monty57

Just don't give D. Lee a no trade clause :-)

A lot can happen in a year and a half. I wouldn't rule any team out of the Fielder sweepstakes at this point.

I have one of those friend-of-a-friend things, but in speaking with someone who knows Trevor, he is the type that likes to settle into a city/team. That's why he was willing to pay for something like $4MM in San Diego before they withdrew the offer, and why I don't even think he talked with anyone other than the Brewers this offseason. That said, I'd have to think that he'd jump at the chance to be an "everyday closer" again, as he would like to get to 600. One would think he'd like a shot at the post-season as well, since he's not exactly young anymore, so his chances are running out.

There's an article on milwaukeebrewers.com about this. Hoffman has a partial no trade clause, so he has some say on the matter. As it stands, Villanueva has been sent down to make room for Hawkins in the 25 man, and Zaun is going to be sent to the 60-day to make room on the 40-man. McCalvy speculated that the Brewers may wait until Saturday to send Villy down in case a trade was made, but he was sent down after yesterday's game. I don't know if there are any service time issues, a la JJ Hardy. I would think Hoffman could get traded, as could Coffey (one year of arby left). I doubt we'd see any takers on Riske. Hawkins' injury and the year remaining on his deal probably make him untradeable.

Let's not forget, while Hart is having a career year he also had a .897 OPS in 2007, and the Brewers will be better next year if Cain is the starting CF with Hart in RF instead of Cain in RF and Gomez in CF. Not if Hart does what he did after that .897 OPS season, which is to post a .750-ish OPS in 2008. We would probably be far better with Cain in CF, Gamel (or FA) in RF and the #3 starter we got for Hart in the rotation. Heck, we might even be better with the OF you proposed, as Gomez's defense could make up for the difference in OPS. if the best offer Melvin had on the table was Jonathan Sanchez (and the Giants reportedly weren't even willing to move him), he made the right move in standing pat. Very true. However, if the only reason that was the best offer was that he insisted that we get someone who is "MLB Proven," then I think he was handcuffing himself in trade talks. If he insists on a proven MLB pitcher, then he will find the best deal in the offseason, as very few playoff teams will trade a pitcher out of their starting rotation in the middle of a playoff hunt. Conversely, a team hungry for the playoffs could get desparate and overpay with prospects, as wins now become viewed as being more important than potential wins in the future. As I said earlier, I really think Melvin wanted to trade Hart before the deadline, as he's worried that his bat will cool off, hurting his value by the offseason. In my mind, that's why all the rumors were surrounding Hart (who could be a flash in the pan) and not so much around Fielder (who is a good player). I think he was trying to get the best deal possible, which he probably thought could increase as the deadline approached, and unfortunately Hart got hurt, basically taking him off the market until the offseason. It's possible he comes back tomorrow, shows he's healthy and a trade is made, but it would take a GM with some fortitude to make the deal. We now have to hope that Hart stays hot through the end of the year.

That's why I like the high K Vazquez :-) If Escobar can live up to his potential, then I think Casey's not that terrible an option at 3B. He makes all the plays he gets to... he just has bad range. Escobar is supposed to be a super-range SS, which should make up for Casey's lack of range. Cain should be decent in CF, and shouldn't really be a downgrade from this season. Gamel needs to get playing RF ASAP if that's where they want him. Dunn would make a big target but he's not a good fielder. He's replacing Prince so it could be a wash. That said, the group I put together would probably be about even with this year's defense, and we're pretty bad. I'm always up for any way to improve. We could sacrifice some offense and sign Derrick Lee for 1B. That would definitely help our IF defense, but he's hitting like Bill Hall this year. We could also look for a different RF, but then what do we do with Gamel?

There isn't really a big need for someone to fill in behind Gallardo next year though. All of the Brewers prospects are going to be coming around in 2012 so it would be better to have Perez than Holland. We'll still have talent on our team next year (and plenty of money to fill in holes), with a big need for pitching. While I really just want to see the most talent coming back, we could use someone in our rotation next season. Then when some of our other pitchers start to get MLB ready, the pitcher we'd get in the Fielder trade would have a season or two under his belt. I'd prefer having the pitchers come to the majors a little more sporadically (1-2 a season) rather than having a scenario where we have 3-4 rookie starting pitchers on the team in one season. Not only would they likely have some major growing pains, where we'd almost have to sacrifice a year or two until they all gelled, but we'd also lose them all in the same year. This would lead to another situation like we're just coming out of where we had a small 2-3 year window where we had a shot at the playoffs. That said, if we have a choice of a superstar prospect in AA or a #4/5 ceiling guy in the majors, I'll take the prospect. I'd hope that with Fielder and Hart to trade, we can find one young, MLB-ready guy who figures to be at least a #3. That's why I got so excited with the idea that Hart could bring the MLB-ready guy. Then I figured we could just get the best package of talent (regardless of level) for Fielder.

As noted above, our team will be nothing unless we can add atleast one more elite pitcher (Cliff Lee, Zach Greinke, Dan Haren, etc...) everything else is window dressing In my post above I was trying to show that going for it all next year would probably be really bad for the future of the franchise. I'd love to get another top of the rotation guy to go along with Yo, but going all in for 2011 would probably not be a good idea. Even if we offered Cliff Lee 6 years / $138MM, the Yankees would offer him 6 years / $150MM. They are rumored to want him (and possibly Carl Crawford) really bad, so signing him would be crippling to the Brewers. Zach Grienke is only signed for two more years, so trading some of our best prospects to get him would only help us for one or two years, and then hurt us after that. I've lobbied for Haren since someone put up a thread in the Trade Forum section that he was available. However, as noted by others, Dan Haren had a no trade clause, and the Brewers were probably not an option for the Diamondbacks. If we're realistically looking at what we should do prior to next season, I'd completely change what I posted above. We need to trade Fielder and Hart. I'd look for a young guy who could fit into the rotation next year and higher ceiling guys (pitchers and hitters) who are not yet "MLB ready." I'd try to sign Dunn or Konerko to play 1B. I'd move Gamel to RF right now so that he gets some experience and hopefully can play the position on the Brewers next year. I'd also try to extend Rickie Weeks for a couple years and Lucroy to a Braun-type deal. 1B Dunn, 2B Weeks, SS Escobar, 3B McGehee, LF Braun, CF Cain, RF Gamel, C Lucroy Bench: Gomez, Kottaras, Katin, Counsell, some other utility guy like Inglett I think this offense could be as good as our current offense. Dunn should come close to Fielder's numbers, while Braun hitting closer to his norms and a year's experience under Escobar & Lucroy should make up for Hart's hot season. If he could be had for a reasonable price/length, I'd try to sign Javier Vazquez, who is a high K pitcher having a so-so year with the Yankees, so he may be a bit under the radar. He's in his mid-30's, so I wouldn't sign him for too long. SP Yo, Vazquez, {guy from Fielder/Hart trade}, Wolf, Parra/Rivas/Rogers/Narveson Relief: Axford, Braddock, Loe, Coffey, Hawkins, Parra/Narveson, Rogers (I believe Rogers has to be on the Brewers next year or we lose him, so if he isn't a starter, he could be in the pen) Not as sexy as the team I put together in my first post, but much more realistic. If we added Dunn/Konerko and Vazquez along with the guys from the Fielder & Hart trades, I think we could still be a competitive team without sacrificing our future.

If we traded them, it would be to a contender, so the aging vets would have a shot at a World Series ring. I doubt they'd complain. Counsell would probably just sign back with Milwaukee next year.

I think things have gotten less gentlemanly in recent years. Agreed. The game has become much more business-like and less old school in recent years. In today's game, I can't imagine that the Yankees and Red Sox are going to sit by and do nothing if they know that the Rays are working on a deal for Hart.

but I'm guessing Melvin would listen on any player, but only pull the trigger if he feels it's beneficial to his club I'd hope that Melvin's phone has a keypad on it, but from recent inactivity, I'd guess that it only accepts calls and doesn't call out. To be clear, I would love to see Hart moved for a solid #3 with a few years of arby. But, that doesn't mean that anyone is willing to offer that. And, it certainly doesn't mean that anyone has offered that. I totally agree. Maybe the best deal will come in the offseason. But if we walk away when all is said and done, and Melvin cannot turn two of the best bats on the market, both having another year of team control, into something of value, including at least one #3 (or better) caliber starter for next year's rotation, than I will stand by my assertation that this string of events will probably change my opinion of Melvin. When a deal is being made, there are two sides. If other teams aren't calling, call them. Other GMs seem to be able to trade their players during the season for something of value, but unless Melvin trades Fielder in the next couple of days, it will make two seasons in a row that he has essentially sat on his hands. I still have hope that Melvin will make the right moves. As I said, I have long been a supporter. But, if he can't, and he continues with the "all anyone's offering is A-ball prospects" quotes, then I think it's probably time to find someone who can converse with other GM's and strike deals. Who knows, maybe other GM's are only offering A-ball prospects because of their feelings about Melvin. Feel free to continue to watch and believe that there are no deals to be made. I'll assume that there probably are. Neither of our assumptions can be "proven true." I like Melvin, as he's turned a wasteland into a decent franchise top to bottom. However, we're moving into the next phase of the long-term rebuilding process. We wasted a chance last season to add some decent talent by trading guys like Hoffman and Cameron (again, feel free to believe that no one would've traded for them, and I'll believe they would have). I've said for quite a while now that the time from now to the start of next season will be very important to the future of the franchise. We will have a lot of money to spend, we have some prime trading chips and we have some good young talent. I don't like seeing potential opportunities wasted. Maybe it will turn out for the best and we will get wonderful deals in the offseason. Or, maybe Hart will go into a nosedive and Fielder will blow out a knee on the final day of this season and will miss all next year. There's risk in making a deal and risk in waiting. I hope Melvin chooses correctly.

While I agree with you about the injury, if I were a GM, I'd want to make sure he was healthy before I'd trade for him, and one game probably wouldn't be enough proof. I also have some doubts about him clearing waivers, as he's not very expensive and having a very good year. I'd guess he doesn't get traded and then we have to hope he stays hot and doesn't get hurt so that we can get something for him in the offseason.

Yes, that's what I meant. Thanks

Thanks for the link kramnoj. That was a good read. Not surprising that the agent who was quoted against doing the deals was Scott Boras, and it seemed he was mostly upset that the deals bring down the average pay, hurting his commissions. When I mentioned Braun, Longoria, Tulo, etc, I was referring to the uprising of deals done when the player was still in early arbitration. If I recall correctly (and I may not recall correctly), Fielder and Hart were offered the extensions when they were in their final year of arbitration (as Prince was complaining that he got $600k instead of matching Ryan Howard's $900k), which greatly reduces the risk to the team, but also reduces the benefit to the player. That would be more like what we did with Bill Hall than what we did with Braun. After reading the article you referenced, there is obviously no hope that any Boras client will ever sign an extension prior to free agency, but I think the best bet when you are dealing with someone you consider to be a "core player" for your team for years to come is to offer the extension when they still have some pre-arby years left. That adds risk, but allows you to sign a deal like the Brewers got with Braun and the Rays got with Longoria. I'd probably pass on offering a deal to Escobar right now, as he's not showing signs of being elite. He'll likely improve, but I'd wait to extend him until he does. However, I would probably look to lock Lucroy up after this season. Axford and McGehee don't make sense due to their age, as we'll have them through their prime no matter what, and they'll be at the end of their prime when they hit free agency. Braddock doesn't make sense because of injury history (and he's a middle reliever). We'll have a lot of decisions to make on players over the next few years, and I like that the Brewers are willing to take the risk and sign guys early. Again, thanks for the reference as it's good to have a case study in John Hart's 1990's Indians to show how these deals can lead a mid-market team to the Promised Land.

Free agent signings and trades that were made seem like a better measuring stick, IMO. Okay, what we do know is that Hart was on the trading blocks, and San Francisco, Atlanta and the Rays showed interest. Hart said he would like the Brewers to talk about an extension prior to trading him, and he was still shopped. Melvin did not enact a trade for Hart. Hart got hurt during this period, making him virtually untradeable. Now we get into opinion (if all we did was talk about trades which have occurred, there wouldn't be much to talk about on these boards). I feel that Melvin, like many others, has concern over Hart's ability to stay hot, as he is coming off of two .750 OPS seasons. Melvin really wanted to take advantage of Hart's hot start and trade him before he cooled off. Rather than taking the offers he was being given, Melvin held out, hoping the offers would go up and the trade deadline approached. This risk didn't pay off, as Hart got hurt. We now have to hope that Hart will come back healthy and continue to hit well for the remainder of the season, or his value could drop significantly in the offseason. I think that Melvin really wanted to wait for the offseason for Fielder, but wanted to trade Hart now. Sometimes GMs have to be judged based on moves that aren't made as well as those that are. If this blows up on Melvin, and we get little in return for Hart, or if he really falls off a cliff or gets hurt and we are unable to trade him this offseason, then we have to look at this as a negative for Melvin. Sure we don't know exactly what was offered, but we do know that various sources all over the country stated that there was interest in Hart. I don't have the greatest faith in the integrity of reports as a whole, but it's hard to believe that numerous reporters across the country were just making stuff up. I agree that some of the "rumors" were speculation, for example, it seemed there was valid ground for believing Hart for Sanchez was a possibility, but then people started saying "maybe we could get Bumgardner," which wasn't in the realm of possible. Hart for Wade Davis seemed a possibility, and then that blew up into "what about Hellickson?" And the Braves have a lot of good pitching prospects, and they were probably willing to trade some for Hart, and of course the speculation blew up into "Hart for Minor." It is opinion, but I believe that Melvin could have pulled off a deal that would have brought in a near-MLB-ready #3-ish starter for Hart. Not a superstar, but someone who's probably better than much of what we currently have. Since no deal was made, in the future we will have to judge Melvin on the team on the field. That includes all of the moves that were made, but also potential deals that could have been made. I'm not into speculating on FAs that didn't sign, and I understand that Dan Haren probably wouldn't have accepted a trade here. What I do know is that last season we could've traded players like Cameron and Hoffman for some decent return and this year we could have traded Hart and Fielder. No moves happened. We got nothing for Cameron, Hoffman almost single-handedly cost us this season, and we'll have to wait and see what happens with Fielder and Hart. Sometimes doing nothing is the best option, but it is a conscious decision and Melvin has to take credit/blame for inaction as well as action.

Well, they've already tried twice with Prince and he doesn't seem interested in sticking around. Hart has given lip service to wanting to stay, but his agent apparently doesn't want to work anything out with Melvin. Maybe Rickie Weeks is a possibility. I do agree that I really don't want them playing around too much in free agency. Hopefully Melvin has learned his lessons and will try to be much more efficient with how he spends his payroll going forward. Yeah, the chance of extending Fielder is zero. In his latest interview, Prince admitted there are no talks going on, and he wants to play 1B "wherever he'll be in 2012". He will test free agency, and if the Brewers want him, they have to be the biggest bidder for him in FA. Extending Hart scares me. Of course I like the season he's having, but he's coming off back-to-back .750 OPS seasons, so he seems like a guy we'd be saying to stay away from in free agency. I would like to see Weeks extended, and I'd like to see more Braun-style contracts going out to players when they're still pre-arby. It adds risk, but it locks up core talent for an extended period, and adds cost certainty. I'd have no problem with trading Fielder for a young "top of the rotation talent" guy and then extending him out. In fact, I'd love it if that happened. Our "first group" of young talent came along just before the trend of locking guys up early. That started with Braun, Tulo, Longoria, etc. We missed out on it with Fielder, and hopefully we can maximize his value in trade. Hopefully, the Braun-style deals continue in the future, and we take advantage of it going forward. Lock up the superstars/core players and go year-to-year with the rest. Trade players for prospects when you don't have a shot at the playoffs and prospects for players when you do.

Bladkin, from the article you referenced: So, I did…or more correctly, Doug Drinen and I did. We’d been discussing the concept of protection for a while, but this summer we finally broke down and did something about it with play-by-play data. Using Retrosheet event files we were able to estimate the impact of every on-deck hitter on the current hitter from 1984-1992. The play-by-play data allowed us to control for the game situation during every plate appearance. While we were looking at protection, we were also curious in identifying another possible spillover, which we call the effort externality. While having a good hitter batting behind you might put more balls in the strike-zone, it doesn’t mean these pitches are of the same quality than with a poor hitter on-deck. It’s not that the pitcher just wants to avoid walking a batter when a good hitter follows. The pitcher wants to keep the hitter off-base any way he can. Pitchers are not dumb. They understand that putting more balls in the strike-zone increases the chance that the hitter will reach base via a hit, possibly with power. So, pitchers may reach back for a little extra gas in these situations. This means that a good on-deck hitter has reason to lower a current batter’s chances of reaching base via a walk AND a hit. If the effort effect is larger than the protection effect, then a good on-deck hitter can hurt rather than help the batter in front of him. Since the effect is ambiguous we need to go to the data. So, according to this guy, there is an effect in that the pitcher will throw more strikes in an effort not to walk the batter in front of the great hitter. He seems to believe that the pitcher actually tries harder (throws harder, uses his best pitch more) in order to not allow the person in front of the great hitter to get on base. Therefore, if the hitter in front of the great hitter is not also a very good hitter, he would seem to get out much more. However, someone like Ryan Braun could definitely take advantage of a pitcher throwing harder (he loves fastballs) and throwing more strikes (he doesn't have great plate discipline). If I'm reading the preceding paragraph correctly, than it could add up to a perfect scenario for someone like Braun who destroys balls in the strike zone, but often swings at pitches outside of the zone. Those players who would seem to be hurt would be players who like taking walks, as the chance for walks seems diminished, and players who just aren't that good, as the pitcher rears back and throws his best pitches in order to not have a player on base when the great player comes up. So, if you take everyone that played during an extended period (the impact of every on-deck hitter on the current hitter from 1984-1992) the results would be likely to even out, as some players will be helped while others will be hurt. What the author seemed to find is that the overall effect was that players hitting in front of a great player was hurt, which is interesting, but understandable, as there aren't that many "very good" or "great" players batting in front of other great players. Therefore, the average would sway to the negative (there are more people hurt than are helped). But what it does show is that there is an effect ("having a good hitter batting behind you might put more balls in the strike-zone" and "The pitcher wants to keep the hitter off-base any way he can"). The interesting thing I find is that the protection can have either a positive or negative effect, and this effect would be simpy depend on the skillset of the batter hitting in front of the great player. I also don't understand how the author determines that a negative effect proves non-existance ("The results lead us to not only reject the protection hypothesis, but also we find evidence that good on-deck hitters actually harm the hit and power probabilities of the current batter"), as a negative effect is an effect, and therefore must exist (a good on-deck hitter can hurt rather than help the batter in front of him). Of course when something helps some and hurts others ("For his “protectors” and “protectees” he finds mixed results."), the average should come out to somewhere near zero ("the magnitude of the spillover is tiny and for all practical purposes the effect is zero. Even very good (bad) hitters have only a very small impact on the batters who precede them") So, from reading that article, I would say there is an effect. On some hitters, it is positive, and on some hitters it is negative. If you add up all the positives and all the negatives and average them out, the result is slightly negative. The result for me would be to place someone who can hit strikes but doesn't have great plate discipline (Corey Hart, Ryan Braun) in front of a great hitter (Prince Fielder). I would not put someone who isn't a great hitter, but has good plate discipline in front of a great hitter, as it may have a negative effect.

In the pre-game interview last night, Prince seemed kind of giddy at the possibility of being traded to a contender. It would be hard as a player knowing you may be packing up and moving the family and you have no control, but the interview last night made me think that in Prince's mind he'll be playing on a different team this season. On a different note: General manager Doug Melvin will want to trade Fielder at peak value. For that to happen, multiple teams must bid up the price. I understand supply and demand, but why does there absolutely have to be multiple teams bidding up the price in order to attain peak value? Granted, more teams increases the potential that one of the teams will make an offer you like, but I don't think a limited marketplace this season means you can't get the best deal. What about the increased supply of available talent in the offseason? What about less time under team control? What about the emotional aspect of the GM fighting for the playoff spot this season (and the potential that the GM's job could hinge on making the playoffs)? We don't need multiple offers, we just need one team to make a fair offer, and Melvin to see that as a fair offer and not assume that he'll automatically get a better offer in December.

Wow. I had this almost exact fear when the Brewers signed Sabathia in 2008 - that he'd get drilled in his first start and send our hopes and dreams down the drain. Not that the Angels' hopes and dreams are sunk already.I'll have this fear the rest of the season for Hart and Fielder. If they don't get traded by Saturday, which is looking unlikely, I hope they stay healthy and productive for the rest of the season. Any significant injury to either of them could really hurt their trade value this offseason, and therefore hurt the future of the franchise.

McCalvy just did an article on milwaukeebrewers.com that Hart is likely to stay in Milwaukee. Honestly, injuries have basically taken away any chance for the Brewers to trade anyone. My big reason to tune in recently was to see if there was any trade news. Now the Brewers can play to a near-.500 season (much like 2009), missing the playoffs by a fairly large margin, hoping all along that Hart can continue some semblance of what he did in the first half. With the Brewers' luck, Hart will revert to his late 2008 self and we won't find anyone who wants him next season, and we'll end up paying $7-8MM for a .750 OPS RF in 2011. That will coincide with Prince hurting himself on the last day of the season, forcing him to sit out 2011. Sorry, recent events just don't have me in a very upbeat mood. I've been a Melvin supporter for a long time. However, if we end up getting less than we were reportedly offered this season, I may have to start calling for his head.

The best chance to go for it next year just got traded to the Angels. That said, if I'm going for it next year here's what I do (Editor's note: I absolutely would not do this in any real life situation) Trade whatever prospects it takes to get Zack Grienke (Lawrie, Odorizzi, whatever). Sign Cliff Lee to a $20+MM / year deal (outbid the Yankees... we'll have the money next year) Trade Coffey and Hawkins for salary relief of $7MM That will give us a rotation of Lee $23MM, Grienke $13.5MM, Yo $3.25MM, Wolf $9.5MM, Parra $1MM Total starting pitchers $50.25 1B Fielder $15MM 2B Weeks $5MM SS Escobar $.4MM 3B McGehee/Gamel $.4MM LF Braun $4MM CF Cain $.4MM RF Hart $7.5MM C Lucroy $.4 Total Position players $33.1MM C Kottaras $.4 Bench Gamel/McGehee $.4 Bench Minor vet middle infielder pickup (or re-sign Counsell at a discount) $1.5MM Bench Gomez $1.5MM Bench Lawrie (or if traded to get Grienke then Katin) $.4MM Total bench $4.2MM Closer Axford $.4 Relief Braddock $.4 Relief Loe $.4 Relief Rogers $.4MM Relief Jeffress $.4 Relief Rivas or someone else from minors $.4MM Relief Narveson $.4MM Total bullpen $2.8MM That puts me around $90.35MM. Then when the season's done, you lose Fielder, Weeks and Hart, you've used service time in the bullpen/bench for some of your best prospects, and you're stuck with Cliff Lee's albatross contract for about six years. You also would've traded some good prospects to get Grienke, so you'd probably better trade him after 2011 to re-coup some young talent, as he'd be a FA after 2012.

Everyone has way too high of expectations for what the brewers should get back in a deal, If by everyone you are including Doug Melvin, then I'm with you. I am not proposing "trading just to make a trade," but if we could have turned one hot half-season of Hart into a young #3-ish SP with 5-6 years of team control, I'd say we were crazy not to do it. If any of the rumors are even remotely true, then I'd be extremely happy with the return. I'm not talking about the dream scenario of somehow getting Baumgarner or Hellickson, I'm talking about the Wade Davis types, which really seemed to have some base in reality. It seems Melvin is looking for either someone who is "MLB proven," which you won't get mid-season or someone who is a sure fire top of the rotation guy, which you aren't going to get for Hart. We'll probably never know for sure what offers were made, but if Melvin turned down Wade Davis or some of the Braves' prospects (no offense to your Fantasy friends, but the Braves apparently did have genuine interest in Hart), I think he made a big mistake. I doubt Hart brings back more than that in the offseason, and if Melvin holds out there, then we'd better get on our knees and pray that Hart is able to stay hot for two seasons in a row and post an .800+ OPS next season or we won't even get any draft picks back when he walks. I say this because it's doubtful we'd offer him arby, potentially paying him over $10MM in 2012 if he posts another .750 OPS next year. Purely an opinion, but I really think the reason Melvin believes you don't get return on hitters during the season is that he is insistant on getting at least one "proven MLB" player in return. Few teams in a playoff hunt are willing to give MLB players up, so Melvin either settles for less in value (Mench) or makes no move (basically every other season of his tenure). To expand on that, the pure fact that Melvin has made the comment that you get more in the offseason for hitters could be clouding his judgement into believing "If they're offering this much now, then I'll get a lot more this offseason." The Rockies got a pretty nice player in Carlos Gonzalez (Huston Street was no slouch as a closer, although obviously not what the brewers would be looking for for prince) in exchange for Holliday's last year under contract. Holliday returned some good players when he was traded during last season as well, and I think a large part of that was because prospects were on the other side of the deal. I doubt St. Louis would've given up MLB players for him. If Oakland had held out for Adam Wainwright, the deal wouldn't have been done. Instead, they got three highly rated prospects from St. Louis, and the Cards made the playoffs. Hitters can get good return mid-season, but you can't ask a playoff team (the buyers mid-season) to give up MLB players. I think Melvin's fixation on bringing back someone with MLB experience hinders him.

List of 1B who will be available as Free Agents this offseason: Adam Dunn Lance Berkman (has option) Paul Konerko Derrick Lee Lyle Overbay Carlos Pena Jason Giambi Wes Helms David Ortiz (has option) Albert Pujols (has option) Scratch a couple of those guys off, as they either stink (Helms), are over the hill (Giambi) or their options will be picked up (Pujols, Ortiz). After that, you have a LOT of options for teams looking for a 1B, where they can simply sign the player without trading anyone away. Plus, you can add in that Adrain Gonzalez is almost a given to be on the trading block this offseason, adding more supply. Right now, Prince is essentially the only impact LH bat on the market. In the offseason, there will be many. Plus, the receiving team will only have one year with Prince instead of 1.5 years (two playoff runs) with him. As far as Hart, his bat isn't going to stay this hot. If he cools off, or if his current injury holds him back a bit, teams will run from him, as they're already having a hard time believing this first half is for real. I'm much more comfortable waiting for the offseason for Fielder, but Hart could easily blow up in Melvin's face. In the same light that the writer is saying Melvin's doing the right thing by not accepting less then what he wants, I'd say the other GMs are doing the right thing by not giving up more than Fielder & Hart are worth (especially Hart). Unfortunately, I've been waiting for this for a while. The Brewers are a better team than they showed early in the season. However, they are not good enough to dig themselves out of the hole they put themselves in with their horrendous start. I knew the Brewers would make a run, and when they did, the big "PLAYOFFS" lights would start flashing in the front officers' eyes. Next, we'll see Melvin ship out a few of our mid-tier prospects (the guys who should be our bench players or bullpen arms in future seasons so we don't have to sign overpriced FAs) for some marginal help in our "playoff run" this season. Currently, I'd estimate the Brewers would need to win around 2/3 of their remaining games to have any chance of winning their division (40-21 would get them 88 wins and right now the Cardinals are on pace to win 90 and the Reds 88). Right now, there are zero teams in baseball with a .667 winning percentage. The closest is the $200MM Yankees at .643 and Rays at .612. But yeah, these next two games should determine the future of the franchise.

One thing the free cash does is allow the Brewers to make a trade for a veteran who's under contract. If they eat the contract, they won't have to give up as much in talent. Or, they could trade for someone who is already into arbitration and possibly extend them. It also allows them to go after one of the free agent 1B on the market to make up for the probable loss of Fielder in trade. Get some pitching for Fielder/Hart in trade and then sign someone like Dunn or Konerko so that our offense doesn't take quite as big of a hit. One thing is for sure, having an excess amount of cash is generally not a bad thing. Now we just have to hope the front office doesn't blow it on a couple of Suppan-esque contracts. Barring some bad deals, we could have an excess to work with for a few sesaons before some of the "next crop" starts getting into arbitration (Escobar, Lucroy, Cain, Lawrie, Axford, Braddock, Rivas, Rogers, Loe and any MLB players we get from Hart/Fielder trades should all be around the same arby group). Hopefully, some of the excess cash will be used to sign some of these guys to Braun-style contracts early on, keeping us "cost controlled" for a long time.

Frustration in Melvin's flat out refusal to ever be a "seller." Oh, and probably some mid-talent 4th/5th OF who is outplayed by Brendan Katin for the rest of the season and then becomes a free agent and leaves at the end of the season, leaving us with even more question marks next year, and shouts from the peanut gallary that "we could really use a RH power bat on the bench."