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

[logan82]

Weeks, Hall, Cameron, Braun, and Hart could all be 20-20 players.

 

I'm also a little less than sold on the massive shift the Brewers are talking about - I would have liked Hall in left better, with Braun at third.

Hall has speed, but he flat out sucks at stealing bases. I would prefer Hall in LF also.

[Dmiles23]

My opinion on the possibility of Hall now being traded: The Brewers seem to be a pretty classy organization. They have now told Hall that he is going to be playing third next year. I think it would be in poor taste to turn around and trade him now. The guy has done everything the organization has asked of him over the last couple years, and I believe it would be very unclassy for them to turn around and treat him like crap. So I think Hall will definitely be starting at third come May 31.

[And That]

There's no reason to think Hall could not be at least an adequate third baseman, and there's no reason to think Braun could not be an adequate left fielder. Considering Braun's terribleness at third, it seems like a no-brainer that Hall is at third and Braun is in left.

 

http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/c0a35e184c9791b4d438908529b3a538098ff5f.jpg

 

 

[trwi7]

Not bad And That but I iz teh left field pwnzor would be better imo. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[twobrewers]

It is honestly beyond my comprehension how anyone can advocate keeping Braun at 3B with all of the information we have to support Hall as a superior defender.

[And That]

It is honestly beyond my comprehension how anyone can advocate keeping Braun at 3B with all of the information we have to support Hall as a superior defender.

Agreed. For all those that thought Braun could be a decent defender next year given time, good luck with that at this point. Finally, reality has supplanted conjecture on the positive side of fact.

 

[logan82]

We don't have information to support that. All we have is information that Braun was absolutley terrible last year.

[mothershipconnection]

I'm not that thrilled about Cameron per se. What I am very happy about is that it allows us to do some shuffling that seriously upgrades our defense, and makes the move very good. Not because it's Cameron necessarily, but because it's a good CF with a decent bat. On top of that, it's a very reasonable contract that's only guaranteed for a single year. Color me happy for those reasons.

 

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.

 

Huh? Jones, yeah, but because of the cash he was gonna/did get coming off of a bad year. Crawford? I'm not real sure I can recall anyone here who said they didn't want him on the team. More like "they're gonna want Gallardo, and I'm not willing to pay that kind of price for him". EVERYBODY wanted to find faults in Crawford's game and didn't want him? I guess you were the lone crusading voice of reason.

 

So, please explain to me again why we got rid of Jenkins and we are now replacing him with basically a right handed version of him for probably not much cheaper than Jenkins would have cost us?

 

Jenkins leaves Hall in CF and Braun at 3B. CF Cameron + LF Braun + 3B Hall > CF Hall + LF Jenkins + 3B Braun. Even if offense is a wash, we win a couple extra games on defensive improvement. Also remember that retaining Jenkins means there has to be a platoon mate.

[lukevan]

Finally, reality has supplanted conjecture on the positive side of fact. Quote of the offseason.

 

Crazy Joe Dillon also supplants Bill Hall as the "super-sub" and some bf.netters begin to wonder if Joe Dillon can pitch.

[And That]

From the current Brewers.com mini-article on the signing:

 

"We've talked to both of them and both are fine with it, and they recognize Mike is the type of player who can make us better," Melvin said of Hall and Braun.

 

Excellent. Who else is ready for pitchers and catchers to report?

[logan82]

Crazy Joe Dillon also supplants Bill Hall as the "super-sub" and some bf.netters begin to wonder if Joe Dillon can pitch.

There have been parallels drawn between Cirillo and Dillon already.

[And That]

Crazy Joe Dillon also supplants Bill Hall as the "super-sub" and some bf.netters begin to wonder if Joe Dillon can pitch.

There have been parallels drawn between Cirillo and Dillon already.

You clearly missed the Can Bill Hall Pitch? thread.

 

[logan82]

I had heard about that mytical thread, but never read it.

[dvoiss]

I think this move means that a Hall deal doesn't happen. I think the reason they make this move is because they weren't able to get n OBP guy in a deal involving Hall. I think we start the season with an OF of Hart, Braun, and Grillon until Cameron gets off his suspension. Leaving Hall in the OF while Cameron sits makes no sense Braun will need all the OF time he can get next year. I really like this move but still expect Doug to move a pitcher or two for an OBP guy before opening day.

[rluzinski]

Cameron's Marcel projection for 2008:

 

.252/.334/.439/.773

 

Keep in mind, that projection does not account for Cameron having to play half his games the last two years in a pitcher's park, so that projection should be a tad conservative. At 35 years old, I fear that Cameron's defense might be a tad over rated these days but he should still be above average in CF. Couple that with the move of Hall back to 3B and Braun to LF and the Brewers' defense should be much improved. Is it a sexy move? No. It's simply a short term fix to one of the Brewers' greatest weaknesses of 2007 (defense!).

 

Hall and Braun will have to be moved right away, so they can get as much practice at their new positions as possible. I assume Braun will start everyday in LF and Hart will get the majority of the starts in CF in April, with Gross, Dillion and Gwynn sharing the rest of the outfield load .

[Roscoe Chill]

I'm not overly excited, but this is a nice signing. The terms of the deal certainly are nice for the Brewers, and it's a heck of a lot better than the Feliz-types who's names have floated around this offseason. Certainly improves the teams' defense by a great deal, and we don't really lose anything offensively from Mench/Jenkins.

The Brewers have certainly made a concerted effort to fix the teams' biggest issues from last year

I agree 100 % with Peavey. But there's still too many starting pitchers...I know, I know, you can never have enough blah blah...but I would be very disappointed to see the better pitchers at AAA just because there are too many decent options on the team. I wouldn't be surprised to see Hall traded with one of those pitchers. Not saying I necessarily agree, just sayin'.

[hauser42]

Love the singing of Cameron. Brewers now have a solid Cfer when it comes to glove and bat work. People that look at his stats and not taking thinking about the PETCO effect need to step back and take some more time when looking at this move.

 

Hall is going to be an avergae 3B and that is about it, at present he is better than Braun at 3B. Down the road we will never know. Hall is not a lock for some bounce back season. Last year Hall and Jenkins had a lot of posters claiming they would get hot at some time of the season and yet it never happened. When Bill Hall gets a better batting eye I will believe he is going to turn it around, 06 was more a fluke in my book for Hall. Braun should be able to hit this year even though he is in a new spot, his numbers will likely be down since last year he was so awesome.

 

I had a good laugh about posting that Jenkins would have been better than Cameron. Jenkins love maybe never over on with some fans. Camreron is superior with the glove, bat and range when it come to Jenks.

[jlau20]

I just hope there's no Braun/Cameron face collisions. Other than that, I would be happy with either Hall in LF/Braun at 3B or vice versa, preferably Hall at 3B/Braun in LF. Like others have mentioned Cameron could probably make up some of the difference if Braun has problems with range. And the one year plus team option is great.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Mike Cameron? That's great!

 

 

 

I keep hearing how he's better than Vlad!

[LUKE232323]

Good move.

 

1. Hall's offensive ability is highlighted more at 3B than it is in the OF

2. Hall to 3B and Braun to LF is an uprgrade defensively

3. Cameron upgrades the defense

4. Cameron is a lock for 25+ HR and a respectable OPS in Miller Park

 

To the people complaining about lack of lefty hitters, check our lineup last year. Two lefty regulars.

 

Prediction: Cameron will have a comparable OPS and K rate to Jenkins last year while upgrading the defense more (not only in his own defense, but in allowing Braun to move to LF successfully).

[And That]

I would be very disappointed to see the better pitchers at AAA just because there are too many decent options on the team.

The only guy you could be talking about right now is Parra. Vargas and Bush are fighting for a spot that's going to go to Bush, and Claudio is going to be traded. I'd rather Parra get more time in AAA than giving him the Villanueva treatment.

 

[logan82]

LUKE232323 wrote:

To the people complaining about lack of lefty hitters, check our lineup last year. Two lefty regulars.

One lefty regular, one platoon lefty and a switch hitter. Hall got somewhat platooned as well towards the end of the year.

[pitchleague]

jlau20 beat me to it! I was totally going to make the prediction of a Braun-Cameron collision in left-center field on April 30th to end both of their seasons, too!

 

 

 

I like the deal, especially for the coin it took. I don't love the deal, but I like it. Viva la Bill Hall at thirdbaseo!

[ELCABALLO45]

Sorry im a little late BUT, I also love the move. Braun in Left and Hall at third is a GOOD thing. I could still see Hall getting traded but if he is not that is ok also.

 

I hate to cut the celebration short, but the Cubs signed Chad Fox today. There goes our shot at contending.

http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif. Oh well.... might as well start the countdown for 2009.....

[Roscoe Chill]

Yes, I am talking about Parra, and I think if he's in AAA, then the Brewers aren't having their best 12 pitchers on the big league club.