“Three quarters of you here tonight are faster than Estrada.”

Hilarious… Doug Melvin with a zinger. But seriously, how glad is everyone that we don’t have to watch Estrada in a Brewer uniform dogging it to first base on another double-play grounder to end an inning?

The Brewers have traded Johnny Estrada for Guillermo Mota. Mota, a 9 year right handed reliever, was dominant in 2002 and 2003, but was suspended for 50 games in 2007 for a positive steroids test.

First reaction: Not good. Mota hasn’t been a dependable reliever for awhile and has character issues. Estrada, slow azz guy he is, still is a very good hitting catcher. Catching depth is always hard to come by, so when you trade starting catchers, usually you hope for a starter, not a reclamation project. I see the other side of the argument: getting a veteran reliever for a catcher who can’t throw out too many baserunners. And just maybe Estrada’s knee is worse than we thought…but as of right now I am cautious. With Miller getting older and not even signed for next year, I’m not sure this is the player we should have parted with for Mota. We also aren’t sure about Mike Rivera (perhaps a Vinny Rottino spotting???) being a full time catcher, so we shall see how this shakes out.

It also seems that the Brewers think they are going to sign Jason Kendall. Even though he did do well with the Cubs, he has no pop, was gawd awful most of the year, and is OLD as Tyler pointed out. Also, both Mota’s and Kendall’s contracts are going to get very expensive.

To the Mets fans…enjoy another catcher half-ing it every game and we’ll try to enjoy the overpaid reliever!

Worst case scenario? Man out at home, one out, bases still loaded. You’d assume… But apparently not with Estrada at the plate. He took a light jog, which is more than he usually does on a ground ball I guess, and was out by a mile at first.

That was the last straw for me…

He is lackadaisical on offense and defense, slow as molasses, has poor at-bats, never takes pitches, never runs out ground balls, misses pop ups, does not run towards pop ups between him and first or third, cannot throw out a runner to save his life and generally seems to have a poor attitude all the time (i.e. sulking back to the dugout after executing a sac bunt). That all adds up to him earning the role of my least favorite Brewer. And it’s no longer a contest.

I was jacked up when the Brewers got a catcher that could hit for a .300 average and was advertised as at least average defensively. Turns out his offensive numbers are largely a mirage and his defense is below average. Plus his attitude is a burden to the team. It’s no wonder now why Estrada is on his fourth team in his short MLB career. I’d gladly trade him for a player with half his talent who tried twice as hard. Miller would more than suffice and Mike Rivera could split time with him.

Estrada should be benched for at least a few games as discipline for tonight. What he did is inexcusable. Some could argue that with his incredibly poor speed he would have been out even if he sprinted, but he would have at least put pressure on the defense. He was only halfway down the line when the first basemen got the ball back for the out. Yost and the veteran leaders of the club should not stand for it. Every player should give it his all at all times and if his good salary and pride aren’t motivation enough, this team is in the playoff hunt and that was an extra inning game against a division foe on the road where the team is struggling. This would have been a big win. If he’s not going to run out a ground ball in that scenario, when will he?

I just hope Estrada is on his fifth team next year…