2008 Milwaukee Brewers Picks & Predictions

May 22, 2008

The Brew Crew appeared well on its way to ending a run of 24 years without playing October baseball but this young team buckled under pressure. Find out in Dave Price’s 2008 Milwaukee Brewers predictions if this year will be the year.

Pitching

This is the area that failed the Brew Crew last season and when you see what they have to work with on paper it stuns you. No Brewers starter won more than 12 games last season and we’re talking about names like Ben Sheets, Jeff Suppan, Chris Capuano, and Yovani Gallardo. Chris Capuano was the biggest disappointment last year, going just 5-12 with an ERA over 5.00. We’re talking about a guy which was thought to have ace-caliber stuff at one time. Ben Sheets is the ace of this staff and he had a respectable 12-5 season, but only pitched 141.1 innings. The Brewers need him to turn into a 200 inning guy to get the most out of him. If Gallardo continues to improve, it will be huge for the beer makers. He went 9-5 with a 3.67 ERA after being called up from Nashville. Jeff Suppan went 12-12 last season, but the Brewers need him to be that reliable 15 wins guy.

The Brewers’ pen was atrocious down the stretch of last season and it might be even worse in 2008 after dealing away Francisco Cordero, who saved a franchise record 44 games in 2007. One thing is for certain, bringing in Eric Gagne will not be the answer. Just how bad was the pen you ask? Milwaukee blew 16 games after leading by 3 runs or more. And yes, that was good for worst in the bigs.

Offense

The offense is in real good shape. Rickie Weeks hammered 16 homeruns and added 25 stolen bases in only 188 games last year. I’m expecting a huge season out of him with his wrist injury in the rearview mirror. J.J. Hardy powdered 26 round trippers and added 80 RBIs. Ryan Braun lost 34 and drove in 97 and that was in only 113 games. Prince Fielder is the new Sultan of Swat. Little Cecil had 50 bombs and 119 RBIs in 2007. We’re not done yet. Mike Cameron and Bill Hall are two more guys capable of 20 homeruns and 80 RBIs.

Defense

Hardy has a steady glove at short and Weeks has made dramatic improvements in the field at second. Both of these guys are just 25 years old and lay a good, solid foundation up the middle for the beer makers. It really doesn’t matter what Prince Fielder does at first base as long as he can keep slugging homers at a faster rate than any one else his age. I think a move to third base will help Hall, the former shortstop, feel much more comfortable than centerfield, where they tried him in 2007. Braun proved to be a slugger in his rookie season and that earned him NL Rookie of the Year honors, but his glove was suspect in the infield. Moving to left should be to his benefit. Cameron will help in center, but he will miss the first 25 games of the year after testing positive for a banned stimulant.

The Brew Crew can out slug just about anybody, but their pen has been notorious for blowing big leads and Milwaukee did not do anything about it. Instead, they got rid of one of the best closers in baseball and went after more offense. The move could backfire and the Reds, who got Cordero, could leapfrog them. I still have some faith though as I think the starters will be better. Milwaukee takes second place behind the Cubs.

Dave Price’s MLB picks are the bottom line when it comes to MLB handicapping. Find out for yourself by signing up for a season package and beat the MLB odds all summer long.

Odds to win NL Central: 9/5

Odds to win 2008 NL Pennant: 9/1

Odds to win 2008 World Series: 30/1

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2008 Milwaukee Brewers Picks & Predictions

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