Mark Mulder: what originally happened to this guy?

[BREWCREW5]

It seems pretty apparent that the Crew will sign Mulder. What originally happened to this guy?

I was wondering if he is going to be ready by spring training? Can we really expect anything positive from him?

(edit: more explicative topic title --1992)

[JoeHova]

Problems with his rotator cuff. He had at least two operations on his throwing shoulder (9/06 & 9/07) and has thrown only 61.1 innings (including minor league rehab time) in the 3 seasons since the first surgery.

[sgtcluels]

Don't count on much. As stated he's coming of not throwing much, plus last reports about a month ago that he is having arm slot issues and can't reproduce it. He's got some time to figure it out, but don't right him in as a sure thing.

[JohnBriggs12]

I think it's ridiculous that the Brewers are putting any stock in the belief that after not pitching effectively in the majors for 5 years (his last season with any measure of success was 2005), and virtually not pitching at all since 06 that he's going to become even a serviceable major league pitcher at any point, much less 2010. I'm hard pressed to think of anyone who's ever done that.

 

In assessing where a team is at this time, I look for positive and negative signs. That they are seriously looking at a guy like Mulder is a huge negative as it's a sure sign they don't have faith in what they have and they are desperate.

 

I give Mulder less chance of impacting the 2010 Brewers than John Halama and I don't give Halama much of a chance. At least Halama has been pitching over the past several seasons even if much of it's been in independent leagues.

[Daubs]

I give Mulder less chance of impacting the 2010 Brewers than John Halama and I don't give Halama much of a chance. At least Halama has been pitching over the past several seasons even if much of it's been in independent leagues.

I think it's more about catching lightning in a bottle than believing Mulder will impact the Crew in 2010.

[dlk9s]

I give Mulder less chance of impacting the 2010 Brewers than John Halama and I don't give Halama much of a chance. At least Halama has been pitching over the past several seasons even if much of it's been in independent leagues.

I think it's more about catching lightning in a bottle than believing Mulder will impact the Crew in 2010.

Agreed. It's not like he's going to come in as the #2 starter or anything. He'll get an incentive-laden minor league deal or something like that with the hopes that maybe, maybe, down the road, with some help from his former pitching coach, he can become a back-end starter some day. Just like any cheap minor league acquisition, he's being looked at as someone who may be able to contribute at some point in the future, except that he has been very successful in the past.

 

I wouldn't read into the Brewers' interest in Mulder as a sign of desperation or anything.

[Eddiehitsthefoulpole]

Wasn't Mulder the Oakland pitcher with the hip problem? If he was, that could have led to the shoulder problems.

[BrewCrewForever]

I have no problem bringing Mulder in on a minor league deal. Low risk and maybe he has something left in that left arm, who knows maybe he comes in and does well.

[molitor fan]

lest we forget how good he was before the arm woes, in the five year period immediately before the injuries he was 88-40 with a 3.55 ERA....he once was only behind Randy Johnson in terms of lefty dominance for his era. Yeah, i want to take a chance on that.

[RockCoCougars]

I think it's ridiculous that the Brewers are putting any stock in the belief that after not pitching effectively in the majors for 5 years (his last season with any measure of success was 2005), and virtually not pitching at all since 06 that he's going to become even a serviceable major league pitcher at any point, much less 2010. I'm hard pressed to think of anyone who's ever done that.

 

In assessing where a team is at this time, I look for positive and negative signs. That they are seriously looking at a guy like Mulder is a huge negative as it's a sure sign they don't have faith in what they have and they are desperate.

 

I give Mulder less chance of impacting the 2010 Brewers than John Halama and I don't give Halama much of a chance. At least Halama has been pitching over the past several seasons even if much of it's been in independent leagues.

I agree. I find it somewhat disconcerting that of all the pitchers on the market with past ties to Macha/Peterson with the A's, the Brewers chose to focus on Mulder and not Harden, Duchscherer, or even possibly Hudson.

[TooLiveBrew]

Harden signed for a big contract when he's only proven he can't stay healthy (he even stopped throwing his slider last season in an attempt to stay healthy longer). Duscherer appears to have given a 'hometown' discount to the A's, and you'd have to trade to get Hudson. I really don't see where Melvin is at fault. Mulder is by no means supposed to be some kind of savior.

[MNBrew]

Ditto, TLB. That the Brewers look fairly certain to sign him does not at all mean they're looking TO him with the expectation of making a big-league contribution (though if he did in a positive way, it'd really be a bonus).

 

You have to sign Mulder if you can get him. But the Brewers' hope obviously is that he might have his best chance of regaining some kind of form working under (or under the system of) the pitching coach under whom he had his greatest success -- which was quite substantial.

 

Realistically, besides a solid major-league rotation & bullpen, you need AAA depth and some up-and-coming minor league talent so you have backups & options. If you can also have a wild card or two (however unlikely any contribution from them would seem -- however unknown their chances are even to the organization) up your sleeve, you simply have more options. You need guys with talent who you can have a chance of getting, and that can take on various looks -- taking into account budget considerations, the price some other more recently injured pitchers either got or are asking, and Mulder's previous history of serious ML success, I'd much rather see the Brewers attempt to re-sign Mark Mulder than Mark Prior or some of the other injury recovery options still lingering out there.

 

All that said, I agree w/ the premise presumably behind JB12's post, too, that the Brewers' rotation sure still needs more shoring up -- that is, more of a talent upgrade -- if that can possibly happen.

[PeaveyFury]

I find it somewhat disconcerting that of all the pitchers on the market with past ties to Macha/Peterson with the A's, the Brewers chose to focus on Mulder and not Harden, Duchscherer, or even possibly Hudson.

 

They're looking at Mulder on a minor-league low-risk deal. Which one of the three others you mentioned were signing that minor league deal?

[owbc]

As mentioned, it is all about risk/reward. By most accounts, we only had the money for one starter and we chose to get one of the top arms out there instead of a few mid range guys with higher risk but a cheaper price.

 

Mulder would cost virtually nothing to sign. He hasn't pitched well in ages, but there are many, many stories out there of former major league players making it back after long recovery periods. Remember, he is only 32 years old. Mulder also knows what it takes to pitch effectively at the highest level--which requires more than just raw talent. The only reason that you would not want to sign more guys like this is because they use up resources and appearances that could be spent on younger prospects.

 

Mulder is not replacing a more prominent starter that we could of signed. He will be part of the group of guys that competes for those final roster spots, which is a process that every team goes through. Casey McGehee emerged through that process last year--remember how many other players he had to beat out in the process, not only in spring training, but on the big league bench?

[Diskono]

I don't understand why anybody would have a problem with this. Signing Mark Mulder absolutely does not say that the Brewers are desperate. It doesn't say that they expect him to be our ace, or even make the 25 man roster. All it says is "hey this guy used to be good, wouldn't it be awesome if he becomes good again? let's see what he can do."

 

Best case, he regains form and becomes a good major league starter. Worst case, he takes AAA starts away from Mike Burns. Boo hoo.

[sgtcluels]

Yeah Disk. It will be a great signing if it happens. He could be our savior, or a low low low risk investment. I hope for the best, but prepare myself for the worst.

[RockCoCougars]

I find it somewhat disconcerting that of all the pitchers on the market with past ties to Macha/Peterson with the A's, the Brewers chose to focus on Mulder and not Harden, Duchscherer, or even possibly Hudson.

 

They're looking at Mulder on a minor-league low-risk deal. Which one of the three others you mentioned were signing that minor league deal?

If this is such a small transaction, why is it being talked about so much (not just here either)? Why is it taking so long to develop? If it's minor league and low risk, why not just sign him with the invite to spring training? Why do they have to watch him throw first? Transactions like this should happen out of the blue and be in the small print "Transactions" section of the newspaper, they aren't dragged on for weeks. I think that either Mulder is trying to milk a couple of million out of somebody or the team is using this to dangle a "name" player to help satisfy the casual fan. If they want to smokescreen this, why don't they just sign Tom Glavine for God's sake? He'd have a more realistic chance for success, and as far as I know hasn't retired yet.

[BREWCREW5]

If this is such a small transaction, why is it being talked about so much (not just here either)? Why is it taking so long to develop? If it's minor league and low risk, why not just sign him with the invite to spring training? Why do they have to watch him throw first? Transactions like this should happen out of the blue and be in the small print "Transactions" section of the newspaper, they aren't dragged on for weeks. I think that either Mulder is trying to milk a couple of million out of somebody or the team is using this to dangle a "name" player to help satisfy the casual fan. If they want to smokescreen this, why don't they just sign Tom Glavine for God's sake? He'd have a more realistic chance for success, and as far as I know hasn't retired yet.

Because its Mark Mulder, probably one of the best pitchers available a couple of years ago.