one. The only issue is that it makes the bench a little heavy lefthanded. That's only the case if Gamel made the 25 man, and if he's not starting, why would he? If he is starting, then McGehee is the RH off the bench. Even assuming the lefty hitting Counsel is back along with Gerut and Iribarren as bench players, that would still leave room for one more RH bat. The pickup of Kottaras could even signal that extra RH bat could be Rivera. A third catcher makes the bench a lot deeper as it allows for use of a catcher to PH and also allows Macha to double switch at the catcher position and to PH for the catcher. Looking at Kottaras's splits, you don't want him facing a lefty reliever in a key situation late. BTW, both Iribarren and Escobar have been on tears down in Venezuela. Hernan's up to .311/.382/.459/.811 and Alcides is up to .344/.379/.410/.789. I think both those guys can handle major league pitching myself and I wouldn't be shocked one bit if Weeks were to go down again, that Iribarren could step right in and do the job.

Not many backup catchers have an OBP higher than .330. They generally bat down in the order and go up there swinging because they don't see regular action. Rivera walked 15 times in 132 PA last year and had a .377 OBP in his limited duty in 08. That's not bad in my book.

Awkward? I remember some very athletic plays he's made behind the plate and in that game in 08 where he had a start at 1B.

Cintron has a higher lifetime BA than Counsell: .275 to .258, a higher career slugging pct: .394 to .350 and a higher OPS: .707 to .694 and he's 8 1/2 years younger. As for Owens, the only year he got significant PT at the major league level (where are you getting "plenty of major league ABs"?), his OPS of .636 and OBP of .324 were both better than Gomez put up in Minnesota last year. He also had a year where he hit .331 in a full year at AA (OBP of .393 that year) and .320 (OBP of .387 that year) in a full year (2009) at AAA. If you're going to make blanket statements, it would help your cause if you could point out some numbers to back it up. Luna had a big year at AAA and he might make a worthy candidate too, but he's not adequate defensively at SS and he's had a lot more major league AB's than Owens. Scales has offensive talent but he's not a SS either. Gotay's major league numbers aren't as good as Cintron's and he's not his uncle Julio (another weak hitting Gotay I once saw beat the Braves in Milwaukee with a rare HR) in the field either. Obviously, we're not talking All Stars, we're talking about guys who are minor league free agents who might be worth a look in spring for backup jobs. I think both Cintron and Owens qualify.

Eh. Ok, but not earth shattering. If I'm Mike Rivera I'm not shuddering about competing with Kottaras for job in spring. Sure, he's fairly young and lefthanded but except for a power surge one year at AAA (remember Rivera has seasons of 33 HR at AA and 19 at AAA too), he really hasn't hit above A ball. Plus the Red Sox released him. That's not a total indictment but it says something. He is cheap and it makes the likliehood of Kendall coming back less so that's a good thing.

I'm not so sure about Utley. Fielder deserves 3rd, behind Pujols and Ramirez. I'd have Utley and Howard at 4 and 5 in either order. Fielder gets the edge on Howard on the basis of a significant difference in walks and strikeouts. I'd have Braun 6th. Rounding out the top 10 (in no particlular order): D. Lee, Sandoval, Helton, and either Zimmerman or Kemp.

Ok, so the excuse for Butler is he's working on secondary pitches. I thought the AFL was more to identify who the true prospects were by matching up each teams better prospects than it is for working on different things. That's what the instructional league is for isn't it? If Butler is indeed working on secondary pitches (that obviously aren't very good), how many other pitchers in this league are doing the same thing and therefore can anyone make anything of a hitters performance? Frankly, I don't quite buy the he's "working on pitches". I think it's more it's Arizona where offense rules and he's facing a lot of good hitters and frankly, Butler is a marginal prospect compared to most in this league.

The same Krynzel that hit .249 with a .313 OBP in AA last year in a much larger sample size? I hardly think one good week in AAA after a mediocre AA season indicates anythings clicked for him. He'll be lucky to still be in baseball in 2010.

Jerry Owens. Hit .320 with a .387 OBP at AAA last year. Plays a good CF. Bats lefthanded. Provides protection in CF behind Gomez and allows Gerut to concentrate on RF. Alex Cintron. Solid credentials for a backup SS. Just started playing winter ball in PR, is 5 for 15. I like LaHair too to play 1B at Nashville, but if I'm him I'd be looking for a team with a better shot at a big league job. RP Fernando Hernandez Still only 25, he combined to go 3-4 with a 1.68 ERA between Birmingham and Charlotte and a strikeout per inning. Amazing that the White Sox didn't add him to their 40 man. Super (DiFelice type) longshot: RHP Carlos (Giancarlo) Alvarado. Will turn 32 in January and has never pitched in big leagues. Posted a 13-10, 3.49 ERA with a sparkling 1.247 WHIP pitching in hitter friendly Albuquerque. Had 139 Ks in 152 innings. He was Brewer property briefly after they signed him out of indy ball in 2002. He pitched for High Desert and as many will recall that's a tough place to pitch but he fared very well, going 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 31 K's in 27 innings. He's been all over and pitched quite well pretty much every place he's been including 4 innings of 1 hit ball for Puerto Rico in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Amazing he's gone this long with no major league shot.

I agree with your general premise but not completely.. The Brewers probably have $15 million to spend on starting pitching. That's not enough to get the top guy Lackey, and there's a dropoff to the next level of guys, but the next level (of which there are a healthy number) aren't below average. I'd say most in group the next group that includes Washburn, Marquis, Wolf, Myers, Pineiro, Davis, Garland, Penny, Bedard, Harden and Pavano, are average to slightly above average starting pitchers and most in that group had better than average years in 2009. Contrasted with what the Brewers 4 beyond Gallardo did, that is a significant difference. That group being as large as it is should result in their prices remaining reasonable especially with so many teams not able to take on salary. I think if the Brewers could land 2 (ideally one lefty and one righty), from that second group, the rotation should be significantly better. I'm concerned about the offense though slipping with not only the departure of Cameron for the light hitting Gomez but the loss of Lopez who got on in front of Braun and Fielder at better than a .400 clip. The key guy as I see it next season is Weeks. That's nothing new though. Weeks has been the key guy for a while because he's such a variable it's hard to know what to expect from him.

This subject has been discussed for a couple years. Curiously though, despite the emergence of Casey McGehee at 3B, Gamels continued defensive issues and the Brewers declaring Casey their 3B going into 2010, the Brewer brass continues to insist they have no plans to move Gamel.off of 3B. Personally, I think this is all bunk intended to prop up both his trade value and that of Corey Hart. Had they declared at the end of the season they'll will move Gamel to RF, instantly for trade purposes his value sinks. At the same time, announcing a switch to RF causes teams to question Hart's value as a player. If the Brewers are looking to replace Hart internally, why would they want him? Now we are getting stories in the national media that the Brewers are likely to hang on to Gamel. Translation: nobody's come forth with a young stud pitcher Melvin thought he could get straight up for Gamel. Question is, how soon if ever will the Brewers announce that Gamel will "get an opportunity" to "play some OF" in spring training? I'd say around January 15th myself, just in time for the big ticket selling push but after the prime trading season.

He's below average defensively at SS. But that doesn't make him useless in a part time role there as an offensive SS. The guy's played over 600 major league games at SS and has a .959 FP. Robin Yount won the MVP in 1982 making 24 errors at SS. If all you want is defense, you can go out and sign an Adam Everett or an Eric Bruntlett who was just let go by the Phils. But Lopez batting at the top of the Brewer order made the Brewers a significantly better offensive team in August and September. His loss figures to be much more significant than Hardy's or Cameron's.

It would be a huge mistake to make Mulder who hasn't pitched effectively in the majors since 2005 anymore than a longshot. Everyone talks that they don't like the FA pool. Look the Brewers had one starter last year, Gallardo, that was any better than a weak 5th starter on most teams. Bush, Looper, Suppan and Parra were all terrible with a capital T. So the FA crop doesn't have top of the rotation types? That doesn't mean the likes of Wolf, Pineiro, Washburn, Garland, Davis, Penny or Marquis were anywhere near as bad as the "Brewer 4" or that adding one or even two won't considerably improve the rotation. Those guys over the course of their careers are middle of the rotation (number 3) types. All, save Penny were at or better than that level in 2009. The market is what it is. The Brewers might have to pay $2-3 million per year over the worth of one of these guys. Most are beyond the age where they can command long term deals so that minimizes the risk even further. The hope has to be you sign a number 3 guy and hope he pitches like a 2 (most all these FA have done this in their careers at least once) and perhaps you trade for a 4 and hope he pitches like a 3. Then you hope the two 09 failures (whoever those are) that are back improve to solid 4th and 5th level guys. It's an impossible task in any year to take a bottom rotation and make it a top one in one year. They have to get incrementally better and hope with their offense it's enough. Bottom line, it's not an all or nothing deal. Melvin has no choice. He has to improve this rotation.

TooLiveBrew: You're forgetting about Iribarren. Don't worry, there's a lot of that going around. Strange for a guy just 25 coming off a year where he hit .311 at AAA and played solid defense at 2B. I agree with TBadder. I'd rather spend $5-6 million on Lopez than give Counsell anything more than $2-2.25 million for one year.. I've said it before that Lopez is capable of being in the lineup virtually everyday rotating between 3 positions, taking pressure off of two still inexperienced players in Escobar and McGehee and one player coming off a long period of inactivity in Weeks. Uribe is another guy out there capable of the same thing. Short of that, there are veterans out there capable of backing up at SS and no, they do not have to be lefthanded, as the Brewers still have Iribarren, Gamel, and Gerut as potential lefty bench bats.

Tigers badly need late inning relief help. Rodney and Lyon are FA. Todd Coffey would be a guy they would covet. Maybe a combination of Gamel, Gomez, Coffey and Parra could net Jackson and Granderson. If Melvin is confident he can bring back Vargas, I think they could use Coffey in a deal.

You're forgetting about the law of supply and demand. The more pitchers like Looper who are available, the less each of them get. If somebody offers Looper $5 million to pitch next year, he should take it. If he holds out for more, he'll be scrambling for a minor league deal in February. I assume by "slightly better" you're talking about Washburn/Davis? In their worst full seasons, neither Davis or Washburn has posted an ERA as high as Looper did last season. Still since both, like Looper, are in their mid 30's, they are not going to command huge or long contracts. The key word is "better". If the Brewer get incremently better in all 5 rotation spots, they net effect will be noticeable.

Sorry FVBrewerfan, Gamel does not have a spot assuming he's not traded or switched to the OF. McGehee is the everyday 3B for now. Gamel has options and needs to improve on the .278/.367/.473, 89 K's in 273 AB performance he had in AAA last year. Those numbers do not scream he should be starting the the big leagues. He also needs to play everyday, not just to keep his bat sharp but to work on defense. Assuming Counsel returns, he backs up at 3rd in addition to backing up at SS. Iribarren is also in the mix in the infield and Heether could too.

If they took back Suppan and his $14.5 million this year and they paid $10 million per year from 11 through 13, plus half his buyout, I'd do it. That would make it $35 million over 4 years for Brewers. Zito's probably worth close to that.