An OOTP 11 Dynasty: The Brew Crew

[Big T]

Well I truly enjoy the stories and I hope to hear more about the progression of Allison in your Dynasty...

And yes, you are correct... there are 1000s of stories with in professional baseball to tell. Not all that different from Jeffrey Allison's.

[MadBum]

Originally Posted by Big T

Well I truly enjoy the stories and I hope to hear more about the progression of Allison in your Dynasty...

And yes, you are correct... there are 1000s of stories with in professional baseball to tell. Not all that different from Jeffrey Allison's.

Thanks Big T, appreciate having you around for this wild ride of a dynasty. I really enjoy writing more on a personal level about the players, although finding information about them can be difficult. As for Allison, his talents are something like 8-9-8 (don't have it in front of me, but that's what I recall) on the 1-20 scale, so the odds of hearing from him again are slim. I'll keep you posted though!

I agree that there are 1000s of stories, and most of them great, and that's what really makes them so special. I'm sure the NBA and NFL have great stories too, but nothing compares to baseball for me. College sports are similar in that manner, although nothing compares to baseball, or in Spanish beisbol (I'm totally a fluent speaker). I do disagree about some being not all that different from Allison's, but each is fascinating in their own way. That's what's great about the game, right?

[MadBum]

A couple of updates on some free agents, who are not as interesting as some random kid in A ball. Some of them are somehow happy with the meager offerings I give them, while others have the look of a kid who just had brussel sprouts shoved down their throats. Cheer up, kids; an extra serving of casserole coming right up!

I’ll start with the most hilarious contract exchange I’ve ever seen:

Man, no WAY am I signing a minor league deal with Milwaukee! I’m ready for the show now, and you ain’t showin’ me no respect. By that I mean money, man. I’m gonna be a star closer in this league some day, and you’re gonna regret not givin’ me what I deserve.
-Clint Everts

Everts had a 4.83 ERA last year in AAA. Also, this is what he looks like. Something tells me this is more along the lines of what he would really write.

Kind sir, I am simply not interested in agreeing to a deal of minor league quality with Milwaukee. I believe that I am capable of pitching at the highest level of baseball now, and I can honestly say that your offer disgusts me. The meaning of this, of course, is that you are not offering me proper compensation. I am going to be a stellar closer in the near feature, and you will rue the day you did not offer me the proper funds.

Jose Arredondo and Adam Miller both liked their offer, which makes them seem even more alike than previously suggested. At this point, it’s getting creepy. It does make me feel noble, because I’m potentially reuniting a poor pair of twins who were oblivious to the others existence. I’m a hero!

AJ Pierzynski said at one point that we had the best shot at signing him. Cool. On the same exact day, he also said that Toronto offered him a better compensation package, at 620k for one year. I don’t want to mess with any angry Canadians (, Big T), so I’ll just allow him to become the wielder of the Tools of Ignorance for the Pajaros Azules. Fly away, little bird.

With ‘AJ the Douche’ going to the beautiful land of Canada, I set my sights on switch hitting catcher Wilkin Castillo. Castillo, the poor guy, was let go by our division rival Redlegs despite posting a .811 OPS in AAA. He can switch hit, has a good arm, and hits a lot of doubles. What more could you ask for? Okay, you can ask for plenty more, but when you're looking at Jonathan Lucroy as your backup you'll take anything. He’s no Buster Posey, but he’ll make a fine platoon player with Kottaras. Heck, I might just start him outright and not worry about silly platoons or splitting playing time. 590k for one year is our offer for the Dominican’s services. At the very least, the Dominican will learn about American culture in Nashville.

A bunch of minor leaguers mentioned in the earlier post liked the offer, and some Nicaraguan named Pedro Jimenez was discovered, and the minor league deal we offer him suits him fine. Probably better than Joe Koshansky, and all of the arms are probably better than Chuck Lofgren. Upgrading the organization, one step at a time!

Jorge De La Rosa was asked to prom by two ugly nerds who she used to date, Milwaukee and Kansas City, and she (oops, he) is favoring the one she dated most recently in Kansas City. Even after a brief flirtation with the rockie hard muscles of Colorado, she’s (he’s, gosh dang it!) fallen in love with the royalty of Kansas City all over again. I’m not one to interrupt the two love birds, so I let DLR go to prom with Dayton Moore. But we have seen this romantic comedy plenty times over, and we all know the ending ain't going to be pretty.

Willie Harris says he can see himself playing center field in Milwaukee next year. I love you Will, but even I don’t see you playing centre fielder, eh, for us, even if you do suddenly discover how to hit.

Erik Bedard likes our offer the most. That’s all I got from his message until he started rambling about lettuce and how life is in Canada. Silly Canadians! He also told me that if another team steps forward with an offer, including the Long Island Ducks, he’ll jump at it so don’t get any visions of Bedard wearing the Brew Crew uniform quite yet. But it’s better than him pulling an Everts and talking like some kind of saggy pants hoodlum.

We only got rejected by some inconsistent lefthander, some catcher who gets punched in the face, and some mediocre minor league closer. My feelings were hurt a little bit by Everts, but I put my big boy pants on and I should be okay. Most of the guys we were seeking hardest like what they heard from me, so far now some news is good news.

[Terpripken]

This is VERY funny. And informative. I for one like the style...pretty unique from most other dynasties on this forum.

[Big T]

Oh look at you going after a nice Canadian boy like Erik Bedard. Hopefully he still has some miles left in that the left arm of his. He is a bit far removed from his 15 win season in Baltimore, but at age 31 should still be a productive starter if you can get him.

Too bad about Jorge de la Rosa. He had some pretty good numbers despite pitching 50% of the time in the light air of the Mile High City. Maybe he will go share some pitching tips with Luke Hochevar.

[MadBum]

Originally Posted by Terpripken

This is VERY funny. And informative. I for one like the style...pretty unique from most other dynasties on this forum.

Muchos gracias, senor. As always, thanks for posting in the thread and for the kind words. Perhaps it's a bit wordy, but as long as I'm having fun doing it then I'll write it.

Originally Posted by Big T

Oh look at you going after a nice Canadian boy like Erik Bedard. Hopefully he still has some miles left in that the left arm of his. He is a bit far removed from his 15 win season in Baltimore, but at age 31 should still be a productive starter if you can get him.

Too bad about Jorge de la Rosa. He had some pretty good numbers despite pitching 50% of the time in the light air of the Mile High City. Maybe he will go share some pitching tips with Luke Hochevar.

I figured you'd like Bedard. I like him too, but not just because he's Canadian. He's cheap, and should be a strong rebound candidate.

DLR isn't the one you know and love in the real world, but he strikes so many people out I couldn't help but offer the guy some kind of money. Not to disappointe about losing him, but the more the merrier

[MadBum]

Ah, the Rule 5 (not the Rule V) draft. For a rebuilding team looking for young talent to fill your roster, it’s Christmas 24 days early. You get your pick of a huge group of minor leaguers, and it only costs you 400k. Sure, it’s the baseball equivalent of the 99 cent store-it’s cheap for a reason, but occasionally you get a bargain that is worth a lot more than 99 pennies, or four quarters (but you'll get a penny back!). We’ll look to avoid the cheapo mirror that'll break when touched and try to find something worthwhile.

In a preemptive move, we move lefty hurler Zach Braddock on the 40-man roster. He fits the Johan Santana mold of a Rule 5 pick; hard throwing left hander who isn’t quite ready for the big leagues, so you hide him in the corner of the bullpen and hope nobody sees him there and reports it to the cops. We’re not going to give them a chance to steal him; you’ll have to try and find the local bullpen gardener somewhere else.

Wilber Bucardo, Derrick Mitchell, Greg Reynolds, Charlie Haeger, Andy Gonzalez, and Brad Nelson are the only eligible players that suit my fancy. If you know my needs, you can understand my interest; Bucardo and Reynolds are starters, Mitchell is a third basemen who can fake short, Andy Gonzalez is a shortstop who can fake like he's actually a shortstop, and Nelson is a corner outfielder and a solid bench bat. Bucardo is by far the furthest away; he went 13 starts without a victory in Single A last year, and I’d never use him in a high leverage situation for the club in the near future. He’s got upside though, and somebody needs to wear the My Little Pony backpack with all the snacks for the bullpen in it.

Having the first pick is a luxury, giving you your pick of the litter. Our pick is Derrick Mitchell, the third basemen who can pretend like he can play the middle infield if he needs to. The Phigtin Phil farm product is just 23, but hit .301 in full-time at AA with 16 home runs, and cracked 4 in just 39 ABs in AAA. He can hit for average and power, and does decent work with a mitt on his hand. At the very least, he should be able to hang on the roster, and Bruce Seid gets all amped up when he just hears his name, rating him as a 3 star player right now. Seid’s an idiot, so I don’t trust him, but it wouldn’t hurt if he finally turned out to be right for once. He sure wasn't with our whole farm system!

While we’re talking with Mitchell about spring training accommodations, the draft goes on. The San Diego Padres pass; why give playing time to a youngster when there is 70 wins at stake here? We're making a run at the postseason, goddarnit, and player development is taking a backseat. Those high stakes don’t apply to the Blue Jays, who draft some Dominican second basemen named Luis Vallejo, who didn’t appear in the minor leagues last year but is very fast. Knuckleballing starter Charlie Haeger goes to the Oakland Athletics; I’d be lying if I said I didn’t consider drafting him #1 due to my flirtation with the knuckleball at age 10, but I’d been planning to grab him Round 2. In that huge football stadium in Oakland, the flutterball should be doing just fine. After that, it goes to the less intriguing side of the spectrum; Baltimore nabs mediocre 31 year old catcher Ryan Jorgenson, the Mets grab career LOOGY and Tony La Russa favorite Randy Flores, the Royals draft a guy with some serious power in Jason Tyner (0 home runs in over 100 minor league at bats last year-somebody's been roiding up!), the Cardinal draft card-carrying member of the “Back-up Catchers Union” Koyie Hill, and the White Sox draft some second basemen by the name of Luis Gonzalez, but don't worry; as Obi Wan said, 'This isn't the Gonzalez you're looking for'. The weird thing? Every single one of those guys mentioned in that ridiculous run-on sentence are over the age of 30. I thought the Rule 5 Draft was about drafting some semi-prospect, not some washed up vets. I figured everybody else just called Brian Sabean if they wanted an old ball player, but obviously others find alternative solutions.

Whatever the case, we draft some AAAA slugger from the Orioles organization in Andy Gonzalez. His value lies in the big B’s- as in BB. He walks a lot, but whether he ends up successful at the highest level depends on his ability to sustain an average over .220 and if the .180 ISO he put up in the minors last year was for real. Whether major league pitchers pitch around the 27 year old like the 20 year olds in the minors did will also play a big part in how the Gonzalez experiment works out, but some shortstop in this organization needs to be able to swing the stick a bit.

Toronto drafts Justin Germano, a 28 year old soft tossing righty. It ain’t a bad pick, because Germano could be a decent pitcher, but not a lot of upside here either. I like the pick of Jeremy Sowers by the A’s more; he’s left handed, throws, hard, used to be a decent prospect, and could be a LOOGY, at the very least. Baltimore drafts the next Joe Koshansky in former Colorado farm hand Mike Paulk. He fits the Koshansky mold; first basemen who raked in the hitter friendly environment in Colorado Springs, but with little major league future due to their complete lack of other skills. Five years from now, Paulk will be playing first base in Nashville, but for now he gets to foresake the bus ride and take the plane home. Kansas City drafts pitcher Casey Janssen, and St. Louis drafts former Detroit slugger Craig Monroe. I’m running out of words to describe the guys other teams were drafting, and if you’ve read the first 3 pages of this dynasty you know I never run out of words on anything. So, about that debt ceiling?

At one point, Brad Nelson was a Milwaukee minor league slugger, one considered to be at the level of Prince Fielder or above. While Fielder’s slugging home runs in the bigs, Nelson endured an 0 for 21 stretch in his longest major league stint, in 2009. But after slugging 21 home runs in 273 minor league at bats last year, and posting an OBP at .374, we figure the Brew Crew will give him another try. Heck, he could probably hit 30 out if he got 600 at bats, but he'd also hit .170. Just as good as Mark Reynolds! I don’t trust Corey Hart yet with a bat in his hands, but between him and Nelson I figure we’ll get one good right fielder out of the group. If not, then we'll be giving Jason Tyner and his big power bat a call.

Kansas City and St. Louis both prove that Missouri loves washed up former major league hurlers, as the royalty drafted Tom Gorzelanny and the Redbirds draft Jorge Julio. I could’ve sworn Jorge Julio was dead or out of baseball; you learn something new every day! At the very least, he provides solid alliteration, which will make La Russa laugh between sessions of chewing out Colby Rasmus.

We finally wrap up this grueling day with a pick of former first round pick and ex-Stanford Cardinal pitcher Greg Reynolds. Major league hitters haven’t been kind to the straight 90 mph fastball, knocking it around for a 8.13 ERA in 62 MLB innings, all in 2008. He’s a control artist, throwing strikes and just thanking his lucky stars if they don’t go over a fence somewhere. If he could strike people out, he’d be great, but we’ll just have to hope he’s blessed by the BABIP fairies and batted ball luck goes in his favor. Counting on that is dumb, I know, but it's better than counting on Jorge De La Rosa finding his control in the Forbidden Forest when Hagrid punished him. What, you thought Hagrid was on the Sawx? (I'm a geek, I know)

We missed out on only two guys we semi-wanted, and that was because I don’t think Bucardo could even be the bullpen’s coach, let alone a member of the pitching staff, and somebody else took Haeger. Landing a solid reserve infielder, a shortstop who will push Alcides Escobar all year, a pinch hitter/reserve outfielder extradonaire, and a potential starter all in one day is a fine day’s work, if I do say so myself. When I end up cutting all four of these guys because their performance looks more Chris Shelton than Johan, I’ll look like an idiot, but for now I feel like I’m pretty dang smart. Maybe we’ll end up with a good ballclub someday if I keep making these genius moves. Shut up you! I don't care that their original teams didn't want them! They have to be good!

[Big T]

Great job on the Rule 5 draft. Hopefully one or two of those guys will stick with the Big club after the Spring.

Poor Colby Rasmus, he gets no respect anywhere! Hopefully his dad isn't reading this or your might get a call from him. Although I heard he is too busy right now renting out a suite at the Rogers Center and holding BP sessions for any of the Jays players that want to stay after practise.

Good luck in December signing all those 0000's to all them fresh new free agent contracts you get agreement to.

[MadBum]

Originally Posted by Big T

Great job on the Rule 5 draft. Hopefully one or two of those guys will stick with the Big club after the Spring.

Poor Colby Rasmus, he gets no respect anywhere! Hopefully his dad isn't reading this or your might get a call from him. Although I heard he is too busy right now renting out a suite at the Rogers Center and holding BP sessions for any of the Jays players that want to stay after practise.

Good luck in December signing all those 0000's to all them fresh new free agent contracts you get agreement to.

I think we could sneak 3 in pretty easily; Mitchell, Nelson, and Gonzalez all did reasonably well in the upper minors, and so did Reynolds. One will flame out at the very least, but it'll be interesting to see which guys were throwing out there stick to the wall. For the record, I like Rasmus; he got a raw deal in St. Louis, and I hope it works out well for him in Toronto. Now if only he wasn't in our division...

I'm hoping we can pick up all the guys we want, but doubtful. If we do, we'll be competitive, at the very least. Should be interesting to see. Appreciate your insight as always, Big T.

Speak of the devil- went to a AAA game yesterday, and Mike Paulk, and Greg Reynolds were both on roster for the team we were watching. Find that strange, but it makes sense when talking about a Rule 5 draft and then going to a minor league game. Reynolds didn't pitch though, so we won't get the full scouting report from me. Real shame

[MadBum]

Even though negotiations are going well with Will ‘The Thrill’ Harris, something tells me that this little jitterbug just doesn’t have a big enough of a bat (he is 5-9, after all) to be part of the regular offensive effort. With that, we turned our sights on trading one Alcides Escobar, as he’s a valuable trade piece despite playing like Rey Ordonez would if he played in a major league game today.

With the acquisition of the ‘Gonzalez you’re looking for’, I feel a little more comfortable in putting out feelers on trading Escobar. The very young 23 year old plays shortstop in a way that makes people romanticize about the rhythm of baseball and makes scouts whistle in awe. His bat evokes memories of one who shall always go by one name: Neifi. Without the Coors Field effect to make his routine flyballs turn into home runs, Alcides is exposed for the flawed player he is. Teams still like him, simply because he’s such a fine player with a glove in his hands, and they’ll keep citing youth in the hopes that the bat will finally come around, and make him a productive player along the lines of Elvis Andrus. For every glove man that finds his bat, there’s an Omar Vizquel who never does, and something tells me Escobar is more Vizquel than Ozzie Smith. I just realized I compared some 23 year old schmuck to two legends, but you get the point; Vizquel only had one season where he was above average with the bat, and the same will go likely go for Escobar.

There’s also this, but I’m not one to judge what other people do, so I’ll just leave it at that. Bleacher Report!!!

Anyhow, we shop the shortstop around, looking for a living, breathing mammal capable of operating the middle of the patch of the grass they call the ‘outfield’. We’re not looking for the ‘Grady Bunch’ or Andrew McCutchon, but we’re not trying to trade for the gritty scrappy gamey hustling hard working running into the fencing stylings of Aaron Rowand either. 5 years, 60 million. What a bargain!

Denard Span fits the mold. Minnesota has a ready-made replacement in Ben Revere and insurance in Jason Repko, and the Triplets likes trading players before they get to the more expensive parts of their deals. Span’s contract will quickly escalate from 1 million in 2011 to 9 million in the future, so the timing makes sense. Current shortstop and former Brew Crewer JJ Hardy tore knee ligaments at the end of last year and didn’t hit very well even when he did play. He may never be the same. Suffice to say, they’re looking for alternatives, and we’re presenting with them.

We get Span, toolsy teenagers Max Kepler and Miguel Sano, and minor league reliever Zach See in exchange for Al. Don’t get excited about the prospects; Kepler and Sano may have all the tools, but having the tools doesn’t mean you can build a skyscraper, and that logic fits well here. Neither had an OPS above .700 in rookie ball, and Kepler had a batting average of .150 down there. I haven't done a study, but I'm guessing the number of people who hit .150 in rookie ball and then make it the majors is a very, very low one. Guess it goes to show that someone building with their bare hands (Rowand!) can do more than the guys with the fancy new toolset; looks like we need to hire a new contruction company for the stadium. See’s a minor league reliever; a good one, but a minor league reliever nonetheless. Span’s a nifty guy who posts a .371 OBP and hits for a high average, but you can see why someone might get sick of him. He steals 20+ bases, but he’s also getting thrown out 15+ times. He’s no Jason Tyner in terms of power, either, and his glove is best described as ‘meh’ when he’s stuck in centre.

To summarize, we get our center fielder, and they even give us some minor leaguers to stick in daddy daycare and hope they grow up to be upstanding, respectable adults. Odds are, they’ll turn out like Lindsey Lohan, but there’s hope while they're still in diapers. Escobar could end up biting me in the butt bigtime- but I say there’s a 5% chance of that happening, and there’s probably a 1% chance of Kepler working out, and the same goes for Sano. I’ll take those odds any day of the week, unless it’s another Magic Monday.

In order to get talent, you have to give up talent, and that’s the case here. We had a better alternative waiting at shortstop then we did in center field, so I say our line-up’s looking just a little bit better right now. If I was some 95 year old baseball journalist, I’d call this ‘A good old-fashioned baseball trade’, but I’m not, so I’ll say that this a gamble for both sides that could turn out either really well or really poorly for either side. We’ll see how either produces in the year ahead, and report back to you. For my sake, you better hope the Brew Crew win this one.

[Big T]

The reporting site that is taking a run at Alcides isn't the same one that ran Brett Lawrie out of town by chance?

So any update on Bedard?

[holley]

MB~
Hopelessly hooked thanks for sharing the ride.

I’d started a fantasy dynasty with 2 leagues 20 teams (with a salary cap) and followed the league for 10 seasons. On the ninth season I decided on which team to take over (was going to be the worst team in one of the two leagues). Watching them for the year I started a journal, commenting on “everything”, making notes on who to keep who to trash and trade. Told them team how I was going to be the second coming to these guys and no worries… they won’t have to put up with the current GM’s crap much longer, a new sheriff was coming to town. I had a ball when the season ended, announcing myself as their savior. Made moves, signed contracts fished out the talent I thought was going to be the cream. Season ended yesterday. Came in last of my division with a 69-93 .426. GRRRRrr. I was so scared of getting fired I, had to check off the “don’t fire me” box. Need a second chance. Owner was “Mad” needless to say. So with the season ending I started checking out some of the other dyno’s to see their way of thinking and going about things…found yours and well….thanks again really enjoying myself here. Picked up a few things too.
Be good.
M.


Quick side note, Live in MA, Sox fan. Our newly acquired Bedard starts tonite would be neat to follow him here too...just sayin'. You don't need to kidnap his mom to negotiate that contract or anything but I could make myself available.

[MadBum]

Originally Posted by Big T

The reporting site that is taking a run at Alcides isn't the same one that ran Brett Lawrie out of town by chance?

So any update on Bedard?

I didn't know Brett Lawrie got run out of town. But if you're talking about Bleacher Report, it wouldn't surprise me, considering they are (in my opinion) a completely unreliable source of information, and a load of junk.

Originally Posted by holley

MB~
Hopelessly hooked thanks for sharing the ride.

I’d started a fantasy dynasty with 2 leagues 20 teams (with a salary cap) and followed the league for 10 seasons. On the ninth season I decided on which team to take over (was going to be the worst team in one of the two leagues). Watching them for the year I started a journal, commenting on “everything”, making notes on who to keep who to trash and trade. Told them team how I was going to be the second coming to these guys and no worries… they won’t have to put up with the current GM’s crap much longer, a new sheriff was coming to town. I had a ball when the season ended, announcing myself as their savior. Made moves, signed contracts fished out the talent I thought was going to be the cream. Season ended yesterday. Came in last of my division with a 69-93 .426. GRRRRrr. I was so scared of getting fired I, had to check off the “don’t fire me” box. Need a second chance. Owner was “Mad” needless to say. So with the season ending I started checking out some of the other dyno’s to see their way of thinking and going about things…found yours and well….thanks again really enjoying myself here. Picked up a few things too.
Be good.
M.


Quick side note, Live in MA, Sox fan. Our newly acquired Bedard starts tonite would be neat to follow him here too...just sayin'. You don't need to kidnap his mom to negotiate that contract or anything but I could make myself available.

Thanks for the comment, love that someone else can ramble about their league as long as I can and I appreciate the insight. Glad to see you're hooked and you're enjoying this.

It's my pleasure to share this ride with you guys To be quite honest, I've found we have enough modern day leagues that follow the same kind of template (month by month reporting), so I figured I'd mix it up and try a different format and see what the people thought. It fits my thinking better, anyway; I prefer telling stories with words rather than with numbers, and this thread sorta reflects that. Glad to see someone else is just as insane as I am about their dynasty

Trust me, I've already checked that box (the don't fire me one), just in case. I won't need it or anything, but you never know...I'm sorry to hear of your misfortune, but I got faith that next year is going to be the one you turn it around. One man can only do so much in a year, right? Playoffs are coming right up. Glad to hear you pick up something of value from this

As for Bedard, I don't think I'll need any help with him quite yet. Ask and ye...

[MadBum]

So with everybody and their grandmother asking me for an update on free agency, or more appropriately Erik Bedard (folks, he had a 4.71 ERA last year), I have to give in. I’m a man of the people, so I’ll provide you with a recap of what happened after we finished with the twelfth month of our strange calendar.

We inked a few hard throwing relievers in the early going of the month, before even Jolly St. Nick Johnson began making his rounds. Jose Arredondo and Adam Miller both signed on the dotted line, and we’ve already gone through their many abilities, so we’ll just say that they’ll both slot into our bullpen in some shape or another. They are twins, but not the ones from Minnesota, so they'll probably end up doing the same job. We also sign a former Giants farmhand, Kelvin Pichardo, for the low rate of 500k. He was a minor league free agent, but he pumps gas at 97 and has a wicked curve. That’s worth some cash, and we’ll give it to him. Our bullpen may have some competence this year, if these low risk gambles work out and harness their stuff. Of course, people have said that kind of thing about pitchers for generations; after all, how did Daniel Cabrera pitch in the bigs for 6 years?

The People’s Cherce, Erik Bedard, has signed, and millions of Brew Crew fans in Canada and Boston throw a huge party to celebrate. I don’t get it either, but Bedard does provide some certainty in our crazy knucklehead terrible rotation, and that’s worth 1.4 million dollars. If he stays healthy the whole year, then we got ourselves a bargain. That’s about as big an if as, “If this lion doesn’t bite me, it’d make a great pet!”, but it's worth a try to see how he does. We know what we’re getting from this Crazy Canadian: at least one injury, a 100 ERA+, and some maddeningly bad starts followed by complete game shutouts. That's better than Jeff Suppan, at the very least, who just has maddeningly bad starts followed by more bad starts.

Will The Thrill Harris has signed a deal with us. Excuse me if I don’t do backflips, but as a fourth or fifth outfielder you can do worse.

Our quest for a replacement for Alcides Escobar doesn’t stop with Obi-Wan Gonzalez, as we send out preliminary offers to Jerry Hairston Jr., Cristian Guzman, Derek Jeter, and Jack Wilson. Guzman eventually signs with the Azules Pajaros, and Sr. has told Jr. that if he signs with the Brew Crew he’d be disowned. Jeter, with the flourish of being a Captain, says “You disgust me” to me, rips up the paper the contract is written on, and walks out. Jack Wilson’s the only one who doesn’t scoff at the offer, but that’s just because not many are interested in a glove-first shortstop that looks completely lost at the plate, instead of just a bit surprised.

Wilkin Castillo may be the consolation prize for AJ the Douche, but he ain’t a bad one for us. He can literally play every position on the field but pitcher and center field, and he’s got a pitcher’s arm from behind the plate. He’s a switch hitter, hit well at AAA, and is probably a 1-2 win player above replacement. That's useful, especially at a LOW PRICE. We’ll have him hit exclusively against lefties, where his eye is more well-trained. He and Kottaras should make a good little platoon and give us above-average production from the catching position. Not exciting, but better than putting alliteration Jason Jaramillo behind the plate.

We also get rid of Alex Periard from the 40 man roster, and he gets claimed by the Friars, who will convert him from his Brewing ways at a mission. We also sign a bunch of guys to minor league deals, but these kind of deals don’t make the back pages of newspapers, let alone the front pages.

So in this fine cold month of December, we picked up some Rule 5ers, got our catcher, made inroads on a shortstop, got our starting center fielder, got our reserve outfielder, signed three relievers, and got a new member of our starting rotation. That all in 31 days, and this offseason is far from over. Holley’s cautionary tale more than gives me warning that these changes will do little good, but I’m thinking that this new sheriff in town has made the moves that could turn this ship around. If we end up at 69-93, well then maybe our friend Holley was right all along…

[MadBum]

I swear, this is the last post before pitchers and catchers report…It’s been a long journey, as we’ve done quite a bit to bolster our club. Maybe it’s not enough to make us contenders in the deep NL Central, but I think we’re a long way from the worst club in baseball. We need plenty of new people in the organization anyway, or we’re going to find ourselves counting on Luis Cruz and Jeff Suppan to play big roles. I shudder at the thought of it.

Jack Wilson is the newest member of our strange Milwaukee bunch, signing for one year at 430k, just above the minimum for a guy that’s 33 years young. His glove saved the defensive-friendly Mariners almost 14 runs, but when the bat costs nearly 13, you’re going to have a hard time finding work. Saving runs can only do so much, as the M's found out with an 81-81 record, so we won't be stocking our team with glove men. In the end, he finds it here, where if he could just combine with Andy Gonzalez we’d have one good shortstop. Instead, we’ll have to mix and match their respective weaknesses.

We also make an incredibly minor trade, barely worth noting. We trade 40 man roster spot haver Will Inman and flame throwing youngster Bryan Morris to the Oreos for non-prospects Sean Gleason and Ryan Berry. None of the players will be anything more than a call-up in September, and that’s stretching it, but trading Inman clears a spot for Wilson on the extended roster.

We DFA’d Amaury Rivas and he cleared waivers down to AAA. With the dearth of pitching in this league, the fact he didn’t claimed shows just how bad he is. His name does sound like Amare from the Knicks, so maybe the Mets will want him someday.

Almost done…another move we make is trading third basemen Taylor Green to the Marlins for young lefty Chad James. James throws hard, but his upside as a prospect is quite limited. Odd for a recently-minted first rounder to lose his stock early, but a 6 ERA take care of the prospect hounds awfully fast. Green’s Canadian, so he’s got that going for him. Green isn’t worth talking about much, so we’ll just move on to the next move and promise ourselves to never bother ourselves with him again.

Our final trade of little note is conducted with the Desastros, as we deal future fourth outfielder Logan Schafer and some random minor leaguer Franklin Romero to get pitcher Tanner Bushue, catcher Frederico Hernandez, and first basemen Erik Castro. They fit our typical prospect trade mold; potential big results eventually, but far from the bigs and with poor minor league results. Buy enough lottery tickets and you’re bound to win once, right? Bye Bye, College Fund!

Jake Westbrook is our final signing of this long offseason, at just the league minimum for a single season. We needed another starting option in case Manny Parra spontaneously combusts, and Westbrook provides an arm capable of throwing a baseball. His numbers last year don’t make you cringe, which is more than we can say for most. A 4.68 ERA isn’t in Dave Bush territory, but it’s not King Felix area either. Amazingly throws six pitches, but projected role in the MLB is bullpen. Shows the "quality" of those six offerings.

So here we are. Our team is headed to the land of spring, be it in Arizona or Florida (where does the Crew go? Nobody knows!). Is anybody else ready for the season? I’m itching to finally see a baseball hurled, maybe even a bat swung. I could always drag this out to page 6 if you want me to though…

[Big T]

6 pages without a pitch thrown.. Well it will be interesting to see what this team will look like after all your dabbling and signings. Might need a refresher of who's on first with a new 40 man roster summary...

So Green wasn't good enough for you. Interesting enough, Milwaukee had lots of Canadian Players. The Brewers scouts are one of the most agressive in BC and Green is from out this way. Speaking of Canadian players in Milwaukee, Brett Lawrie had his MLB debut yesterday. The newly converted 3B went 2 for 4 with an RBI and an error. Not a bad debut.

Looking forward to the next installment....

[MadBum]

Originally Posted by Big T

6 pages without a pitch thrown.. Well it will be interesting to see what this team will look like after all your dabbling and signings. Might need a refresher of who's on first with a new 40 man roster summary...

So Green wasn't good enough for you. Interesting enough, Milwaukee had lots of Canadian Players. The Brewers scouts are one of the most agressive in BC and Green is from out this way. Speaking of Canadian players in Milwaukee, Brett Lawrie had his MLB debut yesterday. The newly converted 3B went 2 for 4 with an RBI and an error. Not a bad debut.

Looking forward to the next installment....

I didn't mean it seriously. Here's my rough draft on the 40, without having the game in front of me right now (I know way too much about this team already):

Pitchers: Gallardo, Niese, Butler, Bedard, Westbrook, Reynolds, Wolf, Riske, Hawkins, Sues, Arredondo, Miller, Pichardo, Zavada, Fien, Wright, Augenstein (waiver claim from shortly before I got the job), Suppan, Estrada, Braddock, Rogers
Infield: Kottaras, Castillo, Salome, Fielder, Koshansky, Weeks, Lawrie, Inglett, McGehee, Mitchell, Wilson, Cruz, Gonzalez, Counsell
Outfield: Nelson, Hart, Span, Harris, Braun, Lubanski

I might have missed a guy or two, but I think that's as close as I can get without actually copying down it from the game. Bold are the guys I picked up in the offseason.

Yeah, I noticed that our Brew Crew had a lot of Canadians on the team. I would've liked to keep Green, but I needed a 40 man spot and Green was the worst player left on it. Got a nifty prospect out of it too, so Green shouldn't feel too ashamed. I saw Brett Lawrie made his debut yesterday, and I figured that'd make you happy. Wish my version was as good as the real one

Next moves will probably be Spring Training cuts and maybe some other moves we make. We'll see how it plays out. Should be fun.

[captaincarl]

Your writings are terrific and makes for a great read. Hopefully the team will gel for you in the early goings so you can get a better feel of the team and it's makeup.

[CatKnight]

Very entertaining read! I'm enjoying your writing style and the thought processes behind your decisions. I agree with Big T - a final summary somewhere around Opening Day would be great.

[MadBum]

Originally Posted by captaincarl

Your writings are terrific and makes for a great read. Hopefully the team will gel for you in the early goings so you can get a better feel of the team and it's makeup.

I'm honored to have you aboard, captaincarl. I appreciate you stopping by and the nice words. I really do have high hopes for this team; the spring training games I did play does give me a nice feel. Let me tell you one thing; the games we play will NOT be low scoring.

Originally Posted by CatKnight

Very entertaining read! I'm enjoying your writing style and the thought processes behind your decisions. I agree with Big T - a final summary somewhere around Opening Day would be great.

Thank you very much for the praise, CatKnight. Odd name, but what you say is appreciated nonetheless. I'm glad you enjoy what I'm putting down on the paper...er, computer. When the time comes, I'll definitely provide a summary of the moves we made this offseason and any other info people want to know. How about a team preview, eh? (Darn Canadians are getting to me!)