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.
Categorically Speaking is designed specifically for Rotisserie GMs. The information is great for all fantasy baseball formats, but for those of you who could use some help bolstering a specific roto category, this is for you. We're going to pay close attention to players who might be readily available on your waiver wire or who you might target in non-blockbuster trade talks.
It's not too late to find a few home run hitters from the waiver wire. This is the time of the year when players make their final pushes for playoff runs and youngsters get called up to show what they're worth.
Here are three such hitters who have been tearing it up as of late.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Matt Garza might be hearing from the league office soon. The Rays right-hander admitted that he threw intentionally at Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira during Tampa Bay's 6-2 loss to New York Wednesday night.
Yankees starter Joba Chamberlain, as he has been wont to do during his brief career, threw up and in to Evan Longoria, this after the star third baseman was plunked in the series opener Monday.
"I just kind of got tired of people brushing him back," Garza said. "It's about time someone made a statement. They did it on Monday night and we didn't do anything, they didn't do it too much [Tuesday] and [Chamberlain] did it again tonight.
Ah, the All-Star break. A time for fantasy owners to take three days off from the grind of a six-month baseball season. To most, it's a welcome reprieve. To myself and other baseball-obsessed individuals, it's the three most excruciating days of a season. By the time Thursday rolls around, I'd even be willing to watch the Mets play.
Since we have to find some way of passing the time till then, let's name some illustrious fantasy squads -- one comprised of the best players at each position, another comprised of players that scarred their teams' chances of postseason glory, the third comprised of the draft picks that brought us the most bang for our buck, and the last comprised of the best young talent around. The voting for these three teams opened on July 4th at 8:00 PM and closed promptly on July 4th at 8:01. Since I was the only one to submit a vote, these teams might be a little skewed to my point of view.
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.
Over the last few years the Milwaukee Brewers have begun to develop into a threat in the National League. They're now a team that is a legitimate contender to win their division and possibly even the NL pennant, and a lot of the credit should go to the organization's ability to develop young talent. They've produced players like Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo as part of a solid young core for the organization, and they have more players waiting for their shot in the minors.
One of those players is pitcher Jeremy Jeffress, who some consider to be the best pitching prospect in the team's farm system. The 2006 first-round pick (18th overall) has run into some trouble in his career, however, particularly with marijuana. Jeffress has already been suspended once for testing positive for "a drug of abuse," which he later admitted was weed, and it looks like he just can't give the ganja up.
MLB Power Rankings:Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.
Well, that took freaking forever ... but the Blue Jays finally started to stink the joint up. I swear to you, you can't stay long atop the MLB Power Rankings -- our failure by osmosis jinxing ability is just too strong, son. At any rate, it was a weird week for ranking baseball: the Cubs continued to skid, the Padres went on a tear and Toronto fell off the face of the planet. So, yeah, spiciness ensued, and you may take the jump to see how badly your team fared. Unless you're a Rangers or a Braves fan, in which case they couldn't have done that poorly.
The 26-year-old Rickie Weeks looked to be finally fulfilling the promise of his lofty draft spot (second pick overall in the 2003 draft). He was hitting .272 with 9 home runs, 24 RBI, 2 stolen bases and 28 runs. Now, what appeared to be his breakout campaign has been summarily dismantled on one swing. Weeks tore up his wrist on a swing Sunday and his season is over.
There's no rest for the weary in fantasy baseball, though. Weeks owners must lick their wounds and find a way to recover. A recovery should be possible, considering how little owners probably had to spend on Weeks in their auctions or drafts. The three options are as follows (make sure to check out number three).
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. 
A year ago at this time the 
Starting Five
Ah, the All-Star break. A time for fantasy owners to take three days off from the grind of a six-month baseball season. To most, it's a welcome reprieve. To myself and other baseball-obsessed individuals, it's the three most excruciating days of a season. By the time Thursday rolls around, I'd even be willing to watch the Mets play.
On Monday, we shared 
Over the last few years the Milwaukee Brewers have begun to develop into a threat in the National League. They're now a team that is a legitimate contender to win their division and possibly even the NL pennant, and a lot of the credit should go to the organization's ability to develop young talent. They've produced players like 
The 26-year-old 
