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Brewers starting catcher Jonathan Lucroy has been cleared to start playing.

After breaking his finger during a catching drill, Lucroy had pins inserted in the finger and was out for all of the spring training playing schedule.

Last week, the pins were removed and he resumed workouts, but wasn’t ready to play in a game.

Now that he’s cleared, he will first go to the Brewers’ Class A affiliate—the Brevard County Manatees—where he will begin his rehab assignment.

After playing the opening series, he’s expected to move on to the Southern League, where he will play for the AA Huntsville Stars.

After a five-game series there, he’s expected to return to Milwaukee.

In Lucroy’s absence, it’s expected that Wil Nieves and George Kottaras will share the catching duties. Kottaras had a spring training for the second year in a row. Nieves gives the Brewers a veteran presence to work with the revamped pitching staff.

The Brewers are looking for Lucroy to improve his offensive numbers from 2010. He finished the campaign at a .253 average with four homers and 26 RBI in 75 games.

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With the rash of injuries that have hit the Milwaukee Brewers this spring, Crew fans are wondering when it’s going to stop. 

It seems like it’s a case of “when it rains, it pours,” after Shaun Marcum left his start against the Chicago White Sox early.

After working three scoreless innings and only allowing one hit, Marcum complained of shoulder stiffness and was removed from the game.

He missed his next start and was shut down from throwing for almost a week.

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke announced that Marcum would start on Saturday against the Mariners. The club is hoping the tightness he felt against the White Sox is just a small bump in the road to a huge season for Milwaukee.

With Zack Greinke out until at least the latter part of April, the Brewers can not afford to lose another front line starter from the staff.

Marcum has had experience with being injured. After a breakout year in 2007, arm problems in 2008 led to him being put on the Disabled List and sent down to the minor leagues.

In September, he was called up when the rosters expanded and seemed to be back in form. He was taken out of a start on September 19 of that year because of elbow pain.

The Jays soon released the information that Marcum would have to undergo Tommy John surgery and may miss the entire 2009 season.

He did not miss the entire year, but he pitched the whole season in the minor leagues. To prevent injury, he was shut down late in that season.

In March of 2010, Marcum was named the Opening Day starter, replacing Roy Halliday who had been traded.

He went on to win 13 games for the Blue Jays and prove himself to be the ace of that staff.

Will his injury linger and drag him down in 2011?

As of now, it appears he’s ready to take the mound again. The Brewers wouldn’t send him out if they had any concerns about his long term health.

The stiffness was in the shoulder area and not in the elbow, where his previous injury had been.

Milwaukee will get more answers Saturday, but for now, they seemed to have dodged a bullet.

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It’s a question with an answer that’s simple and complicated at the same time.

Is signing Albert Pujols for A-Rod type money worth the risk?

Is any athlete worth $30 million a year?

While the obvious answer suggests that no athlete is worth that kind of money, the reality of the situation is the market may dictate that he is worth that kind of cash. Even though the Rangers and Yankees signed Alex Rodriguez to contracts that were ridiculous, with both teams paying almost twice the next closest bid, it did set the market for what it costs to sign a player who is considered to be an all-time great.

Comparing the two players is like comparing Shakespeare to Chaucer. They are similar in their magnitude, but unique in their greatness. They bring different gifts to the game.

And while both should surpass Barry Bonds on the All-Time Home Run list, it can’t be taken for granted. It was just a few years ago that it was the accepted opinion that Ken Griffey Jr. would be that guy.

Still, some big league team must make the ultimate decision. Do we sign Pujols for A-Rod type money, and will he be worth it? The St. Louis Cardinals weren’t able to decide by the beginning of spring training, so it’s an issue we’ll be dealing with the whole season.

First, let’s look at the numbers. In most categories, the 162 game averages of both players are surprisingly similar.

Alex Rodriguez

G        PA     AB     H     2B    3B     HR    RBI    BA.      OBP   OBP+ SLUG  Ks      BB      SB

162     718    621   188    33     2       43     129   .303     .387      145     .571    129     79       21

Albert Pujols

          705    596   198    44     2      42      128    .331    .426       172    .624    67      95        8

Both players have put up numbers that can compare with the best the game has ever seen. The difference between the two, though, is the difference between a player who is one of the best of his generation (Rodriguez) and one who is among the best ever (Pujols).

If he continues his present pace and plays five more seasons, Rodriguez will end his career as the all-time home run and RBI leader. Pujols, at 30, could conceivably play 10 more years. At his present pace, he’d eclipse both marks.

The only other category that Rodriguez leads Pujols appreciably is stolen bases.

What makes Pujols the more dangerous hitter and what puts him in the company of the best hitters of all time is his on-base percentage plus slugging. This is a sabermetric stat that measures how well a player gets on base and hits with power. As you can see, Pujols’ OBP+ is almost 30 points higher than Rodriguez. There have only been two seasons that Rodriguez approached the number that Pujols averages.

King Albert walks more, hits for a higher average, gets on base more and strikes out less than A-Rod. This makes him more valuable in the lineup.

It’s a given that Rodriguez has put up his numbers for a longer period of time. If Pujols were to succumb to injuries, as Griffey did, he would obviously fall in the comparison. Playing first base, though, is a lower stress position than short and third, which A-Rod has played. He’s less likely to get injured in the field.

At the plate, his swing is slightly shorter and he has fewer moving parts. He is very quiet with his bottom half and just takes his hands to the ball. This should enable him to stay consistent as he gets older and allow him to stay closer to his career averages.

Pujols will ultimately surpass the career numbers of Rodriguez and will be known as possibly the greatest right-handed hitter the game has seen.

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Are you people serious?

I picked through the Internet sports news this morning, and it appears there are people who think it’s necessary to defend Bryce Harper after his two-strikeout performance yesterday in his first spring training game.

Some of these people actually get paid to analyze such things.

“Does his performance prove he can’t hit the big-league curveball?”

This kid is 18 years old. He is in his first spring training camp and he’s getting his first look at big-league pitching. This is not Instructional League against other recent draftees. This is not the Arizona Fall League where you face minor-league prospects. He’s facing major-leaguers.

Harper has been exceptional at every level he’s ever played and he’ll probably be exceptional this year at his assigned level, but it isn’t going to be the major leagues. He’ll start out in A-ball.

Sure, I’ve written previously that he’ll be in the big leagues in 2011, but that’s only talking about being called up when the rosters expand in September—and even that’s not a given.

It’s impossible in the Internet age, but what would be best for Harper would be to get assigned to minor league camp and begin his career away from the limelight.

The difference between baseball and other sports is that most of the kids drafted go to the minor leagues and develop as players and people and learn to handle all facets of becoming big league baseball players.

It’s not just learning to hit a curveball. It’s also learning how to live out of a suitcase for most of the year.

If an athlete is taken first in the NFL draft, he’s expected to play right away or he’s considered a bust. In the MLB, especially out of high school, a prospect is considered a phenom if he makes it to the big leagues with only a couple years of development.

Harper will be in the position soon enough that we can judge his ability based on present performance.

It’s too early for that now.

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After last year’s disappointing finish, Doug Melvin’s plan was clear.. Milwaukee needed more pitching in order to compete in the NL Central. The Cardinals had a formidable rotation and the Reds were returning a strong club.

He first traded for Toronto Blue Jays ace Shaun Marcum. A proven innings eater, Marcum can keep hitters off balance and still pitch effectively with a fastball in the high 80’s.

Next came the trade for Zack Greinke. The Brewers gave up four top prospects for Greinke and Yuni Betancourt, but Melvin wanted to win now.

Last week, the Cardinals received the unfortunate news that Adam Wainwright had ruptured a tendon in his elbow and would need Tommy John surgery.

The Brewers received some bad news of their own when Jonathan Lucroy broke his pinky finger on his right hand.

Here are five moves the Brewers can make to win the National League Central.

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