It'll never happen because of being in the same division, but I'd trade Axford for Alonso as much as I like Axford. Closers are generally overpaid in arbitration and I'm more of the Billy Beane style myself. I bet they'd consider it if Axford didn't play for the Brewers.
I wish I would've been reading this post back in July before the trade deadline. Instead, we were stuck with inept Betancourt. Melvin sat on his hands and showed his arrogant side by sticking with Yuni in spite of the majority of people rightfully suggesting he's not a MLB starter at SS. Yuni had the exact same OPS in the 2nd half as Furcal (.718), and a much better postseason. Furcal even had a lower FP with the Cards (.958) than Yuni (.965) had as a Brewer. The Brewers were 47-23 (.671) after the break with Yuni. It's hard to imagine what Furcal could have done to improve on that record.He would've taken away from the Cardinals. I remember at least one game that Furcal won single-handedly (over the shoulder catch against the Brewers)
As a fan, I see myself getting psyched up for Jose Reyes. But as a realist, it just seems like a bad move. As he gets older, he's going to get demonstrably worse. But, with that being said, I don't think he's Carl Crawford 2.0.
The hot stove is about to get warm. I figure we could have a little contest for bragging rights and guess where the top free agents will go. Here's MLBTR's guesses:
If we can platoon him, I think he'd be a good option. But he's pretty dreadful against lefties, and who knows if they want to keep an extra righty on the bench for that (although a power hitter PH is long overdue on this team)
It's funny that people actually believe the Brewers have the money to sign either Prince or Reyes this offseason. The money is not there. Yup. This is going to be a disappointing off-season for some. Expect bullpen signings then an average SS (like a Barmes). Nothing more than that. They'll go internal with 1B, but probably pick up an aging vet like Derrek Lee in case Gamel/McGehee fall on their faces.
The Brewers have inquired on him before: http://brewersfandemonium...-inquired-on-James-Loney He's likely to get around $6 million in arbitration which may mean the Dodgers non-tender him (but I doubt it), but I think his numbers would significantly improve if you took him out of Dodger Stadium. Anyone else on board?