Tuning in to my local sports radio station last week, as I regularly do on weekdays at 3:15 P.M. I was blind to the fact the Padres and White Sox had struck an agreement that would send Jake Peavy to the Windy City’s South Side. However, rumor had it Peavy was more than likely going to nix the deal. Simultaneously, a deal between the Brewers and Padres had been unofficially announced, and speculation was that it involved the ace. And because Peavy has stated he’s wanted to stay in the NL it only got hopes up even higher, only to crush them after it was reported to be a mere swapping of Tony Gwynn Jr. and Jody Gerut. In recent days, the whispers have led many to question: how crazy would the Brewers’s front-office be if they decided to go after Jake Peavy (AKA, to do this all over again)?

A lot of fans have criticized Doug Melvin the past few years for expending the team’s farm system: first, grabbing reliever Scott Linebrink from the Padres for three players in 2007, and then C.C. Sabathia from the Indians for four players, including their top prospect Matt LaPorta, last year. Criticism against the trades argued both Linebrink and Sabathia were “rentals,” and both essentially were being acquired in July. However, in retrospect, how much did the team actually lose? Yes, the 2007 deal didn’t bring the team’s playoff aspirations to fruition, however, as a Level-A free-agent, the team was able to pick up two high draft picks in exchange for Linebrink’s big contract signing with the White Sox: LHP Evan Fredrickson and 2B Cutter Dykstra. And Sabathia not only carried the Brewers back to the playoffs after a 26-year absence, but the team will again receive a sandwich pick between and the first and second rounds as well as the Yankee’s second round pick for his signing of an 8-year, $180 deal with the Bronx Bombers. If you ask me, the reward outweighed the risk.

How does the Peavy speculation tie into all this? Well, for one thing, while C.C. was due to be a free-agent in ‘09, the 27 year-old Peavy will be under contract through 2012 with a club option for 2013 before he can become a free-agent in 2014. The Brewers, who hope to be in contention for a division title this year, may wind up being in a similar position as last year. Pitching will be at a premium yet again, and while the team’s bullpen has been stellar thus far, will it hold up? Scooping up Peavy now would not only fortify the club’s rotation, but perhaps more importantly prevent the Cubs from being in the running for his services come the All-Star Break. Having former-teammate Trevor Hoffman close games for him again might be a good omen for the Milwaukee’s chances to land him, too.

Offering a package of say J.J. Hardy, Bill Hall and a couple minor-leaguers might be enough to get a deal done, of course, that’s as long as those prospects exclude up-and-coming shortstop Alcides Escobar and third baseman Mat Gamel. If Mr. Melvin could work his magic again, Escobar’s track would probably be escalated to being September call-up, and if Gamel can get his defense figured out, he might be right behind him. While it would be a risky move, one thing is clear: the Milwaukee Brewers have turned a very important corner. Once a team destined to be sellers year-in and year-out, has now become legitimate buyers with the big boys. With all that said, why not make a run at him?

Whispers around the Wisconsin basketball scene are that star-recruit Vander Blue is seriously considering de-commiting to UW-Madison and the promises he made to Bo Ryan more than a year ago. And if the rumors I’m hearing come to fruition, the 6-3 junior guard from Madison Memorial could be headed to the other D-1 school in the state. According to my source who’s been in contact with John Casper, a former Marquette alumni and beat writer, if Blue does officially decide to de-commit, he’ll in all likelihood join the Golden Eagles. Blue had verbally committed to play for the Badgers way back in April of last year, however, he apparently has been rethinking his non-binding decision as of late. 

UW officials say they know nothing about Blue’s second-guessing, and to their credit Blue has yet to come out public on the situation, however, it could be a PR-ploy. Let me just say that if the rumors are true, Vander will have made the right decision. Not only does Marquette fit his style of play better, but he would also join former-teammate Jeronne Maymon at Marquette for the 2010-2011 season. I have a feeling that if Blue decided to stick with his original commitment and play under Ryan in the swing offense, he’s numbers would severely dip as opposed to playing in the aggressive-style Buzz Williams employs. I was fortunate to see this guy play this past year down in Madison during the Division 1 State Tournament and couldn’t see any obvious flaws in his game. Not only did Vander prove himself on the offensive end, knocking down jumpers from beyond the arc and throwing down some spectacular dunks, but he was a monster defensively, anticipating passes which lead to those easy transitions points. He was without question the most dominant player over the course of the weekend, despite the fact Maymon (committed to Marquette) and Racine Horlick senior-forward Jamil Wilson (committed to Oregon) were expected to be. Now obviously, this is a developing story, so I’ll keep you posted with any new stuff I hear.

UPDATE (May 20): Blue has officially decommitted, according to JSOnline. Here’s the link: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/badgers.html. Blue hasn’t ruled out Wisconsin yet, but I think it’s safe to assume he will be looking heavily elsewhere. Systems like Buzz Williams’ at Marquette, Rick Pitino’s at Louisville and Bruce Pearl’s at Tennessee are speculative destinations.

With the 2009 NFL Draft a week old, and the initial media-hype and critiquing wrapping up, I figured today was the best day to take a look back on how the Packers did. Coming into the draft, every draft hub around speculated the Packers could have gone in a number of different directions. However, as we all know, especially the final days leading up to Draft Day, players’ stock rise and fall like gas prices. Fortunately for the Packers, two players in particular, Tyson Jackson and Darrius Heyward-Bey, were those late-risers. And because of their controversial selections at 3rd and 7th overall by the Chiefs and Raiders, respectively, Ted Thompson reaped the benefits, having his choice between two prime players at their respected positions: Michael Crabtree and B.J. Raji. Interestingly, it was leaked Friday night by the Journal Sentinel’s Bob McGinn that Crabtree was the highest rated player on Green Bay’s board, and should he fall he may have been too good to pass up. And just as rumor had it, the stars aligned perfectly for Thompson, giving him his choice. Take the flashy receiver, who has the potential to be a future superstar at a position of strength? Or take one of the only true nose guards in the class to anchor your new defense for years to come? And as it turned out, management opted for the beef. Putting sexiness on the back-burner for a second, this was the right pick. Yes, I understand the receiving core isn’t necessarily built for the future at present with Donald Driver aging and Jennings not yet locked up. However, not only would Crabtree have demanded more money as a premier position player, but he was someone the Packers just did not have the luxury of taking. 

Raji will come in and have a chance to be the Packers’ next plug in the middle, Ala Gilbert Brown. What a lot of people tend to forget was it was the defense, not the offensive, that held this team back last year. Namely, the rush defense, and when you have two backs on divisional rivals (Peterson and Forte) running circles around you, it needs to stop. For all those still hating the pick, here’s a stat for you: in their two games against the Packers, Forte accounted for 205 of the Bears’ 518 total yards (40%), while Peterson racked up 339 of the Vikings’ 716 (47%). Raji will not only demand double-teams at 335 pounds, but he’ll allow fellow linebackers Aaron Kampman, Nick Barnett, A.J. Hawk and newcomer Clay Matthews to fly around and make plays. Thompson then did something completely out of character, trading up to get the alluded to USC linebacker, Clay Matthews, the second from the trio of stud linebackers to here his name called early-on. Thompson was apparently so enamored with Matthews that he might have made him the pick should Raji not have slipped. So just like that, after only what had been a few hours, the Packers found themselves not selecting until the 4th round on Sunday, barring another trade-up. Yes, I realize that in giving up three picks (one second and two thirds) for Matthews and a 5th, Thompson got ripped off, but if Matthews pans out, no one is going to remember the trade that was unquestionably a head-scratcher. 

Sunday, the Packers proceeded to add six new players to the roster, including two highly-touted tackles T.J. Lang and Jamon Meredith, a bruising fullback in Quinn Johnson, a defensive end in Jairus Wynn, a corner/safety hybrid in Brandon Underwood and finally another linebacker in Brad Jones. The phones didn’t stop ringing either, as 11 more undrafted signees were brought on, most notably, Northwestern running back Tyrell Sutton and a former teammate of Greg Jennings at Western Michigan, receiver Jamarko Simmons. And sitting here a week later, after the dust’s settled and the meticulous scrutinizing is over, all that’s left to do is lace-up the cleats, strap-on the pads and play.