Brewers off-season update

Brewers off-season update November 28, 2007 | 12:40 PM *The biggest (and saddest) Brewers news is that closer Francisco Cordero is now a Cincinnati Red. It's bad enough to lose your All-Star Closer, but to lose him to someone within the division is heartbreaking. I understand that GM Doug Melvin had a number in mind and wasn't willing to top that in terms of the deal he offered Cordero, but it hurts to learn that we lost out over $4 million dollars. Clearly, the bidding war could have gone on, but the loss is painful nonetheless. *Reliever Scott Linebrink is also gone. The loss of Linebrink isn't too startling, but when you realize we gave up three prospects for a guy that spent two months here and was really a non-factor, it's a little upsetting. That being said, we did receive a free-agent "sandwich" pick as well as the White Sox 2nd round pick. In addition, this guy says that the Sox overpaid for Linebrink. *We (mercifully) got rid of catcher Johnny Estrada. Clearly we were desperate to lose him, as we traded him to the Mets for a reliever who spent the first 50 game of last season on suspension for steroid use. Also, it appears Mota gets booed at Shea by his hometown fans. Clearly what the Brewers need is another reliever we can boo! I'll miss Johnny's stirrups, but not his lackluster performance and inability to throw anyone out. *To replace Estrada we signed a one-year deal with Jason Kendall, formerly of the Cubs. from jsonline.com: Kendall is the only big-league catcher to play in at least 130 games in each of the last five seasons. "He has durability," said Melvin. "When you get older, some of your skills decline. But he has a career .375 on-base percentage and is a good handler of pitchers. "He doesn't have the power Johnny had but he's more selective at the plate. He'll take more pitches and get on base more often." Nicole