Now that Ned Yost is signed for next year, Doug Melvin better be next. As should surprise no one, Mark Attanasio is excited to have Doug Melvin as the GM, and wants to keep him around for a while:
I'm not sure I agree that Minaya has done much of a job--after all, he runs a team that used Gerald Williams and Jose Offerman as pinch-hitters last night. And if one of those guys goes down, Wil Cordero is ready to step in. And if Wil Cordero goes down, Minaya is ready to call his uncle, Oscar Minaya, who played pro ball in Cuba in the late '50s, to become the go-to guy in the clutch. Omar said, "Uncle Oscar really knows how to play the game. You'd be amazed how fast that man can go, even despite the walker."
Okay, I guess I got carried away there for a minute.
The other interesting thing in today's MLB.com article is a mention of Carlos Lee's future with the team:
"You could just pick it up, or you could talk about something more long-term," Melvin said. "That's something we'll look at after the season."
It's a foregone conclusion that Lee will make at least $8.5M next year. I suppose it's conceivable that the option could be picked up just to make El Caballo more marketable as trade bait, but the way he's been playing this year (could this, not his last few years, be a true indicator of what to expect for the next several seasons?) it would be incredible to keep him around. Many of you have mentioned the need for a true #3 hitter. I'm not sure anybody coming along is a #3 guy in the mold of Pujols or A-Rod (who, I know, doesn't always hit 3rd). But a middle-of-the-order of Weeks-Fielder-Lee-Jenkins could terrify opposing pitchers--even Brooks Kieschnick--by '07, perhaps even by next year.
How 'bout that. It had never occurred to me that Lee would be a Brewer beyond '06. I'm not holding my breath, as he could be really pricey after racking up 40 dingers and 150 ribbies this year, but ... wow.