Brewers

  Last season, the Brewers bullpen was pretty solid.  Occasionally they would slip up, but for the most part the bullpen was a strength of the 2011 Brew Crew.  Thanks to free-agency and an unusually tight pocket book, the Brewers were unable to retain two of the biggest pieces of that bullpen, LaTroy Hawkins and Takashi Saito.  That left the team a little thin on relief arms.  During the off-season the Brewers were financially handcuffed, thanks in part to K-Rod accepting his arbitration (Scott Boras screwing us again).  That single move cost the Brewers $8 million dollars, virtually destroying any chances [...]

Now, I know it’s an absolute long shot for this to ever happen, but this post is for the sake of the argument. Let’s say Milwaukee were to reportedly show heavy interest in Yoenis Céspedes. This obviously would switch things up quite a bit, even after Ryan Braun’s return, but just how can this affect the Brewers? In more ways than one, and definitely in very beneficial ways. The addition of  Céspedes would add quite a bit of versatility to an already resourceful Brewers’ lineup and defense. The outfield for the time being could be Céspedes in left, Nyjer Morgan in center and Corey Hart in [...]

Today, the Brewers agreed to terms with Shaun Marcum just moments before the start of the arbitration hearing.  This is not surprising, since Mark Attanasio has only had one player go to arbitration in his time as the Brewers owner. Initially, the Brewers offered Marcum $6.75 million, which was a $2.5 million dollar raise.  On the other side, Marcum was looking to double his pay from 2011, at $8.7 million.  Neither request unreasonable.  That being the case, the two sides were able to settle in the middle at $7.725 million.

It is easy to forget about Chris Narveson in this pitching rotation.  Sometimes I think of Chris as the “5th Beatle”.  Yovani Gallardo has been our ace since 2009 (John Lennon), Zack Greinke came crashing into Milwaukee on a blazing white steed(Paul McCartney), Shaun Marcum wowed fans with his ability to win games without a fastball(George Harrison), and Randy Wolf is the crafty veteran who quietly goes about his job (but is too good for Jonathan Lucroy…oh…and he’s Ringo in this analogy).  Then there is Chris Narveson.  Good enough to be a part of the gang, just not in public.  You may [...]

  Every year the Brewers sign some old guy who is way past his prime.  They say that the only things guaranteed in life are death and taxes.  The Brewers most recent signing, has lead me to add one more to my list; the Brewers signing a worthless veteran every off-season.  Usually they tell the old man that he will be able to compete for a full time job, but that is almost never the case.  At least this time they did not invite that geezer to camp and give him false hope.  This is puzzling though, because they already tried this experiment [...]

Prince Fielder is gone- we all know that. As of right now, his set replacement is Mat Gamel, a 26-year old who is oozing with talent, but has been stuck at the prospect level for the past few years. He’s also been inconsistent when given the chance at the Major League level, but that could change with more consistent playing time. Another option could be Corey Hart, the Brewers’ current right fielder. He came up as a first baseman, and has recently said that he would play first base if the Brewers needed him to. He didn’t sound too thrilled [...]

  Seriously, what is the rub bub?  What on earth could that select group of gentlemen possibly still be debating?  The hearing started almost two weeks ago.  This isn’t the O.J. Trial!!  There is no new evidence that I know of, so what in the name of Zeus’ b-hole is going on?  This is absolutely demolishing the joy I usually feel this close to Spring Training.  This panel of MLB appointed people, are really screwing up my universe.   

I am going to piggy back off of Benjamin’s article from earlier today, and stick with the starting rotation. At yesterday’s ‘Brewers On Deck’,  Brewers head negotiator Teddy Werner said that negotiations with Shaun Marcum were “making good progress”.  Here is my question for Teddy, what kind of negotiations?  Because if I am being real with Mr. Werner, a one year contract for Marcum is about as useful as a house in Seattle made of cardboard. 

One big thing that the Brewers need now more than ever is retain what they still have left. Zack Greinke and his future factor into what the Brewers’ and their fans have to look forward to, at least pitching wise. Though he doesn’t have an agent to negotiate a possible contract extension with,  Greinke has stated “It’d be me in charge as of right now so, we’ll see how long that lasts.”.  

  This weekend, the Brewers held their annual fan-fest, or what we now call “Brewers On Deck”.  According to early estimates, a little over 12,000 people attended the event, which was held at the Frontier Airlines Center today.  Twenty-seven current Brewers were in attendance to take pictures with fans and sign autographs.  According to the Twitter Universe, it was a great time for everyone.  From players, to former RtB writers, there seemed to be a lot of fun stuff going on.