What about Nomar?

[JohnBriggs12]

He similar to Rolen in that he has had trouble staying healthy and his numbers have dwindled and he probably has some sort of no-trade deal. But he only has one year left on a contract ($8.5 million) and I have to believe he's capable of bouncing back.

 

Sure we'd all rather have Either from the Dodgers but with no pressing need, the Dodgers are reluctant to give up one of their younger guys.

[erbacaine04]

NO no NO no NO I dont think his Defense is that great at 3rd... he is more injury prone then Rolen.... I know Nomar's OBP was good with the red Sox...not so good with the Cubs(if I remember correctly), so how is it with the Dodgers?

 

3rd basemen I would like to see instead of Nomar

Chavez

Beltre

Laroche

teahan

Rolen

Blalock

Troy Glaus

Brandon Inge

 

Free Agents

Morgan Ensberg

 

 

So yeah Nomar would be FAR FAR FAR down my list of possible 3rd base replacements....

[Big Reed]

nomar has a coiuple of strikes against him. First is his nose. he has that Billy martin / hawk harrelson type of nose. it has to go. second strike is his contract. $8.5 mil is kind of high. brewer fans would expect for that amount that he would put up Braun type numbers. Third strike is he's right handed. melvin is looking hard for a left handed bat. Fourth strike is his accent. He now has a boston surfer dude accent. that would not go over well in after the game press conferences in Milwaukee. it's almost like Dave Nilsson, but not quite. Then there is the injury risk factor. Nomar has missed a few days of school every year. the healthy nomar was a great player. he had kind of a downer year in 2007. maybe he'll have a n upper year in 2008. Sure he could bounce back. others his age have bounced back. I really can't comment on his fielding skills or his range as a third baseman. I know it's not his position of preference.

 

I think the fact the Dodgers are trying to acquire Rolen says it all.

 

Now from a personal standpoint, i'd love to have a guy like nomar. He is probably an improvement defensively over braun. before last year , he hit righties and lefties at about the same rate. I would think if he was the brewers' #2 hitter, his stats would be great. But from a contract standpoint, if I was a GM and had enough money to pay Nomar $8.5 million, i think I'd dig a little deeper and find an extra $4 million and buy myself a quality third baseman like Rolen or Chavez, or beltre, or go the other route and take a chance on a young thirdbaseman like Marte, Stewart, or laRoche or Wood or longoria.

[Scooter1027]

On a completely superficial note, I don't want Nomar because I can't stand his between pitch antics.

[JohnBriggs12]

Big Reed,

 

Rolen's deal ties up $25 million more (not $4 million) than Nomar's. The Dodgers interest in Rolen is reportedly much less than the Cardinal's interest in getting some of LA's talent.

 

The young thirdbasemen will cost you in players that the Brewers do not want to give up. Nomar will cost nothing more than a player or two that doesn't figure in the Brewer plans anyway.

 

Finally, his $8.5 million dollar contract would be greatly offset if they take back a Vargas or Capuano.

 

Yes I know Nomar is annoying, but having Mia around (and her husband in a contract year) isn't all bad.

 

Plus, he hits righthanders (career .880) better than lefthanders (.859) so that lessens the fact that he's not lefthanded.

[aracko]

Id love to have Nomar here in Milwaukee. Having a guy like him hit in front of Prince would be great. For him, having Prince behind him would help a ton.

 

JJ Hardy would learn quite a bit from playing with him I think, and it would enable Braun to move to the OF.

 

I bet Mark A is a fan of Nomar after coming from LA. How can you not like the idea of adding a 6 time all star to your favorite team?

 

There would be no drop off no matter who is on the mound cause he hits righties just as well as lefties. So looking at it from teh perspective that we need a lefty bat isnt really true in my opinion.

 

In my opinion adding one of the best clutch hitters in all of baseball to the lineup would be a definate yes.

[JohnBriggs12]

Aracko correctly points out his propensity for clutch hitting. He's done that his entire career so it's not pure luck either. He would need to be rested once or twice a week but that would give some needed AB's to Dillon.

[Big Reed]

I forgot about Mia. She does add to Nomar's overall value. But only if she attends the games. but there is also the jessica Simpson factor to calculate into the equation. how many more fans would come to brewers games with mia in attendance? and what are nomar's stats when mia attends his games? i wouldn't want nomar hurting his thumb like Romo did.

 

I like Nomar. I just don't like him as plan A. I think Nomar can rebound. But i don't think he'll come close to his inflated boston numbers. his 2006 numbers wouldn't be too outlandish to expect. if he could do that, he wouldn't be a bad option.

 

as far as his salary goes, I could care less about how much the Brewers spend. Although I've found in the last 10 years, many brewers fans are very concerned about it. brewers fans always want value and a return on their investment. if i was the brewers owner, I would have signed AROD, traded the entire farm for Cabrera, Santana and Crawford, banned the mention of OBP, win a couple of world series, and then when i went broke, i'd sell the team to somebody else. but it would be a fun and exciting ride for 3 years.

[pogokat]

I want someone who can pplay all season without cronic injuries and that will give us + defense...

 

nomar's a good stick...but he's a lock to get hurt, and then will have counsell playing third or grillon playing in left...

 

i'd take nomar on the bench, but he doesn't improve the team in areas that they are below average

[gregmag]

Their playing time over the past three years, in terms of PA, is almost exactly the same. Two significant factors in Rolen's favor: he's a year younger, and Nomar has played a lot of 1B the past two years.

 

Production-wise, Rolen has alternated excellent and poor seasons the past four years: 147, 84, 126, 89 OPS+. Nomar has done the same, both peaking and bottoming out lower: 113, 97, 120, 78.

 

I'm honestly surprised the comparison is as close as it is. What it comes down to, for me, is that Rolen profiles to give you more and better defense at 3B, and on the available evidence he's probably a bit likelier bet to make major offensive contributions. Nomar, as John emphasizes, will cost a lot less -- in terms of money for sure; in terms of players, I wonder whether we would need to sacrifice much to get Rolen.

 

Assuming we could get either player, the basis for choosing seems to be whether you think the end of Rolen's contract will be a good or a bad thing for which to be on the hook. If you would bet on him to bounce back and stay relatively healthy, then his longer contract is a plus. If you assume both guys are bad risks three years out, that's a great reason to prefer Nomar.

 

I'm still wary about the idea that Nomar can play 3B every day and play it well; I think Rolen can. But if Nomar can do that, and if his health profile is at least comparable to Rolen's, I think he's worth a serious look.

 

Greg.

[JohnBriggs12]

It's not just whether Rolen will be effective 3 years out, it's that it by then Fielder, Hardy, Hart, and Weeks will be getting a ton in arbitration. You don't need an aging guy making $12 million when 3B may be the deepest position in the organization.

 

Even in his poor year in 07, Garciaparra was amongst the top hitters in the league with RISP, hitting .373/.443/.436.

[TooLiveBrew]

But is that a sustained thing that he's done from year to year? Or has it just fluctuated around for him?

[DrWood]

I'd love to have Nomar. I don't know how you can figure him for much more than 400 AB a year, though.

 

between him, dillon, and counsell, I think you can cover 3b ok. As a caretaker. Unfortunately, we don't have anyone ready for 2009.

[fleehaw]

FWIW, Nomar's only played 77 games at 3B in his career and has posted a .937 fielding %.

 

Given his age and his propensity for injuries, I question whether he'd be able to improve on that number. IMHO, I don't think he'd be much of an upgrade defensively to Braun.

[gregmag]

You don't need an aging guy making $12 million when 3B may be the deepest position in the organization.

Leaving aside that I'll happily pay an aging guy $12 million in two years if I conclude that he'll be putting up near-prime Scott Rolen numbers at that time, what depth are you talking about? I assume you're counting Hall; I trust you aren't counting Counsell. You might be counting Weeks, if you like the idea of moving him to 3B, which I don't, but I could think about it more; in any event, nobody seems to be proposing that move seriously at this point. Braun can't field the position; Gamel apparently can't field the position; I don't think anybody believes Brad Nelson can field the position except maybe as part of a utility gig.

The realistic organizational depth chart at 3B, unless I'm missing someone, is Hall, who appears set in CF; Taylor Green, who has never played above A-ball; Adam Heether, a borderline prospect at 25; and Zealous Wheeler, who has never played above rookie ball. I'm not saying we have our backs against a wall, but that had better not be the deepest position in the organization.

Greg.

 

[ILuvDaBush]

Mat Gamel, with no pressing need at the MLB level, can figure out his defense in the minors. And 3B is the position on the infield, outside of catcher, that we have the most depth at with Braun-Gamel-Green...

[pogokat]

5 years ago we had the most depth at 1b...

 

fielder-nelson-hart

 

but then those guys gt moved off of 1b and we wound up with fieldr in the bigs and nothing behind him...

 

if the brewers don't move braun, gamel will be an outfielder and green will be a 2b ...

 

depth goes away pretty quickly in situations like this...a firmly entrenched major leaguer like fielder and maybe braun cause the org to rethink posional players..

 

i mean, if braun stays at 3b for the next 6 years, then gamel will be 28 before there's achance he can play there...

 

nah, braun or gamel will move...probably by 2009...i can't see gamel making it to AAA as a 3b with braun blocking him...

 

even without the block, gamel's actuaally worse with the glove than braun...

 

we've got the illusion of depth at 3rd, but it's realistically just Taylor Green...and his strongest position may actually be 2b..

[RyDogg66]

Ive always loved Nomar, so my opinion is skewed, but I'd take him for Vargas or something like that.

[aracko]

Nomar Garciarillo is the perfect 3b combo.

 

Rillo plays 1 or 2 days a week at the most. Garciarillo can also split into 2 from time to time to give Prince a breather.