dpapo

I'm not sure about DirecTV in the State of Wisconsin, but outside the State of Wisconsin, they are showing the game on channel 742. It also appears as though the feed for the game is going to be from the L.A. Dodgers. Edit: Yes, I'm getting the Dodgers feed, but that means I get to listen to Vin Scully do the game, which isn't so bad.

I'm finally getting the pregame show. Can't wait for the game to start.

It may be changing it's name to FSN Wisconsin, but DirecTV still is not showing the special pregame show on channel 642, at least outside of Wisconsin, even though it's listed on their schedule.

Hello all, Out where I am living, it was a cool, cloudy day yesterday with temps in the low 50's, but today the sun is out and the high is going to be around 80. However, by Wednesday it's going to be back into the lower 50's. I think we're having such a nice day due to it being the real opening day. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Anyway, for gameday graphics and updates, MLB.COM is pretty good and they have upgraded their gameday feature. Can't be in Milwuakee, but I still took the day off and I have DirecTV so I'll be watching from my home on TV.

Melvin has already stated that Hall will probaby be the Brewers Centerfielder next year. Just as recently as the interview he had on WSSP this past week. So, it's Hart in one corner spot, Hall in center, then back to the Jenkins/Mench question.

I guess this is getting a bit off topic, but before Suppan signed I made a list of some of the free agent starting pitchers available in the event that Suppan wasn't signed. So some of the pitchers from that list could possible be signed to fill the long relief role. Some of the names included, Tony Armas, John Thomson, Chan Ho Park, Mark Redman, Ramon Ortiz, Brandon Claussen, Bruce Chen, Brian Moehler, Russ Ortiz... Someone also added Jorge Sosa, who would probably fill that long relief, emergency starter role quite well. As far as left handed relievers, here is another list of possiblities. May be missing a couple names and I'm not sure on the health status of all of them, but here is a list. Edde Guardado, Kent Mercker, Arthur Rhodes, Scott Schoenewies, Ron Villone, Scott Saucerbeck, Randy Choate, Mike Koplove and Tom Martin. Edit: A few other names out there, as far as the that long relief role: Aaron Sele, Brian Sweeney, Ryan Franklin, Travis Harper, Jason Johnson, Aaron Small, Ryan Vogelsong... Going through the list of possible players made me think of a couple quotes from the movie Major Leagues, Board Member 1: "I've never heard of half of these guys and the ones I do know are way past their prime." Charlie Donovan: "Most of these guys never had a prime." And Board Member 2: "This guy here is dead." Rachel Phelps: "Cross him off then."

Toronto is looking for a no. 3 starting pitcher. They have pitchers on the roster already that can be no. 4 and 5 type pitchers. And pitching is what they are interested in.

If Suppan and his agent are going to wait until Zito signs with a team, then it might be a while before we know if Suppan is going to sign with Milwaukee or not. The following was a quote by Zito in the San Francisco Chronicle. "It's wide open," Zito said. "It's still early, very early; it's not even time for the decision-making process. I'm not just jumping in. I'm waiting for my instincts to kick in." sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...N3O4G1.DTL

While we all wait to see what happens with Suppan. What do you think the Brewers should do: 1. Sign Suppan, with the 4 years and 10 million per year as the starting point. And if you do, how high would you go with Suppan before you would go to plan B or C. 2. Go with plan B, which would probably be Carlos Villanueva or possible a Jeff Weaver or Joel Pineiro. 3. Go with Plan C. Sign, and you can take your pick, Steve Trachsel, Tony Armas, John Thomson, Runelvys Hernandez, Chan Ho Park, Mark Redman, Ramon Ortiz, Brandon Claussen, Bruce Chen, Brian Moehler, Russ Ortiz,...to compete with Vilanueva for the 5th sport in the rotation. I put Weaver in plan B just based on the level of interest from other teams, which may make him a bit more expensive than some of the other pitchers listed, not so much on talent. Edit: Now that I think of it, Joel Pineiro will probably be the next expensive pitcher on that list as a number of teams have also shown in interest in him as well. I also didn't include Ohka as the Brewers don't really seem all that interested in bringing him back for whatever reason. Maybe they know something about his arm problems that they haven't mentioned. And they have been trying all winter, unsuccessful thus far, to obtain another starting pitcher via trade. So, just basically going with the options we know they do have at the moment. What would you do?

ESPNEWS and MLB Radio are both reporting that the Mets have also offerred Suppan a contract. So, the Mets may be going after both Zito and Suppan.

We sure are starved for some Brewer news when we have 21 pages and at this point 402 replies about a 3/4 pitcher who Melvin may not even end up offering a contract to. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Before we just go on the rumor posted on MLB4U, I tried to check the NYPost online to see if I could find the article the information came from and couldn't seem to find it. Doesn't mean it didn't come from there, just couldn't seem to find it the first time I looked. Also, the link that MLB4U left was for a story about Suppan from October 31st that was a different story than the information they attributed their information coming from. Also, even if they did take the information from the NYPost, it seems they speculated that the offer could have come from the Brewers. Once again, doesn't mean that the information may not be correct, but I'm going to wait till I see another source about it.

The link worked okay for me.

The latest information about the Brewers possible interest in Suppan. Melvin still hasn't made a decision on whether or not he will make an offer to Suppan, however we should know in a day or two what the Brewers are going to do. From the Milwaukee Journel Sentinel, "Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said Monday he was still mulling whether to make a specific contract offer to free agent pitcher Jeff Suppan this week. "I'd say it's a possibility," said Melvin. "I haven't done anything yet. We're still discussing it and looking into it." In what has been a wild and crazy winter of spending on free agents, Melvin realizes the stakes were raised for pitchers, even those with average credentials. Suppan, who will be 32 on Jan. 2, is coming off three successful seasons (44-26 record) and was named most valuable player for St. Louis in the 2006 National League Championship Series against New York, giving him leverage in negotiations. The Cardinals reportedly won't go beyond three years to keep Suppan, making it likely he will go elsewhere. He supposedly has a four-year offer on the table from one of several suitors, including the Mets, Colorado, Houston, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Kansas City. Suppan's agent, Scott Leventhal, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last week that he didn't anticipate agreeing to a contract until Barry Zito, the top pitcher on the market, signs a deal. But Melvin said Leventhal hadn't told him that during their preliminary discussions. The going rate for most of the established starting pitchers on the market this year has been in the $8 million to $11 million range per season. Melvin wouldn't say how many years he would be willing to go in an offer to Suppan, who has a history of good health and durability. "That's one of the things we're looking at," said Melvin, who has one spot to fill in his starting rotation. "There are a lot of things that go into it. I'd say I'm a day or so away from making that decision." Suppan was 12-7 with a 4.12 ERA in 32 starts for the Cardinals last season. He allowed one run in 15 innings in two starts against the Mets in the NLCS, including the decisive Game 7. Suppan is 5-0 with a 1.76 ERA in seven career starts at Miller Park. www.jsonline.com/story/in...?id=543258

This scouting report appears to be about 3 years old, but it's something about Suppan's stuff. Scouting Report by Stats Inc. Pitching Lacking one overpowering pitch, Suppan is successful by mixing speeds and locations. He will sink his fastball, which usually does not top the low 90s. He also shows a cutter, can often get ahead with his good curveball, and will also throw changeups in any count. Suppan has above-average control, though he can tend to nibble too much with runners on base. He rarely makes hitters miss the ball, and that hurts when he is in a situation that requires a strikeout. Suppan can eat innings, though he was under 200 innings last year for the first time in six years. At times he had trouble holding his best stuff much the past 100-pitch mark. Defense & Hitting Suppan fields his position well, but he lacks a decent pickoff move and is slow coming home. That makes him vulnerable to stolen bases, and basestealers were successful last year in 11 of 14 tries. He is not much of a threat batting, but he does handle the bat well enough to be serviceable in sacrifice bunt situations.

Suppan would help solidify the rotation, but at 10-11 million a year for 4 years, that would be a bit steep. I have mixed feelings about it, but if Mark A. feels like he has the resources to do it... At this point, he is probably the second best pitcher available behind Zito, and the only pitcher left worth considering spending that type of money on. This is also probably a sign that the Brewers are having zero luck attracting any type of quality starting pitching for Mench and/or Jenkins. That might be the other shoe of this whole deal, if it goes down. It's already been mentioned here, but if by signing Suppan the Brewers are able to trade Mench and/or Jenkins for help in other areas of the team, or even some decent prospects, then I would be view the signing more favorably as well. Probably ain't going to happen anyways, but it beats talking about Graffanino, Counsel and Cirillo. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

If the report is true, then the Brewers are probably a late entry into Suppan services because in the latest Sports Weekly that I got yesterday, it had the same blurb about Suppan, except the Brewers weren't one of the teams listed. As far as how much money it might take to sign him, I found the following in the KC Star. "Industry sources suggest he (Suppan) is likely to command a deal that matches or exceeds what Vicente Padilla received to remain with the Rangers: $33.75 million for three years with a $12 million option for 2010." I also read somewhere that his agent wants to wait until Zito signs before Suppan makes a decision.

Like I thought was probably the case, "Melvin shot down a report in the Denver Post that said he offered outfielder Brady Clark to the Colorado Rockies for shortstop Clint Barmes. As if the Brewers need another infielder. Barmes is in danger of losing his starting job to rookie Troy Tulowitzki but Melvin said he had no interest in acquiring a shortstop. He said the Rockies did inquire about Clark, who is available after losing the starting center field job last season. Clark has a $3.8 million salary for 2007 and the newspaper report indicated that the Rockies wanted the Brewers to pay $2 million of that contract to trade him. "I never talked to them about that," he said."

I'd agree that his was either something that was discussed prior to the signing of Counsell and the offer of arby to Graffy or is just a false report/rumor. The only other way this makes sense is if Melvin was just trying to dump Clark or have Barmes in AAA as insurance in case Hardy did get hurt. Besides already having Counsell and Graffy, Melvin also did offer Cirillo a one year deal to come back. So there would have been no room for Barmes. Even without Cirillo, there still is no room for Barmes on the team. And of course, Hall can still be used as the 3rd Shortstop on the team if need be. Okay, he's still young and may be able to develop however, the Brewers still have Perez at shortstop, who they signed from Cuba. They also have Escobar and Brewer below him. So, other than a way to dumb Clark or simply as insurance in case Hardy gets hurt, in which case he would probably just be a back up to Counsell/Graffy, I don't see how this deal makes sense. That's the best I can do in how this trade may be true, though I still think it's most likely false. Edit: Good point about the Colorado-Houston deal. This makes me think even more that this was either an old rumor or just a false one.

From the Brewers Web site, "Melvin said the Brewers have one "lingering" trade offer on the table that would send a Brewers outfielder for a pitcher. He would not name the team, but the Orioles have shown interest in Jenkins and Mench, and the Phillies have some pitching depth since they acquired Freddy Garcia from the White Sox on Wednesday night. Melvin also has talked with the Giants about Jenkins. "It's something we're contemplating and the other team is contemplating," Melvin said. "I don't know if it will happen or it won't happen." If I had to make a guess, I would think it might be the Lopez for Mench deal, but that's just a guess on my part. Hopefully, something happens soon that is a good deal for the Brewers. milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com...p&c_id=mil

It appears as though Melvin was telling the truth when he said the Brewers didn't have a deal in place with the Phillies, well unless you consider trading for the rule 5 pick, which probably just came up yesterday. Anyway, it appears as though the Phillies weren't the team that the Brewers were waiting for, pending that team making another trade. The following is from the Phillies Web site, "Lieber may still go in a deal, but not for a hitter. The rumor with Milwaukee (Lieber/Mench/Turnbow) never got too far anyway, though it could be revisited for just Turnbow. It turns out Milwaukee is going to draft a player in the Rule 5 draft and deal him to the Phillies. A deal with Washington for Church can't happen now that the Nationals asked Gonzalez. The Cardinals, Rangers and Brewers could be players for Lieber, and all are flush with relievers." And: "Now, Lieber can be dangled, and he has drawn interest from Milwaukee, St. Louis and Texas, all of whom are flush with relievers. The Phillies had discussed dealing Lieber to Milwaukee for a package that included Kevin Mench and reliever Derrick Turnbow, but now they can focus on possibly getting two relievers. "We discussed a lot of scenarios over the past few days," Arbuckle said. "There was a lot of presumption [that Rowand had to be in the deal]. That was never a big element about this. What was out there was not accurate. What's important now is that we have a lot of options now. I think everyone sees what the pitching market is. And with an extra starter, we can do some things." philadelphia.phillies.mlb...p&c_id=phi philadelphia.phillies.mlb...p&c_id=phi

I checked out the Baltimore Sun this morning and they have nothing about the Brewers or Mench. In fact, they are reporting that the Orioles tried hard yesterday to make a 3 team deal involving Lopez, but it was in an attempt to get Marcus Thames and didn't involve Milwaukee. However, they are also reporting that they failed. The Orioles Web site only mentions that the Brewers are one of a few teams that has had an interest in Lopez. So, either the Brewer reporters know something the Orioles reporters don't or vice versa.

If the Philles are not the team Milwaukee has a trade in place, pending a move by that other team, I'm curious about what team it could be. I don't think it's Baltimore. What's holding up that deal is Gonzalez, if the rumor is true. I doubt if it's LA, since the only deals involving the Dodgers is trading pitching for an outfielder, which you would think would be what the Brewers and Dodgers would be talking about directly. The Dodgers already have pitching to trade and the Brewers of course have outfielders. Melvin mentioned trying to get in touch with the Giants about Jenkins and being put off while they talk to Bonds, so it doesn't sound like something is in place there. It's not Tampa as Melvin mentioned asking if Crawford was available, which he wasn't. So who could the mystery team be?

From ESPN update section, "The Astros remain interested in Aubrey Huff. But he appears to be a player who could be indirectly affected by Andy Pettitte. If Pettitte signs for large dollars, the Astros would have to move a salary to sign someone like Huff. The Dodgers are also believed to have interest in Huff as an outfielder if they don't sign Luis Gonzalez."

I think the advantages of Hendrickson over Lieber is that Hendrickson is a few years younger, is left handed, cheaper, wouldn't have to give up Turnbow or Capellan, and if Villanueva or one of the other young pitchers appear ready to take a spot in the starting rotation, Hendrickson would probaby make a good left handed reliever out of the bullpen. However, Lieber is probably more of a sure thing as far as being a starting pitcher.