any new ideas? (3b/lf)

[flosses like fossas]

feels like we've been mulling over the same names - yes, there are as many as 10 of them at times (rolen, lofton, cameron, beltre, ethier, kemp, dejesus, blalock, etc.) - since september 30. i can't say i have any fresh ideas, but it kind of seems like the brewers aren't moving forward with early ideas and aren't excited by the more recent names. anybody got anything? do you know something that doug knows that we don't? is anybody else tired of talking over these same names? i need some spring training to distract me...

[chadomac]

I have a bad feeling we're either going to be platooning a bunch of mediocre players or taking on a mediocre player. Ethier was my choice. I prefer to give Braun a full MLB year at 3B. I don't know of anyone that hasn't been brought up already. Cameron is a terrible idea because he's nothing like what the Brewers said they wanted in a 3B or OF.

[logan82]

Wes Helms. At least he is an upgrade defensivley.

[And That]

Michael Cuddyer.

[DrWood]

cuddyer at 3b or rf?

[And That]

Third base, of course. Unless they can get Braun off of third base and keep Cuddyer in the OF. I don't really care. I like Cuddyer.

[Oldcity]

I'm pretty disappointed that it sounds like they won't be able to acquire a legit third baseman. That was my preference all along.

[brewtank34]

I'm a big fan of signing Barry Bonds and letting Braun play 3B.

Weeks, Hardy, Braun, Fielder, Bonds, Hart, Hall, Kendell.....are you kidding me? That's a crazy good line-up. Plus it would allow us to use Dillon/Gross as LF platoon on the days off for Bonds....It really is the perfect fit for our needs. Left handed bat. Great OBP.

Oh how I wish I were Doug Melvin....I'd have Bonds in here quicker than you can say....

[derflotr]

I'm a big fan of signing Barry Bonds and letting Braun play 3B.

Weeks, Hardy, Braun, Fielder, Bonds, Hart, Hall, Kendell.....are you kidding me? That's a crazy good line-up. Plus it would allow us to use Dillon/Gross as LF platoon on the days off for Bonds....It really is the perfect fit for our needs. Left handed bat. Great OBP.

Oh how I wish I were Doug Melvin....I'd have Bonds in here quicker than you can say....

I hope this is a joke...so many things going wrong here

 

[TooLiveBrew]

I actually agree with brewtank. Strangely enough, our roster is actually incredibly well-suited to accommodate the special PT needs Bonds has at this point in his career. Now if it weren't for that pesky perjury case...

 

Point being, if you can't get Braun off 3B, I move all my chips in on offense, and not only is Bonds the best offensive player available in FA, he fits exactly what our lineup needs... and oh yeah, he'd add 25 or so more HRs.

[Ennder]

Maybe we should get Bonds and try him out at 3B.

[craigharmann]

The more time passes, the more I think DM has something gigantic up his sleeve. What it is, who it involves, I don't know. Just a gut feeling. Feliz, Cameron, Lofton just don't do it for me. And I don't think they do it for Doug. There's someone big he's got targeted and the names he's putting out there are the guys I think he's looking at as a last resort. Just a gut feeling.

[brewtank34]

Barry Bonds is a Joke, but my desire to have him on our squad was the farthest thing from a joke. Imagine the year that Fielder could have with Bonds backing him up in the fifth spot. Crazy stats.

Plus, I still think we ought to bring back Braun at 3B....let's see how he did this offseason with his footwork and then move if needed. Lets not screw with this kids head like we did with Hall's.......Period

[Big Reed]

craig - I have the opposite feeling. melvin siad two weeks ago that he feels good about the current cast we have and is prepared to start the year with what we've got. that sounds like a GM who is very frustrated trying to come up with a big trade. melvin's silence this week seems more like he's just tired of not being able to get it done. he said several weeks ago he didn't want a guy like Gonzo, and now he's changed his mind and is even considering Gonzo and Green. To me that sounds like a guy who remembered it's his wife's birthday at 4:30 PM and is stopping by Walmart looking for ideas of what to buy her for a present. Even signing Cameron as a possibility solved no real needs. he improves our overall defense, but doesn't really fill a hole and creates more problems moving people around. And milwaukee is not a team that can just spend $5 million on a player without having a purpose in mind.

[Gopher74]

Cameron as a possibility solved no real needs. he improves our overall defense, but doesn't really fill a hole and creates more problems moving people around. And milwaukee is not a team that can just spend $5 million on a player without having a purpose in mind.

How does signing Cameron not fix any problems? I don't understand that. It seems as though no matter what the situation you almost search for the worst possible stance to take on it.

 

Sign Cameron. Then Hall can either move to the IF, a position he's played his entire career save for one single season, and Braun can move to LF, the position everyone's clamored for, and Cameron can play the position he's played forever. I don't get how that isn't solving any problems.

 

Or you can then trade Hall to the Royals who have always wanted a RH'ed hitter for DeJesus or Teahen, obviously in this scenario you'd get Teahen a left handed 3rd basemen with a high OBP.

 

But like I said, even you stop at the Cameron signing, you've still upgraded the OBP of this team, even if Cameron's is only average, you've vastly improved the 3rd base defense, and you've filled the only remaining hole.

 

And I think Melvin and Mark A are in a much better situation to say how much money they can spend on which player.

 

Finally, I'm quite certain that if they sign Cameron, they'll have a purpose in mind. I don't think they're the types that just blindly go into situations without any logic behind their moves.

 

Oh, and PS, I thought you didn't believe anything that Melvin said. Don't you think that just maybe it's the garden variety, bland comments that you'd expect out of a GM? I mean, I really wouldn't want a GM to answer the question "How do you feel about your current roster" to respond by saying, "oh man, we're in trouble. This roster is terrible, we're really screwed if we can't get this situation at 3rd resolved". Of course he's going to say that he's comfortable with the current roster. Wouldn't the fact that he's trying to make a move and they're still looking into options a clear suggestion that they're trying to do something and that wasn't really the case?

[GAME05]

ok, i'll admit it, i actually think Bonds would be a nice pickup for our team, too. and it's just because the roster is pretty strong even without him. because of that depth, we should be able to handle it if he has to race off to court or him just being too old to play every day. as far as salary goes, i wouldn't think he'd be demanding much, and playing in a HR park like MP is all he wants, anyway. Bonds hitting ahead of Prince is like an automatic two runs.

 

 

 

although is there some sort of Alleged Federal Perjury List we could put him on for 15 days at a time to call up another OFer? because if we'd have to keep him on the 25-man while a jury stares at him, then there's no point in bringing him on for the space he'd waste.

 

 

 

I don't think this delay in picking up a player means we're set to any degree. I can't think anyones really going to be shopping for Milwaukee's back-end starters until the Santana talk is FINALLY over or that it's set Bedard is going to stay an Oriole. Heck, I still read more about Colon signing somewhere than Milwaukee trading a starter yet.

 

 

 

Since I first heard Cameron's name, I've just assumed he is a third domino in some larger-scale plan of Melvins that he may or may not jump on if things fall a certain way.

[RockCoCougars]

I'll go with Bonds too, provided he will work on a incentive laden, one year deal. Simply put, even at his age, he is the best option out there.

 

 

 

Shannon Stewart seems like a reasonable option as well. I wouldn't have a problem platooning him with Gross (not a strict lefty/righty deal) where he would play about 60% of the time, and Gross' hot streaks could be ridden out.

[Tbadder]

If Bonds hit in the 2nd slot he might jack 40 to 50 homers. That about seventy runs or so with Weeks hitting in front of him.

[JohnBriggs12]

RockCoCougars brings up a good name: Shannon Stewart. His only negative is he's righthanded but he hits righthanders even better than he hits lefties. He's a solid on base guy (.362 career OBP) and most of his career he's batted at or near the top of the order. His issues have been health, but he played in 146 games last year with Oakland. In Haudricourt's blog another name was briefly mentioned that I brought up but hasn't been discussed much is Shawn Green. Sure he's not the player he was for few seasons in LA but his numbers last season (.291/.352/.430) are still pretty decent and quite good vs righthanders (.291/.365/.508). We all know the damage he's done in Miller Park (.303/.354/.816). As to the Braun at 3b situation, why not experiment? Use spring to evaluate. Play Braun at third some and in LF some. Play Hall some at 3B and some in CF. Play Hart some in CF. That way if you do sign a Green or Stewart, you could still move Hart to CF, Braun to LF and Hall to 3B if it appears in spring or early in the season that Braun hasn't progressed. Why lock yourself now?

[lukevan]

Why lock yourself now?

 

 

 

It'd be nice to have everyone preparing for a set role during spring training. If Braun is going to play LF, we sure as hell better get him as many reps out there as possible since he's never played out there.

 

 

 

I like Shawn Green and to a lesser degree Shannon Stewart. I think Green could really thrive in the Brewer lineup.

[DrWood]

I like Green, but he doesn't move braun off 3b unless you want hart in CF. It would be amusing to have two "hebrew hammers" at the corners of the OF--braun and green. If we could get a muslim to play CF, we might be helping to achieve world peace.

[JohnBriggs12]

Why lock yourself now?

 

 

 

It'd be nice to have everyone preparing for a set role during spring training. If Braun is going to play LF, we sure as hell better get him as many reps out there as possible since he's never played out there.

 

 

 

I like Shawn Green and to a lesser degree Shannon Stewart. I think Green could really thrive in the Brewer lineup.

 

If "set roles" means no flexibility, then I think that's a mistake especially since there is obviously a lot of indecision on just what the best course of action is. For instance, last year moving Hall to CF was okay, but to basically say his days as an infielder were over hamstrung them. It's been 3 1/2 months since the season ended and Melvin is still throwing names up against the wall. I've long been on record saying it's premature to give up on Braun at 3B. A large part of that reasoning stems from the block that sets up for high first round pick LaPorta in whom they have a significant investment. I think Braun deserves at least a spring and a month or two of this season to show if he's improved there if for nothing else to salvage the 2007 draft strategy.

 

Hall has thrived as a multi position guy. They have 30 or so games in spring, not to mention minor league games. Leave Braun at 3B in spring primarily but give him some work in LF too in case a change has to be made later in the season. Heck they might be better off letting Braun play third except when Suppan is pitching who induces a lot more ground balls than the other starters. On those days, they could move him to LF, Hart to CF, and Hall to 3B.

 

I'm with you on Green though. He makes the most sense of all the FA out there. He and Braun would make a two headed Hebrew hammer.

[lukevan]

I agree with you JB about the flexibility. Obviously we need to determine what the best option will be but I would like that done before the season. Set roles doesn't necessarily mean no flexibility, but if we sign a LF and leave Braun at 3B and he doesn't improve enough defensively, we are pretty stuck. At that point, during the season, moving Hall to 3B, Braun to LF and Hart to CF seems to be a ton of shuffling to go through during the regular season. I don't think spring training is going to give us any real answers unless Braun is vastly improved at 3B, which IMO is unlikely.

 

 

 

If Braun is going to play LF this season, the Brewers would be better off deciding that before spring training.