Good or bad news for Crew?

The Cleveland Indians signed Japanese closer Masahide Kobayashi on Tuesday.
At first glimpse, this would appear to help Doug Melvin in his quest to re-sign Brewers’ closer Francisco Cordero, as there is one fewer team in the market for a closer (two if you believe the rumors that Mariano Rivera will re-sign with the Yankees).
But, in this crazy world of “supply and demand,” there are still teams that need a closer, including the Braves and Astros. Meanwhile, MLBTradeRumors.com is reporting that Jason Kendall is very close to becoming a Brewer. I’ve got very mixed feelings about signing Kendall–on one hand, he’s an upgrade over Damian Miller, at least as far as baserunning and, they say, pitch calling. But my fear is that the $2 million plus we pay for a back-up catcher takes cash away from signing other free agents…or gets Johnny Estrada mad enough to cause him to bolt in ’09 (which he’ll consider anyway).