Well clearly this thread was intended for me and my pessimism towards this offseason. Before I share my thoughts I want to apologize to all those I have annoyed with my negative and panicky rantings. I dont mean to tick anyone off, I am just very frustrated and need somewhere to vent. As far as losing CC is concerned I am not surprised or overly upset about it. I knew we couldnt compete financially with the yankees who as usual have to bid against themselves and eventually win. CC was great while we had him and essential in getting us to the playoffs and for that I thank him. Unfortunately since he signed with the yankees who I despise more than any other team in sports I cannot and will not say I wish him well in pinstripes. Now this is where my venting begins. Ben Sheets who is in the same class as CC as a pitcher and has been a Brewer for 8 yrs can be had for less years and less money per year than CC. Ben is a great pitcher and a career long Brewer who I believe is a must sign if we can get him anywhere near the 3 yr/ 40 mil amount yet all I hear is that we havent and may never make him an offer. This completely infuriates me. As I have said many times before pay for excellence or dont waste your time with free agency because mediocrity gets paid like our very own Jeff Suppan. If we were willing to give Suppan a 4 yr deal for 42 mil then we should be willing and able to meet Ben Sheets asking price. As for other free agents; I just dont see the use in overpaying a Suppan type like Garland (yes I realize I have used him as my whipping boy in nearly every post lately) or an inconsistent pitcher like Oliver Perez. Burnett is way overpriced and not as good as Sheets and Lowe is good but too old for the 5 yr deal he will get from someone. That really leaves the choice of signing Ben Sheets who has been a great Brewer or overpaying for mediocrity which is never smart. I juts cant see us going into next season with a rotation of Gallardo, parra, Bush, Suppan, McClung. That rotation is not good enough to make the playoffs with and adding a Paul Byrd type is just not enough. I would also hate to see us trade Fielder or Hardy and open up another hole when signing Sheets would mean the rotation would go from huge question mark to solid. In summation I have the idea in my head that Melvin had all his eggs in Sabathia and now that we dont have him in the fold we will once again be an also ran like the pirates and reds. After all the losing years we have had to endure I would hate to see us take a huge step backwards but that is where I fear we are headed. Again I apologize to all regarding my cynicism but as of now I do not feel good about the direction this team is headed.