As mentioned in the news yesterday, rumors (quite possibly unfounded) have surfaced about a package including SS JJ Hardy heading to the San Diego Padres for SP and Team USA ace Jake Peavy.  Let’s take some of the complication out of valuing this hypothetical deal and just look at a straight up Hardy for Peavy swap.

First, let’s take a look at this deal from a win-now, 2009 or bust perspective.  Taking a look at the last 3 years, Peavy’s line is tremendous.

JAKE PEAVY 2006-2008
2006 202.1 IP, 11-14, 4.09 ERA, 9.56 K/9, 2.76 BB/9, 3.51 FIP, 4.0 WAR
2007 223.1 IP, 19-6, 2.54 ERA, 9.67 K/9, 2.74 BB/9, 2.84 FIP, 6.2 WAR
2008 173.2 IP, 10-11, 2.85 ERA, 8.60 K/9, 3.06 BB/9 3.60 FIP, 2.8 WAR

Peavy has consistently shown the ability to get batters out, posting high K rates and a very good K/BB ratio.  It’s important to keep in mind that every number here (except for WAR) is not park-adjusted for the pitcher-friendly confines of PETCO park.  PETCO has even been found to have a very pitcher-friendly park factor for K’s and BB’s, but regardless, Peavy’s numbers are impressive.  The thing that worries me is the sharp jump in BB rate in 2008, combined with a full strikeout lower K rate.  Perhaps it’s an outlier, but as a prospective buyer, it is cause for concern.  Let’s take a look at some projections.

JAKE PEAVY 2009
CHONE : 3.31 ERA, 8.90 K/9, 2.90 BB/9, 3.40 FIP
PECOTA: 3.17 ERA, 8.78 K/9  2.88 BB/9, 3.44 FIP
ZIPS  : 3.23 ERA, 9.29 K/9, 2.73 BB/9, 3.41 FIP
MARCEL: 3.22 ERA, 9.00 K/9, 3.04 BB/9, 3.38 FIP

The 4 projection systems seem to agree that Peavy will not repeat his insanely good 2007, which saw a great K/BB combined with a low HR rate.  3 of the 4 agree that the jump in BB rate is at least partially real, while ZiPS sees a return to 06 and 07 levels.  PECOTA and CHONE see the drop in K rate as real as well.  Either way, Peavy retains a lot of value, but something more like 2006 as opposed to 2007 should be expected, so I would expect a 3.5-4.5 win season for Peavy, even in a neutral park like Miller Park (slightly pitcher friendly).

JJ Hardy put together a great season for the Brewers last year, flashing the leather repeatedly while putting up one of the top hitting lines among SS in the NL.  Here are Hardy’s numbers from 2007/2008 (2006 was injury shortened).

JJ HARDY 2007-2008
2007: 638 PA, .277 AVG, 26 HR, 80 RBI, .323 OBP, .463 SLG, +3.5 BRAA*, +15 UZR, 4.5 WAR
2008: 629 PA, .283 AVG, 24 HR, 74 RBI, .343 OBP, .478 SLG, +13.5 BRAA, +8 UZR, 4.9 WAR

*BATTING RUNS ABOVE AVERAGE

These are two great, all-star caliber seasons.  Hardy’s value comes from putting plus batting together with plus defense at a premium position.  Assuming Hardy’s defense stays in the +5 to +15 range (in a mere 35 game campaign in 2006, Hardy put up a +6 UZR, which over 150 games would equate to a +33 season), he only has to be a league average hitter to be a 3 WAR or better player (3.5 WAR last year: Justin Morneau.  3.0 WAR last year: Miguel Cabrera). Let’s look at Hardy’s offensive projections.

JJ HARDY 2009
CHONE : .278 AVG, .343 OBP, .463 SLG, +11 BRAA
PECOTA: .284 AVG, .344 OBP, .459 SLG, +10.5 BRAA
ZIPS  : .277 AVG, .337 OBP. .479 SLG, +11.5 BRAA
MARCEL: .267 AVG, .336 OBP, .459 SLG, +6 BRAA

Marcel unfairly judges Hardy based on his injury shortened 2006 season, so we can basically throw it out and focus on the 3 projection systems which are in alomst complete agreement on Hardy’s value - he’ll be worth somewhere in the +8-+13 range with the bat.  Combine that with his +5-+15 defensive range, and you have a player that is worth 3.3-4.8 wins.  So this year, the difference between Hardy and Peavy is basically a wash.

However, the deciding factor with this trade is its effect on the future.  Clearly, the Brewers pitching staff is a little weak right now.  However, with Gallardo, Parra, and Bush, the Brewers have a solid base that will be in place for at least the 2009 and 2010 seasons and be quite affordable, as they are all still in their cost-controlled years.  JJ Hardy is also still in the cost-controlled stage, as he still has one arbitration year left.

The 28-year-old Peavy is due a relatively cheap 8 million dollars in 2009.  After this year, a contract extension for 3 years and 52 million kicks in.  Here’s what we’re looking at as far as cost in this trade.

MILWAUKEE GIVES
J.J Hardy 2008 (Age 26, 4.65M) and 2009 (Age 27, likely in the 7M-10M range, depending on the market).
Money Due: 12-15M
Expected Worth: 30-45M*
Expected Value: 18-30M

*Range roughly based on CHONE projections, including any expected decline.

MILWAUKEE ACCEPTS
Jake Peavy 2009 (Age 28, 8M), 2010 (Age 29, 15M), 2011 (Age 30, 16M), 2012 (Age 31, 17M), 2013 (Age 32, 22M or 4M buyout)
Money Due: 60M (buyout of 2012), 78M (including 2012)
Expected Worth: 56-66M (buyout of 2012), 70-80M (including 2013)*
Expected Value: (-4)-6M (buyout of 2012), (-8)-2M (including 2013)

*Range roughly based on CHONE projections, including any expected decline.

This analysis suggests that 2 years of cost-controlled Hardy are approximately worth 20-30M more than 5 years of an expensive Jake Peavy.  The problem here is that Peavy will likely decline over the course of this contract and is leaving a pitcher friendly environment.  At this point, Hardy is already worth about as much as Peavy, and is entering his peak years. It should be obvious that this isn’t a good deal for the Brewers.  The fact that the Brewers would also be expected throw in prospects just puts this deal completely out of the question for me.  The Padres would almost certainly have to throw in a top hitting prospect at a premium position (CF, 3B, 2B) to make this trade work in the Brewers favor or even be properly balanced.  Hopefully all rumors on this front are false, as Doug Melvin has suggested over the previous week.

Prior year stats/CHONE/ZIPS/MARCEL projections from www.fangraphs.com

PECOTA projections from www.baseballprospectus.com

Contract data from http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com

Monday’s Game: Brewers 9, Mariners 7
Record: 18-9-3

Monday’s Game

- The Brewers and Casey McGehee stayed hot today with a win over Seattle. McGehee hit a two-run walk-off homer in the ninth today. McGehee is now hitting .370 on the spring with six homers and 15 RBI….and he may not make the team. We’ll just have to wait and see. More on the game HERE.

- Speaking of staying hot, Rickie Weeks went 3 for 4 today at the plate. He’s now hitting just below .350 this spring. Oh, and I’ll also mention he’s only committed one error this spring

- Prince Fielder hit his fifth home fun of the spring. I feel like he just got his first a couple weeks ago. Carry it into next week, Prince…….and the entire Brewers offense

- Manny Parra pitched six innings and gave up two runs on five hits. Carlos Villanueva pitched his third straight scoreless inning.

Brewers News

- The “big news” of today was Trevor Hoffman officially being added to the 15-day DL. It is retroactive to March 27 which means he’ll miss at least four regular season games. It’s been reported several times that he’s “taking it easy” and that’s just fine. No reason to rush. More here from JSOnline.

- Apparently it’s possible that Hoffman will be sent to Appleton on a rehab stint with the T-Rats. That would be awesome for the T-Rats, but I just don’t see it happening for one reason: April weather in Wisconsin. More HERE.

- Craig Counsell played today, but he may be looking at surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. The surgery would only sit him down for two to three weeks, but he may try to play through it. You can do it little guy!

- Yovani the 2009 NL Cy Young? Ken Rosenthal thinks so.

- Prince Fielder tops the list of “wild predictions” from Rotoprofessor. Weeks and Gallardo also make the list.

- Another Brewers preview.

- Brew Crew Ball asks what will happen to JJ Hardy and compares his career to this point to other players.

- The Brewers haven’t officially announced the menu for this year’s new dollar menu at Miller Park, but it should be the same as (or close to) what was just announced in Cincinnati.

- Just like every spring someone had to predict it will be Rickie Weeks breakout year. Let’s hope Mr. Gammons is right this year.

- Now with some fresh news, Ryan at Bleacher Report says Yovani Gallardo and Dave Bush need to have big years if the Brewers hope to be successful.

- The Crew sent Vinny Rottino to minor league camp and optioned Hernan Iribarren to Triple-A.

- Missed your opportunity for opening day tickets? Love needles? Check this out.

NL Central

- So, it was posted on yesterday’s news that Carlos Marmol lost out on the closer duties for the Cubs to newbie Kevin Gregg. Of course, like a huge tit, Marmol cried about it suggesting there wasn’t a competition for the position. Piniella is now firing back (sorta) basically telling Marmol to get over it. Good stuff.

- If you’re sick of reading NL Central previews, check out these video previews. Warning: Jay Mariotti’s ugly mug is on the home page.

- …and another NL Central preview.

- Chris Perez, one of the Cardinals closer candidates, was sent down to Triple-A today.

- Bernies Crew has an off-season review of the St. Louis Cardinals.

- HEADLINE: Bronson Arroyo Injured….T Maas Devastated.

- The Cubs are apparently shopping right-hander Chad Gaudin.

- Paul Bako and Mike Stanton were cut by the Cubs.

- Freddy Sanchez wants to remain a Pirate. Why?

- Former Brewers Lance Nix may make the Reds 25-man roster. Good luck to you, sir.

- Check out this thread from the BrewerFan.net message board. This is the second ridiculous Astros prediction I’ve seen in as many weeks. What, is the Astros marketing team sending out magical Astros Kool-Aid to journalists?

- Speaking of the apparent flawless Astros, Lance Berkman is (minorly) injured.

Other News

- Former Brewer Zach Jackson (traded to Cleveland in the Sabathia trade) made the Indians 25-man roster as a reliever.

Sunday’s Game: Brewers 1, Giants 0
Record: 17-9-3

 

Sunday’s Game

- Weeks hit a home run and Mark DiFelice pitched three scoreless innings as the Brewers beat the Giants 1-0.

- It’s Spring Training, but it’s nice to see that the Brewers are 11-2-1 in their last 14 games as we near the start of the regular season. The Journal Sentinel says not to get too excited though. The Brewers Spring-Training records and regular-season records have not correlated with each other often over the years.

- DiFelice added a curveball to his repertoire.

- Mitch Stetter, Todd Coffey, Jorge Julio, Wes Littleton, Lindsay Gulin and David Johnson also pitched scoreless innings Sunday.

- Gallardo was supposed to pitch in the game, but instead got his work in on a minor-league game pitching 5 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and two runs, with three walks and five strikeouts. Macha pulled Gallardo from the major-league game after learning the Giants pulled Randy Johnson, who will face the Brewers in the second game of the regular season. Jeff Fletcher at Fanhouse calls it “hardball” on Macha’s part.

- Ryan Braun also played in that minor-league game and hit a home run. He could be playing in the major-league games again soon.

Brewers News

- Jim Stingl of the Journal Sentinel takes a look at the history of the Barrel Man.

- Sports Radio 1250 WSSP interviewed Yovani Gallardo.

- Gallardo comes in at no. 20 on the Sports Guys’ rankings of MLB’s top aces.

- There are a lot of “finally coming around” stories about players during Spring Training, but the reports of the significant progress Weeks has made at the plate are very encouraging. He has hit safely in 14 of his last 15 games, batting .383 over that span. Weeks clearly has the talent to be a special player. If he can put it together this year, it would boost the Brewers chances of reaching the postseason significantly.

- I’m also encouraged by the early reports on the work Dale Sveum is doing with the hitters. I was skeptical when Macha assigned him the role of hitting coach since he had no history at that position, but the early results and stories from camp are encouraging.

- Suppan pitched a strong game Saturday going seven innings and allowing one run and six hits. His last two outings have been good.

- Hardy remained hot this spring as he hit a three-run home run on Saturday.

- Riske might be starting to come around a bit. He’s thrown two consecutive scoreless innings after a brutal start to the spring.

- Hart has missed some time with “gastrointestinal issues.” It sounds like something that should pass soon.

- Hoffman played catch today and is feeling better, but he’ll likely still begin the season on the DL.

- If Hoffman does start the year on the DL, Villanueva would probably begin the season as the closer. More HERE.

- Bush will pitch out of the bullpen during the opener to prepare him for his ‘09 debut against the Cubs on April 11 in Miller Park.

- Stetter is having a good spring and will serve as the Brewers lefty specialist when the season starts.

- Al’s Ramblings points out that the Brewers have a shot at finishing Spring Training with the best NL record.

- Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com discusses the Brewers prospects at Spring Training this Cactus League season. Escobar is the one turning the most heads. It’s nice to see that he’s willing to change positions if the Brewers would like him to, but with his incredible defensive skills at a premium defensive position, I can’t see that happening.

- Two Fisted Slopper begins their “Too Big to Fail” series with Dave Bush coming in at no. 8 on the list of the most important Brewers of ‘09.

- David Hannes at Brewers Bar wonders if Suppan starting on Opening Day could be a dream come true for him. His point is interesting, but I think more gets made of the pitching order than should be. It really only matters for the first couple of weeks usually and even then it’s not as important as people make it out to be.

- RFB regular Scottage Cheese of Team Wisconsin posts about a Jake-Peavy-to-the-Brewers rumor he heard on MLB Radio on XM. I’d love to have Peavy, but I can’t see a scenario where the Brewers give up Hardy for him, especially during the season.

- The Daily Hick picks the Brewers to finish fifth in the NL Central with a 72-90 record, only two games ahead of the last-place Pirates. Wow, that might be the roughest prediction for the Crew I’ve seen all offseason.

- Soaring to Glory picks the Brewers third in the NL Central in their prediction.

- EveryJoe.com puts the Brewers at no. 2 on their list of teams that could surprise.

- Todd Welter at 620 WTMJ says, “Predict 88 wins but expect 83 wins at most.”

- The Junkball Blues projects Bill Hall. I hope Hall outperforms the .237/.304/.423 projection. Otherwise, we’ll likely see some changes at third during the season, whether that means more of Lamb, Counsell or McGehee, bringing up Gamel or obtaining someone from outside the organization.

- Bernie’s Crew wonders if Macha will value roster depth over experience when making the final roster decisions this spring.

- And Bernie’s Crew also takes a closer look at the bullpen.

- Brad at Chuckie Hacks does not like the fact that the Brewers put up a banner for winning the ‘08 NL Wild Card. I’m not quite as distraught about it as Brad, but I agree. Championship banners should be reserved for division titles, league titles and World Series titles.

- Miller Park Drunk says the Brewers should have sponsors for everything and gives some suggestions.

- Beer, Brats and the Brew Crew says the bench and the bullpen have a lot of question marks going into the season.

- Adam Lindemer of Bleacher Report gives his top 10 Brewers moments as we near the 40th anniversary of the franchise.

- Are you in college and looking for a sweet summer internship? The Brewers are looking for interns for Stadium Operations and Community Relations.

- Brew Crew Ball features Kirbir’s Pictures of the Week.

Minor Leagues

- The newly launched TRatsBaseball.com  has previews of possible position players and pitchers for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers squad in ‘09.

- Brew City Sports ranks the top Brewers prospects with Jeremy Jeffress topping his list.

- Reliever Omar Aguilar and starter Alex Periard are experiencing some injury problems.

NL Central

- Gregg beat out Marmol for the Cubs closer spot. And Marmol is not happy. Honestly, I was hoping Marmol would win the closer role. He’s much more valuable to the Cubs as a guy they can throw out there at any time and for multiple innings (if his arm doesn’t fall off from overuse).

- Milton Bradley is going to be a distraction to the Cubs this year.

- The Cubs signed a Korean amateur outfielder.

- The Reds will have a really good rotation.

Other News

- Will Turnbow make the Rangers roster?

- Eri Yoshida, a 17-year-old Japanese girl who throws a sidearm knuckleball, played her first professional game Friday and struck out one.

First of all, a big thank you goes out to all who entered the contest and all who voted. Last year we had a little less than 3000 total votes, and this year we had over 3600 total votes even though the polls were up for less time this year.

A couple interesting things I wanted to share -

1 - The number of votes Seth McClung beat Manny Parra by.

Gallardo vs. Bush had more votes cast than any other match up

5 - number of different states people sent entries from

118 - Votes cast for the final, surprisingly lower than most of the other match ups.

2 - Number of votes cast for Hernan Irribarren (Lowest of anyone)

3 - Number of votes for Jorge Julio (Lowest of any pitcher)

2 - Number of Winners. They have already been contacted. If you did not receive an email this morning, you did not win (sorry.)

Here’s the final bracket:

Well, thanks again for having some fun. Hopefully we can do this again next year. And even if you didn’t win a shirt, come to our First Pitch show in Appleton. Shirts are only $5, there’s live music, and there’s no cover to get you in.

Today’s Game: Brewers 11, Rangers 10
Record: 14-9-3

Thursday’s Game

- Braden Looper was far from sharp in his Cactus League debut, surrendering 5 ER in just two frames of work. But a 3 for 4 day and a homer from J.J. Hardy, along with dingers by Mike Lamb and Mike Cameron was enough to push the Brewers past the Rangers. Casey McGehee went 0 for 1. 

Brewers News

- Ryan Braun’s MRI revealed no damage to his right side.

- Between the Green Pillars ponders life without Braun: Personally, I find it’s best not to do that. 

- They also make a case for why trading for Jake Peavy isn’t a good idea for Milwaukee.

- Brewers season preview: Finally! I’ve been waiting for one of these. 

- FOX Sports’ Dayn Perry explains why the Brewers (and every other team) will win the World Series in a single sentence… and several modifiers. What does he say about the Brewers, and do you even care? Hint: you don’t care. 

- What some guy expects out of Bill Hall.

- B.B.K.T.U.T.H doesn’t like the idea of Jason Kendall leading off.

-  The Hardball Times asks five questions about the Brewers. 

Minor Leagues

- Rattler-Radio gives us an early look at the T-Rats’ new video board: For many of us, this will be the least blurry we’ll ever see it. I can’t wait for dollar beer nights.

- Here’s a short article about Brad Nelson from his hometown newspaper.

- 3:10 to Joba introduces its readers to Alcides Escobar.

- Escobar versus Rangers prospect Elvis Andrus: I think Escobar takes it. 

-  Appleton Post-Crescent wonders whether Brett Lawrie will don a Rattlers uni come April 9th. 

- Lawrie is laying down the Lawrie at his new blog… there goes a potential post title I would’ve probably used in 2014.

NL Central

- MLB has a NL Central preview, also just in time. 

- Carlos Zambrano hates little kids.

- Has Kosuke Fukudome’s shittiness single-handedly ended racism? Damn right, you crackers.  

- Tony La Russa won’t hit a pitcher eighth every day: Nor should he.

- Cardinals offseason review: To summarize – they lost everyone, and gained Spicoli. “Awesome! Totally Awesome!” 

- Pittsburgh is interested in Will Ohman: By waiting this long, they might get a good arm for not much money. I don’t see how Ohman has any leverage.

- Miguel Tejada was sentenced to probation and community service after lying to Congress about PEDs: He seems to have turned things around since being traded. I consider playing for a team with only one starting pitcher a service to his community. 

- CubBLOG! Predicts the Brewers to finish 4^th in the Central, using the tired no CC, no Sheets reasoning.

Other News

- Brewers/bacon blogger, Al at Al’s Ramblings is auctioning off the naming rights to his blog to help a charitable cause of the winners’ (and his) choosing.

- CC Sabathia will start both the Yankees home and road openers: I can’t stress it enough, I wish Carsten the best of luck with his new team.

- It’s Photoshop Friday over at Bugs & Cranks! This one is especially meaningful, as I tried to make our own Jared’s dream of seeing Ginter/Dunn side by side a reality… though not how he’d like.

- Lastly, I know many other Web sites have touched on this, but we hadn’t yet and I wanted to make mention of baseball writer John Brattain’s untimely death. I’d never met or interacted with John, but through my brief stint at Baseball Digest Daily (now Baseball Daily Digest), one of the many sites he wrote for, I became exposed to his work. I won’t pretend to know him enough (or at all) to have been personally impacted by his passing, but I can be sure his wife and two daughters are going through a very difficult time right now. The Hardball Times has established a memorial fund in John’s honor. All proceeds will go to his family.

I’ve been hearing a lot of how much Rickie Weeks sucks lately, and I wanted to lay out my personal thoughts on weeks.   I couldn’t really think of a good way to put it in words, so here’s a graph with my thoughts on Rickie’s offense.   This graph compares Rickie to the top 40 second basemen in the league by plate appearances.  So this compares him to all starters plus some platoon players or players who filled in with injuries.  The thick lines are the league averages, the dotted lines are Rickie’s stats.  To see the graph in a larger form, right click on the image and click “view image.”

Now I realize this doesn’t address the aspect of defense, but he’s much better now than his early career (-9.1 UZR in 2006, -4.7 in 2008).   With improvement this year, we could be looking at a very good Rickie Weeks in 2009.  Even if he doesn’t improve, we still have a league average second basemen, which is more than a lot of teams (such as the Chicago Cubs) can say.

Wednesday’s Game: Brewers 12, Dodgers 8
Record: 13-9-3

Wednesday’s Game

- Here we go…Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, Mike Cameron, Casey McGehee, and JJ Hardy all went deep in the Brewers win over the Dodgers today. Manny Parra sucked and David Riske countinued his un-scoreless streak. Ryan Braun left the game in the fourth inning due to “right side stiffness.”

I don’t like this. No one seems to know the extent of this injury. Braun keeps saying, left and right, that he’s “fine” and that it was planned that he’d leave the game after two at-bats. At the same time, club officials say he left due to tightness in his right side. You have to believe the Brewers in this case. Is Braun blowing smoke? Apparently we’ll find out more Thursday. God, make me a believer!

Brewers News

- Yes, there is more Brewers news today than Braun’s injury. The Brewers cut Trot Nixon and designated Mat Gamel. Angel Salome and Jason Bourgeois were also shipped out of big league camp.

- The Brewers April 9 game against the San Francisco Giants will air on the MLB Network. This will be the networks first regular season game broadcast.

- The other big news seems to be the interest, or lack of interest, in Jake Peavy. One day it’s rumored that the Brewers have inquired about Peavy. Then today Doug Melvin says “bull sh*t.” He also said the rumor is “disruptive.”

- Personally, I”m getting bored with the NL Central prediction articles, but this one is kind of fun(ny). Why so? The Sports Take picks the Astros to finish second in the NL Central.

- And yet another ‘09 preview.

- The Brewers finish just ahead of the Cubs as Fan Graphs #6 organization in Major League Baseball.

- What do you expect out of new Brewers starter Braden Looper?

- Members of Midwest Airlines’ frequent flyer program will become eligible for rewards when the Brewers win this coming season.

Minor Leagues

- Check out Win-It Wednesdays this coming season at the T-Rats Fox Cities Stadium.

NL Central

- The Cubs are feeling good about Rich Harden. Apparently Harden is still feeling the effects of a recent bout with food poisoning, but his arm “feels good.” I believe that by “feels good” they just mean his arm didn’t physically fall off of his torso. Hey Cubs fans dick 5’s, say what you want, but you’ll wish Harden held up half as good as Ben Sheets.

- GD, it’s so easy to hate the Cubs with crap like this: When Milton Bradley was told that the Cubs are being picked by most to win the NL Central, he replied “they should…I’m here.” Like most Cubs fans, he’s sure they’ll win the division. He’s also sure he can throw a three gallon Gatorade cooler further than any man on Earth.

Milton goes on to credit himself with turning three clubs into winning teams. Wow. Jackasses like this really do exist.

- Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada will be sentenced Thursday for federal perjury charges.

- The Cubs release their 2003 #1 draft pick.

- It’s widely thought that the Reds pitching should be considerably better this season than last.

Other News

- Pedro Martinez is looked for a one-year contract worth $5-$8 million. This site admits that no one will pay this, then goes on to list the Brewers as one of the teams that should show interest in him. No thanks!

Check out the bands here:

Sunday Flood The Response Scarlet Escape

 

Brewers News

- Here’s a nice piece on Brad Nelson by the Globe Gazette. Brad made his case and he’s on the team…book it.

- In 2006, Braden Looper and his wife started the process to adopt a child from China. In 2009, Looper finally got a child.

- Haudricourt tries to figure out who’s going to make the team when the Brewers break camp in two weeks. I’m almost sure Nelson will make the team. I think McGehee is making his case over Lamb, and it’s a toss up between Duffy and Gwynn Jr (slight edge to TGJ just because he’s out of options). Haudricourt might say nay on my pick of McGehee, I think it could work with Counsell replacing SS and 3rd base positions. McGehee will back up 2nd and Brad Nelson will be a 1B and Outfield replacement. That said, it wouldn’t surprise me if they started the year safe with Lamb instead of McGehee. What would surprise me is if Julio makes the roster.

- A Bleacher Reporter believes the Brewers need to make a run for Jake Peavy. That’s what we said this offseason too, but don’t think for a second that he will be as dominant as CC I think that trade and stretch by CC was unlike anything we’ll ever see again.

- Batters Box Interactive has 12 questions about the NL Central. Problem is they don’t answer most of them. They do, however, believe it’s time for the Brewers to give up on Rickie Weeks. He may have pissed everyone off for two years in a row, but I still don’t think you can completely give up on the guy.

- Chuckie Hacks has some pictures from Maryvale. Nothing too amazing, but man, the sun looks great after two days of rain and cold here.

- This Bleacher Report writer is expecting Kendall to hit about .275. Hey, if that happens I’d be ecstatic!

- David Chalk at Bugs & Cranks has a “Your Team Ain’t S**T compared to the Rays” thing going. Here’s the Brewers one. It’s pretty funny, just enjoy it while you can Rays fan.

- FSN WI Twittered or Tweeted their new Promo’s featuring Braun and Fielder…it’s nothing exciting, pretty bland actually.

- You thought it was going away…MLBTR has Keith Law from ESPN on why he’s still talking about Escobar’s situation:

 

MLB Trade Rumors: On occasion, you’ve revealed information in chats about a player’s off-the-field troubles that was not publicly known or hadn’t gotten much press.  How has this been received by your readers, bosses, and front office contacts?

Keith Law: Some readers get annoyed because they don’t want to believe it. My bosses know that I’m meticulous about information like that - I only write about these matters if I believe they are substantially or wholly accurate. For example, the Alcides Escobar story - I have a copy of his daughter’s birth certificate with his name as the father, I spoke to the attache at the U.S. Consulate in Panama who has helped Escobar’s wife, and so on. I think the Brewers would just like the story to go away, frankly, but it’s not going to unless it’s addressed.

NL Central

- Midwest Swing takes a look at the Cubs’ depth. They feel Cubs Fans should be a little concerned

- The Concern is matched by Wasting Away in Wrigleyville.

- John Canning Jr., a minority owner of the Brewers, came up short on his bid for the Chicago Cubs this offseason. He says he’s actually a little relieved, since he’s a White Sox Fan.

- The Cardinals are lowering their expectations on Troy Glaus this year already. So have most Brewer fans on the positive impact of Billy Hall’s eye surgery…

Other News

- So the WBC is done and Japan won again. I know many Americans didn’t care and it was really cool not to care, but to me, these games are just a little bit of added fun before the season. It was nice to have both Spring Training games and WBC games, plus it also gave some players a few more at bats or pitches with the big names off to the WBC.

Monday’s Game: Rockies 7 Brewers 1
Record: 12-9-3

Monday’s Game

- The Brewers struggled all around today. Yovani Gallardo got smoked for six runs in five innings, all earned. The (nearly all minor league) offense only managed one run in seven innings.

Brewers News

- The  big unpopular news of the day was the “announcement” of Jeff Suppan as the Opening Day starter on April 7 at San Francisco. Now, Ken Macha didn’t officially announce this, but as Tom Haudricourt points out, Macha is clearly starting to set-up the rotation and Suppan is on pace to pitch that day. Personally, I don’t see what the big deal is. Suppan is far from the typical Opening Day pick, but who cares. I guess this opinion could be solely influenced by the fact that I won’t have to watch Suppan pitch at the Home Opener or the day after. Hmm.

- Trot Nixon’s bid to make the Brewers roster may be close to ending. Sorry Trot, I just don’t see it in the cards. There can’t be a Gabe Kapler every year. More HERE.

- The Green Bay Press Gazette jumps on the “Gallardo will need to supplement the lose of Sabathia and Sheets” bandwagon.

- Why not another 2009 Milwaukee Brewers predictions. Check out Baseball Daily Digests preview here.

- What does the impending sale of the Cubs mean to the Brewers. Between the Green Pillars explains.

- Not surprisingly, this blog ranks Jason Kendall last on it’s list of NL Central catchers. Personally, offensive dullness aside, if Kendall can repeat his defensive accomplishments of last year, I’ll be more than happy with him. His work with the Brewers pitching is underrated.

NL Central

- Astros’ manager Cecil Cooper actually let himself be quoted saying his team will win 90 games this year. I love ya Cecil, but whaaaaat? Don’t you need pitching to be a good baseball team?

Other News

- 10 Bold Predictions from your friends (but not Tyler) at Bugs and Cranks.