dpapo

If Arizona just decides to let him go or if we end up just having to give up a Vinny Rottino type of prospect, that would be okay. Anything more then that, then I'd just rather the Brewers pass. The season is already over, so there's no point in giving up too much to pick him up. Even with the chance of getting a type B sandwhich pick. Also, if I read the blog correctly, I believe the comments Haudricourt used from Melvin were all from the time during the July 31st trading deadline. The only recent comment from Melvin was that he wasn't allowed to comment on waiver claims.

I hope they didn't have to give up too much for him as well. If what I found is correct, and I'm sure someone will double check this, I believe that Weathers has a team option is worth $3.7 million with a $400,000 buyout for 2010.

According to that blog, here are some of the clues: 1. The Brewers were so close to completing what general manager Doug Melvin called a "big," three-team trade for a pitcher..." 2. The deal fizzled, and the pitcher in question wasn't traded... 3. Melvin did assure reporters that the pitcher in question wasn't Toronto's Roy Halladay 4. Melvin also showed interest as recently as Thursday in Royals right-hander Brian Bannister, but Kansas City held onto him. He called on D-backs left-hander Doug Davis and, to a lesser degree, Jon Garland, both of whom stayed put. 5. "I didn't think on Washburn we were ever close," Melvin said. But Melvin was near to completing, "a much bigger deal," that was so close to happening that within a half hour of the 3 p.m. CT deadline to deal players without first exposing them to waivers, Melvin had principal owner Mark Attanasio waiting near a phone, ready to approve a deal. 6. "It just didn't happen," Melvin said. "Both of them revolved around what another team was doing. Those are always tough." 7. Macha would only reveal that it was not a pitcher who would have been available to start for the Brewers on Saturday. 8. One of them was Atlanta right-hander Javier Vazquez, who had just pitched on Thursday, but a National League scout offered assurances that the Brewers and Braves weren't talking about Vazquez on Friday. 9. In response to some of the fan complaints on message boards and talk radio, Melvin said, ""Had we made a deal involving some of the players we talked about, I'm pretty sure they would have been disappointed, too. ..." Okay, there are the clues. It would have been for a pitcher that was not traded, but would not have been able to start on Saturday. That means someone who made a start sometime in the past few days. It wasn't Roy Halladay or Javier Vazquez. Also probably not Bannister, Davis or Garland as Melvin started that it was a much bigger deal than Washburn. He could have meant that in terms or a 3 way trade, but I took that also to mean someone bigger than Washburn. It would have been part of a 3 way trade. So, what pitchers could those descriptions have fit.

An updated version of the Foxsports.com link is reporting that Clement was taken out of the Tacoma lineup yesterday and told he was being traded. So, the Brewers still may be involved in some sort of trade with the Mariners. Though they are also reporting that the Red Sox and Pirates had scouts in Tacoma. Either way, I hope the report about the Brewers no longer being interested in Washburn is true.

You can add me to the no way should the Brewers trade Escobar crowd. I hope Melvin doesn't get caught up in the heat of the moment and does a foolish trade that will hurt this team in the future. Especially when this team has a number of needs that any one trade is not going to take care of. If Escobar is what Seattle is only willing to take, then just forget about it. The other thing to keep in mind is that the Brewers are going to have a number of decisions and needs for next season. Cameron, Kendall and Hoffman are all going to become free agents. Better to keep Escobar and then trade Hardy, if not now, then in the offseason for either pitching help and/or players that can help fill in for the players that the Brewers might lose to free agency.

The link to the MLB article from that Haudricourt's article gives an idea of what the Blue Jays are looking for. "Los Angeles Dodgers: A report on Foxsports.com reveals interest in Halladay by Dodgers manager Joe Torre and states the Blue Jays would want pitcher Clayton Kershaw as the centerpiece in any trade between the two clubs. Halladay's salary could be an obstacle, the report said. " "St. Louis: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak acknowledged his intention to approach Ricciardi about the team's interest in Halladay. One Cardinals source told the paper, "We may be able to give up an arm or a leg. But we're not going to sacrifice the whole body [in a trade]." The paper reports the Blue Jays want Major League-ready pitching, which could be a problem for the Cardinals. Texas: The Rangers are interested in acquiring Halladay, but view the pitcher's salary as an obstacle. The Blue Jays are seeking a shortstop, and the Rangers are unlikely to deal shortstop Elvis Andrus." http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090719&content_id=5951656&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

I already have scheduled to take off a couple hours early from work today so I could watch the game on tv. I also have to work from 12-8 tomorrow and have to get up early for work Thursday morning. So, if they don't get the game in today, which appears likely, I'm going to miss the first game of the year and only be able to watch the first few innings of the second game. Darn Giants owner, why couldn't you schedule the game on the same day as everyone else. The Dodgers played yesterday.

For those with Directv, the Rockies are also going to be covering the game in HD on channel 683. So, if you don't mind listening to the Rockies feed, you can watch the game live in HD. The MLB Network's one hour delay coverage of the game is going to be on HD, so they'll probably be using the Rockies feed.

Haudricourt has an update on Melvin's feelings about Sheets. "The one exception could be Ben Sheets, who might have made a mistake by turning down the Brewers' offer of arbitration, which would have guaranteed a salary of at least $12 million in 2009. There have been no reports of a team making the multi-year offer that Sheets figured he'd get on the market. If the injury-prone right-hander comes back to the Brewers and proposes a reasonable deal to return, what would be their response? "I don't know," said Melvin. "We'd have to look at that and see. It's a possibility (to work something out). He seems to be a real mystery on the market right now. You don't hear much about him." http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/37363469.html

I added the link in the Cameron thread, but from that same Haudricourt article it looks like Melvin was seriously considering signing Cruz, until they lost the 1st round they were going to get for C.C. "Before signing Hoffman, the Brewers had shown interest in reliever Juan Cruz. But Cruz is a Class A free agent and the Brewers would have to surrender a first-round draft pick to Arizona to sign him. Melvin was willing to sacrifice a first-rounder when he thought he'd be getting one in return from New York as compensation for losing CC Sabathia. But when the Yankees signed a higher-ranked Class A free agent, Mark Teixeira, the Brewers were bumped back to receiving a second-round pick from New York. "The CC thing hurt us," said Melvin. "I don't want to give up a first-rounder now. We have to continue to build from within."

Haudricourt has some interesting information from his latest article, including an update on Cameron to Yankees talks. "The Yankees still have interest in acquiring Brewers centerfielder Mike Cameron after talks broke off in late December. They recently floated the idea of swapping first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher for Cameron. Acquired earlier in the winter from the Chicago White Sox, Swisher was targeted to play first base for the Yankees before they signed Teixeira. He has approximately $21 million left on his contract over the next three seasons and is not considered a top-notch centerfielder despite seeing considerable action there last year in Chicago. Having lost two strikeout pitchers in Sabathia and Sheets, Melvin figures more balls will be put in play off the Brewers' staff this year. Thus, he's inclined to keep Cameron despite his $10 million price tag. "I'm not motivated to move him," said Melvin, who promised Cameron he would only trade him to a contender. "Having a good defensive centerfielder is valuable." http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/37363469.html

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Boston Red Sox has signed Takashi Saito. "The deal was completed after Saito passed his physical on Friday. It includes a guarantee between $1.5 million and $2.5 million, the sources said, and Saito will have the chance to earn more than $7 million if he reaches all of his incentives." http://msn.foxsports.com/...free-agent-reliever-Saito-

As far as Boston not having the resources to sign Sheets, we're not talking about a long term, expensive contract. At least, I wouldn't think that Sheets and his agents would still be looking for that type of contract. The Red Sox do have the resources to sign Sheets if they were truly interested. That's the whole point I'm making. Teams are not viewing Sheets as worth spending those type of resources and it's not due to a lack of talent and not just past injuries. If the Red Sox weren't worried about Sheets injuries, then they would view him as a pitcher worth at least a 2 year, $20-25 million deal. They didn't pass on Sheets because they didn't have the resources for that type of deal. They were planning on spending a whole lot more money than that on Teixeira, because they had the resources to do it and they felt he was worth it. As I have mentioned, other players with a history of injuries, recent and long term have signed, while Sheets is still out there, without drawing much interest at the moment. Of course, the current market has something to do with it as well. However, we're talking about an ace type of pitcher and there isn't one team that we know of that has even made Sheets an offer. So, I guess the answer is a combination of market, injuries and I would say something in his medical reports and maybe what Sheets agent is asking.

Fielder may be cheaper for one year, but even that may not be the case. Plus, if money is an issue, then signing Dunn would make more sense as Fielder's salary is going to increase over the next few years. And Fielder is going to become a free agent in 3 years, so they would probably lose him to free agency, while they could just sign Dunn to a 3 year deal, which would be cheaper over that time and they wouldn't have given up good, young pitchers. On top of that, there is Fielder's weight issue and first base isn't exacly the toughest position to find a good hitter. If it's just a case of whether a team would rather have Dunn or Fielder, sure teams would rather have Fielder. However, when you include good, young pitching, which is the most valued thing in baseball, then it doesn't make much sense to trade young pitching for Fielder. Thing of it this way, if your the Brewers and you didn't have Fielder. Would you trade Gallardo for Fielder or you would you just keep Gallardo and sign Dunn.

I've mentioned this before, but I think there is something teams are seeing in Sheets medical reports that is scaring them off. If it's just a history of injuries, then Burnett would have also had trouble finding a team to sign with. And it's not just that the Yankees that were interested in Burnett, there were rumors of multiple other teams interested in him as well. One of those teams, the Braves offered a contract that was similar to what the Yankees offered and are now currently making a serious run at Lowe, but have yet to show any serious interest in Sheets. The Mets have a strong interest in Lowe, who is a type A free agent, but there haven't been any rumors/reports that they have had a serious interest in Sheets. Heck, the Red Sox signed John Smoltz and Brad Penny, two pitchers coming off injured seasons, but haven't shown any interest in Sheets. And it's not like money or giving up a pick would be a major issue with the Red Sox. Eventually, some team is going to sign Sheets, maybe whoever loses out on Lowe between the Mets and Braves. Maybe Texas or maybe Sheets does come back to the Brewers one 1 year deal.

As has already been mentioned here, why would a team trade good, young pitching for Fielder, when they could just keep their young pitchers and sign Dunn. It won't really save them money and young pitching has more value. In fact, as has also been mentioned here, it would be cheaper in the long run to sign Dunn. And you wouldn't be giving up valuable, good young pitching.

According to John Heyman, Tim Redding is close to signing a 1 year deal with the Mets for $2.25 million. Newsday has it at $2.50 Million. As far as Jon Garland, there was a Brewers.com article where it states that Melvin isn't particular interested in Garland. Melvin also doesn't seem interested in Lowe or Perez, so I'm starting to wonder if the Brewers will sign another starter for the rotation or just end up signing a starter for depth as a potential 6th or 7th guy in case of injury. As far as free agent starting pitching, probably the best that would be left would be Brandon Looper, Paul Bryd and Randy Wolf. Pedro Martinez has said that he's willing to play for any team, if you want to take a wild card chance on someone. Other pitchers like that could include Mulder and Freddy Garcia. After that you get into the Chuck James, Odalis Perez, Livian Hernandez type of pitchers.

Nice signing. I think the Brewers made a fair offer, most likely higher than any other team was willing to go, but still fair all around. They also have an option for next year if he performs well. Still would like to add another bullpen arm or two, which shouldn't cost too much with so many free agents still left looking for work. And of course, they need to add another starter, but at least the Brewers have the closer role taken care of.

Per Haudricourt, "Apparently, the Brewers did not have to guarantee a second year to sign free agent closer Trevor Hoffman. I just was told the deal is for one year, and there's probably an option for 2010." "The Brewers probably will make the official announcement sometime before noon." http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/brewers.html

After this offseason, I'll believe Hoffman is signing with the Brewers when he or his agent makes it official. Looks good, but right now ESPN and Rotoworld are going off the same AP story. However, if Hoffman does sign with the Brewers, hopefully they will next be close to signing a starter. Still would like to sign another reliever or two, but getting another starter will become the top priority, if Hoffman does end up signing with the Brewers.

According to Melvin, he has yet to get in touch with Mulder's agent. Mulder has pitched in just six games over the past two seasons because of shoulder woes, but he has been linked to the Brewers several times by the Boston Globe, which reported Sunday that Milwaukee and Oakland were, "big on the comebacking pitcher." Not so, at least from Milwaukee's standpoint. "I really haven't contacted his guy [agent Gregg Clifton]," Melvin said. --Also not interested in Lowe, Oliver Perez or Garland, but still might have an interest in Sheets. "...they could be players for Ben Sheets, who has pitched all eight of his big league seasons in Milwaukee. "We're looking at everything right now," Melvin said. --Hard to know if the Brewers still truly have an interest in Sheets or not. Sort of hint they are open to Sheets returning, but have yet to really make a move to get Sheets back, other than offer arby. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/a...mil&partnerId=rss_mil

According to the LA Times, the Dodgers plan to make Hoffman their closer as well. "By signing Hoffman, the Dodgers would return Jonathan Broxton to a setup role and add a veteran arm to a bullpen that has lost Takashi Saito, Joe Beimel and Chan Ho Park." So, if Hoffman can be the closer with both the Brewers and Dodgers, it's probably going to come down to money, length of contract and how strongly does Hoffman want to stay close to home. I think that unless the Brewers offer a much better deal, he'll end up with the Dodgers. It might just come down to whether or not the Brewers are willing to guarantee two years or one year with an easily obtained option for a second year. http://www.latimes.com/sp...0,7011387.story?track=rss

Haudricourt has Melvin's latest comments about things, "If (the other team) is LA, he lives out there," said Brewers general manager Doug Melvin. "All we can do is give it our best shot." "We got more direction at the kind of numbers we're looking at," said Melvin. "We're going to look at it. We exchanged numbers to a point. We agreed to talk again (today)." "Melvin wouldn't say if he'd be willing to go to two years guaranteed." "He's got three young boys, so he could go home a lot more if he signs with Los Angeles," said Melvin. "That's what free agency allows a player to do - pick where it's best suited for him to play. "We'd like to have him. He'd be a good fit on our club and be a good influence on our young pitchers. If not, we'll move on." http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/brewers.html

It will be disappointing to lose out on Hoffman to the Dodgers. MLB.com also has an article about this, ""We're talking parameters of a deal with both teams," Rick Thurman of the Beverly Hills Sports Council told MLB.com in a telephone interview. "In the next 24-to-48 hours I think we'll have something done. If we don't have a deal done we'll have a pretty solid idea of where he's going. But I think we'll have a deal done." --Looks like it's coming down to whether Hoffman would rather stay on the West Coast which is what he wants vs still being a closer, which is also what he wants. At his age, it could go either way. Also, it was Ken Macha who actually called Melvin to get permission to give Hoffman a call. "...when new Brewers manager Ken Macha learned that general manager Doug Melvin was talking recently with Hoffman's agent, he asked Melvin for permission to call Hoffman himself. Hoffman was vacationing with his family in Hawaii, but returned that call on Saturday. "I gave him a compliment on his career, and his professionalism," Macha said Tuesday. "A guy with Hoffman's experience and track record, what he's done over the years, would bring a lot of confidence to your team," Macha said. "This guy is a tremendous individual, and he could have a great influence on the young guys on our staff." Also mentioned the following, "The Brewers also want to add a pitcher to their starting rotation, but Macha, for his part, believes the priority is a top-notch closer." http://mlb.mlb.com/news/a...otstove2008&fext=.jsp

Haudricourt has updated his blog after talking with Hoffman's agent. Gets the feeling that Hoffman and his agent are looking for a 2 year deal. Some quotes from the article: "Thurman assured me that Hoffman has "mutual interest" in the Brewers..." "Thurman and Hoffman apparently have been doing their due diligence on the Brewers, talking to folks in the organization to gauge the atmosphere, plans for 2009, etc. Hoffman went as far as talking to new manager Ken Macha. This is not to say the Brewers are a lock to get Hoffman. Thurman said he is talking to other teams who are interested in the 41-year-old changeup specialist." "...the sides discussed parameters of a deal yesterday. That's almost always the precursor to an actual offer, which the Brewers might make before the day is over." "They definitely have interest and so does Trevor," said Thurman. "It's a possibility (to get a deal done)." http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/37151959.html