Our Catching Situation...

[Brian the Automator]

Interesting to note that Mike Sweeney had contemplated moving back behind the plate, as his back was better than it had felt in a long, long time. A knee injury ended his season and his hopes in 2007 of catching. It would be interesting to see what he could be had for in a backup catcher/right-handed reserve for Fielder.... very out-of-the-box to the point of being unrealistic, but I just hate all our other options.

[logan82]

At this point I would say stick with Estrada for another year and see what he gives us. Most of the available guys look to be about the same as Estrada and not younger either so no real advantage.

[PeaveyFury]

I think Tom's article suggested that they're not looking to replace Estrada, they're looking to replace Miller.

[splitterpfj]

If the Brewers go with Estrada and Kendall, you can't get two more opposing batting styles. Work the count and get a pitch to hit vs SWING NOW!

[yoshii8]

I am praying that DM has a deal w/ Seattle for Jeff Clement, or w/ Cleveland for Shoppach, cause I'm not very excited about Jason Kendall being our backstop.

[recte44]

Sign Henry Blanco. Let Estrada prove himself in a walk year. The great motivator is the almighty dollar, right?

[trwi7]

Sign Henry Blanco. Let Estrada prove himself in a walk year. The great motivator is the almighty dollar, right?

 

Blanco signed with the Cubs a while back and is still under contract with them.

[PeaveyFury]

At this point, the Padres might make a huge impact on our offseason by what they do with Barrett. Tom's article pretty much says that the Brewers are waiting on their Arby decision, then would pursue Barrett if they decline to offer.

 

At this point, Barrett is light years ahead of the other options, and I think we have to root hard for them to not offer him arby.

[TCSM]

At this point, the Padres might make a huge impact on our offseason by what they do with Barrett. Tom's article pretty much says that the Brewers are waiting on their Arby decision, then would pursue Barrett if they decline to offer.

 

At this point, Barrett is light years ahead of the other options, and I think we have to root hard for them to not offer him arby.

actually its the exact opposite with Barrett (from the Milwaukee journal sentinel) "Melvin said he had talked to the agent for free-agent catcher Jason Kendall, who split the 2007 season between the Oakland Athletics and Chicago Cubs... Melvin said he was not pursuing free-agent catcher Paul LoDuca, who played for the New York Mets last season and probably is seeking more money than the Brewers want to spend. Melvin said he was not interested in Michael Barrett 'as a Class A free agent.'"

[endaround]

Exactly, and thats due to Melvin having to give up a draft pick if SD offers arby. No arby, no draft pick

[PeaveyFury]

Right, end.

 

A little further down in the article, TCSM:

 

In other words, Melvin won't surrender a first-round draft pick to the San Diego Padres to sign Barrett. But if San Diego doesn't offer Barrett arbitration, removing the compensation, Melvin might be interested.

[endaround]

Its important to note Barrett was only making $4.4 million, hardly a huge sum for a catcher. Whereas Kendall was at $13.4 million so no way is he getting offered arby.

[TCSM]

Thanks for the clarification Peavey, I'm still not familiar with draft/compensation picks. If thats the case I will take Barrett over Kendall any day.

[dadofandrew]

SD probably has no interest in offering Barrett arby, but they'd get that draft pick automatically if someone signs him early. So, Mike will be signing later than many.

[igor67]

Again I think the Captain has demonstrated he can hit just as well if not better than a lot of these ugly names being throw around in this thread. Lou's line from the year adjust for the difficulty of the Southern League relative to the Majors. OBA .334 SLG .399 the batting average is kind of ugly at .235. If you compare his EQA of .259 with other major league catchers this year he looks a lot better than many. He can play passable defense, which is arguably a step up from Estrada, and he can certainly help out the biggest offensive weakness and just not get himself out in dumb ways. There are just not any clearly better players on the market now that Posada is gone. Keeping Estrada on nominally as your starter for next year to see if he can bounce up from some of those nagging injuries and letting Rivera and Palmisano have "competition" in spring is the way to go. Maybe bring in another namish type for extra depth, but the competition gives you some cover if some weird happens to Lou otherwise he starts as your back up and is a step up from Miller's creaky knee performance. If he struggle too much you've still got Rivera to give you something. If Palmisano does well he can slowly take playing time. If he is just kind of there holding down the fort your still ahead from playing this free agent lottery where most options seem to be like good bets to be worse than Lou.

[pogokat]

Lou's stats look decent because of a terrific first half...Lou batted .137 in july, .213 in august, and .167 in september...other than sept, his obp was under .300 the entire second half...

 

he was so abysmal that he must have been hurt, right?

 

I dunno...i just don't think he's a major league hitter...my opinion on him has changed a lot over the last couple years...i don't think he's going to hit in the majors

[Milltownhooker]

Gwynn Jr. for Laird C Tex. & RP

[Tbadder]

I'm all over that Milltown! Lets go get Laird.

[Ennder]

Estrada is a tough guy to read. In 2004 he was outstanding, in 2005 he played hurt most of the year and stunk, in 2006 he was above average and in 2007 he was below average again and 'injured'. What that tells me is he completely loses it when he plays injured at all, C's get injured all the time so I wouldnt' want to bet on him staying perfectly healthy all year.

 

I would not mind giving Laird a chance since I think last year was just a miserable year for him and not a true sign of his talent level. He is athletic which helps a bit on the basepaths and he is also a pretty good defensive C throwing out 40% or more of runners in 3 of the past 4 seasons.

[SmartBall]

I just heard on the radio in Madison that the Brewers are close to signing Jason Kendall. Couldn't find a link just the radio rumor.

[TooLiveBrew]

No worries smartball - there's been a lotta discussion of Kendall in the ML forum. Guess we'll be hearing soon.

[MoneyballMan]

Gwynn Jr. for Laird C Tex. & RP

I like this idea as well, depending on who the RP is. But Laird wouldn't be a bad acquisition.

[craigharmann]

I like Gwynn for Laird and BBQ. Either a pitcher or they could ship some BBQ pork up here, doesn't really matter.

[TooLiveBrew]

The fact that there's more than just one team that values Gwynn Jr. is simply delicious. I can only hope we ship him this offseason, before he loses value. If he can net a solid RP, that's a huge win for the Crew.

[Milltownhooker]

Gwynn Jr. for Laird C Tex. & RP

I like this idea as well, depending on who the RP is. But Laird wouldn't be a bad acquisition.

 

I'd figure maybe Wes Littleton. Would love CJ Wilson or Benoit thou.