Teams that throw bombs on fourth-and-one are exciting, no matter whether they win or lose. That's this year's Milwaukee Brewers, who bet the farm -- literally -- on the 2011 and possibly 2012 seasons.
With Prince Fielder's impending free agency looming next year, GM Doug Melvin decided to swing for the fences now. Cashing in their minor league talent, Milwaukee brought in former Cy Young winner Zack Greinke and former Toronto ace Shaun Marcum to join Yovanni Gallardo and lefty Randy Wolf in a suddenly rejuvenated stating rotation.
They'll need it, because pitching was the soft white underbelly of 2010's 77-85 squad. The Brews combined the second best hitting in baseball with the fourth worst pitching last year. That's a volatile stew. Now the ingredients seem more complimentary.
In fact, it's better than it looks. Marcum sported a shiny 3.64 ERA last year just a year removed from TJ surgery and facing the Red Sox, Rays or Yankees and their DH-fueled lineups every other start. Greinke, coming off his All-World 2009 season didn't get a run of support from Royal teammates until approximately Flag Day. Not only are both likely to be improvements over last year's rotation fillers, they're likely to be improvements over themselves.
On the other hand, nothing's changed in the bullpen except the departure of 103-year-old Trevor Hoffman and his 5.86 ERA, and the seasoning of John Ashton and Kameron Loe. In the fickle world of relief pitching, Milwaukee's pen could swing anywhere from pale ale to stout.
There are some concerns, though. Five players -- Ryan Braun, OF; Rickie Weeks, 2B; Prince Fielder, 1B; Corey Hart, OF; and Casey McGehee, 3B comprised almost the entirety of the offense last year, with 140 of the team's 182 home runs. The rest of the lineup was so invisible that pitcher Gallardo, in 73 plate appearances, was the seventh most productive hitter on the team, after part-time senior citizen, Jim Edmonds. An injury and an off-year in that bunch could tumble the whole deck of cards.
Moreover, while the lineup produced was very Gouda at the plate, it was Swiss Cheese in the field, ranking 29th in the majors. The replacement of Carlos Gomez in center and Alcides Escobar at short with Lorenzo Cain and Yuniesky Betancourt threatens an even stinkier result. This might drive Wisconsin lawmakers to leave the state, but the whiff-happy new pitching staff relies less on its fielders than its predecessors.
In a year when the Reds appear to be poster children for regression, the Cardinals have brought the circus to town and the Astros keep forgetting to fire Ed Wade, the NL Central may be begging for some adult supervision. The Brewers appear poised to provide it. If they don't, it could be a long decade in Wisconsin.
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