Brewers sign Mike Cameron (1yr/$6.22 mil + 2009 Team Option)

[BrewCrewForever]

I like it. Keeps Hall around and at 3B. Gets Braun and his bad defense out of 3B and we get a very good defensive CF who can still hit. If Braun catches on quick in LF like I think he will we could have a very good defensive OF with Braun, Cameron and Hart.

[Jarjohm]

It had to be done....

 

http://www.rightfieldbleachers.com/blog/uploaded_images/Mike-Cameron-Brewers-783717.jpg

[Ennder]

So, please explain to me again why we got rid of Jenkins and we are not replacing him with basically a right handed version of him for probably not much cheaper than Jenkins would have cost us? I'm not thrilled about the move and I'm guessing that by mid-July most fans will be fed up with his .245avg/.320obp.

 

Because Cameron is a better hitter than Jenkins posting the same or better RC/G the past 2 years while playing full time instead of platooning and in a pitchers park instead of a hitters park. Also I'm a bit confused by your comment since Jenkins was the one with a .319 OBP last year and Cameron has been under a .320 OBP one time in the past 9 years. We got a guy who hits a little bit better than Jenkins and can play CF instead of LF and we did it for only one season.

 

Jenkin's has at least shown in the past that he can put up a .270/.280 average with an over .340 obp. Cameron has rarely put up those numbers in his career

 

Cameron has a career .341 OBP and has had an OBP of .340+ in 8 different seasons(mostly in pitcher parks too), so not sure what you are talking about. In a platoon role Jenkins has put up a 101 OPS+ in each of the past two years, Cameron has had a 121 and 103 playing full time. I just don't see how you can think jenkins is a better hitter, at best they are even at this point.

[Brewtacular]

It`s worth noting that the folks over at NSB are not happy about this move. That in itself is argument for the move!

[milwaukeesportsfan]

Hmmm, let me see if I get this...Bill Hall had a monster year in 2006, subsequently moved to the outfield, and dropped off dramatically in both offense and defense. Ryan Braun had 7 R'sBI in his first spring training game, and subsequently committed an error, a pattern that would repeat itself throughout the season. Geoff Jenkins says goodbye, leaving a hole in left field, a position reserved for the likes of geriatrics such as Luis Gonzalez and Barry Bonds.

 

 

 

So, common sense would tell you that Bill Hall is a better player when he plays an infield position, that Ryan Braun should be able to handle a defensive position that Carlos Lee once attempted to field, and the addition of Mike Cameron fills a glaring defensive need in center field. Sounds logical enough to me.

[fondybrewfan]

A. Improves defense immensly (Obviously are weakest link from last year)

 

B. Overall upgrade in OBP (Over Jenkins/Mench)

 

C. K's are a wash (Compared to Jenks/Mench)

 

D. Its a one year commitment

 

E. Apparently a good clubhouse guy

 

 

 

I fail to see how I am looking at this with rose colored glasses. Yes he isnt the .360 LH guy we have been looking for but it appears that Doug wasn't having any luck in that department eithe through FA or trades so this probably is the next best thing. The only downsides for me is the 25 game suspension and our righty heavy lineup. Fielder is going to see a ton of loogys this year. The defensive improvement alone justifies the deal for me

[Dmiles23]

A) He's a lefty

B) Jenkin's has at least shown in the past that he can put up a .270/.280 average with an over .340 obp. Cameron has rarely put up those numbers in his career.

Yeah, he's a lefty who can't hit lefties. So you need a platoon partner. And if you look at the stats, Cameron has hit .270 and obp above .340, 2 of the last 3 years... in Petco. Jenkins and Cameron's numbers have been very similar the last couple of years, while Jenkins was playing in a VERY hitter friendly park, and Cameron was playing in a VERY pitcher friendly park. Plus, Cameron plays very good D in center, so IMO... the comparison isn't even close.

 

[Big Reed]

what strikes me as odd is how so many people love the addition of Cameron, but one month ago were really down on both Andrew Jones and Crawford. Crawford would have been a great addition, and a long term solution, and he has a cheap contract, yet everybody wanted to find the smallest fault in his game to complain about. Andrew jones would have been a great addition, but everybody pointed to his bad year and said he'd never be able to rebound. His bad year was very close to Cameron's average year.

 

 

 

I'm begining to think people love this acquisition because time was running out, and we'd take anybody to fill the hole and be happy doing so. I have to believe if melvin signed Cameron a month ago, there would be a lot more people finding fault with his game. I guess melvin knew if he waited long enough, his fans would be happy with whomever he signed. I guess there would be just as many people happy if he had signed Lofton or Ensberg as long as he signed somebody.

 

 

 

I like the deal because we didn't have to give up anybody to acquire Cameran. I have a feeling his salary is going to be a lot higher than fans expect. I also see this as the end of the third base search. the acquisition of Cameran appears to me that melvin has given up trying to trade for Crede, Rolen and Blalock as their asking price was just too high. When I saw that teams were asking for hart as part of the crede deal, I knew melvin would not make that type of a deal. I would have prefered melvin go after a singles hitter, but at least he signed a quality veteran who may have 1-3 good years left.

[DrWood]

Only big question...ok, not THAT big...is what to do during the first 25 games.

 

I think if I was manager, I'd start with Hart in CF and mostly play dillon/gross in RF, occasionally giving Gwynn a Start in CF (moving Hart to RF or giving him a rare day off). Reason being I'd like to give Hart some more reps in CF to see if he really can play it in the future.

[JohnBriggs12]

Here's a prediction: Fielder will walk 125 times and not hit more than 30 HR. There is no reason for a right handed pitcher to pitch to him.

 

Also teams will adjust their rotations to avoid throwing lefties against the Brewers.

 

Kendall by default is now the best 2 hole hitter on the team.

[Patrick425]

Oh..Oh..Yeah...I forgot C) Jenkins has not tested postive for stimulants twice (heck not even once!).

[patrickgpe]

would belling stop calling him "mark cameron" does he know about baseball?

[brewmann04]

I glad melvin did not make a trade for a Trio of injury prone 3rd baseman and kept our assests of pitching just in case.

[DrWood]

Here's a prediction: Fielder will walk 125 times and not hit more than 30 HR. There is no reason for a right handed pitcher to pitch to him.

Hart does well vs. RH, so if he's batting 5th, he'll be the guy with 110 RBI.

However, I think Hart would actually be the best 2nd hitter on the team, but he'll probably be batting 5th for just this reason--giving Prince protection.

 

[jazzytrav]

I can't say I'm absolutely thrilled with Cameron, but considering how good the rest of the team is offensively, I'll take a defensive upgrade with decent offensive production. He may not be that much of an upgrade over Hall's ceiling in CF, but just the opportunity to get Hall back in the infield and Braun the heck out of the infield upgrades the defense a lot. I may not be a huge fan of Cameron, but I'm a huge fan of the outcome of all of this.

[Weirdos19]

Here's a prediction: Fielder will walk 125 times and not hit more than 30 HR. There is no reason for a right handed pitcher to pitch to him.

 

Also teams will adjust their rotations to avoid throwing lefties against the Brewers.

 

Kendall by default is now the best 2 hole hitter on the team.

 

So, you're saying that teams were afraid of our one other lefty in our lineup last year? Jenkins did not force teams into pitching to Fielder. In fact, he didn't do much offensivly after April.

[MillerParkSouth]

I think people may be over reacting concerning the 'right-handedness' of this lineup. we only really had 2 regular lefties last year anyways (Prince, Jenkins) and Prince did just fine. I think top to bottom, we have probably the best line up in the NL Central, aside from maybe the Cubs. If Hall bounces back and Weeks picks up where he left off in September, look out.

 

edit: Weirdos19 beat me to it!

[Ennder]

Here's a prediction: Fielder will walk 125 times and not hit more than 30 HR. There is no reason for a right handed pitcher to pitch to him.

 

Also teams will adjust their rotations to avoid throwing lefties against the Brewers.

 

Kendall by default is now the best 2 hole hitter on the team.

Well if the Cubs want to throw Marquis and Dempster at us instead of Lilly and Hill I'm more than happy. The pirates have 3 lefties and one of their righties is Morris so I'm fine with that. We might have some issues against the Cardinals who throw out a lot of mediocre righties. The Reds and Astros are the only teams in the central I can really see changing anything and that would be hiding Livingston and Wandy against us.

 

It isn't like Gross won't get his 350 AB's as the 4th OF, Munson is a lefty, Counsell, Gwynn if he is on the roster. I think this probably spells doom for Kapler, don't see a reason to keep him now.

[trwi7]

Crawford would have been a great addition, and a long term solution, and he has a cheap contract, yet everybody wanted to find the smallest fault in his game to complain about.

For what you would've had to give up for Crawford is where a lot of people had the problem. This costs nothing but money and is only two years at most which allows us to slide in LaPorta who is our long term solution because let's face it, the Brewers didn't use the 7th overall pick on LaPorta to use him as trade bait.

[Ayt]

what strikes me as odd is how so many people love the addition of Cameron, but one month ago were really down on both Andrew Jones and Crawford. Crawford would have been a great addition, and a long term solution, and he has a cheap contract, yet everybody wanted to find the smallest fault in his game to complain about. Andrew jones would have been a great addition, but everybody pointed to his bad year and said he'd never be able to rebound. His bad year was very close to Cameron's average year.

Jones signed a two year deal for 36.2 million overall, which makes him the 5th highest paid player in baseball per year. Its not hard to understand why people didn't want to go there.

 

To get Crawford, we would have had to give up a boatload of prospects. Its also not hard to understand why people wouldn't want to do that when looking at the longterm health of this franchise.

Wow, I'm just shocked at the number of people that not only like this move but think it's a great move. I don't get it. Especially after getting rid of Jenkins. There sure are a lot of rose colored glasses out there. Reminds me a little of all the excitement after the Brewer's signed Hammonds.

How is it anything like Hammonds? Hammonds was supposed to be a big time FA signing, a guy that could hit in the middle of the order and be one of the best players on the team. Cameron likely hits 7th and is well down the list when looking at the best players on the team. He's simply a good fit because of his position, defense, cost, years on the contract, and solid offensive production.

[Brian the Automator]

what strikes me as odd is how so many people love the addition of Cameron, but one month ago were really down on both Andrew Jones and Crawford. Crawford would have been a great addition, and a long term solution, and he has a cheap contract, yet everybody wanted to find the smallest fault in his game to complain about. Andrew jones would have been a great addition, but everybody pointed to his bad year and said he'd never be able to rebound. His bad year was very close to Cameron's average year.

The problem people had wasn't with Crawford, the problem was what we would have had to give up to get him. As far as Jones goes, it's a money/risk issue. There's a difference between 36.2M over 2 years and something probably near 10M and no obligation for 2009. Cameron falls within the team's financial sweet spot, whereas to come to Milwaukee, Jones would have probably required even more than 18.1M per year.

As far as the signing goes, as long as they're not paying more than 10M in 2008 and 10M in 2009, I like the way the club shakes out defensively... Theoretically improving 3 spots on the diamond with one move should make the ERA's take a nice dip.

[Big Reed]

patrick. it's obvious you really don't like this acquisition. I can agree with a lot of your points. I didn't like the acquisition that much either. i doubt hitting 7th or 8th in the brewers lineup that Cameran will come close to equalling one of his better offensive years. despite the brewer fans hopes, 7th and 8th hitters just don't hit 30+ homers even if they are a brewer. I've heard his defense is slipping. but at least he knows how to play defense. jenkins used to be able to hit lefties every other year. the problem with keeping jenkins, is that despite what he has done in the past, Yost would have platooned him. And i don't want to see a jenkins platoon. I hate platoons. i' m quite sure if melvin had the financial resources the Cubs do, he would have gone after Andrew jones, or would have been willing to take on rolen's salary. After the initial dust settled and it was obvious we couldn't pull the trigger to acquire a quality third baseman, melvin went out and acquired the best player available.

 

 

 

I like two things about this acquisition. the first is despite what melvin said two weeks ago about going into the Spring using what we have, he didn't stand pat. he actually went out and acquired somebody. the second thing is that all he gave up to acquire Cameran was money. if melvin wants to go out and make a trade, he still has all of his minor league prospects and all of his extra pitchers, and he still has bill hall. it's possible melvin could stil make a trade for a third baseman. it's doubtful, but melvin still has all of the players at his disposal to make a trade that he had at the begining of the month. essentually we just replaced jenkins with a Cf who will play full time and who is a good defensive player.

 

 

 

The end result is a positive.

[fondybrewfan]

If team want to walk Fielder who cares, its not like our #4 is going to be incompetent like what was the case this past year. And the majority of our righ handed hitters dont hit that poorly against right handers:

 

 

 

Kendall: .642 OPS vs RH

 

Braun .850 OPS

 

Hardy - .729 OPS

 

Hart - .824 OPS (good chance of being behind Fielder)

 

Hall - .713 OPS

 

Weeks .787 OPS

 

Cameron .700 OPS (Probably improve going to MP)

 

 

 

It could be a lot better but I think well be fine. Hall had a bad year all around last year and Weeks really picked it up at the end. I think well hit righties just fine, as for lefties, they might as wel get their bullpen going in the 1st inning

[Brian the Automator]

FWIW, Cameron had a .790 OPS away from Petchow field last year.

[Ennder]

Weeks

Someone

Fielder

Braun

Hart

Other guys

 

A lineup like that will not see Fielder walked a lot by righties for very long because Braun and Hart both hit righties fine.