Reviewing The JJ Hardy Trade

With our recent rant about how useless Yuniesky Betancourt has proved to be so far this season, I decided to retrace our steps to our current situation at Shortstop and really with the legend that is Tony Plush. When the Brewers decided to trade Hardy, he was on a career low slope, hitting for a slash line of .229/.302/.357. With a huge power loss and production falling Hardy was forced out the door by the organization’s top prospect Alcides Escobar.

Escobar at this point was being praised at this point by most scouts as a gold glover with a bat that could develop into something that at least would not kill a lineup. So the organization dumped Hardy, and interest was low for a former All-Star Gold Glove caliber offensive threat that was JJ Hardy. The Brewers big search for pitching failed (although rumor has it they could have had some swell prospects) and they ended up with Carlos Gomez.

Gomez to this point as a Brewer has been a big disappointment, with only the advertised glove holding true and a centerfielder that was all but abandoned by two other organizations succeeding in his place. The Brewers have a stock pile full of OF prospects in their minor league systems (not all are ready for the majors) and Gomez is only being used in late inning situation with only one start so far this month, but the big hole is at the position that had so much depth it allowed the organization to trade what was once an important part of the lineup.

Currently Betancourt is a cancer in the Brewers lineup, killing most run producing innings, leaving a staggering 29 on-base in his last 6 games played (covering the three last series that the Brewers have lost). Hardy meanwhile has yet to hit Free Agency, and is playing like he means it hitting .301/.366/.530 compared to Betancourt’s .233/.255/.341. Gomez has been replaced in the lineup twice and both times by players who were with the organization to start a season, proving of no value. You may argue that Escobar may have been more valuable without the failure that was his first major league season.

The Brewers have received no gain after the trade that sent JJ Hardy away, and right now he would fill the only hole in the lineup that is keeping the Brewers from being successful. Not even two years later, the Brewers are rumored to be thinking about bringing Hardy back at a much higher price tag and losing him in Free Agency. I could think of one thousand other things I would have traded JJ Hardy for and most of them can be found in my trash can.

-Brad

That Didn't Take Long: Gomez In, Hardy Out

I was at work yesterday sitting in my cubicle when the news came down. It had to be sometime between 10:30am and 11am. All of a sudden my cell phone began to vibrate, pick it up. It was a text message from 540 ESPN. I hit "read" and there it was: "Brewers trade SS JJ Hardy to Twins for CF Carlos Gomez.", my initial reaction was, "what the fuck? Really? We didn't trade him for starting pitching?" Then I immediately turned my thoughts toward the fact that this guaranteed the Brewers would not be bringing Mike Cameron back in 2010 to play CF. Which I was hoping they would, but at a lesser rate then the $10 mill Mike made each of the past two seasons. This made me beg the following question to one of my coworkers: "Will the Brewers still untuck after each victory with Cameron no longer on the team?" Back to that matter at hand, JJ Hard for Carlos Gomez. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the trade. But I think I like it, mostly based off the fact of the potential of Carlos Gomez and that I think Alcides Escobar is going to be a way better player then JJ Hardy ever dreamed of.

What I know about Carlos Gomez is that he is one of the fastest players in all of MLB, plays outstanding defense in CF, was a major prospect in the Mets organization who was traded to the Twins as the main piece in the Johan Santana trade and he has VASTLY UNDERACHIEVED as a offensive player so far. But he is only 24 (turns 24 in December). So he still has upside and there is still time for Gomez to turn it around offensively. His biggest problem is he strikes out too much for a player of his talents and does not get on base enough (.292 career OBP). With Gomez over Cameron, the Brewers will lose nothing as far as defense goes. They will however lose power, which the same can be said going from Hardy to Escobar at SS. If, and I know this is an "if", they (Escobar/Gomez) can hit for average and get on base they will reek havoc on the base paths by stealing bases and being able to go 1B to 3B and 2B to Home on base hits by other players. But the key will be striking out less and taking more walks. Something hitting coach Dale Sveum will have to stress to these two particular hitters. They also need to try to bunt for hits to get on base more. One more thing on the power drop Hardy/Cameron to Escobar/Gomez, scouts and GM Doug Melvin believe over time Escobar and Gomez could develop more power in their games over time.

Maybe the most exciting thing about this trade has nothing to do with the players involved in the deal. It has to do with the fact that Jason Kendall will now more then likely NOT be back in 2010. There is no way the Brewers can have Escobar/Gomez/Kendall all in the everyday lineup. If you are giving up power for speed at CF and SS you can't have a catcher with virtually no power (.305 SLG, 2 HR, 19 2B from Kendall in 2009) or for that matter even doubles power. So I think Doug will either look to trade for a catcher who has a little pop in his bat (Ryan Doumit?) or Jonathan Lucroy may get the chance to be the everyday catcher. Doug did mention this when on Sportsradio 1250 yesterday. Lucroy would be making the jump from AA to the big leagues but other catchers have made the move before and been successful.

So while the Brewers did not get starting pitching help for JJ Hardy, they did get a exciting young CF with lots of potential. They also saved themselves about $17 mill that would have went to Cameron and Hardy. So they have some more money to spend on a free agent pitcher or a pitcher in another trade. I still think the Brewers will move either Gamel or McGehee and may also move Hart and with Gomez now in the fold I think Lorenzo Cain could be trade bait. So lots of possibilities yet in a very long offseason that is just getting rolling. My final verdict on the trade is that I do like it, but Gomez has to get on base more. If he can get that OBP up to even .340 or .350 that would be huge. Because his speed is amazing and if he can consistently get on base he could be a huge weapon for the Brewers. Time will tell.

The Downfall

With today's news after the Brewers won their second game in a row and split a four game series with the Nationals that Bill Hall accepted an assignment to AAA Nashville to work on his swing and Jeff Suppan after some terrible starts, was put on the 15 day DL with an oblique strain it seems these two have hit rock bottom (if they hadn't already). Also, not related to today's news but with the season long slump of JJ Hardy and the setback after Tommy John surgery for Chris Capuano which will not allow him to pitch in a game this season, it appears these four guys have all been on a downfall after showing promise. They have all experienced highs that gave Brewers fans like myself hope that they could be keys to a possible World Series title someday. But instead, they may end up just being known for one thing, which may have started their downfalls. Those horrible performances on a daytime sopa opera "The Young And The Restless" during the 2007 season. Let's take a look back.....

Should Suppan and Capuano be giving advice on a fasbtall? Neither guy can throw more then 90 MPH.

If that actor could throw 95 MPH, he would be a much better option then Suppan. And would anyone want a training session from him for anything other then how to throw batting practice?

Perhaps they should not have been talking about going to the World Series, spitting in the face of the baseball Gods.

Suppan will probably be holding onto that 2006 playoff performance for his next contract to.

I'm not sure Chris Capunao was ever the best lefty in the NL Central, much less the entire league.

Bill Hall has had some big game winning hits, but has not put together a big season since 2006.

I wish at some point this season JJ would have a "hot" bat and a long hitting streak, both our doubtful at this point in time.

And Hardy, the guy who makes the women in Milwaukee's panties wet and the guys puke when he GIDP has the lamest line of the whole shitty performance; "She can warm up with me anytime, I'm gonna need her name and number." JJ, you are a douche bag.

This whole thing was a constant poke at the baseball Gods. And today with the Hall and Suppan news I finally pieced everything together. This soap opera gig was a bad idea, for everyone and has damaged these guys for a few years now. None of them have been the same, well Hardy was pretty good in 2008.

I'm Really Starting To Realize

After seeing the Brewers drop 2 of 3 to the Braves at home this weekend, I think for the first time this season I really see that this team really just is not that good. They are okay, maybe a little above average, but not really a playoff contender. It pains me to have to write that, but I think I really believe it now. The pitching staff both starters and bullpen is a complete mess, save for Gallardo, Hoffman, Stetter and Coffey. Pretty much everyone else has been average or below average, especially that 5th starter spot which has been terrible between McClung and Burns. Tim Dillard will now get a chance to fill that role Tuesday after getting called up from AAA Nashville yesterday. Looper has a nice W/L record but has given up a ton of homeruns and his ERA is not to pretty, same for Suppan save for his W/L record not being very good. Manny Parra has had two really nice starts since getting recalled from Nashville and one "okay" start so he is at least showing some improvement and promise.

The bullpen just can't be trusted. Outside of the three names I listed above. Smith, Burns, Villanueva, McClung and to a lesser extend DiFelice have all had issues and when any come into a tight ball game I'm not usually real confident they will keep the lead or keep the Brewers close if behind. Maybe I'm being a little to hard on Mark DiFelice, he has been almost outstanding against right handed hitters. But he just can't seem to get left handed hitters out at all. I know Al from Al's Ramblings has called him a "ROOGY" and he is probably right.

As for the offense, well it is a story of inconsistency outside of our two All-Stars Braun and Fielder. Those two have been there all year hitting for average, power and getting on base. Without them I would hate to even think where this club would be. Craig Counsell and Casey McGehee have been very pleasant surprises playing above their expectations and have filled in nicely for the injured Rickie Weeks and the disastrous Bill Hall. Felipe Lopez just got here, but looks pretty good thus far. The rest of the offense has been nothing to write home about. Especially JJ Hardy and Corey Hart. Those two have underachieved so much that it has really killed this team from having a consistent offense. Both have played WAY below expectations. And in todays game it looked like Corey Hart was really lacing in effort, which never sits well with fans or management. If they were even putting up numbers close to their career norms, I might not be writing this blog. And don't get me started on the bench, it's been terrible. Gerut (who dropped a ball a little leaguer would have caught today, just looked pathetic), Hall, Rivera and Catalanotto have not done much of anything to note.

Basically what I'm getting at is that this team is not one or maybe even two players away from being a real contender so I would hate to see the Brewers make a trade to mortgage the future for a player(s) that won't do much for us. Just stand pat with what we have and hope they somehow get hot and we sneak into the playoffs. If not, hey no big deal. I'm still gonna watch and support this team no matter what. Then you go into the offseason and you have some trading chips like Hart and Hardy that you can get more value for at that time. Next year Gamel and Escobar should be up and contributing and you get Rickie Weeks back who was playing outstanding before getting hurt, I still think that was a HUGE loss for this team that they never really recovered from. Right now the Brewers stand at .500, 49-49 and maybe that is who they really are.

My Brewers Dream Trade Shattered By Peter Gammons

For a few weeks now I had been dreaming of a trade between the Brewers and the Boston Red Sox. They have been scurrying for a SS, we have two. One has been an All-Star and the other a super prospect ready for big league action. The Brewers need another starter, the Red Sox have a surplus of those. Add all that up and I was hoping to see a JJ Hardy for Clay Buchholz trade straight up. And until yesterday I still had hope it could possibly happen. We trade Hardy, bring up Escobar to play SS and then add a young stud pitcher to our rotation in Buchholz.

My dream was shot down yesterday as Peter Gammons reported that the Red Sox turned down a deal for all world hitting catcher Victor Martinez because the Indians wanted Buchholz. If the Sox wouldn't even move Buchholz for a guy like Martinez, there is no way they would deal him for Hardy. Buchholz seems to be as "untouchable" as can be.

And for the record, put me in the "don't make a deal for Halladay" camp. Way to expensive, no way would I give up 4-6 players for one pitcher who could opt to not even be here next season. The only way I would trade a combo of Parra/Lawrie/Gamel/Escobar plus others for Halladay is if we were absolutely guaranteed a World Series Championship and since that is impossible, I will pass on Doc, I hope Doug feels the same way.

News And Notes 2/17/09 Edition

Busy day if your a member of the Milwaukee Brewers or a fan of the club. So much news going around I have to give my thoughts all in one post are I would be making multiple posts in one day which is something I don't like to do all that often. Mostly because I'm lazy and because it just seems pointless.

Okay so even though we know that Yovani Gallardo is the best and most talented of any of the Brewers starting pitchers he will not be starting on Opening Day 09' in San Francisco. Ken Macha made that decision today. I can't say I agree with it, but I suppose he doesn't want to put too much pressure on a 23 year old who missed most of 2008 with that ACL injury. But me personally knowing what I know of Yovani, he can handle it and wants that pressure.

Rickie Weeks and JJ Hardy will probably bat 1-2 in the lineup. That seemed kind of obvious. Moving along to the two biggest stories of the day from Brewers camp.....

Eric Gagne is back. Yes, it is hard to believe I just typed those words. He signed a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Let me say I LOVE this deal. No risk, all reward if he pitches the way he did the second half and especially down the stretch in a setup role in 2008. This now gives the Crew quite a bit of depth in the bullpen and should make for a competitive camp. If Gagne makes the team he will earn a $1.5 mill base salary and another $2 mill in incentives. The Brewers have until March 25th to put Gagne on the 40 man roster or he becomes a free agent. This was a crazy development that came WAY out of left field. Its another great move by Doug Melvin.

And the last and most refreshing news of the day, Corey Hart and the Brewers agreed on a 1 year deal avoiding arbitration. One day before going in front of an arbiter the two sides met in the middle. Hart wanted $3.8 mill the Brewers offered $2.7 mill. Hart accepted $3.25 mill. A good deal for both parties. I thought for sure this was gonna go to arbitration, maybe Hart and his agent decided it wouldn't be good for Corey to hear the Brewers rip his dreadful second half and more specific September last year. Whatever, Corey is happy and Doug Melvin keeps his arbitration hearings at zero since becoming GM of the team in 2003.

Brewers Avoid Arby Hearing With Hardy

Brewers avoid a salary arbitration hearing and have agreed to a 1 year contract with JJ Hardy. Deal is worth $4.65 mill. Seems like a good deal to me and pretty cheap, still hope we can lock him up long term at some point. In my opinion Hardy may be the fourth best SS in all of MLB behind only the 3 R's (Ramirez, Rollins and Reyes). I suppose locking JJ up for the long term like they did Braun last year comes down to what the Brewers think of/want to do with Alcides Escobar. Should be interesting watching that situation unfold over the next couple years. The thing that gives me high hopes for Hardy in the future is he seems to have gotten better every year and I don't think he has reached his ceiling yet, which is scary.

Winter Meetings Day #1

Day 1 of the GM winter meetings in Las Vegas is in the books. Not a whole heck of a lot going on as far as the Brewers are concerned. Doug Melvin did finally meet with CC Sabathia's agent's, and only about 5 weeks after the Brewers made their initial offer to CC. Melvin's meeting lasted a little less then a half hour and when it was finished it appears the Brewers are still in the running and have a chance at actually retaining Sabathia. Melvin will meet with CC's agent's again in a few days. The "rumors" going around are that to compete with the huge 6 year $140 mill deal the Yankees have offered is to add another year, maybe $10 to $20 mill or maybe have an opt out clause after three years of the deal. That is all speculation at this point though.

The Brewers avoided an arbitration hearing with relief pitcher Todd Coffey as he signed a 1 year $800,000 deal with $200,000 extra possible in incentives. Love the deal! Coffey signed in September and pitched fantastic out of the pen not allowing a single earned run. Still scratching my head a bit as to why the Reds let him go. Good fastball and a good slider/sinker. Great signing by Melvin, low risk possible high reward much like Jorge Julio.

In a article on brewers.com JJ Hardy said he hopes he is not traded and wants to stay a Brewer. Personally I don't want Hardy traded either and I think it's pretty cool he wants to stay in Milwaukee. He has improved every year he has been in the bigs and only looks like he will get better, I don't think he has reached is ceiling yet. I consider him along with Braun and Gallardo as the true cornerstones of the franchise (sorry Prince). Melvin said he won't deal Hardy and I hope he is telling the truth.

I will share my thoughts on each day of the winter meetings, so please check back if you care to read my thoughts. You know, if you actually read this and give a shit and enjoy my writing and thoughts.

Hardy To 3B To Make Room For Escobar At SS?

Driving on my way home from work today I heard an interview done by Homer on AM 540 ESPN in Milwaukee with GM Doug Melvin. They talked about lots of things of course including Manager discussion but one piece of information Melvin mentioned that made me very happy was that they have internally already discussed the possibility of moving JJ Hardy to 3B to make room for Alcides Escobar to become the starting SS. Of course they would have to talk to Hardy about this to see if he would be willing to make such a move considering he has become an elite SS and is in for a big payday sooner then later. I think for the Brewers this is the best move. We need a 3B, Hardy can play stellar defense there as well as put up offensive numbers you need from a 3B. We do have Mat Gamel ready to go, but his defense is questionable and he may end up in the OF or as the 1B if and when Fielder is traded or leaves when he reaches free agency. Escobar is going to a flat out stud defensive SS and his bat will also be great as either a leadoff or #2 hitter. Talk to Hardy give him a nice contract for making the move and you have a great left side of the IF for years to come. We shall see if it happens this year or possibly in 2010. Depends what they do with Fielder/Hardy this offseason as well as where they feel Gamel is defensively.

JJ Hardy Wins "Error of the Year" Award By Landslide

Last night I missed the first 5 innings of the Brewers @ Nationals game since I was watching a movie with my fiancee. We watched "Martian Child", which is a great movie by the way. One of those cute dramady type films. Anyway the movie finished and I tuned in to see the Crew tied 1-1 with the Nats. Then everything pretty much went down hill, I was just in time to see the Brewers get 1 out on the bottom of the 6th and with a man at first and Christian Guzman at the plate he hit perhaps the easiest ground ball to the SS (Hardy) for a tailor made field ball step on 2nd and throw to 1st, BOOM DP inning over. Well it didn't happen that way. Hardy instead of fielding the ball, booted it like he was trying to outdo Prince Fielder for biggest, bone headed, awful error of the season. And as we all know Fielder has had many of those thus far. And boy did Hardy outdo Prince, after that error the Brewer went on to give up 4 runs in the inning and that was all she wrote as the Nats won 5-1 on only 3 base hits. Yes you read that right, the Nats got 5 runs on 3 hits. JJ, even though Prince has had many bad errors this season that have made me want to pull the hair right out of my skull you sir have won the award for that performance. And perhaps the saddest thing is your supposed to be a good fielder. We can only hope we win 3 straight to finish this God awful 10 game road trip at 5-5. But if not, maybe there is a better chance Ned Yost is fired before we start a home stand Tuesday.