What else can you say about Mike Cameron?

During the offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers suffered a huge loss when pitcher CC Sabathia signed an enormous free agent deal with the New York Yankees despite the efforts of Brewer's owner Mark Attanasio and GM Doug Melvin to keep him in a Milwaukee uniform. Of course nobody blamed CC for taking the deal which was one of the richest contracts in the history of Major League Baseball. However, whether it was real or disingenuous (I don't think anybody can say for sure), it seemed as though CC enjoyed his stay in Milwaukee. The fans treated him like royalty, the Brewers contended and won the NL Wildcard when he was here, and most of all, he enjoyed the players and their carefree, upbeat attitudes. So, when rumors of Mike Cameron being traded to the Yankees started popping up all over the media, it came as no surprise because Cameron was one of CC's closest friends on the Brew Crew. The thought was that CC was intimidated by all that is New York (media and fan scrutiny, fast-paced lifestyle, etc), and the addition of Cameron might make the transition a bit easier for Sabathia. Makes sense, right? However, a deal never came to fruition, and it was perhaps one of the best non-trades that the Brewers were ever part of.

Milwaukee blogs and radio stations had Cameron going to the Yankees for Melky Cabrera, the Yankees centerfielder who had fallen from graces due to underperformance. It was thought that the Brewers could shed Cameron's big salary and pick up the younger, cheaper, and left-handed Cabrera (the Brewers were and are short on left-handed hitting). With the dollar savings, the Brewers expected to have money available to bolster their pitching staff which at the time was unproven. Apparently Brewer's GM Doug Melvin and Yankee GM Brian Cashman had talked, and a deal was all but inked. Speculation was that perhaps Bill Hall would be included in the deal, and Brewers fans were somewhat livid that it was only Cabrera coming back and not additional pitching help. As it turned out, Doug Melvin stated that Cashman simply never got back to him, and the deal just "died". Melvin seemed ok with that, and who knows if the two ever spoke again regarding Cameron. My readings indicated that Melvin was a bit upset that Cashman treated him so poorly.

Today, Mike Cameron leads the NL in Extra Base Hits with 16, leads the NL in Doubles with 10, 5th in NL Total Bases with 55, 5th in NL Slugging Pct. at .655, is hitting .321, is providing formidable protection batting fifth in the Brewer's order behind Prince Fielder, and as always is playing gold glove centerfield.

The word on the street is that Mike Cameron was relieved that the trade did not go through because he enjoys it here in Milwaukee. He likes that the Brewers allow his kids to be on the field during moments in Spring Training (great family man), and from this he was instrumental in helping the Brewers acquire Trevor Hoffman who also happens to be a great family man (is Hoffman pitching great or what?). In addition, Cameron has a great relationship with the players which is evident in his various handshakes with the likes of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder.

Mike Cameron is a class act. He leads by example with a tremendous work ethic, he is a clubhouse leader, and a veteran worth having on the Brewers today and for a few more years to come (I hope).

BCBB