Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. I don't care if it was too close at the end. I don't care if Gagne looked like crap. I don't care that Fielder still isn't showing power. I don't even care that Yost probably took Sheets out too early. The Crew wins. They beat the Cubs and hopefully worked out some kinks. Riske looked pretty good at the end. I was surprised they didn't put Turnbow in. Keep it going Brewers.

 

The Cubs first four batters went a collective 1 for 18. mmmmmmmmmm, smells like victory.

 

 

I'm just trying to watch a little baseball here. Come on!

   Opening day is finally here and I couldn't be happier. Finally we can begin proving all the naysayers wrong. The Brewers are the team to beat in the NL Central. All this media talk of how this is the Cubs year is b.s. 100 years of futility will slowly creap it's way to 100 more, starting this season. The Milwaukee Brewers will prove to be the superior team. Honestly, I can't think of one Cubs player that is better than the Brewer counterpart. Zambrano/Sheets? A healthy Sheets curveball beats a Zambrano sucker punch any day. Lee/Fielder? This one is close, so I'll go with the tiebreaker. Fielder outweighs Lee by 20 pounds and thus could take him in a street fight. Soriano/Braun? Braun ROY, Soriano overpayed and as stated previously in this blog, has only warning track power. Fukunotme/Hart? Seriously? Hart's a stud, Fucku eats seaweed. DeRosa/Weeks? Weeks is one of the best lead off hitters in baseball and will prove it so this season. DeRosa had 1 stolen base last year. One more than "No Hustle" Estrada had for us. Ramirez/Hall? Oh, I guess they got us on this one.

   Looking at the lineups, we've got em by the short and curlies. If the weather holds we can start our march to the playoffs. Man, the people who set up the schedule were geniuses. Let's play baseball at Wrigley on March 31. While 90 minutes north there is a warm dry stadium sitting empty. I guess it doesn't matter, rain or shine the Cubs still suck.

Brewers 9, Cubs 2 

I saw on the news last night that Sheets pitched an opening day complete game victory last year. I had forgotten about that, but it is a great way to start the season.

With that in mind, I'll make a prediction for todays opener in Chicago.

Sheets pitches 8, and Gagne retires the last 3 in a row.

Final score, Brewers win 5-3.

   Mulletts, greasy mustaches, pock marks, Coke bottle glasses, Rob Deer. Whatever you think constitutes ugly and Brewer, give us your opinion now in the Brewerspundit.com forum. Sign in and let your voice be heard, lest I just decide JJ Hardy deserves the title of ugliest Brewer of All Time. (I wouldn't do that because I think JJ is dreamy.)

 

Steve Bartman didn't lose that game.

Ryan Braun will edge out Prince Fielder for MVP. (of the team)

Ben Sheets will not have a season ending injury. (Although, he will be diagnosed with chronic gingivitus and be so humiliated he'll missing a start.)

Ned Yost will be fired as head coach following a typical post-all-star-break swoon. Ted Simmons will take over the reins and lead the team to the playoffs. (See 1982)

After a slow spring Prince will find those meat buffet coupons I sent him and will regain his awesome power stroke. (Thank you for your sponsorship Ponderosa.)

Mark Attanasio will decide that Milwaukee has gone far too long without a huge beer mug for Bernie Brewer to slide into after home runs. (Finally the ridiculous "Platform of Celebration!" can be put to rest.)

Manny Parra will win NL Rookie of the Year. (If he's not sent back to AAA first.)

The Cubs franchise will fold after they finish in last place in the NL Central division. After fans boycott the final month of the season they will move to Las Vegas. Wrigley field will be demolished and the real estate will become a mixed-use area. Possibly low rent housing and a leather tannery? (A man can have dreams, can't he?)

 

*I just wantid to right a quick note about some splelling errers in prevous posts. My mom was very uspset. So Im sorry, but splelcheck doesent werk on this site.

   How's this for getting some respect? The Brewers/Cubs opening day game at Wrigley next monday will be nationally televised on ESPN2. Brent Musburger will be calling his first ever baseball game for ESPN and will be joined in the booth by Orel Hershiser. This game  being nationally televised was sort of a last minute call by the network, but they must be recognizing the reality of this rivalry between one highly talented team and the Cubs. Look for the Brewers to come out strong and show the baseball world that they are the team to beat in the NL Central.

 

The Brewers fear only God; The Cubs fear a goat.

   I was just watching the Brewers/Cubs game on WGN and saw the most disturbing promo I've seen since the days of Cop Rock. Next week WGN is having a theme week titled "Super Sweet Baseball Week". As if the name itself isn't lame enough, at the end of the commercial there was the tagline "Hosted by Bob Uecker". What the hell is that? How many pieces of silver were in your sack Judas Uecker. I'm usually the first one to say Bob Uecker is an untouchable icon in the same realm as Mother Theresa and Brett Favre, but this is too much. Uecker pandering to the Cubbies. This would be the equivalent of Mike Ditka hosting Packer draft day. Or like paying a buck two fitty to drive I94 between Madison and Milwaukee. This just shouldn't be happening. Bob Uecker is ours you dirty flatlanders. Hands Off!

 

Ernie Banks was only marginally better than Ernie Riles.

   As I sit here staring out my window watching the snowflakes fall pondering a seemingly nuclear winter I have to remind myself that it is in fact spring. I've been seeing a lot of robins around and baseball is right around the corner. The roster is set, the team is packing up to head north, only a couple meaningless spring games left before we can get down to the real fun. I can almost smell all that tubed meat roasting on open fires. I can hear the heavenly sweet din of many different car stereos blaring out many different genres of music in unison. I can feel the sun/cold wind/sleet/humidity, or whatever treat the weather Gods bestow upon us for opening day.

   Get me inside Miller Park. Where the hot dogs are always perfectly browned and dipped in a lovely sauce, where the sound system is appropriately deafening, and the weather never matters. Weeks, Gwynn, Braun, Fielder, Hart, Hall, Hardy, Sheets, Kendall...in that order. That's all that matters. Summer is here. In the words of the immortal Jim Gantner "When we get done winning this here game, are the brats and stuff free der hey?"      

Well put Gumby, well put.

 

 

 

Carlos Zambrano doesn't have a green card.

   Sometime in the last week or so Pablo S. Torre and some of the basball writers at Sports Illustrated found a large vial of crack cocaine, sat down in a circle, and smoked every last rock until they craved more. They then went out, scored a few more hits, and passed out. When they came to, they read the article they had somehow put together for the yearly SI baseball preview in their stupor. They were collectively shocked that they had picked the Milwaukee Brewers to finish third in the National League Central division behind the Reds and the Cubs. As it turns out they were buying the crack from the SI editors, so it appears everyone involved was way too frickin' high to correct this obvious error.

   Also in this baseball preview issue was a lengthy article about NL rookie of the year RUNNER-UP! Troy Tulowitzki written by Tom Verducci. Verducci had written a wonderful five page article about ACTUAL! rookie of the year Ryan Braun, but he ran out of rolling papers just before the issue went to print and needed to smoke a fat one to come down from his previous crack binge the night before, so he used the Braun article because he thought it would have more lasting power than the Tulowitzki one. Verducci was able to blast off a quick 1/2 page blurb about Braun before his deadline, so at least we have that.

   These statements are only speculation of rumored musings I've heard. But when I called Sports Illustrated to see if they had any comment on this all I got was their answering machine which was playing Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water".    Damn I love that song!

 

Kerry Wood can only pitch one inning a day, then his arm turns into a pumpkin.

   Ned Yost announced his 5 man pitching rotation yesterday, and it goes as follows.

In order: 1. Sheets    2. Suppan    3. Bush    4. Villanueva    5. Parra

I'm guessing when Gallardo comes back he'll take over the 3 spot and everyone will get pushed down a spot with Parra probably going back to the minors until needed later.

   The big surprise here to me is Bush in the 3 spot. He is not a number 3 pitcher. Yost and the guys must have decided experience was the biggest factor in setting the rotation. So Sheets, Suppan, and Bush will be the starters in the opening series in Chicago. Villanueva will start the home opener friday. Then Sheets will start saturday as that would be his normal day and Parra will start sunday on Prince Fielder bobble head day.(Those bobble heads look sweet by the way, he's wearing a crown!)

   So it seems setting Vargas loose has opened it up for the young guys. That's great. Vargas had a career era of almost 5 and was 30 years old with an awful agent. Good riddance. The Brewers will save 2.7 million dollars by cutting him. (They will need to pick up 900,000 of his contract when he signs with a different team. Unless the team signs him for more than his current 3.6 million dollar deal. No team will do that.) Doug Melvin said that money will make it easier for the team to make another trade or pick up a free agent if the team needs help. I wonder if they have something bigger in the works here?

Aramis Ramirez wears ladies stockings. (that's true.)

 

   The Milwaukee Brewers announced this afternoon that they are releasing veteran right hand pitcher Claudio Vargas. In doing this the Brewers will receive no compensation for Vargas who was having a solid spring thus far and from any onlookers perspective was pitching himself into the number four spot on the Brewers rotation. The crew might save a little money from his 3.5 million dollar contract by releasing him now, but I just don't see how this can be a great thing for the Brewers.

   Yost said he feels Claudio deserves a chance to pitch in the big leagues, so he didn't want to send him to the minors. With the way injuries go in baseball these days it can't hurt to have more than enough experience in your system as backup. We all know Ben Sheets is going to go down at some point this season with an ingrown ass hair so it's surprising to see the Brewers get nothing for a starting pitcher.

   This obviously means the Crew is going to be depending on youth this season to get it done. So the new rotation will look like this. 1. Sheets 2. Suppan 3. Villanueva/Gallardo 4. Parra 5. Bush. This is pretty exciting to see, but once again disappointing they could get nothing for Vargas.

Lou Pinella's mom.

   

   Rickie Weeks must really like being minor leaguer. After suffering a hand injury last week Weeks took a couple days off and then was sent to the Brewers minor league camp for a one game stint. He got 5 at bats in that game and responded with a few hits including a double and triple. Then he headed back to the big league camp for sunday's game and went 2 for 4 with the game deciding home run. Until this game Rickie has been hitting .125 for the spring. I know averages and stats don't matter too much in preseason, but it would be nice to see Rickie catch some fire before the season starts.

   Last year when Rickie was struggling Yost decided to send him down to the minors to work on his problems. Weeks came back from his short demotion and one of the best final months in all of baseball. Now he seemed to go back to the minors and found his swing again. Why does he respond so well to this? It's too bad the Brewers couldn't just send him down  for a quick game every once in a while to recharge his bat.

   To hell with the Cubs.

Well, outfielder Laynce Nix will spend another year in Triple A. Ned Yost said he will set the Opening Day roster by Thursday 3/27. Team will be set before Brewers leave for Milwaukee for final 2 Spring Training games against Kansas City Royals.

AP's Predicted 25-man Opening Day roster:

(keep in mind that Yovani Gallardo will miss 2 to 3 starts and is not eligible to play until April 15th. He will be our #3 starter upon return. Also, Mike Cameron will sit out 25 games and can play in his first game April 29th - the start of our series with the Cubs at Wrigley. Nice timing Team Pundit, Thanks to Ryan Fleming! Cameron will be our starting centerfielder upon return)

#1 Starter: Ben Sheets

#2 Starter: Jeff Suppan

#3 Starter: Claudio Vargas

#4 Starter: Dave Bush

#5 Starter: Carlos Villanueva (will move to bullpen when Gallardo returns. Vargas and Bush will each move down a slot in rotation)

 

7 Relievers:

Brian Shouse

David Riske

Derrick Turnbow

Seth McClung (will be sent to minors upon Gallardo's return and Villanueva's shift to pen)

Saloman Torres

Guillermo Mota

Eric Gagne--Closer

 

Starting Catcher: Jason Kendall

Back-up Catcher: Eric Munson (he's a switch hitter and will add another left-handed bat in lineup when Kendall rests)

 

1st Base: Prince Fielder

2nd Base: Rickie Weeks

Shortstop: J.J. Hardy

3rd Base: BIlly Hall

Left Field: Ryan Braun

Center Field: Tony Gwynn Jr. (will move to back-up position upon Cameron's return)

Right Field: Corey Hart

 

Back-up Infielder: Craig Counsell

Back-up Infielder: Joe Dillon

 

Back-up Outfielder: Gabe Kapler

Back-up Outfielder: Gabe Gross (will be sent to minors upon Cameron's return)

 

That's my take anyway. I'm pumped.....Go Brewers!!!!!!

 

Tough break for Chris Capuano! He will miss entire 2008 season with a torn ulnar ligament in his elbow (his 2nd time tearing that; last time was in 2002). I wasn't crazy about him making our rotation but he's still a good pitcher. He is a former All Star and we could've used him as a 5th starter. It's up to Cappy now if he wants to have his 2nd "Tommy John" surgery. By the way, that surgery involves removing ligaments from your wrist and implanting them on the torn elbow ligament. Ouch! There is a 1 year rehab with that surgery. Good luck Chris!  Your $3.75 million in guaranteed salary should make rehab a little easier!

Well, Racine native Vinny Rottino will not make the big league squad this year. So now the backup catcher role is a battle between only Mike Rivera and Eric Munson. The loser of this battle will be traded (by not accepting demotion to Triple A). This should get us a prospect or 2. More depth for the Brewer's future. Doug Melvin is genius.

The other player sent to AAA is left-handed submarine throwing Mitch Stetter. This leaves us with Brian Shouse as the only left-handed RELIEVER left on our roster. Not real crazy about that. That was one of our problems last year in the pen (relying solely on Shouse to shut down lefties and, therefore, over-using him) and now Ned decided to go that route again. Pay attention to this as the season progresses. Our entire pitching staff (12 guys) may only have 1 lefty or possibly 2 (if Manny Parra makes it). I guess pitchers with the most talent period will make our squad. I'm sure Ned Yost, Doug Melvin and Gord Ash are fully aware of this. It will be nice to have quality talent to call up from the minors when injuries or meltdowns occur. Yet another advantage of a playoff contender!!! 

Go Brewers !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adam Poblocki

   Yesterday I posted an entry about the possibility of Dave Bush being traded. This proved to be nothing more than pure speculation. But it got me thinking about all the trades Doug Melvin has done during his tenure withe the Brewers. In particular I am of course drawn to the big one he did involving then superstar Richie Sexson. Melvin went out on a limb and traded away the Brewers top young talent and a couple of minor leaguers for a bunch of journey men and no names. This trade has proven to be the turning point for the entire franchise and one which undoubtedly will be paying dividends for years to come.

   This trade took place in December of 2003. This is how it went down and where those players are in their respective organizations. If the player is no longer with the team I have followed a string to see what the teams got as compensation for these players.

Let's start with what the Arizona Diamondbacks got:

1. Richie Sexson - Played small parts of 2 seasons with the Diamondbacks, but was hurt for most of his time there. He left via free agency in 2005 for the Seatle Mariners. The Diamondbacks received a compensation pick in the draft that year (with which they drafted pitcher Matt Torra who is currently rated as the number 30 prospect in the Diamondbacks organization)

2. Shane Nance - Played 3 years in the Diamondbacks organization. Is now reitred.

3. Noochie Varner - As far as I can tell good ol' Noochie is playing AAA ball in the Yankees org. and I could not see what if anything the Diamondbacks got in return for him.

Now here's what the Brewers got

1. Lyle Overbay - Fan favorite for the Brewers until he was traded for Dave Bush, minor league lefty Zach Jackson, and Gabe Gross. Bush and Gross will make the Brewers major league squad again this year and play important roles. It looks like Jackson is in line for a late season call-up or something sooner if needed.

2. Junior Spivey - Serviceable infield fill-in until Weeks and Hardy were ready. Traded for Tomo Ohka, who was a fine number five starter for a couple years.

3. Craig Counsell - Another good guy to fill in spots. Has a couple Champoinship rings and knows how to win. He left after a couple years via free agency, but has now returned.

4. Chad Moeller - Below average back up catcher. Released (Can't win 'em all!)

5. Chris Capuano - Once All Star left hander now struggling, but still in the mix for a roster spot. If the Brewers don't need him expect them to trade him for a minor leaguer or two.

6. Jorge De La Rosa - Good prospect who piched sparingly at the major league level. Traded for Tony Graffanino. Graffanino proved to be decent as a back up for the injured Hardy.

So Bush, Jackson, Gross, and Capuano are still with the team, and producing.(Counsell doesn't count because he left and came back)

That is a hell of a lot for hella little.

 

   I picked up on some interesting chatter online today, and more than a few sources were talking about the possibility of the Brewers dealing Dave Bush to the Florida Marlins. No word yet on what the possible return on that trade would be, after all this is just rumor at this point. I'm not sure I would trade Bush right now because of the few injuries which have already popped up in spring training. Bush would be a good long reliever for Yost to have, and really what could we expect to get for him? If anything happens on this I'll keep all three of you informed. peace.

   In a couple of weeks the Brewers will break from spring training camp and head north to Chicago to get ready to play some meaningful baseball games. But on the way to their opening day showdown with the Chubbies they have a brief 2 game layover in Milwaukee to play a couple exhibition games against the Kansas City Royals. The Royals? Can someone tell me what the point of this is. As far as I can tell all this is is another revenue stream for the owners, but at what cost? A the time the Brewers play these games they will have already completed what everyone involved with baseball pretty much agrees is a spring training schedule that is about one week too long. After these games the team will embark on a season that lasts 162 games! The longest season of any sport except hockey, which I believe is about 82 games too long.

   The only thing I see that can come from games like this are injuries. All positions will be figured out well before these games. They are completely meaningless. They don't even count as far as spring training statistics go. Some have argued that these games help drum up interest for the coming season. Really? If you haven't heard about the Brewers by now you've missed the boat. This is some money making scheme that the Brewer's good friend Bud Selig came up with for a few teams to make a little extra cash before the start of the season. What happens if Braun smashes into the outfield wall chasing a pointless fly ball of the bat of David DeJesus (KC outfielder in case you were wondering) and busts his shoulder. Or what if Prince pulls his meaty groin? Or what if Ben Sheets chews his nails in the dugout and gets a season ending hangnail?

   Be done with this nonsense I say.

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.

   Tuesday proved to be a very good one for Yovanni Gallardo and the Brewers. The team may have lost a spring training game with a totally B lineup, but they won big by getting Yovanni working off the mound against "live" batters. Gallardo threw 10 minutes of batting practice yesterday and is now set to pitch in a minor league spring training game as early as friday.

   This news couldn't come at a better time as it appears a few our pitching "locks" are having awful springs. Jeff Suppan has an era of over 11 at this time and Gagne and Turnbow are having tough times making outs. I'm not saying Yo will replace any of these guys, but some good news on the pitching front at least helps to temper some of that.

   With the spring emergence of Manny Parra and Gallardo's quick recovery the Brewers have plenty to be hopeful for this season.

Nothing shocking here, but these 7 guys were cut on Saturday a.m. and will start year in our Minor League system:

Left-hand pitcher Zach Jackson

Right-hand pitcher Luis Pena

Left-handed hitting infielder Hernan Iribarren

Left-handed hitting infielder/outfielder Brad Nelson

Right-hand pitcher Tim Dillard

Catcher Andy Bouchie

Future star outfielder Matt LaPorta

Ned's got some tougher decisions coming up

   While your opinion may not matter much in the real world, it does here.

   Is Ted Simmons a hippie? Was Julio Machado the most talented murderer to ever play for the Brewers? Feeling fat? These issues and more can be discussed in the Brewers Pundit Fan Forum.

   Sign up today and let your voice be heard. I promise I'll listen.

   A blessing and a curse could happen all at once for the Brewers. Yesterday, Chris Capuano was pulled from the game he was pitching in as he complained about soreness in his pitching arm. He will sit down for a few days and have some xrays taken to see if he has a real problem. In the meantime we all sit here and know what the real problem is. This dude can't pitch anymore!

   The blessing in this scenerio is that if Cappy can't pitch Yost will be forced to have one of the younger guys step in and take his place. Cue Manny Parra. The Brewers have been trying to limit Parra's pitching so as to not blow his arm out at a young age. I say get the best pitchers in there and have them do their work. Parra has proven this preseason to be more than capable of performing and the fact that he's a lefty is not lost by anyone on the team. With Cappy out of the picture I see the rotation being Sheets, Gallardo, Suppan, Villanueva, Vargas/Parra. Bush goes to the pen and we probably start looking harder at McClung after his solid spring.

   The only downside to this Capuano injury is that he may now be totally untradeable if he's injured. That means the Brewers would have to put him on the DL, pay him, and most likely send him to the minors when he gets healthy. Maybe he can work his way back up from there or at least prove himself worthy of a trade for Johnny Estrada's soul patch trimmings.

I was listening to Ned Yost give an interview yesterday on WSSP's program Hot Stove Weekly an the host asked Yost what the starting lineup would be.

Ned of course said he did not know yet, but then he added something interesting about a pitchers ERA during spring training.

He said ERA didn't matter as much in spring training and that you had to look to the quality of the pitches. Ned said this was because the the hitting during spring training is not as good as the regular season, either because the batter doesn't care as much (the 10 year veteran) or a minor leaguer is being slotted in for a look or to spell a veteran at the plate.

Yost said he would be looking at the quality of the pitches themselves, the different kinds of pitches a pitcher can throw, and their command of them. He said this in general, but then talked specifically about Bush and Capuano and how they both now had 4 pitches they were good at.

At least something to keep in mind while the veterans are getting shelled. ^^

     After I posted my last entry I gave Prince Fielder a call* to suggest to him that he go back to eating red meat. After a lengthy discussion he agreed with me to a degree and said while he wouldn't go back to red meat he would try eating a couple chickens before Friday nights game. So what happened? Fielder hits his first home run of spring training. I also suggested that Fielder switch his bats to those disposable old-growth hardwood bats. He said he'd have to think about that. I'm glad I could help in some small way.

   In response to a couple of comments from previous posts. Larry from Peshtigo. The reason I suggested Cameron will be batting second is because he has batted second in every spring training game thus far. I must be reading into this one too much. As far as Gwynn not making the team at the beginning of the season. You are a racist.

   Tom from Appleton. I'm glad I make you happy and in some way make your dull existence seem neccessary. peace.

*Note: The weekly conversations I will have with Prince are not actual conversations. These are fantastical dialogues that happen in my own head. I also expect to have a fireside chat with Ghandi and JJ Hardy sometime in August.

   I know it's only spring training, but in 30 plus at bats already Prince Fielder has no home runs and only one extra base hit (a double). If he's so worried about getting paid he should fatten up and get seconds at the meat buffet. There's a Ponderosa right across from the Maryvale park. I'm going to send Prince a gift certificate to get him started.

   Still a couple of weeks away from opening day but it's looking like we have a pretty clear picture of the opening day roster. A few injuries and suspensions cloud the picture a bit as it looks like Cameron is now challenging his drug suspension on the basis of medical neccessity. I'm not sure what kind of amphetimine would be considered ok, but that's the angle he's trying to work. In the meantime the Brewers are looking to one of three candidates in center to start the year: Gabe Kapler, Tony Gwynn Jr., and Gabe Gross. I think Gwynn Jr. has the edge here being a left handed bat with great defense and above average speed. Kapler has been coming on strong though in spring training and Gross will make the team as a backup regardless.

   The pitching rotation is still up in the air with Gallardo missing a few weeks, but I think they should bring Manny Parra up to start the season and then send him back down when Yovanni comes back. I hope Capuano is gone and Vargas as well, but realistically at least one will be on the roster opening day.

   So here's how I see the lineup and roster shaking out:

Lineup:

1. Weeks-Time to breakthrough and show us your stuff Rickie.

2. Cameron- After the suspension. I think Gwynn jr. will replace him in the meantime, so expect him or Hardy to bat here.

3. Fielder- MVP

4. Braun- Stud

5. Hart- Can wear his sunglasses any time of day.

6. Hall- NL comeback player of the year.

7. Hardy- More mature Gold Glove candidate. Gwynn possibly bats here to start.

8. Pitcher spot- Sheets on opening day.

9. Kendall- I think will prove to be huge improvement over Soul-patch Estrada.

Rotation:

1. Sheets 2. Gallardo (when he returns) 3. Suppan 4. Villanueva 5. Parra/Vargas

Bullpen: Bush, Gagne, Turnbow, Shouse, Riske, Mota, Torres/McClung- This is going to prove to be a ridiculously huge improvement over last years bullpen, just wait.

Bench: Counsell, Dillon, Gwynn, Gross, Munson.

This lineup will kick ass. Go Brewers!

 

   It looks like the Brewers have finally taken a win now attitude. This winter Doug Melvin worked mostly on picking up some help in the bullpen, which was badly needed especially at the end of last season. I think Melvin and the boys did a good job at filling that need with some proven veterans, who themselves may all benefit from a change of scenery. Since the mental side of the game is always stressed so much, especially for relievers, coming to a place like Milwaukee with good fans and a great team should help these guys be pretty solid.

   The crew also went out and got a great new number 2 hitter and center fielder in Mike Cameron. At first I wasn't happy about this one because he starts off the season on suspension for drugs and hid acquisition forced moving Billy Hall again which he wasn't very happy about. But slightly bruised egos aside, it looks like this deal's  going to work out just fine. So far Cameron has been an extremely positive force in the clubhouse and has already done a lot to help Ryan Braun with his transition to the outfield. Plus what veteran player with a bit of pop in his bat wouldn't love to hit between Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder. As we wait for Cameron to come off his suspension I expect Tony Gwynn Jr. to take over in center and get some valuable experience.

   One of the biggest changes during the offseason took place behind the plate. Gone is Damian Miller, who I think was one of the best catchers this organization has seen since Dave Nillsson. No one can argue that Miller was one of better game callers around and had above average defensive skills. But he was getting old and his offensive numbers have been declining. Johnny (soul-patch sportin') Estrada is gone as well. And Good Riddance. This guy sucked. No hustle. Bad arm. Couldn't call a game if it was 5 year old girls tee ball. I can't believ the Brewers were able to get a guy with a pulse in a trade for him. So having gotten rid of these guys we went out and picked up Jason Kendall as the number one catcher and are counting on finding a backup in spring training (so far looks like Munson's the guy). Kendall is well known around the league for being one of the best game callers. While his offense isn't what it used to be, who cares. He may not hit for a super high average but his obp is still pretty good. He'll control the game and it looks like he'll throw out more batters than Ponch did for us last year.

   Along with all these pickups our awesome lineup is back older, wiser, stronger and ready to dominate the NL Central

   I'll post my projected lineup a little later. Peace 

   It's been 26 years, but the names are solid in our memories. Yount, Cooper, Molitor, Fingers, Sutton, Simmons, Ogilvie, Vukovich, Stormin' Gorman Thomas. Maybe the best team to never win a World Series. Harvey's Wallbangers, Milwaukee's own Murderers Row, four hall of famers, all stars up and down the lineup.....No Championship. This has been undoubtedly considered the golden age of Milwaukee Brewer baseball. I'm told the town was electric that summer. (I went to a couple games that year, but I was 7 at the time so my memories are fuzzy at best.) I've seen the films of fans storming the field, Charlie Moore throwing out Reggie Jackson at third, Yount riding his Harley around the warning track at County Stadium.

   You know what? This history is fantastic. We have this, it's part of Milwaukee forever. But for some reason, right now, it doesn't feel real. This is more legend now than anything tangible. 26 years is a long time and we don't even have a World Championship trophy to look at even to confirm it happened. We have a National League pennant, but nobody really remembers second place (except those who finish second!).

   Maybe we don't have to dredge these memories up so much anymore. Nostalgia is good, but holds no promise for the future. Fielder, Braun, Hardy, Sheets, Gallardo, Hall, Gagne, Hart, Parra. Already all stars, Rookie of the Year, maybe this years MVP. Who knows? Maybe even a couple HOFers. There is no longer any need to look to the past. Finally, the future is here. I'm now old enough to appreciate what we have here. We've all been fans of this team through many lean years and now we get to feast. There's no more time for second place. Get out there and cheer hard for these Brewers. Loose your voice. Stay until the end of the game. Tailgate after the game too. Hate the Cubs. Chase away the ghosts from 1982. Enjoy.

   It's a great time to be a Brewer fan!

Ryan Kastner

I am very excited for this Brewers 2008 season. The Brewers had a good year last year, and they certainly look to improve on that season this year.

I am also excited about this site, BrewersPundit.com. I run the sister site about the Green Bay Packers, but on this site have help with the writing. I am looking forward to my friends Adam Poblocki and Ryan Kastner writing about the Brewers this season. They helped introduce me to baseball, so I am excited to read their commentary and pleased they will be writing here.

I also have surprise correspondent that should be going to Arizona and giving a training camp update, so look for that in the coming weeks.

The sun is out and the snow is melting as I write this, spring is on the way, and the Brewers season opener can't be too far behind.