Which Brewers starting pitcher has most to prove in 2012?

With Monday being the first official workout for Brewers pitchers and catchers at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix, it's time to start thinking baseball. More specifically, I really wanted to take a closer look at the starting pitchers on the Brewers staff in this post. As I talked in a post last month, all five starters return from last season. Usually with everyone back complacency could be a factor in performance this season. But with this group, all five have something to prove. With the status of Ryan Braun up in the air, the team will lean on the pitching staff to carry them through the time he is out.

We'll start with the man that proved he was the ace last season, Yovani Gallardo (Baseball reference stats). He was the man that the team turned to in the playoffs to get big wins and throughout the regular season was a horse, winning a career high 17 games and was the first Brewers pitcher to strike out 200 batters in three consecutive seasons in team history. His 3.52 ERA was a career high for a full season. Most importantly, he walked just 59 batters, or just 2.6 per nine innings. That's a full one batter less than his previous best set in 2010. The big number for Gallardo, and this is what he has to prove is the 207 innings he threw last season, plus the 26 innings he threw in 12 days in the playoffs.. That's 44 1/3 innings more than his previous high for a season. Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci has come up with the "Verducci Effect" which tracks the jumps in innings a pitcher makes from year to year. Anything over 30 for a 25-and-under hurler has a good chance of resulting in injury or regression the following season. So, he's got that and a season to show that he is in fact the true ace of the staff this season.

After Gallardo, Zack Greinke proved himself last year, after getting the ire of fans with his basketball injury during spring training. After missing all of Spring Training Greinke took only three starts in the minors before he made his Brewers debut May 4. While the Brewers played well behind him when he took the mound, his performances were lackluster at times. The Brewers went 10-5 in his first 15 starts (he went 7-4), but his 4.84 ERA was not Greinke-like (Game logs). His strikeouts were there, but he'd get wreckless at times. The second half of the season was where Greinke turned the corner and showed why he has a Cy Young award in his trophy case. From July 27 on, Greinke was 9-2, leading the Brewers to an 11-2 record during that stretch. He posted a 2.77 ERA, struck out 87 while walking just 27 (Game Logs). Those were the numbers fans were expecting out of the gate. This season, he's got to make it through the spring and then start the season with the same effort he finished last season with. If he does that, he will push Gallardo and have a shot to win an NL Cy Young. Oh, and how can I forget he is a free agent after this season. So he's auditioning for a possible contract. Now, the Brewers are rumored to want a deal with him and it sounds like something he would welcome. We shall see how that pans out.

Shaun Marcum is the middle man in the starting rotation and could take the cake as the most interesting and maybe the one with the most to prove. I can't remember a guy having a regular season like him and then tanking that bad. He pitched just 9.2 postseason innings and allowed 17 hits and 16 runs, all earned, during that time. Yeah, it was bad. That makes what he did during the regular season seem out of place. It was rather stellar. He went 13-7 and posted a 3.54 ERA which was .02 behind Gallardo as the best of the staff (Game Logs). His 200.2 innings were a career high. But, when it comes down to it, the awful outings he had in Phoenix in the NLDS and the two outings in the NLCS against the Cardinals are the black eye on his 2011 season. Like it or not, that's how it is. Add to the fact that he's also a free agent adds to the mix where other teams will be keeping an eye on him. When it comes to the Brewers signing him, I really only see them signing either he or Greinke. Not both.

Randy Wolf was as consistent a No. 4 starter last season as there was in the Majors. He hadhttp://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2149688284499501924#editor/target=post;postID=7026812923272109016 the most innings during the regular season with 212.1 innings pitched and his 3.69 ERA is the fourth lowest of his 12-year Major League career. He struck out 134 hitters while walking 66, but allowed just 214 hits for the regular season (Game Logs). Those numbers aren't jump-off-the-page great, but they are pretty good. During the Brewers run last season when they took over the NL Central, Wolf was the focal point. He won five straight decisions in late July into early August. He was the tough-luck loser last season at times, losing five games on the season when he allowed three runs or less. What does Wolf have to prove? He too is a free agent after this season. It seems unlikely the team will resign him as he will be 35 this season. Last season he was the pitcher they wanted when they signed him prior to the 2009 season.

Chris Narveson is back to close out the rotation and after listening to a discussion on ESPN Radio in Milwaukee Monday, one would think he would be the guy that could become complacent. But Drew Olson doesn't see that happening with him. I say he has something to prove because the pitching staff for 2013 is going to be retooled and if he wants to be a part of it and move up from the No. 5 slot, he'll have to work at it. At one point in 2011 Narveson was 2-4 through May with a 4.68 ERA. Once the calendar turned to June, Narvey turned it on. He went 9-4 the rest of the way with a 4.32 ERA (Game Logs). That's about what you would want out of your No. 5 guy.

So, after all that, it seems pretty clear who the guy with the most to prove is. That's Marcum. The postseason can define guys. If there were ever a reason people, or fans, can point to and say "That's why the team didn't go to the World Series," it's him. The biggest way to make us as fans forget about that is to have the same regular season he had last year. General Managers across the Majors will also have to say he is the most interesting because he was an innings hog last year. It was a personal high for him, but it showed the elbow had healed after his Tommy John Surgery. If he backs that up again and something can't be worked out to stay in Milwaukee, a big deal awaits him next season.

What do you think? Comment and let me know!

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!

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**

How good must Betancourt be to satisfy Brewers fans?

First off, Happy Opening Day of Spring Training to you and yours!
There was a lot of talk last week and I had a couple thing going on so I didn't have a chance to get to it, but Yuniesky Betancourt stands to be at the center of a lot of controversy this season as the new Brewers starting shortstop. There was plenty written by the two man Brewers beat writers about him last week. Most of that downplayed his weaknesses with the team brass doing a bit of spinning the numbers and trying to sell the acquisition to the fans. Tom Haudricourt's piece in the Journal-Sentinel had a different take: He's no better than Alcides Escobar.
It was a bit different, but he's right. Clearly the two players are at opposite ends of their careers, so us fans looked at what Escobar did last year a bit differently than Betancourt's season, despite eerily similar numbers. Here they are, in case you were curious, courtesy of MLB.com. (Betancourt stats | Escobar stats)
That leads to a key question: How good does Betancourt have to be to satisfy Brewers fans?
To truly answer that question, it is clear he doesn't have to lead the team in home runs. The top five Brewers hitters can jockey for that honor with the likes of Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart, Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Casey McGehee all capable of hitting the long ball. So, that responsibility is off the board.
He doesn't have to lead the team in RBIs. Again, last year four of those five guys had over 100 RBIs and that one that didn't many are expecting a career year as he nears toward free agency of the biggest payday of his life.
The answer is a tad complex, but straight forward. He just has to be a smart player. The team will win in spite of him if he has another season with a .299 on-base percentage and cannot live with his bevy of errors in the field. He will hit in the bottom-third of the batting order, but has been speculated already that he could he sixth. Still, odds are he will hit seventh or eighth and will need to take pitches in front of the pitcher and at least pretend like he has a clue. Expecting a drastic change from his erratic ways either in front of or behind another free-swinger in Carlos Gomez, may be too much to ask, but like Gomez, he must take the walks that are out there and not get himself out.
"Esky" as some fans in Kansas City called him, does have some pop and did lead the Royals in RBIs last season. They weren't staggering numbers by any means, but it's a start and he is capable of getting the big hit with runners on base. With manager Ron Roenicke thinking of hitting him sixth, he's looking for a way to give some pop behind McGehee and offer him some sort of protection. If he's hitting .238 that won't be much help at all, but he'll surely see pitches that will give him a chance to drive in runs. Roenicke may be onto something there. It wouldn't be uncalled for to try to give him a shot in the No. 6 slot.
Of course, it could go sour and the worst case scenario is that Betancourt has to slide down the order to No. 7 or No. 8. Or, as Roenicke hinted on the first day of camp, No. 9 was he's entertained the idea of hitting the pitcher eighth. He is a career .272 hitter and if he can have that average, the team will be overjoyed with him. It's the 3.4 percent walk rate everyone wants him to improve on. The guy could get it up to 10 percent, still not good, but better, and those same people would be overjoyed. It seems that simple.
What about in the field for Betancourt? He had exactly the number of errors as Escobar last season. As the Brewers brass has said, better pitching will put fewer balls in play and make guys look like better fielders. That's not a false statement and could help not only Betancourt, but everyone in the field for the Brewers are are marginal defenders. But for Betancourt in particular improving just slightly and not throwing the ball away, or throwing it at all for that matter, on close plays is what he needs to strive for.
Basically, no one is asking Betancourt to be great. Essentially, fans just don't want him to be "bad." Here's hoping he can at least pull that off.

Now to the Nussie Hunter portion of today's show and having had the Oscars on in the background while doing some prep work for a certain high school sports Web site that I have just signed on to do some work for, I couldn't help but notice Mila Kunis. While she didn't win any awards, she certainly caught eyes. Yes, there's a reason she's one of the Wilber's Way favorites.

Weeks signing shows there could be life after Prince

I know it's late, but I needed to get this posted as I have something pretty big planned for a certain sports hero of mine's birthday.
The Brewers signing of Rickie Weeks to a four-year, $38 million contract Wednesday added to what was a great offseason for the Brewers (Check Tom Haudricourt's story on the signing from the Journal-Sentinel, here). Had Rickie left with Prince at the end of the season, the right side of the infield would have been in disarray. Now, with Rickie back, the Brewers get a player they know will work hard and has worked out. They even factored into the contract his health for a fifth year. Essentially if he's an every day player that fifth year will kick in. The Brewers call it a vested-option (Adam McCalvy's story on Brewers.com), Weeks' agent just calls it a five-year deal worth $50 million. Essentially, they're both right. Weeks expects to get 600 plate appearances in 2014, which would trigger the fifth year. If there is any question he'll get that PAs, Ryan Bruan got 687 last year in 157 games, so if he plays every day, like he did last year, that should come without a problem.
As I said last week, this NEEDED to get done. Now that it has, looked what it means to this team. The Brewers will have the likes of Ryan Bruan, Corey Hart, Casey McGehee, Yovani Gallardo and Rickie Weeks under contract through the 2014 season and possibly through 2015.
That looks like a solid 2-5 in the batting order to me (I really want to move Rickie down in the order to No. 3 or No. 4 if/when Prince departs) and at some pretty respectable salaries in today's era that should be managable enough for them to add some other guys to keep things competitive.
To me, that's the biggest thing after Prince goes. No matter what happens this year, I don't want to be the 1999 Chicago Bulls or the Florida Marlins that awful the year after winning championships because key pieces left. Obviously looking at it now, expectations will likely be down going into next year, but they won't be plummeting to awful depths like the Bulls did after Michael, Scottie and Phil all left town.
Dare I say the Brewers could still be relevant going forward for years to come? Prince will be a Class A free agent at the end of the season and when he goes, he'll net the Brewers two compensatory picks. Those who say the farm system is trash, myself included, will notice how much that will help refurnish the system.
This sets up Doug Melvin and company to make a couple moves going into 2012 and 2013 that should still keep a pretty darn good and entertaining team in Milwaukee.
And as part of the discussion that isn't part of the future, one of my storylines to watch going into spring training is pretty much now a moot point. Weeks has his contract. He won't have to worry about performing for free agent money now. I was more worried about how he'd handle it than I was Prince. Fielder has had talk about him signing long-term here now for years and he has shown he can push it to the side after the initial discussions in the spring. Rickie has not had those talks and them circling may have been a factor.
The Brewers need a season out of him similar to last season. He doesn't have to be great, but the batting average can come up from last year, lifting the on-base percentage in the process, stolen base numbers should skyrocket and his overall value will go through the roof this season. Heck, his home run numbers can even come down and I'd be happy with him. Just get on base and I'll be making my "C'mon RRRRRRRRRRRRRRick!" Chant from section 223 Row 6, Seat 7 for this season and a many more to come!

Going to get right into the Nussie Hunter portion of the broadcast right away now. Was talking with a friend of mine today and Sofia Vergara came up. She has come a long way from being the hot Latin chick on Entourage. She is now one of the stars on one of TVs best shows. That accent is just as good as her body, too.

Top 5 Brewers storylines to watch in Spring Training

Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training for the Brewers tomorrow (Woooooohoooooo!) in Maryvale Baseball Park. It promises to be an action-packed month and a half going into the start of the season on March 31 in Cinncy.
There are some things to watch develop or see if they do develop during the time in Maryvale that should set the tone for the regular season. (Counting down from 5 to 1 with 1 being most important.)
5. Who fills the few roster spots left? This is the first time in recent memory, to me anyway, only two spots on the bench and one or two spots in the bullpen are up for grabs. If position battles are you what you like to watch in spring training, the Brewers will not be your camp to keep an eye on. Every starting position is filled. From the starting five of Greinke, Marcum, Gallardo, Wolf and Narveson to the position players, everything has been answered over the winter on who will start. In the bullpen, one one or two spots remain, with a couple of the young arms likely being sent down to Triple-A Nashville to stay stretched out and possibly come up and make a spot start or two, if needed. That being Mark Rogers, of course. I worked things out on the roster a while back in an Examiner.com post last month after the signing of Takashi Saito that he would join John Axford, Zach Braddock, LaTroy Hawkins, Kameron Loe and Manny Parra as returnees. That would leave Mike McClendon, Mitch Stetter and Sean Green to fight it out for one, maybe two spots, depending on if the Brewers carry 12 or 13 pitchers.
For position players, all eight starting spots are set, leaving four our five spots left on the bench. Two of those spots are filled with Craig Counsell and Mark Kotsay, the latter of which was just signed, but should make the team as a pinch hitter. There are two question marks left to fill on the bench. The first is, who will be the backup catcher? George Kottaras is back in the mix, but so is Mike Rivera and Wil Nieves. To many, Nieves has the experience the Brewers want to help mentor Jonathan Lucroy. They will let those three duke it out in spring training. Mat Gamel is the other question. Would you rather he make the team and site on the bench and pinch hit or stay in Triple A and get regular time at the plate and in the field?
Even manager Ron Roenicke says it is pretty much set. His take on it is pretty good, though. "That means we have a pretty good team going into camp." Yep.
4. Will contracts (or lack thereof) be a distraction? Rickie Weeks is working on an extension leading into his arrival to Spring Training and Prince Fielder is likely in his last year with the Brewers. Roenicke feels that in the business of the game, those guys will not let those things bother them once they get on the field and play. To me, it will probably only be a distraction when it is brought up in the clubhouse by the media after the games. Mainly with Rickie, it will probably be a distraction in Spring Training if a deal is not done. that gives him a few weeks to move on from it and be ready for Opening Day on March 31. The good thing about it, too, is that for the rest of the guys this isn't a distraction. I don't worry about it distracting Prince, at all. He has had this talk circling him for a couple years now, so he'll continue to play his way through it at his high level. Rickie is the same way. There has always been talk surrounding him about his injuries, but last year he showed what he could do when healthy and should be fine now. I don't see it bother him, either.
3. Will Roenicke be true to his word and be more aggressive on basepaths? Spring Training will be the first chance we will get a chance to see if Roenicke will be true to his word and run more on the bases. As Tom Haudricourt points out in his post today in the Journal Sentinel, Dale Sveum hinted the players are excited for the move and with guys like Weeks, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart and Carlos Gomez it's clear why. There is plenty of speed on this team and getting out and putting pressure on the defense to stop them from running could be a key to this offense putting more runners in scoring position. Everyone within the coaching staff things running is a good thing for the team and is the one thing they have not done much of over the last couple of years. It will give the team that chance to manufacture more runs. How many times did Yovani Gallardo lose games when he gave up just one or two runs? Putting runners in motion will open things up to squeeze a handful more wins out of the season which could be a difference in the race the Brewers hope to find themselves in.
2. Will the starting pitching live up to expectations? This one won't be answered in Spring Training, but like that saying goes "You can't win a race at the start, but you can lose it" the Brewers just hope things build for the regular season. Part of me also thinks there are a lot of unrealistic expectations put on Greinke especially to be the savior of the franchise this season. Yes, he is and is going to be good, but there is a chance he will lose a handful of games through the season, if not more. And that doesn't even mean he'll pitch bad, that's just how it goes over a long season. Of course, Shaun Marcum and Gallardo have some expectations to live up to, as well. Both were Opening Day Starters last year, as well, and want to be considered 1a and 1b choices for this team. It's hard to get a real gauge on how guys will pitch in the regular season, though from the spring. Some guys work on pitches in the spring and are all over the place. Then, by the time the season gets here, everything is taken care of and they settle in. If they pitch well, they can't be anointed as heroes like that, either. This one will set itself up for the season and we'll have to wait for an answer. I'll revisit it later.
1. Willl the defense be able to help out the pitching that is now in place? Amidst the trades to acquire pitching, the Brewers dealt some solid fielding away. Alcides Escobar was not great, but pretty good in the field and Lorenzo Cain was great when he was in last year. In their places are Yunesky Betancourt at short and Carlos Gomez back in center. For Gomez, defense was never the thing that anyone questioned. He's pretty good in the field, but it's his bat that got him benched. Betancourt is somewhat similar, but has some questions with his glove. Of course, on the infield, there's a bit more pressure and detail to work on. Can he turn the double play with Rickie. There has to be a solid effort from both guys to put this together.
Outside from them Ryan Braun and Corey Hart had their own "D'Oh" moments last year that made you scratch your head with their play in the field. They kept their spots in the lineup because they were hitting the face off a baseball, but still have work to do. Casey McGehee at third was the same way, but is solid with the glove, as was Rickie at second base. And Prince, well, he's Prince. He led the league in walks last year. Finally, there's Jonathan Lucroy he played at Double-A, Triple-A and the Majors last season and will be the starter this season. I'd guess Roenecke will have him as almost as everyday as a catcher can be (thinking 4 of 5 games in most cases). He improved by leaps and bounds during the season last year. Give him an offseason to prepare and a full spring as the No. 1 guy and I expect him to be very solid behind the plate this season.

That's all I've got for now. Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments and I'll put something together during Spring Training.

Now on to some other pop culture news from yesterday. The first is a biggie. If you know me, you know I was once a huge WWE fan. I've since cooled off on it, checking in every now and then to see what they have going on. Last night was a big night though because of one ELECTRIFYING MAN!

Here's Part 2...


Before we get into the Nussie Hunter portion of the broadcast, here's a bit of a teaser. Ten of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models were on David Letterman for the reveal of the cover model and did the Top 10 list. Take a look. Not the best list, but you're not listening to what they're saying, except for the accents, anyhow.

Now to the cover model. Irina Shayk rocked the cover and looks great in the magazine, judging by what I saw on the new SI.com Swimsuit Website. Wow! Here's a preview!

Loving Ron Roenicke's take on his first year as manager

It's 50 degrees outside (well, I'll round up from 44 degrees, Haha.) and we were just days away from Brewers pitchers and catchers officially reporting to Maryvale Baseball Park for Spring Training. That's enough evidence for me to see spring on the horizon. The first official workout for the pitching staff will be Thursday and that will be the first official time Ron Roenicke will take on manger duties for the Crew.
Getting to know a little about him over the winter and actually meeting him at Brewers On Deck a couple weeks back, he should fit in quite well with the team. He said some pretty powerful things and while he has never managed at the MLB level before, he seems to always say the right things.
As was evident in a Saturday story by Tom Haudricourt in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel story that was a pretty telling Q & A. It touched on a number of points to kind of wet the whistle of us fans giong into Spring Training.
I like that he has a pretty good feeling with the staff. I would guess baseball is one of the few sports that, even after a manager or coach change, has a number of hold over coaches. That may be one of the biggest keys into making a smooth transition going into the season. Guys like Ed Sedar and Dale Sveum know this team quite well and should have him up to speed in no time once everyone gets to camp.
He was asked about the defense of the team. Like him, I don't feel real bad about the defense. Of course, they could always get better in the field, but it's not an awful weakness. He did hit on a pretty good point, that with better pitching, less balls will get sent their way which should lessen the effect of defense on them and give them a better chance to succeed.
I also liked his comments on injuries to the pitching staff. I, like him, think the team could survive for a short time if one, and maybe even two guys go down with injuries. But only for a short time with Manny Parra and Mark Rogers available to start if needed. If things go for more than a couple weeks, then it could get dicey and Roenicke agrees. Like he said, any team that thinks it can win with the seventh or eighth guy in their system starting for an extended time, they have some screws loose.
The last question Tom asked was on the expectations of this team. Ron hit on this at the On Deck event a couple weeks back when he was on stage, and he echoed it again in the interview. Of course, with the new pitching arrivals, expectations have shot up, but he welcomes them and he has high expectations, too.
To that end, I saw a story on OnMilwaukee.com last week that said a Packers Super Bowl win put the expectations of the Brewers at ridiculous levels for fans around here. I can agree with that. People now are thinking the Crew must win the NL Pennant, which I would love to see, but have to see how things pan out first. Baseball is a weird game and sometimes odd things happen to pitchers and hitters. Obviously the pieces are in place and, on paper, this team can go far, but it has to perform on the field and not on paper.

Going to quickly jump into some pop culture talk now. The Grammys were last night and were pretty good. My fave performance, of the night was, of course, Eminem with Dr. Dre and Skylar Grey doing "I Need a Doctor." To me, this is pretty deep stuff. Enjoy it...


On to the Nussie Hunter portion of the broadcast today. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model will be unveiled tonight on David Letterman. The secret is guarded with secrecy and I'd expect Bar Rafaeli and Brooklyn Decker to be front runners for the spot. I also think Chrissy Teigen has a good shot. You can follow her on Twitter, here. And check her out in last year's Swimsuit Issue. Here's a sample below.