Chances Of Sheets Returning To Milwaukee Now 0%, Signs With A's

Well, one of my hopes and dreams over the past year was finally shot down on Tuesday. Ben Sheets one of my all-time favorite Brewers and a stud ace (when healthy) signed a 1 year $10 mill deal with the Oakland Athletics. Now, I knew there was very little chance that the Brewers would resign Sheets after he declined salary arbitration after the 2008 season, but I always had that hope that Doug Melvin would sign him to a low risk/high reward incentive laden deal. Now the hope is gone and I realized it after I saw Sheets wearing that A's jersey and cap at his press conference. Part of me thinks that some kind of bridge was burned between Sheets and the Brewers brass when they didn't offer him an extension before the 2008 season.

If you are out at your favorite local pub in Wisconsin talking sports with your buddies and Sheets name comes up, expect two main responses. 1) “Screw Sheets, he sucks. He was always hurt and he's a big wussy who couldn't ever pitch through injuries.” 2) “Yeah, Sheets has had his issues with injuries, but when he is healthy he is as good as any pitcher in baseball. And because of that I would love for him to come back to Milwaukee. Do you not remember how good he was/is?” You can put me in the camp of response #2. Through all of Ben's injuries, I always stuck up for him. The stats and performances don't lie. He is one of the best, if not the best pitcher in Brewers history.

In his eight seasons in Milwaukee Ben complied a 86-83 record, 3.72 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 1206 K's (Club Record) and 313 BB. During that span he also made the All-Star team four times and in the 2004 season he had an 18 strikeout game against the Atlanta Braves. In that 2004 season, had he had more wins he probably would have won the NL Cy Young. He was so incredibly dominate that season. 12-14 record (which cost him the Cy Young, the team was not very good), 2.70 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 264 K's to only 32 BB's, 237 innings and 5 complete games. Probably the best single season for a Brewers pitcher in history.

Of course, everyone knows about Ben's injury plagued 2005, 2006 and 2007 seasons (weird injuries like an inner ear infection, blisters and groin) that hurt himself and the Brewers. Especially that 2007 Brewers team that almost won the NL Central. Had Sheets been healthy, who knows. Then we have the 2008 season, Ben's last as a Brewer. He pitched 198 innings, which was his most since his magical 2004 season. But he missed most of September during the stretch run with an elbow injury and was not able to pitch in the playoffs, which caused the Brewers to throw Jeff Suppan in the pivotal game 4.

Following the 2008 season Ben became a free agent. The Brewers offered him a $12 mill 1 year deal in arbitration. Ben declined, which ended up being great for the Brewers since Sheets did not throw a single pitch in the 08'. He had surgery on the elbow and spent all year rehabilitating. He worked out for scouts last week in Louisiana, looked real good, signed with Oakland Tuesday and that is all she wrote. I wish Ben the best in Oakland, hope he has an awesome year and earns a multi year deal next season. Thanks for the memories Ben. Some day you will be on the Brewers Walk of Fame outside Miller Park. I have no doubt.

Davis Returns To Milwauke, Rotation Instantly Stronger

Get ready for the return of the 4 hour game this summer at Miller Park. That's right, Doug Davis is back in a Brewers uniform. To say that Davis works “slow” is an understatement. But I could care less how “slow” he works, he is a good pitcher. Davis returns on a 1 year $4.25 mill contract with a $6.5 mill option for 2011. He played for the Crew from 2003-2006 before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Johnny Estrada (UGGHHH), GM Doug Melvin still admits to this being the worst trade he has ever made. Adding Davis to a rotation that already added Randy Wolf this offseason makes this rotation better then what the Brewers had last season. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Davis is a great pitcher, but he is a real good one. It's like the Brewers are replacing Looper and Suppan with Wolf and Davis. That is an upgrade, no doubt about it.

Davis is durable, he has made 30+ starts in 5 of the last 6 seasons and is always a lock for 200 innings. He is good for 11-13 wins and has had an ERA above 4.32 only once in the last 7 years. And in 2 of those season his ERA was under 4. He is a fly ball pitcher who can strike batters out when he needs to, the one knock on Davis besides his slow working, he is prone to walk batters. His WHIP is consistently in the 1.4 and 1.5 range. So you know he works a lot with runners on, but he is good at working out of jams and stranding runners on base.

With the addition of Doug I would predict the Brewers rotation to be Gallardo, Wolf, Davis, Bush and Parra. We all know how good Gallardo is and he should improve. Wolf and Davis are what they are and that is good. If Bush is healthy he should be fine, the big question is will Manny Parra finally step up and live up to the high expectations Brewers brass and fans have had for him. Hopefully this is the season that Parra meshes his physical ability with the mental part of the game. So that leaves the final year and bloated contract of Jeff Suppan on the outside looking in. Unless Suppan has some great spring or Parra/Bush flame out badly I think Suppan will and should start the season as the long man out of the bullpen. That would make Suppan, Chris Narveson, Chris Capuano. Josh Butler and Mike Jones as the next guys as depth in case of an injury. And I would say that group of names is better depth then say Mike Burns, Seth McClung and Carlos Villanueva. So this Davis signing also improves the overall depth of the starting pitching. Which was awful last season. Let's put it this way, the Brewers were able to win 80 games in 2009 with the worst starting rotation in baseball, with the addition of Wolf and now Davis if they can make this rotation even average, they should contend for a playoff spot.

Davis has to be the “feel good” signing of the offseason. He was a fan favorite here the first time around (gotta love the “sharpie” style facial hair), married a Wisconsin gal from the Stevens Point area and really enjoyed playing in Milwaukee.

Wolf Meets The Milwaukee Media

Today the Brewers officially announced the signing of Randy Wolf as he met the Milwaukee media for the first time. While he did admit some disappointment that his hometown Dodgers did not do more to keep him, he is very excited about being a Brewer. And the two big reasons other then the fact the Brewers offered the best contract was a trip Doug Melvin took to LA to sit down and meet with Wolf along with owner Mark Attanasio. The other reason, which didn't surprise me when I heard it was Wolf had a 45 minute conversation with Trevor Hoffman on what it is like playing in Milwaukee. The Brewers strongly desired Wolf and he appreciated that.

Shortly after Wolf's presser he did an interview via phone with ESPN 540's Steve "The Homer" True. You can listen to the interview here. Good listen, Wolf is a big movie buff and a bit of a Star Wars nerd. Once again, I'm very glad to have him here, really like him and Gallardo at the top of the rotation for the next few years.

Winter Meetings Over, But Still More Work To Be Done

The Winter Meetings ended last week in Indianapolis and the Brewers left with two pieces that will definitely help the club compete for the NL Central crown in 2010. SP Randy Wolf and RP LaTroy Hawkins. Wolf will slot nicely into the 2nd spot in the rotation after Yovani Gallardo and Hawkins will be a viable setup option for Trevor Hoffman, and may even get some save opportunities once in awhile. Don't forget before the Winter Meetings the Brewers brought Gregg Zaun in to be their starting catcher in 2010. While these three moves will help and should make the club better, there is still some work to be done by Doug Melvin, Gord Ash and the rest of the Brewers front office.

First and foremost they need to get one more starting pitcher. Wolf was a big signing but they still need a guy to slot behind Wolf but in front of Parra and Bush. A couple of guys that come to mind are either Erik Bedard, Doug Davis, Jarrd Washburn, Justin Duchscherer, Chien Ming-Wang (if non-tendered) or Kevin Correia (if non-tendered). If they can go and sign one of these guys I really like our rotation of Gallardo, Wolf, (Free Agent), Manny Parra, Dave Bush. That would be far and away better then last season. And if Bush stays healthy and Parra improves it could be very good. Second the Brewers need to resign Craig Counsell, and if they don't they need to find another veteran utility infielder that can spell 2B, SS or 3B. I hope they can resign Counsell, I would even be willing to give him a 2 year deal. He is coming off his best offensive season and his defense and intangibles are very important to a young club.

Those are really the only two things I think they need to resolve. Maybe a 4th and or 5th OF if they non-tender Jody Gerut. But really after they get that second SP and get their utility infielder they pretty much have all the other players already in the 40 man roster, it will just be a matter of who wins battles in Spring Training and what their roles will be on the club in 2010. So far I like what they have done and its nice to see the rest of the NL Central not doing much. I really believe that this Brewers team and compete with any of the teams in the NL Central.

Reader Poll Results

"Which of these SP would you most like to see the Brewers sign?"

Randy Wolf: 100% (6 Votes)

Doug Davis: 0% (0 Votes)

Jarrod Washburn: 0% (0 Votes)

Jon Garland: 0% (0 Votes)

Starting Rotation And Bullpen Get A Boost: Randy Wolf & LaTroy Hawkins

Pretty good day if you are a member of the Brewers organization or one of their fans. Today at the Winter Meetings in Indy, Doug Melvin worked out two deals to help bolster the Brewers pitching. A 3 year $29.75 mill deal with SP Randy Wolf and a 2 year $7.5 mill deal with RP LaTroy Hawkins. The Wolf deal had been speculated for a few days now and was clearly Melvin's number one target this offseason. The Hawkins rumors started today and before you knew it a deal was done. Both pitchers are coming off fantastic 2009 seasons. For the Dodgers Wolf was 11-7 with a 3.23 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and struck out 160 in 214 IP. Hawkins while pitching for the Astros was 1-4, 11 saves with a 2.13 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and struck out 45 in 63 IP.

Both players are a little older Wolf being 33 and Hawkins 36. So that might be a little worrisome. But overall I like both signings. In my opinion and many others Wolf was probably the second best SP on the market behind John Lackey (you could make a case for Harden, Sheets or Bedard but there are health issues there), he is coming off back-to-back seasons where he was stellar and made 30+ starts. While he is somewhat of a finesse pitcher who gets a lot of fly balls, he can strike guys out which is something Brewers pitcher other then Gallardo didn't do much of in 2009. While he is not quite the #2 we wanted behind Gallardo, he is a damn good #3, better then anyone else we had in 2009 other then Gallardo. Some people want to say this was a "Suppan Deal", I don't look at it that way. Wolf is a far better pitcher then Suppan and we signed him for less years and money (there is a 4th year club option). In this day and age you have to somewhat overpay for pitching because there just is not that much good pitching out there. And with as bad as the Brewers rotation was in 2009, Doug Melvin had to do something and is probably not done as far as starting pitching is concerned.

As for Hawkins, he should fit in perfectly as a setup man for Trevor Hoffman and during the course of the year and can serve as a closer if Hoffman needs a rest or God forbid Hoffman spends anytime on the DL. Right now as it stand with Hoffman as our closer I like how the pen shapes up in front of him with Hawkins, Vargas (deal is close as reported today by McCalvy and Haudricourt), Coffey and Stetter. OF course a few spots will be up for grabs between Villanueva, Smith, Narveson, etc. All in all a successful start to the offseason in my eyes with the trade of Hardy for Gomez and now the signings of Zaun, Wolf and Hawkins. Now lets go get another starter and lock up Counsell to be our utility infielder. Do it Doug!

Miller Park Will Be Zaunbieland In 2010

Let me start this post out saying this. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, hey gooodbyyye! So long to Jason Kendall and his wet paper towel of a bat. No more of our catcher having a .305 SLG%. I will give it to Kendall, he was dynamite on defense in 2008 which really helped in our push to our first postseason appearance in 26 years. But in 2009, his bat like it has been for sometime now was anemic and his defense took a MAJOR step back. I wonder how hard Doug Melvin laughed in his face when Kendall's agent said he wanted to make $5 mill again in 2010? Probably as hard as Jerry Seinfeld laughed at Marty Funkhouser's joke in episode #9 of "Curb" this season.

Now that I got my Kendall bashing out of the way let me say I love the move to sign Gregg Zaun to be the starting catcher for the Brewers in 2010, how can you not? The guy has his own website www.greggzaun.com that plays Rush's "Limelight" before you enter the homepage. 1 year deal worth $1.9 mill with a second year club option. Zaun is a solid vet who has in my opinion been a pretty underrated catcher for quite a few years. While Zaun is certainly no Joe Mauer or Brian McCann, he is a switch hitting catcher who does a good job of getting on base (.345 OBP in 09') and can actually hit for a little power (8 HR/.416 SLG in 09'). He also does a decent job throwing runners out and is one of the best at blocking balls in the dirt. Kendall struggled MIGHTILY in both those categories in 2009. While I would have been okay with the Brewers letting prospect Jonathan Lucroy take over as the starting catcher in 2010, this is probably better for the club. Now you can give Lucroy a whole season at AAA to further develop his game before becoming the starting catcher in 2011.

The Brewers also still have Angel Salome down in AAA, recently signed off waivers George Kottares and arbitration eligible Mike Rivera. My guess is that Salome is traded in some package for pitching, Kottares wins the backup job and Rivera is non-tendered. Nice to see Doug make a good signing for a need of the team early in free agency this season to get the ball rolling. Hopefully during the winter meetings next week he can start getting the pitching help we need to really contend in 2010.

Reader Poll Results

"Should the Brewers resign Craig Counsell?"

Yes: 72% (8 Votes)

No: 27% (3 Votes)

I Don't Get It

As reported Monday by Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com, the Brewers did not offer arbitration to any of their 5 ranked free agents on Tuesday. Okay, I totally understand why Melvin would not offer arby to Cameron, Kendall, Looper or Weathers. Because more then likely those four guys would have taken it and meant we would be overpaying for guys we don't need nor want. But I just don't get how you don't offer arby to 2B Felipe Lopez. It just baffles my brain thinking about why you wouldn't? Doug thinks that had he offered it to Felipe he might have accepted it and then they might have to pay him $4 or $5 mill and you have a "logjam" on the infield because Lopez would want to start. Would it really be a problem to have too many good infielders? I don't think so, what if there is an injury? Then you would be covered. And the most likely and best scenario is that Lopez would have declined arby since he wants and will most likely get a multi year deal from a team looking for a good starting 2B. Thus the Brewers would have gotten a supplemental pick in the 2010 draft. But instead, no Lopez and no draft pick. I'm a big Doug Melvin fan and believer but I am not to happy with this non-move.

Counsell Possibly Rewarded For Career Year In 2009?

I'm sitting at my desk on my lunch break right now and seen a "tweet" from Buster Olney of ESPN and he is reporting that 12 teams are interested in the services of Craig Counsell. And that it is very possible that he could leave Milwaukee for a multi year deal. Of course he goes on to say that possible fits are the Yankees and Red Sox. Of course, go figure. I really would like the Brewers to bring Counsell back, but not at any contract of 3 years or more. Which I suppose some team may be dumb enough to give Counsell. While of he had a very nice season last year getting extended playing time because of the injury to Rickie Weeks I'm not sure how sold I am on his production offensively in 2009. He is on the wrong side of 30 so I am not sure how much more he can improve. It may have been a fluke, but I would love to keep him around on another 1 year or at most a 2 year deal. Should be interesting to see what Craig decides to do.

Free Agent Pitching

I really hope the Brewers do not go after John Lackey as some like Buster Olney of ESPN are reporting. Will cost to much in years and cash, and while he is a good pitcher, he is not a great pitcher. So he is not worth the price tag IMO. I think it would be a much smarter idea to go after Doug Davis and/or Jarrod Washburn in addition to signing one of the low risk/high reward guys like Ben Sheets, Erik Bedard, Rich Harden or even Mark Mulder. Mulder aside, Sheets, Bedard and Harden all have better "stuff" IMO then Lackey but they have that injury history which is a risk. However, if the risk pays off you will get a great reward. It should be very interesting to see how Doug Melvin goes about adding at least two pitchers to this staff that can compliment Yovani Gallardo. Stay tuned.....

Reader Poll Results

"Which SP would you rather see the Brewers sign?"

Doug Davis: 40% (2 Votes)

Jarrod Washburn: 60% (3 Votes)

Let The (Offseason) Games Begin!

With the Yankees winning the 2009 World Series last night, today November 5th the baseball offseason officially began. For the next 15 days players can formally file for Free Agency and during that time their current teams are the only clubs they can negotiate with. The Brewers have seven players that will be Free Agents. Mike Cameron, Jason Kendall, Frank Catalanotto, Craig Counsell, Felipe Lopez, Claudio Vargas and Corey Patterson. Of those seven players, I would like to see four of them back in Brewers uniforms in 2010. Cameron, Catalanotto, Counsell and Vargas. First off I would LOVE to see Lopez back, but with Weeks coming back next season Lopez has no spot and will most likely be looking for a multi year big money deal in free agency, so he will be offered arbitration and then the Brewers will get a draft pick for him because of his type B classification. Do I need to explain why Patterson should not and will not be back? Yeah I didn't think so. I hope and pray Kendall won't be back, but I have this bad feeling Ken Macha's love affair with Jason coupled with the fact the Brewers are not quite ready to give the position to Lucroy or Salome will give them no choice but to resign Kendall.

I really want Mike Cameron back and starting in CF, but only if he signs for $8 mill or less. Like I have said in a previous video blog I think Cameron would be a great sign at around $6 mill. This will give Lorenzo Cain a full season at AAA Nashville to get ready to take over in 2011. Frank Catalanotto is a great reserve OF to have on your bench, can play both corner spots and always gives you a "professional" AB late in the game as a pinch hitter. Craig Counsell was outstanding last year, I don't know if it was a fluke or if Dale Sveum making him drop his hands was all the difference. But either way, he plays three IF positions with above average defense and like Catalanotto gives you great AB's late in games off the bench. He really is the prototype utility IF. Then we have Claudio Vargas. I never thought I would say I wanted the Brewers to resign this guy. But man, he was great out of the bullpen as a setup man after the Crew aquired him from the Dodgers for Vinny Rottino. I never cared for him when he was a starter here in 2007, he becomes a reliever and seems to have found his niche.

So what do you think? Who do you want back? Who should the Brewers let walk?

Red Sox Perfect Team To Gamble On Ben Sheets? Maybe, But Why Not Milwaukee?

Because I still have a tiny glimmer of hope that the Brewers might sign Ben Sheets to a low risk high reward contract to pitch for the team in 2010, I thought I would google Sheets name and check out any news that has recently been written on him. You know to see if there was any new info on his rehabilitation, well I came across this piece written by Evans Clinchy of NESN.com. It actually makes a hell of a lot of sense. The Red Sox were the team who signed three pitchers (Smoltz, Penny and Saito) to their team this past offseason that were coming off injuries like Sheets. So yes, I think the Red Sox would totally make sense for Sheets and it is pretty much on par with how Theo Epstein and their front office work. I still think though that the front runners to sign Sheets are the Texas Rangers. They were close to signing him last year before it was found that Ben was going to need surgery.

Ben Sheets is like crack to me, I just can't quit him. No matter how many times he got hurt, I still believed in him, defended him and wanted him to be a Brewer. So even after missing an entire year of baseball and having surgery on his elbow, I still would love to see the Brewers bring him back. Maybe I'm crazy, but you can't deny the fact that when he is healthy, he is as good as any pitcher in baseball. That includes Lincecum, Santana, Sabathia and Lee. According to Fangraphs, Sheets has been worth more then his contract in all but one (2006) of his MLB seasons. I would really like to see the Brewers brass consider making a run at Ben. Gord Ash even mentioned Ben in the Brewers season ending presser saying that their have been "once in awhile" conversations with Ben's agent.

Perhaps offer him a 1 year deal for $6 mill with an option for a 2nd year or put some performance enhancers in the contract so if he stays healthy and performs he could make more. So, you sign Sheets, trade for a legit #2 type starter and sign either Doug Davis or Jarrod Washburn and you actually have a decent staff built around Yovani Gallardo and not a bunch of #4 and #5 starters. Which as we all know is basically what they had last season. I understand the Sheets signing is a long shot, but I personally would love to see it happen. Take the chance, the risk would totally be worth the reward. If you need evidence of the reward look at Ben's career numbers, it tells it all.

Reader Poll Results

"Who do you want starting in CF in 2010?"

Mike Cameron: 100% (9 Votes)

Corey Hart: 0% (o Votes)

Lorenzo Cain: 0% (0 Votes)

Sign a Free Agent: 0% (0 Votes)