I think I’ll settle down for a long winter’s nap.

On the bases, Cammy is mildly dangerous but he also turns 35 in January so we probably shouldn’t expect much.

And then there is defense . . .

Due to injuries and his ability to play multiple positions, LF is the only position Wilkerson has played with any regularity over the past few seasons, so a look into his Zone Rating and Range Factor might not be accurate . . . but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look. Over the past few seasons, Wilkerson has a Range Factor in LF of about 2.00 (Hideki Matsui/Pat Burrell territory) and a Zone Rating between 8.45 and 8.10 (Adam Dunn/Carlos Lee). The value of these statistics is debatable, but being linked to those four guys is not a good thing unless we are talking offense, which we most certainly are not.

With Ibanez in LF (only Manny Ramirez posted a lower ZR in 2007), the last thing we need is another plodder manning the other foul pole.

I didn’t look up Cameron’s RF/ZR because it’s safe to say it makes Wilkerson look like stick in the ground.

As for affordability, no doubt Wilkerson fits the budget . . . but just because a turd is free doesn’t mean you should take it home with you.

Milwaukee only signed Kapler only signed him for $800,000. He could do nothing but work on his tan and still orders of magnitude less damage to the Brewers than Silva will do to the M’s.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071220/BLOG05/126819430

I understand how you feel, but I’m choosing to focus on THIS move, not the inevitability of this mistake being repeated. Things change. GMs come and go. Speaking of which, I think the chances of BB being gone at the end of ‘08 are better than ever, given the obvious mediocrity of this club, and the high chance the will end up at or below .500. I can see the ownership deciding it’s time to give someone else a chance.

So, yes, eventually Bavasi could cripple the club – but I’m just saying he hasn’t done it with this move, and there’s a chance he won’t get the opportunity. That’s all. Also, it isn’t totally inevitable Bavasi will ruin us if he stays – after all, he’s been making this mistake for a number of years now (Sexson, Washburn, Vidro thru trade). Maybe it’s a sustainable string of errors. Unlikely, but I don’t know.

Anyway, I am tempering your (and my) realism with some optimism. There is no defense of this move. There is only the consolation that if we were a team with a smaller payroll, we would be in even worse trouble than we already are.

So, let me get this straight: the defense makes the pitchers better, and the pitchers make the defense better? So… what, the first day they all walk onto the field together the feedback loop begins spinning until the entire diamond explodes in an cascade of infinite awesomeness?

How many other organizations are this dumb?

well, the Brewers just gave Gabe Kapler a major league contract at double the major league minimum to play outfield after Kapler spent last year managing…

“It’s an incredible haul for a guy who spent part of 2006 banished to the pen and has given up more than a run for every strikeout he’s recorded in each of his four seasons as a starting pitcher. To put it another way, the Mariners are spending $12 million per year on a guy who wouldn’t even crack the rotation of the team they’re trying to catch in the AL West.”