Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (i know, i know) in a well-written article, surmises that the Brewers will NOT pursue a free agent pitcher in the off-season.
Tom does something new for the Journal-Sentinel in this article. Tom uses facts to back up his analysis. Check out the whole thing, it's a good read. So much so that I've changed my mind on the free agent pitcher thing. Tom makes a good point by putting together these quotes from Melvin.
"Starting pitching comes at a premium. You can really get burned on it if you're not careful but we'll still look at it. I'd love to find another Doug Davis but sometimes you have to go the free agent route to do that.
For example, a three year, $25 million dollar contract for a Kevin Milwood for three years could seriously handcuff this franchise. And the next three years will be the most important three years for this franchise in and for a long time. Imagine having potential bust Millwood sucking up payroll dollars. We haven't been Jeffrey Hammoned for a while due to the stingy and inefficient nature of the previous ownership, but you don't have to look very far around the league to see evidence of this phenomenon. Shoot, I bet the White Sox are STILL paying Albert Belle.
$25 million dollars... for one guy... imagine having a whole pitching staff of Derrick Turbows.
I'm now of the opinion that we have a talented enough pool of pitchers to choose from to fill that five spot adequately enough to add a couple wins next year. That, combined with a healthy Ben Sheets, and a second-half JJ Hardy, a healthy Rickie Weeks... well, you see, we could be knocking on the wildcard door with what we have and a little luck. Wouldn't it be nice to have a few million extra to play with at the all-star break, when it is clear where we need help for a second half push.
Anyway, I really enjoyed Tom's piece, give it a read.