Overall Opinion of Melvin's Offseason

[TooLiveBrew]

but since when does this franchise think they can afford to go to camp with 11 pitchers making over $2 million (9 over $3 million), several of whom are no better than near minimum salary guys they have ready?

 

All I can say is that the economic landscape of baseball has changed mightily. The Brewers, compared around the league, probably still have a relatively modestly-paid pitching staff. It's really more of an anomaly than any kind of plan that we have so much $ invested in pitching... young, inexpensive position players + lack of young bullpen arms = spending to have an adequate/better bullpen. All of the salaries that are 'concerning' come off the books after 2008, so imo there really isn't reason to be upset with the allocation of funds. In fact, if the plan was to keep costs down just for the sake of keeping costs low - at the expense of not assembling a solid bullpen - I'd be very upset with Melvin & Co.

[RU Rah Rah]

I am reserving judgment until I see how the bullpen shakes out. I'm figuring that it will be a mixed bag (esp. with Mota, who doesn't impress me at all), but I'm hopeful that it will still be an upgrade over last year.

 

As mentioned numerous times above, Gagne is pivotal. With that price tag, and all the baggage, DM is going to look awful if his fellow Canadian tanks.

 

(And, parenthetically, what are we going to do about the accent mark over the "e" in Gagne? Is there a macro or something to get that?)

[splitterpfj]

I'll give Doug a B-. I thought the move to add Mota was very curious, and it's the move I have the least confidence in, but I guess that's why the team has scouts.

 

On the plus side - Kendall over Estrada, though I admit that's mostly about Estrada, Cameron is the best defensive player on the team, and his addition allowed the perfectly logical moves of Hall and Braun that should have happened a year ago. I also like adding vets to the bullpen, I do believe the relief corps will be better than last year overall.

 

On the negative side - I don't trust Gagne, he was a logical choice given the available options, but I think anyone would rather have Cordero right now. The other thing I don't like is the HUGE right-handed tilt of the lineup. Maybe that won't be a factor, and I understand how the team got there, but it looks exploitable to me.

 

I do think Doug did the best he could with the options he was given, and I do think the team is better prepared than it was a year ago, with better bullpen depth and a markedly improved defensive alignment. I'm sure Doug would agree, it would have been nice to keep Cordero, and it would have been nice to grab a solid lefty bat somewhere along the way.

[RoseBowlMtg]

I thought it was a great off-season:

 

1: Mike Cameron has the players all sticking around the dugout for hours after practice talking baseball when that hasn't happened in all of Ned's tenure.

 

2: Cameron has hit 20+ HR's playing for SD but his real strength is hitting with power to RC which he gave up playing @ Petco. Once he sees a ball carry out to RC watch his game take off.

 

3: Having a former gold glover in CF will help our fast young corner OF's

 

4: Getting middle relief loaded with pitchers who can go 2 innings at times is huge and something not available last year. The new pen will keep Turnbow's innings around 60 instead of the 77 he threw last year so he won't lose his arm and control. But watch the idiot fans booing him on opening day. Hopefully his psyche will be stronger.

 

5: Getting any catcher is an upgrade but a hitter who takes pitches will be an improvement and key to a more patient approach by this team this year. Kendall's working with the pitchers along with Maddux will help all the pitchers.

 

6: Getting a brilliant mind in Ted Simmons who is willing to help out his buddy without any pressure to take over his job will help immencely. ABC baseball will be much more effective this year and having Simba's knowledge imo will be the move putting this team to a pennant, hopefully.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I like the fact that we now have 4-5 relievers who could take turn being the 7th or 8th inning "guy"...good teams have a flexible bullpen. Last season, an injury here and a reliever needing a day off after throwing 3 consecutive games there, and the lack of quality bullpen depth really showed up.

The only thing Melvin needs to do to really give this team roster flexibility is to trade/unload one of the mediocre veteran starters before opening day...I'm thinking one of Vargas, Bush, Capuano, namely Vargas. I think the only way CV the elder is still on this roster is if a team gives the Brewers great value in a trade for either Cappy or Bush. If that deal doesn't happen, Vargas will be dealt for whatever they can get. As they stand right now, the Brewers simply have too many arms on their 40-man who can't be optioned to the minors without the risk of losing them and getting nothing in return.

[Dragonbait]

(And, parenthetically, what are we going to do about the accent mark over the "e" in Gagne? Is there a macro or something to get that?)

There's a keyboard shortcut for that for Window... (not sure for Mac)

 

Hold down ALT and on the numpad type 130 - é

 

Gagné

[trwi7]

Gagné

 

Yay I did it!

[TooLiveBrew]

I refuse. I don't speak Canadiaese.

[Dragonbait]

Useless things I learned in High school....

 

é á í ó ú ¿ ½

[iluvlamp]

I don't think we will win more games than last year. So...D. I don't trust the pitching at all. Especially with Villy not even guaranteed a spot. Dumb. We shall see.

[Fanof17andBrew]

Not bad. He really did do the wrong thing with Prince though. B- before the Prince thing.

[naivin]

When I think back to the things I thought they absolutely needed to do, improve teh defense absolutely topped the list. With the Cameron, Braun, Hall situation, along with replacing Estrada with Kendall, he absolutely did that. On that fact alone, the off-season was a success. Improving the bullpen was next on the list, and while there are still obvious question marks, there are a lot of guys, and many potentially good answers. Time will tell, but I am optimistic that the bullpen will be a success as well. I know we have pitching depth, but the final thing I would have liked to see was some additional veteran protection for Sheets to further strengthen the rotation. I also understand SP is very expensive, and this was not a very realistic option, so I can't hold this against him.

 

Overall, a very good off season.

[Biestie1]

In one signing, he upgraded 3B and CF defensively, and filled the hole in LF left by Menchkins, without sacrificing offense.

 

And he made wholesale changes to the biggest reason for the collapse last year.

 

I give it an A-.

[clancyphile]

Melvin's earned a C+, the big down-check being the failure to lock up Prince Fielder long-term. Now, it's almost even money that Prince will leave, barring a major breakthough in the offseason after 2008.

 

The rest, I have no problems with (although I would have just moved Hall to left and kept Braun at third).

[lukevan]

Now, it's almost even money that Prince will leave, barring a major breakthough in the offseason after 2008.

 

Being generous, I don't think the odds were ever as good as even money to keep Prince past his arby years.

[Ennder]

There was never a chance to lock up Prince long-term so not really sure why you would knock Melvin for that. Boras does not buy out arbitration years.

[RightFieldCoder]

1) Cameron took me by surprise. I thought for sure we would get some kind of lefty for either 3rd or OF. But the move increased our D in two positions. The only downside is TGJ may now be asked to use a bat for 25 games.

2) This year it looks like we will break camp with a bunch of has beens and hope some or all of them regain their ability. It sounds bad, but it's a lot better than most years when we break camp with a bunch of never weres. It seems like an All-Star game from several years ago, where everyone coming out of the pen is a stud closer.

3) Kendall did not make me excited. I laughed at the Cubs for picking him up for half a season and we sign him as a free agent. He might block the plate better, but his arm is about as good as an "injured" Estrada. Kendall lacks power, but I just realized that is a good thing. This means Ned will bat the catcher 8th or 9th, not 5th.

4) Ned is still on the team. If he doesn't prove that he's learned from last year's mistakes than Melvin messed up on this.

[mletto157]

"Melvin's earned a C+, the big down-check being the failure to lock up Prince Fielder long-term. Now, it's almost even money that Prince will leave, barring a major breakthough in the offseason after 2008.

 

The rest, I have no problems with (although I would have just moved Hall to left and kept Braun at third). "

 

I pretty much disagree with everything you just said. 1. I relly don't think there was much of a chance to "lock up" Prince long-term - especially with Boras as his agent. and 2. Why in the world would you leave the statistically worst defensive player in the last century at that position? Even if he is just as bad in left as 3rd, the fact is... he will see less action there and that alone is a good reason for the move. Also, to be honest, I love Hall at 3rd. He has a cannon for an infield arm, and was always a naturally great infielder.

[logan82]

mletto157 wrote:

Also, to be honest, I love Hall at 3rd. He has a cannon for an infield arm, and was always a naturally great infielder.

If by "naturally great" you mean raw I agree. I am not sold that Hall is going to be an even average infielder, but he will still be better than Braun. I see his cannon arm as a liability. I would compare him to Favre as a player. Makes some great plays, but tries to make plays that he can't and shouldn't try to make.

[TooLiveBrew]

My dad went to the game yesterday @ Cubs. He mentioned that Hall looked awful at 3B... I know it's just one game, but still - not encouraging news.

[clancyphile]

1. I really don't think there was much of a chance to "lock up" Prince long-term - especially with Boras as his agent. and 2. Why in the world would you leave the statistically worst defensive player in the last century at that position?

1. At least make the offer to Prince. Would a six-year, $70 million deal have been that easy for Prince to turn down, Boras or no Boras?

2. Very simple: Shifting Hall to left still gets you a decent LF bat if he rebounds from 2007 to 2005/2006 numbers. It's also less complicated than shifting both Hall and Braun, which they did. Braun may be one of the worst defensive 3B, but he's an elite offensive 3B. Braun would have improved to a tolerable defensive 3B.

 

 

(pared back long quote --1992)

[logan82]

clancyphile wrote:

Braun may be one of the worst defensive 3B, but he's an elite offensive 3B. Braun would have improved to a tolerable defensive 3B.

After his comments about never liking 3B I am no longer convinced of that.

[TooLiveBrew]

Yea, we really don't need to re-visit the 'How catastrophically did Braun suck at 3B?' discussion.

[bigredrobbo]

1. At least make the offer to Prince. Would a six-year, $70 million deal have been that easy for Prince to turn down, Boras or no Boras?

Prince has stated, often, that Boras takes care of the money side of things. It's not Prince's decision to make and IMO, $70m over 6 is at least $30m shy of where Boras sees Prince's value.

 

 

(pared back long nested quote --1992)

[Biestie1]

Would 70 mil have been that easy to turn down? - Yes.

 

As far as your other point about the moving Hall and Braun. LF and 3B are both positions where you typically get offense from (LF more than 3B but still), so I don't really think you keep Braun at 3B just because of his offensive skills at that position (like Weeks at 2B).

 

If you assume that their offensive numbers are going to be the same, it seems like a no brainer to me. Billy was born an infielder, and Braun would cost us games at 3B.

 

That's not to say that I think Billy is much more than mediocre at the hot corner, but Ryan is certainly a lot less.

 

The biggest thing I think Ned and Doug were saying with this move is, we're playing to win this year. We can't afford to stick it out with Ryan like we did with Weeks at 2B.