Brewers Having Bad Week in Vegas

The 2008 season was magical for the Brewers, as they made a blockbuster trade with Cleveland for CC Sabathia, and made their first appearance in the playoffs since 1982. It was a short, four game stint against the Phillies, but they got there, which was the stated goal for the 2008 season.

The off-season hasn't been nearly as magical. Closer Salomon Torres retired, much to the surprise of everyone. The Cubs re-signed Ryan Dempster and are close to trading for Padres ace Jake Peavy, which would give them a rotation of Peavy, Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Dempster, and Rich Harden. That's a rotation that could rival the Braves rotations of the 1990's.

And then, this. CC Sabathia, as I woke up this morning, reportedly agreed to take the Yankees offer of $140M. It's no shock to anyone that CC is leaving. No one will blame the Brewers, who initially offered up $100M and may have sweetened the pot. They did everything they could to keep Sabathia here.

It also looks like Ben Sheets is going to leave after declining Milwaukee's offer of arbitration. He would be wise to go somewhere other than New York, but we'll see what happens.

So, as of this moment, the Brewers rotation looks like this. Yovanni Gallardo, followed by Jeff Suppan, Manny Parra, Dave Bush and either Seth McClung, Carlos Villanueva, or Chris Capuano. This rotation does not, by any stretch, compare with Chicago.

So, what do the Brewers do now? Well, there are a number of things they could do, but the first thing I would do is get on the phone with the agents for Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett. If owner Mark Attanasio was willing to spend over $100M for Sabathia, then he could easily spend $80-85M to pick up Lowe (who is reportedly being courted by the Phillies) or maybe even a little more than that to pick up Burnett, who has better stuff than Lowe but does come with a 'Fragile' label stuck on his behind.

Just because CC is gone doesn't mean Attanasio should take his cash and save it for a rainy day. In these hard economic times, he is going to need a good product to reel fans into Miller Park. Many fans are going through their own economic hardships right now and may not have the disposable income to go to Miller Park as much as they have in the past (if at all). They need a reason to go to the stadium. Attanasio needs to provide the reason.

The Brewers also now need to call the Yankees and offer Mike Cameron in a trade. The only reason the Brewers picked up the option on Cameron's contract was to try and convince his good friend CC to stick around Milwaukee. That obviously didn't work.

In the meantime the Yankees have reportedly been interested in Cameron for a long time now and have been said to be willing to part with outfielder Melki Cabrera and young pitcher Ian Kennedy. If I'm Doug Melvin, I try to get that deal done. Cabrera has proven capable of playing on the big league level, and Kennedy is a talented pitcher who might very well thrive in a city like Milwaukee as opposed to New York, where there was tremendous pressure on him.

The next call I make if I am Doug Melvin is to Seattle, where his good friend and former scouting director Jack Zduriencik is the GM. The Mariners need a power hitting first baseman. The Brewers have one in Prince Fielder. The Brewers need a closer now that Torres is retired. The Mariners have one in J.J. Putz. You couldn't do the trade straight up, but the M's would be willing to throw in more pieces to get Fielder. And, considering the looming arbitration battle with Fielder and agent Scott Boras, his weight gain over the years, and lack of defensive ability, the Brewers ought to look into moving this future AL DH.

The Brewers could go with a platoon at first base involving prospect Brad Nelson, or they could make a trade for a first baseman who could come on to the market as soon as Mark Teixeira signs somewhere. Rickie Weeks, Bill Hall, J.J. Hardy, Alcides Escobar, and Corey Hart could all bring back a suitable replacement for Fielder.

Hope is not lost. Sure, CC and Torres are gone. Sheets is going to leave. But, if the Brewers can swing a free agent deal for Lowe or Burnett, trade Cameron for Cabrera and Kennedy, bring Putz in for Fielder, and get someone to share time with Nelson at first, they will have improved as a team (from where they are right now), and bridged the gap (somewhat) between themselves and the Cubs.

Now, if someone can only convince Doug Melvin and Mark Attanaio that my plan would work..