Milwaukee Brewers News 2009 Roster
Brewers Roster Will Score Runs But Team Success Depends on Pitching
Mar 26, 2009
Barring injuries, new Brewers Manager Ken Macha knows what RHPs Braden Looper and Jeff Suppan will give him in 2009. The key to Milwaukee’s success in the NL Central will be their young starters and their bullpen.
But, the strength of the 2009 Brewers resides in their lineup.
2009 Brewers Lineup: Rickie Weeks
Macha will give 2B Rickie Weeks yet another chance to hit leadoff for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009. Weeks has never managed to play more than 129 games in a season, and he has hit worse than .240 the past two seasons to go along with over 100 strikeouts in less than 500 at bats per year.
Weeks hits like Rob Deer without the homers, and he does not even make up for it in the field where he is mediocre at best at second base.
Weeks has shown the ability to draw walks (averaged 72 over past two seasons) and hit for some power (averaged 15 over past two seasons). If he ever lives up to his potential as a 20/20 man and raises his batting average from a deplorable .235 to a respectable .270, he will be one of the best leadoff men in baseball. That is why the Brewers are hesitant to give up on him.
However, one has to believe this season will be Weeks’ last chance to prove himself.
2009 Lineup: Middle of the Order-- Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Corey Hart and Bill Hall
OF Ryan Braun and 1B Prince Fielder hit extremely well in the clutch during the final couple weeks of the 2008 season, but both of them barely reached the century mark in RBI. They will need to drive in runs more consistently during the season to give Milwaukee’s less-than-dominant pitching staff some extra breathing room this season.
Also, OF Corey Hart has hit over .400 and led the team in homers this spring. Hart is looking to rebound from a terrible second half in 2008 and provide Fielder with proper protection in the 2009 lineup.
3B Bill Hall underwent lasik eye surgery in the offseason, and he hopes to turn his career around in 2009. If he returns to his 2006 form (35 home runs), the 2009 Brewers lineup will be as good as any in baseball.
Brewers 2009 Roster: Starting Rotation
Much fuss is being made about Milwaukee’s loss of RHP Ben Sheets and LHP CC Sabathia to free agency, but is it really that big of a deal?
In 2008, the Brewers did not have Sabathia to begin the season. In fact, replace the 2008 Sheets with a healthy 2009 Yovani Gallardo, and the Brewers have just as good of a starting rotation to begin 2009 as they did to begin 2008.
Furthermore, young LHP Manny Parra looked brilliant at times last season and could step up in 2009 and become a strong middle of the rotation pitcher.
Brewers 2009 Roster: Bullpen
The Brewers 2008 bullpen looked very attractive on paper to start the season. RHP Eric Gagne received 10 million dollars to be the Brewers closer and former closer RHP Derrick Turnbow was his setup man; however, that “dynamic duo” turned out to be more Milli Vanilli than Batman and Robin.
Therefore, the struggles and injuries to the Brewers bullpen during Spring Training 2009 should not worry the team too much because that area of the roster is no worse than last year.
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