Matt Breen

Source: #Brewers agree w Saito. 1 yr, chance to match last year's $3.2M salary thru appearance, roster bonuses. Physical already done. http://twitter.com/Ken_Ro...atuses/19461084784099328 Takashi Saito was great last year. He'll be 41 years old, but has rocked. Here's his 2010 stats: 56 games 54 innings 41 hits 17 BB 69 K 1.07 Whip 2.83 ERA Edit: Added the cool transaction icon and stats.

Word is that Takashi Saito is going to sign with the Brewers. Here's the thread on the rumor: http://forum.brewerfan.net/viewtopic.php?t=23959 That would add another nice arm to the team - even if the guy will be 41. He was great last year for Atlanta.

I like the suggestions of guys like Chin-lung Hu. Maybe he's not the answer, but I'd rather take a risk on a guy like Hu and gamble he puts up numbers (both in the field and at the plate) that exceed Escobar's 2010. Not that he will be better than Escobar in the long run, but as good or better than last year. In Bettencourt, the only thing he seems to have is a little pop (16 HRs last year), but he fails pretty much everywhere else - especially defense, which is something I think we should make sure the SS spot can provide next year. I hope the team considers guys like Hu, makes a play for one or two, and let's them have a chance to start in 2011.

Ordered my 4-pack on Wednesday night at 11:00 p.m. and got the tickets today. Kudos to the ticket office getting the 4-packs out to people for Christmas. It will be a lot nicer to give the tickets to my family than a web receipt. Can't wait for the season to start!

Jim Breen from Bernie's Crew did a podcast on Baseball Prospectus talking about breaking the Greinke trade. It's pretty cool as he talks about what happened. Kevin Goldstein and another guy also talk about the ramifications of the deal. http://www.baseballprospe...icle.php?articleid=12626

John, I think this is a fair question. Let's assume the items you note come to happen - Rogers looks ready, Narvy does okay, no one gets hurt, etc. I will also assume Fielder is gone. With this in mind, I don't think having Wolf is cost prohibitive. If Wolf is still pitching well, I'd argue that you keep him. First, the rotation will still be top notch, and the team, even without Fielder (hopefully with Weeks) will have potential to contend. I'd say that you take Rogers and slot him into the bullpen in 2012 in this case. You do this with the knowledge that someone can easily get hurt. Having the quality starting pitching depth will be essential - especially since we will be replacing Fielder with someone else (perhaps Gamel in RF and Hart to 1B, for example). Our hitting won't be as good without Fielder. But we need to improve, and adding a quality pitcher is one way of doing it. Rogers can get some spot starts, or replace someone in the rotation if someone is ineffective or injured. Even in relief, you can get him 80 or 100 innings, and he'll be effective. He can grow into the role of a ML player, and be ready to take a spot in the rotation in 2013. I know there are sometimes concerns about starters becoming relief pitchers - and with Rogers injury history - they may not want to put him in that role. If that's the case, I don't know the answer. Otherwise, I like the idea of Rogers as a safety net for 2012, letting him learn what it's like to face major league hitters, and have him primed for 2013. I'll add that if Wolf regresses in 2011, and Rogers looks ready in 2012, I'd dump Wolf in a heartbeat. Yes, you might have to eat salary. But if he sucks, let's not hang onto him just because he makes a lot of money.

I don't think Damon has it to play CF anymore. First, his arm is a rag. He' better suited for LF. Second, looking at Fangraphs, he hasn't played there full time since 2006. And the results at that time (and the part time play in CF in 2007 and 08) aren't great at all: 2008 - 34 games: -5.3 UZR 2007 - 48 games: -1.0 UZR 2006 - 131 games: -8.2 UZR 2005 - 147 games: -16.8 UZR 2004 - 148 games: -8.4 UZR 2003 - 144 games: -4 UZR I can't imagine he'd be better at this stage of his career.

I wouldn't be surprised if Scutaro and Cameron could be had for cheap - assuming you took on their contracts. The Sox would probably love to clear $14 million in dead weight. I guess the key is how much more money are the Brewers willing to take on.

Looks like Jim Breen took some crap for announcing the Greinke trade: I hope the journalist who used some choice four letter words toward me last night about the Greinke scoop now feels like a tool. http://twitter.com/Bernie...status/16563483264942080

http://brewersbeat.mlblog..._motivated_by_trade.html "I got the news early this morning, and I'm just going to try to take advantage of it," Cain said. "I'm going to try to be the guy for them. I'm glad I have this opportunity to go in and play center field for the Kansas City Royals. I'm very excited."

The Royals may very well be set on trading Greinke to the NL to avoid facing him. KC, Toronto, Minnesota and Yanks were all considered teams that would have serious interest. Plus, we are giving them exactly what they want - two major league, controllable players (Cain and Escobar), one very close (Jeffress) and a top prospect (Odorizzi). And they are getting positions they need as they look toward 2012 as their future. Are these the BEST prospects they could get? Maybe not. Maybe they could get a couple of higher upside players. But maybe we gave the best combination of players that fit the Royals situation. And this lets KC get Greinke out of the AL for a couple of years. All the better for them.

maybe we can get Jason Kendall back in the deal to provide gritty leadership type stuff.

Too bad this didn't happen before the Astros signed Bill Hall.We could have reacquired JJ Hardy and Mike Cameron for one last run at glory.

You know, we very well might have the worst minor league system if this goes through. I'm okay with that. We've graduated a lot of guys in the last couple of years, and this sets us up to contend for at least two years. Everything is a risk. I'm just going to enjoy it if it does go through.

I say forget Betancourt. Just get a defensive stud like Adam Everett (okay, maybe not that bad of a hitter) to anchor the infield. Betancourt has a -1.1 WAR over the past two years combined. That's just awful. I'd rather pay someone $1 million and solidify the IF defense more than someone to hit crappy and field crappy and cost several million.

I will add this - if Jim Breen posted this, he has pretty good reason to do so. He doesn't make things up. I've known him many years, and he's as straight up as they come. It doesn't mean he couldn't be mislead, but I can promise he's not posting this lightly.

Crewcrazy, thanks. that was a great article. well worth the time.

The A's just traded for Josh Willingham. That gives them an OF of Willingham, DeJesus and Crisp. That leaves Ryan Sweeney on the bench (they also signed Matsui to DH, so that position if filled, and Barton is at 1B). Sweeney had some injuries last year, but is one of the best fielders in the game. He's a .290ish hitter, not a lot of power. He hits well agaisnt righties (.305 BA, .773 OPS), but struggles against lefties (.245 BA, 628 OPS). What if you dealt McGehee for Sweeney and parts. Sweeney would be a huge upgrade over Hart in RF. You give Gamel 3B. You then use Hart as trade bait (what exactly for is a good question, but maybe for player(s) that could be used to get Garza or Shields). It would leave you with line up like this: Cain - CF Sweeney - RF Braun - LF Fielder - 1B Weeks - 2B Gamel - 3B Lucroy - C Escobar - SS It would balance out the lineup with the additional lefties. You could even give Dickerson some starts in CF against tough righties. Gomez could be used in RF against lefties, giving Sweeney a rest. Maybe not a pure platoon, but at least against tough lefties. I believe Sweeney would be under control for 3 years. As I said, he struggled last year with an injury, but in 2009 he put up a 3.9 WAR - his fielding was fantastic. Of course, the A's might not want to deal Sweeney, with Crisp, Willingham and DeJesus only a year away from free agency. Or maybe they have platoon ideas of their own. But I thought I'd throw the guy out there. A way to improve the lineup L/R balance, and improve defense dramatically.

interesting article comparing Blanton and pavano. http://www.fangraphs.com/...-case-where-era-deceive/ It basically argues the pitchers were very similar last year - but Blanton is younger and won't cost near as much.

Jones will platoon with Diaz in the RF.

Holy crap, Overbay got a one-year $5 million deal. http://twitter.com/RobBie...atuses/14766736788160512 I thought he'd be lucky to get 1/2 that.

I think Texas would be a good fit for Fielder. They have some depth, plus money available. Would he be open to discussing an extension is another question. And, of course, coming to an agreement on dollars and years.

The problem with Montero is that few scouts see him sticking at catcher longterm, meaning a move to 1B - a position KC doesn't need. The Yankees have been saying he's good enough to catch - but they are the only ones saying it. Plus the recent signing of Martin makes you wonder. Of course, the Royals could take Montero and simply DH him, plus let him catch every now and then, back up 1B, and he'd be of great value. They could then deal Billy Butler once Hosmer is ready. This team could use a power hitter in the worst way.

I'm surprised KC didn't get him to help anchor their lineup with the likes of Kendall, Frenchy and Melky. Maybe they have Adam Everett on their radar.

Haha! Awesome. Made me laugh out loud. Thanks.