Brewers Preview

With spring training at hand, I find myself getting more and more juiced for the upcoming season (same every year). This year, like last year, the Brewers have so much promise and talent on the team. They also have a lot of depth again, but this year they should have a great rotation as well. Overall it should be a really good season and its good to have baseball coming back. I wish there were a good winter league that we could get broadcasts of during the winter months. I would probably get that package on digital cable or the Internet if it were available. Anyway, here’s a list of 5 things I can’t wait to see for this season.

1. Bill Hall in Center – I have said for the last two years that he deserves to be an everyday player somewhere and last year he left no doubt that he is one of the most indispensable players on the Brewers roster. The last two years he should have come in as the starting third baseman (I’ll get to that position later), but moving him to center should be a pretty good fit. He is probably my favorite player on the team, if not in the league, and he’s earned his money so far and this new playing opportunity. I love his style of play and he’s got a canon for an arm. I’m sure he’ll make the jump to the outfield well. One question I have is why not put Rickie Weeks out there? He is supposedly a great athlete as well and I think he could only be better in Center than he is at second. At least that way he wouldn’t have to field ground balls and Hall could stay in the infield. It’s just a thought, but if he could play center I think that would be a better move for the defense. Still, I’m happy for Billy and I’m sure he’ll be as good there as he is everywhere else.

2. The third base situation – With Bill Hall in center and Ned Yost saying that he doesn’t want to move him around anymore, that leaves some serious questions about third base. From the way I understand things, Corey Koskie should be back, but there are still reservations about his health. If he can’t get back at 100%, they are going to have a lot of problems at that position. They seem to be really deep everywhere else with Tony Graffanino and Craig Counsell, but I’m not sure if they can play third. I can’t wait to see Ryan Braun in the majors, but there is always a huge risk when a team places their hopes too early on an unproven pro. This position could wind up being trouble. Hopefully Koskie can come back, or Braun, Graffanino or Counsell can handle the hot corner.

3. The Starting Five – This is the best rotation the Brewers have had since the days of Bill Wegman, Chris Bosio and Cal Eldred. The big four of Sheets, Capuano, Suppan and Bush (right now Vargas seems to be a really solid #5) looks amazing on paper. The only problem is going to be injuries, which is the same problem for every pitching staff, every year. At some point, one or two of these pitchers are going to be shut down. Hopefully, it will only be minor and they can get by with missing a start here of there. If they all stay relatively healthy, we should be in very good shape in terms of innings pitched, team earned run average and opponents batting average.


4. The not too young guys – Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart, Prince Fielder and JJ Hardy have all been around for a while now and should all have enough experience to where we can put the whole, "They’re still young" excuse behind. Granted, they’re still going to have some growing pains, but for the most part, those should be gone. Sure, this will be Hart’s first full season as a starter, but he got significant playing time last year and should be able to fill that role. He might hit a bit of a wall at some point, most players do in a 162 game season, but he’ll have to overcome it. For Hardy and Weeks, everything is going to come down to whether or not they can play and entire season. So far they haven’t been able to show us anything over a long period of time because of injuries. Prince Fielder is on the rise. He had a great first full season as a starter last year and he’s entrenched at first.

5. The opening day line-up – There are so many ways Ned Yost can go with this. The addition of Johnny Estrada gives the Brewers their first offensive potential from behind the plate since Dave Nilson and also throws this line-up all over the place. The only thing I can come up with in my mind is that for sure Bill Hall will be 2,3 or 5; Prince Fielder will be 3,4 or 5; JJ Hardy should be hitting 8; and the pitcher will be in the 9 hole (sounds like it should be a place on Paris Hilton’s body). Here’s a variation that I like.

1. Rickie Weeks - I like him at leadoff for now. Eventually I think he’ll be a great 2 or 3, but last year he did well in this slot. Right now he’s probably the best fit here if he feels comfortable.
2. Johnny Estrada – He could hit anywhere from 2 to 7. He’s a good, versatile addition to the line-up.
3. Billy Hall – he should always be 2, 3, 4 or 5. Personally if he plays like he did last year I would keep him at 3 all year.
4. Prince Fielder – He should never be moved out of 3, 4 or 5 slot. 4 should be his natural spot though.
5. Corey Hart – They hit him at leadoff every now and then, but right now I like him in the 5 or 6 slot.
6. Corey Koskie – Koskie, Hart and Jenkins are interchangeable depending on who’s got the hot bat.
7. Geoff Jenkins – He’ll be up and down, and splitting time with Kevin Mensch, so his stock will rise and fall like John Travolta’s career.
8. JJ Hardy – He’s the worst hitter on the team so far in his career, other than Sheets. Hopefully he can play like he did in spurts over the past couple years. If he finds some success at the plate, it makes the line-up even more versatile when other people are struggling.
9. Pitcher

I can’t wait. This line-up looks so good on paper and barring injury, it should score the good guys a bunch of runs. I’m sure the line-up will be juggled throughout the season in a million different ways, but that’s half the fun.

Report Day is one of the best days of the year. After four months of almost no baseball, finally baseball news comes back on a daily basis. Like every year, I hope the Brewers will be playing in October and with the team they have now, this might actually be the year. At the very least, they need to be above .500 and contending for the playoffs. October is already one of the best months of the year with football in full swing, baseball playoffs, pagan celebrations and the beginning of hockey. If the Brewers throw themselves in the mix I might have to go on dialysis.