Brewers upping ante in C.C. talks

Friday, July 4, 2008 | Feedback | Print Entry

Some rival executives have put themselves in the shoes of Brewers GM Doug Melvin, and say privately that if it was their decision to make, they would swap a big-time prospect to get C.C. Sabathia. And according to sources, they have indicated a willingness to trade slugging outfield prospect Matt LaPorta.

The Brewers may also discuss adding an infielder to the deal, such as veteran shortstop J.J. Hardy. If Hardy were to be moved in this or any other deal, the Brewers feel confident that Alcides Escobar, considered one of the best infield prospects in the game, is ready to take over at shortstop.

The Indians recently dispatched multiple scouts to watch the Brewers' Double-A Huntsville affiliate, a development that is being read by rival organizations as a clear sign that Milwaukee continues to be the favorite to land the 2007 Cy Young Award winner. The Indians need help on offense, and the Brewers are loaded with position-player prospects such as LaPorta, was Milwaukee's No. 1 pick in 2007. In 82 games in Double-A this season, LaPorta is hitting .291, with a .404 on-base percentage, 20 homers, 66 RBIs, and a .584 slugging percentage.  
 

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  • Buster Olney Buster Olney

    Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He began covering baseball in 1989, as the Nashville Banner's beat reporter assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Later, he covered the San Diego Padres (1993-94), the Baltimore Orioles ('95-96), the New York Mets ('97) and the Yankees ('98-2001). Olney joined ESPN The Magazine in 2003, after six years at The New York Times, and he's the author of the Times' best-seller "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," a book about the Paul O'Neill-Tino Martinez Yankees dynasty of 1996-01.

    He grew up in central Vermont collecting baseball cards and listening to Red Sox, Expos, Phillies and Pirates radio broadcasts, and was a rabid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He graduated from Vanderbilt University the same year as hoops legend Will Perdue, and ranks among the all-time leading scorers in pickup basketball at Memorial Gym. He claims to have witnessed the Commodores' winning football season in 1982 (although anthropologists have not yet confirmed this).

    Olney also contributes to ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight."

    Follow Buster on Twitter: @Buster_ESPN

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