By: Big Rygg

Milwaukee Brewers
2007 Record: 83-79
2nd place in the NL Central

2007 Review

In 2007, for the first time in 15 seasons, the Milwaukee Brewers finished with more wins than losses. They also finished in 2nd place like they did in 1992, contending for a postseason berth.

The Brewers spent some money in the offseason prior to 2007, signing Jeff Suppan away from division-rival St. Louis and to a free agent contract worth $42MM over 4 years. Suppan, coming off of an NLCS MVP and a World Series championship with those same Cardinals, proved to be worth the investment as he pitched a stellar September.

A lot of things happened in 2007 including a dugout blowup between Johnny Estrada, Tony Graffanino and Ned Yost, some controversy involving Tony LaRussa, Albert Pujols, Seth McClung and Ned Yost, countless in-game decisions…this list could go on for a while.

The real stories that people will remember about 2007 other than how the team finished as a whole revolved around the corners of the infield.

MVP candidate Prince Fielder became the youngest player in Major League Baseball history to belt 50 home runs in a single season. He increased his home run output by 22 over his then Brewer-rookie-record of 28 set in 2006. He increased his walk total to 90 as well, further verifying his improve plate discipline. Fielder compiled 87 extra-base hits, and while he still struck out 121 times, that number was a fewer total than his rookie season in 2006 when he struck out 125 times. For the record, you want to know how many times Fielder walked in ’06? 59.

The other side of the infield in 2007 wasn’t cemented until nearly the end of May. Rookie phenom Ryan Braun and his much-touted offense were sent down to the minor leagues after a very strong spring training in 2007 because Braun’s defense wasn’t up to snuff. However, when the Brewers needed a little shot in the arm in late May, Braun was recalled from the minor leagues. Nobody has ever regretted the decision. Braun came out of the gates like gangbusters and continued his veritable dominance of big league pitching throughout the regular season. He only had one prolonged slump, and that was after Ned Yost moved him to the cleanup spot in the order, following Prince Fielder instead of being protected by him. But that little blip aside, Braun set rookie records both for the Milwaukee club and for MLB history. Braun broke Fielder’s rookie home run record by hitting 34 home runs (the duo combined as the best home run hitting pair of teammates in the majors) and set an all-time rookie slugging percentage record. Fittingly, despite continued defensive shortcomings at 3B, Braun won the National League Rookie of the Year award.

Comings and Goings

The biggest changes that the Brewers made for the 2008 season can be summed up in the idea of: Veteran assistance.

The most note-worthy change, however, was the loss of 44 saves in the person of Francisco Cordero. Division rival Cincinnati outbid the Brewers by $4MM to win the services of Cordero. The Brewers replaced Cordero by signing free agent Eric Gagne to a one-year deal worth $10MM. Time will tell on whether or not the move was a good one, but it was one of the only real options available to GM Doug Melvin after Cordero opted to sign elsewhere. Gagne brings with him a Cy Young award and a Major League record of his own from this day in Los Angeles. Can he regain that form? Check the X-Factor section below for more thoughts.

The Rest of the Additions…

Mike Cameron – CF
Jason Kendall – C
Guillermo Mota – RP
Abraham Nunez – INF
David Riske – RP
Salomon Torres – RP

Those that left:

Tony Graffanino – UTIL
Geoff Jenkins – OF
Ray King – RP
Corey Koskie – 3B
Scott Linebrink – RP
Kevin Mench – OF
Damian Miller – C
Matt Wise – RP

25 Man Roster

Click here to see the Cardinals’ 25 Man Roster. This will save space and reading time if you don’t care.

Of note here is two normal starters (CF Mike Cameron and SP Yovani Gallardo) start the season on the DL. Both are scheduled to return by the end of April.

Potential Starters

Here’s the way I see the starting eight and five-man rotation as of opening day this season. This is not in batting order by any means.

C – Jason Kendall
1B – Prince Fielder
2B – Rickie Weeks
3B – Bill Hall
SS – J.J. Hardy
LF – Ryan Braun
CF – Tony Gwynn Jr.
RF – Corey Hart
P – Ben Sheets
P – Jeff Suppan
P – Dave Bush
P – Carlos Villanueva
P – Manny Parra

Extras on Players

Had I done this preview even a week ago, I think I probably would’ve had Claudio Vargas in the starting rotation over Manny Parra. Vargas, after pitching a solid spring and seemingly shoe-horning himself into the rotation, was instead cut outright after apparently telling Doug Melvin that he would refuse an assignment to the minors and didn’t want to pitch out of the bullpen.

Also of note, Ryan Braun will be starting left field for the first time in his life and 2006 Team MVP Bill Hall will be coming back into the infield from center field to man the hot corner.

X-Factor

How do I pick between the bullpen and the health of our starting rotation? Here are my arguments for both…

Bullpen – a near complete overhaul of our bullpen adds four veteran arms with closing experience. The only hold overs are lefty specialist Brian Shouse, former closer Derrick Turnbow and late ’07 callup Seth McClung. We’ve got a new official closer in the aforementioned Eric Gagne, his old setup man from his hey-day in LA Guillermo Mota, David Riske and Salomon Torres…the bottom line here is that if the veterans click, we’ll win a lot of games that we might otherwise lose if we had to count on some of our less-reliable options of last year. All that, and whether or not Gagne regains at least his Texas Ranger form if not his Los Angeles Dodger form.

Starting Rotation – Obviously, we all know about Ben Sheets’ injury problems. But more than just him, we need another 34 starts from Jeff Suppan, and we need as many starts as possible out of Yovani Gallardo, Carlos Villanueva and either Manny Parra or Dave Bush, (or stretches of both) depending on who sticks in the rotation right away when Gallardo comes off the DL. What the Brewers can ill afford is for any member of it’s rotation to miss significant time. We’ve got six starters right now, and another couple of capable short-term fill-ins down in Nashville, but if we are going to win this division we need quality starts from our five best pitchers.

2008 Predictions

Record: 90-72

There is a chance that we don’t reach the 90-win plateau, but I wanted to put that as my prediction because it’s what I think the Brewers can achieve. I’d be happy with 80 wins if it could win us the division.
 

Final Thoughts

For all the pomp and circumstance surrounding not only the 25-year anniversary of the Brewers’ only trip to the World Series but also the 50-year anniversary of the Milwaukee Braves’ World Series Championship, the Brewers were unable to keep the numerologists happy by reaching the playoffs last year.

This year should be different for the Brewers if only because I predict more wins, more health and more success over all. The Brewers have an eye on the future (shown by principal owner Mark Attanasio’s admission that long-term contract offers have been made to Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun), but also know that any window in Major League Baseball only stays open so long…especially when you play in a small market.

That being said, the Brewers are poised at a serious run this year. Not to toot my own horn, but if you look back in the annals of this blog (or if you know me personally), you’ll find that I predicted at the end of the 2005 season that the Brewers would contend for the playoffs but fall short in 2007 and make the playoffs in 2008. I was right on the first half of that, so let’s all hope that I get to shout my superior prediction abilities from the pitcher’s mound at Miller Park at the end of this regular season.

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Agree/Disagree? As always, feel encouraged to leave comments.

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