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At best I think he can be James Loney but I'm expecting much worse.

I agree completely.

It sounds like were adding an outfielder. Any guesses on who it might be? Adam McCalvy @AdamMcCalvy · Open@brewerpride06 Gord Ash said they were close to signing a veteran to play LF at Nashville. Expect that news this week.

Russ Canzler is another cheap RH bat that can play 1B and OF to consider. I wonder if Melvin is interested?

But none of that matters now because my worst nightmare is coming true. Oswalt to the Cardinals is an absolute killer http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/frown.gif

That's awfully best case scenario considering he'll be 34 next season and just had his lowest IP since he was 25. It might be a blip on the radar, or it might be the beginning of the end. He's no longer a power arm, more an above average arm, his average FB was 91.5 last season. I'm not sure how you can claim he's a bullpen saver, he averaged 6.04 IP per game last season, the season before he was 6.5, the season before that 6.03 IP per start. At this point in his career you're looking to get a solid 6-7 from him and go to the pen. I don't think it's necessarily fair to compare Oswalt against a #5 pitcher, but he's about 1 out per game better than Narveson on average. The biggest point you neglected to mention was how the team pays for him? The Brewers are already significantly over budget, around 10% so, even at an incredible steal like $6 million for next season could the Brewers even do it? Would Roy take a 1 year deal for that little money given his history? Oswalt was a very good pitcher, he's still pretty darn good, but he's also going to be 34 coming off his worst season. If you're going to commit multiple years which a pitcher of his caliber should demand, you'd better be sure he's going to maintain his current level of play over the course of his contract. I'm not one to project the best or worst case for a pitcher, but the assumptions you posted about Oswalt seem awfully best case from where I'm sittting. I'll hit on all your points. 1. Oswalt only wants a 1 year contract to reestablish his value on next years market. If it was a multi year deal I wouldn't want anything to do with him either but it's a different story on a 1 year deal full of incentives.2. I still consider a 91.5 mph fastball as a power arm. His fastball is right up with Cliff Lee (91.5) along with Chad Billingsly (91.5) and faster than Matt Cain (91.2), Gavin Floyd, (91.2), James Shields (91.0) and Jeremy Hellickson (91.0). I was watching some highlights from later in the year when his back wasn't bothering him and his fastball was at 93 and 94 consistently.3. I never said he was a bullpen saver I just said he would make our entire pitching staff better by pushing Narveson to the pen. I'm a big proponent of having two lefties in your pen and as of right now our top two options include a guy who hasn't pitched in a year and another who probably wishes he took 2011 off. I love Braddock and Parra's upside but I question their durability so adding another lefty to the competition can only be a good thing.4. I'm not quite sure how they would afford Oswalt but when we hear Attanasio talk about saving money away for special circumstances I can't help but think this would apply. How many times do you get a pitcher of this caliber looking for a 1 year deal roughly 3 weeks away from spring training? The fact that we've kicked the tires on Oswalt, Lee and Coffey tells me were not as strapped for cash as it really seems.

Why haven't we picked this guy up yet? Seems to be a good RH balance for Gamel when we face a Kerhsaw-type. Also a guy with a little pop from the RH side of the plate for the bench and someone who could help fill the gap in LF if Braun is suspended. Seems like his injuries over the past few years might make him a bit of a reclamation project but the kind of diamond in the rough guy that DM usually picks up. I would be happy if we added Jackson. After reading this article I'm wondering the same thing.

Just going by our roster and whats left in FA there's only a few things we can actually improve upon. - Our rotation by signing someone like Roy Oswalt or Edwin Jackson- 6th or 7th inning reliever which there seems to be an abundance of left on the market.- Another lefty in the pen to battle Manny Parra, Zach Braddock and Juan Perez- RH bat that can play 1B or even better if they could also play in the OF. I'm willing to bet we sign a reliever since there's too much value left and if Braun gets suspended I could see Melvin signing someone like Xavier Nady, Conor Jackson or Marcus Thames if they're still available. The 1B/OF bat would be on minor league deal for the vet minimum so it wouldn't hurt too much to DFA them when Braun returns. Or maybe Melvin could get creative and trade Morgan if Aoki is outplaying him.

Oswalt is a division changer which is why signing him makes sense on so many levels. 1. Adds another power arm to our rotation that got lit up in the postseason.2. Gives us 5 guys who are #3's or better.3. Bolsters our bullpen so we don't have to rely on both Parra and Braddock.4. Lessens the blow of losing Fielder and possibly Braun for 50 games.5. Last but not least prevents him from being a Cardinal.

Gamel could be anything ranging from Brad Nelson to a platoon bat up to an allstar. Its the fear of the unknown in a year we can't wait for him to develop that makes people like me nervous. I'm afraid Mat Gamel is gonna stink and were gonna be stuck with no backup plan. Anyone who mentions signing Derrek Lee doesn't want him to be brought in as a full time starter, they want him as an insurance policy. Everyone wants Gamel to succeed but with this being the last season we have all of our great pitching intact we want to make sure it doesn't go to waste. Its the same logic fans use with the Packers. Fans like me complained all off season that we neglected our defense and were banking too much on unproven guys like Mike Neal without any backup plans on the roster. Just like the old saying goes, Its better to be safe than sorry...

Since the Packers lost all I've watched is wrestling lol. Baseball season can't start soon enough If you're a fan of old wrestling I got a couple of great sites I'd like to share with you. I got a couple invites left to some sites but I don't know the exact rules of this board so it would be better if you or anyone else interested would private message me.

So they had a former manager/coach completely bury them as well? For some strange reason I can't remember anyone saying Rodgers was hard headed, doesn't carry himself like a professional and won't amount to anything until he gets his head on straight... But other than that I guess its a good comparison http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/eyes.gif

He has such a good swing he spent last September at home. Any hope I had for Gamel being a productive EVERYDAY player went out the window when Don Money completely buried him.

The truth is our backup plan has better career numbers than our starter. Gamel - .222/.309/.374/.684 Conrad - .229/.305/.428/.733

I guess all I'm saying is I have extremely tempered expectations for the guy and IF he's a decent platoon bat I'll be thrilled. I don't see how fans can get upset with Melvin having a backup plan in case Gamel struggles like he has in the past.

I'm not expecting very much out of Gamel after all the other prospects from that great 2008 Huntsville team have struggled badly in the pros. Quite frankly I wouldn't be shocked if Travis Ishikawa was starting by the end of the year. Matt LaPorta.238/.304/.397/.711 Michael Brantley.266/.318/.384/.702 Alcides Escobar.252/.294/.339/.633 Cole Gillispie.236/.292/.391/.683 Mat Gamel.222/.309/.374/.684

His splits suggest he's not much of a switch hitter though.

I was drooling over this idea a couple days ago. It wouldn't be fair having 5 starters who finished 2011 with an ERA in the 3's to go with one of the best 8-9 combinations in baseball.

I doubt Pena gets $8M with how this off season has been going for Boras clients. He's a platoon bat at this stage in his career.

I know it won't happen because of the sheer volume but 3 moves would really improve this team. - Trade K-Rod for Mark Trumbo- Trade Mat Gamel for Matt Thornton- Sign Carlos Pena 1B is solidified and our pen stays as strong as it was with K-Rod. Trumbo becomes the versatile RH power bat off our bench that shares time with Pena and Aoki while Braun is out.

1. RH insurance in case Gamel and Aoki struggle against LHP. 2. A loogy in the pen to compliment Veras and Loe in the 6th and 7th innings My dream scenario to end the off season would be signing Mike Gonzalez and one of Derrek Lee or Jeff Keppinger. I'd even be happy with Xavier Nady or Conor Jackson to give some competition to Brooks Conrad.

I agree about Keppinger wanting the most PT possible but the lack of news involving him works in our favor each day we get closer to ST. The Brewers can offer a fair amount of playing time with Braun being suspended, Gamel possibly needing a platoon partner and Ramirez, Weeks and even Gonzalez needing an occasional breather. Throw in being one of our 2 primary pinch hitters and I could see him being interested.

This seems like a match made in heaven for Damon.

I visit your site quite often to be honest but I get most of my info from the FA list on MLBTR. I'm a big nerd like you when it comes to the Crew and find filling our roster 1-25 fascinating. There's not many guys like us who care enough to research about middle relievers, loogys and platoon options lol

Are you assuming Braun will be suspended or Green won't make the team? I would think one of those would have to happen before we add anybody else. I'm assuming both. I'm in the camp that believes Green would be better served playing everyday in AAA as our primary insurance at 1B/2B/3B.