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.

Annoyance of the week: Packers dynasty talk

Maybe it's the Bears fan in me, but I'm thinking it's more of the sports fan in me when a talk of "Dynasty" comes up. That's what made all the talk this week about the Packers being able to get back to the Super Bowl for MANY years to come.
My favorite Packers writer, Jason Wilde, had it about right with his post earlier this week on them "being built to last" but that doesn't mean they'll get back to the big game multiple times over the next handful of years.
Now, before you jump down my back, hear me out here. You can look at history to show you dynasties don't come around too often. You can look at more recent history and see they are even more uncommon.
Let's look at that recent history. Dan Marino went to the Super Bowl in his rookie season. He never went back.
The very next year, the Chicago Bears were supposed to be the next dynasty after winning the Super Bowl with the youngest team in the NFL. Well, the strike in 1987 derailed that, after the Bears made the NFC title game in January 1987.
The 49ers, Cowboys and Bills are all dynasties of the 90s and late 80s, so there's a point to you Packers fans thinking it was going to happen.
But the Packers in 96 and 97 were thought to have many more coming, but Brett Favre never made it back after that, either.
In the 2000s the Rams had two years. The Giants have gone twice, with vastly different teams, but the last team, that beat the Pats was supposed to be a young group and could be a dynasty, but that went nowhere.
Yes, the Patriots are the only dynasty in the last 10 years. I would not count the Steelers, because for me, one of the criteria for a dynasty is at least back-to-back appearance in the Super Bowl.  Yes, they could have won three, but that doesn't do it for me.
So, can the Packers become a dynasty? It's possible. For me, though, for all of those guys that had to step up this year, that means more guys think they deserve a piece of the pie and want to get the payday they feel they deserve either with the Packers or somewhere else if the Packers won't give it too them. That will make things a little more difficult for the Packers. That will already start this offseason (after a CBA gets agreed upon) when a handful of guys, including A.J. Hawk could end up in different places. Hawk is due $10 million if he stays around and was on the trading block before injuries went down, but Ted Thompson is not the guy that spend big money on good players.
To me, it was a perfect storm that got the Packers here. The story surrounding the Packers is injuries, but for them to not strike the key parts for multiple games (Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews each missed one) and it was up to the role players to come through when called upon. The chances for those guys to come through in the future is less likely. Obviously the core should stay in tact, but look at every title team in every sport and it's those role players that make the difference. Dare I say this was the best group of role players ever assembled outside of the big time players on the team and if a big chunk of them seek out the big payday, things could go south.
The one thing the Packers have to control this is what Thompson and Mike McCarthy have taken a lot of credit for over the last couple of months and that is talent evaluation. They might be two of the best at it in the NFL. That will be the biggest key to keeping things going and getting the Packers back to the Super Bowl. If some of those role players leave, different guys will have to be ready.
Things will have to fall perfectly for that to happen, though, and I don't think it will.


The big news yesterday from 1 Miller Park Way was the Brewers announcing their bobblehead days. As a fan, this might be as big of a day for me as Opening Day. This is the day I plan out and know at least a handful of games I will be attending. Leaving with some free garb doesn't hurt things.
Here's the schedule (And the full schedule from the Brewers)
Sun. April 24: John Axford Bobblehead (It's what's pictured and looks awesome!)
Sun. May 22: Casey McGehee Bobblehead (My favorite guy, so you know I'm pumped for this)
Sun. June 12: Zack Greinke Bobblehead (The Cy Young winner and the guy lots are putting all their hope behind)
Sun. July 10: Hot Dog Bobblehad
Sun. Aug. 14: Craig Counsell Bobblehead (Milwaukee's favorite son in his final season)
Sun. Sept. 25: Randy Wolf bobblehead (Have to give the big money guy his bobble)
While I was a bit upset there was no Yovani Gallardo bobble, I saw Adam McCalvy post this on his blog and it was pretty clear he was flexed out in favor of Greinke in what could be his only year in town. It's a safe choice and Yo is here for a few more years, so it's not the time to get upset about this. Either way, this should be a great season. All of those, minus the hot dog, will be welcome additions to my bobble family.

A bit of this day in history before we get into the Nussie Hunter segment. Bust Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson on this day in 1991. So good and so historical.


Now to the Nussie Hunter. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue will show up in my mailbox next week and the folks at SI are drubbing up the press machine for it. One of our favorite girls, Brooklyn Decker was featured on this promo poster below. Will she make it back to back years on the cover? We'll have to see. Either way, check this out. And get ready for Monday night on Letterman to see who is on the cover!