JohnBriggs12

I still say you could make Lopez a regular in your lineup playing 2 games a week at each of 3 positions (3B, SS, 2B). Weeks is coming off a serious wrist injury. Escobar is a rookie who's never played a full 162 game schedule, and McGehee is coming off of knee issues. You're also set if any one of those guys goes down for an extended period. Of course, that would mean no room for Counsell. We all remember when Melvin picked up Koskie even when he had Hall set for 3B coming off a nice year. Hall ended up playing almost a full season at SS. The comment then was basically you can never have too many good players.

Fielder reached new heights as a player this year. Last year much of the talk was that Fielder was out of shape and thus not producing to his potential. I think he dispelled that completely. But whether it's that he's in Pujols shadow or what, but it's amazing how little fans of other teams realize what kind of hitter Fielder is or how losing him would negatively affect the Brewers on the field an at the box office. Some White Sox fan calling in a Chicago sports radio this weekend and suggested the Sox could get Fielder for Gavin Floyd. Now Floyd's not bad, but can anyone imagine the Cardinals dealing Pujols for Gavin Floyd? No pitcher, much less a Gavin Floyd could handle the pressure of expectations for having been dealt for Fielder. Fielder is to the Brewers what Pujols is to the Cardinals. His presence alone makes this team with any kind of decent pitching a threat. Add Braun to the mix, and the Brewers have 2 big fan draws and a realistic shot every year. Boras is indeed a problem, but Prince is a strong willed individual who is not going to get pushed around by his agent. If he wants to stay and the Brewers show their appreciation in terms of a sizable contract offer, it will be Prince's decision, not Boras'.

I think Iribarren has an excellent chance to be on Brewers opening day roster as the 6th infielder given his solid year at AAA, lack of options, his minimum salary, and his viable left handed bench bat.

Says who exactly? We're talking about potential #7 hitter in the lineup, (not 8th Al, that's for Escobar right now) so he's not up there to "clear the pitchers spot". He's up there to knock in runs. Olivo, on a terrible KC team drove in 65 runs and scored 51 in 416 plate appearences. Kendall (with the aid of a late flourish) managed to drive in 43 and score 48 in more than 100 more plate appearences (526). Rallies don't generally start with the 7 hole hitter. If the 7th hitter walks, the 8 hitter doesn't bunt him over with the pitcher up next. But having that guy there with some power can clean up some bases and be a one man rally with the long ball.

I don't think it makes that much sense. Kawakami is owed something like $15 million over the next 2 years and he's 34 years old. Trading for him would be similar to signing a middling FA, plus giving up Hart. Why not just sign the middling FA, and use Hart to get either the cheaper, younger starter or help at catcher that Hardy might not get on his own. Also do we really want 3 guys in their mid 30's, none of which is a one or a two SP taking up roughly 1/3 of the payroll (assuming they make the mistake of bringing Looper back)?

Scott Podsednik was traded for Carlos Lee even after a bad season...you never know. Exactly. We don't need 10 GM's wanting to bet McGehee was not a fluke, we just need 1. The point is Scott Podsednik's "bad season" still validated him as a major league player (he led the NL with 70 steals in 04) and not a one year wonder at least as far as base running. Many Sox fans love what Podsednik did for them in 05 and he bounced back again and had a really good year this year too. That's why even if McGehee is ordinary next year, he'll retain his current value. If he repeats his 09 numbers, his value will shoot up incredibly.

And McGehee has been worse than that, so why would Gamel be the one moving? Minor leagues: McGehee: .960 FP in 563 games at 3B. Gamel: .883 FP in 475 games at 3B Majors: McGehee: .924 FP in 77 games at 3B. Gamel: .885 FP in 27 games at 3B. Now you can spin all you want that fielding percentage doesn't reflect ability, etc and that other factors weigh in, blah, blah, blah. But those numbers are significantly in McGehee's favor despite playing with a sore knee.

That is of course assuming that Cameron at age 37 will not see a drop in his production and that Gerut isn't capable of matching Cameron's 09 OPS of .794, despite the fact that Gerut playing in a much larger yard is one year removed from an .845 OPS or that they can't get a reasonable platoon partner (Kapler?, Baldelli?) for Gerut that will combine to match or exceed Cameron's production.

You could get almost identical production as Molina from Miguel Olivo if he turns down his option with the Royals and he's 4 years younger. The only difference is Olivo strikes out a bit more which is actually a plus because he hits into far fewer DP than Molina. The 50 points in OBP between Olivo and Kendall is more than offset by the 125 or so points of slugging pct.

Most of you need to listen to what Melvin's been talking about for months. He's lamenting the lack of innings from his starters and he's lamenting the amount of HRs allowed. That tells you where his focus is going to be in a FA pitcher. Forget guys like Harden. He was healthy all year and got 141 innings. He also allowed 23 HR. Focus in on guys that keep the ball in the park and generally accumulate innings. Some of you think that's what they did earlier and the got Suppan. No, Suppan always was a 6 inning pitcher who gave up a lot of long balls. His value was that he didn't miss starts. Pineiro fits the bill for what they are looking for. He had 214 innings this year and allowed 11 HR. Pineiro is not Suppan. I repeat, Pineiro is not Suppan. Hudson is another ideal guy if he did become available. Penny's a longshot but he could be in the mix. As for deals, I don't see a big name. Maybe Lowe if the Braves took Suppan back and agreed to pay $5 million for each year of his deal. I think you'll see a guy from a team with multiple needs (Brian Bannister comes to mind from the Royals), or a team like Texas that if they signed Sheets would have an extra guy to deal (Brandon McCarthy).

McGehee's trade value isn't all that high. He's a year removed from being a waiver claim and not a top prospect. Any team dealing for him takes on the risk many talk about that he'll turn into a pumpkin. I don't think he will personally and neither do the Brewers, but that's going to be the perception and GM's would rather take on risk on a guy that's a little younger and a more hyped prospect, because if he fails, they can always say "Oh everyone in baseball was high on this guy. We don't know what happened." They also see what many on here see, and that is the potential of him being really, really good. I think Melvin and the Brewers saw a lot to like in McGehee beyond his numbers. He's a very grounded, level headed player. Guys like him used to be called a ballplayer's ballplayer. He fits in well with his teammates. Those factors cannot be discounted.

Buck wouldn't require a multi year deal. He backed up Olivo the past 2 years and would be more of a guy who'd split time with Rivera. Olivo won't break the bank either. An upgrade in power from the catching position would make Cameron less critical too. That's where the real savings for a starter is anyway. The fact that Salome wasn't on September roster and Lucroy wasn't added either tells me they want both to spend more time developing. Thrusting either one into essentially the number one job appears to be a year away. Blanco is the age (38) where he's not anything more than a backup. He can't hold up as a first string guy. Nice backup though.

I wouldn't say they want Narveson in the top 5 in March, but if they started the season today, he would be. Both Bush and Suppan are not only possibly going to get bumped out of the rotation, it's likely both will. Suppan in his final contract year will no longer be an automatic just to justify his salary. Bush is a real non-tender candidate. Why would you spend nearly $4 million on a guy coming off the year he had? Don't take my word either. Haudricourt said on WTMJ that he asked Macha about the 5 guys who started the year still being possibilities to all be back in rotation next April. Macha asked him bluntly: "Where did we finish in starters' ERA?" TH answered "Last" Macha retorted: "You answered your own question". I put the over/under on the number of starters for 2010 from the 5 last year at 2 1/2. It's not out of the question that only Gallardo is back as a starter. Parra could get dealt or beaten out by Narveson for the one lefty spot. They could go with 2 lefties too. The only way I see Looper back is if they refuse his option and sign him for less money. Suppan will be around but he could end up as long man/starter depth. There is no question they are going to add at least 2 starters via either trade or FA. You don't raise ticket prices and try to sell that rotation. Narveson is in the mix too. As to the bullpen, I'd expect McClung to also be non-tendered. Villanueva is still very much in the picture. They aren't going to give up on him just yet. Difelice is guaranteed nothing unless he proves he's fully healthy and even then, his body of work isn't that extensive. Coffey is the best trading chip they have not named Gamel. Weathers fate depends on whether Coffey is used in a deal or not. Vargas opened eyes big time and goes into next year as 1-2 with Coffey as setup guys. Vargas appears to have been miscast as a starter. He's ideally suited in the pen. Smith and Axford are also still in the picture and don't rule out some other arm showing up in camp. Bottom line, the bullpen is an area of some depth but teams typically tinker with their pens every offseason. If the Brewers can maximize the value of Hardy by adding a Coffey to a deal to get a starter they want, they will do it and not think twice. If that causes them to look for another arm, there are plenty available.

Speculation is that Royals could non-tender John Buck and that Miguel Olivo will opt for FA rather than exercise his $3.3 million mutual option. Now I know you OBP freaks would go nuts if the Brewers signed Olivo but personally I wouldn't mind a guy in the 7 hole in the lineup who's averaged 17 HR and 56 RBI the last 4 years. He's a lot like Bengie Molina, except 4 years younger. With the 8th and 9th hitters behind him, I'm looking for RBI's not BB. Buck is another guy who's not great but has some pop in his bat (career .404 SP).

sveurules has it right. It comes down to the fact that whatever a team would offer for Fielder, it won't be enough to offset the loss of the the NL's 2nd best hitter for the next 2 years. If the Brewers had a replacement ready that was likely to come close to Fielder's production (and nobody in the franchise history has), then they could entertain a deal. Had Fielder's numbers been more like his 2008 numbers, it would be much more realistic to think they could come close to replacing him. But he's clearly upped his game to near Pujols-like status and there's no way Gamel or anyone else on the horizon is ready to do that. The good news it that they have Prince for 2 more seasons, and that will give young hitters and pitchers in their system more time to develop so that by the time he does depart, they will have an influx of ready talent to help offset his loss.

GM's generally get 2 manager hires. If the 2nd doesn't work, the GM is out with the manager. Macha got 80 wins with the worst rotation in the league. In retrospect, that's remarkable. Yost would have had a hard time getting to 75 with this team.

I agree with you on Cam as well although that is probably for another thread. I think he would take a pay cut to stay which would be nice. I do not understand the cart before the horses analogy. A solid bullpen makes your relievers better. Even with a terrible rotation Hoffman almost got 40 saves. That is a lot of chances. You have to believe they will get one pitcher through a trade. They will have Gallardo, Bush, pitcher via trade, and then who knows (Suppan, Parra, Narveson, Butler, FA?, Looper, another trade). The Free Agent pitching crop is terrible so it makes more sense to spend money on a very good closer than a passable at best starting pitcher. The FA starting pitching crop isn't terrible. It's about average. There's at least a half dozen guys that would have easily qualified as 2nd best starter on the Brewers.

I think it's a mistake to commit $8 million to Hoffman before the market has even been established. Clubs that rushed and got their guys signed early last year overpaid. As good as he was this year, in the unlikely event he's as good next year, it doesn't solve the fundamental problem of poor starting pitching. The closer should be the last piece for a team that's poised to win. The Brewers are far from being in that position.

I'm extremely uncomfortable with the rate at which Chris Smith gives up home runs. 11 HR allowed in 45 innings equals a HR rate of 2.2 HR/9. That's easily the worst of any Brewers reliever that has put up any amount of innings. Don't get me wrong, Chris Smith is a perfect guy to earn frequent flyer miles between Nashville and Milwaukee, but relying on him could be a big mistake. Now whether that would affect trading Coffey or not is doubtful, but I just hope Smith isn't penciled in as a cog in the 2010 bullpen. 11 is a lot, but despite that high rate, he was pretty effective in his role. His WHIP, K/BB ratio, BAA, are all quite acceptable for your 11th or 12th pitcher.

Suppan never was an innings eater. At his best when he was a Cardinal, he never reached 200 innings.

Honestly, I forgot about him until he came in to pitch last week. Was not. He was terrible in his two starts and his last 4 relief appearances before going on the DL. Pretty typical for pitchers to look crappy right before going on the DL. For most of his season he was fine; the same old Seth McClung we've seen since he arrived. I don't he's arbitration eligible; I think he's a free agent. He's already had his 3 arby years, '07, '08, '09, according to Cot's. Wait, that must be wrong, he'll have just a little over 5 years service time after this year. Clarification, please? At any rate I wouldn't just cut him loose. He's worth keeping around if he'll agree to something in the $2.5 million range. That's cheaper than Weathers, who really hasn't been any good. joe, Sorry but you're wrong. McClung wasn't good at any point this year. True his ERA didn't balloon until he started, but he prior to his first start, he had allowed 39 hits and 23 walks in 41 2/3 innings. That's a 1.49 WHIP which belies the 3.24 ERA he had at the time. His WHIP for the year is a lousy 1.63. Even Villanueva had a much better WHIP (1.41). No way do you offer him arbitration. Not that he'd get much. But signing Vargas is a higher priority. Vargas was picked up to replace McClung and he outpitched him. With Hoffman (assuming he's re-signed), Coffey, Vargas, Villanueva, Smith, DiFelice, Axford, and maybe Weathers, they don't need McClung. That McClung blames Macha is laughable.

The Brewers are currently 4th in runs scored in the NL (though they could still finish as low as 6th) and 15th in runs allowed. If they trade a guy in Fielder who's driven in 138 and scored 101, at best they will drop to 8th or 9th in runs scored next year. To reach the playoffs, a team that is that low ranked in runs scored needs a top 1 or 2 or at the outside 3rd ranked pitching staff. There is nobody that Fielder would bring back that takes the staff from 15th to top 2 or 3. There are other means to get the staff to a middle of the pack ranking, which could be good enough if they moved up to top 3 in runs scored. They need to look for improvement both in pitching and hitting and trading the best hitter isn't going to do it. Trading Fielder sacrifices their chances for 2010 and 2011, and wastes 2 years of Braun's prime as well with no guaranty that the return for Fielder significantly improves their chances beyond 2011.

Todd Coffey is a sleeper. He should get a pretty decent raise in arbitration, but with a lot of teams needing bullpen help, he would be an attractive trading chip nontheless. If the Brewers bring back Hoffman and Vargas (and possibly Weathers), and if Smith and Axford are the real deals and Villanueva bounces back, they might have enough to absorb the loss of Coffey, at least early in the season (if needed bullpen arms are available at the deadline).

Switching Gamel to RF, and adding a guy like Marlon Byrd, would solve the OF problem. I also think Gerut is a useful player. I think nate82 is taking the right approach. Everyone is focusing on teams that need SS, when teams that might have the type of pitching the Brewers need may be more in need of a Corey Hart than a Hardy. I'm not sure the Sox would give up Ely, after trading both Porada and Richard in the Peavy deal, but nate82 correctly points out they need OF help. They're counting on Rios to rebound and Quentin, but beyond that, they are talking about bringing back Kotsay. They could also use relief help as Dotel is a FA and there've been rumblings they won't bring back Jenks who figures to get huge arby award. Ely is a guy who could be major league ready by midseason next year.

One thing is certain, they absolutely cannot have both Suppan and Looper in the rotation next year. Improvement in the rotation requires subtraction as well as addition. Send Suppan to the pen. He's generally able to get one time through a lineup so he'd likely be serviceable there. Don't bring back both Bush and Looper. Choose one or the other and let the other go or better yet just let both go and save some $10 million. Give Narveson a shot. Deal for a 3-4 guy that's still under 28, and add a 2-3 FA veteran.