Cameron to Brewers

Just when you thought Houston had the market cornered on crazy winter signings, Milwaukee comes and shakes things up.

On Friday, the Brewers signed free-agent center fielder Mike Cameron. Yes, the same Mike Cameron who will miss the first 25 games of the season because of a substance violation. For the record, it was amphetamines, not steroids.

Cameron is a dazzling defensive center fielder who strikes out way too much. Aside from the glove, that makes him the perfect Milwaukee player. Just ask Ryan "I'm a Human Error Machine but I Hit" Braun.

The bottom line is Milwaukee has rebuilt its hopes from within, banking on a strong farm system to provide major league talent. One of those pieces is Tony Gwynn Jr., who is major league ready yet has received only 160 at-bats in two seasons.

This would have been a good time to put Gwynn into the fire and see how he responds rather than overpay for Cameron.