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Doug Melvin has been saved from himself

Signing Dave Roberts wouldn't have been nearly so bad as winning the Juan Pierre sweepstakes, or keeping Carlos Lee around for the rest of his productive career, but I'm darn glad that it looks like it isn't happening:

Reports Friday out of San Francisco indicated that Roberts was prepared to sign a three-year contract with the Giants. He supposedly had narrowed his choices to Milwaukee and San Francisco.

...The deciding factors were believed to be Roberts' desire to remain on the West Coast and play for manager Bruce Bochy. He played the last two seasons in San Diego for Bochy, who left in late October to fill the Giants' managerial vacancy.

"I heard that geography might play a factor in his decision," said Melvin, who confirmed that he had made a three-year offer to Roberts. "And I guess he has a pretty good relationship with Bochy."

You know, it'd be a lot of money, but it wouldn't be crazy to get into the bidding for J.D. Drew.  The Brewers don't need anything--we've got six credible starters, a bullpen full of options, and a couple of outfielders who could theoretically be traded to fill any gaps that arise--say, Kevin Mench for Rodrigo Lopez deal (I know, that's off the table, but that kind of thing) or a Geoff Jenkins for Armando Benitez salary-dump swap.

In a market like this, the worst thing to do is pay big-time cash to fill holes--that's what the Angels did with Gary Matthews Jr., and they'll regret it when they realize they didn't get a difference-maker, they just got a decent-fielding #7 hitter.  That's why it's fortunate that we don't have any gaps to fill (even if Doug seems to think we do).  We can throw the entire wad at one guy--and if we're going to do that, why not throw it at somebody who is a legitimate difference-maker, and might continue to be well into the third or fourth year of a deal?

I don't seriously think that's going to happen.  But what would you rather have?  Drew, or a package of Kenny Lofton, a mediocre veteran reliever, and a mediocre veteran starter?  I know what I'd pick.

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holes?
What does Doug think the holes are?  Middle relief?

by BobbyMac on Nov 25, 2006 2:06 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

But not the corners
With Mench and Jenkins starting and Hart off the bench, the corner outfield spots are well taken care of.
"C'mon, boys, let's get 'em some RUNS!" --- Daron Sutton, pretty much every game of the 2005 season.

by roguejim on Nov 25, 2006 9:01 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Whaa?
JD Drew?

He's brittle and he just turned 31.  Moreover, in odd-numbered years since being drafted in 1998, he hasn't played in more than 109 games.  (Even in the good years, he still misses 20 games or so a season.)

Plus, after hitting 100 RBI for the first time ever, he's going to command a fortune.  

If there was ever a guy to get a big contract, miss half the season with an injury, and then linger around as a shadow of his non-injured self, it's JD Drew.

(Plus, when drafted by the Phillies, he wouldn't sign --- even though the Phils offered him more money than they'd ever given anyone.  Instead, he went back in the draft next year.  Whenever you hear of someone throwing a battery at a player in the outfiled, think Phildelphia.  We started that trend, baby!  It's probably why he's hurt so much.)

On the plus side, if we sign him, I have some old batteries to get rid of...

Anyway, his stats are here.

"C'mon, boys, let's get 'em some RUNS!" --- Daron Sutton, pretty much every game of the 2005 season.

by roguejim on Nov 25, 2006 9:15 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

The thing is,
with the number of Of we have, especially if Bill Hall is in that mix, we should be able to find some way to keep Drew in a corner and give him a couple of off days per month in the early going and the dog days to keep him fresh down the stretch.  

Maybe now that Roberts is off the market, Melvin will rethink the situation and figure that if Hall is going to the OF, it might as well be CF.  

a defensive 7-8-9 of Hart-Hall-Drew would not only minimize the letters in the last names of our outfielders, but also maximize the offense, which is what the team needs.  We'd finally be looking at an OF that can hit 90+ HR.

Also, I can't remember where the heck I read this, and if anyone read the same thing, let me know where it was, but the Red Sox might be interested in Hardy or Hall.  Matsuzaka for Hall?  LOL

by baumann on Nov 25, 2006 10:53 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

I remember that
Yup, the Sox were sniffing around a trade for Hall maybe 2 years ago.  (Or maybe it was last offseason?)

A 90+ HR outfield would be pretty cool, though maybe not as cool as a 120+ HR infield (when Braun gets here).  

"C'mon, boys, let's get 'em some RUNS!" --- Daron Sutton, pretty much every game of the 2005 season.

by roguejim on Nov 25, 2006 11:43 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm still
holding out hope that he'll play third.
"C'mon, boys, let's get 'em some RUNS!" --- Daron Sutton, pretty much every game of the 2005 season.

by roguejim on Nov 25, 2006 8:30 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

I don't think so
Hall wouldn't be moving to LF if turning Braun into an OF was on the Brewers' agenda.

by battlekow on Nov 25, 2006 9:00 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

This just in!
News flash: The Screwers just traded Doug Davis, Eveland, and Krynzel to the D-Backs for Johnny Estrada, Cludio Vargas, and Greg Aquino. Great trade! Everyone was so high on Eveland, but I wasn't all that impressed during is time in the bigs. Davis fell off this year, and Krynzel's a buffoon! In return we get an all-star catcher and two pitchers who should benefit greatly from working with Maddux and Castro. Now, if Melvin could just unload Mench, Nix, and perhaps Jenkins, we'd be sitting pretty...

by kgaul on Nov 25, 2006 2:20 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

whoa!
first impression is that this is a good trade. my pessmism in the post below has altered slightly (which couldn't have been posted at a more perfect time - seconds before a six player deal goes on the wire).

one immediate thought concerns miller and rivera. obviously estrada becomes the starter, so i would think miller would be gone? i like the addition of vargas and i'm loving the subtraction of davis.

by Griswald on Nov 25, 2006 2:35 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

color me pessimistic
all of these massive contracts have me a little worried about the brewers' ability to compete in 2007. an upgrade to the brewers lineup is needed, particularly in the power-hitting cleanup spot, but what are the brewers supposed to do about it? it seems like our only options are to overpay someone that may or may not turn out to be better than the guys we already have. in an earlier thread i evoked the name of jeffrey hammonds, because that's what all this dave roberts-juan pierre stuff reminds me of (not that those guys are power hitters, but you get the idea).

if we wanted to, we could rely on the guys on the roster now. but that would involving some praying - praying that fielder builds on last year to be "that guy." that weeks stays healthy for 162 games and delivers as an offensive force. that hall cuts down on his strikeouts. that hardy shows some signs of life. and so on and so on. i don't think that any of them are out of the question, but at the rate this offseason is going we would need so many things to go right to be a contender in '07.

it's only november, but i'm not optimistic.

by Griswald on Nov 25, 2006 2:27 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

From the mouth of Zac
This is from the ol' mailbag at the Brewers' mlb.com site:
It sounds like Dave Roberts is more interested in playing with the Giants next season so he can be closer to home. Do you think the Brewers will make a strong run at a free agent like Kenny Lofton or Steve Finley to provide a true leadoff hitter and proven center fielder?
-- Zac C., Baldwin, Wis.

Melvin mentioned both names over the weekend, so they are at least on the Brewers' radar. It is going to come down to whether the organization believes Tony Gwynn Jr. needs another year in Triple-A, whether Brady Clark or Gabe Gross are best suited to play off the bench and whether Laynce Nix can stay healthy. There are still a lot of options out there, but it sounds like the club, internally, has discussed both Lofton and Finley.

I read somewhere the Finley was shortening his stroke to resuscitate his career last year, but I don't think it worked.  He hasn't slugged .400 since his magical season of 2004 (where, to his credit, he hit 36 HRs), and he'll be 42 when the season starts.  If we want to give him a shot to see if the past two years were a fluke, that's one thing.  But if we're going to bring in a guy as our starting centerfielder (TM), he had better have better numbers than TG.

"C'mon, boys, let's get 'em some RUNS!" --- Daron Sutton, pretty much every game of the 2005 season.

by roguejim on Nov 27, 2006 3:20 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

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