Invader3K

All right. Probably want to change that title, though. I wonder what the salary ends up being for him. He was certainly effective last season.

Well, Tom Haudricourt just said in his blog comments that we should "forget about Ben Sheets". That's one less of these theoretical "ace potential injury guys" that Melvin could go after and pretend they're 100% assured to be able to pitch most of the season.

Yeah, I agree endaround. I don't believe Vasquez is really available, either. If he was, it would probably take more than the Brewers would/should give up to get him.

What did you want them to do instead again? Sign Lackey? Trade all our good prospects for Edwin Jackson?

Haudricourt mentions there is a club option for a fourth year.

Glad to see it's done so they can focus on getting another pitcher or bullpen help.

Villanueva could possibly be a non-tender or trade candidate, I'm guessing.

Yeah, but you basically have to include Riske and Hall. I'm not sure how insurance works to cover Riske's contract, but Bill Hall certainly "counts", at least as far as Mr. Attanasio's bank account is concerned.

Heard over in Oregon they had 18". We probably had about 8". Not too bad, was just really wet and heavy stuff like I mentioned earlier.

Already back with the negativity, eh? I guess it's easier than being optimistic. Vargas is a serviceable arm that had success last season, as others indicated. It's not like they're counting on him to be the closer or something.

I think some Brewers fans had pretty unrealistic expectation going into this off-season. What other options does Melvin have other than signing someone like Wolf or Garland? Yeah, he could stand pat and not do much, but that would be a death knell for season ticket sales, and for chances to win this season. It would also be seen as a sign of disrespect to the 3 million fans who filled Miller Park the past two seasons. Everyone seems to at least agree that a similar rotation to last season's just won't cut mustard. So he is trying to fix the problem. Yes, it would be nice if he hadn't signed Jeff Suppan and Bill Hall and had more cash to play with this off-season, but we can't keep thinking retroactively. The team can only move forward with the given present situation. Since Mark Attanasio probably isn't going to allow the payroll to significantly balloon and take a loss (and why should he?) Melvin has to work with what he has at hand. John Lackey would be nice, but that's a pipe dream for the Brewers unless they would want to overpay. They would probably have to guarantee about 6 years to beat out the big market teams. In the long run, a contract like that would probably cripple the Brewers' ability to move forward and pay other players. There would be no chance to re-sign Fielder, either, unless they are willing to commit approximately half the current payroll on two players. We have no chance at Halladay, either. He has a no trade clause and seems adamant about being moved to a team in the Grapefruit League. Unless the Brewers plan on leaving Maryvale in the next two months, that rules them out. Other than "Doc", what other ace level pitchers are available via trade? Other than that, suggestions about trading for a "good young cheap pitcher" keep being thrown out. Look at what the D-Backs had to give up to get Edwin Jackson. Do people really want to see the Brewers give up the equivalent package (if we even have something like that available)? Melvin is doing what he can. A guy like Wolf will help stabilize the rotation, and it sounds like signing Mark Mulder is a given. They'll get someone else to boot. It just won't be a Lackey/Halladay type, but we never had a chance at one of those anyway.

The snow here was real thick and heavy. It was like trying to go through concrete with the snow blower...the chute kept getting stuck up. Fortunately was able to get the whole thing done.

One nice thing about Wolf is that he is a lefty where the others are not.

That's an interesting idea. I think I'd rather have Garland than Bush at this point. I'd guess Garland is looking for a three year deal, though. Just speculation on my part.

Haudricourt says they are eyeing him for the bullpen, and USA Today says they could even "sign him today." I think it would be a pretty solid addition. The Astros must not have offered him enough.

Any reason they can't get both? I suppose maybe they don't have room in the budget for two pitchers like that.

Any idea what kind of contract Garland will be due for? I suppose maybe similar to the one Wolf is looking to get from the Brewers?

I agreed with Melvin last season when he said he had told Macha they didn't want to just see the team "waiting around to hit a home run anymore." It seemed like opposing pitchers rarely had to worry about holding base runners. This team has at least four or five guys that could all be legitimate SB threats next year (Gomez, Escobar, Weeks, Braun, Hart), and there's no reason not to maximize their talents.

I hate you. I haven't even attempted to go outside and take care of our driveway yet here in Fort. I would guess we have about 6 inches, which I admit isn't as bad as some expected.

Yeah, I think if Melvin can hook Wolf, someone like Sheets, and Mark Mulder, for a reasonable overall cost, I would guess most fans would be fairly happy about our chances next year. For example: Gallardo, Wolf, Sheets, Bush, Parra, with Suppan and Narveson in the pen and Mulder waiting in the wings (I'm guessing he might not be on the MLB roster immediately) doesn't sound too shabby at all. Hart can probably be moved for an OK starting pitcher too if additional insurance is felt to be needed.

Again, can we quit comparing Wolf to scrub pitchers like Brad Penny? They are not equivalent at all. Also, I'm a little tired of hearing guys like Sheets brought up as solutions. Sheets, Harden, etc. are pitchers worth investigating, but to pretend we know they can be counted on as solid contributors in 2010 is being disingenuous. At least Wolf is a guy you can reasonably count on to pitch well for most of the season. You can't really point to a lot of the other guys being brought up as reliable starters.

http://www.jsonline.com/business/78768827.html Through September, sales tax collections for the Miller Park stadium district are 11.2% behind last year, and nearly $2.5 million less than what the district had expected to receive. The dire sales tax report suggests two developments: the near certainty that the 0.1% sales tax collected in Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Milwaukee and Racine counties will not be retired in 2014, as had been hoped, and the fact that the recession continues to have a dramatic impact on consumer spending.

They don't actually "give it away". The developed partnerships with several carriers for minority ownership in the channel when they were developing the network. Currently AT&T and Dish Network do not carry it.

You have to keep in mind that we only have Hart under control for two more seasons. If he has another bad year, or even just an "OK" 2010, his trade value is going to be pretty minimal.

Sorry but 3/24 is way too high price to pay for DD, no way I'd do it and I sure hope DM don't do it too. I hope if they do sign either Davis or Washburn, it's no more than a two year deal. Neither justifies a big $20 million+ contract at this point in their careers.