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If they added a guy this week via trade, there's no reason they couldn't turn around and sell him before August 1st if the team continues to flounder. bklynbrewcrew is right on the mark although the signs that Parra wouldn't cut it were there late last year. Looper was an okay signing if you're looking for a number 5 but paying anything for a number 5 isn't usually money well spent. Some of us were suggesting dealing Hart for quite some time. Melvin never seemed interested in dealing a Brewer produced product like Hart or Hardy. I suspect ego played a part. I think he loved hearing people in baseball talk about all the home grown products the Brewers had.

I think in retrospect, they also made a mistake in not returning Villanueva to the rotation this year and using the money spent on a mediocre starter like Looper on a solid reliever instead. Villanueva was very solid in his starting trials in 06 and 07. His struggles early in 08 (remember he only got 9 starts and a few of those were fine) were no doubt due in part to it being his first time in a rotation from the start of the year and basically knowing he had to prove himself. I think he would have been much more confident this year after his bullpen success last year. After all, other than Gallardo, Villanueva has the most experience starting in the majors of anyone under the age of 26 in the entire organization. To basically give up on him ever starting is shortsighted especially with so few real high level pitching prospects.

My suggestion would be that they call KC. Juan Cruz has been a big disappointment and they'd probably listen to any offer for him. Then I'd put Cruz in the Brewer pen and hope a return to the NL revives him. I'd then send down Villanueva for 2-3 AAA starts to stretch out his arm and bring him back in mid July in the Brewer rotation.