Brewers: Recap

As you may know by reading this blog I did a little MLB preview back in April. I predicted the Brewers could win 90 games this year if everything went right, and it most certainly did not. They did however have there first winning season since 1992 winning 83 games and finishing second to the Cubs, my pick to win the division.

What went right for the crew:


The Brewers had career years from a bunch of young players and stellar debuts from a few more. Prince Fielder had an MVP caliber year, though I dont think he will win it. He did smash 50 HRs drove in 119 RBIs and slugging % of over .615%. JJ Hardy probably was the most pleasant suprise of the year coming off ankle surgery, Hardy hit 26 homers and drove in 80 RBIs, though much of that damage came in the beginning of the year. Corey Hart, my favorite the Brewers best all-around player, had an outstanding year. Hart had 24 HRs, 23 steals, 86 runs, and 81 rbis, while he played very good defense all over the outfield. The young Brewers also unveiled to future all stars to the rest of the league. Ryan Braun, looks like he was deserving of that 5th overall selection in the 2005 draft. Amazingly he was picked behind two other third baseman. Though his glove might not be as good as the two picked ahead of him his bat is well ahead. The Brewers waited 7 weeks before calling up the young RH from Miami, but he did not dissapoint. Braun blasted 34 HRs and drove 97 while carrying a .324 BA. Those numbers should garnish him the rookie of the year. Braun would not be the only rookie to impress, Yovanni Gallardo (9-5 3.67era) and Carlos Villanueva (8-5 3.94 era) were probably the Brewers best two starters down the stretch. If these Brewers keep developing the future looks very bright.

-What went wrong:
The pitching staff that was supposed to be the strength of the ball club just did not have enough depth to hold up over the long season. Part of that problem was do to the horrible inconsistency of Dave Bush, Chris Capuano, and Claudio Vargas. They just could not be depended on to provide quality innings every 5th day, and in Capuano's case, the former all-star was demoted to the pen and the Brewers lost 19 consecutive games in which he appeared. OUCH!!! The bullpen at one point of the season was considered the Brewers strength, but our favorite bullpen arm and manager Ned Yosts' apparent gay lover, Derrick Turnbow, blew what seemed to be countless leads, in the most crucial of moments. Look for Turnbow and Yost to gone this off season. Fransico Cordero has an all-star year notching 44 saves, but it wasnt enough to catapult the crew into the playoffs. The bullpen was quite frankly awful down the stretch and that is where the most work will needed to be done this offseason. Bill Hall the Brewers suprise of last season, was in a funk all year, and now there are questions to as his place with the ball club. The good news is Hall's versatility adds a lot of value to him and if the Brewers do move him I think they could get a nice player in exchange. However he was in his first year of an extension and players locked up for 4 years rarely get moved that early into there deals.

What needs to be done:

The Brewers being a small market ball club are not in a position where they can throw money at there problems. The front office understands this and has done a wonderful job building through the draft. However all the top prospects in our system are currently with the club so dont expect a lot of help to come up from the minor league ranks next year as it did this year. Career Brewer, Geoff Jenkins, has been much maligned in his stead with the crew, but in all honesty he was pretty productive for his career. Though he cannot hit lefties and I dont see him coming back to be apart of another platoon. Look for Joe Dillon and Gabe Gross to split time in Left field next year. Hart and Hall seem to be the logical choice to share the other outfield spots, though I wouldnt be suprised if the Brewers shipped Hall to a team where he could play shortstop for a CF or a CF prospect. Maybe to the Dodgers for Matt Kemp??? My fingers are crossed. The infield is set for the next 4-5 years. With Fielder, Weeks, Hardy, and Braun, all we need here is continue to work on defense, one of the biggest problem areas for this years team, as well as there patient at the plate. All of the infielders except Hardy struck out over 100 times this year. Where the Brewers need to do the most work is in the bullpen. Both Scott Linebrink and Fransico Cordero are free agents at the end of the year, and though i fully expect the Brewers to offer each arbitration, I do not expect either players taking the offer, and expect both to leave via free agency. This leaves a big whole at the backend with Turnbow not a very good answer. Doug Melvin has shown in the past that he can find good bullpen arms for cheap, but I believe they will try and get a big name setup guy (Brad Lidge) and also a closer this off season. Look for the draft picks picked up with Linebrink and Cordero leaving, being used on pitching early in the draft as we continue to build from the bottom up. The starters seem to be set with Sheets, Gallardo, Villanueva, Suppan, and Capuano. I believe Cappy will get one more shot to be the player he was in 06' and Bush will start out in the pen and 6th starter when we need one. I look for Vargas to be with another team at the start of next year. Ned Yost got a vote of confidence so I believe he will have one more year to get this team to the post season before he is replaced. Dont be suprised if next years team very similar to this years, with some minor tweaks. We are counting on the progression of our young players to get us over the hump, and that we should with the amount of money we can spend on free agents.