With reports coming out that Seattle first baseman Richie Sexson will be released, and rumors swirling about Prince Fielder's future, an obvious solution appears to me.

You know where I'm going with this. Jeff Cirillo was a great Brewer in the late 90s. He had a few more good seasons in Colorado, then moved to Seattle and fell apart. A few years later, Cirillo comes back to Milwaukee. Career resurrected. Could the same happen to Richie Sexson? Maybe. The Brewers have a solid track record in recent years with reclamation projects. Cirillo, Doug Davis, Gabe Kapler, Jason Kendall, Brady Clark and Rick Helling were all players that everyone else had given up on. I don't know if its comfort. lower pressure, or just something in the water, but these types of players always seem to do well.

Prince Fielder is a great hitter, but he's also a Scott Boras client, and a likely DH candidate in the not-so-distant future. Since he's not likely to sign a Ryan Braun-like contract, and with the Brewers need for quality starting pitching (especially if they cannot re-sign Ben Sheets), trading Fielder to an AL team doesn't seem like such a bad idea. If Sexson can come anywhere near what he was doing two years ago, we lose very little production. If he continues to struggle...well, at least its an easy position to fill. I have little doubt that Mat Gamel or Matt LaPorta could handle first base at a Major League level. Russell Branyan, Joe Dillon, and countless AAAA power hitters are deserving of playing time.

Obviously, trading Fielder based on an assumption that Richie Sexson will return to his career averages is a bad idea. If we could pick up Sexson on a minor league deal, and make it clear to him that he'll be given the opportunity to start at first base if he performs well, this stupid proposition might just work out.

When I was a kid, I used to pick up a copy of USA Today's magazine Baseball Weekly whenever I could. It was full of stats and articles that you couldn't find in normal newspapers. It was also responsible for sparking my interest in following minor league prospects.

I recall one mid-90s Brewer prospect that I was pretty excited about. Valerio De Los Santos pitched for the class-A Beloit Brewers (now known as the Snappers, a Minnesota Twins affiliate), and put up some decent numbers. It was a dark time for pitching in Milwaukee, and I would have loved to have his 3.55 ERA in the Brewers rotation. Valerio eventually made it to Milwaukee, but was a reliever by then. In 2003, after a couple of decent seasons in the major league bullpen, there was talk of moving him back to the rotation, but he was instead shipped to Philadelphia for a PTBNL (who was never named, as far as I know) in a late waiver trade. After this, he pitched bits and pieces of 2004 and 2005 with Toronto and Florida, but was never very effective.

This morning, I noticed that at age 35, Valerio De Los Santos is alive and pitching with Colorado's AAA affiliate. He's on the DL right now, but has actually done ok in relief. He was in the starting rotation briefly, where he didn't fare so well, but it would not surprise me one bit if Valerio gets one more shot in the majors as a LOOGY. Who knows, he might even have a few years of Brian Shouse-like success.

God, I feel old.

They're not done yet. 

Earlier today, the Yankees designated for assignment underperforming relievers Mike Stanton and Paul Quantrill, then recalled worthless outfielder Bubba Crosby and gritty LHP Wayne Franklin from AAA Columbus.

While Crosby will likely struggle to outhit Tony Womack, Wayne Franklin could be just what the Yankees need.  A proven winner, Franklin brings his own brand of determination to the mound. 

Two years ago with the Milwaukee Brewers, he won 10 games despite posting a 5.50 ERA.  Now, most pitchers won't get very far giving up that many runs, especially pitchers that relied on scrubs like Royce Clayton and John Vander Wal for run support.  That didn't stop Franklin. Every five days, when the fireballing lefty took the mound, the Brewers knew they had a chance to win.  Start after start, Franklin's gritty play inspired his team to victory.  His intangibles are unmatched in most any major league clubhouse, and are second to only Derek Jeter and the great Craig Counsell.

Despite his success in Milwaukee, pitching in New York won't be an easy task.  While Jeter has done his best to battle to the very end game in and game out, the same cannot be said for the rest of the Yankee lineup.  Gary Sheffield is more concerned with arguing with random people, Jason Giambi seems preoccupied with being a fat lardass, and A-Rod is, well, A-Rod.  General Manager Brian Cashman believes that this sudden influx of gritty battlingness will light a fire under these less-motivated players.  And this baseball fan believes that he is right.

Franklin may be good for a 6.00 ERA, but what does that matter when your team can guarantee you 7 runs of support?