Milwaukee Brewers News Feb. 2: Broadcaster Search, Rumors and Speculation

WGN radio announcer Cory Provus does the pre-game show for a Brewers/Cubs game at Wrigley Field last year as Bob Uecker sits in the background. If reports are true, Provus could be spending a lot more time next to Uecker in the future. He's reportedly the frontrunner for Jim Powell's former job.

 

Brewers News

- Cory Provus of WGN radio appears to be the leading man to get the Brewers radio broadcast job that Jim Powell’s exodus to Atlanta left open. Provus, 30, is a native of Illinois and currently does the Cubs' pre-game and post-game shows, plus the play-by-play announcing for one inning of each game. And, yes, he’s a “die-hard Cubs fan.” You can check out this article for some more background on him.

From listening to some audio on the Web, it sounds like Provus has a very professional, strong delivery. You can check out an interview he did with Sean Marshall earlier this month HERE and some more audio from him HERE.

I know there is going to be some negative reaction from fans on this since he grew up a Cubs fan and is associated with the Cubs now, but I don’t think it’s a big deal. Obviously, Provus is a professional, and I doubt he’d ever let rooting interests affect his broadcasting in any way if he is the one chosen for the job. Powell was a Braves fan growing up, and you could never tell that from the broadcasts.

In fact, Provus’ familiarity with the Cubs and the NL Central is probably viewed as a positive by the Brewers and WTMJ.

I also like that he’s a younger guy. It would be nice to add a younger perspective to the broadcast, and he could possibly be groomed for Bob’s gig when Uecker retires. There’s some more background on the search HERE.

- Mark Attanasio talks salary cap. And he discusses it more in a Q&A HERE.

- Jeff Breen at Bleacher Report posts some quotes he overheard from the On Deck event. Of note, Carlos V is aiming for the set-up job and Casey McGehee is happy to be an ex-Cub.

- About 25 percent of the Brewers' strikeouts are strikeouts looking, which lands them near the middle of the league in that category.

- The Brewers signed seven pre-arbitration players. More HERE.

- Q&A with Brewers executive Rick Schlesinger. Some audio with Schlesinger HERE.

- Brew Crew Ball’s Advent Calendar continues with Mike Cameron, Yovani Gallardo, and Mike Rivera.

Rumors and Speculation

- Rosenthal says the Brewers are not interested in Jason Jennings and Kris Benson or even Mark Redman or Victor Zambrano on minor-league contracts. But they’re “lukewarm” on Mark Mulder and could become more interested if his upcoming workouts go well.

- It does not appear that Ben Sheets will be coming back to Milwaukee as a Brewer.

- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says Jake Peavy “makes sense” for the Brewers. With a very thin starting rotation and no proven ace, there’s no question Peavy would be an outstanding addition. The Brewers seemingly have the prospects to land him too. But it seems like if a trade like that were to happen, it would probably happen midseason, not now. Peavy would also have to approve it.

- Cafardo also lists some notable players without options who could be cut or traded. The list includes Tony Gwynn Jr., Melky Cabrera, Rich Hill, Chad Gaudin, Anthony Reyes, Andy Marte, Boof Bonser, Phil Humber, David Pauley, Felix Pie, and Jeff Niemann. The Brewers will likely keep an eye on the situations surrounding several of those pitchers if they want to add some depth there.

- Joe Crede apparently had an impressive workout for teams. No word on if the Brewers attended, but if Crede can really be had for $5 million plus incentives on a one-year deal, I’d be upset if the Brewers weren’t at least looking into it.

Crede has the potential to be a very good player if he can stay healthy, and for that price and with a large hole at third, it would seem foolish to not at least “kick the tires,” so to speak. He’d be a nice stopgap solution to bridge to Gamel in 2010, and if Crede struggles or is injured, Gamel could come up later this season.

- Speaking of players worth looking at, amazingly, Adam Dunn is still having trouble finding a home and might be playing for as little as $5 million on a one-year deal. The Brewers don’t really have a spot for him unless they trade somebody. Somebody is going to get an incredible deal on a great bat when Dunn signs.

- Bobby Abreu, another lefty bat, is also having a hard time landing anywhere this offseason. He’s also going to be a nice deal for a team. Oh yeah, neither of these guys was offered arbitration either, so they’ll come without draft pick compensation.

- Rosenthal suggests some free agents, like Ben Sheets, might be better off waiting until midseason to sign. What a weird offseason...

Minor Leagues

- Taylor Green had wrist surgery and will likely not be ready for the start of the ‘09 season. The Brewers say he should be playing by May 1. That’s certainly disappointing news. It’s too bad they didn’t discover this earlier. They apparently found it after Taylor mentioned he still had some pain there while he was in town for Winter Warm-Up and On Deck last weekend. More HERE.

- Pitching prospect Mark Rogers says he’s fully healthy and is looking to break camp with a minor-league affiliate. Many have written Rogers off since he’s missed the last two seasons. It’d be nice to see him jump back on the prospect radar because he does have an outstanding arm.

- Angel Salome talks with MLB.com.

- Salome is Bernie’s Crew’s No. 4 prospect, while Jon Lucroy comes in at No. 4 for Between the Green Pillars.

NL Central

- The Cubs appear to be close to sending pitcher Rich Hill to the Orioles for a PTBNL.

- The Cubs signed former Brewer Paul Bako. He replaces another former Brewer, Henry Blanco, as the backup catcher for the Northsiders.

Other News

- Former Brewer Brian Shouse signed with the Rays for two years. Good luck, Brian, and thanks for the sandwich compensation draft pick.

- Former Brewers hitting coach Butch Wynegar is entering his fourth season in that role for the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees.