Fate of Brewers season doesn't entirely lie with Braun

With Ryan Braun finally getting his day to appeal his positive test for a banned substance, the National League MVP and the Brewers can finally start to put the final pieces together for the 2012 season. Will the Brewers have their superstar left fielder or not though the first two months of the season? We will find out shortly.

Maybe it's the optimist in me and believer that this season will be just as special as the last, but part of me thinks the Brewers can hold the fort down while Braun is away and keep the National League Central crown within reach if he is out for the worst-case scenario of 50 games. Don't get me wrong, Brauns .332 batting average, 33 home runs, 111 RBIs and 33 stolen bases will be hard to replace in the top third of the lineup on top of the loss of Prince Fielder, but for 50 games and 57 days, the Brewers can weather the storm. Here's how.

When Rickie Weeks went out in August last year, fans, myself included, feared things could go south, but the pitching emerged to carry the team to the NL Central title. That will have to happen at the start of this season. All five starters return and all have something to prove.

Yovani Gallardo is ready to prove he is a true ace, even if he's not the pitcher on the staff with a Cy Young Trophy in his trophy case. As good as he was in the playoffs last year, is the level I expect to see Gallardo all season. He was inconsistent at times last year letting his pitch count get the best of him and force him out of games early. I'd expect to see that as a point of emphasis from the start of Spring Training.

Zack Greinke, you know the guy who does have a Cy Young, wants to put the rough spring from last year behind him and I expect him to come out of the gates strong. While Gallardo was shining in the postseason last year, Shaun Marcum was busy flipping his glove in disgust as he lost all three starts in awful fashion. (Can't forget the glove flip in Phoenix!). The kicker on top of it all for Greinke and Marcum is both are free agents after the season and are auditioning for big money elsewhere.

Randy Wolf is in a similar boat in the final year of his three-year deal. Last year he was the guy that was the most consistent pitcher during the season, but got little to no run support in some of his best outings. Finally Chris Narveson is back in the five-hole at the back of the rotation and has to prove himself to a point to maybe earn a chance top step up on the rotation with possibly two or three of the other guys leaving the rotation after the season.

As for the offense, the thought with filling the shoes of Prince was not to drop it all on one guy, but to spread the load throughout the lineup. That has to be the mindset of Corey Hart, Weeks (who should move up to the No. 3 spot in front of Aramis Ramirez) and everyone including the new guy Nori Aoki.

Only time will tell how things unfold, but the pieces are in place for the Brewers to be at least within shouting distance of the top of the division if Braun is out for 50 games at worst or (what I'm hoping for) a 25-game ban. The pitching is the key to the team, especially the starters out of the gate.

Brewers 2012 roster to be sorted out in spring training

It's only mid-January, but with the Nori Aoki (that's what we're going to call him this season) signing, things are starting to come together with the 25-man roster for the Brewers.

We are 31 days until pitchers and catchers report to Maryvale Baseball Park, so it's expected things would start clearing up by now, but it's just crazy to think about baseball with temperatures falling at or below zero this week. That said, I'd say about 20 of the 25 roster spots can be set in stone, leaving five open for discussion.

I'll start with the position players because of the two spots that could be open there, I'd say they are about locked up. Of course the starting eight (around the horn) should go Ryan Braun, Nyjer Morgan, Corey Hart, Aramis Ramirez, Alex Gonzalez, Rickie Weeks, Mat Gamel and Jonathan Lucroy. The bench should be Carlos Gomez and George Kotaras as the returners with Aoki as another outfielder and Brooks Conrad and Cesar Izturis as the nonroster invitees who have the inside track on making the team. Bopth Conrad and Izturis are switch-hitting infielders, that should help give the team some solid bats (and gloves) off the bench.

The pitching staff is a bit more wide open in the middle. Of course, all five starters return with Yovani Gallardo, Zack Greinke, Shaun Marcum, Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson back in the fold. In the bullpen John Axford anchors the back end and the surprise return of Francisco Rodriguez solidifies the eighth inning quite well. Also back is Marco Estrada and Kameron Loe who were both valuable in the sixth and seventh inning (and beyond) last season.

That leaves three roster spots if the team is going to go with 12 pitchers. That's where spring training will decide how things fall. Manny Parra, coming off a year where he spent more time on the operating table than the baseball diamond, can show if he's healthy and be a solid lefty in the bullpen. Also, Zach Braddock could show whether or not he will be Major League worthy this season. Wily Peralta is also an option to make the move from Nashville to Milwaukee. An outside shot to make the club on Opening Day is Jed Bradley and Taylor Jungman, last year's first-round picks.

Spring Training will give Ron Roenicke time to straighten things out, but there shouldn't be many surprises unless the team makes a couple moves. Those moves would be likely financially based to get the team closer to $90 million from the $100 million the payroll is at right now.



**On a programming note, I know haven't been blogging lately, but I am planning on amping things up a lot more as we had into On Deck on the 29th and down to Phoenix for Spring Training next month. It should be a fun and interesting spring with plenty of storylines that have to sort themselves out**