Offense:

First and foremost…NEXT TO NOTHING HAS CHANGED!  Every starter 1-8 in the lineup (although the order will probably be shifted) was a Brewer starter in 2008.  Although this is great for team chemistry that is many times lacking in today’s free agent era, the offense…well…it plainly and simply was mediocre at best last season.  Pitching carried the team through the season and into the playoffs, though the offense probably got a little more of the limelight what with Ryan Braun’s legendary home runs and such.  Conversely, the bench will be very different in ’09.  Gabe Kapler (Tampa Bay Rays), Russell Branyan (Seattle Mariners), and probably Ray Durham either have parted ways with Milwaukee or are going to.  This is not good news, as those players managed to provide key sparks to the team when it needed it the most.  Notably, Branyan’s ability to hit a home run any time he strode to the plate, or Kapler’s hard-nosed defense and offensive saavy.  Durham managed to keep the struggling Rickie Weeks motivated at 2nd base and came up with quite an impressive highlight reel himself in the waning months of the 2008 campaign.  The bench this year will still feature the ever-dependable vet, Craig Counsell as well as late-season acquisition Mike Lamb, who will probably be a platoon starter with Bill Hall at 3rd base this year.  Several wild cards to make the bench are Trot Nixon (the ex-Boston Red Sox outfielder), Tony Gwynn Jr., Casey McGehee, a 3rd baseman plucked off waivers in the off season, and perhaps Matt Gamel, the highly touted 3rd base prospect.  Mike Rivera will again be Jason Kendall’s backup at catcher.  So look for the offense to be slightly more productive in ’09, considering the chemistry and new hitting coach, Dale Sveum, who should relate to the players a lot more effectively than the departed Jim Skaalen did.

Pitching:

This is where things could get messy.  The two greatest starting pitchers perhaps ever to don a Brewers uniform are leaving.  CC Sabathia is a New York Yankee, and Ben Sheets is being courted by the Texas Rangers, and although he hasn’t signed with anyone (there is talk of elbow surgery in his future), he has made it clear being a Brewer is not interesting to him any longer.  That throws the young Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra likely to the top of the starting 5.  Dave Bush should be number 3, with Jeff Suppan behind him at 4.  The 5th spot in the rotation is a little more confusing, as Seth McClung could be a possible answer here, but his flashes of late-inning brilliance may place him in the bull pen.  Carlos Villanueva will be the set up man or long reliever, as he never really settled into a groove as a starter.  The new member to the pen is Trevor Hoffman, a much safer and predictable new closer than Eric Gagne was, because his best seasons were brought about by his pin-point control and wicked changeup (which he hasn’t lost by the way), not steroids.  Guillermo Mota, Salomon Torres, and Brian Shouse are gone as well as Gagne, and that could create a void Trevor Hoffman, Jorge Julio, and Mitch Stetter may or may not be able to succesfully fill.  Julio has been unraveling his past couple years, and Stetter is quite young (albeit he certainly has talent).  Hoffman is certainly aging, but is definitely serviceable (unfortunately, his mid 80s fastball is a little more hittable than Torres’ low 90s sinkers were)  So the pen should be about as good if not slightly better than in 2008.  The starting rotation will almost certainly not produce another 90 win season, BUT, there is enough talent there for new pitching coach Bill Castro to perhaps mold into a legitimate Wild Card contending staff.

Coaching

Dale Sveum is still a member of the Milwaukee coaching staff, but not in a manegerial role.  He is the hitting coach and Ken Macha, the ex-manager of the Oakland Athletics, is taking the big chair.  Willie Randolph, the ex-New York Met’s manager, will be the bench coach.  Needless to say Macha should do a better job making the tough decisions than Ned Yost did, and Willie Randolph will probably be a little harder on the players than Robin Yount or Dale Sveum before him were, which could certainly be what the younger players need to keep themselves motivated.  Mike Maddux, the wizard of resurrecting pitchers plucked off the scrap heap’s careers is now a Ranger coach, and long-time bullpen coach Bill Castro probably will not do quite as good a job as Maddux did.  But he knows his players and their tendencies well, and that is a very good sign.  All in all, the coaching staff is miles and miles ahead of where it was at this point last year.

My Projected Lineup by Position:

1B: Prince Fielder
2B: Rickie Weeks
SS: J.J. Hardy
3B: Bill Hall/Mike Lamb/Casey McGehee
C: Jason Kendall
LF: Ryan Braun
CF: Mike Cameron
RF: Corey Hart

My Projected Season Numbers

Final record: 87-75
Standings: 2nd place, NL Central, NL Wild Card runner up

Bush threw 5.1 innings, yielding 5 hits, no walks, struck out 3, and gave up only 1 run.  In the 6th, Jayson Werth hit the ball out to deep right, where Corey Hart tumbled into the wall with the ball in his glove, but lost his grip on it when he came crashing to the ground.  The play turned into a triple, and Bush was pulled in favor of the young lefty Mitch Stetter, who induced an RBI groundout to big Ryan Howard.  Carlos Villanueva then retired Pat Burrell for the final out.  The pitcher was allowed to hit for himself with one out in the 6th, and singled.  Mike Cameron and Bill Hall did likewise, but Ryan Braun struck out and Prince Fielder flew out to shallow left.  Villanueva proceeded to throw a flawless 7th.

Two veterans chipped in in the 7th to provide a little insurance.  J.J. Hardy led things off with a single and made it to second on a beautiful sac bunt by Corey Hart.  Craig Counsell (owner of two World Series rings) then hit a tough chopper on the right side of the mound and dove headfirst onto the first base bag for an infield single.  Another vet, backstop Jason Kendall lined a run-scoring single to left right after.  Eric Gagne worked around a Jayson Werth double for a scoreless 8th (he retired former Brewer outfielder Geoff Jenkins, who finally got his Milwaukee Post Season appearance, for out number 1).

In the 9th, things got very interesting for Salomon Torres, who surrendered singles to the first three men to greet him.  The bases were juiced with nobody out, but Torres threw a sharp slider that Pedro Feliz chopped into a double play.  A run originally scored on the play, but due to the fact that Shane Victorino bowled over the fielding Counsell at second without sliding, interference was ruled, and Ryan Howard had to return to third base.  The next batter, Carlos Ruiz, bounced back to Torres, who flipped the ball to Fielder at first to seal the 4-1 victory.  Not since Game 5 of the 1982 World Series had the Brewers won a Post Season game.

Offensive MVP: J.J. Hardy (3-4/1R/1RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Dave Bush (5.1IP/5H/1ER/0BB/3SO/0HR/Win-1st)

Alex’s Take:

This was a much-needed win.  It forced a Game 4 featuring Jeff Suppan squaring off against Phillies’ righty Joe Blanton.  The offense looked very patient at the plate on Saturday, and that is the only hope the Crew has of winning tomorrow and giving Sabathia another shot on Tuesday.  Suppan will have to prove that he is truly an October pitcher as well, and that Doug Melvin was wise to invest so much money in him.

Then things got ugly.  The Brewers were completely shut down offensively by the Cubs’ young starter Angel Guzman (2.0 innings), Chad Gaudin (1.0 inning), Neal Cotts (1.0 inning), and Kevin Hart (1.0 inning).  Following Mike Cameron’s lead-off single in the bottom of the 1st, 18 Brewers in a row were mowed down by Cubs’ pitching.  But in the bottom of the 7th, the dream began to come alive.  Ray Durham, batting from his weaker right side, doubled to start things off.  Ryan Braun then advanced the second baseman to third with a groundout.  Prince Fielder was intentionally walked, J.J. Hardy unintentionally walked, and Corey Hart looked totally lost at the plate, swinging and missing at three obvious balls for the second out.  Craig Counsell, the ever-dependable veteran or big games, worked a monumental walk with the bases loaded to bring the tying run home.  Jason Kendall failed to add on.

In the top of the 8th, Sabathia continued his dominance, striking out the first two men to greet him, and then retired Koyie Hill by making a barehanded grab of a bouncer to the mound and throwing to first.  Then, after 26 years of futility, the Milwaukee fans finally experienced something worth going absolutely crazy about.  Mike Cameron hit a one-out single.  Then, Ray Durham flirted with a possible run-scoring extra base hit, but his deep drive to right was run down and caught by Micah Hoffpouir.  Ryan Braun didn’t waste any time in powering his club into the Post Season.  He liked the first pitch from Bob Howry, swung at the first pitch from Bob Howry, and drove the first pitch from Bob Howry deep into the electrified sellout crowd of 45,299 for his 37th home run of 2008, and got RBIs number 105 and 106.

Sabathia returned to the mound, knowing full well that the New York Mets were down 4-2 to the Florida Marlins late in the last game at Shea Stadium, and finished what he started.  Alfonso Soriano flew out to shallow left, Ryan Theriot hit a single, and that brought career Brewer-killer Derrek Lee to the plate.  On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Lee chopped to the awaiting glove of Ray Durham, who relayed to the shortstop J.J. Hardy, who fired back to Fielder at first to win the game 3-1.  The fans went absolutely nuts, but nothing was comparable to their reaction minutes later, when they watched the final frame of the Marlins/Mets game, and watched Ryan Church fly out to deep center to seal Milwaukee’s first trip to the playoffs since the World Series of 1982.  The players enjoyed a well-earned champagne shower to boot.

Offensive MVP: Ryan Braun (1-4/1R/1HR/2RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: CC Sabathia (9.0IP/4H/0ER/1R/1BB/7SO/0HR/Win-11th)

Then came the bullpen: seven pitchers, six innings, zero runs allowed in one of its finest performances of the year.  Offensively, the Crew was not so impressive for the rest of the first 9 innings.  They actually only stranded 5 runners on Thursday, but they simply couldn’t execute small ball, and it forced extras.  In the top of the 10th, the Buckos threatened big time against Todd Coffey.  With one out, he surrendered a single to Jason Michaels, who then reached second on a fielder’s choice.  Enter Pittsburgh’s All Star center fielder Nate McLouth and lefty Mitch Stetter for the biggest out of his career thus far.  From a 3-1 count, Stetter got McLouth to whiff at that sweeping slider of his, and froze him on another one, recording the punch-out and bringing things to the bottom 10th.

That’s when things got interesting.  Rickie Weeks started things off against Jesse Chavez with a single, and was moved to second on a perfect sacrifice bunt from the catcher Jason Kendall.  Pinch-hitter Ray Durham, who has torn things up at Miller Park this year, was intentionally walked, putting two runners on with only 1 out.  Alas, Mike Cameron failed to end it as he went down swinging.  Craig Counsell then strode to the plate, crazy stance and all, and worked arguably the biggest walk by a Brewer in 2008 (it only took 5 pitches).  This put the game, and with the Mets winning their game on a Carlos Beltran walk-off single moments earlier, possibly the season in the hands of sore and struggling left fielder Ryan Braun.  He needed merely a bloop single or a walk, but the end result turned out to be far more legendary.  On a 2-2 count, he finally got some of his prodigious power into a swing, and the ball went a long, long way.  Braun collected the 1st and only grand slam by Milwaukee all season, as well as the first walk-off shot of his major league career.  If the Brewers manage to reach the playoffs, it will probably be considered the defining moment of 2008, and one of the biggest home runs in Brewer history.

Offensive MVP: Ryan Braun (1-5/1R/1HR/4RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Carlos Villanueva, Eric Gagne, Guillermo Mota, Brian Shouse, Salomon Torres, Todd Coffey, Mitch Stetter(Win-3rd) (6.0IP/6H/0ER/1BB/3SO/0HR)

Alex’s Take:

Wow.  I have never been a huge supporter of Ned Yost.  I can not say that I am sad to see him go, because his laid-back, “we’ll get ‘em next time,” approach to the game was really hindering the Brewers.

Some other questionable things that he did in 2008:

Constantly use burned-out reliever Eric Gagne late in close games

Start Rickie Weeks, probably the worst second baseman in baseball defensively, and certainly not great offensively either,

Start Bill Hall, an undeniable strikeout machine who has shown nothing of his solid 2005 or 2006 seasons, use Weeks (hitting under .230 most of the year) as the leadoff hitter,

Refusing to use small ball in almost any situation

Failing to pull the plug on pitchers at the proper times.

I will admit, the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers do not have many small ball-compatible players, save Craig Counsell and Jason Kendall, but there were far too many times in which a Brewer would obviously be trying to hit a home-run instead of simply advancing runners in critical situations with no outs, and would end up grounding into a double play or striking out.  Yost should take a good portion of the heat for failing to get his players prepared for big games or failing to take big series seriously, but it was not really all him.  The players fundamentally have been awful all year, and Yost did in fact bring winning baseball back to Wisconsin.  He deserves HUGE credit for that, but it is unlikely he was capable of taking them to the next plateau: the postseason.  As for Sveum, I know little about him other than he was not the greatest 3rd base coach in the league and that he was a popular Brewer back in his day.

The struggling Brewers bullpen turned in heroic performances in the final three innings, though, keeping the game right where it was despite overwhelming odds.  San Diego had runners on 2nd and 3rd in the ninth against Salomon Torres, thanks to an error by Prince Fielder, but the savvy veteran tight-roped out of danger when he retired shortstop Luis Rodriguez on a bullet of a ground ball up the middle that J.J. Hardy made a strong play and throw on.  The Padres had runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out in the tenth, but Torres gobbled up a ground ball in front of the mound and fired to third for the force-out.  Then he got Chip Ambres on a flyout and struck out Edgar Gonzales.

David Riske had a much rougher go of it in the eleventh.  He retired batter #1 on a deep fly ball, but walked #2 and surrendered a base hit to Giles that put runners on 1st and 3rd with only 1 out.  Enter Brian Shouse.  He needed throw only one pitch.  Luis Rodriguez chopped the ball to the lefty, who fired it to second for one and Hardy returned the favor, by finding the glove of Prince Fielder to clean up the mess and fire up the quited crowd.  In the bottom of the eleventh, Mike Rivera got a pinch hit, was wiped out at second on a poor sac bunt by Craig Counsell, and then Ray Durham, who had gone 0-4 previously, hammered a base knock to right, getting Counsell to third.  J.J. Hardy sent the remainder of the fans home happy.  He deposited a single to left field on the 6th pitch against Brian Falkenborg, sealing Milwaukee’s 81st win of 2008 and 1st win in the month of September.

Offensive MVP: J.J. Hardy (1-6/0R/1RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: Brian Shouse (0.2IP/0H/0ER/0BB/0SO/0HR/Win-5th)

Alex’s Take:

This game was ugly, dragged on forever, revealed once again the problem Milwaukee has in Eric Gagne, but felt great in the end.  It was nice to see the Crew persevere in the end and finally wrap up their first victory so far in September.  The Cubs were manhandled by Cincinnati, so Hardy and the Brewers are sitting 4.0 games out of 1st and, following a Phillies win, held onto their 4.0 game lead in the Wild Card.

The Crew scratched across a run against an uncharacteristically shaky Derek Lowe, who did not walk a batter, but was struggling with command of his fastball in all of his 7.0 innings of work.  To lead off the second, Prince Fielder grounded out to first.  But Corey Hart came right back and singled to left.  He made it to third on veteran third-baseman Craig Counsell’s 1,000th career base hit, and scored on a Mike Cameron play that was originally ruled an error on Dodgers’ shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, but was later changed to an RBI infield single.  Whatever it was, it cut the L.A. lead to 2-1.  Milwaukee had leadoff runners in almost every inning after against Lowe, but whether it was a rally-killing double play or just the wrong end of the lineup coming up, they simply never could get the game tied up.

To keep the deficit right where it was, Milwaukee’s outfield shone brilliantly, making amazing play after amazing play.  Here’s the recap.  In the bottom of the second, third-baseman Casey Blake crushed a pitch out to the gap in right field.  Utilizing his lanky frame, Corey Hart charged the ball down at a perfect angle, lunged out for the catch, crashed into the wall, and hung on to save sure extra bases.  Initially, I thought that that would surely be the top defensive play of the night.  Thank goodness Gabe Kapler and Mike Cameron were there to prove me wrong.  The Gold Glove center-fielder made a diving catch on a James Loney sinking line drive for out number 1 in the seventh.  Although it was one of Cameron’s best plays as a Brewer, it was nothing compared to what Kapler did next.  All Star catcher Russell Martin, one of the greatest catchers and hitters alike in the Major Leagues, unloaded on a pitch from Bush and sent it whizzing out to deep left.  The fans exploded as the ball cleared the wall easily, and the stadium was electrified…for about .5 seconds.  The reason: Gabe Kapler, leaping head first into the stands, brought the ball back for the greatest catch of his career, and possibly one of the greatest homerun robs of 2008 throughout all of Major League Baseball.   Pumping his fist emphatically, Dave Bush was inspired to retire his last batter a lot more easily, which he did (he struck out Garciaparra on three pitches).  Then it became offense’s turn.

All of the offensive struggles for Milwaukee changed in the eighth inning, when a familiar face showed up in the right-hand batter’s box.  Ryan Braun was back, and he chipped in immediately against one of the toughest lefties in baseball.  Hong-Chih Kuo has a fastball that tops out in the upper 90s, and is complimented by nasty breaking stuff.  Braun’s bat did not leave its moorings until the fourth pitch of the at bat, in which he took a nice cut on a 2-1 fastball and fouled it away.  On 2-2, he hit another fastball and deposited it in no-man’s land behind first base.  By the time the Dodgers fielded it, he was settling in at second with a pinch-hit, lead-off double.  Ray Durham hit an opposite field fly ball to right that got Braun to third easily.  Then with one out, slumping J.J. Hardy got hold of a slider over the plate, and neither he, his teammates, or any Brewers’ fans would be disappointed.  His clutch homer gave Milwaukee a slim lead.  That set things up for a finish that could have given the most stoic fan stomach ulcers.

Still 3-2, Brian Shouse, the reliable lefty specialist, was inserted into the game to take on the lefty Andre Ethier.  Although it is not normal for more than one pitcher to throw the ninth when you have a reliable closer, which the Brewers have in Salomon Torres, but the logic behind it was obvious.  The move instantly backfired, when the athletic outfielder took first base on a walk.  Yost then made the call for Torres, who struggled with his command for the entire inning.  Battling back from being behind the dangerous second-baseman Jeff Kent 3-1, Torres got him on a full count to ground to the always-dependable shortstop Hardy.  Only, he was not dependable on this play.  Looking to turn the double play, he was preparing for the flip to Durham before he brought the ball in, and it trickled past him, igniting the fiery crowd of 52,889.  Now with runners on the corners and nobody out, Torres somehow managed to get the new L.A. left-fielder, Manny Ramirez, to fly out.  Unfortunately, Corey Hart was unable to throw out the speedy Ethier, and the game was tied 3-3.  Things did not look good when Russell Martin hit an infield, two-out single off the glove of a diving Counsell, and looked even worse when Torres lost his command again to pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney (a former Brewer).  Enter Casey Blake.  He had torched the Crew in Friday’s loss, and looked to give his club their third walk-off win in four games.  But the resilient Torres barely retired the man on a tricky pop-out that Ray Durham expertly tracked down to get the game to the 10th.

Against the Dodgers’ closer Jonathan Broxton, Jason Kendall lined out and Ryan Braun struck out on a high 97 MPH fastball.  That put the game in the hands of Durham, who worked a walk.  Then Hardy, looking for vindication, found it.  Durham stole second barely, putting a ton of pressure on Broxton.  Then, off a 2-2 count, Hardy lined a hit to right field.  Durham, running on contact because of the two outs, scored uncontested, though the shortstop was caught in a rundown between first and second.  Up 4-3, onlookers probably expected Torres to reenter the game and lock it down.  He would have, had he not left the game due to an unknown injury or ailment.  As bad as the news was to the Milwaukee club, there was still a ballgame to win.  David Riske struck out the first man to greet him, Pablo Ozuna, but then gave up a hit to center-fielder Matt Kemp.

Then disaster struck…the Dodgers.  In one of the worst base-running blunders I’ve ever seen, Kemp only reached second on a definite double by Andre Ethier.  How did this happen?  The ball sailing towards deep center, and briefly appeared to carry out for a game-winning home run, but Mike Cameron’s unsuccessful leap at the wall produced only a single for Ethier.  Thinking the outfielder was going to pull it in, Kemp paused between first and second, and by the time the ball had been collected by Cameron, he could only touch second.  He would have probably tied the game if he had made a better read.  Luckily, the mistake gave Riske new life, and he got the second out on a nice little hopping catch by Durham at second that speared a Jeff Kent line drive.  Then the future Hall of Famer Manny Ramirez strutted to the plate.  Jason Kendall set up high and away continuously to Manny, a gutsy move to work up to the former Red Sox star, but it paid huge dividends.  Seemingly off balance, Ramirez silenced the crowd as he came up empty on a mighty cut at a high fastball that gave the courageous Riske his third strike and the Brewers the 4-3 victory.

Offensive MVP: J.J. Hardy (3-5/1R/1HR/3RBI/0BB/1K)

Pitching MVP: David Riske (1IP/2H/0ER/0BB/2SO/Save-2nd)

Alex’s Take:

Unbelievable.  Incomprehensible.  Ridiculous.  Thrilling.  Awe-inspiring.  Just a few adjectives that fit Saturday’s 4-3 Brewer win in Los Angeles.  The game seemed destined to end up in another Dodgers walkoff more than once, and early on, seemed destined to end up in another boring Brewers loss.  Gabe Kapler, Mike Cameron, and Corey Hart proved to me that the 2008 edition of the Milwaukee Brewers defense truly is worthy of recognition.  Cameron had baffled me all year with his slew of strikeouts and was not even that impressive out in center, although he played relatively error-free.  But against the Dodgers, he made TWO diving catches in center!  Although Hart’s running grab was impressive, I have never seen a catch greater than the one made in left by Kapler.  As for Braun’s return…he seemed as strong as ever.  As for Hardy’s nearly losing his club the game and battling back to give them the win…WOW!  Though there is a lot of 2008 remaining, I mark this as the one game that proved to me that the Milwaukee Brewers are truly a team deserving of the playoffs.

Offensive MVP: Corey Hart (2-4/1R/1HR/2RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: Dave Bush (6.1IP/5H/1ER/2BB/6SO/Win-7th)

My Take:

Ned Yost commented that this series was a lose-lose situation for Milwaukee.  If they swept, they were supposed to; if they failed to sweep, what’s up with those Brewers?  But thankfully, they swept.  Bottom line: Milwaukee had to prove they could play winning baseball at home again and they did.  Dave Bush looked like an awfully good #5 starter, and the bullpen was strong.  The offense collected quite a few runs with two outs, and the Crew is now 17 games over .500!

Offensive MVP: Prince Fielder (2-3/2R/2HR/3RBI/0BB/0K)

Pitching MVP: CC Sabathia (8.1IP/6H/2ER/1BB/9SO/0HR/Win-5th)

My Take:

This was a good game, and Milwaukee was more able to score runs in the clutch, which is a tremendous sign.  Sabathia has been phenomenal since being traded, and his great effort should not come as a surprise to anyone.  The Brewers will need to continue winning these winnable games because they return home to Miller Park in two days to tackle the Washington Nationals for a 4 game set.