On a day like today?

It sucks to be a small market baseball fan. You have John Lackey signing with Boston. And that should work out pretty well. And that also leads to a rumor that they're going to trade for Adrian Gonzalez, because there are only so many at-bats that you can have at first base/DH.

And the trade? Oh sweet Jesus. Halladay to Philly. Clifton Phifer Lee to Seattle. Two divisions suddenly have new expectations or expectations locked down. Big, bold moves. And you get your teams fanbases talking.

But then there's the Brewers. Guess what we did today? Re-signed Craig Counsell. Which is AWESOME. And along with that? We've locked down Claudio Vargas.

Whoo.

I know, I'm not exactly someone who should complain. If the team is close, I know for a fact that the big bold moves aren't out of the Brewers quiver. But after the wild card? It's ennui.

It's the fact that it's not completely insane to make an Ed Wade maneuver for middle relief help anymore. It's the fact that somehow Jason Kendall is still worth three million dollars a year.

Sorry. I'll move on. And transfer this to a LiveJournal soon enough.

The Bill Simmons Corollary

I know that Bill Simmons would be thrilled if he ever read the blog. But there's an obvious theory. If you believe that the National League is the weaker league, it stands to reason that you can find success with reclamation projects in the American League. How does this work?



Because Chien Ming-Wang got non-tendered by the Yankees. His arm was noodles last year. And he struggled. He probably would not be ready for war right off the bat. His agent would say that he would be ready by May 1st. The Brewers are likely in a situation with a one, a three, and certain amount of uncertainty.

I'm not pitching this as a cure all. I'm not pitching this as a necessity. But for someone who was looked upon as lacking the due dilligence? I feel like it warrants mentioning that he could help.

I sense doom for my feelings about Randy Wolf.

Strictly speaking, as a fan? I've always liked Randy Wolf. He was a pretty good lefty for the Phillies during the dark period in the early aughts and he holds a place in rock and jock history for his Pedro Martinezesque relief outing in the last rock and jock game in history. So yeah. I've been a fan.

That being said? If the rumors are true. I'm going to find myself losing faith in the Wolf. Randy Wolf has lost that mojo that made him good. Now, I'm not saying he didn't have a good year last season. It's just that for luck not to be a factor? His batting average on balls in play should reside between .280 and .300.

Randy Wolf had a .258 average. And a correction is not exactly going to be the sort of thing that leads to one hit a month. I'm not saying that young Randall is not a pitcher worthy of being in a rotation. Not by a longshot. But we're looking at 10 wins, a 4.20 ERA and WHIP around 1.300 sort of an average pitcher.

So what I'm saying is this is the sort of experince we had with Jeff Suppan when we first signed him. Look how well that turned out. I don't want to hate Randy Wolf, but circumstances may lead me down that road.

Interesting Pieces...

Rumors are flying for Doug Melvin as he looks for pitching. You know about Lackey, you're fired up for the Halamalocalypse. But amidst that are two things that interest me. People. Two people that interest me?

The first? Justin Duchsherer, or as I would call him, the Arch-Duke. 2009 was a lost year for him. He had a second hip surgery, an elbow surgery, and a bout with depression. I'm not going to speculate on the whys and wherefores of a mans head when my head can go off on its own tangent, but if he's healthy?

His approach is off the charts. Not many righthanders are deemable as crafty? But the Arch-Duke is in spades. He led the AL in ERA for most of 2008. I know staying healthy is a skill. But if he is? The Brewers would be a great for him.

I mean, the National League is the supremely inferior league right?

(You don't want to know my reaction to that opinion.)

Anyway. Kevin Correia? He's probably not going to be as good as he was in San Diego last year. But so long as he doesn't let his solid command go down the drain? He's a fine fit for the end of the rotation. He's got around a 2 to 1 K/BB ratio. Nothing wrong with that.

Not at all. And then again? When Correia has been healthy? He's been quite good in the past three years as a starter. Yeah, I'll say it. He may be able to rock out a stronger year than last year.

If you bring these home Dougie? I'll start to trust you again. I know I've been hurt by recent events. But this would be a nice way to fill out the end of the rotation and in a worst case scenario? Add kickass middle relief.

The teased Bus Leagues Baseball post is here...

I'm talking about how the Brewers will likely lose their playoff chances for the inability to have a pitcher maintain their health or gain knowledge legally. It's time for you to get learned. It's time for you to find out why Alexandre Periard and Jeremy Jeffress have taken a FUBAR to the head of the Brewers Chances.

Go here now.

Yes now.