zzzmanwitz

I'd much rather trade Escobar than Hardy. I honestly think Escobar is at his highest trade value now. I could easily see Escobar being a bust in the majors. Hardy is a proven defensive stud, all star shortstop with some pop. Those don't come around often.

if it takes Escobar or Salome i'm in. But not for Jeffress.

TBadder, You are looking at this incorrectly, IMO. I'm talking about expectations going into 2008 vs. expectations going into 2009. Suppan was our #2 starter last year, this year he is #5. Branyan was in the minors. Lamb/Hall platoon will be better than Hall himself. (even Hall himself will be slightly better this year I think). Closer is a wash? I was high on Gagne (comparatively to the rest of BF.net), but Hoffman is way better than Gagne could have been. Corey will definitely be better overall next year than last year.

I guess I was under the impression Gallardo's status was known that he would be out for a while. Not the whole season obviously, but maybe him being gone for the whole year would have dropped expectations a game or two, not 10-15.

I'm hoping Randolph will have some positive effect on Rickie Weeks. Both at the plate and in the field. I'm not sure what impact Macha will have, i'm not that familiar with his style of managing.

The Question is...Who will be our Russell Branyan this season? Well, Russell Branyan wasn't on the opening day roster. I disagree with you on Nelson because I don't think he'll get PT. Now Nixon could be that guy, only cause he could get more opportunities. Juan Cruz? Keep me away from Cruz. Its not that he's not talented, but he's not worth a 1st rounder, especially since we may not get one for either CC or Sheets.

My main point of this post is that I feel a lot of Brewer fans are jumping ship on this team when we had high expectations last year on a team that hasn't changed much. I've heard predictions of 70-75 wins and that just doesn't seem right.

I will agree that there is a lack of depth in the starting rotation which i have noted in previous posts. I for one still believe that a SP will be added. I'm guessing it'll be Looper. That would move McClung to the Pen and probably Dillard in the minors.

Even though there is still time left before the season, I know there has been some people that feel the Brewers haven't done enough this offseason. I just wanted to take some time to look at this years team (to this point) versus last years team to see just where we are at. Remember, these are OPENING DAY rosters. Catcher 2008 - Jason Kendall* 2009 - Jason Kendall First 2008 - Prince Fielder 2009 - Prince Fielder* Second 2008 - Rickie Weeks 2009 - Rickie Weeks* Shortstop 2008 - JJ Hardy* 2009 - JJ Hardy Third 2008 - Bill Hall 2009 - Mike Lamb/Bill Hall* Left Field 2008 - Ryan Braun 2009 - Ryan Braun* Center Field 2008 - Gwynn/Gross/Kapler (Cameron 25 game suspension) 2009 - Mike Cameron* Right Field 2008 - Corey Hart 2009 - Corey Hart* Bench 2008 - Gross, Counsel, Kapler, Dillon, Rivera* 2009 - Hall/Lamb, Nelson, Gwynn, Nixon, Rivera* (Prediction) Rotation 2008 - Sheets, Suppan, Bush, Villanueva, Parra* 2009 - Gallardo, Parra, Bush, Suppan, McClung Bullpen 2008 - Shouse, Mota, Torres, McClung, Turnbow 2009 - Stetter, Coffee, Riske, Julio, Dillard* (Prediction) Set up and Closer 2008 - Riske, Gagne 2009 - Villanueva, Hoffman* Now if I remember correctly, there were people that predicted 85-95 wins for last years team. What I want someone to tell me how this year's team is any worse than last year's opening day team. With improvements from Prince, Braun (more experienced in LF), Hart, and Weeks. Maybe the potential for solid production in a platoon at 3B. The starting rotation is maybe a little worse than last year, but to me the bullpen is much more stable. I would be willing to put this team on an even level with the opening day team from last year. Edit: I put "*" next to the player (or group of players) i thought would perform better vs their counterpart from the year before or after. I feel the benches are pretty equal.

On the other hand, locking up JJ for a reasonable 4 year contract doesn't hurt his trade value any if he continues to play like he has for the last 2 years. Many said the same thing about Bill Hall... then again, I wasn't one of those people.

including this year... 5.5, 8, 10.5, 13? Team option for $13? That seems fair to me... maybe i'm optimistic.

i'm thinking it'll be closer to 5/48 or 4/42

Hardy needs a longterm deal signed this year or he is as good as gone next offseason, and that is sad to see.

Not sure how relevant this really is because nobody has suggested trading Fielder for Swisher. I think the idea is that Swisher could be a replacement for Fielder if we were to trade him next offseason.

I also believe that him at 1B would at least be "good" defense, putting him at a projected value of 12.3 Million this season.

Here is a multi year projection on Swisher and Fielder. I haven't really analyzed it up to this point. Swisher http://www.baseballprojection.com/swishni1254.htm Fielder http://www.baseballprojection.com/fieldpr1309.htm

The brewers would because it wouldn't cos them their number one pick. Sure, they don't get the extra pick, but losing an extra one seems like less cost than giving your original pick up. I'm still not sure why the yankees haven't had more interest. It would cost them a 4th rounder at this point, which would be really sad. If the brewers did sign him to a 1 or 2 year deal, I wouldn't doubt he would still be a type-A after his contract is over.

Its pretty amazing to think that Sheets was the NL All-Star Starter and is basically getting no bites on the FA market.

At this point, it all comes down to health. Our SP rotation could be average if the current 5-6 guys stay healthy, but really how often does that happen with this team? I think we need to have one more guy, mainly for depth in order to keep ourselves in the playoff chase.

Thanks, I read the post from MLB traderumors, not from Tom H. So I never got through the whole article http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

News from Tom H. Doesn't look like Lowe or Perez is an option. I just hope it doesn't rule out Sheets. http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/37387909.html

Not much pitching on the FA market There may not be much "top tier" pitching, but there is still plenty out there that can improve the Brewers. Most of these will come at a salary much lower than their value due to the lack of activity this offseason and the economy. Starting pitchers Matt Belisle (29) Paul Byrd (38) - Type B, offered arb Bartolo Colon (36) Josh Fogg (32) Freddy Garcia (33) Jon Garland (29) - Type B, offered arb Livan Hernandez (34) Chuck James (27) Jason Jennings (30) Kenshin Kawakami (34) Braden Looper (34) - Type B, not offered arb Derek Lowe (36) - Type A, offered arb Oliver Perez (27) - Type A, offered arb Andy Pettitte (37) - Type A, not offered arb Mark Prior (27) Ben Sheets (30) - Type A, offered arb Kip Wells (32) Randy Wolf (32) - Type B, not offered arb Closers Brandon Lyon (29) - Type B, offered arb Takashi Saito (39) Middle relievers Luis Ayala (31) - Type B, not offered arb Joe Beimel (32) - Type B, not offered arb Joe Borowski (38) Chad Cordero (27) Lance Cormier (28) Juan Cruz (30) - Type A, offered arb Brendan Donnelly (37) Scott Elarton (33) Randy Flores (33) Casey Fossum (31) Keith Foulke (35) Eric Gagne (33) - Type B, not offered arb Tom Gordon (41) Eddie Guardado (38) Jason Isringhausen (36) - Type B, not offered arb Tyler Johnson (27) Aquilino Lopez (34) Guillermo Mota (35) Will Ohman (31) Al Reyes (38) Dennys Reyes (32) - Type B, offered arb Juan Rincon (30) Ricardo Rincon (39) Rudy Seanez (40) - Type B, not offered arb Brian Shouse (40) - Type B, offered arb Russ Springer (40) - Type A, not offered arb Ken Takahashi (41) Julian Tavarez (36) Mike Timlin (43) Ron Villone (39) Kip Wells (32) Matt Wise (33) Jamey Wright (34)

If that's a fluke, it's one thing. If it's the start of a trend, it's a serious problem. If it were any other player, people would call it a fluke. But since its weeks, and there seems to be a major bias against him among brewer fans, its viewed as the start of a trend.

Its really amazing how many times league average 2nd baseman stats are posted on this site and some people still don't believe that Weeks is average. It completely boggles my mind.

got it Endaround. I can agree with that.