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.