I know we are getting excited about the new look Milwaukee Brewers.  They did bring in some quality starting pitching finally and the future appears to be a lot brighter.  Now, let’s get to the rest of the story.

The big question is, “Can the team overcome three significant holes in the batting rotation?”  Historically, teams that are strong up the middle do well. This is not that kind of team.

Up the middle they are weak both on offense and defense.  At Catcher is a combination of Jonathen Lucroy, George Kottaras, and Wil Nieves. That platoon will bring on a combination of below average defense , minimal home-run pop, low on base percentage and low batting average. Not exactly Johnny Bench material.

Shortstop consists of newcomer, Yuniesky Betancourt and veteran, Craig Counsell. Counsell is 40 years old and as we all saw the last couple years is not capable of playing everyday. He wears down fast and at this point in his career and would be more of a liability at this point if he were to play everyday.

Betancourt was called one of the worst players in the league last year by Sports Illustrated.  Not exactly a letter of endorsement. In all honesty he is a free swinger who doesn’t take walks and will hit a few out toward Bernie’s slide.  Didn’t we just have this player? JJ Hardy comes to mind.

Now take a look at the outfield. Carlos Gomez can make some amazing plays in the field, but this is not our grandpa’s game anymore.

We need offense out of  this spot and Gomez has never shown that he can do that.  He has never had an OBP over .300, never had double digits in HR’s. His only accet is his  speed but unfortunately it’s against the rules to steal first base.

So while everyone is looking forward to a team that looks like it’s going for it this year by keeping Prince Fielder and making trades for Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum; remember this, If Doug Melvin wants to throw all the eggs in one basket this year he has to do it. Going halfway isn’t going to work. Sign a 1 year stopgap at shortstop, add more to the bullpen, and make the one key move that will bolster up the offense.

A possible positional move for Corey Hart to CF and the off-injured, Mat Gamel to RF may also be a way they can address their problems without making anymore moves.

Brewer fans buy those tickets, root the home team on, roll out the barrel and look for these moves to fill up that half empty glass.

Looking at the Brewer’s starting roster, you would think that they have a solid all around team with an array of good hitters and adequate pitching.  But how will this season go? Will the Brewers finish on top of NL Central? Or will they have another George Costanza type season, where their hot start is buried under a pile of gaffs and bad puns?
The pile of gaffs and bad puns is of course a metaphor to the Brewers’ history over the last few years.  At first you would love players like Corey Hart or the ex-Brewer JJ Hardy, but once the second half of the season came around they would show their true colors and Brewer fans would quickly turn on them. Obviously, it didn’t only come down to Corey Hart and the thankfully ousted JJ Hardy. Pitching went sour with the plethora of mediocre pitchers such as Jeff Suppan and Braden Looper along with inconsistent pitchers, like Carlos Villaneuva and Manny Parra. It is too bad we can’t have guy like CC Sabathia every year. Good players come and go. That’s something the Brewers have gotten used to from being one of the smallest markets in the Major League.
However,  Brew Crew fans should be more confident about this year. Not only has the Crew picked up a few accomplished veterans like Pitcher Latroy Hawkins and Catcher Gregg Zaun, (who is sure to be more valuable than Kendall) but Milwaukee may see their young prospects really develop this year.
Alcides Escobar is the guy that every Brewer fan thinks about when they hear the words “promising prospect”. Although Escobar does not have a lot of power behind his swing, he could end up being top of the lineup batter and could use his speed to be a valuable base runner. Did I mention he happened to be arguably the best defensive short stop in the minors? Brewers’ Farm Director Reid Nichols has said “He’ll make at least one ‘WOW’ play a game, count on it.”
Casey Magee and Rickie Weeks are unproven, but seem to be heading in the right direction. Although Rickie’s season came to a quick end, both of these batters contain a powerful swing and look to be major threats in the lineup.
As far as backups go, much of the infield looks pretty stacked. Matt Gamel, who also still has not proven himself, seems to be a capable backup along with Joe Inglett and the fan favorite Craig Counsell. I don’t know much about Joe Inglett, but a .293 batting average in 211 games doesn’t sound too shabby. Looking at Craig-O, the people of Milwaukee would love to see him play like he did last season. In fact, I may just buy a Counsell jersey if he does so. I’ve forgiven the man for being a bit of a cheap tipper while I mowed his lawn.