Brewers Sign Mike Cameron

they should keep braun at third, left field will wear his body down like it did chipper when they moved him to make room for castilla

I agree, leave Braun at 3rd, pray for improvement (he's reportedly taking 1000 grounders a day), and put Bill in LF. When LaPorta comes we can move Bill back to CF if we want...

If Brewers leave Braun at 3b, then they could trade for Randy Winn. Both put up similiar numbers last year. Winn is a switch hitter that can play all OF positions.

the cubs are falling way behind. i am a huge cubs fan and this move only hurts them more. the cubs barely pulled ahead at the end of last year, and they have not made enough improvements from last year. pie is gonna have to step it up big time for the front office to be able to have a positive reflection on their off-season gameplan. losing jacque jones will turn out to be more of a loss than most people think. the brewers are pulling ahead. lee, ramirez, and soriano will now have to play like it was thought they would. and hopefully piniella has finally figured out his roster. roberts would be a huge addition too. and another starter.

Barroid: From what I hear of Braun, he actually has incredible work ethic and is so embarrassed by his performance at 3B last year that he's doing whatever it takes...

I love this signing.... now I know that he is not a Lefty, but we have a lefty dominated bench.

Hall moving to 3rd is fine... because Hall is an average defender...which is still an upgrade over Braun

Braun will be a Plus OFer long before he becomes a Plus 3rd basemen

Now Cameron HAD to be a free swinger in SD..he was one of their only weapons.

He still carries a great Batting Average to OBP difference(.242BA /.328OBP) which means he takes alot of walks....his Difference in Batting Average and OBP has been around the same in his career..so if he even brings his Batting Average up to .260 his OBP will be .340+...

Plus he is coming from one of the worst hitters parks to a Neutral Park, so his numbers especially HRs will be helped

I see Cameron in 128 games
.265Ba/.350OBP/25HRs/20SBs

I hope Cameron's dip in Batting Average and OBP last year was an abberation and not a sign of age.

how many games does cameron have left on his suspension???

Now for the Brewers to get a closer.

Ok Barroid, who should we get? Name an available closer better than Gagne, and what players we have to give up for him, and how much we pay him.

erbacaine, don't freak out with what I am about to say because I think it is a good signing. But don't delude yourself about his K's. He didn't K alot because he had to be a free swinger in SD. Unless your theory is he had to be a free swinger everywhere he has played. Cincy - 1999 - 145 K's, Seattle - 2002 - 176 K's, NY - 2004 - 143 K's and obviously, SD - 2007 - 160 K's.

Yeah Gagne did awesome last year for the Red Sox.

And Mr. Questions to answer your question of what closer is better and available I think a guy with the name of Joe Nathan is available. And don't even try to tell me Gagne is better than Nathan

Hey Barroid:

You didn't answer my question. Who are we going to give up for Joe Nathan? Our entire farm system?

Secondly, Gangne was in a different role, in a different league, with a different catcher/pitching coach. These things make a big impact, people that don't know anything about baseball (you) don't realize such things.

well not a different league..because Texas is in the AL... but most people struggle after mid season trades...

Most closers struggle in NON save opportunities...which is all Gagne got in Boston..

Gagne will save about 84% of games for the Crew(42 of 50)..maybe 40 of 50... he was really good in Texas..in a hitters park(16 of 17 for saves 2.16Era)

As for the Cameron and Free Swinger...yes he does strike out alot...but he also does walk alot again look at Batting average to OBP difference and compare that to most OFers...

He has usually a kept a nice .80 point difference between those...

So if his Batting average gets a jump coming from Pitcher friendly PETCO to Neutral park Miller...he lets say hits .260...with that average .80 point difference in his career(and last year) he then would be good for a .340 OBP...which would rank him 4th on the team in OBP...and thats with only batting a .260.

Thats why I like this signing he will be in a part of the order that will only help him..6th, 7th or 8th.... and he should thrive.

HEY STUPID I DIDN'T SAY THAT. djskilbr said that the Brewers could swap Hall for Nathan. So Billy for now on when you read comments why don't you look to see who wrote them. And Billy I didn't say the Brewers would trade LaPorta for Mark Teahan now did I?!?!? And Mr Questions now don't the Brewers have a different pitching coach and aren't they in a different league? When you make comments at least make sure you sound knowledgeable in them. And if you really want me to say who I think the Twins could get in return for Nathan here it is: Alcides Escobar, Tony Gwynn JR., Mat Gamel, and some pitching prospect I say Zach Braddock all for Nathan.

Barroid-
The thing that MrQuestions was getting at is...its always hard to be traded midseason... New pitching coach means new Pitch philospophy...maybe they wanted him to pitch more to contact instead of pitching to his strength in Texas...

When Gagne left Boston's manager said that Gagne used the Fastball to much and tried to blow it by everyone and did not use his changeup much at all...

And now he knows what to expect..he has time to get settled in Milwaukee... time to meet Mike Maddux and the Catchers... time to get comfortable with these people..instead of being thrown right to the wolves...

As a fan of neither the cubs or the brewers, I would say this move solidifies the brewers as the favorites for the NL Central if the season started today. The Brewers are now clearly better than the Cubs at every position with the exception of LF and catcher which is a toss up. It wouldnt surprise me now to see the Brewers trade Bill Hall in an attempt to get a 3B and move Ryan Braun to LF. Assuming he is healthy, I could very easily see the brewers and white sox hooking up on a deal either in spring training or during the year in which Milwaukee gets Joe Crede and the White Sox Bill Hall and prospect. The other option would be moving Hall to left and keeping both him and Cameron. Right now the Brewers have a better lineup top to bottom and a better starting rotation 1-5. The bullpens are still a toss up. If im a Cubs fan, Id be pissed that the 300 tub of flub, Jim Hendry cant put a team on the field that is better than one with not even half its payroll. Unless the cubs make some more moves, I think the NL Central is the Brewers to win this year.

The Braves are really going to regret not signing Cameron. When Kotsay goes down with an injury (which he will) you have no one to take his place.

With Cameron you are paying a little more money (not much though) and hold on to your prospect(s).

Solid move by the Brewers.

Since people love the position by position stuff here we go:

C: Kendall vs Soto - Cubs. No explanation needed.
1B: Fielder vs Lee - Even. For the 28 extra HR Fielder hit he only had 37 more RBI. Lee was still coming back from his wrist injury and should be much better a full season removed. I put them even because Lee's defensive abilities should make up any difference in offensive production.
2B: Weeks vs DeRosa - Cubs slightly. Despite Weeks' low BA, they both had similar OBP & SLG. Weeks hasn't hit consistently yet going .239/.279/.235 the last three years? Which one will show up? Roberts isn't coming and if by chance he does then it's huge Cubs advantage.
SS - Hardy vs Theriot - Brewers. I don't expect Theriot to reproduce anything like last year but he could surprise. Either way, it'll be him and Cedeno in spots and let's hope DeRosa if Roberts comes. That would be the smartest way of playing all the best players. In that case it'd still be Hardy but the gap closes.
3B: Braun vs Ramirez - Even. I like the Hammering Hebrew as much as anybody if only for the fact that he has a real nickname but he's done it for ONE season folks. I'm not saying he can't do it again, but when you're compared to a guy who has about five 30/100 seasons (I'm fudging for closeness in '05 & '07 for games missed) you shouldn't get that much an edge. Ramirez should've won the GG last season but that's neither here nor there. If he's healthy he's just as dangerous as Braun.
RF: Hart vs Fukudome - Wash. Fukudome is an unknown. He could be Matsui or Iguchi. I'm leaning towards Matsui but you don't know. If he fulfills projections then it's even as Hart has the power advantage but Fukudome should have the OBP advantage. It'll be up to Lou to use him properly.
CF: Cameron/Hall vs Pie - Brewers. Pie's unproven but should get his shot this spring. His defense should make up for any deficiencies and anything close to a .260 BA should give him the 7 or 8 spot in the lineup. Cameron will be out early and it just doesn't seem like Bill likes being moved around. We'll see what happens.
LF: Gross vs Soriano - Cubs. I went Gross but I honestly don't know the situation aside from Braun rumors. Either way, Soriano should either run more if he wants to stay at the top or be moved down to turn solo HR into 2 and 3 run shots. A guy hitting 33 HR and only driving in 70 shouldn't be anywhere at the top.

The post is already long enough so I won't get into the pitching but by my count its Cubs 3-2-3

Cubsfan81,

Wow thats pretty biased there. Not only are the brewers better at every position than the cubs other than LF, their starting rotation top to bottom is better too. The catcher position is a wash. If your argument for Braun only doing it one year is a wash with Ramirez, then Ill use the same one for Soto who did it for 2 weeks. You cub fans get such hard ons for guys that hit great for a year. Lee over Fielder? LOL!! That made me laugh, ill take Fielder over Lee anyday of the week. Ill let the Ramirez vs. Braun stuff slide, but you do realize Braun put up better numbers than the 0-12 playoff ARAM, in 3/4 of a year. IF Braun would've been around the whole year, he wouldve toasted aramis ramirez easily. Hart is already a better player than Fukodome ever will be (If you listen to Steve Stone on the score, he projects/compares Fukodome offensively to Tadahito Iguchi. DeRosa over Weekes. Ill give you last year that was true, but since Weekes was hurt all last year until the end, this year he by far will put better numbers than DeRosa.

Pitching rotation
Ill give you Zambrano over Sheets, but dont even tell me you would take Lily over Gallardo, well youre a cub fan so you might. Ill give you Hill over Bush or Suppan, but please you would rather have Marquis (who will have 8 wins and an ERA over 5) and Dempster over Manny Parra, Carlos Villanueva, and Chris Capuano. LOL!! Ill bet you the brewers win the division and if im right, you cant use your cubbie logo dildo anymore

Well..............that's a little more harsh than what I went with, but I like it!

I really think the signing of Cameron was a great move, particularly at the meager price they paid for him.

Far better than trading off assets to get Joe freakin' Crede or Scott-I'll-play-55-games-Rolen.

I really hope the Cubs trade Marshall and Gallagher for Roberts and use up all of their pitching depth so that when Marquis and Dempster are predictably horrible, they have to turn to........Hart?

I think it'll be a good race, but I don't think an unbiased observer could come to the conclusion that the Cubs are more talented.

More seasoned, and with a better track record to be sure, but the talent edge is Milwaukee's.

I think the NL Central is going to be a blast to watch this year. The Cubs/ Brewers open and close the season against each other. I think if the Reds get one more quality starter they can be in the mix. I don't know if the Astros have enough starting pitching to be there in the end but they are better offensively.

It's too early to make predictions because the offseason is not over yet. The Brewers are trying to address their poor defense from last year and have a great line-up but I still have questions about their pitching.

To say that the Brewers have better starting pitching than the Cubs is ridiculous because as of right now both teams have the same starters as last year. Without a trade the Cubs have Z, Lilly, Hill, Marquis and Marshall. The Brewers have the same six or seven guys fighting for the jobs as last year.

I believe the Cubs need a #3 caliber starting pitcher. Their bullpen is good but not knowing who your closer is going to be is a problem. If I was them I would forget about Roberts and see what Nathan would cost.

I think the Brewers bullpen is filled with question marks. Everything seems to be riding on the health and effectiveness of Gagne. I don't know? He has only pitched 66 innings in the last three years.

If I'm a GM in the NL central I see four teams that have very good offenses. So I try to build the best pitching staff in that division. Because in my opinion, the winner of the NL Central will be the team with the pitching staff that can slow down these improving offenses.

"Other than AZ getting Haren, I think this is the other great trade of the offseason. It could be Brewers and AZ in the playoffs against each other. I dont see the Cubs going back to the playoffs. Mike Cameron has NEVER had a Hitters Park to call home such as in MILW. He could hit 30 hr in 2009 if they pick up the option. I dont know why they said theyd put Hall in CF, do they think the better athlete should cover RF? Cameron is an awesome CF and he wont have that much room to cover so he can backup Braun and Hall and cover most of their space. I think this puts them in the playoffs for sure. I mean if the Yankees wanted him, he still has to be capable of All Star quality seasons. The Yanks dont bring in players that are on the verge of serious decline to play OF. Cameron is only 35 , he has at least 3 prime years left. He strikes out , so what?? Cameron is capable of putting up an Eric Byrnes type season and Byrnes season got him a 3 yr, 10mil a year contract. This is a bargain for Milwaukee!! "

Wow, just wow. The Yankees dont bring in old players on the verge of declining? What?

And you are also counting the Diamondbacks into the playoffs WAY too soon. Listen, they have an awesome young core and I am as big a fan of the Diamondbacks as any non Diamondback fan there is, but slow down. The Padres will always be right there in the mix, because of their pitching. The Dodgers have a nice rotation also, in Penny, Lowe, Billingsley, Kuroda, Schmdit(?), and should have a solid offense starting the season with Kemp, Loney, and a hopefully healthy (for the dodgers) Furcal. Andruw will be nice also.

Furcal
Pierre
Loney
Andruw
Kemp
Martin

is an impressive top of the lineup. Will Laroche finally replace Nomar?

Then there are still the Rockies, but I put them in the same boat as Arizona. I think both the D-Backs and Rockies came out of nowhere and surprised a lot of people this year, with their young teams. That wont happen again this year, they will have to earn it from the get go. I wouldnt be surprised to see Arizona and/or Colorado in the playoffs again, but I also wouldnt be the least bit surprised too see them finish 3rd and 4th.

Who ever said anything about Cameron not playing centerfield?

And who the hell still has 3 prime years left at 35? Most guys finish their prime at 33 or 34, if not earlier. Only Bonds progressed into his 40's.

The only part of that entire post that I agree with is that it was a nice pickup for Milwaukee.

Thinking more about it, a Dodgers team of

C Martin
1B Loney
2B Kent
3B Laroche
SS Furcal
LF Pierre
CF Andruw
RF Kemp

SP Penny
SP Lowe
SP Billingsley
SP Kuroda
SP Whats the deal with Schmidt?

And Broxton and Saito to close down the 8th and 9th, they are looking poised to make a world series run.

douchebag - I'm glad my trivial mistake gave you such a good laugh. Hopefully it won't empower you to post more ridiculously stupid drivel.

The Diamondbacks and Rockies came out of nowhere? I hate that cliche, these teams play each other just about every week. They probably all have each others cell phone numbers. Nobody comes out of nowhere. The DBacks and Rockies arent going anywhere and the Pads and Dodgers are light years behind. They are old and have bad chemistry. Thats all that matters, not who is going to play what position or what their stats are. And the Yankees dont sign players past their prime. Abreu and Damon are both great members of MLB. Also , Cameron is NOT old. You have to go by the player and not the players age... I would actually say that Andruw is on the serious decline, Im not even sure if he will be in the league in 3 years. Mike Cameron will be. The Padres didnt sign him because they brought Edmonds to his hometown to play along side Brian Giles and Scott Hairston. Now youre telling me that the Padres are going to the playoffs with Brian Giles and Jim Edmonds? Scott Hairston was an awesome steal , I wished the DBacks hadnt traded him.

baseballfiles:

"! I want to see Damon suffer in CF this year!"

LOL. Got Melky? Damon LF, Matsui DH, Duncan 1B, Giambi DL

and as for the Brewers
2B-Weeks
SS-Hardy
LF-Braun
1B-Fielder
3B-Hall
RF-Hart
CF-Cameron/Gwynn 1st 25gms
C-Kendall

Cameron will be in MILW for 2009, the club has the option. You can count on them picking it up. They didnt sign him to play for only 5 months. They are just hedging their bets and want him to perform as if its a contract year. Cameron tried to help SDG get to the playoffs but it wasnt meant to be, now he can help the Brewers just like he did the Mariners.