Kuzul

If your stat line reads four home runs in four games to start the season, that’s good, right? Well, it doesn’t if that stat line is pitcher John Axford’s stats after his first four appearances in the 2013 season.

Axford has lost his closer role after surrendering four home runs and losing two games of the four he pitched in so far this season. Similar to the bump in the road he experienced last season, we’ll see if Axford can regain his stuff and become the effective closer that he was in 2011.

Last season Axford gave up 10 home runs, making him the 20th Brewers pitcher who did not start a game to give up 10 or more home runs in a season (note: the Brewers record for most home runs allowed by a pitcher who did not start a game in a season is 16 by Luis Vizcaino in 2003. Eric Plunk in 1999 and Doug Jones in 1998 each surrendered 15 in a season).

Looking at Axford’s numbers got me thinking about home runs given up by pitchers. We all know that Barry Bonds has the most career home runs with 762. But do we know who holds the career mark for most career home runs given up by a pitcher?

Jamie Moyer tops that list with 522. He is one of only two pitchers who has given up 500 or more career HR’s. The other? Robin Roberts, who allowed 505 four-baggers.

Here’s a look at the pitchers who gave up 400 or more homers in their career.

Pitcher, Home Runs allowed

Jamie Moyer, 522
Robin Roberts, 505
Fergie Jenkins, 484
Phil Niekro, 482
Don Sutton, 472
Frank Tanana, 448
Warren Spahn, 434
Bert Blyleven, 430
Tim Wakefield, 418
Steve Carlton, 414
Randy Johnson, 411
David Wells, 407

Mark Buehrle leads the active pitchers with 302 home runs surrendered. Bartolo Colon follows with 296.

Getting back to the Brewers, Jim Slaton holds the franchise record with 192 home runs allowed. He is followed by Bill Wegman (187), Mike Caldwell (161), Ben Sheets (160) and Moose Haas (151). Braden Looper holds the team single-season mark; he surrendered 39 HR in 2009.

While it highly unlikely Axford with jump into the Brewers’ career list in home runs allowed (he has given up 19 in his career), he is making his way up the ladder on the list of most career HR allowed by a Brewers pitcher with no starts. As I stated before, Axford has given up 19 home runs. That places his 10th on the list of most HRs allowed by a pitcher with no starts. Vizcaino holds the team mark with 34.

Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp

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Milwaukee Brewers star outfielder Ryan Braun was scratched from the lineup prior to his team’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.

The club’s official Twitter account reported the scratch before game time, citing neck spasms as the culprit:

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also reported that Braun was scratched from the fourth Milwaukee game of the season, opening the door for another Brewer to get his first career start on Friday night:

The news is both disappointing for Milwaukee fans and fortuitous for Arizona starting pitcher Wade Miley, who Braun has had some considerable success against so far in their pitcher-batter battles. The Brewer Nation had the tweet:

The 2011 National League MVP has a .313 career batting average and just hit his 203rd career home run against the Colorado Rockies in the opening series of the 2013 MLB season. So far, Braun has four hits, four RBI and the lone home run in 10 at-bats.

Braun dealt with Achilles, wrist and groin problems during the 2012 season but still played in 154 of the possible 162 regular-season games for Milwaukee. Braun finished second in his bid for back-to-back NL MVPs behind Buster Posey but had another strong season at the plate (.319 average, 41 HR, 112 RBI, .987 OPS).

It sounds like Braun’s absence from Friday night’s game is more of a precautionary move by team doctors, but we’ll monitor his status to ensure nothing more serious is going on.

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You don’t win 11 World Series championships by stumbling upon them blindly. The St. Louis Cardinals, with the second-most World Series titles in the history of baseball, have almost always been a shrewdly run organization.

Throughout their history, the Cardinals have consistently managed player evaluation, player development and the team’s payroll with world-class precision.

It’s for this reason that the Cardinals’ recent signing of Adam Wainwright, as reported by Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, is such an interesting topic. Especially on the heels of their decision not to pursue Kyle Lohse, who, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, was recently signed by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Although Lohse, at the age of 34, is a few years older than the 31-year-old Wainwright, there seemed to be more at work in the Cardinals’ evaluation of these two players than just the wear on their respective arms.

Lohse had one the best years in his career last season, ending play with a 16-3 record and a 2.86 ERA. Wainwright, on the other hand, went 14-13 in 2012 with a 3.94 ERA.

Based on their new contracts, Lohse will earn around $11 million per year, while Wainwright’s extension is for significantly more at approximately $19.5 million per year. Lohse is signed through the age of 37 in Milwaukee, while Wainwright will be a Cardinal through the age of 38.  

The recent signing of Wainwright must have left Kyle Lohse feeling mighty underappreciated. Given that he will pitch more than a few times against his old team in the coming years, it’s not difficult to imagine that he might draw some extra motivation when his turn comes up against the Red Birds. This is just the type of situation that may help the Brewers get the most out of the pitcher’s contract.

Before missing the 2011 season due to injury, Wainwright was as dominant a pitcher as there was in the league. From 2009 to 2010, he amassed a 39-19 record with an average ERA of 2.53. However, when Wainwright returned to the team in 2012, he looked downright average. 

Given their successful history, the benefit of the doubt must be given to the Cardinals’ management at this early stage of the two players’ new contracts. The Cardinals must have felt something unusually compelling about Wainwright given that they locked him up to a serious long-term contract up after such an unremarkable season.  

In the past, the Cardinals have been mostly lauded for their effective management of player development and contract strategy. In the case of Albert Pujols, a wildly popular figure in St. Louis, the Cardinals deftly negotiated the exit of both the player and his out-sized payday without too much collateral damage.  

The wisdom in the Cardinals’ approach with Pujols is one reason their approach with Wainwright seems so peculiar. At 31, Wainwright is almost exactly the same age as Pujols was when the Cardinals let the rubber hit the road toward Los Angeles.  

While the nearly $100 million for Wainwright is less than they would have invested in Pujols, Wainwright also has the added complication of coming off major injury. And given that he was already signed through the 2013 season, the team also had the luxury of continuing to evaluate his progress before laying down the big bucks.  

Despite these factors and Wainwright’s drop in production last season, the Cardinals still felt they were best served locking the pitcher up right now as opposed to somewhere down the road. The team will have to hope he can still tap into his former self and maintain that type of productivity for six more seasons.  

The Brewers, on the other hand, will merely have to hope that Kyle Lohse continues where he left off last year. And they will have considerably less risk in the event that that doesn’t occur.

Time and results will eventually reveal which team negotiated the better contract and ultimately partnered with the more productive player. For now, however, the Cardinals’ decision is the one that appears more suspect—a puzzling situation, given how they usually do things in St. Louis.  For the Brewers, their relatively economical signing of Lohse could be a positive sign of things to come.    

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Although the Milwaukee Brewers have a relatively deep farm system with many players close to the major leagues, it’s devoid of a true impact prospect. Rather, it’s top heavy with numerous high-floor players, many of whom are on pace to reach the major leagues in either 2013 or 2014.

The organization’s prospect pool is highlighted by right-handed pitchers Wily Peralta, Tyler Thornburg and John Hellweg. But after the graduation of Jean Segura to the major leagues in late 2012, the Brewers need one of their young hitters to step up during the 2013 season. They do have a pair of power-hitting prospects in Hunter Morris and outfielder Victor Roache. But beyond those two, power is scarce within their system.

Here’s a look at the Milwaukee Brewers’ top 10 prospects heading into spring training.

Begin Slideshow

Mat Gamel can’t catch a break, and it will cost the Milwaukee Brewers in 2013.

For the second time in the last year, Gamel tore his right ACL. The Brewers first baseman was injured May 1 at San Diego after crashing into a wall in an attempt to catch a foul ball off the bat of Nick Hundley.

With hopes of making a comeback this season, the 27-year-old re-injured his right knee Saturday during the Brewers first full-squad workout of Spring Training and will miss his second straight season. 

The injury could not have come at a worse time for Gamel, who has played just 106 games since his major league debut with Milwaukee in 2008.

“It really surprised me because there was no really major event that happened that you would have thought that would have been that serious,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said, according to ESPN.com. “I figured, OK, he tweaks it. Coming back after a rehab you figure it is not always going to go smooth. I figured a couple of days and he’d be back on the field.”

Gamel won’t be suiting up for the Brewers this season, and his injury will leave his club in a state of panic.

Replacing Gamel will prove difficult for Milwaukee. 

Corey Hart, who made the switch to first base following Gamel’s injury in 2012, is still on crutches after undergoing right knee surgery in January. Hart, who hit .270 with 30 home runs and 83 RBIs last season, isn’t expected to be back in uniform for a couple of months.

With Hart out, the potential candidates to fill the void at first base shifts to a group of players that have little to no experience playing the position at the major league level. 

Alex Gonzalez is a grizzled veteran who has never played first base throughout his 14-year major league career.

Bobby Crosby showed potential during his rookie season in 2004 by winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award. However, he has not seen action over the past two seasons and has played just 31 games at first base in the major leagues.

Hunter Morris appears to be a good fit for Roenicke, but the 24-year-old has never played higher than Double-A.

The case for Taylor Green is slim at best. Green played 18 games with the Brewers last season, but hit .184.

The Brewers need to get Hart fully healthy or their season will be lost in the opening months.  

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Over the past several years, baseball has proven with multiple reports and documents that it still has further to go in order to rid the sport of performance enhancing drugs. 

First time offenders in baseball currently receive a 50-game suspension, second-time offenders receive a 100-game suspension, and a third-time offender is banished from baseball. 

While this may deter a handful of players, it definitely does not deter all players.  With the different masking agents and assistance of personal physicians, athletes are slipping by the current testing methods.

The risk of being caught currently does not outweigh the benefits that are reaped from performing at the Major League level.  Contracts for everyday players are in the millions, and if you are an all-star you could be looking at anywhere from 10-20 million a season.   

Melky Cabrera gets caught on a one year deal with the Giants where he was arguably the mid-season NL MVP and was looking like he was in line for a mammoth contract extension where he would have seen more than $10 million per season over the next 5 years, and still came away after his drama with a 2-year, $16 million deal from the Blue Jays. 

Last off-season, Ryan Braun had a positive test, fought the system, and avoided his 50-game suspension.  With the recent Bio-genesis reports that are being released, it appears he is deeper in the PED underground than previously thought. 

I believe MLB could handle this ongoing issue with some of baseball’s best players by trying a few different things.

Blood Testing During Season

The most recent collective bargaining agreement from the Players Union and Major League Baseball will include blood testing for human growth hormone only for spring training and offseason. 

While this helps, HGH is not going to be used during this time frame.  HGH is being used to help players recover from injuries and stay fresh during the long season.  Players during spring training are already fresh from the off season. 

Baseball is not jumping two feet into this new testing to study the effects on the players, however if you aren’t willing to be all in, do not commit yourself to the pot. Baseball will be the first of the four major U.S. sports to incorporate any blood testing into their testing program. 

Why was the Players Union so headstrong as to not allowing it during the season? Because that’s when players will be using the HGH. You do not go to the store unless you know it is open. 

Major League Baseball is taking baby steps in getting their end result which is full testing, but the owners should be pushing this harder in order to protect their investments and know what they are actually investing in.  If you knew a stock was only worth 40 bucks and it is on the market for 50 bucks, you wouldn’t buy it—just like you wouldn’t pay a 40 HR player the same as a 10 HR player.

2.)  Increase Testing

Going hand in hand with the blood testing, the athletes need to be tested more often. 

Athletes in their contract years and rising through the minor leagues especially need additional testing.  The main reason the players are cheating is for a huge pay day, and the athletes that are the closest to that money will break the rules in order to break the bank. 

Players at the AAA level in 2012 earned slightly over $2,000 a month assuming that it was not their first year in AAA and did not receive large signing bonuses. A major league minimum salary in 2012 was $480,000 per year. 

The fact is, the borderline “4A” type players and utility players look to make huge gains just by getting onto the major league roster and sticking there.  If you show promise in the upper levels of the minors they will generally give you a shot, and the longer you stick around the longer you make nearly a half million dollars per year. 

The players in the top levels of the minor league system and especially guys in the final year of their contract should receive additional testing.  Testing is not cheap, but Major League Baseball is a billion business and the way to keep fans in the stands is to protect their brand and catch players. 

The worst thing for the MLB brand is to let superstars like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens get through their careers without a positive test, and then be caught from lab documents and testimonies.

 Terminating Contacts

Through the recent years, baseball has shown that the suspensions are not a big enough deterrent to eliminate PED use.  However, what if these teams were able to completely null and void these massive contracts upon one of their players failing a drug test?   Braun in 2011 signed a $105 million, five-year contract extension that added onto a seven-year deal he signed in May 2008, which resulted in $145.5 million dollars through 2020. 

What if once his positive test was revealed, the Brewers could void his remaining contract, say “see ya,” and waive him without having to eat his “guaranteed contract?”  The owners and general Managers are signing for the “enhanced” player hitting 40 home runs player and not the actual real life player that may only hit 25 home runs.

Teams are taking the risk by signing these players, and the fact of the matter is they are getting burned.  Att the time of his extension, Braun was the face of the Brewers franchise and a media darling. 

Fast forward to today. 

Braun is regarded as one of the least-liked players in all of sports.  He went from being a marketing asset for the Brewers to an alleged cheater using PEDs and then lying about it. 

The point is, these teams will sign these great players to long term deals dump all this money on them, the player will get suspended, and while they are without pay during the suspension, they come back and make their guaranteed salary for the rest of the contract. 

Even if the blood testing and additional testing does not catch all the players in their “contract year” it would still hopefully eliminate their use from then on knowing the players could lose their huge multi-year deals.

4.) Increase Suspensions

Currently the first offense for a 50-game suspension does not seem to do justice when that is less than 1/3 of a season. The first test should result in a minimum of being suspended for the year in which you tested positive, but also be a minimum of 100 games.

If you get popped in Spring Training, well, you just missed the entire season to your positive test.  If you get popped in September, you will miss the rest of the season and into the next season totaling 100 games.

A second positive test should just result in being banned. 

These players testing positive have to realize by now the severity of the testing.  As Jose Bautista mentioned in an interview this spring, there are many different resources and outlets to these players to verify if what they are putting in their bodies is allowed or not.

The fact you can get popped at the after the all-star break like Melky Cabrera did last year, and potentially could have come back for the playoffs, is not right.  Any stats or awards that were won in a season which a player tested positive should be forfeited.

While I do believe Major League Baseball is trying to push stricter testing and clean up the sport, I believe it could be accelerated greatly.  If the Players Union is serious about protecting its players—and by players, I mean “clean” players —they should have no issues with anything in this article.  Playing baseball for a living should be an honor and a privilege, not a right.

The fact that greedy players are able to cheat to get ahead of “clean” players should be dealt with an iron fist.

I will leave you with this scenario.

Suppose two men walk into a gas station and each purchase a lottery ticket.  The first man scratches off his lottery ticket and almost won, but missed on his last two numbers.  The second man scratched his off and WON the half million dollar jackpot!  When the first man found out the second man won the jackpot, he stole his ticket, he cashed the ticket in, and he received the grand prize.  Once the first man found out what happened he finally caught up with the second man getting out of his new Ferrari, and asked, “What the hell are you doing with the winnings from my ticket? That was my dream to win the lottery,” the second man replied, “Sorry, man. It happens all the time. It is called baseball.”

The above scenario would actually be illegal and make headlines.

It’s commonplace in baseball. 

Major League Baseball and the Players Union need to do all they can do to protect their clean athletes, and stop caring about the cheaters. Baseball had the blinders on when it came to drug testing over the past 25 years, but hopefully in the next 25 years it will set new standards in protecting the blue collar athlete and lead other sports into the next era.

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This series will evaluate one team per day, starting on Jan. 23, 2013, and ending on Feb. 22, 2013 (the first game of spring training). It is based on last season’s performance, offseason changes since and the author’s outlook for the team in 2013. Please keep in mind that rosters can, and will, change before Opening Day. We started in the AL East, worked across to the NL counterpart, and now, tackle the Central divisions in alphabetical order. Next up, the Milwaukee Brewers.

2012 finish: 83-79 (3rd place, NL Central)

Notable additions

LHP Michael Gonzalez, LHP Tom Gorzelanny, RHP Burke Badenhop, RHP Kelvim Escobar, IF Bobby Crosby, 3B Donnie Murphy

Notable losses

LHP Manny Parra, RHP Fautino De Los Santos, RHP Livan Hernandez, RHP Jose Veras, RHP Francisco Rodriguez, RHP Kameron Loe, RHP Shaun Marcum, OF Raul Mondesi Jr., OF Nyjer Morgan, 1B Travis Ishikawa, C Yorvit Torrealba

Why they will improve this year

Did you see the way this team finished down the stretch in 2012? After the comically terrible bullpen stopped blowing every lead the team put together, the Brewers became one of the scariest teams in all of baseball. It was too little too late last year, but if they maintain that momentum, watch out.

It really was a shame for Brewers fans last year that the bullpen was so horrendous for most of the season.  The lineup is absolutely stacked and there is a ton of young starting pitching to be excited about. They may not have made the playoffs anyway last year, but Milwaukee is extremely dangerous in 2013.

The rotation is headed by the always-good Yovani Gallardo. He backed by several young talents, not the least of which is 23-year-old Wily Peralta, who had a 2.48 ERA in five starts last year. Marco Estrada struck out 143 batters and walked just 29 in 138.1 innings last season. Even Michael Fiers, who faded down the stretch in 2012, is a dangerous fourth starter.

From the left side, the only real option Milwaukee has is Chris Narveson, but I think Mark Rogers lands the final spot anyway. With great, young starting pitching in place and a bullpen that turned a corner late last year, the Brewers might have the pitching staff to finally complement their hard-hitting offense.

Why they will regress this year

There are a ton of question marks in Milwaukee. Most importantly, will Ryan Braun beat the PED rumors for a second time? If not, he faces a suspension that would most likely sink the Brewers’ chances right from the get-go. He is the heart and soul of the team, and I’m not sure the rest of the lineup can maintain its stature if he is out for extended time.

As for the pitching staff, it does boast some exciting young talent. But unless all the stars align, not all of the guys I listed above will have breakout years. Personally, I’m expecting a good year from Fiers and an above-average campaign from Estrada. I don’t think Rogers and Peralta are quite ready.They might get knocked around in their first full seasons.

The bullpen did step up down the stretch, but it’s still the same ‘pen (plus or minus a couple players) that was the worst in the league for a large chunk of 2012. Can the Brew Crew rely on a lot of those same guys to be shut-down, impact guys in 2013?

And lastly, the rest of the lineup is full of free-swinging power hitters, but none are the complete hitter that Braun is. Jonathan Lucroy might enjoy a big year, but will we see progressions or regressions from Jean Segura and Norichika Aoki? What about Mat Gamel filling in for the injured Corey Hart at first base until May? If any of those guys do regress, the lineup is significantly less dangerous.

The outlook for 2013

As a Dodgers fan, the Brewers started terrifying me down the stretch last season. They are a year older and a year better in 2013, so nobody should be taking them lately. Their season will likely hinge on the outcome of the Braun rumors and inevitable investigation. 

If Braun plays a full season, you can expect the Brewers to be in the thick of the race for the NL Wild Card at the very least. I do like the pitching staff, but I’m not sold on its depth and experience. Their most experienced starter is Gallardo, and even he is prone to bouts of wildness.

One thing I do love is how much speed is laced throughout the lineup. In 2012, the Brewers stole the most bases in the National League. They might lengthen that lead in 2013. 

The bullpen is still a worry, though I do fully expect a return to normalcy for closer John Axford, Plus, the pick-ups they made should provide a little stability.

My biggest concern, aside from Braun, lies with Segura at short, Aoki in right and the inconsistency of Carlos Gomez and Rickie Weeks offensively. 

Even if those guys struggle, a core of Braun, Hart, and Aramis Ramirez is a scary thought for opposing pitchers. I like the lineup as is, and actually expect Aoki to have another good year, Lucroy to put up surprising numbers at the plate and for Segura to at least make strides (though he probably won’t live up to expectations just yet). 

It’s the opinion of this writer that the Brewers are very close to challenging the Reds and Cardinals for NL Central supremacy. Not this year, but maybe in 2014, depending on how their next offseason goes and the development of the young pitchers this season. I’m giving the Brewers a four-win increase from last year to 87, and a third-place finish in the division.

Potential changes before Opening Day

Not a ton is going on in Milwaukee’s front office, as it has made most of the moves it was going to make before the season begins. They reportedly had some interest in Juan Rivera and Lyle Overbay, but both signed in the American League.

One thing still on the radar is the possibility of landing free agent pitcher Kyle Lohse, according to beat writer Adam McCalvy (h/t MLBTradeRumors.com). I think it would be a great move for the Brewers, although the cost might be prohibitive. Adding Lohse to that rotation would give it some veteran legitimacy. Still, I don’t think Lohse ends up in Milwaukee in 2013.

Biggest surprise: Michael Fiers

Biggest disappointment: Jean Segura

Bold prediction: Brewers get 120 combined steals from Braun, Aoki, Gomez and Segura

Projected lineup (before Hart returns)

1. Norichika Aoki, RF

2. Carlos Gomez, CF

3. Ryan Braun, LF

4. Aramis Ramirez, 3B

5. Jonathan Lucroy, C

6. Rickie Weeks, 2B

7. Mat Gamel, 1B

8. Jean Segura, SS

Projected rotation

1. Yovani Gallardo, RHP

2. Michael Fiers, RHP

3. Marco Estrada, RHP

4. Wily Peralta, RHP

5. Mark Rogers, RHP

Projected finish: 87-75, 3rd place 

For other preseason evaluations:

*Teams [in brackets] have not yet been evaluated.

You can follow Jeremy on Twitter @Jamblinman.

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Major League Baseball has been given an excuse to pursue some unfinished business with Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun, but a renewed pursuit may not lead to the result the league wants.

By now, you’ve heard that Braun has been linked to the alleged PED-supplying wellness clinic profiled by the Miami New Times last week. Tim Brown and Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports discovered Braun’s name in the clinic’s records, meaning that he’s now in the same boat as Alex Rodriguez.

The catch is that they’re not on the same ends of the boat.

Rodriguez is the central villain in the records of Anthony Bosch, the biochemist who ran the Biogenesis clinic. His name is repeatedly linked to various performance-enhancing drugs (including HGH and testosterone) purchased between 2009 and 2012, damning stuff for a guy who’s already admitted to juicing in the early 2000s.

Braun’s name, on the other hand, is not listed next to any PEDs in these new documents. One document merely shows his name in a list of players including A-Rod, Melky Cabrera and others. Another document references one of Braun’s attorneys, and another refers to a “Braun advantage” in conjunction with a player that might be Cabrera.

Not too damning in the grand scheme of things, especially not in light of how damning the evidence against Rodriguez and others is. 

It looks bad, though. Braun has been lumped in with several players who have either admitted using (A-Rod) or tested positive for PEDs (Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, Yasmany Grandal). It also doesn’t bode well for Braun that he’s a former University of Miami star linked to a clinic that has ties to UM strength and conditioning coach Jimmy Goins and various Miami athletes.

He’s guilty by association. And for now, that’s good enough for MLB. Brown and Passan say the league will investigate.

It was barely a year ago that the league had Braun busted for a positive testosterone test only to see him escape a 50-game suspension on a chain-of-custody technicality. Now here he is being named in the most high-profile PED scandal to come to light since, well, his.

According to Anthony Witrado of Sporting News, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig still isn’t over the fact that Braun was able to beat the system:

But wait, there’s more:

Revenge isn’t exactly at hand, but it may be out there somewhere. Selig has leads. Now all he needs in order to get his revenge on Braun is something that could stick.

Unfortunately for Selig, the references to Braun in the documents revealed by Yahoo! Sports aren’t good enough. Some sort of indication that he actually purchased PEDs from Bosch is needed, and the new documents provide absolutely zero indication that he did.

Indeed, there’s only one mention of money in the documents containing references to Braun, as Bosch wrote “RB 20-30K” below a line containing Braun’s name. That translates into “Ryan Braun $20-30K,” which is a huge amount of money compared to the dollar amounts listed next to the names of Rodriguez and others in the New Times documents.

Braun has a reasonable explanation for this. Via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, here’s what he said in a statement issued on Tuesday night:

During the course of preparing for my successful appeal last year, my attorneys, who were previously familiar with Tony Bosch, used him as a consultant. More specifically, he answered questions about T/E ratio and possibilities of tampering with samples.

There was a dispute over compensation for Bosch’s work, which is why my lawyer and I are listed under ‘moneys owed’ and not on any other list.

I have nothing to hide and have never had any other relationship with Bosch.

I will fully cooperate with any inquiry into this matter.

It’s fishy that Bosch was the best Braun and his attorneys could do for an expert on testosterone. There’s no shortage of experts in that field. Why choose a guy running a shady wellness clinic in South Florida rather than, say, a Harvard biochemist?

MLB will surely ask Braun about that, but the reality that Braun’s alibi is a solid one is a problem. Furthermore, the fact that he’s eager to cooperate with the league’s inquiries indicates that he’s either a) totally innocent or b) totally confident that MLB won’t be able to dig up anything else.

If that’s the case, then Braun and his people clearly know the rules. MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program only allows Selig to discipline players without a positive test if he determines he has “just cause” to issue a suspension, but he’ll have to do better than these flimsy documents in order to claim that he has “just cause.”

Possession would do the trick, but the documents at hand don’t prove possession and Braun surely isn’t about to confess to possessing PEDs if he has any. A prescription would also do the trick, as it did with Manny Ramirez in 2009, but Bosch doesn’t seem to have dealt in prescriptions.

Anything less than proof of possession or a prescription isn’t going to cut it, and Selig and his underlings should realize this. Braun has already beaten them in an appeal once. If they don’t conjure up any hard evidence but go after him anyway, he’ll be able to beat them again. 

It’s possible that there are more documents that haven’t come to light yet. MLB may be hoping so, as the league has asked the New Times for the documents that the paper obtained for its report. Dozens of documents were used, but many were redacted and some flat out weren’t used in the report.

But if this is MLB’s best hope for further evidence on Braun, the league is likely to find itself out of luck. The fact that Braun’s name wasn’t in the New Times report is a clear indication that the paper couldn’t find anything in the documents solid enough to charge him with obtaining PEDs from Bosch.

If the New Times couldn’t find anything good enough for publication, why should MLB think it’s going to find anything in those documents good enough for a punishment?

It shouldn’t, hence the reason the league can’t get its hopes up too high that revenge against Braun may be possible.

If the league wants to go on a hunt for a big, bad witch, that’s fine. But it should prepare itself to end up on a wild goose chase instead.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

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The Milwaukee Brewers salvaged what was a disappointing 2012 season by playing themselves into the NL wild-card race by the end of the season. 

The Brew Crew went 18-10 in September. That surge pushed Milwaukee to within 1.5 games of the St. Louis Cardinals for the NL’s second wild-card spot, as of Sept. 21. 

However, that’s as close as the Brewers got before falling back and eventually finishing five games behind in the wild-card race and 14 games out of first place in the NL Central.

Part of the Brewers’ late-season success can be attributed to Corey Hart‘s second-half performance.

After the All-Star break, Milwaukee’s first baseman hit .292 with an .875 OPS, 14 home runs and 45 RBI. Along with Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez, the Brewers had a formidable offensive trio in the middle of their batting order. 

Unfortunately, Milwaukee learned on Friday (Jan. 18) that it will be without Hart for at least the first six weeks of the 2013 season. As reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel‘s Tom Haudricourt, Hart will undergo surgery on his right knee to repair what was described as “a defect in the joint surface.”

Hart required surgery on the same knee a year ago to repair cartilage damage, but was able to recover soon enough to play 149 games last season. 

Overall, he hit .270 with an .841 OPS, 35 doubles, 30 home runs and 83 RBI. His home run total was second on the Brewers’ roster to Braun, who led the NL with 47 homers. 

Hart experienced swelling in the right knee during his offseason workouts. An MRI exam revealed what Brewers team doctors compared to “a pothole in a road that must be filled in.”

Further description of the work that has to be done on Hart’s knee includes debriding the joint surface (removing dead, damaged or infected tissue) “to make it bleed and heal in,” along with repairing a small meniscal tear that was also discovered. 

That sounds like a pretty significant repair to his knee. While Hart considers himself a fast healer—and showed himself to be one last year—this procedure might take longer to recover from. He won’t be able to put weight on the knee for six weeks. Hart will need three to four months to recover from the surgery and is expected to be out until at least May. 

While that means the Brewers could still have Hart contributing to their lineup for four months, not having a player for one to two months is a rather significant loss.

Some might argue that missing games in April—and possibly May—is better than missing them in August and September, but losing games that the Brewers could have won with Hart in the lineup could affect their place in the standings, regardless of when they’re played. 

How will the Brewers fill first base until Hart returns? The first option will likely be Mat Gamel, who was slated to replace Prince Fielder at the position last year. Gamel played in only 21 games, however, before tearing the ACL in his right knee and missing the rest of the 2012 season. 

Gamel‘s injury forced the Brewers to move Hart from right field to first base. 

While Gamel hasn’t had sustained success in the majors yet, he’s been productive in the minor leagues. His career average in the minors is .304 with a .376 on-base percentage and .873 OPS. He’s also slugged 105 home runs with 503 RBI in seven seasons. 

Gamel, 27, would also provide a left-handed bat to a lineup that’s almost exclusively right-handed, except for right fielder Norichika Aoki.

Of course, until Gamel proves he can be productive, the Brewers are a better team with Hart in the lineup, regardless of which side of the plate he hits from. 

Another option the Brewers could explore—though perhaps not so early in the season—is first-base prospect Hunter Morris. Morris is Milwaukee’s No. 4 prospect, as ranked by Baseball America.  Last year with Double-A Huntsville, he hit .303 with a .920 OPS, 40 doubles, 28 home runs and 113 RBI in 571 plate appearances. 

However, the consensus on Morris as explained by experts—such as Minor League Ball’s John Sickels—is that Morris still needs to work on his batting skills and cut down on his strikeouts. He would very likely benefit from a full season in Triple-A. 

With those two players, the Brewers will likely be able to get by at first base without Hart for a couple of months. The team needs to find out whether Gamel can be a major league hitter anyway. 

But Hart’s injury could hurt the Brewers in another fashion—if the team isn’t able to contend this season. Hart is in the final year of his contract and could be an appealing trade candidate for any team looking for power from first base or a corner outfield spot.

That is, if those teams aren’t concerned about a player who’s suffered two serious knee injuries in two years. 

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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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