That's an understandable stance since Looper wasn't great in Milwaukee in 2009 (he won 14 games, but had a 5.22 ERA and poor peripherals) but it really leaves the Brewers with Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra, Jeff Suppan, and probably Dave Bush (he's seen by some as a non-tender candidate now that he's entering his last year of arbitration and will likely be due a raise on his $4 million 2009 salary, but that seems unlikely with Looper's salary off the books) as starting pitchers right now. Melvin better have some plan in mind or things are only going to get worse for the Brewers' pitching staff.
Despite a disappointing 2009 season, the Brewers confirmed Sunday that they will bring manager Ken Macha back in 2010 with a team option for 2011. In fact, most of Macha's staff will be back, with only interim pitching coach Chris Bosio and bullpen coach Stan Kyles not being offered contracts.
That's not the only news out of Milwaukee on the last day of the season. The Brewers are also apparently close to re-signing closer Trevor Hoffman, who pitched exceptionally well in his first season in Milwaukee, saving 37 games with a 1.70 ERA and a 4.27 K/BB ratio. He's 41, but the all-time saves leader certainly didn't pitch his age this year.
A year ago at this time the Milwaukee Brewers were wrapping up their first postseason berth in 25 years, and even though they were knocked out of the Division Series by the Phillies, expectations were raised in Milwaukee. Those expectations weren't met this season as the Brew Crew is battling just to finish .500.
So it's no surprise that the team's owner, Mark Attanasio, is disappointed with this year's results, but he's focused on the future of his club and how it can get back to the postseason. Obviously changes will need to be made in Milwaukee if the Brewers are going to contend in the NL Central next season, and that means there are some tough decisions to be made.
After winning the NL wild card last year, the Brewers have taken a step back in 2009. They're six games below .500 and well out of both the NL Central and wild card races. Despite that, team owner Mark Attanasio went out of his way to endorse general manager Doug Melvin in 2010, saying that he has faith in Melvin fixing the holes the club currently has.
Since taking over as Brewers general manager in 2002, Melvin has turned what was one of the worst franchises in baseball into a competitive team with a slew of young talent. There's no denying the Brewers have regressed this year, but it'd be foolish to show Melvin the door so quickly when he's the main reason they actually have somewhere to step back from.
The Milwaukee Brewers made the playoffs last season for the first time since 1982, and their foundation of youth seemed to indicate they would at least be in the race for 2009. Sure, losing CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets would hurt the pitching staff in a big way, but the Crew would have a full season of Yovani Gallardo. And they were in the thick of the race for a while.
On Monday, we shared Ryan Braun's request for action from the Brewers' front office after a rough trip to Wrigley Field exposed the shortcomings of their starting rotation.
Although Braun's impolitic handling of his teammates was acknowledged, it was hard to see his comments as anything more than a player in a leadership role making an honest assessment of his team's needs.
Don't get nervous, Brewers fans, Ryan Braun isn't asking out of Milwaukee. Quite the opposite, actually. He's asking that general manager Doug Melvin try to pull off something like he did a year ago Tuesday when the Brewers landed CC Sabathia in a deal that helped propel them to the postseason for the first time since 1982.
The timing of Braun's request is understandable. The Brewers just dropped three of four games at Wrigley Field to the recently revived Cubs, and two of those games featured poor starts from Mike Burns and Seth McClung. Those aren't names you'll find starting games for too many playoff teams, something Braun would like the Brewers to be this season.
The manager who has never had a losing season -- not as a minor league manager, major league coach or major league manager -- has the Brewers playing some of the best baseball in the big leagues.
As they head into this weekend's series with the Cardinals, who are tied with the Brewers for first in the NL Central, the Brewers have won 18 of their last 24.
While Macha would be the first to tell you that the players are more responsible for winning than the manager, this team has Macha's fingerprints all over it.
FanHouse continues it 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers are a really interesting team. Last March, everyone expected them to make a run at the playoffs, and they expected them to do so without any knowledge of the CC Sabathia trade and with the assumption that Ben Sheets would spend some time on the disabled list. In the end, they did make the playoffs, but they did it with half of a season of Sabathia and almost 200 innings from Sheets. Now those two are gone, and everyone expects the Brewers to take a step back this year.
As the clock ticks closer and closer to the day that pitchers and catchers report, I assume that Brewer fans are starting to get a bit nervous about their starting rotation. As it stands, Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra are holding down the top two spots and while they've got high ceilings, they're pretty unproven. Behind them it only gets worse with Dave Bush followed by the fading Jeff Suppan followed by Seth McClung. And that's it.
Accordingly, it seems like the Brewers are finding their names attached to rumors involving just about every free agent pitcher left. Unfortunately, Jon Garland is now off the market and today GM Doug Melvin pointedly refuted the Oliver Perez rumors being floated around Milwaukee right now. Apparently, Milwaukee would rather keep some payroll flexibility for the season should they need to make some kind of trade once the season starts.
The Brewers will not pick up Braden Looper's $6.5 million option for next year, Tom Haudricort of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is reporting. They'll have to buy his deal out for $1 million, and it's all being done in the name of financial flexibility for the team to pursue more pitching on this winter's free agent market, according to GM Doug Melvin. 
Despite a disappointing 2009 season, the 
A year ago at this time the 
After winning the NL wild card last year, the Brewers have taken a step back in 2009. They're six games below .500 and well out of both the NL Central and wild card races. Despite that, team owner Mark Attanasio went out of his way to endorse general manager 
The Milwaukee Brewers made the playoffs last season for the first time since 1982, and their foundation of youth seemed to indicate they would at least be in the race for 2009. Sure, losing 
On Monday, we shared 
As the clock ticks closer and closer to the day that pitchers and catchers report, I assume that Brewer fans are starting to get a bit nervous about their starting rotation. As it stands, 
