Congratulations Brewers!

News item: Woman wearing Ryan Braun jersey at game with "B" and "n" replaced by "F" and "d" forced to cover up the jersey or be removed from stadium.

Congratulations to the Brewers, first MLB team in North Korea.

Intriguing Teams of 2011, Part I

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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Hot Stove Musings

One off-season trade strikes me as a win-win proposition, a concept you don't see in team sports very much. After all, baseball teams are at least indirect competitors and often direct competitors. It's as if two countries fought a war and were both better off in the end.

It's the Orioles-Mariners blockbuster centering around fireballer Erik Bedard. Bedard was a Cy Young contender until he got hurt last season, but keeping him in Baltimore for two years of rebuilding would be like installing mag wheels on a rusting pickup.

Instead, the O's peddled Bedard for a prospect haul to a team that thinks it's in a pennant race. They get back outfielder Adam Jones and four minor league pitchers, at least a couple of whom are highly regarded. Now, I know less about minor league pitching prospects than I know about 15th century Hungarian love songs, but the way to develop a front-line major league pitcher is to have 10 good minor league pitching prospects.

Moreover, the O's get a breakout-ready outfielder for six years of below-market cost who should be entering his prime in synch with the rest of the organization.

The Mariners give up nothing from today's lineup and reap a staff ace who, linked with the emerging Felix Hernandez and a couple of mid-line starters in Jarrod Washburn and Carlos Silva, fronts a formidable mound corps in the Northwest.

The question is whether the Mariners sacrificed part of their future for a present that doesn't exist. Is Seattle really a contender in the AL West, even with Bedard? Look at their lineup: Beyond Ichiro, Beltre and the smoldering ruins of Richie Sexson, there isn't a single tough out. It'll be interesting to see whether pitching and good defense without run support can keep pace with the Anaheim Armada.

The best and worst signings of the year might have both been the work of the Milwaukee Brewers. Inking Mike Cameron to patrol centerfield once his steroid suspension ends dramatically upgrades the team. It moves Bill Hall to third and "The Bratwurst Butcher," Ryan Braun, to leftfield.

As a centerfielder, Hall was a fine third baseman. As a third baseman, Braun was a fine plumbing supply salesman. The NL Rookie of the Year will still turn left into Frankie's Fun Park, but hell, it's only left. The more important defensive positions of center and third will be in far, far better hands. The Beermakers' pitchers should benefit.

But not enough to justify exporting 10 million Loonies to Quebec for the right to get whiplash watching some guy who used to be Eric Gagne surrender gopher balls. Last year Francisco Cordero recorded 44 saves and an ERA of three for the Brewers. A reasonable prediction for Gagne is the reverse -- three saves and a 44 ERA before Derrick Turnbow gets his turn. The Brewers could have bought the entire Pirates roster for that much coin, thrown away the entire team and gotten more value from either Ian Snell or Tom Gorzelany alone.

Fortunately for the Brewers, the NL Central is a wasteland. It's them and the Cubs and run for the pubs in that division.