Donovan: Brewers have had second worst offseason

[Fatter than Joey]

First, in regards to Linebrink being equal to Riske,

 

Good post Gopher -- I agree here. I would much rather have Riske than Linebrink. Riske is probably the move DM made that I am most happy with.

 

I think with Gallardo and Villy alone, we're vastly improved from last year.

 

I am fine with Yo+CV+Sheets+Suppan+Cappy. In fact I like that -- I think there are some ? marks to be certain, and I expect some growing pains.

 

I think Torres is really going to be the big surprise. He's going to be able to fill so many roles. I think he's going to be very similar to what Villanueva was for us last year.

 

This is great Gopher -- One thing that I feel that is glossed over on this board is that by moving Villy into the rotation, we are stealing one of the best arms we had in our BP in 2007. I saw in another post where a poster indicated that Mota/Torres would be replacing Spurling in MR -- when in fact we will need one of those guys to replace a very effective Villy. If Torres can do this we are in good shape, if he flames out -- Ruh Roh Reorge.

 

Kendall vs Estrada

 

Which would you rather watch reruns of if you had a gun to your head "Family Matters" or "Full House" -- most people would just take the bullet I guess. I understand why DM fired Estrada. I think Kendall will be the new most hated Brewer (perhaps unfairly.) -- I don't think this move improves our team, but perhaps prevents another dugout blowup like Yost had in NY in 07.

[Invader3K]

I can't believe people are still complaining about Kendall. Basically, I think Kendall/Estrada is a wash, with maybe Kendall being a slight upgrade for the Brewers due to "intangibles." At the very least, we won't have to watch Estrada's sloth like speed on the base paths anymore.

 

Really, who else could the Brewers realistically have gotten who would be better than Kendall, anyway?

[homer]

Kendall had Lasik. He's going to be awesome!

 

(I'm only half kidding....maybe it will really help)

[TooLiveBrew]

I think Kendall/Estrada is a wash, with maybe Kendall being a slight upgrade for the Brewers due to "intangibles."

 

And "OBP" http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif... Kendall can be more valuable to our team even if his OPS is lower than Johnny's - as long as Kenall carries the OBP rates he always has (save his time in Oak in 2007). It's probably a lateral move in nearly every other sense, but I suppose I can get behind the intangible argument.

[Ennder]

The other option was LoDuca who from what I hear has all the same problems with attitude that Estrada had.

 

I'd still like to trade for a Laird or some other younger C, might not be a bad way to thin out the SP ranks if we don't find a LF/3B trade.

[MJLiverock]

I have seen him mentioned on this board many times but I have to ask an honest question. What is the attraction to Laird? I haven't seen him play much but from his stats he is atrocious at the plate against RH pitching. For all the complaining about Estrada having a rough year for OBP, Laird is even worse. Laird has consistently been about 50 points higher on his OBP than his AVG. and his AVG is between .220 and .240. Is he a defensive superstar? I honestly don't know but he doesn't look too promising with the bat.

[TooLiveBrew]

A safe analysis of Laird would be equal to or slightly less than Estrada offensively, with stellar defense. He's especially known for his throwing arm, and since 2008 will be his age 28 season, you can probably expect 10-15 HR & 20+ 2B to go along with much better BB total than Johnny... and the great D.

 

Fwiw, I think Ennder has always advocated Laird as a backup option - my guesstimates on his production would come with playing FT.

[MJLiverock]

I noticed something about the Kendall surge in the second half of 2007. It really was only 83 AB's in August where his OBP was .438 otherwise he was still around .275 for an OBP in the second half. During that August surge he drew 12 walks and it looks like 9 of them were with him batting in front of the pitcher and 2 of them were with him batting in front of Pie. That doesn't bode well for his OBP if they were mostly intentional and the Brewers are hoping to bat him up in the order.

 

I hope the lasik helps. But as one Cub fan teased me, Kendall might be the only catcher in baseball that Estrada could steal second on.

[crewcrazy]

Even if they were the result of batting in front of the pitcher, some OBP out of the 8 spot would still be nice after seeing Hardy/Miller/Graffanino refuse to take a walk in that spot for most of last year. There is some value in clearing the pitcher for an inning, IMO. Even if Kendall's OBP doesn't directly create more runs for the Brewers by way of him actually scoring, allowing the Brewers to start the next inning with Weeks instead of Sheets is pretty important.

[Ennder]

I have seen him mentioned on this board many times but I have to ask an honest question. What is the attraction to Laird?

 

He is young, he is available. He put up good numbers in the minors (better than Soto so take that as a warning that Soto might not be an instant star). I wanted someone like Laird, doesn't have to be him exactly but most teams don't give up younger C's very easily.

 

I noticed something about the Kendall surge in the second half of 2007. It really was only 83 AB's in August where his OBP was .438 otherwise he was still around .275 for an OBP in the second half

 

Yep, Kendall could be a complete bust still which is part of why I wouldn't mind trading for more security. To be fair to Kendall he has always seen his OBP and OPS jump around a lot from month to month since his production is largely driven by BABIP.

[TooLiveBrew]

That doesn't bode well for his OBP if they were mostly intentional and the Brewers are hoping to bat him up in the order.

 

I really hope the plan isn't to bat Kendall 2nd. That'd hurt us, imo. Unless we can only find a 3B solution with low OBP (Feliz, Crede, etc.), I don't want Kendall anywhere but #8. I'd rather have Hardy #2 than Kendall, though not by much.

 

If Ensberg isn't ruined goods at this point (the fact that no one's signed him yet has me wondering, sadly), he'd be my first choice - you have your solid D at 3B, and your #2 hitter. That'd let JJ hit 6th/7th & Kendall 8th.

[MJLiverock]

Thanks for the info on Laird. I assumed he must be a pretty decent defensive guy and it would be nice to have a catcher under 30.