It's Official: I Love the Trade For Nyjer Morgan

I admit I was nervous when I first heard that Doug Melvin had shown interest in Nationals' center fielder Nyjer Morgan. I had heard the stories, had seen the clips, and feared that Doug might be sacrificing clubhouse chemistry in his attempt to go "all-in" in 2011. Melvin quickly shot down the rumor, only to acquire Morgan two days later for Cutter Dykstra. After the trade I wrote about Morgan, mainly focusing on his struggles last season and the problems that followed, while closing by mentioning his plus-defense and speed.

Casey McGehee Destroys Cubs Pitching After Failing to Reach Multi-Year Deal With Brewers

If there's one Brewer who seems to thrive with a chip on his shoulder, it's Casey McGehee (ok, he might not be the only one, but this post is about McGehee). While in the Cubs system he seemed doomed to AAA forever, his position blocked at the Major League level by Aramis Ramirez. Claimed off waivers by the Brewers in late 2008 he saw a window of opportunity that led to the big leagues. Determined to prove his doubters wrong (*Cubs*), he earned a spot with the Brewers in Spring Training '09, eventually became their starting third baseman, and proceeded to put together solid years at the plate in 2009 and 2010 (not to mention his first career grand slam in the same inning he dropped a routine pop fly). Yesterday, if only for the day, it seems the chip on McGehee's shoulder resurfaced.

Brewers Exhibition Games Begin Tomorrow

Brewers Cactus League play begins tomorrow with split squad games against the Cubs and Giants. Here are the lineups courtesy of Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com:

Home vs. Giants

Rickie Weeks 2B

Jeremy Reed RF

Yuniesky Betancourt SS

Prince Fielder 1B

Casey McGehee 3B

Brandon Boggs LF

George Kottaras C

Chris Dickerson CF

Brendan DH

Shaun Marcum RHP

Away vs Cubs

Carlos Gomez CF

Craig Counsell SS

Ryan Braun LF

Mark Kotsay 1B

Luis Cruz 2B

Wil Nieves C

Erick Almonte DH

Caleb Gindl RF

Zelous Wheeler 3B

Tim Dillard RHP

Brewers Starting Rotation Thoughts

Answering fans' questions last week, Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com discussed how the Brewers should line up their starting pitchers for the first couple of weeks of the regular season. Of course, things might happen during Spring Training that would lead to a reconsideration of the starting pitching order, but most fans expect Zack Greinke to start on opening day, followed by Yovani Gallardo, Shaun Marcum, Randy Wolf, and Chris Narveson. McCalvy suggested a slightly different order, and I agree with him.

Will Prince Fielder end up a Cub?

MLBTradeRumors.com looked ahead this week to the market for Prince Fielder once he becomes a free agent after the 2011 season. The more I read about this topic the more I think it's likely he'll become a Cub. As much as that idea pains me, it will be his loss for joining a team with 100 years of losing behind them, and likely 100 more ahead of them.

Use the link above to read the whole article or continue here for the reasons he's likely to become a Cub.

A more competitive NL Central in 2011

Here's an article by Anthony Castrovince about competitiveness in the NL Central in 2011. Castrovince writes that with two non-contending teams from 2010 (Brewers, Cubs) making major moves to improve their clubs (Greinke and Marcum, Garza), what on paper looked like a two horse race between the Cardinals and Reds in 2011 may instead turn out to be one of the most competitive divisions in baseball.

Today's trivia question: What was the most recent year in which the winner of the NL Central division was not decided until the final weeks of the regular season?