Brewers Exercise Option On Cameron

I'd love to see him as a Cub. On the other hand, Fukudome must be realizing how in the hole he is, and how hard he'll have to work to gain the team's confidence back. I see a better and tougher Fukudome in 2008.

Above average? What the heck averages are you looking at? Obviously not AVG and OBP. Sure he slugged .477, but he struck out 142 TIMES IN 444 ABs!!

Above average...obviously you never watched any Brewers games, Tim. The guy's AVG w/RISP was .005, just utterly atrocious. Not to mention his 1 error was the product of homer scoring: he should have had no less than 5 on misplayed balls.

Under the Ryan Howard doctrine, I think having one huge month on a playoff team actually makes Cameron an MVP candidate.

Almost every fielder could have a "few more errors" on misplayed balls. Doesn't say much.

Nice pickup by the Brewers. Solid.

(Brian Cashman walks into the GM meetings and approaches the Brewers suite. Suddenly there's an eery feeling amidst). "Stay away from Mike Cameron...wooooooooo" (the voice sounds immensly like that of the late Vincent Price). "Stay away Cashman!!!(woooooooooo). You don't need him...(wooooooooo). This deal will haunt you for an entire year (woooooooooooo). "Stay with Melky and Gardner and have faith (wooooooooooo).

"Who are you mighty spirit"? The voice booms loudly "I AM THE GHOST OF BAD TRADES OF THE PAST (woooooooooooooooo). Remember Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps? (wooooooooooooo). Remember Mike Lowell for Mark Johnson, Todd Noel, Ed Yarnall
(woooooooooooo). "Leave now while you still have your prospects with you and never come back to this suite unless your coming for Ryan Braun or Prince Fielder (woooooooo)".

"Well thank you "Ghost of Bad Trade's Past" beause I was ready to ship out a couple of prospects because I heard Cameron still had a good year left in him and was a swell guy to have in the club house. Gee, that would have been a dumb move. Thanks for saving me. I've been reading too many mlbtraderumors posts".

"GO now young man....Go now down the hall and visit the suites of Scott Boras and sign Texiera and the suites of CC and Burnett's agents and sign yourself a #1 and a #2 and you shall never hear from me again.....or at least not until not until the trade deadline (wooooooooooo)".

Brewers will probably trade him anyway, they didn't want to let him go for nothing.

I would never trust a ghost who didn't know the difference between you're and your. That's just me.

"Above average? What the heck averages are you looking at? Obviously not AVG and OBP. Sure he slugged .477, but he struck out 142 TIMES IN 444 ABs!!"

Yeah.. but see, a .331 OBP from CF isn't exactly awful, and Cameron's unique power/speed combination more than makes up for it. When you also calculate his defense into the equation, there is no doubt that Cameron is worth a 1/10 deal.

I do agree that there is a possibility that Cameron gets moved though. I actually discussed this on a different post today, but I think the Brewers should look into moving Weeks to center, to help him relax at the plate, and trade Cameron for pitching.

Would the Yankees be willing to do something like Cameron for Ian Kennedy?

I'm sure there will be a million Yankee fans saying, "Give up Kennedy for Cam? No way! He's 36! We have GARDNER!!" But honestly, I'd be fairly surprised if Gardner/Cabrera are slotted in center on opening day.

Hey scribble. I dont want to go back and forth w/ you again but I think the Yanks go after Cameron, especially in a trade is a horrible idea. CF is a position where we CAN improve but not a position that NEEDS DRASTIC improvements. Bringing Cameron in would be going back to our usual mode of going with very old players rather than trusting in our younger players. If we were talking about 1B and bringing in Kevin Millar for a year (if we failed to sign Tex) and platoon him with Miranda or to take the job completely then I could live with that because Miranda is weak w/ the glove and hasn't shown in the minors that he can hit lefties and righties. I just think Cameron isn't a great fit for our "movement" of getting younger and more self-reliant. Just my opinion.

Plus we need as much pitching as possible and I'm not ready to judge Kennedy off of 9 mlb starts. You're trading a 24 yr old pitcher with upside (possibly a solid #3 or 4) for a guy who figures into your plans for 1 year?

"If we were talking about 1B and bringing in Kevin Millar for a year (if we failed to sign Tex) and platoon him with Miranda or to take the job completely then I could live with that because Miranda is weak w/ the glove and hasn't shown in the minors that he can hit lefties and righties. I just think Cameron isn't a great fit for our "movement" of getting younger and more self-reliant. Just my opinion."

So you want to have a youth movement.. by signing Kevin Millar to platoon at first? I get what you're saying, but the Yankees simply cannot have that poor production coming from first. Juan Miranda is a AAAA player, plain and simple. The Yankees are better off bringing in Tex or maybe going for Billy Butler, than giving Miranda a decent look at first.

I do agree that drastic improvements aren't needed in center, but the Yankees do need to get at least a pretty good player in center. I really like teetz's idea of signing Jim Edmonds. He would give them a good lefty that could platoon with Gardner in center, so you would still be getting at bats for your young guy while also not completely accepting mediocre production from center.

Cameron isn't a great fit for the Yankees' movement to get younger, but he is a good fit for the 2009 Yankees, and really that's what is most important. Adding Cameron would have little to do with your youth movement anyways, because Cabrera and Gardner don't figure to be much more than role guys in the future.

"... I really like teetz's idea of signing Jim Edmonds. He would give them a good lefty that could platoon with Gardner in center ..."

Gardner is lefty as well and I can't imagine either holding up well against LHP.

I sort of diagree. I think somehow, based on less than 150 at bats, people have already set it in their mind that Gardner can't be a productive every day player. Based upon his history I don't think a line like .280 avg/.350 obp with 40-50sb and a solid glove in CF is hard to imagine. He's an unknown quantity right now and playing him at leaset a semi-regular basis is the only way you can see what he can do. Also, I don't think Melky should be written off. The talent is there and depending on how much work he puts in this off season he might be able to turn it around as well.

But again, what are you basing that on? Gardner put up very good numbers in the minors. Doesn't he deserve a chance to show what he can do more than just 127 at bats? Look...I don't want to turn this into a "vote for change elect Gardner" thing but I'm just saying, when a kid does what he's supposed to do in the minors he desrves a chance unless there's someone in front of him who is a bonafide star who's entrenched there for the next 5 years. Cameron is a one year solution. I'd like to use 09 to see what he and to an extent Melky can do. Same thing with Kennedy. It's unfair to expect a player to come up and hit the ground running. Some very big players have struggle their first year in the majors.

Gardner has a history of getting off to a slow start with each promotion to the next level. He hit .161 in 56 at bats during his 1st call up
.294 in 68 at bats in his second call up. The Yanks can't afford to throw young players away. We have a lot of OF spots to fill by thend of 09 and it would be great to know if Gardner can be one of them. Let's say he has a good year in 09. Then Austin Jackson could be our LF and Nady in right. When Damon leaves maybe Gardner will become the leadoff guy. We could use a gritty player on the team and Girardi touched upon it in this interview from mlb dot com:
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A third-round selection of the Yankees in 2005, Gardner has logged a fan in manager Joe Girardi, who repeatedly called him a "pest" on the basepaths. In the season's closing days, Girardi spoke about hoping to assemble a more balanced 2009 lineup that finds multiple ways to score.

"Athleticism is important, so you can create some runs besides hits and home runs," Girardi said. "I think the most rounded offenses are the ones that can score lots of different ways and I think that's important.

"The goal is to play in November next year, and when you get to November, you have to have ways to score runs. It's not easy to just go up there and slug. Usually the teams that slug don't necessarily win the World Series."

A slow starter historically at each level throughout his Minor League career, Gardner sputtered some in his first callup before returning in mid-August.

Working with hitting coach Kevin Long to tweak his swing and alter his stride, Gardner batted .294 (20-for-68) with four doubles, two triples, nine RBIs and 10 runs scored in 25 games from Aug. 15 through the end of the season, laying the groundwork for what he hopes will be his first full big league campaign.

"It just completely changes your timing and direction," he said. "It's obviously all for the better and all for me to be more consistent, but at the same time, it's not something you can just flip a switch on and it works automatically. I definitely felt a lot more comfortable with that as I got more at-bats. It's something I'm going to continue to work on."

Beginning on June 30, Gardner batted .153 (9-for-59) in 17 games before he was optioned back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on July 25. Back at the Minor League level, Gardner served as a catalyst for a club on its way to an International League title, eventually pushing for a promotion as he ironed out his approach.

"That's the name of the game up here, consistency," Gardner said. "You've got to take a consistent swing up there, every at-bat, all game long. I don't think I was doing a very good job of doing that, especially against this caliber of pitching. It's hard to get by when you're not consistent."

Gardner batted .339 at Triple-A in 14 games before the Yankees, hoping to spark their languishing playoff hopes, made a significant move on Aug. 15 by recalling Gardner and optioning slumping center fielder Melky Cabrera.

As currently constituted, the Yankees figure to have decisions to make regarding their outfield. Bobby Abreu, the club's right fielder for more than two seasons, was among 65 Major Leaguers to file for free agency on Thursday, immediately following the completion of the World Series.

Xavier Nady is arbitration-eligible and appears in line for a corner outfield spot, while Hideki Matsui is envisioned as a designated hitter. Johnny Damon is under contract for another season and has spoken about preferring to play center field.

But the Yankees will also have to consider the case of Cabrera, a strong defensive player who was New York's Opening Day center fielder in 2008 but batted .249 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 129 games and was shipped to Triple-A to work on various aspects of his offensive game.

At 24, Gardner is actually more than a full year older than Cabrera, who debuted with the Yankees in 2005 and began to play regularly a year later.

Part of what the Yankees have asked Cabrera to tackle at Triple-A is reading pitchers and getting better jumps on steals; something Gardner can boast as an advantage. He was caught just once in 14 stolen base attempts with the Yankees this year and was successful in 37 of 46 tries at Triple-A.

"That's always been my biggest asset, my speed," Gardner said. "The first thing I've got to do is work on taking a consistent swing up there and do my best to give myself an opportunity to get on base and make things happen."

Gardner said that he plans to report to Spring Training in January and knows, by the time the Yankees' hectic offseason shakes out, he may be considered as a fourth outfielder. But as general manager Brian Cashman prepares to begin winter business, Gardner hopes his performance in limited duty may open the door to regular play.

"There's some things I can do to help out, coming off the bench and pinch-running or playing defense, things like that," Gardner said. "I feel like if I play every day, I can do things to help the team win ballgames. Hopefully they feel the same way."

Not Joe:

What scouting reports have you read are contrary to anything I just said?

Since when does power = OBP? That's a misnomor. Just because he has no power doesn't mean he can't be an excellent leadoff hitter.

His numbers in the minors show he can hit for a decent avg (lifetime .290 avg), he can have a decent obp (.389 lifetime), and has avg 52 sb a year in his 3 years split between the minors/majors.

Scouting reports:

œSelected in the third round of the 2005 draft, Garnder has shot up the Yankees system and now resides in AAA Scranton. (it always sounds weird to say AAA Scranton instead of Columbus). After swiping 58 bags between two levels last season, Gardner has missed a large amount of time this season due to a hand injury, along with running into an outfield fence. In 54 games at AA Trenton, Brett hit an even .300, walked (33) more than he struck out (32) and stole 18 bases in 22 opportunities. The downside to his game is his complete lack of HR power, as he has failed to launch even one HR in over 700 minor league ABs.

With his speed and plate discipline, Brett could turn into a good leadoff hitter at the MLB level in the near future, although whether this is with the Yankees or not remains to be seen. At the very least, I’d expect Gardner to get a September call-up to serve as a pinch runner. He is also known as a strong defensive outfielder with limited arm strength.

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Brett Gardner is the fastest prospect in the system, rating a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale. He is an adept basestealer, succeeding on better than 80 percent of his attempts. His speed plays in centerfield as well, where he has above average range. Gardner’s arm is below average but plays in center.

He endears himself to scouts and fans alike with his all-out hustle, while his plate discipline ranks as the best in the system.

According to the Baseball America 2008 Prospect Handbook, “Offensively, [Gardner] evoke Brett Butler by bunting, slashing line driver and taking walks. Gardner has hit one homer the last two years and doesn’t have the swing path or strength to hit for much more. He’ll have to prove he won’t be overpowered in the majors, and he needs to hang in better against lefthanders to avoid becoming a platoon player.”

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Tools: Garnder has three tools: 80 speed (Carl Crawford speed), great contact, and a good glove and instincts in the outfield. He also has great plate discipline. However, he really lacks power. His contact is the weak, slap-hitter type that limits XBH and thus his ceiling. His arm is good, but not overly impressive.

Performance: He could start for the Yankees next season if only he could hit like 10 homers. He hasn’t hit 10 in 3 seasons in the minors, and went all through 2006 without one. He finally hit a homerun this year, and that was it (he hit 5 homers in Staten Island after being drafted). To be fair, he hit .300 this year at AA w/ a .392 OBP, but fell off a bit at AAA with a .260 AVG and .343 OBP. His XBH numbers deceive, as they are mostly a result of his speed, not power. As of this writing, in the AzFL, he is hitting .371 with no homers an 8 RBIs, with a .430 OBP and a .400 SLG, and if he maintains a pace somewhat close to this he may get a shot at New York next year.

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Assets Is one of the fastest players in baseball, and has the ability to set the table from the top of the batting order.

Flaws Has absolutely no power to speak of. Needs to prove he can hit left-handed pitching and his arm reduces him to left field.

Career potential A decent leadoff man.

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Your acting as if the Melky/Gardner experiment fails that it would be impossible to get someone along the lines of Cameron next year. But IMO you don't truly know what you have until you give them a chance to play. The Yanks offense can support a weak bat at one position.

You guys are all idiots. Melky Cabrera is pretty much a lock to post a .280/.380/.560 line and start the all star game! Cameron is 36! He strikes out! Melky is 24!!! He is 24!!!! (Woooooooooooooooooooo)

"So is a scraptastic hustler really a key to success?"

Not key...but I think it can help. Depends on what the alternative is. Theriot was pretty big for the Cubs this year, and he is EXACTLY what you are talking about. However, I'd rather have Jose Reyes...obviously. So like I said, it depends on the alternative.

G-A-R-D-N-E-R

I see the Yanks fans talk about Cameron and as a brew crew fan can relate to the doubts you would have about him. To many times people would ask if the game was a rerun when i'd predict a strikeout. He fields and runs above avg and folks talk about his power. For the brewers, they got power, the long ball is the least of the brewers worries. Eventually Tony Gwynn Jr is going to stop being a prospect if not given the chance. He has the speed and probably will have the fielding ability, maybe not the power but again brewers got power hitters. It wouldn't surprise me to see Cameron be dealt for any pitching with upside.

To address the question of what it would take to get weeks instead of Cameron, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make an offer for Weeks. Weeks continuing to start instead of Ray Durham after the trade had to have played a major role in Yost's firing. What looked to be a great young middle infielder in 05 has become a serious liability. Did anyone else see the dropped ball at first in game one of the NLDS? Its interesting that moving weeks to center is brought up. he has the speed to cover ground, but will his glove hang onto the ball.

so yes, please offer Ian Kennedy for weeks, we unfortunately don't have mike maddox to guide him, but i'd rather take his potential than weeks' at this point. Kennedy could potentially join a young lineup someday of Gallardo, Parra, and dare i say Cain? 09 should be rough for the brewers as we move around our youth in preparation for a few more consistently strong years ahead.