The Milwaukee Brewers have finalized a three year, $27 million deal with free agent pitcher Randy Wolf. The 33-year-old southpaw spend 2009 with the Los Angeles Dodgers throwing 214 innings while acquiring 160 strikeouts. Wolf will be the No. 2 pitcher for the Crew and can hopefully keep up with the pace he set for himself last year. ’09 was by far Wolf’s best year since 2002 with the Philadelphia Phillies.

This move will put Gomez in the lead off role for 2010 and signals the end of Mike Cameron’s reign in Milwaukee.  Alcides Escobar will now take over the everyday shortstop role in Miller Park for years to come and will likely hit in front of Ryan Braun in the lineup.

Gomez, 23, has 59 stolen bases in just over 1,000 career at-bats. He was the prize possession in a deal that sent Johan Santana to the New York Mets before the 2008 season, who has yet to hit for consistent contact.

The Crew has also declined David Weathers’ $3.7 million option for 2010, costing the team $400,000.  It appears they would rather spend their money in the free agency market which is stock full of some decent arms.

Tomorrow, I’ll go over the five moves that the Brewers must make this off-season.

So far, the Valdosta, Georgia native has seven stolen base attempts, four of which have been successful against some of the best defensive catching prospects in baseball.

Even though we have seen Cain running more in the AFL than he did in the entire regular season (six attempts) he has to start getting on base more to have any chance of cracking the big leagues in 2010.  He’s currently sporting a .196 batting average with a .351 on-base percentage.

Overall, the 2009 season has been not only a setback, but a big disappointment.  The Front Office may blame the numbers on the knee injury, regardless; many expected him to fill the center field void for the 2010 season with 36-year-old veteran Mike Cameron possibly headed to free agency.

Cain has never been a good contact hitter, similar to Cameron, however he accumulated 25 stolen bases in the 2008 season.  In exactly 500 career games, he possesses a .287 batting average with 28 home runs.  As usual, his numbers have gone down as he has advanced level by level.

All in all, it’s going to take a strong spring training for Cain to make a Major League impact in 2010, or we could see Jody Gerut roaming the outfield on a regular basis.

In other Brewers AFL news:

• Jonathan Lucroy will be the Brewers lone representative in the AFL All-Star Game that takes place this Saturday.

• Taylor Green, the Brewers only infield prospect in the AFL, is hitting .188 with six RBI in 32 at-bats.

• Zach Braddock has appeared in seven games resulting in two saves and a 1.04 WHIP and ERA.  Outside of Braddock, Brewers pitchers have been some of the worst in the AFL up until this point.

It was just over a month ago that Doug Melvin claimed the Brewers matched up with 10 teams as good trading partners that could provide each other’s needs, but a weak farm system and an expansive list of injuries limited potential trading chips, and ultimately prevented the Brewers from making any big moves.

We heard names including Jarrod Washburn, Erik Bedard, Jake Peavy, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Brad Penny, among others that all could have headed to Milwaukee, but most of those would have been impossible to bring in.  J.J. Hardy was likely the biggest asset available for trade, which would have opened up room for Alcides Escobar to earn a promotion from Triple-A, however, Hardy’s failure to produce until the last couple of weeks diminished his value.

The Brewers decided to move Carlos Villanueva from the bullpen to the starting rotation after Mike Burns failed to live up to expectations, but in his first start of the year he gave up five runs in four innings.  Jeff Suppan also hit the DL this week to join fellow pitchers Chris Capuano, Seth McClung, David Riske, and Dave Bush, who won’t be back for a few weeks at the minimum.

Vargas did have a stint with the Brewers in 2007 as a starting pitcher, but has since been transformed into a long reliever.  Most of his 2009 campaign has been spent in the minors, but in his brief stint in the majors he’s been successful.  In only 11 innings of work, he possesses a 1.64 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, however, it’s unlikely that he sustains those marks long term.

Although teams are still able to make trades through waivers during the month of August, many Brewers fans remain disappointed with the current state of the team that appears to be giving up.  The next month provides a very easy schedule, but the Cardinals and the Cubs play many of the same teams which will equal it all out.

After all has been said and done, things aren’t looking so hot for the Brew Crew right now and unless the offense can produce an inordinate amount of runs, they appear to be one of the teams that will be watching the playoffs this October rather than playing in them.

KO: Do you favor the curveball or slider at this point in time?
JP: I would say I favor my slider but they are two separate pitches for me now. My slider is more of a strikeout pitch. Although I’m really happy with how far I’ve come with my curveball and my consistency with it. It’s tough to pick a favorite but I would say my slider because I’ve been throwing it longer.

KO: What kind of potential do you feel that you have? What long-term goals have you set?
JP: I try not to think much into the future right now being so young. I am pretty much taking it start by start this season trying to focus in on getting better each outing and taking positives out of them.  I came into this season with just a couple goals, one being that I wanted to throw a complete game. The other is command all 4 pitches by the halfway point.

KO: What do you make of the comparisons to Tim Lincecum?
JP: I can’t compare myself to him; he’s a Cy Young winner and is dominating in the big leagues. Although our styles are similar people like to compare us for our size n stature.

KO: How do you deal with your smaller size compared to most pitchers?
JP: I don’t really even think about my size. It doesn’t really bother me that I am shorter than the so called average pitchers frame. I try to be in best shape I can during season and condition right because that’s what’s going to keep me healthy at the end of the year. The comparisons to smaller pitchers are always made but I would rather be compared to someone because of their style than how tall they are.

KO: What do you need to work on to get to the major leagues?
JP: Id say my biggest task right now would be stretching my games out and being more efficient early in the game so that I am able to go 7,8 and even 9 innings. Putting hitters away when I have the chance is something I’ve done a lot better of lately and getting contact early in count is something that has been a big part of my game here in Southern League.

KO: Which players did you grow up idolizing and modeling your game after?
JP: I was a big White Sox fan growing up. I was a huge Frank Thomas fan. From the pitching stand point i loved watching Pedro growing up. His mound presence and the way he attacked hitters with no fear made him fun to watch growing up.

For many years, the Brewers and Cubs were in opposite leagues, however, things changed in 1998 when the Brewers shifted over to the NL Central.  The two teams have squared off multiple times since then, but it wasn’t until Opening Day 2008 that things got interesting.

On March 31, 2008, both squads were scoreless until the top of the 9th inning, when the visiting Brewers managed to score three runs off of brand new closer Kerry Wood.  Opposing closer Eric Gagne, who was making his first appearance for the Brew Crew, came in to close out the ninth, but his glasses were fogging up in the cold weather (44 degrees Fahrenheit).

After allowing a Derrek Lee single, and walking Aramis Ramirez, the “Asian Sensation” Kosuke Fukudome stepped up to the plate and belted a three run, game tying home run to deep center field which led the Wrigley faithful to explode in joy.  Gagne, a Canadian, eventually managed to get out of the inning and the Brewers would capture the lead in the top of the tenth and David Riske would close out the match.

On April 30, 2008, Gagne received another chance to close out a game in Wrigley Field and succeeded.  The most interesting game of the series was yet to come, which would take place on May 1, 2008.  The Brewers headed into the top of the ninth down 3-1.  Wood, just like earlier in the season, was brought in to close the game but allowed three runs, which would provide the Brewers with a 4-3 lead which Eric Gagne would seal.

The Cubs had their own successes against the Brewers in 2008 as well, all of which came towards the end of the season.  On July 28, 2008, the two teams faced off in Miller Park when new closer Salomon Torres entered the game with a 4-4 tie heading into the ninth.  Lee was able to drive in what would end up being the game winning run, and and Mark DeRosa single would add to the lead in a 6-4 win for the Northsiders.

Due to Hurricane Ike, the Houston Astros home stand against the Cubbies was moved to Miller Park, a nuetral site, and of course the home of the Brew Crew.  Carlos “Big Z” Zambrano managed to toss a no-hitter against the ‘stros and Brewers fans were very frustrated that it occurred in their stadium.

Of course, the 2008 drama wasn’t over, and on September 18, 2008, when Geovany Soto’s two out, ninth inning three run home run was able to force the game to extra innings, which the Cubs would end up winning 7-6 in the 12th inning.

The season ended just as it started with these two teams facing off, this time at Miller Park.  On September 28th, a game that had big implications for both teams that looked to be headed to the playoffs, Ryan Braun killed a fastball deep into the left field bleachers to push the Brew Crew into the playoffs for the first time in years.

So far, the 2009 season has been far from a disappointment as well.  On April 12, 2009, they faced off in Milwaukee in a game featured on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.  In the fifth inning with the Cubs up 6-2, Prince Fielder stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs against Ryan Dempster.  He managed to hit Dempster’s pitch deep to right field, where a recently subbed in Reed Johnson (who took Milton Bradley’s place after he injured his hamstring running the bases) managed to rob what would have been his first career grand slam.

The Cubs would end up winning the game 8-5, but would meet again in the same building in less than a month on May 8th.  It appeared that this would be another low-scoring game with a 2-1 Cubs lead heading into the 8th inning, but Braun would strike again.  A two run shot off of pitcher Aaron Heilman would provide the Brewers with a 3-2 lead, which brand new closer Trevor Hoffman would safely hold onto.

Then there was yesterday’s matinee, in which Mark DiFelice walked Jake Fox in the bottom of the 10th, which scored the game winning run and propelled the Wrigleyville residents into a rousing edition of “Go Cubs, Go,” in celebration of their 2-1 victory.  The best part of the game however, was Bob Uecker singing the seventh inning stretch and including the phrase, “Root, root, root for the Brewers.”

Although the two squads only have a few games remaining in 2009, it’s a good chance that there will be some good ones, and more fuel will be added to the fire.

Kevin Orris: Where did you grow up and what did you do as a child?

Alcides Escobar: I grew up in Venezuela and we would always be playing baseball.  That was all that there was to do.

KO: What do you have to work on to be called up to the major league club?

AE: I really need to work on hitting at home plate.

KO: Have you played second base at all in Triple-A Nashville?

AE: Yes, but it depends on the game situation.  I’ve played both shortstop and second base.

KO: What did you do differently last year that propelled you to such great hitting statistics?

AE: I worked a lot in the cage and practiced a lot.

KO: What can you tell us about this season so far?

AE: We’re only 50 games into the season, still about 80 left to go.

KO: What can you tell us about your former teammate Mat Gamel?

AE: Mat Gamel is a good player, he’s ready to play at the major leagues.  I talked to him every day about defense.  He needs to catch the ball, get his feet set, and then throw.  I told him that he can hit home runs, extra base hits, everything.

I will have more interviews with many of the Brewers top prospects posted in the next few weeks as well.  Most interviews will be a bit longer, and more descriptive than this one, however, it was a spur of the moment phone call from Nashville.