Kuzul

What have the Milwaukee Brewers done this offseason?

To an outsider looking in, it’s easy to say, “not much.” The Brewers went into the offseason knowing they weren’t going to be big spenders in free agency, and after some ill-informed rumors regarding big-name players like Josh Hamilton and Zack Greinke passed, many began to wonder if the Brewers were going to add anyone.

Slowly but steadily, however, Milwaukee has acquired several new pitchers that are going to help bring this team back into contention.

The Brewers didn’t need Josh Hamilton. Many believed (myself included) that the addition of Hamilton would have been great, but with the Brew Crew’s offense already one of the best in baseball, the addition of another outfielder (an area of great depth for Milwaukee) seemed unnecessary.

Reacquiring Greinke would have made sense, but in the end, he ended up being far out of the Brewers’ price range.

And quite thankfully, the Brewers didn’t let themselves get sucked into any overly expensive mid-tier pitchers like Ryan Dempster or Kyle Lohse.

Instead, they added a few proven pitchers that are going to reverse the league’s worst bullpen from last season.

Ostensibly, John Axford, Jim Henson and Brandon Kintzler are the only Brewers returning to the bullpen this season. All three are high-power pitchers with a ton of potential, and Axford will be looking to carry his second-half momentum from last season into another complete season like he had in 2011.

The Brewers cut ties with Kameron Loe, Jose Veras, Manny Parra and Francisco Rodriguez, all of whom were poor performers with Milwaukee last season. They had work to do.

Some names they’ve added this offseason? Most notably, Burke Badenhop, Tom Gorzelanny, Michael Gonzalez, Michael Olmsted and Kelvim Escobar. They’ll also benefit from the maturation of young arms in the system like Wily Peralta, Tyler Thornburg and Mark Rogers, as well as the return of lefty starter/long-reliever Chris Narveson.

Lots of names. All of them under the radar, and all of them an improvement in some way.

Gorzelanny is perhaps the biggest name on that list. Converted from a starter to a reliever last season with the Washington Nationals, Gorzy shined in a big way, pitching in 72.0 innings, raking up a fantastic 2.88 ERA, 62 strikeouts and a K/BB ratio of 3.8, proving the lefty has strong command. He may compete for a spot on the starting rotation, but will likely hold the job as a long reliever, much like last season with Washington.

Badenhop is a sinker-baller and essentially a carbon copy of Loe, though much more effective. He’ll be good for 60 to 70 innings of low-3.00 ERA pitching. Like Gorzelanny, Badenhop had one of the best seasons of his career last season as well. He had a 3.03 ERA in 62.1 innings to go along with 42 strikeouts and a K/BB ratio of 3.50.

Michael Gonzalez is the lefty specialist that the Brewers haven’t had in years, posting outstanding numbers across the board, but especially against left-handers. A pitcher with a strong scouting report, highlighted by a good mid-90s fastball with great tailing action and the ability to strikeout batters. Gonzalez pitched in 35.2 innings last season, struck out 39 and posted a 3.03 ERA, most of his finest work coming against lefties.

The other two names—Olmsted and Escobar—will likely not make the opening-day roster, but could prove to be high-impact signings that came at a bargain.

Olmsted had a positively outstanding season with the Boston Red Sox organization last season. Between High-A and Double-A, Olmsted pitched to a 1.52 ERA in 59.1 innings while striking out 92, resulting in a ridiculous K/9 of 14.0. He has a career minor league ERA of 1.96 and an 11.9 K/9. Olmsted can reach triple digits with his fastball and was an absolute steal for the Brewers organization.

The very recent addition of Escobar is an interesting one—prior to being derailed by injuries, Escobar was a very good pitcher in the majors, proving to be a capable starter and reliever. His career numbers are very intriguing…in the major leagues, Escobar has a career ERA of 4.15, has appeared in 411 games, 202 of which have been starts, has a career K/9 of 7.8 and a record of 101-91.

He hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2009, but he’s had strong recent outings in various other leagues, and major league scouts have clocked his fastball in the mid-90s. Several other teams were looking into Escobar, but the Brewers got him to sign to a minor league deal, and it could pay off big time in the long run.

Guys like Escobar and Olmsted are going to be fun to watch in spring training. If they bring their best cards to the table, they could be looking at spots on Milwaukee’s roster.

All of these moves have been relatively overlooked by the baseball community. But when you add them up, as well as the farm talent and the already-potent offense, the Brewers are in for a fun season.

Dead weight in the pen has been cut, and the Brewers now have two new lefties to lean on in Gorzelanny and Gonzalez. They have a ton of options, and several low-risk, high-reward contracts to experiment with.

In short, the Brewers’ quiet offseason may prove to be one of the best in the majors by the time the playoffs roll around. 

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Prince who?

Just kidding. Prince Fielder will be missed by the Milwaukee Brewers no matter which way you slice it; from his elite offensive production to his clubhouse charisma and leadership qualities, Prince is an irreplaceable talent. But if you’re a Brewers fan, the loss is starting to look less and less painful the further we get into spring.

Ryan Braun is finally starting to find his rhythm, Corey Hart will possibly be able to make it back on the opening day roster, Rickie Weeks is returning to full health, and the Brewers are getting offensive production out of every position.

There are a couple of position battles are that are shaping up to be dead heats, namely for the starting center fielder, backup outfielder and backup infielder. But as interesting as they are, I’m not here to talk about position battles.

I’m here to talk about Mat Gamel.

The polarizing, long-time prospect is putting together the best spring of his career, and the closer we approach to opening day, the quieter the critics are becoming.

Everyone knows Gamel can hit. He’s proven it time and time again in the upper minors and he has even shown glimpses of being a viable major leaguer during his call-ups, but most of his time in the majors has been forgettable. Gamel’s problem has never been ability, it has always been motivation.

By now, everyone has heard about his stints in the majors. His ugly MLB career stat line of .222/.309/.374 is not impressive to anyone.

But what I, and other baseball optimists (yes, we exist), have been saying for years is that Gamel has not been given his fair chance yet.

Sure, he has had call-ups in four separate seasons. He has had 171 major league at-bats over the course of those call-ups, and all he has to show for it is an ugly set of statistics and no real contribution.

But Mat Gamel has not been given the opportunity to start on a consistent basis. His call-ups have been brief, and he has not had the chance to figure out major league pitching on a consistent basis.

Gamel, a third baseman by trade, had his path to the majors blocked by the emergence of Casey McGehee at third, and last year he was sent to Triple-A and switched to first base for the entire season in anticipation of Prince Fielder’s departure.

He put together the best minor league season of his career and convinced the Brewers to give him the shot he’s been waiting for.

And this spring he is making the most of it. He came to camp in the best shape of his life, with a newfound motivation that impressed even the harshest of critics. Gamel knew this was his chance to prove that he has what it takes to shake the “Quad-A” label that has been assigned to him. He knew that if he wanted to be a major leaguer this was it.

So far, Gamel has had arguably the best offensive spring of any Brewer (with the possible exception of Jonathan Lucroy), and he has proven that he can and will be a legitimate power threat in the majors.

At the time of writing this article, Gamel has six spring homers to his name, including a three-game stretch where he hit home runs in back-to-back-to-back games.

He has a two-homer day against the San Diego Padres under his belt, when he cranked a monster grand slam and then in his next at-bat hit another no-doubter to almost the exact same spot in right field. 

Gamel’s swing has major league power hitter written all over it, and his output at the plate has been undeniable so far this spring.

Will it translate to the regular season? Again, as a baseball optimist I’m inclined to say yes. He’s done this against major league pitching, and his attitude off the field leads me to believe that he really wants to be great in the majors. But only time will tell.

The Brewers knew that replacing Prince Fielder would be impossible, but with Mat Gamel playing as well as he has so far, it’s hard to believe that his departure will hurt as much as many believed.

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The offseason is starting to gain steam, and it is time to look at the starting rotation for the Brewers. It seems like one of the only parts of the team with any stability going into 2012.

Assuming all five starters from 2011 are back in 2012, let’s take a look at what kind of numbers they might put up next year.

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Life moves on.

I’ve now had a month to come to terms with the heartbreaking end to what was arguably the best season in franchise history for Milwaukee. I have come to terms with the fact that the Brewers have a lot of work to do if they want to win 96 games next season, that we are losing one of our best coaches to one of our bitter rivals and perhaps most importantly, I have come to terms with the probability Prince Fielder will not be wearing a Brewers uniform in 2012.

Sure, there is still a possibility that Prince can return next year, especially with what appears to be a very small market for his services, but it is becoming apparent that Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, and the rest of the Brewers brass are making plans to build a team without Prince Fielder for the first time since 2006.

It is a bitter pill to swallow, and the task the Brewers face heading into the offseason may seem insurmountable on the surface.

We’re losing one of the most feared hitters in baseball, and on top of replacing his production, the Brewers must now figure out how to protect Ryan Braun so his production can remain prolific.

For a week now, I have been trying to figure out an article about how to replace Prince Fielder. Initially, I was going to write about five potential players that could fill his hole at first base, but to say that one player will replace the production and the presence of Prince Fielder is ludicrous.

I also tried writing a five step process that could help the Brewers replace Prince, but even that just didn’t seem to do the trick.

The simple fact of the matter is that the Brewers simply cannot replace Prince Fielder… and I have come to terms with that.

Signing Jose Reyes, Aramis Ramirez or any other big name free agent would not be enough. Both of those players would be great additions to the Brewers, but realistically, neither will happen. Even if they did, Prince’s presence would still be sorely missed.

The good news is that even without Fielder in the clubhouse in 2012, the Brewers are going to be just fine.

Sure, there is a lot of work to be done this offseason. With no organizational shortstop ready to move to the big leagues, and no major league shortstop currently on the roster, the Brewers must make a move to fill the most difficult position in the infield.

Whether that’s a big ticket guy like Jose Reyes or Jimmy Rollins, a reliable veteran like Clint Barmes or Rafael Furcal or even bringing back Yuniesky Betancourt, the decision must be made soon to provide some sense of stability to this team.

Finances are an issue for this team, but the big men in the office for the Brewers have made it clear that they are not afraid to spend some money to make this team competitive.The trick for the Brewers this offseason is not going to be dumping a ton of money into big ticket free agents.

Most people talk as if Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun are the only superstars on this team. Even with Fielder gone, the Brewers still have Rickie Weeks (providing he has an injury free year) and Corey Hart, both of whom are coming off great seasons and  have the potential to be superstars.

Mat Gamel has given us back to back great seasons in AAA, and it is time to give him a chance. Some people try to argue that he has been given a chance, but let’s get real… he’s had under 200 at bats in the majors, and has not been given a chance to compete every day. If coached properly, he could give the Brewers 20+ homers and 80+ RBIs, as well as solid defense.

Casey McGehee is coming off a horrible season, but he has every chance to bounce back—if he can get back to the way he played in 2010, that will be another great bat. If he doesn’t, young Taylor Green has proven that he is capable of great play in the majors.

And of course, the pitching. The whole starting rotation will be back (and possibly extended), and while the bullpen will need work with three of the best arms possibly leaving, I have great faith that the Brewers will be able to make the bullpen a strong point again next season.

John Axford is anchoring the pen as the closer, and anytime you have a shutdown pitcher like Axford (2011: 1.95 ERA, 46 SVs, 73.2 IP, 86 Ks) finishing games, you are in good shape.

The Brewers do not need to try to “replace” Prince Fielder’s insane production. It would be a waste of time, effort and very likely, a colossal waste of money.

What the Brewers need to do is focus on building a team that plays better defense, has speed on the bases, gets through the game without giving up big innings and gets on base.Those are goals that are possible without Fielder, and if the Brewers do that they will be in great shape going into 2012.

Projected 2012 opening day line-up (2011 stats)

1 – Corey Hart (.285, 26 HR, 63 RBI)

2 – Nyjer Morgan (.304, 4 HR, 37 RBI)

3 – Ryan Braun (.332, 33 HR, 111 RBI)

4 – Rickie Weeks (.269, 20 HR, 49 RBI)

5 – Casey McGehee (.223, 13 HR, 67 RBI)

6 – Mat Gamel (.310, 28 HR, 96 RBI) – AAA stats

7 – Clint Barmes (.244, 12 HR, 39 RBI)

8 – Jonathan Lucroy (.265, 12 HR, 58 RBI)

9 – Yovani Gallardo/Starting pitcher

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