I'm Not Feeling Gray About It

Ken Rosenthal just tweeted that per sources the Brewers were fading in discussions for Oakland Athletics SP Sonny Gray. Needless to say I am not upset about this. Gray is a fine pitcher and would have been a nice little upgrade for this Brewers pitching staff. But in a sellers market for SP, the price was going to be pretty high and I am glad that GM David Stearns stuck to his guns and was not willing to pay what will probably be a high price for Gray similar to what the Cubs paid to the White Sox for Jose Quintana. In my opinion this is not the time to send away a bunch of highly touted prospects you just spent three years accumulating for a pitcher like Gray. Still in first place, stay the course with what you have and got you here. Chase Anderson should be back in a few weeks and you could turn to Brandon Woodruff at some point. I do hope the Brewers look to add a quality RP or two yet before the deadline. *Fingers crossed for Pat Neshek*

Don't Trade Braun, Ever (One Homer's Thoughts)

 After Brad wrote that piece a few weeks ago on how the Brewers should trade Braun now and Lucroy later, I felt inclined to share my thoughts on why I don't want the Brewers to ever trade Ryan Braun. Now I'm not saying I don't think it won't happen. It's a possibility. But as a die hard Brewers fan and die hard fan of Ryan Braun, deep down inside I don't ever want to see him wearing another teams uniform.

I am fully aware that it might be best for the club to trade Braun. And if a trade is made and the Brewers get a really good prospect haul in return and don't have to pay any of Ryan's salary for the duration of his contract then I would be fine with it. But selfishly I want Ryan Braun to be a Brewer for his entire career. I think it would be awesome to see him follow suit with guys like Yount, Ripken, Gwynn, Brett and Jones and spend his whole career in one teams uniform. It certainly is a rare sight in today's game of baseball. And we probably won't see too many more going forward.

The biggest reasons I personally don't want to see him traded are simple. First, I'm obviously a huge fan of Braun and he has brought me so much joy over the past 10 years and so many memorable moments that I would like that to continue. The second reason I'd like the Brewers to keep Braun ties into the first. I think he can be a big contributor still on the next Brewers teams that compete and go to the postseason. I know, I know. Braun has had some injury issues/concerns over the past four seasons. The thumb, the back, the wrist, etc. While he misses games here and there, he has still only been on the DL once in his career (2013). If he stays healthy and they manage his games played as they have done so far in 2016, he has a chance to still be very productive.

He is 32 now and will be 37 when his contract expires (including the option year in 2021). Why can't he still be a very productive bat in the last three years of that deal (19'-21') when the Brewers figure to be a contender again? David Ortiz is still productive at 40 years old. Only way he isn't in my opinion is if it's a health issue. And that really can't be predicted one way or the other. I also bet they have him move to 1B sometime in 2018 or 2019 if not sooner to make room for another young talented OF and to put him in a better position to stay healthy. And "IF" he is healthy, why wouldn't he still play and more specifically hit at a high level?

In the meantime I am sure we will continue to read tweets and articles from reporters giving us the latest Braun trade rumors. And when reading those rumors, remember he only has a handful of clubs that he can be traded to without having to agree to said trade. And players usually put those clauses in contracts for a reason. They want to stay where they are at. 

The Brewers Are Selling. What's On The Shelves?

This past series against the Reds cemented what almost every fan has known for months, the 2012 Milwaukee Brewers are losers. Yes, it’s true and disappointing, but not only are they losers, they have talent that is good and will be gone soon, or is filling up space in payroll the front office will need to rebuild this team.


So it’s time to take a look at what the Brewers can sell and a few players they should probably think about selling.

Players That Are Available

Zack Greinke- This is the one everyone already knows. Greinke doesn’t want the contract the Brewers are offering right now, so in order to get an immediate return on the pitcher Milwaukee needs to ditch him. This is the most valuable piece they have (obvious statement I know), but most teams won’t pay in top prospects with the new rules of the CBA (restrictions in pick compensation for losing a A or B player). So, unless the Brewers and the team getting Greinke agree to a deal where the other team signs Greinke before a trade is completed I think the Brewers will most likely get AA to A players no higher than top 50 in value. I believe Melvin is looking for better, but might not get it.

Francisco Rodriguez- It’s true he’s the new closer, but K-Rod costs a lot and is gone after this season. Some teams really need a high end reliever at the back end of their bullpen so Rodriguez will probably have some good value, but he is more valuable if the Brewers eat some of his contract. I think a AA pitcher with late inning bullpen pitcher is a great return of K-Rod and something that fills the Crew’s needs for the future.

Nyjer Morgan- With the arrival of Norichika Aoki, I can’t believe Morgan isn’t available. Considering the season Morgan is having, I cannot believe the Brewers can expect much in terms of return for Nyjer. He is cheaper and has another 2 years before he’s a free agent, but considering he isn’t always considered a team player, and has little value outside of defense and speed I think the Brewers could get a mid-level AAA prospect. A role bench player and nothing more.

Players That Are Probably Available

Randy Wolf- The lefty has an option left on his contract and can fill the back end of a rotation. But his value diminished this year with his performance. Not many teams are looking for a starter with an ERA above 5, but his recent performances may have redeemed him to some GM’s. Plus he is probably a lot better as a #5 than most player in the league in that role.

George Kottaras- Every team needs more catching, beside the Brewers. With the arrival of Martin Maldonado the Brewers actually have two plus catchers locked up for a very long time. Teams will probably be interested since he has some pop too, but if they trade Wolf they might need to throw in Kottaras so he has someone to pitch to on his next team.

Kameron Loe- A solid reliever. Probably only low-A return to get anything valuable. Probably a player that could get packaged with someone else.

Players That Should Be Available

Aramis Ramirez- A good investment to start the season but now he’s an old guy eating roster space. Not a rental, still has value and can immediately help a contender. A-Ram is the type of player that can bring back a good return for the Brewers. I don’t think they will sell him because they want a hitter behind Braun.

Corey Hart- See Aramis Ramirez. I think his prominence at first base will make the Brewers much less interested in selling compared to if he was still playing right. If the Brewers sell either of these players it’s only going to be one of them.

If the Team Trades This Guy It’s a Fire Sale

Rickie Weeks- A few years on his contract. When he’s on he’s one of the most valuable second baseman in the league. If he was traded last year, he could get a Dan Uggla type haul. This year he could bring back some nice pieces but nothing completely mind blowing. Unless Melvin can do a great sell job it’s probably better to wait until his value is back up. Maybe even this offseason.

-Brad

Episode 49 "Yovani Gallardo Edition"

Breakdown of The Show:

Looking Back 0:00-20:00

Break

Looking Ahead 20:00-43:00

Break

Prospect Talk 43:00-1:00:00

Break

Preview/Around NL Central/Chalet Award Winner 1:00:00-1:14:00

VFBC Podcast Episode 22

Breakdown of The Show:

5-6 on 11 Game Road Trip :00-17:10
Break
Baserunning, Brewers Being Too Aggressive? 18:42-28:03
Break
Trade Deadline Preview 29:23-41:02
Break
Preview/Around NL Central/ Chalet Award Winner 42:18-54:23

Holy Greinke!

Wow, just wow. Thank you Doug Melvin. Greinke, Gallardo, Marcum, Wolf, 5th starter. That is a playoff bound rotation ladies and gentlemen. Oh yeah, to go along with a lineup featuring Braun, Fielder, Weeks, Hart and McGehee. On behalf of Brewers fans everywhere I would just like to say, suck it Cardinals and Cubs!

Peter Gammons, Shut Up! Braun Isn't Going Anywhere

By now you probably heard the ridiculous rumor that Peter Gammons tossed around casually on a Boston TV station that the Brewers are talking about trading Ryan Braun and that Boston is a possible fit. I love Peter Gammons, read and listened to him for years, one of my all-time favorite baseball media members, but dude, shut up! I thought about writing a long post about this but it does not deserve my time. Ryan Braun is the Brewers and he and his very team friendly contact are not going anywhere. Thank you.

Trading For Zack Greinke Is Like Eating That Second Donut

It looks really good, but you know you shouldn't go for it. Now don't get me wrong, I think Zack Greinke is a fantastic, All-Star caliber, #1 starting pitching. And pairing him with Gallardo atop the Brewers rotation would be amazing. And as soon as I read Buster Olney's column Saturday morning where he broke the news that the Royals would shop Zack this offseason I immediately wondered if the Brewers had a chance, but then I thought about it. And like that second donut you think about eating, it seems like a great idea, but you know it isn't.

First there is the group of players you would have to give up for Greinke. It would probably take a package of three or four prospects that are big league ready now or very close to it. Think along the lines of having to part ways with some of the following; Brett Lawrie, Mat Gamel, Lorenzo Cain, Scooter Gennett, Zach Braddock, Mark Rogers, Jeremy Jeffress, Jake Odorizzi and Wily Peralta. These are all players who could be big parts of the next 6-8 years for the Brewers. Is it worth giving up a combination of three or four of these guys and somewhat giving up on the chance to be competitive for the next 6-8 years with cheap, young players?

If you make a deal for Zack, you also only have him signed for the next two seasons ($13.5 mill each year, not real expensive, but not cheap either). After that runs out, if he gives you the type of production you want and expect from him you have to believe he will test the Free Agent waters for one of those big contracts that so many ace type starting pitchers are getting lately. Now if Greinke is willing to talk possible extension before the deal is made and you can come to some sort of agreement, then that is a different story, but the odds of that are very slim.

I do see the point of view from some Brewers fans of going for it by trading for Greinke and keeping Prince for the 2011 season and just taking draft picks when he walks after the season. But going that route really doesn't guarantee you a World Series or even a playoff birth. If it did, sure go ahead make the Greinke deal and hold onto Prince. But of course there is no way of guaranteeing that. So keep all your good young prospects, trade Prince in the offseason for some pitching that can help now and go to war in 2011 with what is already a pretty good team. And know that you still might be able to compete in 2011 and will have plenty of help on the way with all the players I listed off above over the next couple of years to be in contention and get back to the postseason.

The Curious Case Of Edwin Jackson

As I continue to hear rumors of the Brewers having interest in a possible trade with the Tigers for Edwin Jackson, I continue to be confused on how I feel about that possibility. On one hand, Jackson is a starting pitcher who is still relatively young at 26, has an electric fastball always in the mid 90's and a pretty good slider. He is coming off a career year where he looked very dominate at times. But on the other hand, Jackson struggled A LOT in the second half of the season, still walked a lot of batters struggling with control and wore down. But he wore down mostly because of Jim Leyland abusing him. His final numbers for the season were very solid though:

13-9, 3.62 ERA, 214 IP, 161 K, 70 BB, 1.26 WHIP

But, let's look at the 1st half compared to his second half:

1st Half: 7-4, 2.52 ERA, 121.2 IP, 95 K, 35 BB, 1.06 WHIP
2nd Half: 6-5, 5.07 ERA, 92.1 IP, 64 K, 35 BB, 1.53 WHIP

As the numbers show, he was tremendous in the 1st half and pitched the best ball of his career making his first All-Star team, his 2nd half was more like his career numbers. So the question is, was he a half a season wonder or did he figure it out but just got burnt out in the 2nd half? This is why I am on the fence on if I want the Brewers to go after Jackson or just let him be. He definitely has the stuff to be a solid #2 pitcher and his 1st half of 2009 shows that, he also had a pretty good season for Tampa Bay in 2008. His biggest issue seems to be control and keeping the ball down. I'm not sure what the Tigers would want for Jackson, if it was not Gamel I would probably be willing to listen to what else they might want in return. There was a report before Hardy was traded to Minnesota the Tigers wanted to swap Jackson for him.

Keith Law Chat ESPN.com 11/12/09

After a one week layoff, Keith Law was back today for another chat on ESPN.com. Here were the Brewers related questions/answers.

Brewers Fan (Milwaukee)

When a GM says that he won't listen to trade offers about a certain player, how true is that in most cases? Like if another GM calls him up and says "Fielder", does Melvin just hang up immediately? Call me crazy, but it seems like a GM is an idiot if he won't at least listen to an offer for anybody on his team or in his system.

Klaw (1:36 PM)

You're not crazy. You always listen. A GM who doesn't isn't doing his job.

Adam (Milwaukee)

KLaw...Completely random trade thought:Prince Fielder, Manny Parra, and either Salome or Lucroy to the Braves for Hanson

Klaw (1:47 PM)

Random = wrong adjective.

Stephen (Knauff)

Reading your analysis of the Hardy/Gomez trade, I got the vibe you feel that neither team got the better of trade, would you say this is accurate?

Klaw (1:48 PM)

I can't excited over either guy. I've never loved Hardy's swing or approach, but Gomez may never see a .330 OBP. I do think Gomez has a chance to be an average regular because of his glove and some small power potential, but ... I'm not saying I don't want him on my team, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get him.

Adam (Milwaukee)

Sorry about the poor English. Could I get your general thoughts on the following trade: Fielder, Parra, and Lucroy for Hanson

Klaw (2:00 PM)
I wasn't correcting your grammar. I was telling you the trade is absurd.

I'm sure Melvin would listen to any offer for Fielder, but to actually pull the trigger he would have to be blown away for a trade. Probably something like Linceum or Cain plus Sandoval for Fielder. Like Keith said, if a GM would not at least listen to an offer on a player he is not doing his job very well. I'm not exactly sure which part of the trade proposal by Adam that Keith thinks is absurd? For me the Brewers giving up Fielder, Parra and Lucroy for Hanson alone would be absurd. Maybe Keith is on the other side, not really sure from what he wrote. I like what Keith said about Gomez and as I wrote is pretty much how I feel, he can at least be average because of his glove/speed and the potential power he could have. If Gomez did have a .330 OBP or higher in 2010 I think I would be delighted.

Oh Rumors

I just don't buy it, so I'm not going to get excited about it. According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, the Cubs and BREWERS are the front runners to get a deal done for Jake Peavy. The Cubs part is believable and is probably where Peavy will end up, which sucks for us since the Brewers face the Cubs a bunch more times. I don't get where Heyman is getting the Brewers in the mix though? The Brewers are not on the list of of teams Peavy would accept a trade to. Also the Padres want good young pitching in exchange for the 2007 Cy Young winner, the Brewers have ZERO of that. The only piece(s) I think the Brewers could offer San Diego is either Alcides Escobar or JJ Hardy, since the Pads are also looking for a SS in addition to starting pitching. And as much as I like Peavy and it would be nice to get him, he has a pretty hefty contract yet and does have some injury history. On the other hand, Peavy is a stud and if we got him perhaps the clueless face Manny Parra would be dumped out of the rotation. Stay tuned.....

If The Cameron Trade Goes Down....

Not only will be get back a cheaper, younger, switch hitting CF with good upside/potential but with Cameron's $10 mill off the books the Brewers will become serious players for free agent closer Brian Fuentes. This according to Tim Brown at Yahoo Sports. Another reason I like the Cameron/Cabrera deal. Fuentes is a very good closer and he is in his prime, it's not like signing Gagne last year after his prime had ended.

Clearing Up The Peavy Rumor

It was just that, a rumor. Someone left a comment in my post about a possible trade of Jake Peavy to the Brewers for Alcides Escobar + and asked where the source was. Well I read about it in the brewerfan.net message board. It originated from some Badger board or blog or something. Anyway, it seems it was just probably made up and nothing more then Internet banter. I was just so excited at the thought of getting Peavy that I had to post something about it. I even emailed Tom Haudricourt at the Journal Sentinel to see if he had heard about such a rumor and here was his reply:

No, I haven't. And it's my understanding that Peavy would nix a trade to Milwaukee. TH

So there you go, even if the Brewers could agree to a trade with the Padres for Jake he would probably nix the deal. It looks like Peavy will be in San Diego at least to start the season.

Rumor Mill: Jake Peavy To Brewers For Alcides Escobar and ????

Big rumor floating around the Internet tonight. With Jake Peavy trade talks to Chicago or Atlanta dead, the Brewers have swooped in (allegedly). Looks like the Crew would send super prospect SS Alcides Escobar to the Padres along with another player or two in exchange for former Cy Young winner and ace Jake Peavy. Wow, this would be huge. A rotation with Peavy and Gallardo at the top of it excites me to great heights. Trading Escobar away would also put any JJ Hardy position change or trade rumors to rest as well as make giving Hardy a contract extension a must. Hopefully more info on this possible deal comes out soon.

Gamel And/Or LaPorta For CC Sabathia? No Thanks

This has become a hot topic amongst Milwaukee sports talk radio show hosts this past week after ESPN's Buster Olney mentioned the Brewers as a top candidate to get last years AL Cy Young winner. The main reason that Onley feels the Brewers have perhaps the best chance is because of the large amount of talent in their minor league system, specifically in AA Huntsville. And even more specifically 3B Matt Gamel and LF Matt LaPorta. The Matt's are two of the biggest prospects in all of baseball. LaPorta was the Brewers first round pick a year ago and Gamel was the Brewers 4th round pick in 2005 (same year they drafted Braun in the 1st round, talk about a nice draft). Both guys have just been ripping the cover off the ball in AA Huntsville this season. Gamel is batting .371, 15 HR, 66 RBI and an OPS of 1.064. LaPorta is batting .294, 19 HR, 59 RBI and an OPS of 1.011. Here is the thing, the Indians if they even decide they want to deal Sabathia and if Melvin asks about him their is no doubt they will want one of these guys plus a guy like maybe Tony Gwynn, that would be a minimum deal. There is a chance they could ask for as high as both Gamel and LaPorta. Personally if they just wanted one of the Matt's, it would be hard not to really consider it. I mean an ace like CC joining Sheets in our rotation would be quite awesome. But Sabathia is a free agent after the season and their is no guarantee he would be more then a 2 month rental. Is that worth giving up one of our future studs on this team? I'm not sure it is and I know for a fact it wouldn't be worth it if we had to give up both players. I guess when it comes down to it I don't want to trade either player, but if it is just one and we did make the playoffs and won the whole fucking thing, I would have to approve and say well worth it. If we make a trade and we don't even get into the playoffs and CC walks, I would have steam coming out of my ears all off-season.

Brewers Have Possible Interest in Orioles 2B Brian Roberts?

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports the Brewers have been scouting the Orioles with specific interest in 2B and very good lead-off hitter Brian Roberts. Here is the link. But according to Brewers GM Doug Melvin the scouts were watching the Orioles as part of their "normal" assignments. I hope Melvin is bluffing because Roberts a "true" lead-off hitter could be a HUGE asset to this team. I would be fine with trading Weeks for Roberts (although with Weeks trip to the DL this seems unlikely now) or trading Hall and spare parts for Roberts. Here are Roberts career stats.