Brewers introduce Wolf

"It goes back to my desire to win. I pay attention to what goes on in baseball They made a huge effort to bring CC (Sabathia) back (last season). They went against a team with a little bit bigger bank account, but the effort was real. They want to win.

"Making that trade, making that push... seeing effort continue is good to see."

In Wolf, who went 11-7 with a 3.23 ERA last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, General Manager Doug Melvin hopes to have added a stablizing force to what was a battered starting rotation last season.

Wolf made a career-high 34 starts last season, striking out 160 batters in 214 innings. Opponents hit just .227 against him.

In 11 major league seasons, Wolf owns a 101-85 career record with a 4.13 ERA.

Melvin said that his staff did a thorough analysis on the available free-agent pitchers and, in the end, Wolf was the right fit for the team.

"He had extreme interest in coming here," Melvin said. "We held that in high regard."

"I wanted to know why the want to come to Milwaukee. He was sincere about having Milwaukee on his list."

Counsell brought back: The Brewers also announced Monday that the team reached an agreement with free agent infielder Craig Counsell.

At age 39, Counsell had an outstanding season, batting .285 in 140 games. He saw his role increase after second baseman Rickie Weeks went down with an injury and was one of the team's more consistent players.

"We're fortunate to have him come back here," Melvin said. "It's another sign of how sincere we are about winning."

6 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by sandstorm on Dec. 16, 2009 at 7:09 a.m. (report)

"Even the Yankees made no effort to get him...that should send up a red flag." the Yankees are set on starting pitching. they don't need him. no red flag. go peddle your pessimism elsewhere

Posted by Dusty_Bottoms on Dec. 15, 2009 at 12:21 p.m. (report)

He looks a little like Geoff Jenkins in that picture.

Posted by Skeffert on Dec. 15, 2009 at 8:50 a.m. (report)

I, for one, welcome the Wolfman. Hope he can fly some former members of the Wolfpack in from Philly (education: the Wolfpack was a fun group that used to hang out in the 700 level at the Vet wearing wolf masks and doing a kind of Teen Wolf-Thriller hybrid dance for Wolf strikeouts) to train a new crew out here. Wolf is about a thousand times more consistent and proven than Suppan--and really any other pitcher the Crew has.

Posted by TosaJim on Dec. 15, 2009 at 8:48 a.m. (report)

This is Suppan all over again. Even the Yankees made no effort to get him...that should send up a red flag. Baseball is out of control when a guy like Wolf can command so much money. I sure hope he works out for the Brewers. I don't think fans will be buying up tickets to see him pitch.

Posted by viewfromnyave on Dec. 15, 2009 at 8:17 a.m. (report)

I'm doing my best to ignore the last couple years he had in Philly and the fact that in his walk year he had his career best ERA+ (adjusted for ballpark), starts, innings pitched and WHIP and the fact that he's 32 (hey, same age as Suppan was his first year here!) and we're on the hook for three years and instead I'm just trying to stay positive and remember he's likely better than the Mike Burns' of the world.

Show me the other Talkback

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