Milwaukee Brewers baseball preview

by Steve

Ned Yost and co are gearing up for a serious run at the World Series with a bird in the hand and two in the bush. Sluggers and a solid young pitching staff are fermenting what could be one of the best teams in the National League.

Infield
Prince Fielder might not have gotten the contract he wanted, but the last thing the rest of the Central wanted was for him to be more pissed off and motivated. Dude might break the hr record in 2008. He's only 23! Thats at least 3 years younger than Ryan Howard. Ricky Weekes had a down '07 but could bounce back if he is healthy this season. Maybe i'm overrating him a bit but he could be a poor man's Jose Reyes with more pop. JJ Hardy was lights out for a while in 2007, if he can build on the 26 and 80 he had last year he could move up in the pantheon of SS's in the Majors. Bill Hall is listed as a CF on espn but he is schedule to start at 3b. He is an average player who can't hit for average. Jason Kendall just won't die, he is starting at C, we'll see how long that lasts.

Outfield
Ryan Braun won ROY in a controversial vote. True, he blew up records for rookies but I still feel Tulowitzki should have won. He is going to have a sophomore slump like you wouldn't believe. Ex-Met Mike Cameron is in as CF and only got a 1 year contract. I like that for the Brew-crew cause he is old as hell but could have one last solid year for this franchise, we'll see. They have the young Tony Gwynn Jr waiting in the wings for '09. Corey Hart is another dude you never hear anything about but he quietly hit .295 24hr and 81 rbi for Mil last year and hitting behind Prince even if it is 3 spots behind him, hitting behind him will do that for any hitter that can make contact.

Pitching
Ben Sheets has struggled with injuries lately and thats a shame cause he could win a Cy Young. He is only going to be 30 this season and could be poised for a major breakout. The rest of the rotation is filled with young arms like Capuano, Gallardo, Parra and Villanueva, but Jeff Suppon is still around and is a whiley vet most teams would like to have. Wow, what an awful contract they gave Gagne, Turnbow will be closing sooner than later.

Prognostication
I like this squad in '08 and beyond. They have young players and vets scattered throughout. If Ned Yotes isn't sippin' Miller Lites all season they should be fine. Prince will be MVP and get a big pay day. If the pitching staff stays as solid as I suspect it will the Cubs will be in trouble.

record 92-70