Brewers with more questions than answers as season nears

What many fans are taking away from Milwaukee Brewers Spring Training in Maryvale Baseball Park can be summed up in one word. Injuries.
Time will tell if they will foil the 2011 regular season, but it will certainly leave a cloud over the beginning of the season and it will be up to the players still healthy to keep it from derailing the entire season.
The NL Central crown the Brewers were expected to compete for at the start of spring cannot be won in April, but it sure could be lost if injuries put the team in a hole like the nine-game losing streak did early last season. It was a skid that could not be overcome the rest of the campaign.
After seeing Manager Ron Roenicke's comments in today's Journal-Sentinel Brewers Blog, it appears Shaun Marcum should be OK and will make his start on March 26, lining him up to be the No. 2 starter and pitch April 1 in Cinncy. As for Zack Greinke, he is still slated to miss at least two starts. The race to fill his spot is still up in the air, but it's looking like the team will be without him for the first three weeks or so.
Before Spring Training, it was believed the Brewers had one of the top pitching staffs in the NL. While you don't need perfection in spring Chris Narveson and Randy Wolf have given few signs of encouragement in their appearances. And with Greinke and Marcum battling injuires, that leaves just Yovani Gallardo as the lone starter who does not have questions circling him. He has been impressive and shown what has been expected of him to this point. The question isn't if the other four will turn it around and bring it together during the season, but how long it will take to come together and pitch well. And do all of that at the same time to piece win streaks together. It could take through April before all five get their bearings and the hope is they don't dig the team a hole they can't get out of.
On the offensive side, things seem to be coming together with the position players that have been injured. Jonathan Lucroy had the pin taken out of his right pinky today. I don't feel as worried about him behind the plate, but rather in the batter's box with that right hand. The more at-bats he can get and get that pinky around a bat, the better he will be. That same philosophy goes for Corey Hart, who is still not playing in games after his side injury. In the same Brewers Blog post mentioned above, Roenicke said he is just being cautious in the spring. He's doing the same with Ryan Braun and I'm OK with that. I'm not as worried about hitters as I am about pitchers who need the time to stretch out their arm  so they can go deep into games. Things sound more positive on their return and early-season contribution than the pitchers, which is good to hear.
As for the bullpen, Manny Parra is battling injuries of his own. As is LaTroy Hawkins, who has been less than stellar thus far in spring. John Axford is down to his final four songs in his entrance song poll, but hasn't performed that well, either. it is almost to the point where the bullpen is the biggest concern with the team, even with the injuries to the starting rotation. All the way down the list, Zack Braddock, Kameron Loe and Takashi Saito have all had their moments this spring, but have been few and far between. It's hard to get too up or down in spring, but you'd like to see something to get excited about.
All of that sounds rather negative, but it shouldn't be anything that buries the team too severely. I actually see them hanging around .500 through April. The schedule is brutal to start the year and without their two biggest offseason acquisitions, it could be tough sledding to start the season. With injuries at the start of the season, the margin for error the rest of the season is likely slim if they want to be in contention in the NL Central. 

I saw this on TV the other day and hadn't heard much on it. Ryan Braun is in the new Muscle Milk commercial. It's kind of funny. But worth a look since he's the only Brewers player out in ads at this point.


It's time to get into the Nussie Hunter portion of the broadcast. The Hometown Hotties contest is in full swing over on Maxim.com and there is one lone semifinalist from the fine state of Wisconsin. Meet Christina from Green Bay. You need to go vote for her, here. And check her out below.