piccione88

Do players really play for their manager? To me as long as you are not a total jerk(i.e. Showalter, and Macha) it does not make a difference. Maybe it makes a difference in the free agent market, and the manager is probably far down the list on free agents mind.

What do all of you think about a swap of J.J. Hardy to the Giants for Jonathan Sanchez, and possibly a decent prospect like kelvin pichardo. The Giants obviously need hitting, and the Brewers need pitching, and Sanchez has the ability to be a great starting pitcher. Sanchez had an ugly ERA of 5.01, but his peripherals were great. Sanchez had a K/9 of 8.8, and a HR/9 of .78. Sanchez is a little wild giving up 4.2 BB/9, other than that though there is not much not to like. Sanchez contract also is another big plus. Jonathan Sanchez does not hit arbitration until the 2010 season. So the Brewers would have him for 4 more years at least.

Hawpe is not a free agent until after the 2010 season at the earliest, if cots is correct. He also has an option for 2011 according to cots.

Its not that Hardy has "too good" of an arm to play second base. It is just that his arm strength, and skill set would be better utilized at third base. His range is not the greatest either, but he has a great glove, and can throw the ball very hard, and very accuratley. That too me has third base written all over it. Just to be clear though, I belive if the brewers can get a third baseman, it is a better idea to trade Hardy, because of the weak shortstop market.

The dodgers have alot of quality pitching in their system. I would not mind seeing Mcdonald, or Elbert in a brewers uniform.

Defensive stats are not reliable. Most defensive metrics however said that Billy had above average range when he was starting at short which is the most important thing. Hall makes his share of errors, but overall he is average to above average because of the extra outs he gets because of his range. Even if you dont like Hall's defense that much, you cant say that he isnt a much better option defensivley than aviles. If the royals dont sign Furcal, you could make the argument, that all things considered Hall is just as good an option as any of the remaining free agents.

Hall has much more upside than Teahen, and as others noted would play shortstop. So if Hall even puts up something close to what Teahen does, he has more value to the royals.

I am younger than most on this site, and have only been following baseball closely for about 3 years. So I do not remember Bobby V's managerial style. How does he handle the staff, is he very aggresive with pitching changes, or does he let his pitchers go longer, and get out of their own jams? Did Bobby V play alot of small ball, by that I mean bunting, and hit and run?

Yea I just saw that too, in the san diego tribune. It was a long shot he would have made it to us, but it would have been nice.

Tom Krasovic, of the San Digo Tribune, wrote an article saying that Kevin Towers, the Padres G.M., is listening to offers now. "Towers said he has heard from clubs interested in trading for ace pitcher Jake Peavy. "We're having talks," he said. The GM said he wouldn't be surprised if the Peavy talks heat up next month. Peavy will waive his no trade clause mainly for NL teams, although according to Tim Dierkes, from MLBtraderumors.com, Peavey's agent says he will may waive it for 3 AL teams.

The San Fransisco Giants have taken second baseman Travis Denker off of their 40 man roster. Denker is not the best defender, but he is a pretty good hitter. Denker gets on base, as good as just about any other minor league second baseman, he has never had an OBP under .360, and has 15-20 homerun power,and just turned 23. It might not be a bad idea for the Brewers to pick him up for their 25th roster spot. Denker can play third base a little as well, so he is not one-dimensional.

I am pretty sure Kemp is available due to their outfield logjam, but Kershaw not so much. Young pitchers are worth so much, and Kershaw has as high a ceiling as any pitcher around. Add in the fact that he is cost controlled for 5 more years, you would need to blow them away.

I dont think there is any way we can say with certainty that Mark A, made the Suppan signing, or said to go get some of the bullpen arms we picked up, or any of the other poor decisions. I am sure Mark A had some say in it, but to say that the bad signings are on Mark A is really unfair in my opinion.

Next year if Escobar is starting, he has to be in either the 7th or 8th spot in my opinion. Escobar next year would most likely be one of our worst starters as far as offense goes, so if he is leading off you are giving him more at-bats then you need to. Also the leadoff hitter is generally a guy that can get on base alot. Escobar hits for a good average, but his walk rate is bad, so unless he is hitting .300 he will not be getting on-base at a great clip. Down the road, I believe Escobar will be a very good hitter. Once he gets his walk rate, and power numbers up, he will be a good lead-off, or #2 hitter. I should also note that Escobar did take a step forward in walks, taking 31 free passes, the most of his career, and his power numbers hitting 8 homeruns, more than he did in all of his other years combined.

Free agents: F.Lopez(2 years/9 million plus club option), J.Cruz(3 years/12 million) re-signings/ options exercised: re-sign G.Kapler, and pick up Torres', and Cameron's options Trades: trade B.Hall and cash to royals for M.Teahen. J.J Hardy to san fran for J.Sanchez, and K.Pichardo Batting Order 2B) Weeks CF) Cameron LF) Braun 1B) Fielder RF) Hart 3B) Teahen SS) Escobar C) Kendall Bench: F.Lopez, G.Kapler, J.Gibbons, B.Nelson, and M.Rivera Rotation: 1- Gallardo, 2- J.Sanchez, 3- Parra, 4- Suppan, 5- Bush Bullpen Villanueva, Stetter, Coffey, Riske, Torres, McClung, and J.Cruz

Peavey will probably draw a better deal than CC, or Bedard got. I would imagine JJ, and either Gamel or Escobar would have to go.

Who else is out there?

He will have just over 5 years service time after this season. I am not an expert on this subject, but I belive after 6 seasons service time you are eligible for free agency. 2006 Bedard could have been super two, but I am not sure.

Drayton Moore the royals GM has sounded like he is going for it in 2009. He was quoted as saying "We're at a point now where you will never, ever hear me say again that we have young players who are improving. You will never, ever hear me say again that we are rebuilding. That stuff is over. I'm sick of all that." Does that mean they will bump their payroll up 20 million, I am not sure. Moore will probably have more freedom to make a move if he sees fit. The royals will have roughly 60 million tied up after arbitration raises. Teahen likely will get somewhere around 3 million, if we send 2 million over with Billy for the first year, it only cost the royals an extra 1.8 million. For Billy as a shortstop, I think it could be worth the risk.

I am trying to put together a list of all the available players who have been rumored to be available that the brewers could possibly have interest in. This is what I have got so far, with the players remaining contract in parenthesis. I also have the players stats linked to their name. Third Base COL) G.Atkins (2009-2010: arbitration) http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/atkinga01.shtmlSEA) A.Beltre (2009: 12 million) TEX) H.Blalock (2009: 6.2 million club option) FLA) J.Cantu ( 2009-2010: arbitration) LAA) C.Figgins (2009: arbitration) BAL) A.Huff ( 2009: 8 million) BAL) M.Mora (2009: 9 million) KC) M.Teahen (2009-2010: arbitration) Second Base NYY) R.Cano (09: 6M, 2010: 9M, 2011: 10M, 2012: 14M club option, 2013: 15M club option) ATL) K.Johnson (09-2011: arbitration) BAL) B.Roberts (09: 8 million) FLA) D.Uggla (09-2010: arbitration) Outfield NYY) M.Cabrera (2010-2012: arbitration) TB) C.Crawford (2009: 8.25M club option, 2010:10M club option) BOS) C.Crisp (2009: 5.75M, 2010: 8M club option) KC) D.DeJesus (2009: 3.6M, 2010: 4.7M, 2011: 6M club option) ATL) J.Francoeur (2009-2011: arbitration) FLA) J.Hermida (2009-2011: arbitration) LAD) M.Kemp (2010-2012: arbitration) DET) M.Ordonez (2009: 18M, 2010: 15M club option, 2011: 15M club option) SF) R.Winn (2009: 8.25 million) Starting Pitcher MIN) S.Baker (2010-2012:arbitration) SEA) E.Bedard (09:arbitration) MIN) N.Blackburn (2011-2013: arbitration) SF) M.Cain (2009: 2.65M, 2010: 4.25M, 2011: 6.25M club option) OAK) J.Duchscherer (2009-2010: arbitration) KC) Z.Greinke (2009-2010: arbitration) NYY) P.Hughes (2011-2013: arbitration) TB) E.Jackson (09-2011: arbitration) KC) G.Meche (2009: 11M, 2010: 12M, 2011: 12M) TEX) K.Millwood (2009: 11M, 2010:12M) club can void contract after 2009 if millwood does not get 180 innings in 09 FLA) S.Olsen (2009-2011: arbitration) SF) J.Sanchez (2010-2012: arbitration) CHW) J.Vazquez (2009: 11.5M, 2010: 11.5M) SDP) C.Young (2009: 4.5M, 2010: 6.25M, 2011: 8.5M club option) Relievers TOR) S.Downs (2009: 3.75M, 2010: 4M) FLA) K.Gregg (2009: arbitration) TOR) B.J. Ryan (2009: 10M, 2010: 10M) BAL) G.Sherrill (2009-2010: arbitration) OAK) H.Street (2009-2010: arbitration) http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/morame01.shtml

I can see alot of teams, actually the majority of teams feeling that way. There are probably a couple of teams out there like the royals who had a sluggish offense in 08 that would be willing to take a chance on Hall, if and this is the important thing the Brewers were throwing money their way as well. Say between 4 and 5 million over the next two years.

Endaround, are you suggesting that Billy has negative value? If Moore looks at it that way, then yes obviously they would just hang onto Teahen or non-tender him, which I do not see hapening.

Mark Teahen like Billy Hall had a very good 2006 season, and then proceeded to have a very poor 07, and 08. The fans in KC, just like in Milwaukee have turned against these players, and maybe both would benefit from a change of scenery. Teahen does not have the power, or upside that Billy has, but he does get on base better. Teahen bats lefty, without the dramatic platoon splits that billy has, and is much cheaper, 2009 will be his first arbitration year. The Brewers will most likely have to throw some money the royals way, but they still will save a couple of million.

Do you have a link to the Verlander rumor. I just cant imagine the Tigers who are in desperate need of pitching giving up Verlander for Hardy. To me Verlander is the only guy on the team with ace stuff. That would be a steal for the Brewers even with Verlander's poor 2008.

They cant sign him as a major league free agent without offering arbitration?