MLB Network Coming 1/1/09, Baseball Fans Everywhere Say; "It's About F*****g Time!"

This is actually an older story but there was so much other Brewers stuff going on I put off writing about it but now there is actually a Brewers tie-in to this story. Starting January 1st of 2009 a television network dedicated entirely to the great game of baseball will launch. Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner and Cox Communications have a minority ownership in the network and because of that it will be in many more homes then the NFL Network. And yes don't worry Wisconsin subscribers to Charter Communications cable service the network will be carried!

As far as content on the network it will air 26 regular season games most likely as a "Saturday Night Game of The Week", some World Baseball Classic 2009 games, plenty of archival material and a nightly news and highlight show similar (but probably better) then ESPN's "Baseball Tonight".

As for who will be the on-air personalities of the MLB Network? Well former Brewers play-by-play announcer Matt Vasgersian will probably be host of the nightly show and it is all but confirmed that the Brewers on-field reporter from last year on FSN-WI and Wisconsin native Trenni Kusnierek will leave FSN to be part of MLB Network. It kind of sucks to lose Trenni after 1 year, she was very good at her job as a reporter/interviewer. She seemed to have a real love and passion for the Brewers and the game. It also didn't hurt that she was easy on the male eye. Some other names "rumored" to be in negotiations with the network are Hazel Mae (NESN) and Bob Costas (NBC/HBO).

I am super psyched for the launch of an all baseball all the time channel. The games they show will be good games, the nightly highlight show should blow "Baseball Tonight" out of the water and being able to see "classic" games will be a breath of fresh air since ESPN Classic hardly EVER shows baseball because they are to busy showing billiards, poker and bowling.

Second Thoughts On CC

As much as I love, admire and will never forget the time CC Sabathia spent as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers for one magical half of a summer in 2008. I'm starting to think re-signing him would be a mistake. Now I doubt he will take the rumored 5 year $100 mill contract that Doug Melvin has offered him anyway. But when you think about for a team that will probably have a payroll in 2009 around the $90 mill range, it's hard to get missing pieces when $20 mill of that payroll is wrapped up in one player, a pitcher at that who only plays once every five days. Because of this I'm starting to hope that it's true that the Yankees will offer CC a contract HIGHER then the 6 year $137.5 mill that Johan Santana got from the Mets. Don't get me wrong, if Sabathia for some reason is a trend setter and becomes the first player to leave money on the table to stay somewhere he really likes, so be it. It would be hard to complain, but in the best interest of the club and with the other needs we have such as a closer, 3B, maybe 2B and bench help it would be better to not re-sign CC. It's just the life a medium market ball club lives.

Election Day Brewers News Blurbs

[Start Political Rant] Today is election day and I just hope that everyone that can vote gets out and does it. It is your right and privilege as an American citizen if you are at least 18 years of age. With all the things currently going on in our world this election may be more important then any in recent memory. So no matter who you vote for, just get out and at least cast your vote and let your voice be heard. Whoever becomes the 44th President of the USA will have quite the job ahead of him and it is your duty to select who you think will do the best job. If you don't select anyone, you have no right to bitch about things happening in the political landscape. I got my ass up earlier then normal this morning and voted before going to work. Stood in line for maybe 30 minutes total. Not to bad, well worth the time. And I will say if your are wondering, I voted for Barack Obama.[End Political Rant]

Brad Fischer was named the new 3B coach for the Brewers today. Fischer had worked in Oakland with Ken Macha and spent 12 years occupying various coaching jobs in the A's system. So here is your up to the minute Brewers coaching staff for 2009:

Manager: Ken Macha
Bench Coach: ????
Hitting Coach: Dale Sveum
Pitching Coach: ????
Bullpen Coach: Bill Castro (who will interview for the pitching coach job)
1B Coach: Ed Sedar
3B Coach: Brad Fischer

John Heyman of SI.com who is at the General Manager meetings out in California said that the Yankees do plan to go "hard" after CC Sabathia. And by hard he means the Yankees plan to offer CC more then what the Mets gave Johan Santana which was 6 years $137.5 mill. If this is true and I'm sure it is, it will be very hard for CC to turn that down. However, I get the feeling Sabathia is not really a "New York" kind of guy. He also has stated on numerous occasions he prefers the NL because he likes the swing the bat. Because of that, his relationship with Mike Cameron and the real love he seemed to mutually share with Milwaukee and Brewers fans I still think we have a slight chance to sign him. Maybe CC will be the first guy to take less money to stay somewhere he really wants to be? Time will tell.

Cameron's Option, Exercised

Today the Brewers exercised their $10 mill 2009 option on CF Mike Cameron. I would have to say I like this move. Not really any left handed hitting CF's out on the market, and because of that I'm fine with bringing Cam back as he is the best option at this time. Yes Cameron strikes out A LOT. Actually 142 times in 444 AB's. But statistically Cameron was the 6th best CF in all of MLB. His line was .243/.331/.477, 25 HR's, 70 RBI an OPS of .808. Pretty good numbers for a CF, and of course he played very good defense all year comitting only one error and taking a lot of pressure off of new LF Ryan Braun with all the ground that Cam is able to cover. Of course Cameron was miscast as the Brewers leadoff hitter in September when Dale Sveum took over as interim Manager. I would expect Cameron to bat in the 6th or 7th spot in 2009.

Maddux Leaves Brewers For Rangers, Mustache Enthusiasts All Over Wisconsin Weep

Next season at Miller Park when the home teams pitching coach goes to the mound for a visit there will not be the stroking of a perfectly, fully groomed, well colored mustache. And if there is, it will not be Mike Maddux's. The highly thought of Brewers pitching coach has signed a deal to be the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers. Mike's deal with the Brewers expired Friday and while Doug Melvin tried to keep Mike on the staff the Rangers offered more money and Maddux took it. It is a shame to see Mike go, not only for his fantastic mustache and the fact that his brother Greg is one of the greatest pitchers ever but because he was a great pitching coach. Taking guys like Dan Kolb, Derrick Turnbow, Matt Wise and Seth McClung and making them into something when they were nothing. According to our friend Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel Chuck Hernandez who was dismissed from the Tigers after this past season is the front runner. But the Brewers will also look at their own bullpen coach Bill Castro who has held that post for 17 years. A couple other names brought up by our friend Justin at Justin's Brewers Blog were Rick Peterson who worked with Macha in Oakland and the great Leo Mazzone who coached greats like Maddux (Greg), Smoltz and Glavine in Atlanta.

Ummm, Duh Of Course He Was Gonna Do That

In the most obvious, uninteresting, no shit Sherlock moment of the offseason CC Sabathia officially filed for free agency Saturday. Of course this comes as no news really because while the Brewers do have a slight chance to re-sign CC he was still gonna file the papers and field offers from all takers. The Brewers offer will probably be given to CC on Monday. While I would love to re-sign CC, I know it's a long shot and the sooner we know if we can/can't the sooner Doug Melvin can figure out if he needs to trade for a top of the rotation starting pitcher. A couple of names to look at would be Jake Peavy and Matt Cain.

Craig Counsell's Option Declind, Yawwwwnnn!

Yesterday the Brewers declined the $3.4 million option on IF Craig Counsell. Not a huge shock, he still might be brought back but for cheaper. Counsell is a nice veteran guy to have as a backup, plays the game hard, from the Whitefish Bay area, plays solid defense at 3 IF positions, has solid AB's and can draw a walk but his bat is very weak. I could care less either way on Counsell, if he's back that's fine, if he isn't that is fine to. I'm more interested to see what they do with Mike Cameron's $10 million option and Salomon Torres $3.75 million option.

Ken Macha Named New Brewers Manager: "The Manager's Job Is Not To Always Be Buddies With The Players"

That quote above was how Ken Macha answered the first question asked of him at the press conference today when Doug Melvin announced him as the 16th Manager of the Milwaukee Brewers. Let me just say WOW, what a breath of fresh air! I could never imagine Ned Yost saying something like that. Macha also talked about things like OBP, putting the best lineup on the field and if players are not producing, they won't play. He seems to be quite the opposite of Ned Yost and that is going to be a great thing for the Brewers.

Macha signed a 2 year contract with the Crew, that will make him the Manager through the 2010 season. Melvin and Macha both confirmed that Dale Sveum who was interim Manager after Yost was fired will come back on be part of the coaching staff. It just is not known if it will be as bench coach or 3B coach. Tomorrow Macha and Melvin will meet to discuss the coaching staff that will for sure include Ed Sedar, Bill Castro and now Sveum. It is not known yet if pitching coach Mike Maddux will be back. He has had some inquires from the Texas Rangers.

One thing I know for sure is Macha's record as the A's Manger speaks for itself; 368-280 (.568) record, including AL West crowns in 2003 and 2006. The A's were swept in the ALCS by the Tigers in 2006 which led to Macha's firing after that season. He spent this past season as a in-studio analyst for the Boston Red Sox on NESN in Boston. He has ties to the Red Sox, A's, Angels and Expos orginizations as a coach. He also played for the Pirates, Blue Jays and spent time playing in Japan. I think of the three candidates Melvin interviewed; Macha, Brenly and Randolph. Ken Macha was the best choice for this job and this team. I just hope he proves me right, I already have a bet with a guy at work who thinks that they Crew will not have a winning record under Macha. Get all your Macha info here.