Make your 09 team.

[kramnoj]

The top 5 in the lineup for most of the season (Weeks, Hardy, Braun, Fielder and Hart) are going to be 26, 26, 25, 24 and 27 when the 2009 season opens. That means none of them have hit their baseball prime yet.

 

I think this is asserted too strongly. Not all players have the same development pattern. Arod was fantastic at age 20 and didn't have a better season until he was 29. Unless Fielder significantly changes his lifestyle, I don't think he'll ever put up a better season than last year. Braun will hopefully learn to take more pitches, but it will be difficult to significantly improve over what he did in his rookie season.

[DHonks]

Kind of what igor said. I'd target Beltre for one.

 

I was thinking of Fielder and Weeks for Ichiro and Beltre. It gives the rebuilding M's a young cheap star 1b/dh, a talented potential-filled 2b/of/dh, and salary relief. It gives the Brewers a RF and leadoff hitter for the next 4 years. It also gives the Brewers a defensive-minded 3b with 25 hr capabilities.

 

It adds $29 million in '09, but it likely drops $4-6 million from the payroll. Throw in the money that Sabathia, Sheets, Gagne, Turnbow, Capuano, and Durham are making, and that's another $33 million off the books. It's quite possible that Mota and Hall are also not back, resulting in more savings. Ultimately I think this acquisition could happen, possibly with Hall a part of it to balance the books.

 

Ultimately, here's my thought:

Ichiro RF

Loretta/Durham/Counsell 2b

Hardy SS

Braun LF

Beltre 3b

Hart 1b

Cameron CF

Kendall C

 

Rotation:

Gallardo

Parra

Bush

Suppan

McClung/Villanueva (I'd love to move Suppan, giving both a chance. I think McClung is a terrible reliever, but okay starter. Villy seems to have learned from his mistakes)

 

pen:

Torres

Shouse

Stetter

Dillard

Riske

[endaround]

Ichiro is not going anywhere. The Ms are talking huge salary cuts, meaning they want prospects not arby guys. And this trade would pretty much close the window for the Brewers after 2009.

[DHonks]

endaround, I don't anticipate Weeks and Fielder with us in 2010, and right now I doubt either returns in 2009. I was figuring having 4 years of Ichiro was solid return.

[endaround]

Ichiro has negative value to the Brewers

[rousieboy]

If the Japanese ownership is not going to part with Kenji then they really are not going to part with Ichiro...

[Weirdos19]

There are many options here. Do we trade for pitching??? Can we move Suppan???

 

I say yes to both.With the Yankees sure to sign CC or Sheets, they still will have holes in their rotation.

 

1. Trade Suppan and Nelson to the Yankees for Robinson Cano. Cano is a young, left handed hitter, that can play second base for years to come. The salary relief could get us a starter. The Yankees get an innings eater for less than they would have to pay for another free agent. They also get a left handed, power hitting prospect that could replace Giambi.

 

2. Put Hall and Weeks in a package to pick up a starter. Cain would be #1 on my list. Hall, Weeks, and a prospect for Cain.

 

3. Re-sign CC or Sheets. Offer CC 5yr/125mil. Offer Sheets 3yr/54mil. With Gagne, Suppan, and CC or Sheets salary coming off, it can be done.

 

4. I think Cameron is hurting right now. His left knee is bad. He'll be fine next year.

5. Use prospects for bullpen. Dillard and DeFilice are as good if not better than Gagne and Mota. Stetter should be our LOOGY too.

 

Lineup:

Cano 2B

Hardy 3B

Braun LF

Fielder 1B

Hart RF

Cameron CF

Kendall C

Escobar SS

pitcher

 

Rotation:

Sheets or CC

Cain

Yo

Parra

Bush

 

Bullpen: Torres, Villanueva, Shouse, Stetter, Dillard, Riske, McClung. Looks thin, but with that rotation, it should be fine.

 

IMO, Gamel and Salome need more time in the minors. Escobar can fly. If he gets on base, he can lead off.

[kramnoj]

Trade Suppan and Nelson to the Yankees for Robinson Cano

 

This just isn't realistic. Suppan will be making around $25 million the next two years. He may be a little cheaper than some FA this offseason, but money isn't and won't be a problem for the Yankees. They can afford to get bigger bang for their bucks. I think the Yankees are going hard after Texeira this offseason. They have the biggest need, and they can offer more than anybody.

[JohnBriggs12]

I think the Brewers will dip into the FA market for one reliever: Juan Cruz. He just makes the most sense to me in that he has the stuff to close but since he hasn't done it, he's not going to command inflated closer money. That will make their bullpen core Torres, Riske, Cruz, Stetter, Villanueva (who also could figure back in the starter picture). I think it's only 50-50 that they bring back Shouse. He's getting up there and they might want some fresher arms. This assumes full recover from Riske too.

 

I think the rest of the pen will be comprised of guys brought to spring training on minor league deals. I'd look for them to load up on those types. Dillard could figure in too.

[sbrylski]

Wow, Cruz has some nasty K totals - would fit in nicely with our defense. If he could hone in his control (5.59 BB/9 career high), he would be a true beast. I'd love the signing though.

 

Breakdown:

0 ER: 45 appearances

1 ER: 4 appearances

2 ER: 2 appearances

3+ ER: 2 appearances

 

JB12, you've I.D.ed my top 2009 FA target.

[trwi7]

Juan Cruz is a type A free agent. No way I'd give up our first rounder for him.

[sbrylski]

Juan Cruz is a type A free agent. No way I'd give up our first rounder for him.

Oof, buzzkill.

[DHonks]

we will have 4 other first rounders

[trwi7]

we will have 4 other first rounders

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't mind giving up our first rounder, but not for a reliever. If we want to go the free agent route there are plenty of decent relievers available that wouldn't cost us a draft pick. David Weathers, Jeremy Affeldt and Brandon Lyon come to mind.

[rousieboy]

The only way Suppan goes to New York is if Prince goes too...Don't get me wrong...I am not saying it will happen or that it should...but the Yanks will need starting pitching and like his resume. Same for what Prince could bring to the Yanks in their new stadium...

 

even if people love this...I have no idea what New York could possibly offer in return...but it is one (the only?) way to get rid of Suppan if you really want to do it...

 

rousieboy

[endaround]

we will have 4 other first rounders

 

Don't go counting your first rounders before they hatch. There has been talk about CC to the Giants, no first round pick. Talk of Sheets to Atlanta, no first round pick. You also have money in Baltimore, Detroit and Texas.

[brwrsfan]

There's also the outside chance that one of those two actually returns to the Brewers.

[reillymcshane]

Here's my wacky idea:

 

1. Let Gamel and Escobar go to AAA for 2009. Give them a chance to prove it at higher competion. Injuries/ineffectiveness may mean they come earlier, but let them develop.

2. Trade Prince and Hart to SF for Cain, Winn and Madison Bumgarner. San Fran's top HR hitter has 13. They need power desperately. This gives it to them. We get a top notch pitching prospect, a good young starter and a solid, switch hitting RF. I'd say we could do lincecom and Winn for Hart and Fielder, but I doubt SF is willing to give up a cy young type guy. Winn, if I'm correct, still plays a good RF - I think equal to Hart - and is signed for only one year. I would use Winn as leadoff hitter. Gamel - or a guy like Gillespie - would be long term answer in RF. (the giants might like Bill Hall too - for he could go to SS - and I think it would help Hall immensely if he could play there full time - like he did most of 2006). We could do Prince for Cain and bumgarner - which might work. To be honest, I'm not sure of Prince's value.

3. Sign Orlando Hudson to a 4-year, $36 million deal. Maybe that's too much or too little. I'm not sure what the market will be for 2B. Also, with the injury, I don't know if that affects him. But if he's okay, we get an .800 OPS, switch hitting, gold glove calibar 2B. The deal takes him until he's 34, so I expect some decline, but it's a risk we'll take. We lose our 1st round pick for this.

4. Move Rickie Weeks to 1B. Yes, 1B. He's lost at 2B and it's affecting his bat - which I think can still be good. I would think Rickie could play 1B without much problem. We could, potentially move him to CF - but as Bill Hall showed - it's no picnic - and I'd want Rickie to focus on his bat. Gamel is moved to 1B/OF in the minors, and is brought up if Rickie falters.

5. Russell Branyon is the 3B against righties - meaning 75% of the time. Hall - assuming he's still here - is the super sub at SS/2B and starter at 3B against lefties. If hall is dealt, you need a right handed bat to play against lefties. This combo can mash 30-40 HR if they avoid injuries. Maybe they only hit .230 - but that's life.

 

You improve defense quite a bit by giving Braun another year to settle in in LF, having Cameron for a full year, replacing Fielder with Weeks at 1B, and replacing Weeks at 2B with Hudson. 3B would probably be a wash, as would RF.

 

While we lose lots of power, we gain two very good switch hitters and use Branyon full time against righties - meaning three good lefties in the lineup - instead of Prince and guys like Counsel. Count on Cameron for a full year, some growth from Weeks, and a more consistent lineup - I think they'd be okay.

 

Roster looks something like this (money is a rough estimate - perhaps I'm way off on some of these guesses) - I resigned Shouse, Kapler, Branyon. There's some open slots (back up IF, relief pitcher), that would be filled by a veteran signing or a minor leaguer. Some slots, like Gwynn's, could be swapped if we had someone better and rearranged some money to afford them. I also resigned capuano for $1.5 million - i don't know if this would work for him - I don't think he'll be ready to go until early in the year, and the team will need to be careful - but he might be a good 2nd half starter to have ready as we get him up to speed:

 

C - Kendall - $4.5

C - Rivera - $0.5

1B - Weeks - $2.0

2B - Hudson $9.0

SS - Hardy $5.0

3B - Branyon $1.0

LF - Braun $0.8

CF - Cameron $10

RF - Winn $8.5

 

OF - Kapler $2.0

IF - Hall - $6.8

IF - minor league or vet - $1

OF - Gwynn $0.4

 

SP - Cain $3.0

Sp - Bush $5.0

SP Suppan $12.5

SP Gallardo $0.5

SP - Parra $0.5

SP/RP - McClung $1.5

RP - Riske $4.0

RP - Torres $3.8

RP - Shouse $2.5

RP - Villanueva $ 0.5

RP - Stetter $ 0.4

RP - Rookie $0.4

SP/RP - Capuano $1.5

RP - minor leaguer or vet -1.0

 

Approximately $88 million in salary

 

McClung takes over in the rotation if there are any injuries.

 

My goal was to improve the defense quite a bit, and add some on base percentage, without losing too much power, and all the while add a very good starting pitcher in Cain. While branyon is no Fielder, he does have a presence, and I think he could be effective if left alone for a season. Weeks is a gamble - but if he doens't have to worry about his defense, I think he could blossom into a 25 HR guy. Again, a risk, but what the heck. Winn and Hudson add some switch hitters to the club. A team of Winn, Cameron, Braun, Weeks, Hardy, Hudson would be pretty fast. Perhaps we lose too much power here, but i like the improved defense and higher on base percentages. And the rotion would be Cain, Gallardo, Parra, Bush, Suppan. Not too bad. Bullpen is scary, I admit. But I think the best way to improve it is to find good young arms and give them a chance in the pen - free agency with relievers is a big gamble.

 

This team allows our top hitters - Brantly, Gamel, Escobar, Gillespie, Salome - to go to AAA in 2009 and continue to develop. Winn and Hall come off the books after next year, and we could either deal Hardy if Escobar is ready - or move him (if he's willing) to 3B. Gamel goes to RF - or 1B if the Weeks experiment goes poorly.

 

Just an idea. I hate dealing a 50 HR potential 1B - but I have to admit that I worry about prince. His weight - and I think he's gained quite a bit - is looking cumbersome on him. His defense is bad. He's a liability on the basepaths. I worry he's not going to age well. Also, I just don't know if he wants to be here - and if that's the case, let's get a top flight arm for him. I hate selling low on him, so it almost makes me want to just keep him to see if he does better.

 

As for Hart - he has potential to get better - the 40+ doubles and 20+ HRs are proof. He's also shown he hits both lefties and righties pretty well. However, his lack of growth getting on base is a bit troublesome (I say this about Braun too), and so I used him to get a switch hitter and a prime prospect in the deal. I could easily keep him and get rid of Winn, but something tells me the time is good to deal hart if we intend to - not to mention we have some guys waiting in the minors who should be able to replace him in a couple of years.

 

My wacky idea is done.

[2008 world champs]

Weeks, 1b? No thanks..he can't hit for a second basemen

[DHonks]

also, don't forget that Branyan has never been able to stay healthy whenever he has gotten the chance to play

[nate82]

Don't go counting your first rounders before they hatch. There has been talk about CC to the Giants, no first round pick. Talk of Sheets to Atlanta, no first round pick. You also have money in Baltimore, Detroit and Texas.

Detroit is looking to cut payroll after this year and the same with Atlanta they may not even offer anything to Glavine. I don't see Atlanta going after Sheets this off season. I also don't see the Giants signing Sabathia either unless they somehow are able to trade away Zito and his huge contract.

[Gobias Industries]

My 2009 Milwaukee Brewers:

 

Make a fair offer to CC, and if he doesn't accept, let both him and Sheets walk.

Let Counsell, Gagne, Mota, Durham via FA.

Re-sign Kapler and Branyan to platoon with Bill Hall.

Exercise Cameron and Torres' options.

 

Trade:

Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Angel Salome, and a low level Pitching Prospect for Zach Greinke and David Dejesus.

 

Corey Hart for Kelly Johnson and Peter Moylan.

 

Sign:

Scott Hatteberg to a one-year contract and let Gamel start at 1B in AAA.

 

Reliever(s) coming off a down year.

 

Let go:

Doug Melvin and Dale Sveum. Hire Paul DePodesta and a manager that isn't old school.

 

Starting Lineup:

 

Dejesus RF

Johnson 2B

Cameron CF

Braun LF

Hardy SS

Hatteberg 1B

Branyan/Hall 3B

Kendall C

[fleehaw]

I just can't fathom a lot of changes to a team that made the postseason and had the best record for about a 3-4 month stretch of the season. There are definitely places to tweak, though. Some of these ideas are my own and others are similar or copied from other people.

 

Trade for Blalock. Considering Texas may non-tender him, for 1 year of Blalock, I think Nelson and a guy like Dillard might get it done. Am I way off on this one? Gives Gamel a full year at AAA to hone his hot corner skills.

 

3-way deal with the Braves & Royals. Braves get Hart and Pena. Royals get Francouer. Brewers get DeJesus and Mike Gonzalez. There might be a prospect here or there that would need to be included, but that's the meat of it.

 

Resign Sheets. It probably isn't the most popular choice, but he'll command far less than Sabathia. He cost himself a good deal of money this season. Perhaps a 3yr/$48 with a vesting 4th year. While the Brewers could make due without him, their rotation would take a noticeable step back. This is the rotation they were supposed to have this year that most people seemed excited about.

 

DeJesus-LF

Weeks-2B

Braun-RF

Fielder-1B

Hardy-SS

Blalock/Hall-3B

Cameron-CF

Kendall-C

Bench- Rivera, Kapler, Counsell, a LH OF (Gwynn?)

Rotation- Sheets, Yo, Parra, Bush, Suppan (although I'd like to see McClung beat him out)

Bullpen- McClung, Stetter, Riske, Coffey, Villanueva, Gonzalez, & Torres

 

I like the idea of having the manager have a LH & RH closer option to pitch the 8th & 9th innings depending on the matchup. At any rate, it should be an interesting offseason.

[Hart Of Milwaukee]

I like Mike Cameron but I feel if we put the money he would recieve around 10 million $ for Edgar Renteria the money would be better. We could move Hardy to 3rd which would give us a good left side, and clear an easy path for Escobar in 2010. I know Renteria had a bad yr but hes only two years removed from a .391 obp.

1. Edgar Renteria SS

2. Mat Gamel RF/LF

3.Ryan Braun RF/LF

4.Prince Fielder 1B

5. JJ Hardy SS

6. Hart CF(needs to bounce back)

7. Rickie Weeks 2B

8. Jason Kendall C

9. P

Bench

1. Mark Loretta (Sign as free agent let him compete with Weeks)

2. Gabe Kapler

3. Mike Rivera

4. Bill Hall

5. Brad Nelson

Rotation:

1.Sign Dereck Lowe as top priority Sheets as a #2 option if he doesnt like Milwuakee

2. Yovanni Gallardo

3. Manny Parra

4. Jeff Suppan

5. Seth McClung

Bullpen

1. Torres cp

2. Jeremy Jeffress has the stuff to help in the big leagues in a "Joba" type role (I know he wont be Joba though)

3. Mitch Stetter

4. Brian Shouse

5. David Riske

6. Luis Pena

7. Anthony Slama (Twins RP prospect if we still have Taylor Green trade him for Slama and Rob Delaney of the Twins.)

Trade Dave Bush for a prospect!

[yoshii8]

I've been thinking a lot about how our bullpen is going to look in 09', and I think we will be ok using the players we already have, here is what I project.

 

I would like to see Mitch Stetter as the first lefty in the pen, I think it showed how much they think of him by using him so often in the playoffs. I like him because he has a high k rate, and is also very effective against righties, allowing us to use him in more than a loogy role.

 

I would like to see Brian Shouse brought back and used strictly as the loogy, he absolutely dominated this season vs lefties, but for some reason was used heavily against righties also.

 

I want David Riske and Solomon Torres used as 6th and 7th inning guys. I guess these two are the biggest question marks, but if Riske is healthy, and Torres doesn't retire they will play important roles

 

I'd like Carlos Villanueva as the closer or at the very least as the setup guy, as he looks so comfortable in pressure situations, and had a 2.12 era in 59 innings w/ 62k's and only 14 BB's in 08' as a reliever. The guy just knows how to pitch.

 

I'd like to see Seth McClung have an important role as the setup guy next season. The good part is if he pitches like he did at the end of last season, we ride him, but if he's struggling w/ command we have Torres that could easily move to the setup role. I liked him as a starter, but I think he is better suited to be a bullpen guy.

 

For the last spot I would like to see Dillard and Coffey battle it out in spring training. I really liked what I saw from Dillard when he first came up, and from Coffey at the end of the season. I think Dillard will be a very good major league reliever, as he was very good in AAA last season after being converted from being a starter.

 

If they don't trust either of those guys, I would like to see the Brewers sign a veteran reliever like Braden Looper (who could also start), David Weathers, Kyle Farnsworth (maybe too expensive ) or Bob Howry to fill that role.

 

So here is my final bullpen prediction:

 

Villanueva - Closer

McClung- Setup

Torres- 7th inning

Riske- 6th inning

Stetter- loogy/middle reliever

Shouse- loogy

Coffey/Dillard- final spot