Helter-Skelter Brewers Banter, or: A Note on False Idols

Let’s not do anything rash…

There are a number of free agent starting pitchers the Milwaukee Brewers could consider this offseason, and Joe Saunders might be near the top of the list in terms of affordability and credentials.  This report suggests the Brewers could have interest in Saunders as a stop-gap solution to the holes left in the rotation with the departures of Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke.  There will likely be many similar reports involving a variety of pitchers in the coming weeks and months.  It will be interesting to see if the Brewers already have some targets in mind and act quickly after the World Series ends, or if they will sit back and let the market come to them. 

Greinke is unlikely to return; the Brewers would love to have him back, but unless there’s a secret plan in place in which Greinke wanted to sign with the Crew all along after being traded, he will almost certainly command too high a salary to fit into Milwaukee’s budget.  With all of the young replacement arms in the Brewers’ system, it may not make much sense to sign Greinke anyway, even if he suddenly changed his mind about the Brewers’ earlier offer.  Brewers fans should probably put Greinke out of mind as much as possible.  A more practical and sensible approach would be to look for a 2^nd-tier guy, like Saunders, who can eat innings, provide some leadership, and keep his ERA under 5.00.  The Brewers will no doubt be looking for someone who isn’t going to cost them dearly like some past pitchers (Jeff Suppan and Randy Wolf come to mind).  Wolf’s contract of around $30M for three years is too much money for the Brewers to throw at a starting pitcher at this juncture.  Something in the two-year range would make a lot more sense, hopefully with a lower annual salary.  A guy like Kevin Correia, while certainly not a flashy name, could provide some support to a rotation that will lean heavily on Yovani Gallardo and the young dudes in 2013.  The Brewers have been linked to Correia in the past.

The Brewers recently announced that they will have 10 (ten!) all-fan bobblehead giveaway days in 2013.  That is just out of this world, awesome.  The team already excels in not only the frequency and quality of bobbleheads, but also the fact that they are given to all fans.  Milwaukee’s fans probably take this generosity for granted somewhat, but they shouldn’t, because many teams give away hardly anything or if they do, it’s for the first 10-20,000 fans, which means you have to sit in line all day long for a chance.  One team that comes to mind that is particularly cheap and lame with giveaways is the Minnesota Twins.  Their fans would be extremely jealous to know how favored the fans of the Brew Crew are when it comes to gifts from the club.  Look at this schedule for the 2012 Twins giveaways.  Most items are for the first 10,000 or even 5,000 fans, and some giveaways are gender-specific.  The Twins’ idea of an all-fan giveaway is a magnet schedule (if you’re there on Opening Day), a light bulb, or fireworks. 

Finally: Josh Hamilton.  According to noted gossip trader Jon Heyman, the Brewers have interest in signing the free-agent outfielder.  I’m not sure who these ‘people familiar with [the Brewers’] thinking’ are, but they don’t sound like they are familiar with the Brewers’ thinking after all.  Hamilton just makes no sense whatsoever for the Crew, other than the hypothetical batting order with him in it, which admittedly would be a stellar group.  I agree with Kyle Lobner at Brew Crew Ball; this Hamilton story is a bunch of baloney.  Maybe if the Brewers were still in the American League…