wishicouldhit

im just not a fan of penny, i dont think he has enough up side to consider. especially not worth it due to his injuries and lack luster 09.

i would have to agree with joepesi Considering we only have 2yrs left of prince, this just may be our "window". I dont think DM will hinder the future on signing pitchers to long term deals if they are not worth it (see: 2009 Lowe). But there are several average pitcher out there that can and depth and bring the rotation to mid pack, if not better. I should also bring up the organizations habit of pocketing money, it just doesn't happen. Remember the 10 mil that went towards Gagne, Melvin knew he had the money so he spent it. Same will be the case this year, the payroll will be around 85 not matter what.

The cardinals will always be in the race as long as they have larussa as a manager, if they arent able to resign Holliday it may be a close race between them and the brewers. I think it is safe to say that the crew will have 85-90 next season if they are able to add a couple of pitchers. Hopefully with the acquisition of two good SP's (and they produce), I would assume there record to be close to 90 wins. Does anyone know the date to the start of free agency???

Ha, well both i guess. but i meant BREWER UNI

there is plenty of quality pitchers (not great) that the brewers will be able to get on fair deals due to their financial flexability and other teams taking measures to cut back. im not saying sign a bunch of guys to 3 and 4yr deals but the brewers can get some one or two year deals so we might have the budget room to get prince after his contract is up.

I cant agree anymore, which is a rare thing for me. I think there is a 100% chance that bedard, harden, sheets, or duchscherer will be in a uniform in 2010.

I also feel that Wolf and Lackey will be the only pitchers that will for sure get 3+ years. I think the brewers will have 3 choices in adding two SP: sign a quality FA pitcher, sign one of the injury prone pitchers on a one or two year deal (not counting mulder), or trade Gamel for a pitcher with 2+ years left on his deal. I see Mulder getting a minor league deal, which will add much needed depth.

Does anyone else think we just pocket the money we are saving? Absolutely not, since Mark A has been taken the over organization he has always made moves to improve the club. He is a businessman and understands the importance of keeping fans interested. Here are some of the moves that he has made to better the team rather than save money: trade Laporta and Brantley for Sabathia (mortgage the future of a half season of a pitcher who will get to the playoffs and raise attendance), sign Cameron twice, and bring in Jeff Suppan. I know the Suppan signing is unpopular today but at the time it showed a commitment to building a team that would be competitive.

Last season I was hoping the brewers would go after Wolf. Instead they paid a little less for Looper. For 2010 and beyond Ithink Wolf iss a better deal than Lackey, simply do to the fact that he cost less and will take fewer years than Lackey. My guess is that 2yrs at 10 mil per would make him a brewer. I highly doubt he will get offered a 4 year deal. With the extra money DM could bring in another pitcher (Sheets, Bedard, Davis, or Washburn) and still have a little financial flexibility at the trade deadline. More importantly the crew has to keep financial flexibility so they may have a chance resign Fielder.

why did i put down hudson twice, 2 wrong already

depending if gamel can take the 3b job from McGehee Weeks Escobar Braun Fielder McGehee Hart C P Gomez OR Weeks Escobar Braun Feilder Hart Gamel C P Gomez these are 2 possibilities, I could see a platton with gomez and Gerut in CF im guessing Gerut would bat 2 and escobar would move to 8 or 9th

how about salome for doumit?

Most of us assumed that the brewers would sign one SP and trade hardy/gamel for another pitcher when Mevlin addmitted his plans to getting 2 SPs. The only way I would approve of the brewers trading Gamel is if they can acquire a #1 or a very good #2 SP with at least 2yrs on their contract. As of right now i just dont see that happening unless we could somehow get Josh Johnson. So I think they may sign any of the injury prone pitchers like sheet, duke or bedard and go after a washburn or davis type. I think it would be safe to say we could get any of those guys on 2yr 18 mil deal. This would solidify our pitching for the next two years and keep money to resign the prince.

With the recent trade sending J.J. Hardy to the Twins for the young unproven CF Carlos Gomez begs the question, are the Brewers going to be a team that is built around speed and small ball? Excluding the catcher and Fielder it seems every position player will be able to snag 15 plus bases. Just for argument sake I am penciling in Gamel instead of McGehee at 3B. Leading the team in steals would be Escobar and Gomez which can easily have 30-40 SB if they were everyday players. Hart and Weeks probably would get 20 SB each assuming they both come off injury ridden seasons and Melvin forces Macha to forget his Oakland days. The reasons I put Gamel over McGehee in the lineup is because he has a more potential and is an asset due to his power combined with his ability to steal 15 bases. Braun falls into the same category of a player with similar power and speed. Not that I would ever dream of losing Fielder but would this be a way to cut cost while still having competitive team with a sustainable salary? Projected line up SS Escobar RF Hart LF Braun 1B Feilder 2B Weeks 3B Gamel C _____ P ______ CF Gomez

What does this do to his Rule 5 standing? Will the brewers not need to put him on the 40 man roster?

Assuming hardy is traded (-5 mil) and none of the other free agents are resigned, this only gives them ~ 17 mil to get 2 pitchers, a catcher, and a CF. It is going to be very difficult to fill all those holes and stay at $80 million. My suggestion would be: trade Gamel + prospects for Josh Johnson, a top of the roation pitcher with 2 yrs of arb left. Sign an injury prone palyer (sheet, bedard, duscherer, harden) for 2yrs 15-18 million. With the remaining 4million, the crew can only spend it on, Salome 4k or Kendall (1 mil and "please dont"), counsel 1 Mil, Cat/kapler type hopfully no more than 2 mil. And thats all she wrote, we are broke BUT STILL NOT BANKRUPT LIKE THE STINKING CUBBIES. * I should also note that 1) I am not excited to get rid of gamel, but it just might be needed. 2) I think losing lopez will be a mojor problem, without looking at stats I think it is fair to say, when he was on the roster it created the most consistent offense the brewers have had in years. 3) i am not convinced Salome is major league ready but considering he dealt with injuries last year it may help him to only play 3 games a week. plus Luccroy needs to play full time at AAA

I highly doubt Bush will be non-tendered. Eventhough he is clearly not a #1 or 2 pitcher, there would still be several teams that would take a fly at him for $4 million or less. I do agree with non-tendering McClung.

I got a 20 pack (fans choice) the last 2 year for infield loge, 4 tickets pergame. With the increase of tutition I am looking to cut down on spending but dont want to give up my season tickest. My only request is that I get the 6 bobblehead games, and a couple of cubs games. As for playoff tix, I think it would work if we split the games or each party would get 2 tickets to each game.

And to answer the first question posted about the line up, the leadoff spot easily goes weeks. I dont think Escobar will be ready to leadoff for at least 2 years. He just doesn't have the plate discipline or OBP. I should also add that I believe he will spend a good amount of time in the 8th or 9th hole.

Considering I am the one that started this "anti-Cameron" movement, I think I should explain my rational thought process in more depth. I like Cameron and I think he was a valuable part of the 08 & 09 brewers. He not only has a good defense but he also has a quality bat. The bottom line is that the brewers' top priority is to get 2 starting pitchers. No matter what. This argument will make more sense if you look at evidence. Last year Doug Melvin gave the reason for bringing back Cameron because it would make up for our lack-luster rotation that can't get anyone out. Once again I like Cameron but as we learn from the 2009 experiment, you can't make the playoff with the worst pitching staff in baseball. Also look at Peterson's comments from a recent jsonline blog "they won 80 games with a (rotation) ranked last in the league. If you can just get it to the middle of the pack, you're probably looking at 90 wins." If the brewers DON'T option Looper and push Sup to long relief/ back up starter they will have 2 hole, or as we should call them 2 "opportunities". With our 2 opportunities we need to bring in a #2 and #3 starting pitcher. In my opinion this would bump their rotation to 10-15th best in baseball. I am assuming that DM will try trade for one and sign a free agent probably not lackey (too much money), maybe Wolf or Hudson type. Another lesser choice would be to get a #3 like Washburn or Davis. A more risky and less likely option would be to take a fly at Duscherer or Sheets. Though this seems to be a popular choice to save some cap room, I doubt either of these 2 will sign less than 1 yr 7 mil. *Also don't suggest incentive rich deals because they never exist. If I may paraphrase Melvin, we will have to give up offense to get pitching[/i]. Yes this means trade hardy and not l resigns Lopez. But it also implies that every move he makes this season will be pitching based. I am willing to bet that there will be no large financial move made this offseason until Doug acquires two starting pitchers. Assuming the payroll doesn't extend above 85 million there is no way to get 2 SPs and resign Cameron for 8+ mil. It's not that I am anti Cameron because I am not, but just using logic and information that the members of the organization have talked about, it's unlikely that Cameron will be resigned.

I can't agree with you anymore. If Gamel is traded this year we better get at least 2-3 years of a very good pitcher. Off the top of my head, Josh Johnson is the only other pitcher that I would trade for Gamel

I have a hunch that Hart is in line for a breakout 2010 campaign. There is no sense in trading him after a slow start and a bunch of injuries this season, his value is way to low. the crew would never get adequate value for him. and its not like we have a stud prospect pushing him out the door (see: escobar v hardy). If I was Doug Melvin, and had to make the choice to not sign cam and keep hart or trade hart for a B level prospect and sign cam with less money for SP, I would lean towards letting cam walk. Not to mention I love Joepepsi's idea of pairing Kapler up with Gerut, cheap and effective. Plus we can keep Cat as our other outfielder and still have enough money for two SP

I assume cameron is gone because melvin said they were going to sacrafice offense for starting pitching. If we sign Cameron how can we afford to pay for 2 starting pitchers???? I think he is good for a team, but the bottom line the money is spent better elsewhere.

Maybe we are looking at this backwards.... Should we first look at our trading chips (hardy, gamel, hart, salome, weeks, and McGehee) then find the best deal for a pitcher in return? I just have a feeling this offseason we wll trade for a pitcher and sign a free agent, which will fill our need for a #2 and #3 pitcher. Where are the brewers going to get them from?

With the assumption that Cam will sign elsewhere and Hardy is used as trade bait, here is my 1-9. Vs. Righties 2B Weeks CF Gerut LF Braun 1B Fielder 3B MeGehee RF Hart C Rivera P ______ SS Escobar Vs. Lefties 2B Weeks SS Escobar LF Braun 1B Fielder 3B MeGehee RF Hart CF Gerut C Rivera P ______