Milwaukee Brewers

As the Milwaukee Brewers look toward a long off-season filled with projects, one objective that will have priority is their effort to trade 27-year-old shortstop J.J. Hardy.

Hardy, just two years removed from a 2007 National League All-Star selection, watched his production and value to the club drop sharply in 2009. After a 2008 campaign in which he batted .283/.343/.478, and saved the Brewers 16 runs with his glove alone, Hardy sank into futility as the season wore on.

Today, the Milwaukee Brewers official site BREWERS.COM published the yearly letter from Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio to fans.  

I bring the letter to your attention and I hope to read feedback from the Bleacher Report Brewers community.

October 12, 2009

Dear Brewers Fans:

Now that the Milwaukee Brewers have officially completed their 2009 season, news of more and more players with minor injuries continue to come to light.

Casey McGehee will undergo surgery this afternoon to clean out some "loose bodies" from his right knee.  The potential NL Rookie of the Year has been playing through the pain since the All-Star Break, but the knee problems significantly lessened his range at third and his speed on the basepaths.  With a .301 average and 16 home runs, it did not seem to affect him much at the plate.

Round 1—RHP Eric Arnett, Indiana University

Concerned with the 108 innings thrown with the Hoosiers in the Spring, the Brewers opted to ease Eric into the professional scene. He generally worked in two-to-three inning stints.

With a mid-90s fastball, the 21-year-old posted a 9.20 K/9 strikeout rate with the Helena Brewers. 

Nelson Cruz burst into the mainstream last night with his performance in the Home Run Derby. After a great first round that saw him belt 11 home runs, Cruz muscled his way into the finals against Prince Fielder before falling short.

In all, Cruz finished with 22 home runs, most of which went deep into the St. Louis night. He's known to have "light tower power," and he certainly lived up to that scouting report last night.

The Los Angeles Dodgers (56-32) played their final game before breaking for the All-Star game. They took two out of three from the Milwaukee Brewers (45-43) over the weekend and capped off the first half with a 7-4 win on Sunday afternoon.

The offense kept on rolling for the Blue Crew as James Loney went 2-for-4 with two RBI, Brad Ausmus hit his first home run of the season, and All-Star second baseman Orlando Hudson homered from both sides of the plate.

Some guy named Manny Ramirez also went 3-for-3 with two doubles.

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