naivin

This is a good point. You also can't ignore the numbers because a player was a high draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers and rated/projected out high at that time. I continue to hold out hope that he'll figure it out, but as it stands today, Rickie Weeks is basically a bad baseball player.

I took the liberty of looking it up: Weeks 2008 Chone: .262/.380/.447/.827 Weeks actual: .234/.342/.398/.740 Hudson 2008 Chone: .281/.361/.431/.792 Hudon Actual: .305/.367/.450/.817 Hmmmm.... Weeks 2007 Chone: .274/.375/.453 Weeks 2007 Actual: .235/.374/.433 Hmmmm again....1 out of 6 ain't bad. If you still like those projections, defensively, Hudson: +3, Weeks: -9 (Cano: 0)

And how has Rickie measured up to his projections in the past? I'm guessing not all that favorably. An indication is something that has actually happened. A projection of things that may or may not happen that inject assumptions say he won't bring better OBP and SLG. Two careers worth of actual on-field results and performance seem to indicate he would.

Weeks has played 4 MLB seasons (Hudson has played 6+) . When exactly is this 'prime' due to kick in? I agree Hudson is beginning to approach the tail end of his career, but his worst year in his first four seasons is roughly comparable to Weeks best (perhaps a little bit of an exaggeration), and he got better from there. As I said earlier, I am holding out hope for Weeks, but at some point that is all you're left with is hope. He has provided little indication that he will ever turn into the player everyone hoped he would be. Orlando Hudson would provide a massive defensive upgrade (3 gold gloves. Weeks won't even get 3 gg votes in his career), he's a switch hitter, and from all indications would provide an increase in AVG, OBP, and SLG! He's a better baseball player, and would undoubtedly upgrade the position. Does that justify the extra money? Don't know. Depends how much, and the impact on the rest of the roster.

Would also explain why the Brewers offered it, even assuming they had no desire to bring him back. If they knew he'd decline...get the draft pick.

Cano can play 2B better than Rickie Weeks, and is 50 points higher in both AVG. and OPS. I am holding out hope on Weeks as much as the next guy, but he makes it tougher every year. Cano is an appreciably better baseball player than Rickie Weeks. Is the incremental improvement worth the additional money? Depends on the rest of the roster I suppose.

Yeah...that Oswalt recruiting talk started back in what, August? September? Beyond that, how does Oswalt going to management to ask them to sign his buddy constitute the team talking to him? Astros owner Drayton McLane decided not to take Roy Oswalt up on his offer to re-structure his contract and defer money. McLane told Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle that the contract "catches up with you at some point," regardless of when it's paid... According to MLB.com's Alyson Footer, McLane said adding a top pitcher to join Oswalt in the Houston rotation is "just not in the cards." Sounds like Oswalt was certainly interested. Unfortunately, the team wasn't.

Yep, he had a down year last year, but I would hardly describe his contract as terrible. He's due $25 million over the next 3 seasons - all options after that. I have certainly seen worse. Hopefully Ryan Braun doesn't have a bad season in the next year or two or I guess his contract will render him untradeable as well ($40M+ over 5 years (2011-2015)). Braun is certainly a better hitter, but Cano also plays 2B. Their MLB careers have gotten off to very similar starts.

Fact is, for all we know (nothing), the guy has had surgery since the season ended. Seems likely we would have heard about that, but you just don't know. Maybe not that odd that he hasn't signed yet. It does however seem odd that there has hardly even been whispers of teams talking to him.

Very little downside to this move. Even if he is a complete bust, the money isn't bad. This just provides further evidence that players don't want to play in LA.

Well then, I can help them with that...Cameron for Cano...done! NO! I was joking. The yankees aren't going to trade Cano. I'd prefer Hudson personally, but he would cost money, not save it. If they would even consider Cameron for Cano, you make that deal in a second.

So if this actually goes through, would it mean that players want to play in Milwaukee (or that the Brewers had the better offer)?

Well then, I can help them with that...Cameron for Cano...done!

That's possible, although there has been no indication of that from anyone involved. If that were the case, I suspect we would have heard, at the very least, some sort of veiled reference from Sheets or his agent given that MLB GM's seem to be treating him as if he has lepracy. If he simply hit the wall which I think is very plausable, it would seem logical that teams would be puruing him more aggressively now. They're not, which would certainly seem to indicate injury. Funny thing is...from the moment he arrived, everyone seemed to endorse the idea of pushing CC for every pitch they could possibly squeeze out of him because the Brewers were not going to sign him. In retrospect it seems pretty clear the Brewers never had any intention of re-signing Sheets either. Perhaps they simply were taking the same approach with him (For the record, I don't believe Yost would have ever under any circumstances, knowing jeopordize a guy's career or earning potential). As much as many here try to make excuses and explain away all the time the guy has missed the last 4 seasons, when it comes to GM's putting their money (and their jobs) on the line to sign him, it seems as if nobdy - not even the big money teams, are willing to do so. If this were a couple of years ago, he would probably have a nice contract by now, but in the present environment, with 8 seasons already under his belt , 4 of them injury plagued (including the shoulder and elbow double whammy), teams just don't see him as a good risk.

I love a good conspiracy theory, and this one actually makes quite a bit of sense. Brewers were trying to make the playoffs and had little interest in re-signing him so were more than willing to play along. The arbitration offer is the one thing I can't quite reconcile.

Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Cincinnati Reds. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Minnesota Twins. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Oakland A's. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Florida Marlins. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Tampa Bay Rays. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Seattle Mariners. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Kansas City Royals. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Houston Astros. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Texas Rangers. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Detroit Tigers. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Cleveland Indians. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Toronto Blue Jays. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Washington Nationals Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Baltimore Orioles Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Texas Rangers. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Los Angles Angels Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Philadelphia Phillies. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the St. Louis Cardinals. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Colorado Rockies. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the San Diego Padres. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the San Francisco Giants. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the New York Mets. Yes, it's the life long dream of many young ball players to play for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

That may be true, but that is a far cry from players not wanting to play in Milwaukee. Not even close to the same thing. Fact is, that has never really happened. With rare exception, players go where the biggest contracts are. If the Brewers are the ones offering the extra year or whatever, does that mean players don't want to play in (Insert city here)?

Those are terrible examples, just as Hoffman would be if he picks the Dodgers. Fuentes signed for 2 yrs/18 million, with a club option for a 3rd year at $9million that automatically kicks in if he finishes 55 games in 2010, with a team that is a couple hundred miles from his hometown. The Brewers never actually made him an offer. How is that a good example of a player not wanting to play in Milwaukee? Randy Johnson is from SF. He is 45 years old and has a history of back problems and signed for $8 million. He may have had some interest, but you think DM would have gone anywhere near that number? Again, nothing to indicate an offer was ever made. How is that a good example of a player not wanting to play in Milwaukee? Those again are good examples of Doug Melvin not willing to pay the price the market sets. Not an example of players not wanting to play in Milwaukee. Even if the money/years were equal as was suggested earlier (which it has not been in any case), would a player wanting to play in a particular area/close to home, really constitute that player not wanting to play in Milwaukee?

I don't know about his injury status, but is this a guy DM should be considering? Gold glover, been very consistent throughout his career. Not sure he'd be the lead off hitter we need, though I'd be willing to give it a try, and he would certainly appear to be an overall upgrade over Weeks - sort of an improved version of Ray Durham. I assume we would come pretty cheap in the current market.

Not sure what that is a good example of exactly...If you use that to conclude that players don't want to play in Milwaukee, then you would also have to conclude that players don't want want to play in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Miami...Anywhere east of Phoenix I suppose.

Because they don't have the money, and that's the point. all things are not equal. The only test cases I could think of would be Sabathia and Cordero, and in the end, CC wasn't even close, and Cordero didn't seem to care where he played, he went for the highest offer. They 'wasted their time' trying to extend Carlos Lee (perhaps only for appearances), and weren't even in the ballpark. If the premise were true, you'd think the Brewers would be losing out on middle of the road guys like Cameron, Gagne, etc. Yet, I cannot off the top of my head think of single case where the Brewers seriously pursued a FA where 'all things were equal' and they lost the guy to a warmer/bigger city. They lose guys due to money and years. Hoffman could trun out to be an exception, but I am hope all would agree that would be much more a function of LA being 100 miles from his home, than it is a function of Milwaukee being Milwaukee. Again, there is absolutely no evidence to support the claim that players don't want to play in Milwaukee; plenty of evidence to support the claim that Doug Melvin isn't crazy about signing big FA contracts, and that players don't want to play for a smaller contract then they can get from someone else.

What examples are there of FA's the Brewers have seriously pursued that chose to sign elsewhere because they didn't want to play in Milwaukee? That's not being defensive, it is just looking at the facts. Had the Brewers made the same offers to CC, Texiera, Rodriguez instead of the Yankees/Mets, do you think for one second they wouldn't be playing here? Of course they would. Follow the money. It isn't about where, its about how much. Players don't want to play in Milwaukee for less than they can get elsewhere, but that is light years from players simply not wanting to play in Milwaukee. It wasn't that long ago nobody wanted to play in Green Bay. Then one day the Packers left a Brinks truck in Reggie White's driveway. Braun, Cameron, Suppan, Gagne wanted to play in Milwaukee because of the contracts the Brewers offered them - better than the alternatives. If someone can provide me some examples of players who turned down comparable offers to play somewhere else, you might be able to convince me. Cordero is the only one that comes to mind, but even in that case, there was a $ difference to the tune of several million. As far as Hoffman goes, he's lived in CA his entire career and is looking toward retirement - bad example (not to mention if the Brewers offer an additional year, guess which one he'll probably choose). Sheets is another terrible example. By all accounts, the Brewers have absolutely no interest (like the rest of the league).

How do you figure? Hoffman who may prefer to stay on the West coast where he has been his whole life, and Sheets who the Brewers are clearly not interested in, are situations that clearly have little to do with a guy not wanting to play in Milwaukee. Outside of CC, Texiera, and Rodriguez which simply weren't going to happen, I can't think of many guys Melvin would have had much interest in.

Right, because that's what I said. That 198 IP/3.09 goes along with the 20 GS/130 IP/3.5 ERA he averaged the previous 3 seasons. Nothing to see here! If that constitutes dominant, then I guess you are right and for the moment anyway, every GM in MLB is wrong. He has pitched 8 MLB seasons and the fact is, has been on and off the DL the last four and failed to finish 3 of those. His velocity was noticeably down at the end of last year. There is not much to indicate he can give you a full season at this point, let alone two. There are risks, and there are risks worth taking. The Brewers have 4 consecutive years of being disappointed by Ben Sheets to indicate he is not a risk worth taking. If you are a team that will not be affected by a contract that doesn't work out, go for it. The Brewers are not such a team.

The fact that teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Angels, Dodgers. White Sox, etc. don't appear willing to do so should speak volumes. It is starting to look like offering Sheets any sort of contract amounts to nothing more than a roll of the dice at this point. If none of the big money teams are willing to take those odds, I sure don't see how it makes sense for the Brewers. His injury sitation was a little bit different, but I would guess people were saying similar things about Mark prior a couple years ago..."When he's healthy...why not take a chance?" It is entirley possible that Sheets comes back and dominates. His history over the last couple years would seem to indicate that is not likely however.