On October 29th of last year, I wrote a quick article entitled "Brewers Claim Cubs Scraps". The article was about the signing of Casey McGehee, the Cubs third basemen I only knew because of Lou Pinella's crazy lineups at the end of the year. In the article, I wrote "With Branyan a free agent, Counsell unlikely to be traded, and Hall a major disappointment, McGehee has about as good of a chance as anybody to see regular time at 3rd base for the Crew next season. By the time the season starts though I'm sure the Brewers will have figured out a better option to head into '09 with."
Even though I was half right / half wrong, I do have to admit that in the article I spelled it MeGehee, and that for some reason I tagged the article with "Willis MeGehee", a guy who I'm not sure even exists. But I was much younger in those days, so forgive me.
I was half right in that article because Casey McGehee apparently will see a good chunk of time at third base this season, as Ken Macha has informed Mike Lamb he will not be making the club out of Spring Training. Lamb will have the option of heading into free agency or taking a role in the minors, and I have no idea what he'll do. He wasn't really the impact player the Crew was looking for at the end of last season, so maybe he'll take the demotion and try to work hard to get back. Or get could sit around in free agency and collect the $3 million that the Twins still owe him this season. Either way.
McGehee makes the team to the delight of many fans who have been calling for the Brewers to keep the McGehee, Duffy, and Nelson trio instead of the Lamb, Nixon, Gwynn alternatives. Casey Mac deserved the spot by hitting .370 so far in camp, as well as smashing six home runs with 15 RBI. He can not only play third, but also a little first and second, and apparently can be serviced as an emergency catcher as well. The more you can do, the less expendable you are, and McGehee can do a lot. Although it is still undetermined which former Cub will have a bigger impact with the Crew this season, whether it be McGehee on the field or Cory Provus in the booth.
As for the other two guys we've been rooting for, it looks like Brad Nelson will be making the team, and the final position spot is going to come down to Chris Duffy and Tony Gwynn Jr. I see the Brewers calling San Diego about a trade, the Padres wanting too much, and the Brewers keeping him (for now) and sending down Duffy because Gwynn doesn't have options. We'll see though. I'm actually a bit surprised that the Brewers made the right move and kept McGehee, so you never know.
You can catch the Brewers tonight against those Padres at 9pm on either FSN Wisconsin or the MLB Network.
(By the way, best Bucky Channel headline ever? Maybe?)
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