According to various news sources, the Bombers and the Brewers are ready to swap outfielders Melky Cabrera and Mike Cameron.

This move is the second in as many days for the Yankees, as they upgraded their rotation yesterday by signing CC Sabathia.

Acquiring Cameron, a player who has proved he can play in New York, the Yankees have bought themselves a little more time in the "Developing Austin Jackson Department".

In what may be considered around the league as a major head scratching roster transaction, the Brew Crew picked up outfielder Mike Cameron's $10 million team option, bringing him back for the 2009 campaign.

According to ESPN.com News Services, even Cameron was a bit surprised;

"I didn't think my option would get picked up," Cameron told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "This was a surprise, to be honest with you."

Cameron, after being suspended for the first 25 games last season, went on to hit 25 home runs, drive in 70 runs, and bat a meager .243.

Despite GM Doug Melvin's insistence that Cameron is the sixth best centerfielder in the majors (according to Sabermetrics), this was not a move the Brewers needed to make. Melvin even admits that the Brewers are right handed heavy, and with the possibility of Coco Crisp being put on the trading block, the Brewers may have lost out on a chance to get a speedy left handed bat at the top of their order.

108 Red Stitches Rating:

In what industry insiders and fans alike should consider a surprise move, the Milwaukee Brewers fired manager Ned Yost, replacing him with Dale Sveum.

The Brewers currently hold a share of the wild card lead, and have made vast improvements since Yost held the reigns as Brew Crew manager.

Despite landing lefty CC Sabathia before the trade deadline, the Brewers have been floundering as of late. The following quote was posted on ESPN.com

"I think we have sucked in September so far," a Brewers player who wished to remain anonymous told ESPN.com's Amy K. Nelson. "And I don't think it's his fault that we can't hit or pitch right now, but something had to change."

Yost was in his sixth season as the Brewers' manager.

ESPN.com News Services is reporting that Cleveland ace C.C. Sabathia has been traded to the Brewers for a couple of minor leaguers:

The Brewers and the Cleveland Indians agreed in principle to a deal for the reigning AL Cy Young on Sunday, sources told ESPN's Buster Olney. The deal is contingent on paperwork being finished and the exchange of medical records.

The trade was first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

In a text message to ESPN.com's Amy K. Nelson, Sabathia all but confirmed the deal.

"I'm good, excited," Sabathia wrote. "It's weird leaving these guys."

Cleveland would get Double-A outfielder Matt LaPorta, who is hitting .288 with 20 homers and 66 RBIs in 84 games for Huntsville, and others. The other players do not include top prospects Alcides Escobar or Mat Gamel, according to the Journal Sentinel.

This week has been fairly unkind to a handful of closers around the league. Multiple meltdowns, closers questioning whether or not they can mentally perform their jobs, blown saves wrecking havoc on your fantasy stats. Lets take a minute to sort through the muck.

Jason Isringhausen had a meltdown, crying to reporters that he couldn't and shouldn't do his job anymore. Here's a snippet from an AP News Story, as seen on ESPN.com:

After blowing his fifth save Friday night -- tying Milwaukee's Eric Gagne for most in the major leagues -- in a 4-3 loss to the Brewers, the Cardinals' embattled reliever will no longer close games, manager Tony La Russa said Saturday.

"He's still prepared to pitch important innings, but for a while we'll try to keep him out of the ninth inning," La Russa said. "There's still going to be games where you can't cherry-pick his situations because if we're playing well, you need your bullpen."

That move makes perfect sense, keeping your closer out of the ninth inning. I think I read somewhere that MLB is considering awarding closers save situations if they come in during the fourth inning, with their team leading by five or more runs.

A little ways north, the Brew Crew are seeing similar results from their 10 million dollar man Eric Gagne. Here's a blurb from another AP News story run on ESPN.com:

Manager Ned Yost said he read Gagne's comments and will use a closer by committee approach while Gagne takes what Yost called a "mental break."

"He's really pushing himself really, really hard and taking it really, really hard," Yost said. "We'll probably just mix and match, I'm not going to do anything crazy."

Yost said anyone in his bullpen may be called on to close, and that he might take it batter-by-batter depending on matchup. Guillermo Mota has pitched well in the eighth inning, going 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 14 appearances, but asked what he did wrong when reporters approached him before the game Sunday. He said he's not planning to become the closer.

"I don't expect that, but if there's a chance, if they put me there, then I'll try to do the best I can," said Mota, who has seven career saves. "I'm used to setting up. That's my role for many years. I'm comfortable there, but I used to be in the ninth, too."

Other Options Around the League:

Santiago Casilla (Oakland): We've said it before, get Casilla on your team. He's currently sporting a devastating pitching line; 2-0, 22 K, 0.47 ERA, and a 0.87 WHIP. Rotowire had this to say about the rookie flame thrower:

Here's a season line that would make you jumpy if you held a good draft slot in your fantasy league draft:

50 HRs, 119 RBIs, .288 BA, 35 Doubles, 109 Runs Scored, 90 walks, .618 Slugging %, and...oh what the heck, 2 Stolen Bases.

Fielder has hit 78 home runs in his first two full big league seasons. He's hitting in the heart of a potentially dangerous Brewers lineup and faces National League Central Rotations who are more likely to be confused for their Stadium's grounds crew than they are for a major league pitching staff. So why are we concerned about Fielder this season?

Earlier in the year, Fielder announced that his diet changes included switching to an all vegan diet. This will likely increase his flexibility and give his knees a break from holding up that tummy of his. Next time you see a vegan, however, take a good look at them and figure out whether they can hit a baseball 500 feet, and repeat that action fifty times, for that matter.

We're really concerned with Fielder's latest newswire activity. No, not the flu, which has kept him out of his remaining Spring Training. Fielder's issues stem from a bigger disease; egomania.

Take a look at this statement from Fielder, courtesy of Rotowire;

Fielder expressed displeasure with the new contract he signed with the Brewers on Sunday, the Associated Press reports.

Spin: "I'm not happy about it at all," Fielder said. "The fact I've had to be renewed two years in a row, I'm not happy about it because there's a lot of guys who have the same amount of time that I do who have done a lot less and are getting paid a lot more." Fielder is up for arbitration at the end of the season.

Does this sound like a guy who is going to give his all this season? Sure he's up for arbitration, but we don't tend to fall in love with arbitration eligible player like we love players who are in their contract year. Arbitration relies too heavily on other players at Fielder's position, who all produce similar numbers. Arbitration does not fuel a player like the prospect of winning free agency lotto.

If the Brewers are out of the playoff run by Mid-July, Fielder can either phone it in for the rest of the season, or try to pad his stats by swinging for the fences. Either way, his strikeout total will increase, as will his waistline once he realizes how bad tofu really tastes.

Time to open up the 108 Red Stitches Mailbag. To ask us a question email 108redstitches@gmail.com. Try to keep it baseball related, spammers not welcome, we know where you live and have Italians on our staff, and we're not afraid to use them.


Dear 108 Red Stitches,

I've got a question regarding closers, or the apparent lack of late in fantasy drafts. Looking over my team, I've notice that I'm weak in the saves category, partially because I failed to draft a K-Rod or a Rivera earlier in the draft.
Looking over my waiver wire, I've got three options; Kerry Wood, BJ Ryan, or Eric Gagne. Any thoughts?

- Kris, New York

We're beginning to believe that you can win in mixed leagues (head to head) without relying too heavily on a closer. What's the big deal if you lose out on one stat category, when you can spend higher picks on guys that will produce in three or four different categories? Back to your question regarding which closer to pick. We faced a similar situation in our league, and decided to go with Ryan. In our situation, we were able to grab Bobby Jenks later in the draft, so we can afford to gamble on Ryan. Wood is tricky, because they have two other options for closer if he doesn't work out. Gagne seems to be the most stable with his role, no one threatening to replace him, as in Ryan and Wood's situations.

That being said, Gagne is fat and lazy. Without anything nipping at his heals, he might have the tendency to become complacent. He signed a one year fat contract, nothing incentive laced, and that scares the hell out of us.

Name: Manny Parra
Organization: Milwaukee Brewers
Position: Pitcher
Born: 10/30/1982
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Drafted: 2001, 26th Round



If we said "future of the Brewers organization" and you immediately thought of Prince Fielder, keep reading. If you thought Manny Parra, you're way ahead of everyone else.
Parra is a 6'3", left handed, fire-balling (95mph consistently), young gun who occasionally dabbles in the fine art of the knuckleball. Oh yeah, and he pitched a perfect game in Triple-A last June.
Parra throws an assortment of pitches; a four seam fastball, a cutter, a nasty curve, and he's working on developing a better changeup.
Parra has been plagued throughout his career with odd injuries; stress fracture from weightlifting, shoulder problems that led to surgery in the 2005 season, and a broken thumb right after he was called up by the Brewers.
Parra, when healthy, is exciting. His minor league numbers (34-16, 528/147 K/BB ratio) just give a glimpse into what looks to be a promising career.

Baseball's winter hasn't be anything more than a couple of flurries here and there, but if ESPN Sources are correct, we might be getting some major winter weather activity in the next day or so.

According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnik, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to (in principle) a trade that would swap franchise third basemen Scott Rolen and Troy Glaus.

Continuing their roster overhaul, the Oakland Athletics have agreed to ship aging center fielder Mark Kotsay to the Braves in exchange for twenty four year old pitcher Joey Devine. This is the third major trade for the Athletic organization, who are clearly writing off next season after trading Dan Haren and Nick Swisher earlier this winter.

The Brewers have a deal in place that will bring in veteran center fielder Mike Cameron. Cameron, however, will miss the first twenty five games of the upcoming season for violating baseball's drug testing guidelines.

And finally, the Tampa Bay Rays have asked permission to play a series against the Blue Jays at Disney. Early reports indicate that Mickey will not pitch, as he also has violated baseball's drug testing program.




For Christ sakes, he's a mouse! Look at the size of him. And you guys complain that Barry Bonds is huge.

There is nothing more pure than this baseball video done by two brothers from Wisconsin. We need to fund raise to get them a better camera.