I was starting to agree with Kyle, especially after Melvin said last week that, "the good pitching is drying up" on the free-agent market. But that was before Melvin added Braden Looper to the list of pitchers he is pursuing, and before the Yankees gave strong indications that they were no longer engaged with Ben Sheets. Looper would be a decent option, a guy who has won 12 games in each of his two seasons as a starter, worked 199 innings last season and can swing the bat a bit. Sheets could fall back to the Brewers, sign a shorter-term deal and then test free agency again once he has proven he can stay healthy.

(Yes, I know that Derek Lowe is still available, but there's not a match. For one, the Brewers have gotten no indications that Lowe has interest in Milwaukee. He is represented by agent Scott Boras, and when was the last time Melvin engaged with Boras on a free agent? There's also the matter of Lowe's asking price, reportedly four years and $60-$64 million.)

Other than Looper and Sheets, I would not totally forget about Randy Wolf, though Wolf's initial desire for a three-year contract in the neighborhood of $10 million per season is a major obstacle. On the closer front, I am not ready to rule out Fuentes, because it sounds like Melvin is one of a number of GMs still engaged with him. As for Johnson and Smoltz, the Brewers are probably in the second tier of teams those veterans are considering.

It seems to me that only if all of those free-agent options dry up would the Brewers consider trading one of their big bats. They would have to, right? With all due respect to the crop of non-roster pitchers who will be in camp, I just don't see how the team could feel great about heading into 2009 with Chris Capuano, Chris Narveson, Lindsay Gulin and Sam Narron as the first line of defense for injuries in the five-man rotation.

I have a really hard time understanding why the Brewers aren't making a concerted effort to go after Sheets. Though he does have a long history of injuries, wouldn't signing him to a two-year deal be better than going after Johnson (who could only manage an 11-10 season in the NL West)? Bringing back Sheets would put their rotation in the exact same shape as it was when the Brewers entered the season last year, with high hopes and high expectations. Will bringing in a guy at the tail end of his career accomplish the same?
-- Ian W., Milwaukee

One agent I talked to at the Winter Meetings said he expected Sheets to come back around to the Brewers at some point this winter. But it appears Melvin is playing it cool at the moment, waiting for Sheets to test the market. If that market does not develop, it would make sense for both sides to consider a return to Milwaukee. I tried calling Sheets' agent, Casey Close, just before Sheets declined the Brewers' arbitration offer, but did not hear back. Close is a particularly tough guy to reach, so we might not get to know much about Sheets' thinking.

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How much thought do the Brewers put into Capuano? They only signed him to a Minor League deal. I know he has had some bad luck and is coming off injury, but he could be back to his old self and be a great pitcher and possibly an ace. It was only a couple years ago he was filling in for Sheets as the ace. He had a great season and won a lot of games. I can see him doing that for the Brewers for many seasons.
-- Kyle C., Portage, Wis.

Anything Capuano contributes at the big league level in 2009 is a bonus. He was an All-Star in 2006 but finished 2007 with 12 straight losing decisions and then missed all of 2008 after elbow surgery. So the Brewers cannot count on Capuano for '09; thus the Minor League deal and the hope that he can cobble together a comeback. After talking to him last week, it sounds like Capuano is moving forward with realistic expectations.

By the way, if I am reading Capuano's contract details correctly, his deal maxes out a bit higher than was reported last week. He gets $25,000 per month in the Minors and a $500,000 base salary in the Majors, plus a bunch of big league incentives. For innings pitched, Capuano gets a $50,000 bonus for reaching the 60-, 70-, 80- and 90-inning plateaus, a $75,000 bonus for 100, 110, 120 and 130 innings, and a $100,000 bonus for 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190 and 200 innings. For games started, he gets a $25,000 bonus for each of his starts from 5-10, $50,000 for each start from 11-20, $75,000 each for 21-25, $100,000 each for 26-29 and $200,000 if he reaches 30 starts. In addition, Capuano will earn a $70,000 bonus if he spends one day on the Major League roster, $50,000 for 30 days, $50,000 for 60 days, $100,000 for 90 days and $100,000 for 120 days.

If I'm not mistaken, then, he would earn $3.695 million if he hits all of those milestones, which is admittedly unlikely since Capuano himself expects to begin the year in the Minors. The deal also includes the usual awards bonuses, including a $150,000 bump if Capuano wins Comeback Player of the Year.

What do you think of CC Sabathia's comment that he didn't see Melvin making any moves to bring in talent to put around him? I think he is right because to me it looks like all the talent has left the board.
-- Pat, Cumberland, Wis.

If I am Melvin or a member of Brewers ownership, I am extremely dismayed about Sabathia's comments about Milwaukee during his introductory press conference in New York. Brewers officials say they gave him opportunities to ask questions about the team's direction moving forward, but Sabathia never asked.

One comment about Pat's last sentence, because Melvin responded at the Winter Meetings to suggestions that the Brewers were rebuilding, or had lost all of the talent that propelled them to the Wild Card. Melvin argues that the Brewers' offense is largely set, which few teams can boast at the moment, and that the team simply suffered some free-agent losses in the pitching department. That may be a bit rare in Milwaukee, where in the past top players have been traded away before they reach free agency, but it happens to other teams all the time.

The Brewers' challenge is replacing those losses on a tight budget. No small task.

I am curious about this deal to sign Trot Nixon. Melvin said he hopes that Nixon is this year's Gabe Kapler, so my question is, why not just sign Kapler? He was a solid player for us last year, and Nixon didn't really do anything last year. Why the change?
-- Kayla S., De Pere, Wis.

Brewers officials have decided that they need some left-handed bats, and Kapler hits right-handed. I expected the team to at least be players for Kapler this winter, but from everything I have heard and been told, that is not happening. Maybe there are some concerns about his season-ending injury, or perhaps his asking price is way up from the $800,000 he made last year.

Nixon, by the way, is no lock to make the team. He will be in camp as a non-roster player and would have to win his spot, or go to Triple-A Nashville to provide some depth in case of injury.