Tidbits

The first game of Spring Training 2010 is only 5 days away. There really hasn't been a whole hell of a lot of news coming out of Maryvale.

Logan Schafer sufferred a groin strain yesterday. Despite being a non-roster player, he was expected to make an impact this spring. Schafer was the Brewers "minor league player of the year" last year. The 23 year-old will probably miss a month or so of action. For those of you who don't know...the groin is what's connected to the unit.

Ken Macha might be opening himself up more to the players this season.

FSWisconsin and the Crew got it right this season! All televised games on the channel will be in HD. When will WMLW games be picked up by Charter cable? This is getting silly.

Ben Sheets will make his debut with the A's against the Brewers, slated for March 5th. Sheets' first day of training involved him almost taking a turn towards Maryvale instead of the A's camp, which is 10 minutes away. Silly guy. I wish him the best. I'm just glad that he's not pitching for the Cubs or Cards or the NL in general. When he's on and healthy, there's no stopping him....except for a blister. I would imagine that Big Ben will pretty much dice up Corey Hart.

Updates

Spring Training is underway in Arizona....with rain!

-Chris Capuano says he's ready to go and his arm is healthy. People should stop talking about him...including myself. It's not going to happen. If it does, I will punch myself in the eye.
With Mark Mulder set to retire, he could possibly be a final reserve if all hell broke loose in the rotation. Or, who's to say he couldn't compete with Mitch Stetter in the bull pen? Regardless, it's a minor league contract so it's a low risk try-out they are giving to Capuano as a courtesy.

-Despite being a fan of Ken Macha's hiring last year....I have since done an about-face. He coaches with no emotion and I don't really see him connecting with the younger players. This of course is what I liked about him initially. The young players need an enforcer, not a friend (Ned Yost). At any rate, Macha is toying with the ideas of having the pitcher bat 8th again (again, Ned Yost) and possibly having an all-lefty bench. While you're at it, how about having an all-lefty rotation....oh wait, you almost do. I suppose he's thinking of having Gomez bat 9th. By doing this allows a speedy base runner (with a horrible OPS) a chance of getting on base for Rickie Weeks, who pretty much has lead-off locked up (right?).

-David Riske, you know....the guy who's making 4MM to do jack sh*t....well, he's the only player with restrictions right now. He is targeting Opening Day still. I just don't see it. Thankfully, the Crew is pretty squared away in the bullpen. That could change after the first week of the regular season, should Suppan suck it up.

-Rickie Weeks and Casey McGehee are on the "Caution List". Weeks apparently has some dental issues. I'm calling BS on that one. We'll see. I'm going to pissed off when Rickie Weeks goes down with an injury again and Felipe Lopez is tearing it up in St. Louis (where he will probably land with).

-Mat Gamel reported to camp early this year. Thank God. When I read that he showed up late to Spring Training last year, I knew this guy was a bone head. The verdict is out on this guy and what he can do. He reminds of Spicoli from Fast Times (movie)....only with brown hair.

Reporting for Duty

The time has come! Milwaukee's pitchers & catchers are reporting for duty this weekend and all other players report between February 23rd and March 2nd. HERE is a complete schedule of important dates (scroll down to bottom).

Let the hyped-up stories begin! From now until July of 2011 one should expect to see numerous "inside" stories on what the Crew should do with Prince Fielder. Similar to CC Sabathia, Melvin & Co. will probably extend an offer (quietly) to Prince as an act of good will. Fielder will ultimately pass on this gesture and hit the open market. This of course can all be avoided if the Brewers make an offer in 2010 and take his temperature at that point; once they find out that he's not going to sign for 20MM, they can trade him away and invest in the future by bringing on a nice package of prospects and possibly even another proven pitcher. We shall see. One thing is for certain, Prince will not be playing in Milwaukee for that much longer. So enjoy it!

You can pretty much write-off the Mark Mulder theories. My guess is that he will not make a return. This bodes well for the Brewers, considering that they already have 3 possible starters who are lefties.

It's pretty slow out there for rumors and the like. Johnny Damon is close to signing a deal with the Indians....or.....maybe it's the White Sox. Felipe Lopez fired Scott Boras and Jermaine Dye might be filing for unemployment.

Speaking of Felipe Lopez.....tell me again why he's not going to play for the Brewers in 2010? I mean, this is the same guy who hit over .300 and has the ability to play SS, 2B, and possibly even 3B?!?! Oh that's right, Melvin is set on Rickie Weeks and is willing to risk it all on an unproven 2B. Let's face it, it was do or die time for Weeks last year, this year it's all on him to stay healthy. I mean, this is why Willie Randolph came back to coach right?

If you haven't read RightfieldBleachers.com interview with Seth McClung, CHECK IT OUT.
It was an entertaining read and Seth certainly knows how to leave his mark. Hopefully he will make an impact with Florida, just not against the Crew.

You probably all know that Corey Hart won his arbitration case with the Brewers. Well....he claims to be on a mission to win back the fans of Milwaukee. My reply to this is 'good luck'. Or better yet, lay off the slider. You see, it's not that the fans hate him because of his recent success in court.....no.....I would say it's his inability to come through in the clutch. Like in the NLDS back in 2008. Or last season when the Crew really needed a third player to step up and provide some support for Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. I truly hope that Macha won't hesitate to bench Hart for Edmounds.

Soon enough....

Next week the Pitchers and Catchers report for duty. Although actual practise sessions don't start until the following week, you can't help but feel Spring is closer.

Corey Hart won his arbitration case. Fantastic (straight faced). I would love to sit in on one of these hearings to hear what is said about both sides.

Milwaukee added another arm to the bull pen earlier this week when they signed Scott Schoeneweis. Although he's been out of baseball for a short while due to personal reasons, he does provide insurance for Mitch Stetter.

Seattle's Jack Z signed another ex-Brewer in Jesus Colome. Let me know how Brad Nelson works out for you. Regardless, Seattle has been the most active this off-season in additions. I have them picked to win the AL West. Their pitching is damn good and they improved tenfold with Chone Figgins and Milton Bradley.

Would you like to see the Crew in the Grapefruit League?

The Milwaukee Brewers are going to erect a stature of Bud Selig outside of Miller Park. ESPN's Jim Caple doesn't like this move....Apparently he doesn't understand the significance of this man. Selig (along with his small team) single-handily saved baseball in Milwaukee. Not only did he purchase the Seattle Pilots in 1970 and then move them to Milwaukee....Mr. Selig also led a failed attempt in trying to get the White Sox to move to County Stadium after the Braves skipped town. While on that topic, he also led a local team that tried to stop the Braves from moving to Atlanta. So tell me Caple, doesn't this man warrant some sort of salute? He saved baseball in Milwaukee by devising a plan to build a new baseball park. This very same baseball park that ranked #2 in Sports Illustrated "Best Baseball Parks" that measured the overall experience. I don't think the Brewers are building this statue to honor him as a commissioner, but rather the man who loved his city and the state of Wisconsin. (sniffle sniffle).