Trevor Hoffman

Trevor Hoffman is the all time leader in saves with 596 (as of May 21, 2010) in 18 seasons. 

After playing for the San Diego Padres for a long time, Hoffman was acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers before the 2009 season.

In 2009, Hoffman excelled as a closer with the second lowest season ERA of his career with 1.83—saving 37 games to add to his resume. It seemed like this guy was a machine, and his career would never end.

But Hoffman's 2010 season has been miserable.

Trevor Hoffman has now blown more saves than he did all of last year, but yesterday was the worst of the worst.

Coming in to protect a three-run lead, Hoffman could not even record an out. He looked like he was throwing batting practice to the Cincinnati Reds in the 5-4 loss.

Hoffman is having his worst season yet and a change has to be made.

With veteran LaTroy Hawkins on the DL, one has to wonder to whom manager Ken Macha will turn now that Hoffman is out of the picture.

Eric Gagne's April of 2008 was an epic failure. Heartbreak after heartbreak he let the organization down with blown saves and an embarassing ERA.

Trevor Hoffman's April of 2010 has been an epic failure. Heartbreak after heartbreak he is letting the organization down with blown saves and an embarassing ERA.

This is a short, bitter comparison of the two, with some pretty appalling statistics.

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Much has been made of Milwaukee's lack of pitching and depth in the bullpen (it's Hoffman, Hawkins, then everyone else..), but there are some performances that should not go without praise in the early going this season.

Starting today, (April 18th) I will begin a bi-weekly series of stock up/down articles summarizing the Brewers' top performers in both the batters box and on the pitching mound, also including a rundown of players struggling as of late.

So, without much further ado, let's begin the way-too-early-to-mean-anything-by-September hasty generalizations!

Trevor Hoffman's quest to reach 600 career saves has become somewhat of a hot topic in recent days in Milwaukee.

Hoffman, the all-time saves leader, has blown two save situations already for the Brewers (3-4) this season.

For Hoffman, the Brewers announced this spring that Miller Park would feature a saves countdown in left field on the scoreboard. Fans can see a large banner of Hoffman, followed by a tracking of Hoffman's historic milestone save by save.

When the Padres let Trevor Hoffman leave their organization after the 2008 season, many felt it was the end of the line for one of the game's great closers.

The Dodgers showed mild interest in Hoffman, and it made sense for him to sign with a team so close to his home. Add to that the fact he'd be able to pitch against his former team, and it seemed all but certain he would wear Dodger blue.

However, the Brewers made a late push for the future Hall of Famer. They needed a replacement for Salomon Torres after he suddenly retired following the 2008 season.

Before we get to Mr. Scruggs' comments during his "Newy and Richie" show on 105.3 FM in Dallas this morning, let me start by saying that I'm a big fan of Newy's and a loyal listener to his show.

That being said, I grew up as a San Diego Padre fan and lived in Southern California for almost eight years of my life. I spent a lot of Sunday afternoons at Petco Park watching the Padres and guys like Trevor Hoffman, Jake Peavy, and Adrian Gonzalez.

When Trevor Hoffman signed with the Milwaukee Brewers prior to the 2009 season, there were some people out there that actually weren't excited about it.

Hoffman is Major League Baseball's all-time saves leader, a sure-fire Hall of Fame member, and one of the best closers of all time, if not the best. After the debacle that the Eric Gagne signing turned out to be...shouldn't it have been sheer relief if nothing else from the fan base?

Even still, there were skeptics. Hoffman had no problem proving those people wrong.

While there is still volatility in all of the rankings, I think the closer rankings are the ones with the most potential to change.  Where does Billy Wagner fit in now that he’s going to be a closer?  Should Carlos Marmol, Bobby Jenks, or Trevor Hoffman be considered a top option?  Where do we value 2009 breakouts David Aardsma and Ryan Franklin?

These are all questions that we’ll try to answer as we take a look at how my rankings currently stand (remember, I’m still fine tuning my projections so keep in mind that these are fluid):

Shortly after the season ended, Trevor Hoffman and the Brewers came to terms on a one year/$8 million contract that kept Hoffman in Milwaukee through 2010 and potentially even 2011, thanks to a mutual option.