The cat is out of the bag in terms of what Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin wants in return for All-Star Corey Hart.

According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, Melvin asked Giants’ GM Brian Sabean for either Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner in exchange for Hart, although Sabean is reluctant to trade either pitcher.

Melvin can crap in one hand and wish for Bumgarner (who was the Giants’ second best prospect behind Buster Posey entering the season) in the other and see which one fills up quicker. Melvin isn’t getting Bumgarner unless he plans on renting one of those creepy old vans with no back windows and stealing him in the middle of the night. I also find it disturbing that he asked for Sanchez, who is a promising but erratic 27-year-old lefty, or Bumgarner, who is a 20-year-old potential phenom in the making. I can only imagine how Melvin phrased his demands to Sabean.

“I’ll take Sanchez for Hart…………or, if you’d rather do this, I guess I’ll take Bumgarner off your hands, but you’re really holding me over the coals here, man.”

Acquiring Sanchez is more realistic, but why would the Brewers want a less talented Manny Parra? And why would the Giants want to acquire the next Aaron Rowand (there’s zero doubt that Hart’s numbers will drop going from Miller Park to AT&T Park) all while inserting the ultra-brutal Todd Wellemeyer back into the rotation? That doesn’t make sense seeing as how Barry Zito and Matt Cain were struggling before the All-Star Break.

On the surface, a Hart for Sanchez swap makes sense. The Brewers have hitting but need pitching, while the Giants have pitching but need hitting. But it seems like both teams would be taking a step sideways if a deal like this went down, so it probably makes sense for them to seek other trade partners.

David Ortiz belted 32 dingers over three rounds on Monday night to best Hanley Ramirez in the Home Run Derby.

From MLB.com:

“It means a lot to me,” Ortiz said. “Thanks to the fans for the support. Thanks to everyone for showing up. We do this for you guys. We want to make sure you guys enjoy the show.”

Though both Ortiz and Ramirez went deep a combined 21 times in the first and second rounds, the slate was wiped clean heading into the head-to-head finals competition.

Ortiz was the first of the two to take his swings, and he set the bar high. Though Ortiz’s production trailed off toward the end of his turn, his eight early blasts were enough to give him an insurmountable lead.

“Hanley is like a son to me. He grew up with us in Boston,” Ortiz said of the Marlins’ shortstop who began his career in the Red Sox’s organization.

The Brewers’ Corey Hart put on a clinic in the first round by sending 13 over the outfield wall, but tanked in the second round by not hitting any. Miguel Cabrera advanced to the semi-finals after hitting seven in the first round, while Matt Holliday hit five and Nick Swisher hit four.

Vernon Wells only hit two, while Chris Young went deep only once.

There’s no way Brian Sabean will overpay for Corey Hart.

Brian Sabean won’t overpay to get Corey Hart, will he?

Oh God, Brian Sabean is going to overpay for Corey Hart, isn’t he?

If the Giants’ GM has taught us anything over the years, it’s that he’ll sell his wife, kids and soul just to get the player he covets. See Edgardo Alfonzo, whom he overpaid for in 2003 despite the third baseman’s well documented back troubles. See A.J. Pierzynski, whom he inexplicably acquired from the Twins in exchange for Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser because the Giants needed a catcher. See Barry Zito, whom he gave a $126 million contract to after outbidding himself.

For as great of a job as Sabean has done building one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, he’s done an equally horrendous job developing position players (Buster Posey being the exception, of course). Because he wasted years signing past-their-prime veterans instead of building through the draft, Sabean has had to overpay when it comes to free agents and trades. So when I read that the Giants are interested in Corey Hart, my palms and forehead get sweaty and the room starts spinning.

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With the 2009 MLB Draft set to kickoff at 6:00 ET tonight on the MLB Network, SI.com did a cool feature in which they rated how each club has fared over the past 10 years when it comes to the draft.

The Brewers were rated number one and it’s hard to argue with the ranking after looking at the names Milwaukee has drafted over the years: Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, J.J. Hardy, Manny Parra, Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo. Amazingly, this club also drafted Hunter Pence (Astros), but couldn’t sign him.

The Red Sox were rated No. 2, with Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester and Manny Delcarmen leading the way, but the site left off a glaring omission: Jacoby Ellsbury. The Rays actually drafted Ellsbury in the 2002 draft, but never signed him. The Sox then nabbed him with the 23rd overall pick in 2005 and he’s currently their starting centerfielder.

Speaking of the Rays, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Tampa ranked higher than No. 4 in the next couple of years. Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, James Shields, Andy Sonnanstine and David Price are just some of the names they’ve drafted in the past 10 years. Don’t forget that they were the team that also drafted Josh Hamilton before he got injured and then became the poster child of what not to do when you’re an inspiring ballplayer with loads of free time on your hands.

You look at a club like the Nationals ranked No. 8 and you wonder why they’ve been so awful over the years despite drafting so well. Then you realized they dealt Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips all in the same trade for Bartolo Colon and it all starts to make sense.

If you’re wondering whom SI had ranked last, it was the Astros; only Hunter Pence was worth noting of the players Houston drafted the past 10 years. The White Sox were second to last, although if Josh Fields, Chris Getz, Clayton Richard and Gordon Beckham develop like the club hopes, I highly doubt Chicago will be ranked that low again if SI does another ranking like this in the next couple of years.

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Offseason Movement: The Brewers signed long-time Padres’ closer Trevor Hoffman in the offseason and also brought on pitchers Jorge Julio and Braden Looper, as well as outfielder Trot Nixon.

Top Prospect: Mat Gamel, 3B
Some would say Alcides Escobar is the Brewers’ top prospect, but you can’t go wrong with either. Milwaukee seems to be following a trend of taking prospects based more on their offense than defense, because not unlike Matt LaPorta and Ryan Braun before him, Gamel doesn’t have the best defensive skills. But there is no denying that the kid can hit. Gamel has a nice, pure swing and has shown excellent plate discipline to this point in his career. He has great hand/eye coordination and he loves hitting the gaps. Gamel figures to start the season in Triple-A, but could get a shot to compete if Bill Hall continues to struggle with a calf injury.

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