Building a small market team-The Milwaukee Brewer Dynasty Thread

[jaykno14]

To: MAntannasio@milwaukeebrewers.com
From: DMelvin@milwaukeebrewers.com
Subject: Sheets


Hi Mark. I have talked to Ben’s agent, Casey Close, and the money Sheets wants is lucrative. We should wait until spring training to sign him if he is still pitching well.
Casey and I also talked about agreeing on a one year deal which would avoid arbitration. It is important we do so, because criticizing Sheets could lean him towards not wanting to sign long term with us. We have gotten pretty close to agreeing on a deal in which I will talk to you about in person.

I have to go I have a meeting with Close in 10 minutes.

Doug
--------------
To: DMelvin@milwaukeebrewers.com
From: MAntanassio@milwaukeebrewers.com
Subject: Re: Sheets


Yes once we talk about the details on that deal it is very important that we avoid arbitration. That’s the last thing we need right now.

I am a bit nervous to wait till spring because I do not want to send Ben a wrong message. If I were him I would be wondering why they are waiting so long. As soon as we know that he is O.K. we must get that deal signed.

We probably got everything we need right now. Baseball world sure is a lot different than last year with superstars going to different teams. It’ll be an interesting year that’s for sure.

Mark

[CTSoxFan]

Love it so far, im enjoying reading it.

By backup he means backup the file, so incase anything goes wrong with it, you dont lose everything you have done in the game

[NDIrish937]

Yeah this is a good read, keep it up.

[jaykno14]

Well I just got back from a weekend vacation so I will continue to update this week before going on a week long vacation down to spring training.

[jaykno14]

Ordonez is hugged by his wife after being introduced in a press conference

Tigers sign Ordonez to lucrative, five year deal
For the second straight year, the Detroit Tigers have gotten the last prominent free agent on the market with spring just around the corner. But for the Tigers, the key was to stay one step ahead of other teams, with major assistance from their owner.

Some may call it a mutual declaration of faith, Ordonez agreed to a five year contract worth $75 million and it could stretch out to seven years should his options be picked up or vest with incentives. By offering the four time All-Star the long term contract he had been seeking, even though he was injured much of last season, Detroit has found a middle of the order hitter it had been looking for.

“This is two years in a row. Sometimes things don’t happen as quickly as you’d like,” manager Alan Trammel said. “But, nevertheless, we’re going into Spring Training real soon with another impact player.”

It took nearly two months of talks, meetings, and medical reports to sort out, much like the Tigers’ deal last year involving All-Star catcher Ivan Rodriguez. He was also one of the last featured names left on the market before the Tigers signed him.

That deal, however, was worth as much or as long as this one. Ordonez will earn $75 million over five years, and it could get up to $105 million with options involved. Also, the contract includes an injury clause which would allow the Tigers to void the remaining years and recoup a $6 million signing bonus, if Ordonez misses more than 25 days to the disabled list this season with knee problems similar to what he had last season.

Ordonez was limited to 52 games and 202 at bats last season because of two meniscus tears in his left knee, in which one of them weren’t discovered until later in the season.

These facts are reasons that made Ordonez the biggest question mark on this year’s free agent market. Unlike Rodriguez, Ordonez was expected to last until late in the off season. At this point, Ordonez estimated that he’ll be at 75-80 percent at the start of spring training. He didn’t work out for the team until last week when Trammel watched him run sprints.

One of the most important steps for the Tigers was when owner Mike Ilitch visited Ordonez and agent Scott Boras down in Miami last month, which made an impression on Ordonez and Boras. While Ordonez listened to Ilitch discuss the direction of the franchise, he opened his mind to the possibility of him coming to Detroit.

“He talked straight forward to me and said, ‘We want to win, and I want to win now’” said Ordonez. “When someone talks to you like that, straight forward, you want to win. That’s one of the reasons I am here.

It’s one of the reasons Dave Dombrowski thanked Ilitch after they signed Ordonez. “We wouldn’t be here today, without him,” said Dombrowski.
Ordonez, 31, when healthy, has posted five consecutive .300 seasons with at least 29 home runs and 99 RBIs before 2004. His 135 RBIs placed him in second in the Major Leagues in 2002, while his .320 average that year ranked fifth, and his 38 home runs ranked sixth.

“I said it last year with Pudge,” Trammel said, “but that old English ‘D’ looks awful nice on him.”

[jaykno14]

Brewers and Devil Rays swap young relievers
Brewer officials announced today that the Brewers have traded middle reliever and former Rule V draft pick Jeff Bennett to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Jesus Colome.

Bennett, 24, was the Brewers’ Rule V pick last year after spending eight years in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league system. In his first season at the major league level, Bennett was 1-5 in 60 relief appearances for the Brewers. He had a 4.79 ERA with 45 strike outs and 26 walks in 71 innings pitched. He played the role of middle reliever and mop up man for the Brewers out of the bullpen. Occasionally, he played in the setup role.

“Bennett really impressed us last year coming out of the bullpen,” said general manager Doug Melvin. “But, this year we have plenty of middle relievers and we needed a guy who could move into a set up role with [Mike] Adams or Ricky [Bottalico].”

Bottalico and Adams are expected to fight for the closer role this spring training, which was held by All-Star Danny Kolb last year. Kolb was traded away to the Braves earlier this off season for starting pitching prospect Jose Capellan.

In the minor leagues, Bennett was a starting pitcher for the Pirates. In 99 games started. He was 41-45 with a 4.18 ERA. In his last year as a starter for the Pirates, he had a record of 1-3 with a 6.65 ERA in five starts and nine appearances.

“If we could have used him as a starter we would have,” said pitching coach Mike Maddux. “It all depended on not being able to send him down to the minor leagues where he could keep improving. Starting at the major league level would have done him no good.”

In the trade, the Brewers received relief pitcher Jesus Colome, 26, who has four full major league seasons under his belt. He is expected to fill the set up role as mentioned above. Last year, Colome made 33 relief appearances and was 2-2 with 3 saves. He also had a 3.27 ERA and in 41.1 innings pitched, he didn’t give up any home runs.

“That is what turned us on the most,” stated Melvin. “His no home runs, given up in Tampa Bay of all places, were phenomenal.”

Colome was in the Dominican Republic, where he grew up selling fruit, when he got the news of the trade. He is expected to fly up to Milwaukee to meet with the team before they go to Spring Training which begins in a little over two weeks.

Colome makes $600,000 through 2005 and Bennett makes $300,000.

[jaykno14]

Brewers and Sheets avoid arbitration

Doug Melvin and the Brewers have avoided arbitration with Ben Sheets and now they can focus on getting their ace pitcher Ben Sheets signed long term.

Two days before the scheduled arbitration and six days before pitchers and catchers report to spring training, the Brewers announced that they signed Sheets to a one year deal that would pay Sheets $6 million. That is halfway between the $5.5 million the Brewers offered and the $6.5 million Sheets wanted, and it is the most a Brewer player will make in a single season in franchise history.

This settling avoids a hearing that would be held in Tampa scheduled for Tuesday.

“It would have been very difficult to go into arbitration, then keep the positive feelings Ben has for the organization,” said general manager Doug Melvin. “It can be a no-win situation sometimes. We felt better by getting this done and moving on.”

In this case, both sides can move on to discussing a long term deal to “buy out” which would at least be Sheets’ first year of free agency. He is not eligible for free agency until after the 2006 season, and the Brewers would like to check the status of Sheets’ surgically repaired back before they sign him long term.

This sense of caution seems to irritate Sheets, who has been in Milwaukee the past two weeks for the Brewers’ annual winter tour. He had surgery this winter to remove a herniated disc which had been causing severe pain for years. Of the procedure, the 26 year old said, “I feel a lot younger.”
Melvin said there is no deadline for the long term deal to be in place, but if the long term deal isn’t in place before the season starts, a lot of headlines will be rumoring Sheets trades.

“I don’t worry about that,” said Melvin. “Our focus is to talk about a deal first. We don’t have a time table, and I don’t think they do either.”
Even if Sheets and his agent, Casey Close, didn’t have to go to the hearing, Sheets is due a healthy raise. One of the most misleading stats in baseball last season was Sheets’ 12-14 record, when he set a franchise record for strikeouts with 264, which was second in the NL only to Randy Johnson’s 290 and ranked third in ERA which was 2.70.

He was also in the top ten in the NL for fewest walks per nine innings (1.2, second), complete games (five, tied for second), innings pitched (237, third), and strikeouts per nine innings (10, tied for third).

His most memorable moment was Sunday, May 18, in which he pitched a three hit, 18 strikeout performance against Atlanta. In June, at Anaheim, he pitched nine scoreless innings of one hit ball, which the Brewers went on to win in 17 innings.

His career record is 45-53, with a 3.73 earned run average and 127 starts.

[jaykno14]

NL Central Spring Training Preview
Peter Gammons; Baseball Analyst

The NL Central has changed this off season. It has changed a lot, in fact.

Good bye Sammy Sosa. Good bye Moises Alou. Good bye Carlos Beltran. Good bye Matt Clement. Good bye Matt Clement. Good bye Woody Williams. Good bye Barry Larkin. Good bye Jeff Kent. Good bye Wade Miller. Good bye Scott Podsednik. Good bye Edgar Renteria. I think you get the point now.

Saying good bye to those long time NL Central division rivals is tough, but a whole new slate is welcomed in by a number of teams.

Hello Carlos Lee. Hello Damien Miller. Hello Mark Redman. Hello Mark Mulder. Hello David Ekstein.

As you see, the subtractions largely outnumber the additions, but that can’t be as bad as it seems. Because of this, the Central division will bring a more competitive and exciting atmosphere. Think about it. The Astros have lost a number of their key players from last year (i.e. Kent, Beltran), and so have the Cubs (i.e. Sosa and Clement). The Cardinals look to be the favorite in the NL Central boasting a whole new slate of pitchers that is led by Mark Mulder, who was acquired from the Oakland A’s earlier this off season. The Brewers lost all star closer Danny Kolb and former rookie of the year runner up Scott Podsednik. But, in return they received Carlos Lee, and a young stud pitcher name Jose Capellan. Could they possible break the 12 year long losing slump this year? We’ll see. The Pirates and Cincinnati look to remain in the cellar this year making no really exciting additions (other than Ramon Ortiz and Eric Milton for the Reds) and major subtractions (i.e. Kendall, Larkin), although things are looking up for both teams who are boasting strong minor league systems and young talent.

Here are some things for each team to keep in mind when going down to spring training this spring:

CHICAGO CUBS

Additions: They signed a pair of former Brewers (Jeremy Burnitz and Henry Blanco). The only other key moves this off season was retaining middle infielders Todd Walker and Nomar Garciaparra.

Subtractions: They lost power slugging out fielder Sammy Sosa, Kyle Farnsworth, Matt Clement, Moises Alou, Mark Grudzielanek, Ramon Martinezm, Kent Mercker, and Tom Goodwin.

Spring Focus: They are looking for a closer. Ryan Dempster and Joe Borowski are the leading candidates.

The Skinny: They have the toughest rotation in the league, which should help them into the post-Sosa era they will begin. PREDICTED FINISH: 2nd Place (No wild card)

CINCINATTI REDS

Additions: In the past, the Reds have been thin in this category, but this year was different. They added third baseman Joe Randa, starting pitchers Eric Milton and Ramon Ortiz, and relievers Kent Mercker, Dave Weathers, and Ben Weber.

Subtractions: This off season they lost long time captain (what is it 50 years by now?) Barry Larkin to retirement in which he is now working in the Nationals’ front office. They also lost Ramon Castro, Gabe White, and John Riedling.

Spring Focus: Again, the key to spring training for them is to keep slugger Ken Griffey Jr. healthy enough to play in the regular season.

The Skinny: They have improved, but the lack of consistency in Ortiz and Milton may cost the Reds a chance at the top of the division. PREDICTED FINISH: 5th Place

HOUSTON ASTROS

Additions: No major additions other than resigning Roger Clemens to a lucrative one year deal.

Subtractions: Carlos Beltran, who was acquired mid season, was the biggest loss for the ‘stros this off season. Others include Jeff Kent, Wade Miller, and most importantly the loss of veteran general manager Garry Hunsicker.

Spring Focus: With Kent gone, manager Phil Garner will need to decide whether to play Craig Biggio at second or in center field. Also, he may want to find a way to avoid overusing standout closer Brad Lidge.

The Skinny: This will be a struggling year for the Astros with the loss of three of their biggest players from last year. It will be the year in which they struggle with the likes of Pirates, Brewers, and Reds for third place. PREDICTED FINISH: 4th Place

MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Additions: Like the Reds, the Brewers were spending this off season, bringing in Carlos Lee, catcher Damien Miller, who will provide help to the catching corps, veteran short stop Mark McLemore and Jose Capellan, Justin Lehr, and Jesus Colome.

Subtractions: All-Star closer Danny Kolb, set up man Luis Vizcaino, and popular centerfielder Scotty Podsednik were lost this off season to trades. Keith Ginter, Craig Counsell, and Jeff Bennett are also gone.

Spring Focus: It will be interesting to see if Mark McLemore can get the starting short stop job or if it will be rookie short stop J.J. Hardy.

The Skinny: The Brewers improved this year, and are closer to breaking out the youngsters in the minors. PREDICTED FINISH: 3rd Place, the Brewers will surprise many by winning 80+ games for the first time in 12 years.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Additions: Mark Redman is their new number three guy and Benito Santiago and Matt Lawton were also signed.

Subtractions: 9 year Pirate catcher Jason Kendall was traded away to Oakland for Mark Redman.

Spring Focus: Lefty Dave Williams and right-hander Ryan Vogelsong are leading candidates for fifth spot in the rotation.

The Skinny: The Pirates youngsters continue to mature, but unfortunately their inexperience will cost them along with mediocre years from Oliver Perez and Jason Bay. PREDICTED FINISH: 6th Place

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

Additions: Mark Mulder and short stop David Eckstein were brought in this off season. Mark Grudzielanek, left hander Mike Myers (no not the actor), and Einer Diaz will add depth.

Subtractions: Woody Williams, Tony Womack, Edgar Renteria, Mike Matheny, Danny Haren, and Kiko Calero.

Spring Focus: Pitcher Matt Morris better be ready after surgery, or Rick Ankiel may have to take his place (shudder).

The Skinny: The Cardinals improved overall and will again win the division easily. PREDICTED FINISH: 1st Place

[NDIrish937]

3rd place, huh. High expectations this year, hopefully they live up to it. Keep up the great work.

[jaykno14]

Originally Posted by NDIrish937

3rd place, huh. High expectations this year, hopefully they live up to it. Keep up the great work.

Of course. I wouldn't want my team to think that Peter Gammons doesn't believe in them. And remember--I said this was my Peter Gammons not the one in real life, because he would never say the Brewers are finishing third. In fact, the only time he mentions the Brewers in real life is when he talks about them trading Ben Sheets to the Yankees or Red Sox.