Milwaukee Brewers 2009 Preview

Logan on 03 21, 2009


Milwaukee Brewers 2008 Review:

As a Milwaukee Brewer fan, you have to look at 2008 as a great year for your franchise. The Brewers managed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982 thanks in large part to the left arm of C.C. Sabathia. Sure you had to give up your most prized prospect in Matt LaPorta, but this franchise has been dying for a taste of the post-season and they finally got it in 2008. After finishing the regular season at 90-72, good enough for the NL Wildcard, the Brewers were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the eventual World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Brewers featured a very productive offensive attack led by the young slugger Ryan Braun. Braun, although somewhat sluggish defensively, managed to hit .285 with 37 home runs and 106 RBI. Prince Fielder, Corey Hart and J.J. Hardy also finished with 34, 20 and 24 home runs respectively in what was a very powerful lineup for the Brewers. However, what the Brewers lacked was consistent pitching, both from their starting rotation as well as their bull-pen. Of course there was C.C. Sabathia who went 11-2 in his short time with Milwaukee along with a ridiculous 1.62 ERA, but aside from C.C. the Brewers struggled with the back end of their starting five. Brian Shouse and Salomon Torres pitched very well out of the bull-pen for Milwaukee, but couldn’t make up for the lack of depth in that area of the roster. Ultimately the struggles from a pitching standpoint did the 2008 Brewers in, finishing their season in the first round of the playoffs.

Milwaukee Brewers 2009 Preview:

The Milwaukee Brewers reached the playoffs more or less on the arm of C.C. Sabathia in 2008. Sabathia is now gone after signing with the Yankees in the off-season, leaving the Brewers without a staff ace. Yovani Gallardo has ace potential, but being as young as he is, it’s hard to expect him to be able to shoulder the load for such a young team. Gallardo had a 1.88 ERA in the four games that he started in during 2008, so Brewer fans can certainly look forward to what he has to bring to the table in 2009. However, Milwaukee severely lacks starting pitching overall. The Brewers should again feature an offense capable of both power and speed, but their lack of quality pitching both out of the bull-pen and in the starting rotation should lead to a significant step backwards in 2009. Expect Milwaukee to struggle mightily and finish towards the bottom of the NL Central.

Milwaukee Brewers Surprise Player of 2009:

Unless you followed the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008, you may not be familiar with Yovani Gallardo. After 2009, you very well should be. Gallardo has tremendous stuff and should be the ace of the Brewers staff for years to come. The 6’2” right hander drafted in round 2 of the 2004 draft has his mechanics down, something that is very important in a developing pitcher. His fastball only hits around 90-93, but has really good movement. He also features a 12-6 curveball and a changeup that are both developing and have the potential to be devastating pitches at the big league level. Gallardo most definitely has ace potential and will have to show it if the Brewers have any hopes of competing in what should be a very competitive NL Central.

Milwaukee Brewers Projected 2009 Record:

4th place in the NL Central with a record of 72-90.

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  • "Unless you followed the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008, you may not be familiar with Yovani Gallardo."

    What? He pitched 24 innings in 2008. I'm not really sure how you figure that the Brewers will drop off so dramatically. Remember, they were over .500 and very much in contention when they acquired CC Sabathia last season. The 2009 Brewers is essentially the same team, only with Gallardo swapped in for Ben Sheets. Assuming a little bit of progression from the younger players who make up most of the starting lineup, I just don't see how they could possibly fall so far.
  • Colin G
    Same team as 2008? I doubt that. No more CC. He was a MVP canidate and only pitched the 2nd half of the season in the NL. Big loss. Torres retired. Which they did replace but with a 50 year old far past his prime hoffman. And the pitching staff drops off big time after Gallardo unless Parra can get back to where he was at prior to the all-star break last year. Far different team from last year even though only a few name changes.
  • Logan
    Colin-

    I would have to agree entirely with what Colin G has to say. And I would add that while the Brewers haven't made too many significant changes to their line-up in terms of additions, the NL Central as a whole has become stronger. The Cubs will again be the class of the divison, but expect the Cardinals especially to be healthier and a much improved team from a year ago.

    And remember, C.C. essentially represented two starting pitchers for the Brewers with him starting on three days rest his time with the club, making his loss just that much more significant.
  • Fair enough, I just don't see it. Again, the Brewers were a good team before they acquired CC Sabathia - they were 49-40 on the day of the trade, third best record in the NL. Its not like Sabathia singlehandedly took them from last to first or anything. Comparing the rotations at the start of the season, you have:

    Sheets
    Parra
    Villanueva/McClung
    Suppan
    Bush

    vs

    Gallardo
    Parra
    Looper
    Suppan
    Bush

    Sheets vs Gallardo is a wash, Looper is probably a slight improvement over Villanueva and McClung. Torres vs Hoffman really isn't much of a difference, no more than any pitcher who only pitches one inning at most. The offense should improve simply due to natural progression/development of younger players, and a manager who won't start Jason Kendall and Craig Counsell 150 times each. Sure, its possible that the rest of the division could improve, but unless the those improvements lead to more wins over the Milwaukee Brewers and only the Milwaukee Brewers, I can't see any way this team is 18 wins worse than last season. We'll see.
  • Derek
    There is no way they finish that bad. They were still good without CC he just helped them at the end of the season. Then you throw in a healthy Gallardo. The Brewers can hit with the best of them and pitching is a question mark but i would still have to pick them to finish no worse than 85-77. Macha's worst record ever is 88-74 and that is with less talent than the Brew got. You have got to be kidding me if you think that they will finish 72-90 jesus.
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