Camping With The Brewers

How will the brewers look in 2010?

Brewer fans want answers. Unfortunately no one seems to have the answers for them.

For many years in Milwaukee, losing seasons piled up, yet the farm teams were lighting up the scoreboards. Brewer fans heard names like, Fielder, Braun, Hardy, Weeks, Gallardo, Hart, and Parra.

Flash forward to Spring Training 2010, and the future has become the present. Presently though, the future is unpredictable.

Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun are the modern day, drug free version of the “bash brothers.” Ryan Braun batting 3rd in the lineup led the National League in 2009 with 203 hits. He hit .320, 32 home runs, scored 113 runs, 114 RBIs, and stole 20 bases. Fielder pulled his weight as well, all 270 pounds of him. Fielder’s .299, 46 home runs, 141 RBIs provided a powerful offensive attack hitting behind Braun.

Ryan Braun was named the Rookie of the Year in 2007, despite not being called up to the majors till mid May. That off-season the Brewers asked Braun to switch from 3rd base to left field, a move Braun accepted. A year after being called up to the majors, Ryan Braun signed a 7 year, $45 million contract. “I wanted to eliminate all distractions and concentrate on baseball. Plus, the money was great.”

With Ryan Braun locked up, the Brewers have eagerly and aggressively tried to work with Prince Fielder to lock him with a multi-year contract. So far, Fielder and his agent Scott Boras have been unreceptive to such talks.

Fielder’s refusal to talk long term contract has frustrated and angered Brewer fans. The unreceptive approach by Fielder has led to trade speculation; something Brewer’s GM Doug Melvin says is “not an option currently.”

Over the years second baseman Rickie Weeks has wowed fans with his speed and power and he has frustrated the Brewer faithful by his defensive shortcomings and injury problems (never has played a full season since becoming a full-time starter in 2003). Weeks had never burst into a season the way he did in 2009, driving in 24 runs and hitting nine home runs in his first 36 games. He was the catalyst at the top of the order, setting the table for Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, while showing he has some punch of his own.

Shortstop J.J. Hardy, known by his female entourage as J.J. Hotty, drew his share of criticism but was a consistent contributor. This off-season the Brewers traded Hardy to the Minnesota Twins for CF Carlos Gomez. Melvin described the trade as an “opportunity to shore up the CF position and give (Alcides) Escobar his chance to be a starter, and nothing to do with J.J. Hardy.”

Gomez meanwhile adds to the uncertainty. Once traded for Johan Santana and regarded as Torii Hunter’s replacement in Minnesota, Gomez struggled early and often (.229, 3HR, 28 RBI, 77K in 2009) and he quickly became expendable with Denard Span offering consistency.

Brewer’s hitting coach Dale Sveum sees potential with Gomez. “He has to get patient at the plate, and not feel the need to swing at pitches. I think Carlos felt the pressure to perform, and that might have contributed to his plate difficulties. He has incredible bat speed, so we are really concentrating on hitting sharp grounders and line drives.”

Alcides Escobar takes over the reigns at shortstop. In 38 games last year as a September call-up, Escobar batted .304, with a homer, and 11 RBIs. Known for his spectacular defensive range and strong arm, Escobar will be an upgrade defensively over Hardy, who was already known as a very good defensive short stop.

Weeks, Escobar and Gomez all provide speed on the base paths, and Braun and Fielder become more dangerous with runners on base.

Corey Hart had a terrible 2009 season, and this off-season he became the first Brewer to go to arbitration in 12 years, and he won the case. The numbers don’t lie, Hart’s numbers continue to go down the last couple of years (.295 in ’07, .268 in ’08, .260 in ’09), home runs (24, 20, 10), RBIs (81, 91, 48) and stolen bases (23, 23, 11).

Yovani Gallardo has the stuff to be one of the best in the league. Gallardo went on to post a 13-12 record in 2009 with a 3.73 ERA and 204 strikeouts. He ranked fifth in the National League in whiffs, and third with a .219 batting average against. Although Ken Macha won’t say it, Gallardo is most likely the Brewer’s opening day starter. Injuries seem to be the only thing that can slow Gallardo down (missed most of 2008 due to torn ligament in leg).

The Brewers this off-season brought in two proven lefties in Randy Wolf and Doug Davis. Manny Parra, a lefty, has been regarded as another youngster that has potential. Bouncing between the bullpen and the starting rotation, Parra needs to establish more consistency this spring to be considered for the starting rotation (11-11, 6.36 ERA, 27 starts in 2009). It’s tough to say whether Melvin is being painted into a corner or honestly is sincere when he says the organization has no hesitation having three lefties in the starting rotation.

The questions are numerous, the potential still exists, and the future is still unpredictable.

Mike Cahill

How will the brewers look in 2010? March 4, 2010 – Jay Maguire Brewer fans want answers. Unfortunately no one seems to have the answers for them. For many years in Milwaukee, losing seasons piled up, yet the farm teams were lighting up the scoreboards. Brewer fans heard names like, Fielder, Braun, Hardy, Weeks, Gallardo, [...]