MNBrew

My sister-in-law taught him one year in HS in Tampa. The guy went to 4 different high schools in 4 years. Two of those moves were because he hit teachers. Lots of talent but way, way, way too much trouble. Don't touch him with a 10-ft. pole.

Craig Wilson also was just cut by the Braves, whose offense hasn't exactly been stellar. Mackowiak's hardly an outfield stalwart, either, but they keep trotting him out there. Mench has had more AL success than NL success over his career (okay, the NL part is only 4 months long and counting), and seems well-suited to the AL as a corner OF & DH guy. There's some sell-able upside there. . . . and then of course there's his contract and the fact that his once-great start this year has been totally negated by his ensuing slump. Graffanino was solid when we got him last year. I still think we'd've been a better team this year with Cirillo and Graffanino on the bench than Graffanino & Counsell, but that's water under the bridge (but sore spot nonetheless). But Graffanino still hasn't gotten on track at the plate this year. However, he's had a decent stint with the White Sox and he fits the hole created by Ozuna much better than Craig Wilson. I don't like the idea of giving up on Graffanino at this point, but I sure don't like what he's doing with a bat in his hands so far this year, either. The White Sox would seem to be a good fit for both those guys. I'm just not totally sold on giving up Graffanino yet. And besides, Corey Hart quietly seems to deliver more consistently than Gross or Mench, and brings more distinct assets to the team when he plays. I want to see Hart in RF nearly every day, and no more Kevin Mench taking away time from Hart's continued development. Not that Hart's about to become MVP. It's just that he seems (key word is "seem" = my perception) to do a lot of little things well that are what you need on a winning team.

Hall for Crawford would seem to be a full-fledged contradiction of the "buy low, sell high" mentality. Just a thought.

As much as it theoretically hurts or at least weakens the Brewers to trade any of their outfielders, this system with 6 OFs isn't exactly working ideally, either. Playing time is a little thin to spread around. So someone needs to go sooner or later. I guess what I'm saying, dadofandrew, is that for as often as I agree with you, I don't think that getting a RH OF in return for Mench solves anything unless his name is Sosa or Hunter or Lee . . . you get the idea. I'm can't help think but that eventually something has to give.

I think Hart's still a long-term figure for this team, so I'd guess we might see something like this if (and hopefully when) Mench is dealt: starters: Hall 3-way, 2-position platoon between Jenkins, Hart, & Gwynn bench: Gross waiting in the wings (AAA): Nix Eventually Hart & Hall remain permanent starters. Gwynn may be up-and-down production-wise for a while, so I'm not put off by the idea of not quite handing him any permanent starting spot yet. He well could be the 3rd guy before long, but I don't think it's obligatory to give it to him yet.

With how badly the Twins' offense had been going, I think they'd take about anyone. Then again, they did that with Phil Nevin last year and it didn't exactly make a difference. Of course, I'd love to get Cirillo back, but I doubt that type of trade happens too soon. But just to have fun with the idea.... Twins get: Mench & Graffanino & either cash, a prospect, or both to even things out Brewers get: Cirillo & a reliever

The coolest thing about the trade is that the organization is at a point where the debate here still mostly falls under the "duly noted" category instead of "5-alarm fire." Regardless of how these guys profile, all their years and relative successes in the minors, they never really have produced in the bigs, and both have had their chances to do so. Both seem to fit the bill of prospects who never truly panned out. It's quite possible they're both on the downsides of their careers. And if that's the case, the talk of ceilings and what they could contribute at the major-league level will really amount to more of a hindsight-based discussion. Sure, there could be a freak-ish, Keith-Osik-in-Milwaukee blip, but IMO this points to both guys as still being AAAA players at best, and possibly just AAA roster-fill. Then again, if one guy has more a chance of making it than the other, it may be Closser, but only because catching depth is more sparse than outfield depth. So maybe it's not out of the question that Closser might still pop up as some bad team's backup catcher in 5 years. But it would seem that the odds of either guy making any sort of big league impact are quite low.

At this point, Closser was hitting .188 in AAA and Thomas was hitting .230. Neither seems to be doing well at all, but I think I'd take the guy hitting over 40 points higher. Closser was becoming the 3rd string AAA catcher behind Rivera and Rottino, and Palmisano's finally hitting AA pitching like he hit Rookie Ball pitching a few years ago. Closser was a minor-league prospect for the Rockies who never panned out. The guy couldn't even hit in Colorado. Between Damian Miller, Mike Rivera, Lou Palmisano, and even Vinny Rottino, there are at least 4 better options for backup catcher next year than Closser. I liked having the guy. But it really hurts nothing to lose him unless they have a year like they did somewhere back in the late '80s or early '90s when they went through about 5 catchers in a matter of weeks. I remember Dave Valle hitting 3 doubles in one game but getting hurt - and they'd only just gotten him from Seattle because their other guys were hurt (Schroeder?) - then I think it was Matheny getting called up for one of the first times and he hits three doubles in the next game. What a weird stretch that was!

Watching this game so far seems just like watching way too many other games from the last 10 years. So Zambrano has great stuff. Does that mean Weeks has to swing at the first pitch every single time? Between last night & tonight I think he's been down 0-1 every AB. Drop a bunt. Lean into a pitch. Shoot, just take one. Unbelievable. I love this team, but what happened to that really good 2-strike approach from ST & the Dodgers series? Right now their 2-strike approach is swing & miss.

Somewhere in here an important point seems to have gotten lost, and it's this: If the Brewers try to put Rivera through waivers, chances would seem pretty good that they'd lose him for nothing, all in an effort to get him down to AAA. But Rivera can't get to AAA without going through waivers or being released, and in either event, he's fair game for anyone, and he's likely to take an offer to be on someone's 25-man roster. Mench + Miller keeps Rivera and about equals Lieber's salary. Mench + Rivera doesn't. Damian Miller broke down badly (bat & health) in the 2nd half last year. Good backup catchers are a valuable commodity (see: last winter's FA signings). Not that I think this is the perfect idea, but the logic seemed sound, which is why I threw it out there. The bullpen has plenty of questions and Lieber could fill the savvy veteran role. No significant payroll increase. Eases present numbers crunches at two positions. And the bonus is that we now have another proven contingency option in case Sheets or another SP gets hurt.

Just a thought, not sure if I like it.... Mench & Miller for Lieber & a B+ prospect salaries of Mench & Miller would about = Lieber, bullpen would be theoretically strengthened, OF glut thinned a little

I'm not normally one to jump on a trade-idea bandwagon, but JohnBriggs12, you hit the nail on the head in my book. I've been hoping the Brewers would go out and somehow get David Weathers again . . . for the last 3 years. Billy Castro turned that guy's career around when he became a Brewer, and the bullpen has really lacked a constantly there, steady presence like him at all since he was traded. You'd think it wouldn't cost that much in a trade to get him if the Reds were willing, but who knows? Cordero seems about the only sure thing. All the other relievers have significant question marks of varying sizes.

On one hand . . . no one ever really knows what will happen. On another . . . it's at least fun to speculate. So.... - IF the upper level starting pitching prospects (Yo, CVilly, Inman, ZJ, etc.) continue to improve, - IF Capuano either prices or underproduces himself out of Brewerdom, and IF the Brewers are still looking to open up some outfield space on the roster, and - IF Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford continues his 5-tool, high-ceiling ascent, then... Do the Brewers consider Capuano (and possibly DH material like Mench or reserve depth like Clark or Gross) as a principal element of a deal for Rocco Baldelli (and others that make the overall asset/value on both ends fairly equal? I suppose a deal like this also presumes that Hall & Hart still play everyday, and that Baldelli will, too, so Jenkins must also get moved along the way, which ought to net something decent in return if the adjustments he's finally made still have a substantial positive impact on his regular-season production. I like Capuano quite a lot, but I raise the idea for reasons others also have in this thread, and because he still needs to prove his shaky 2nd half was the fluke, not his great year-and-a-half.

Jaybird, I won't pile on. You were having fun and getting creative. We all do it. It just takes discussion forums like this to have folks ready to point out holes you may or may not have known about. I could see one or two of those deals working, and sure, I'd love to have Carl Crawford. I don't think Sturtze, Emil Brown, & Redding are guys I'd be after, mainly because I don't think they represent much of an upgrade from what we already have. I'd love to see Doug Melvin turn a deal or two like the Franklin & Estrella for Villanueva & Woolard (or was it Wooley?) -- ones where you give up something known for potential nuggets. The Twins getting Joe Mays (who was quite good before he got injured 3-4 yrs ago) and David Ortiz from Seattle for Dave Hollins also comes to mind. I don't know that any of our OF surplus (whomever you'd see as surplus beyond Hall & Hart) would net major big-league roster parts on their own, but may when combined with a little potential/depth from our bullpen. So I think it's much more likely that they make deals for mid-grade or sleeper-type prospects. I sure want to see this all unfold.

I think the intended point was that the Rockies would ship Helton to "Team X," the Brewers could send Jenkins to the Rockies, and something useful from "Team X" would end up in Milwaukee. Intriguing idea, but I don't have any thoughts on who "Team X" and any other primary players in the deal could be.

No GM with any more than half a brain gives Weaver that kind of money. Maybe something super-incentive-laden that could max out at that level. But the guy has hardly pitched like he's worth that. In fact, his last contract was proportionally absurd for that guy's production. Unbelievable what that guy thinks of his own worth vs. his production.

While the OF thing is still a major mess, it seems pretty evident that with the total dearth at all levels of baseball at the catching position, the last thing the Brewers need to do is trade depth. The 2006 season proved again what can happen when you don't have that depth. While his salary is proportionally high for a part-time/reserve-type catcher, I don't see Damian Miller going anywhere unless the Brewers are completely blown away by a trade proposal. That said, on Sportscenter tonight, they had a thing with the Top 10 team needs. At about #4, the Dodgers need a power hitter. At #2, the Red Sox need a closer. Sounds like Jenkins and Turnbow, respectively, if the Brewers can find a match with those teams. Oh, and the White Sox still need a CF, which sounds like Brady Clark. Not that it's that simple, but if they could free up that $13M in salary with minimal cost in return, they could still go out and get someone else for another gap (5th OF) if they felt so compelled (and if a deal were there to be had for the guys they'd target).

Katuluu is right. For every reason that would seem from the outside to make the Brewers & Twins a match in the Koskie department, the Twins see Punto as their everyday 3B. Melvin, Yost, & Co. also noted repeatedly throughout the 2nd half that Koskie's absence from the lineup made the Brewers a lesser team in ways that stood out to them far more than his stats would make it seem like was the case. It seems like part of the reason Koskie was brought in is because he's a respectable offensive player and a stellar defensive player at an uber-discounted salary, which makes him the perfect guy at 3B for a couple years until Braun is ML-ready. Oh, and he's a great team-first guy, too.

I agree that Jenkins still has the potential to perform very well, warts and all. However, I remember reading in a recent JSOnline column a reiteration of either TH's or DO's assertion that Jenkins' ongoing insistence that he's a great player and doesn't really need to make significant adjustments REALLY sat poorly within the clubhouse, with the front office, or both. Despite his other virtues, I wouldn't be surprised if that cinched his eventual way out of town. As it stands now, we have 6 OFs and 6 IFs before factoring in Laynce Nix, Vinny Rottino, Gwynn, or anyone else who might have a shot at playing their way onto the roster. So unless they plan to change course and go with an 11-man pitching staff all year, at least one outfielder and maybe more won't be around by the start of the season.

I like the 2 LFs and no SS in that lineup. Interesting concept.

Baldelli's good, but he was injured last year. That package as proposed seems like overpayment (maybe Villanueva + Aquino, but not also Capellan), not to mention a heavy drain-off of pitching. Give 'em Turnbow instead of Villanueva and something else to sweeten the deal, balanced by a mid-grade A or AA guy coming back from TB, and it'd seem a little more logical. Then again, it'd seem apropos to make that deal AFTER clearing a few more current Brewers OFs from the roster.

Blanton's possibly being available was a suggestion in a Ken Rosenthal bit today. He said it may be that the A's would consider trading one of their pre-arby assets for a bevy of even younger assets who could be blooming when their new park opens, then suggested Blanton could be one of those guys. It would seem very unlikely, but I wouldn't put it past Melvin to pull off a trade like that.

I'm pretty sure the Blanco/Wright/Haynes trade was a 4-team deal. Haynes came to us from Oakland. Blanco & Wright came from Colorado, where Cirillo went. I believe in this deal, Ben Grieve went from Oakland to Tampa. Can't remember the rest of the deal, but there would be your four teams.

1. Stewart makes no sense other than the fact that he's the type of hitter we haven't had. That plantar fasciatis (sp?) is nasty stuff and creeps back way too easily. So he doesn't have significant wheels and has a pus arm. Since the NL has no DH except in a half-dozen road interleague games, I can't begin to see how Stewart realistically would fit into the Brewers' scheme unless we purge 3-4 other outfielders first. So I cannot see how this might mean Hardy is gone. 2. If the Brewers sign Counsell, then it means no Graffanino. If Graffanino, then it means Plan B Counsell. Since re-signing Graffanino didn't mean "no more Hardy," I fail to see how signing Counsell could mean that. The whole point of Counsell is that Graffanino wouldn't be here and the Brewers would still need a utility IF who could play SS, which is the only position Cirillo probably shouldn't play for any length of time. All that said, I'd rather have Tony Gr. over Counsell any day and twice on Tuesdays.

Finley hasn't hit above .250 since '04 and hit 12 and 6 HR, respectively, the past two years. He offers defense and veteran leadership, plus now near-Mench-level production. Very poor choice IMO.