Pitchers and catchers report today and while I'm not one to get too excited about baseball in February, I couldn't be happier about the Brewers' offseason. They added two top level pitchers to their rotation in Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum and more importantly, they finally wised up and got rid of Dave Bush. My hatred for Mr. Bush has been documented many times and I am very pleased, as are my friends, that I don't have to bitch about him every 5th day this summer.
Last season the starting rotation was the Achilles heel of the Milwaukee Brewers and they certainly addressed that this summer. The Beer Makers will have 3 pitchers in their rotation that started on opening day last year to go along with a few promising young arms.
The offense should be as strong as ever. I look for Prince to have a monster year, mainly due to his upcoming free agency. Huge contract years from big time players have become common place in pro sports of late, especially baseball. Braun and McGehee should continue to grow as hitters and carry the middle of our lineup along with Prince. If Weeks and Hart can build on their solid 2010 campaigns the Brewer offense should be one of the best in the NL.
The club did lose a bit up the middle defensively with Escobar and Cain heading to Kansas City in exchange for Greinke, but I would make that trade every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
I'm also excited to see what new manager Ron Roenicke can bring to the table. Historically, Mike Scioscia's under-studies have done very well for themselves. Hopefully the Crew has finally found a guy with some staying power.
Now that we've looked at the Brewers, lets take a gander at the rest of the NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals - The Cards should be strong as usual, however the Pujols contract could be a distraction if they don't get something done before spring training. Regardless, any lineup that includes Fat Albert is a scary one and you can never downplay the Red Birds starting rotation.
Cincinnati Reds - The defending NL Central champions got big years from a lot of relative unknowns last year. It will be interesting to see if those young players can build on last season or if they will take a step back. As I'm sure Mike can attest, Dusty Baker tends to ride his young arms a bit too hard and the Reds' young hurlers might see a sophomore slump.
Chicago Cubs - The Cubs acquired Matt Garza from the Rays over the summer to bolster their starting rotation and they also picked up Carlos Pena to replace Derrek Lee at 1st base. I like both of these moves but I'm not sure it will be enough to turn the Cubs around just yet. They have some young talent in Tyler Colvin and Starlin Castro, but I think the Cubs are at least two years and one big acquisition away from contending again.
Houston Astros - The Astros are another young team that seems to be a few years away from contending. They have good young arms in Wandy Rodriguez and J.A. Happ, who they acquired in the Roy Oswalt deal. The 'Stros need to add a bit offensively, but they could be on the upswing a bit this year.
Pittsburgh Pirates - They are the Pirates. Enough said.
Overall, I really like the Brewers' chances of winning this division. I'm sure this will be a daily debate topic in the not so distant future, but I will throw out my prediction right now. I like the Crew to win 85-90 games this season and win the NL Central. I'll put the exact number at 89-73. You can Lock It Up!
