Ryan mentioned in his post about the Brewers winning attitude that the Brewers are gearing up for a run this season, and I couldn't agree more.

The Brewers had a good run last year, and almost made the playoffs, but I never really thought it was their year. They had a rookie pitcher in the rotation, a rookie playing third base, and a few veterans (Jenkins for example) who were not really producing, but more shuttling in the new generation. I felt last year that winning was great, but the real goal of the season was to "season" the players a little bit. To get them ready for the next year.

That year would be this year. All the young guys are a year older, the really old guys (Jenkins, Estrada, and Miller) are no longer on the team, and they signed a few veterans with some gas left in the tank. The Brewers got a taste of winning last year, and now they are ready to carry it forward. There are only two potential pitfalls I see.

The first one is the Cubs. The Cubs were decent last year, and they got better in the off season. Soriano is back to full health, and the Cubs signed Japanese star Fukudome, both of who should help the Cubs offense. The Cubs were no pushovers last year, and this year they will be a bit tougher.

The other thing that worries me is Prince. He had a hell of a year last year, and I thought he would approach that kind of performance again this year. That might be asking too much. This is only his third year in the bigs, he might not make it back over the 50 mark.

Prediction: the Brewers will win the division. The Cubs will give them a run for their money, but that will make the victory that much sweeter.