2009 Closer -- Hoffman to Brewers

[B2k1121]

Can we just get some good news already? Boy, if Hoffman does sign with LA, this is going to continue a disappointing trend this winter.

Agreed.

 

"CC doesn't want to play in NY, the Brewers have a good shot at keeping him" "Wait, no he's going to NY."

"Mike Cameron is about to be traded, giving the Brewers payroll flexibility to sign a pitcher, should be done very soon" "Wait, no it's not going to happen."

"Braden Looper is very close to signing, could get done tonight" "Wait, no, nevermind, it's not going to happen."

"Hoffman and the Brewers have mutual interest and are working on a deal, should get done today or tomorrow" "Waiiiiit..."

[fondybrewfan]

naivin[/b]]Naivin, I understand your point. Young players want to play MLB period.

 

However, I think if a the Brewers signed a player, whether it's someone like Suppan or someone like Sabathia, it would sound a bit disingenuous if the player put on his jersey at the news conference and stated "It's always been my dream to put on a Milwaukee Brewer uniform" (Unless is was some local player like Counsell). Yet you hear that kind of stuff all the time from players that sign with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers."It's always been my dream to wear Dodger Blue...It's always been my dream to wear the pinstripes".

That is logical because those markets are so much bigger and they have much bigger fan bases. It only makes sense that more kids would grow up wanting to be a Yankee fan or a Dodger fan because their are simply more Dodger fans and Yankee fans out there. It doesn't hurt that those teams have much more prestige and history than the Brewers do. Like has been said previously, I don't think that has anything to do with the city of Milwaukee.

[MillerParkSouth]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/a...otstove2008&fext=.jsp

 

Apparently our offer is also 1 year, with an option at around $4mm. Doug has to know that there is NO way Hoffman will come here if the offers are equal, why not guarantee the 2nd year if your interest is sincere?!

[SeriesFinale]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/a...otstove2008&fext=.jsp

 

Apparently our offer is also 1 year, with an option at around $4mm. Doug has to know that there is NO way Hoffman will come here if the offers are equal, why not guarantee the 2nd year if your interest is sincere?!

Yeah, when I saw that, my eyes popped out of my head. All this talk about the appeal of Milwaukee aside, given the situation with Hoffman's home being on the West Coast and the Dodgers being the competition, you had to think the Brewers would need to pay a premium to get Hoffman here.

[bklynbrewcrew]

Melvin really needs to do better in regards to Hoffman. Offering 1 yr plus an option at 4 mil per is way too low to get the deal done. I dont see why we cant offer 2 guaranted years for 10 mil. That wont exactly break the bank.

 

This offseason is really turning into a nightmare. If we can just sign Hoffman and Sheets we will be fine but if we miss out on both we will be taking a huge step backwards.

[Invader3K]

Can we just get some good news already? Boy, if Hoffman does sign with LA, this is going to continue a disappointing trend this winter.

Agreed.

 

"CC doesn't want to play in NY, the Brewers have a good shot at keeping him" "Wait, no he's going to NY."

"Mike Cameron is about to be traded, giving the Brewers payroll flexibility to sign a pitcher, should be done very soon" "Wait, no it's not going to happen."

"Braden Looper is very close to signing, could get done tonight" "Wait, no, nevermind, it's not going to happen."

"Hoffman and the Brewers have mutual interest and are working on a deal, should get done today or tomorrow" "Waiiiiit..."

Throw in Jim Powell probably leaving the broadcast booth (hell, Jeff Cirillo I think is gone too) and it just seems like the Brewers franchise is getting the proverbial teeth kicked in left and right.

[brewmann04]

If Melvin took a chance on the BUM Gagne why not go the 2 years with Hoffman

[Invader3K]

I tend to agree. Just give the guy two years guaranteed and get it done so the team at least has some amount of certainty in the bullpen going forward.

[MillerParkSouth]

It's not even like he'd be paying $10mm a year for 2 years, it would take $6 or $7mm at most. I don't see why he wouldn't do this if it would get the deal done.

[brewmann04]

I think if doug blows this he will have alot of explaining to do to the Fans.

[sheetswannabe]

I dont think we would be taking a "Huge" step backwards.

 

Break it down.

 

Yo got injured early in the year last year, through the whole regular season.

 

So it was Sheets and Co until CC came.

 

So all it will be this year is Yo taking Sheets' spot and maybe we can land a trade at the deadline again.

 

The lineup should perform better with added experience, and the bullpen hasnt really gotten worse.

 

Parra should be pretty good all year, he hit a wall last year because of wear and tear most likely.

 

Bush had a beautiful second half.

 

It actually wouldnt be insane to state that this team is just as good as last years at the beginning of the 08 season.

[Teatoe993]

Banking on the hopes of the entire staff having an injury free career year is not the way I want to go. Where is the Plan B if McClung goes back to sucking? Where's the Plan B if Prince takes out a starter in a collision? Who's closing?

This team needs pitching depth more than anything right now. Adding Hoffman automatically makes the entire bullpen better from the top down. If we can also land an innings eater for the rotation it will at least give us some options if our dream scenarios don't go the way we hoped.

[patrickgpe]

looks like it seems the brewers are atleast making a stronger push for Trevor. I think if we have to guarantee a 2nd year to get him, we should...

 

http://www.fannation.com/...ogs/hot_stove/posts/38741

[RyDogg66]

I think if Melvin cant stop Hoffman from wanting to play near his family he will have alot of explaining to do to the Fans.

Fixed.

[TooLiveBrew]

This offseason is really turning into a nightmare.

 

You've been saying this since November, bklyn.

 

 

it seems the brewers are atleast making a stronger push for Trevor. I think if we have to guarantee a 2nd year to get him, we should...

 

Definitely agreed... however, I wonder if even guaranteeing a second season would be enough. Honestly if you look at this situation without wearing Brewers goggles, it would make tons of sense for Hoffman to sign with LA, even if it's only a one year deal & the Crew offers two years.

[Ennder]

I'm ok with signing Hoffman but there are no guarantees that he is a viable closer all year. His peripherals have been slipping for the last few years and outside that park and weak hitting division things may just break down on him.

[PeaveyFury]

Tom checks in, summarizing a couple of things from around the web (the Brewers and Dodgers have similar offers out there, and that the Brewers are making the stronger push to try and sign him):

 

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/37233879.html

[jjfanec]

I'm ok with signing Hoffman but there are no guarantees that he is a viable closer all year. His peripherals have been slipping for the last few years and outside that park and weak hitting division things may just break down on him.

What peripherals of his have been slipping? I see that his home run rate went up this year, which explains a a bump in ERA, however, his WHIP was below his career average and his K/9 rate was higher than it has been since 2002. The questions about his park and division are valid, oddly enough in a very small sample size last year he had really good road numbers. 4 of the last 5 years his road numbers have been better than his home numbers, so he seems to succeed well outside of SD.

[BREWCREW5]

I think the odds of us signing Hoffman have got to be slim to none guys. The geography is just too much. My guess is that his agent is only using the Brewers to try to get a better deal for Hoffman from a west coast team ala the Dodgers.

That is one thing that truly sucks about being a Brewers fan. Milwaukee doesnt appear that it will ever be a place that free agents will want to come to.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Well, Handricourt says we're still in it. We got some back and forth journalism going on by TH.

 

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/37242624.html

 

"There's always that possibility but I've dealt with Rick before," Melvin told me in a telephone conversation about an hour ago. "I still think we have a chance. We're just not there yet."

[SeriesFinale]

I'm not sure why Melvin doesn't go out there with Macha and meet up with Mark A (sorry for the alliteration) to go talk with Hoffman.

 

How much are plane tickets, c'mon

[BrewCrewForever]

Really hope this gets done. Then we can move on and get at least one starter. If this does not get done, I hope we get Lyon and then move on to a starter. So far this offseason has just frustrated the hell out of me.

[brewerjamie15]

Hoffman is good and would make a nice addition to the team, but he is pretty old to be pinning hopes on IMO.

[RyDogg66]

I feel the same way about this situation as I did with Sabathia, that Hoffman is "considering" the Brewers and keeping them on the line in order to squeeze something more from LA. It seems like this offseason that the Brewers have been doing a lot of waiting for others to make up their minds (Sabatihia, Cashman, Hoffman)

[Fatter than Joey]

Who was Jorge Julio squeezing?