Open letter to Doug Melvin

Dear Doug,
Let me help you out. I'm sure you got Ben Sheets' cell. Shoot him a text. Here it is: "Ben, 2 years $21M, Ship it now, lv Dougie Fresh"

I'll get back to you tomorrow about that golf trip you want to me to come on.

Sincerely,
WozisZeus

In other news, barring some MRI that shows structural damage, if Ben Sheets ends up signing with some chump team for under this amount I'm not going to be happy. Again, for this price and years, it just seems like a good fit for the Crew.

In subsequent other news, I'm buying a Trevor Hoffman jersey.

What's a Looper?

We're told by Tom H. that the Brewers have an interest in Braden Looper.

I'll stand by my prior analysis of Looper:

By the magic of Dave Duncan, has been a decent starter the past few years. Magic likely wears off upon leaving St. Louis. Pass.

Doug Melvin Trade History

MLB Trade Rumors has a history of all of Doug Melvin's trades, both as GM of Texas and Milwaukee.

Interesting to scroll through these. Melvin has traded lots of big names during his tenure as GM of the two clubs: Jose Canseco, Ryan Dempster, Juan Gonzalez, Andres Gallaraga, Richie Sexson, Carlos Lee, Alex Sanchez, etc.

As I look back through these during his Brewers days, the only two trades I don't like are the trade for Estrada with Arizona, and the trade for Linebrink with the Padres.

And Doug has made some absolute dandies. The Sexson trade, obviously, given the situation the franchise was in at the time, is probably his best deal. He got lots of useful major leaguers for Sexson, whom he traded at the absolute peak of his value.

Other trades that I particularly liked - the trade for Carlos Lee, the trade for Villanueva, the trade for Brian Shouse, and the trade for Mota (K bye, Estrada). Getting cash for Manny Alexander was a prety good trick. Oh, and that CC trade was OK too.

All in all a pretty solid record in Milwaukee.

Fail

I'd like to pwn approximately 98% of the people who comment in the JSOnline Blog.

Fools. Just fools.

Check out some of the crap written in the post today about the Yankee's interest in Mike Cameron.

It's totally anti-Cameron...but that is not the point of this post. The point of this post is to make fun of this comment.

What about trading hall and weeks to seattle for ichiro? I mean Jack Z drafted those guys and has to still have faith in them that they can turn things around and become good players. Then that takes care of a left handed on base type guy. Just throwing the idea out there.

Ladies and Gentlemen...your Billups of the Week...JSONLINE poster Mattyo80!

YES! YES! It's gonna happen! Ichiro is going to be a Brewer next year! Doug Melvin is going to call up Jack Z in a week and here is going to be the exchange:
Doug- What up Z?
Jack Z- Chilling. It's raining again out here.
Doug- Told you man...should have stayed.
Jack Z- F you Doug...I made you. What do you want?
Doug-You always liked Rickie Weeks right?
Jack Z-I liked his potential sure. Uhh...why?
Doug-Let's think about a trade.
Jack Z-Ummm...ok. I've got a couple A ball players available.
Doug-Well...I was thinking more along the lines of the Japanese guy who runs all around the batter's box when he swings.
Jack Z-Ichiro. You want to me to give you Ichiro for Dick Weeks? Dude...I've got him locked up through 2012. He gets like...20M a year. You guys can't pay that. Plus, it's freaking Ichiro. I'll get fired within a week if I trade Ichiro for Weeks. Why are we even talking about this? This doesn't make any sense.
Doug-I know. That's why we're going to give you Bill Hall too. It'll make the numbers work.
Jack Z-Make. The. Numbers. Work. I don't want Bill Hall! I'm hanging up!
Doug-Wait Jack! I need you! (hears dial tone).

More valuable: Jack Z or Doug Melvin?

As I was just reading the paper over lunch an interesting idea/thought/possibility popped into my head that I thought might make a good discussion topic regarding both Doug M. and Jack Z.

Who is currently more valuable to the Milwaukee Brewers organization: Jack Z or Doug Melvin?

Both are highly valuable...no doubt. Both are legitimate general managers (Doug has proved that by experience...one would have to assume Jack Z would be no slouch in the role). The "more valuable" question popped into my brain when I read and realized that Doug Melvin is only signed through 2009. Theories trickled next: "Is this part of Mark. A's long-term plan? Is he hoping Jack Z doesn't bolt for some chump team in the next year so he can let Melvin go and hand the reins to Jack?"

Here are some other thoughts/comments to consider as we open this up to forum:

-If Jack Z bolts for Seattle or some other team, we not only lose him...but I would imagine we'll lose at least half his staff as well. Not good for the crew.
-Being a general manager is well...an exclusive club. There's only 32 of them. This is a highly speculative topic that is hard to quantify...but if Melvin goes, there goes his "connections" to with the other GM's. Don't forget...Doug's been the top man for like...13 years now (First with the Rangers). How much is politics a factor in this game?
-Both men are the same age (close enough). The chances of a heart attack are the same (relatively speaking). Let's put it this way. They would go 1 after each other if they were to be picked in my Celebrity Death League.
-The Brewers have finally come to grips with current baseball economics (them being a mid-market team) and realized that solid draft selection year by year is the way to maintain overall decency in the sport. That...along with occasional plug ins by veterans either by late-season acquisitions or free agent pickups is the key to long-term success. This type of style favors Jack Z.
-Doug Melvin is Canadian. I can't find anything to say he is...so I'm guessing Jack Z is not. It's always good to have a few Canadians around.

What do you guys think? No doubt both guys are valuable. But as I write this and think about it more and more...perhaps the question becomes: Who is more expendable? If that is the question...I would have to say that Doug Melvin is more expendable of the two.

CC staying here?

Last Friday, I received a phone call from a guy who told me that he heard that CC Sabathia approached the Brewers, and said he would resign with them for $100 million dollars over 4 years. I said, "no way, who is reporting that?" My guy said he knows a guy who knows a guy in the upper levels of the Brewers front office. CC approached the team with that figure, and that the team was in the process of working the numbers to find out if the deal was plausible.

Oh ok, "knows a guy that knows a guy." Whatever right? EVERYBODY knows that the Brewers had no chance at resigning CC right? Whenever the topic gets brought up, all that gets said is the Brewers have "no chance."

Well, looks like Buster Olney has heard some of the same rumors in some capacity.

Others in the Brewers' organization say Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio will try to make it very difficult for Sabathia to leave -- maybe to the point of risking a colossal mistake.

Through a clear-eyed, fiscally responsible lens, the idea of Attanasio competing with a Yankee offer is probably a little nuts. If he were to give Sabathia $22 million to $25 million a year, for argument's sake, that would probably represent something in the range of 25 to 35 percent of the team's payroll -- and if Sabathia were to get hurt, well, his dead salary could become a debilitating albatross for a team with a mid-level budget.

So ok...there appear to be two ends of the spectrum here. We've got Doug Melvin vs Mark Attanasio...in a matter of speaking. Doug is conservative. Mark is aggressive.

Doug understands the economics of baseball and the danger of a mid-market team shoring up a third of the payroll on 1 player (albeit potentially the best pitcher in baseball who's in the prime of his career).

Mark understands economics in general, knowing that with CC here, the Brewers are a contender every year, and that will keep 3 million fans coming to Miller Park every year. If that's the case, the attendance pays for the player. Everybody knows the effect 1 playoff appearance does for a team's revenue stream. 1 year in the playoffs equals several years after of increased revenue from everything: merchandise, increased ticket-prices & parking, & tv advertising.

Is it a gamble? Hell yeah it is. It's not one that I'm qualified to answer, because basically, it all boils down to 1 thing: Will CC get hurt? Obviously, there's nobody that can answer that.

This story is probably the most interesting subplot of the offseason, and much more will be written about it, since it can't be fully analyzed in 1 blog post. I guess we can leave it at this for now. With Gagne not going to be re-signed, and if they deny Cameron's option, they DO have the money to sign him. But...WILL they actually sign him?

I guess it depends on how Mark A's 401K is looking in a month or so...

Very simple question: Would you beat?

All right men (and ladies...you know...that's cool too), I'm sick and tired of this Trenni bashing.

Here's the scenario: You leave after work and go directly to Steve's on Bluemound to meet your buddies for the Brewer game. On your way down Bluemound from 84th street (say...by the Subway on 77th), you notice a blonde waving you down on the side of the road. Her little red car is smoking...the hood is up. It's Trenni. She's wearing white capris and a brewer t-shirt. "Oh thank goodness you stopped!" she says..."I have to get to Miller Park, I'm working there today and am supposed to be there in 10 minutes! Can you give me a ride?"

Since you're no doubt a gentlemen...you gladly offer her a ride.

As you cruise down Bluemound, you talk about the Brewers and how fun the team is this year. You make her laugh by telling Mitch Hedberg jokes. Since you're probably driving a convertible...the wind is blowing her hair around like that scene in "Wayne's World" where Garth is daydreaming. All of a sudden, that "I kissed a girl and I liked it" song comes on the radio and she starts singing the lyrics. You start to think she could be the one.

Since she's got credentials, you get past all the parking nazi's and go right to the front gate. She gives you a quick kiss on the cheek, says thanks for the ride, and then starts to get out. You think its all over, and you've got a good story for your buddies.

But it's not. She suddenly turns around. "How'd you like to watch the game in Annastasio's Box?" You obviously say "Sure, that'd be fun!" Then she tosses you some sort of permanent stadium pass, you exchange cell numbers, and off she goes.

You roll into Mark's personal box feeling like a stud. You introduce yourself to Doug Melvin and tell him you like everythings he's done (well...except the Gagne signing). Rick Majerus is randomly there. Over about a dozen chicken wings and a quesadilla, you talk about the upcoming Marquette hoops season. All this time, Trenni is sending you text messages, asking how everything is going.

Finally around the 8th inning, with the Brewers comfortably ahead, and you with 7 miller lites in you, you get the nerve to text back to Trenni, "What are you doing after the game?"

Trenni replies, "I say we keep this party going. Meet me back at my condo in the Falls (gives address). Hope you brought your trunks for the hot tub!"

You smile knowingly to yourself, because hell yeah, you don't have swimming trunks...and that's not going to stop you.

Question: LIKE YOUR NOT GOING TO GO OUT THERE AND HIT IT?!?!

Corey Hart Plug

Always loved the guy. Was baffled at the beginning of last year why he wasn't playing every day. Remember him losing starts to - gasp - Gabe Gross to start 2006? How laughable is that right now?

Anyway, great story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on the unassuming Hart. Included, Jim Hendry's biggest Brewer fear:

Now, the former 11th-round pick's stock has risen so much that when opposing teams try to discuss Hart in a trade, Melvin said, "I tell them I'm not going to even talk about him. But it's taken clubs three or four years to ask about him. They see him and say, 'Hey, that guy's a pretty good player.' (General manager) Jim Hendry of the Cubs told me they fear him more than anybody on the club.''

WTF?

Even our buddy Doug Melvin comes up with a few eyebrow raising head tilters every now and again...

"At the same time, we're not going to do anything stupid. I don't think any one guy can make a difference. The team still has to play well. But the addition of one player can make a team better."

Uhhh...what? Which one is it?

How about me saying this:
"Look guys, listen to me. I don't think the Battle of Vicksburg made a difference in the early days of the Civil War on the Western Front. The Union army needed to be better in the Northern Campaign. That being said, winning at Vicksburg really turned the tide of the war in the Union's favor."

That's right Doug...I went there.

Quick Poll

If you were the Brewers GM, would you sign Ben Sheets at the end of this year to a 5 year, $88 Million dollar guaranteed money deal?

Would you? Go ahead and go on record.

Weaver Signing Explained

According to Tom Haudricourt (and confirmed by Gord Ash on the radio this morning), the Brewers have signed Jeff Weaver. For those of you not familiar with Weaver's work, he finished with a 7-13 record for the Mariners last year with a sporty 6.20 ERA.

With such a fine season on his resume, it's surprising that the Cubs didn't give him a 3 year $21 million deal in the off-season, but the Brewers were able to snap him up for an incentive-laden deal. Why might Milwaukee want him?

Here's the best guesses of the brain trust at Chuckie Hacks:

1. He has experience hitting in the #8 spot in the order from his days in St. Louis.
2. The Brewers are buttering up Scott Boras (Weaver's agent) to get him to agree to a long-term deal for Prince.
3. Needed someone to lose 16 consecutive starts with Capuano on the DL.
4. Trying to lock up the AAA championship in Nashville with some Game 7 World Series experience.
5. Lack of mullets on the current roster.
6. Needed someone to replace Vargas' 5.50 ERA this season.
7. Mike Maddux can identify with Jeff's sibling rivalry with his more talented brother Jered.
8. With Suppan and now Weaver, they're trying to bring the band back together for the 2006 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals starting rotation.
9. Corey Hart's hair stylist recommended him.
10. Doug Melvin just wants to show how far the Brewers have come since he took over - Weaver would have been the #2 starter on the staff Melvin inherited.
11. The Brewers are trying to set the bar even higher for ridiculous comments on the Journal Sentinel's Brewers blog.
12. Ned Yost wanted someone to make Dave Bush look good so he could keep him in the rotation.

While we don't exactly have direct access to the Brewers front office, we think that it's reasonable to think that Jeff Weaver is a Milwaukee Brewer for all of the above reasons. In Doug we trust.

Ouch!

Page2 has a T-Shirt theme for every team. God Bless Doug Melvin. The Brewers?

Melvin Pumping Up Bush for a Possible Trade?

I've read in a number of places that Doug Melvin has hinted strongly that Dave Bush will be in the rotation this year unless he is a complete disaster in Spring Training.

A quote from Melvin in an Adam McCalvey story on the team website is about as strong an endorsement as you can get:

Leg up: Right-hander Dave Bush avoided arbitration this week by agreeing to a one-year contract, and two days later Melvin gave the strongest indication yet that Bush will win a spot in the starting rotation.

"I think he'd have to pitch awful [in Spring Training] to not be a part of the rotation," Melvin said on Thursday. "Take a look at Dave Bush vs. Joe Blanton's numbers over their career. Blanton has the wins and the ERA was better last year, but overall they're not far off."

Blanton is an Oakland A's right-hander and a hot name in the trade rumor mill. He has pitched 633 2/3 innings in 102 games in his career, making for a nearly even comparison with Bush, who has worked 630 1/3 innings and 108 games. Blanton has more wins (42 to 34), a better ERA (4.10 to 4.53) and has surrendered far fewer home runs (57 to 84). But Bush has more strikeouts (439 to 369) and fewer walks (136 to 167). Blanton has pitched slightly deeper into games, averaging 6.35 innings per start to Bush's 6.04 innings.

Although I'm not sure the Blanton comparison holds up (his ERA is almost 1/2 of a run better than Bush's and he pitches in the AL), what I find intriguing is what is Melvin trying to accomplish by bringing up Blanton's name as a comparison and saying that Bush is all but a lock for the Brewers rotation? Is he trying to drum up some trade interest for a team looking for a starter that doesn't end up getting Blanton?

Interesting.