Milwaukee Brewers 2009 Preview

Milwaukee Brewers 2008 Review:

As a Milwaukee Brewer fan, you have to look at 2008 as a great year for your franchise.

The Brewers managed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982, thanks in large part to the left arm of C.C. Sabathia. Sure, you had to give up your most prized prospect in Matt LaPorta, but this franchise has been dying for a taste of the postseason and they finally got it in 2008.

After finishing the regular season at 90-72, good enough for the NL Wildcard, the Brewers were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the eventual World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

The Brewers featured a very productive offensive attack led by the young slugger Ryan Braun.

Braun, although somewhat sluggish defensively, managed to hit .285 with 37 home runs and 106 RBI.

Prince Fielder, Corey Hart and J.J. Hardy also finished with 34, 20 and 24 home runs respectively, in what was a very powerful lineup for the Brewers.

However, what the Brewers lacked was consistent pitching, both from their starting rotation as well as their bullpen.

Of course there was C.C. Sabathia who went 11-2 in his short time with Milwaukee along with a ridiculous 1.62 ERA, but aside from him, the Brewers struggled with the back end of their starting five.

Brian Shouse and Salomon Torres pitched very well out of the bullpen for Milwaukee, but couldn’t make up for the lack of depth in that area of the roster. Ultimately the struggles from a pitching standpoint did the 2008 Brewers in, finishing their season in the first round of the playoffs.

Milwaukee Brewers 2009 Preview:

The Milwaukee Brewers reached the playoffs more or less on the arm of C.C. Sabathia in 2008.

Sabathia is now gone after signing with the Yankees in the offseason, leaving the Brewers without a staff ace.

Yovani Gallardo has ace potential, but being as young as he is, it’s hard to expect him to be able to shoulder the load for such a young team.

Gallardo had a 1.88 ERA in the four games that he started in during 2008, so Brewer fans can certainly look forward to what he has to bring to the table in 2009. However, Milwaukee severely lacks starting pitching overall.

The Brewers should again feature an offense capable of both power and speed, but their lack of quality pitching, both out of the bullpen and in the starting rotation, should lead to a significant step backwards in 2009.

Expect Milwaukee to struggle mightily and finish towards the bottom of the NL Central.

Milwaukee Brewers Surprise Player of 2009: [Find out here...]