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Selig to get a statue at Miller Park


The Brewers will honor Allan H. (Bud) Selig with a statute at Miller Park’s Home Plate Plaza.  Commissioner Selig’s statue will be alongside those of Hank Aaron and Robin Yount.  He’s a very polarizing figure among baseball fans.  His reign over baseball has local media lining up to kiss the ring, hailing him as the greatest commissioner in the history of sports.  Other national personalities view him in a different light.  I appreciate the wild card round and interleague play being brought into the game.  The All-Star Game shouldn’t have any bearing on anything, period.  The drug testing was a day late and a dollar short for my book.  Blame for the steroid era can go round and round, but Selig deserves his fair share.  A large segment of the fan base grew tired of his daughter running the team.  I’m not a supporter of Selig, but I am very grateful for his contributions to Milwaukee.  Without Bud Selig, who knows if baseball would have come back to the Brew City?  I have fond memories of going to Brewers games when I was a kid.  The Brewers and County Stadium fueled my need for baseball.  I don’t agree with all of his decisions; however I completely believe that Bud Selig deserves a statue at Miller Park.  The ceremony will take place on August 24th.

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5 questions on the Chicago Cubs


As we get ready for spring training the Fanball Bloggers for the N.L. Central teams have gotten together to answer questions about the teams we cover.  Mark Sherrard does a terrific job for cubspack.com.  Here he answers what I believe are the hot topics surrounding the 2010 Chicago Cubs.  
1.  The Cubs are a veteran team built to win right now.  The Cubs failed to qualify for the postseason after back-to-back appearances.  Is the door still open for the Cubs to play in the postseason?

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Turnbow signs on with Marlins


As teams are beginning to shore up spots for spring training, players latch on with teams just looking for the opportunity to show they’ve still got it.  The Florida Marlins have decided to take a chance on Derrick Turnbow.  The former closer has signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.  He saved 39 games in 2005 and 24 during an All-Star 2006 campaign.  The train came off the tracks shortly after the All-Star game as he eventually lost his job to Francisco Cordero.   Turnbow pitched as the 8th inning guy in 2007 finishing among the league leaders in holds.  In 2008, Turnbow was held back with a labrum tear in his pitching shoulder.  He signed with the Rangers early last season, but was released in May.  The 32-year-old fire baller is young enough to still be productive.  His main problem in Milwaukee ended up being between the ears.  Florida is a good place for Turnbow as the Marlins have perfected the art of pulling relievers off the scrap heap.

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Jim Edmonds is coming to camp with the Crew


Jim Edmonds has signed a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training with the Brewers.  The 39 year-old has an impressive resume as a 4-time All-Star and 8-time Gold Glove Awards.  He didn’t play in 2009 and maybe his body will be fresh for spring training.  I love the catch he made in Kansas City in center field as a member of the Angels.  I couldn’t find it on you tube.  He sprints back to the track and launches himself towards the wall with both hands out as he makes the catch.  He’s a career .284 hitter with 382 homers and 1,176 RBI in 16 campaigns.  Edmonds adds another left-handed bat to compete for a spot off the bench.  Jody Gerut, Trent Oeltjen, Logan Schafer, Adam Stern, Joe Inglett, and Jim Edmonds are looking to break out of a log jam to make the opening day roster.  Gerut would have to really struggle this spring to not make the opening day roster.  Edmonds will need a hot spring to earn one of the final roster spots.  He can contribute right away if Carlos Gomez and Lorenzo Cain take hte opportunity to pick the brain of the 8-time Gold Glover this spring.

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“Super” Joe Inglett joins the Crew


Left-handed contact sticks off the bench have been a common theme for the Brewers the last couple of seasons.  Add Joe Inglett to the list of utility players that hit from the left side.  Inglett is an IN/OF that will try to fight his way onto this squad in spring training.  Craig Counsell is set on the roster, but there are a couple of open spots on the bench.  Inglett was claimed off waivers by the Rangers earlier this winter, but was deemed expendable after the signing of Khalil Greene.  Inglett played in only 36 games for the Blue Jays batting .281 with a .347 on-base percentage.  All utility guys named Joe are “Super” after Joe McEwing set the standard.  “Super” Joe Inglett will have to beat out Hernan Iribarren, Adam Heether, Trent Oeltjen, and Luis Cruz for a possible roster spot.  I view Logan Schafer, Lorenzo Cain, and Adam Stern as guys that will get their feet wet in Major League camp before being sent back down.

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Ben Sheets signs with Oakland


The Oakland A’s have taken a chance on Ben Sheets with a one-year deal worth $10 million plus incentives.  He failed a physical with the Rangers last year and underwent elbow surgery.  In 2008, he went 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA in 31 starts with the Brewers.  His career record 86-83 with a 3.72 ERA isn’t indicative of how great a pitcher he is when healthy.  The injuries have piled up for Sheets and I would have signed him as a closer in a heartbeat.  This deal can be spun by Oakland as he’s a veteran presence to go along with Justin Duchscherer at aid young hurlers Dallas Braden, Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, and Vin Mazzaro.  If the team starts off hot and contends maybe Sheets is in the Bay area all season.  I believe that this is an opportunity for the A’s and Sheets to use each other.  Sheets gets to prove he’s healthy, while the A’s get to sell him high at the deadline.  Oakland has plenty of young talented starting pitchers to build around.  A’s GM Billy Beane will look to cash in his golden ticket for a package of players at the deadline.

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Brewers come to terms with Bush and Villanueva


The Brewers avoided arbitration with Dave Bush on a one-year, $4.215 million contract and Carlos Villanueva on a one-year $950,000 deal.  Bush is one of six starting pitchers looking for spots in the five man rotation.  The log jam of players always works itself out due to either injuries or performance.  Bush, Parra, and Suppan are fighting for the final two spots in the rotation.  Many fans fear that Suppan will be put in the rotation because of his salary and Bush will be sent to the pen.  That’s a hot button topic to watch for this spring training, but with a 162 game season that stuff tends to play itself out.     

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Brewers avoid arbitration with Coffey


The Brewers have come to terms with Todd Coffey avoiding arbitration.  His sprints to the mound from the bullpen aren’t all he’s known for.  Coffey led the team with 78 appearances and led all NL relievers with 83 2/3 innings pitched.  The career high workload seemed to take its toll as he faded a bit down the stretch.  The 2.90 ERA was very impressive for a pitcher that struggled with the Reds.  He’s a valuable commodity because appearances don’t always have to strictly be one inning.  Coffey is the guy in the middle of the pen that comes in during jams in the middle innings.  Last years performance earned him a $1.225 million dollar raise up to over $2 million for 2010.  Coffey will pitch in the middle innings before the game gets turned over to LaTroy Hawkins and Trevor Hoffman.

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Doug Davis is back with the Crew


Doug Davis is back with the Brewers on a one-year deal with a mutual option.  The veteran southpaw is a very slow worker that throws too many pitches.  What the lefty can do is take the ball every fifth day and give you chance to win more games than not.  The last 6 years he’s had 26 or more starts.  The 2008 season saw him overcome thyroid cancer. His 34 starts tied for the lead in the senior circuit.  He led all of baseball in walks with 103 last season.  Surprisingly, Yovani Gallardo finished third with 94 base on balls.  His career WHIP of 1.492 is alarming and this is not a top of the rotation pitcher.  During the 2005 season with the Crew, Davis struck out a career high 208 hitters.  Ted Higuera, Ben Sheets, and Yovani Gallardo are the only other Brewers hurlers to have 200 strikeout campaigns.  Now the rotation entering spring training looks like Gallardo, Wolf, Davis, Parra, Bush, and Suppan fighting for the final 2 spots.  Hopefully pitching coach Rick Peterson can get Parra and Davis work faster on the mound.  The off-season isn’t over so we’ll see what else is up Doug Melvin’s sleeve.  This group is an upgrade over last season, but I think fans were expecting a bit more.

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5 questions on the Houston Astros


Scott at kissmyastros.com and I exchanged emails about the teams we cover.  These were the questions I had about the 2010 Houston Astros. For more coverage on the Astros I highly recommend his site.

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