Mariners to Sign Corey Hart -- latest: Corey's full-page goodbye letter in JS, post #97

[Warning Track Power]

To your point on his offense possibly increasing with a more hitter-friendly home park, his career road slash line is .302/.354/.465/.819. Not too shabby when you add in his good defense, actually. The one downside would be that he hasn't been able to hit LHP (career .256/.308/.361/.669 line).

Which really isn't all that terrible either. Not good but not fall off the table pathetic, especially when you view it against the other options that the Brewers were/are considering that are also LH. For comparison:

 

James Loney: 256/.308/.361/.669

Ike Davis: .204/.268/.334/.602

Logan Morrison: .244/.329/.378/.707

Juan Francisco: .179/.218/.221/.439

 

And for fun:

Prince Fielder: .267/.347/.457/.803

 

If Hart was not going to re-sign, Morrison was really the guy to me.

[TURBO]

If Thornburg is in a deal for Ike Davis...............I'm gonna........................well, I'm gonna....................I don't know what the heck I'll do, but I will be very sad...........and angry.

 

Oh no, please no...

[trwi7]

I don't know who his source is in the Brewers organization but the Brewers Nation has been pretty spot on in the past regarding potential Brewers transactions.

 

Really? Because every time I see a tweet from him, it always ends up being wrong (when it can be confirmed by legit sources).

[Mr Southpaw]

Home town discount never really applied. Glad he is gone.

[DuWayne Steurer]

If Thornburg is in a deal for Ike Davis...............I'm gonna........................well, I'm gonna....................I don't know what the heck I'll do, but I will be very sad...........and angry.

 

Oh no, please no...

 

Join me in punching holes in walls Turbo!

[TURBO]

If Thornburg is in a deal for Ike Davis...............I'm gonna........................well, I'm gonna....................I don't know what the heck I'll do, but I will be very sad...........and angry.

 

Oh no, please no...

 

Join me in punching holes in walls Turbo!

 

 

Sounds like a plan, I'll be over when we get the news...

 

[brewmann04]

I kinda glad doubt he play a full year with two Bum Knees.I Guess we know not to take a player at his words about any type of hometown discount. Please hopefully DM does not do something stupid to fill 1st base. Go with the guys here already it not like this team will be a true contender next season.

[brewmann04]

Dm is not stupis enough to trade a Young Pitcher for a Minor league 1st baseman.

[TURBO]

Dm is not stupis enough to trade a Young Pitcher for a Minor league 1st baseman.

 

Desperation sometimes breeds stupidity... After losing his number one and number two options (Hart and Morrison, assuming Morrison was his number two option) I won't be surprised in the least bit to see Thornburg in a Mets uniform come opening day.

 

[gregmag]

Not paying a premium for Hart was the right decision for this organization. Corey was a fine hitter for us, and he managed to resurrect his career when a lot of people wrote him off. I hope he finds great success in Seattle. I suspect, though, that Briggs is exactly right about the short-sightedness of going to an extreme pitcher's part when you're trying to revive your career again. As for playing him in RF . . . it makes me more inclined to believe that story from yesterday about how Jack Z doesn't know what the hell he's doing.

 

My hope now is that DM's unwillingness to pony up real money for a popular incumbent means he won't pony up real money or talent for any similarly mediocre alternative. The great thing about 1b for the Brewers is that you could play almost anybody over there -- even Francisco, though please God no -- and improve over last year. I think people sometimes forget that our 1b's weren't just bad last year; they were almost impossibly bad, worse than all but a tiny handful of teams have managed in baseball history. If you just threw Halton out there every day, he would almost certainly do better. I don't think he would be good (although as part of a platoon, I've heard worse ideas), but he wouldn't be the worst 1b of all time, and that's basically the bar you have to clear if we're just talking about improving the position.

 

I'll say what I've said before: I like Braun to 1b, even now that we've dealt Nori. Davis and Gomez are obviously set in left and center. I like Gindl, I'm not against giving Halton some PT, we have Schafer, and we have some guys like Kentrail Davis coming up who could play roles.

[DHonks]

As many might remember, I used to work in the Fall League on a team that featured James Loney. As I'm not employed in baseball, I have no problem talking about him. He was quite possibly my least favorite AFL'er, although Jarrod Saltalamacchia was right there with him. If they sign Loney I will root for the Brewers, but I will hope that he plays so poorly that we sign Yuni to replace him (although would prefer Branyan). Of the two being discussed on most websites, I'd take Moreland in a heartbeat.

 

Although my two preferred scenarios:

-sign Mat Gamel and offer him first chance at starting. With Halton, Rogers, and Morris, we have 3 AAA backups to buy us a year.

-move the superathletic (but oft-injured) Braun to 1b, give Gindl RF, and look for another backup OF

[TooLiveBrew]

To your point on his offense possibly increasing with a more hitter-friendly home park, his career road slash line is .302/.354/.465/.819. Not too shabby when you add in his good defense, actually. The one downside would be that he hasn't been able to hit LHP (career .256/.308/.361/.669 line).

Which really isn't all that terrible either. Not good but not fall off the table pathetic, especially when you view it against the other options that the Brewers were/are considering that are also LH.

For comparison, Yuni B's career OPS is .673. I realize Loney's v.LH line is ok in comparison to the others you listed, but I don't think the list should be limited so arbitrarily.

[brewmann04]

Doug thanks for the info.I am not crazy about giving this guy a 3 year deal in the First place.I am not sure why they just don;t go with who they have and Give Morris a shot again . It not like we are going anywhere in 2014.

[LouisEly]

Sad news. So much for all the talk about his love for the Brewers. It always comes down to money. Very shortsighted on his part too. He won't put up nearly the numbers in Safeco that he would in MP and that might cost him more on his next deal.

Not necessarily. They moved the fences in at Safeco a year ago IIRC. Plus, he can DH which can get him out on the field as opposed to possibly not being able to go for a day game after a night game, which happened I think 36 times last year for Milwaukee. If having the DH allows him to play more games, more games might mean a bigger payday than missing 30 games playing for Milwaukee.

[torts]

As many might remember, I used to work in the Fall League on a team that featured James Loney. As I'm not employed in baseball, I have no problem talking about him. He was quite possibly my least favorite AFL'er, although Jarrod Saltalamacchia was right there with him. If they sign Loney I will root for the Brewers, but I will hope that he plays so poorly that we sign Yuni to replace him (although would prefer Branyan). Of the two being discussed on most websites, I'd take Moreland in a heartbeat.

 

Although my two preferred scenarios:

-sign Mat Gamel and offer him first chance at starting. With Halton, Rogers, and Morris, we have 3 AAA backups to buy us a year.

-move the superathletic (but oft-injured) Braun to 1b, give Gindl RF, and look for another backup OF

 

YOU HAD ME AT YUNI

[DHonks]

how is taking more money short-sighted? Seems that's brilliance to me.

[JohnBriggs12]

how is taking more money short-sighted? Seems that's brilliance to me.

 

After seeing the Brewers modest offer, I have to admit you're right. The stuff about Hart being a priority was all fluff. Melvin had to know in this market somebody would blow it out.

[brewmann04]

Maybe they just didn't realize a guy with two bum wheels was worth the Money. It seems to me that they really don't have any plan to move forward and feel sorry for the 2.5 Million fans who show up.

[MNBrew]

Maybe they just didn't realize a guy with two bum wheels was worth the Money. It seems to me that they really don't have any plan to move forward and feel sorry for the 2.5 Million fans who show up.

Have you really given up hope with more of the winter ahead of us than behind us? The Series ended 6 weeks ago. ST is over 2 months away. I get being disappointed that Hart left for 2x the money, but this seems a bit extreme.

 

We knew the options weren't great INCLUDING HART, who's hardly a given with 2 knee surgeries & a full year off. I wouldn't be surprised if he returned to his old form, but he'll be 1.5 years older than in the last game he played and goodness knows he'll still chase a zillion low-and-away sliders.

 

There's still time and there are still options, some of which we have no idea about.

[DHonks]

$4 million ??? that's such a low-ball offer. Seems that Seattle's offer was quite reasonable. I wonder if our budget is really tight? Too bad that Gindl, Weeks, and Scooter are all tiny. Moving one to first would at least be an option. But Weeks is scared covering first on every bunt, so that'd be potentially worse than princess over there

[MVP2110]

Maybe they just didn't realize a guy with two bum wheels was worth the Money. It seems to me that they really don't have any plan to move forward and feel sorry for the 2.5 Million fans who show up.

Not saying its likely, but if they sign loney, a lineup of Segura Loney Braun Ramirez Lucroy Gomez Davis Gennett is probably one of the best in the nl, if the pitching can be average for a whole year, which is the big if, then we could definitely compete. Again not saying its likely but it is definitely possible and you just have to get in. Look at the 06 cardinals or the other bajillion wildcard teams that have gone on to the world series

[DHonks]

we'd have huge wildcards for performance at 1b, 2b, SS, 3b, LF, and CF....so MVP2110, it might have the potential to be very good...or downright awful. 1b has the potential to be anywhere from terrible to avg, 2b could be slightly below avg to well above avg, ss and CF are just unknown because they've had 1 good year, could be terrible to well above avg, and Ramirez could get hurt.

[MVP2110]

Very true, like I said not that it was likely but on paper that lineup is very effective. I severely doubt we have the same injury luck as last year, where our 3,4,5 hitters all were hurt or out for a majority of the season. all I am saying is I can see why it could be easy to get excited for this team. Our pitching, mainly from starters would need to be average to slightly above average but if our lineup stays healthy I fully expect to compete next year, again tho, big question marks but not out of the question.

[brewers4eric]

I was really hoping that we would have Corey Hart at first this year. While I'm disappointed that he has signed with the Mariners, if I put myself in his shoes, I can see why he made the move. Given that both of his knees broke down, the opportunity to DH has to be a major factor for him, beyond the extra financial security for him and his family. Sitting on the sidelines for a year had to foreshadow what the potential end of his career might be like.

 

Corey also resembled a guy (JR) from my high school that owns a small town bar in northeast Iowa. Now I won't be able to text JR from Miller Park and ask him why his twin brother struck out on another low and outside slider. JR is a Cardinals fan, but he has some darn good lunch specials if you are ever in Farmersburg.

 

I'm not thrilled with the prospect of putting Juan Francisco at first. He seems more like the guy that you put on the end of the bench for when you need a three run homer to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. I do like Sean Halton, but it seems like the Brewers brass has him pegged as a bench bat. I'll see what other options they come up with before opening day before I head to Farmersburg.

[molitor fan]

Loney is known throughout baseball as a giant turd, and there is a reason beyond his miserable OPS that he is bouncing around baseball like a superball lately.....I hope mightily that Loney is not a member of the 2014 Brewers. My hope is actually we can swing a Magnifico for Montero trade with Jack Z and let him have first.