Brewers closing in on closers

The ongoing saga that is the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen continues to twist in the wind. Rumors of Trevor Hoffman blowing in from San Diego were one thing. Now, from the East, like a cold Nor'easter comes injury-ravanged Chad Cordero into the conversation.

The Brewers have been tracking his rehabilitation since the Washington Nationals nontendered Cordero last month, and have already seen him throw at least once.

The Brewers have been linked to Cordero before, once rejecting a trade offer that would have sent Cordero to Milwaukee for second baseman Rickie Weeks during the 2007 Winter Meetings. That was at the height of his run as the Nationals' closer, a four-year period from 2003-07 in which Cordero notched 127 saves. Along the way, before his 26th birthday, he became the second-youngest player in Major League history to reach the 100-save plateau (Francisco Rodriguez owns that title, recording his 100th save as a 25-year-old).

I understand the attraction, but hasn't Milwaukee learned about shaky closers from their 2008 mess at the back of the bullpen? Eric Gagne and company proved more to be stooges than musketeers or even amigos. Now Brewers candidates Hoffman (aging) and Cordero (injured) offer them little in terms of probable stability at a position that demands it. Good luck!