Top five Brewers storylines heading into Spring Training 2012

With the sendoff of the semi full of equipment from Miller Park Thursday, the countdown to Spring Training is officially on. Yes, pitchers and catchers report to Maryvale Baseball Park outside Phoenix in nine days! That has me already crafting up the five biggest storylines to follow throughout camp. Let's jump right into it.

5. Injuries. The overwhelming story after the first few days of Spring Training last year was Zack Greinke's basketball injury. The team cannot afford a distraction or an injury like that in this camp with the Ryan Braun situation already looming large on what will happen. Rickie Weeks is coming back from an injury at the end of last season. I know he came back to play in the playoffs, but really wasn't the same player he was before the injury. If something were to happen to Greinke or any of the five returning starting pitchers, things could go a little sideways in Maryvale and beyond. I know every teams needs to avoid the injury bug, but I would have to say the margin for error for this team is quite slim already before injuries.

4. The starting rotation and the back end of the bullpen are established even before the guys even start heading towards the dessert, but the middle of the bullpen is still up in the air. As I wrote a couple weeks back, that's where there would be openings to guys to make the roster. Manny Parra is back from injury. Zach Braddock hopes to have figured things out with his sleep disorder. Beyond those two, it's anyone's guess who will emerge and close out the sixth and seventh spots in the bullpen. As a fan, this is one of those things that will only be read about in the box scores because if you watch or pay attention to every inning of every single one of these games, you probably will lose your mind in boredom.

3. Whether or not the Brewers fess up that signing Nori Aoki was an insurance policy for a possible Ryan Braun suspension is one thing, having Aoki shine during the spring will give hope that the team won't fall on its face if the MVP is suspended for the first 50 games. Aoki has been a batting champ in Japan, so he can hit. But can he hit MLB pitching? Can he make it in left field? Those are the questions surrounding him and should be something that has to be watched through the spring as a whole not just a handful of games.

2. Mat Gamel has to show the coaching staff and all of us in Brewer Nation he is ready to take the next step and be the everyday first baseman for this team. It should be noted he is out of Minor League options, so he will have to make the big league roster or it's up in the air where he'll end up this season. Judging by what he did not at first base in the field and more significantly at the plate, Gamel has come into his own. If he gets cconsistent at-bats this spring he should set himself up to get those at-bats during the season, too, which will only better his chances to avoid being platooned with Corey Hart at first.

1. The Ryan Braun Situation might be the biggest story in all of baseball that will develop between now and the nine days leading into Spring Training. News broke today the arbitrator does not have to deliver the verdict on Braun's appeal by Monday. If it doesn't come down by then, it should still be out by next Saturday before the Brewers officially open camp. Regardless of the outcome, Braun will be at camp and ready to follow up his MVP season.

There they are. Of course, seeing how Alex Gonzalez and Aramis Ramirez take to the Brewers and the surroundings here will be something to watch, but it's one of those things that will get worked out as the spring unfolds.

Did I miss one? Hit me up with some comments!

Track record shows Zack Greinke is not one to worry about

There has been a lot of talk circulating on Twitter and the blogosphere expressing concern with Zack Greinke's comments to the beat reporters Tuesday.
Here's a link to Adam McCalvy's story on Brewers.com that was up late Tuesday. Over on the J-S side of it all, Tom Haudricourt gave way to Michael Hunt to do more of a column on the sitdown with the 2009 Cy Young winner.
Both also came back yesterday with reactionary stories on the interview. MLB.com got McCalvy's story saying manager Ron Roenicke is a fan of Greinke and Hunt had another column today, as well, saying you make special exceptions for the exceptional talent and that Doug Melvin knew what he was getting into by trading for Greinke.
He said some pretty powerful things in those pieces and was brutally honest, which I love and respect. It's something you don't hear from Major League players anymore because they expect to have their words ripped apart (kind of like what we're doing now).
He said he finds fans annoying and that media is a bit annoying. Should I have a problem with that? I'd guess most fans are annoying. That's why if I see a guy or player out about the town I question whether I should say anything to him. Yes, it would be cool to say hi, but he hears that all the time and doesn't want to be bothered. Plus, some fans are downright annoying when trying to get autographs.
And media, outside of maybe the beat guys you see everyday at the ballpark from mid February through September and hopefully into October, could be annoying. The beat guys can build a friendship with the players and have some repore established. I'd guess he's talking about the national guys who come to town and try to get something quick out of guys and then bolt. Those guys, unless they've been around for a while, aren't well known and don't have those relationships established. I don't have any problems with these.
The other comments he made, to me show off his work ethic and gives you a clue what baseball means to him. He would rather the game be played without money involved like it is today. He's prefer to make what a "normal" person makes to play the game. He said he hates the distractions and just comes to work everyday, whether it's his day to pitch or a day in between where he has to do prep.
I can respect that. Yes, I'm giving him a slight pass because of his social anxiety disorder, but once the season starts he's got blinders on and is focusing on working. In a way, I wish more players had that focus. I'd probably be surprised how many guys come to the stadium drunk or high on a given day.
The other part that raised eyebrows was him saying in Kansas City last year there were times he started to "dog it" at the end of the season. Some people were shocked by this. Come on now. Tell me if the team was losing game after game you wouldn't start to think the same thing. Of course he was working hard, but not to the extent or level he had for himself in the second half of the season. There's been times at past jobs where I've busted my tail and seen others there do much less and still get their check. It makes you question why you work so hard and I totally understand it.
The best way for the Brewers to make sure he doesn't cash it in before they're eliminated from contention is by winning and with the team they have assembled, I don't think that should be a problem this year.


The only problem that could derail the Brewers from contending this season is injuries and Wednesday, just the second day of full-squad workouts, was a bad day. Four different players, including Greinke were bit by the injury bug. Greinke was held out of throwing live BP yesterday, but did throw today and pitching coach Rick Kranitz said he was very happy with what he saw. Here's Haudricourt's "Brewers Blog" post on it.
Of course, there was somewhat major injury news yesterday that Jonathan Lucroy would miss a month of spring training after breaking his right pinky, needing to have a pin placed in it to ensure it heals straight. Add to that Mat Gamel would miss a week with a strained oblique and things looked pretty rough around Maryvale. Let's hope things fall in going into Monday's Spring Training openers with games against the Cubs and Giants.

Onto some pop culture for the day. If you haven't seen the Hangover 2 teaser trailer that has leaked, be sure to take a look. It has some promise and we can only imagine what the guys have gotten themselves into now. It doesn't show us a lot of details, but it's a glimpse. What's up with Allan?


Also big is this fake ET 2 trailer. This isn't real, but shows what the sequel would be like if it were made today. My one question, why are the Jonas Brothers at the center of it?!


OK. Back to reality and the Nussie Hunter of the day. You probably remember Michelle Trachtenberg from back in the day on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Well, she's 25 now and has grown up quite well. Take a look for yourself and check her out in the new Maxim.