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According to Haudricourt, the Brewers plan on offering Marcum an extension, though it doesn't say when. Also confirms that he has heard, before today and at the winter meetings about Lawrie needing an "attitude adjustment." I still think the Brewers probably gave up too much, but most likely the going rate for a starting pitcher of Marcum's quality. Whether Marcum is or isn't an ace, don't think he will pitch like an ace for the Brewers, but assuming he stays healthy and doesn't have control problems and so on, should be a solid 3 and possible a no. 2 pitcher. Guess just a bit worried about his past injury and would feel a bit better about the trade if he did throw in the low 90's. If he pitches like he did a year ago for the Brewers for at least the next couple years, then I think most people would think it was a good deal. Most likely will end up being a good deal for both clubs, just a bit worried about the things I mentioned. With all that said, if I were Doug Melvin, I probably would have made the trade.

Haudricourt's latest blog touched on a few subjects, one of them the Greinke and the Brewer attempts to obtain him. Looks like the Brewers made a couple attempts, but the asking price was too high so they made the trade with Toronto for Marcum. "And, speaking of Greinke, that same very good source told me the Brewers made two attempts already to trade for the KC ace but the price was way too high -- far beyond Brett Lawrie. That's when they refocused on Toronto's Shaun Marcum and sent Lawrie there." http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/brewers.html

Looks like Cain is not being dangled out there, from Haudricourt's latest blog entry. In regards to the Cain rumors, "I hear GM Doug Melvin is upset about those reports and might have an on-the-record comment later at our daily briefing saying there is no truth to it." Haudricourt goes on to say that it doesn't mean they wouldn't trade Cain, but that it would have to be part of a blockbuster deal. So, it's possible Cain could be traded, but not likely.

Lawrie seems to be a lot for Marcum, on the other hand fans in Toronto seem to think it's not enough. It appears Jon Heyman thinks giving up Lawrie would be too much. From his Twitter account, "the price of No. 3 starter is very high if a team has to give up its No. 1 prospect (lawrie) for one (marcum). somewhere, pavano is smiling" http://twitter.com/SI_Jon...status/11633938548133888 The Brewers probably gave up a bit much, but might just be the going rate.

Thanks.

Does anyone have a link to the whole press conference introducing Roenicke as the Brewers manager. Either in audio or video. I know it was on the WSSP website later the same day, but wasn't able to catch it and it is no longer on there. Thanks. As far as the hiring itself. Was a bit of a let down at first as I was hoping it would be Valentine and Roenicke was my fourth choice of the four finalist. However, might be the type of manager the Brewers needed at this time. Aggressive, with a history of being a good communicator with players.

TH in his blog, quotes some of the things Melvin said he is looking for in the next Brewer manager, When asked about criteria he might use in selecting a replacement for Ken Macha, Melvin said, "The first criteria would be is he a winning manager? It’s going to be hard to match Ken’s record but other things will come into play. Is the person going to be someone that’s aggressive with our ball club? The running game, do we want that kind of individual? Do I want someone that’s only managed or coached in the American League? That could come into play. “You can put about five things down, criteria, that could eliminate a lot of people. We want to be open-minded to it. The main thing is I’d like to get someone with experience that has managed before. But that’s not necessarily the case. If the right guy came along that hadn’t managed before and I think he’s an up-and-comer and I think he fits our style of ball club, that could come into play.” Trying to read between the lines, looks like Melvin is looking for a manager with experience, has a winning record or has won in the past, has managed in the national league, can be an aggressive manager and will use more of the running game. TH lists the following as possible, "Candidates who fit that bill include Bob Melvin, Don Baylor and Clint Hurdle..." A couple names that could fit those criterias would be Phil Garner as has been mentioned, though have to wonder if Mark Attanasio would approve bringing back a Brewer manager from the lean years of the 90's. Davey Johnson could fit those criterias, but it has been so long since he has managed in the majors. There's also Tony LaRussa and Joe Torre, but both would probably be long shots as well. Tony LaRussa would probably fit best what Melvin is looking for though. A couple names that have also been mentioned here as well might fit, Grady Little and Bobby Valentine.

WSSP has updated their website and Melvin made it pretty clear that not only was the Brenly rumor incorrect, but made it pretty clear that he doesn't think Brenly is going to be the next manager. Here is the post they left, along with a short 25 second clip they also posted of Melvin making a comment about the Brenly rumor in which he states that Brenly is not even on their radar and not a way they will go. "Milwaukee Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin told WSSP he has yet to talk to any managerial candidates. Melvin says the process will take a few weeks and that he doesn't antcipate Bob Brenly to be the team's next manager." http://wssp.radiotown.com/audio/doug/100710Melvincut.MP3

From reading the article, it's not clear that his mother thinks he will be starting Friday, just that she will be there when he does start. Could be reading it wrong, but to me it seems the only thing she says is that he will be starting for them and when he does, she will be there. “He’ll be a starting pitcher for them,” said Stephanie. “We’ll be there when he does pitch ... I’m not going to miss that.” I think if she knew he would be starting on Friday, she would say that. Not he'll be a starting pitcher and she will be there when he does, but rather would have said, he is going to start on Friday and we'll be there.

Jason Stark wrote the following, "We could have a fun hour coming up. One club says volume of calls is "insane" right now. I've had 3 "gotta gos" in last 20 minutes" We'll probably be hearing from Haudricourt soon that things are quiet on the Brewers front. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Since the Red Sox have been rumored to be interested in Edmonds and possible Hoffman, I saw the following from Gordon Edes who covers the Red Sox for ESPNBoston. "major league source said Red Sox are trying to move Delcarmen, Okajima, Hermida, and Ramirez"

Ken Rosenthal tweeted the following, “#Marlins’ return for Cantu will be Double A RHP Evan Reed & Double A RHP Omar Poveda, who is on DL recovering from TJ surgery." If true, then that would pretty much take out Fielder going to Texas, if any of the rumors were true to begin with.

Will Carroll tweeted the following, "Fielder to Rangers would start with Martin Perez and end with a couple more pitchers. Rangers using farm to play for the now?" Be interesting to see if Melvin would truly be willing to trade Fielder for young pitching now or will still think he could do better after the season. Of course, not sure what those other couple pitchers would be or what else they might be willing to trade.

What I also found interesting with the Rosenthal tweet was that the Giants had a scout at the Brewers game last night. Too bad Hart got hurt, even if it's just a bruise and will only miss a few days. Be interesting to see if that affects the Giants interest in any way and what they might be willing to offer. Rotoworld also mentioned that it look like the Giants had a deal in place for DeJesus before he got hurt. Edit: Just to add to the DeJesus to Giants possible deal before he got hurt, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the deal was possible being finalized and would have been for 2 minor league prospects, though they didn't say who the prospects were.

Since Florida does not have State taxes, Lebron is not going to be giving up as much money as it looks. I have the feeling that the 3 players pretty much knew they wanted to sign for the same team for a while now, if they could make it work. Might have considered other possiblities just to cover all the bases, but I think they all pretty much knew what they wanted to do already. And there was no reason Lebron couldn't have joined Wade and Bosh when they had their press conference in Miami, except Lebron wanted to have the attention and the show on ESPN. EDIT: Also, I've seen people write that he didn't thank the Cleveland fans. I didn't see his interview and announcement last night , so maybe someone else who saw it would know for sure. If he didn't, then that really makes him look bad. Heck, even Suppan thank Brewer fans and he was booed a number of times by Brewer fans. Here is an example that someone wrote that was put in the Cleveland Plains Dealer,

According to an article by Bob Warja of Bleacher report, sources within the Chicago White Sox organization have said that White Sox GM Kenny Williams is talking to the Brewers about a blockbuster trade for Fielder. The Sox would send a package of young player and are apparently willing to move prospects such as Jorndan Dands, Tyler Flowers, Dan Hudson and Dayan Viciedo. Not sure how legit the report is and I'm sure even if it was, it would probably be a mix of the above prospects and maybe a player(s) like Gavin Floyd. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/414414-chicago-white-sox-targeting-milwaukees-prince-fielder

A 5 year $32 million dollar deal for a journeyman play who's been on 8 teams in 8 years? I'm not saying Gooden isn't a decent player that could help the Bucks, but that's a lot of years and money. I believe he signed a one year contract a year ago for $4.5 million and he didn't have that much of a better year. If I'm John Salmons, I'm thinking if they are willing to give Gooden 5 years, even if it includes a team option, I should at least get 4 years. Guess should wait and see whether it's true and what the real contract numbers are. Just hard to believe they would give that many years and money to a player like Gooden. Well, if they have signed Gooden and are able to sign John Salmons, they should at least have a solid team going into next season.

Rosenthal and Morosi also mention that outfielder Michael Saunders and right-hander Brandon Morrow are also "in play".

I agree, I think the Brewers definitely need to get a second starting pitcher and am worried about Melvin starting to hedge about this need. Haudricourt has some information in his blogs about that and Mulder. Basically, if they sign Mulder, which seems likely, he wouldn't count as the second starter. Looks like the Brewers are taking a look at Mulder's medical records and plan to meet with him in Arizona come January. If the Brewers are satisfield with his medicals records, then they won't even feel the need to watch him pitch before signing him and Mulder would like to say with Peterson. So, looks like it's just a matter of time and getting things planned out. On the second pitcher though, I didn't lilke these comments by Melvin, As for the possibility of adding another starter, Melvin said, "If we can, we'd like to. We might not be able to. We're always looking to improve the club. "We're trying to keep flexibility to do things we can do. The worst thing you can do is lose flexibility." http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/78965622.html

I know, went a bit fast trying to post it. Thanks.

Looks like the Brewers have also signed LaTroy Hawkins according the Ken Rosenthal. http://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal Edit: Looks like a 2 year deal.

According to Adam McCalvy, "Two sources said that right-hander Kevin Gregg and left-hander Mike Gonzalez are among the relievers being at least internally discussed by the Brewers who were also reportedly to meet Tuesday with representatives of free agent starter Mark Mulder." Wouldn't have to give up anything for Gregg, but would have to give up a 2nd round pick for Gonzalez. Would rather have Gonzalez, but wouldn't want to give up the second round pick for him. Will probably figure out soon if Mulder is going to sign with the Brewers. Will be a nice addition to have as insurance and probably wouldn't cost much as well. http://brewersbeat.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/12/gregg_gonzalez_mulder_getting.html

Thanks, I'll check them out. You have been of great help.

Hello all, I wonder if someone can help me with a question. Wasn't there a book that came out at some point that was suppose to be a baseball book for women who are just learning the game. Rules, how the game is played, an explanation of what is what and so on. I thought I recall hearing something about this in the past, but maybe it was something else. Thanks for anyone who can help.

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports has a minor update. He repeats what has already been reported that the Brewers are not confident that they will acquire Davis and the Diamondbacks are not inclined to move him. However he also adds: "A deal must be completed by 1 p.m. ET on Friday, according to a major-league source."