Milwaukee Brewers
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| Projected Lineup |
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| CF |
Alex Sanchez |
| 2B |
Eric Young |
| LF |
Geoff Jenkins |
| 1B |
Richie Sexson |
| RF |
Jeffrey Hammonds |
| 3B |
Wes Helms |
| C |
Robert Machado |
| SS |
Royce Clayton |
| Projected Rotation |
|---|
| RHP |
Ben Sheets |
| LHP |
Glendon Rusch |
| RHP |
Todd Ritchie |
| RHP |
Dave Mlicki |
| RHP |
Quevedo/Neugebauer |
| CL |
Mike DeJean |
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By John Donovan, SI.com
Round up the teams that don't have a chance, the tired, the poor, the hapless. Sit them down in the Losers Club and the Brewers will be right there in the front row. They're season-ticket holders. Have been for years.
But now comes a new era in Milwaukee baseball, or so the hope goes. A new president, a new general manager, a new fired-up manager. A whole new mindset, new manager Ned Yost claims.
Unfortunately for Brewers fans -- wherever they are -- there's not much else new.
The Brewers bring back a few talented players and a few guys they hope can help, but, largely, they remain the same team that laid a 106-loss mess last season, the worst season in franchise history. Heck, when they were the Seattle Pilots, they lost only 98 games.
The '02 Brewers, to go over the gruesome details, scored the fewest runs in the National League. They gave up more runs than anyone but the Rockies and had the lowest on-base percentage of anyone but the Pirates. This was a bad, bad team.
Still, new GM Doug Melvin is thinking improvement. It's not such a lofty goal, figuring where they are now. But to think the Brewers can compete in the NL Central, where last season they finished 41 games behind the Cardinals?
They're not anywhere close to being in that club yet.
Changing the losing mindset is of paramount importance, and Yost, a longtime coach in Atlanta who played a backup role on the Brewers' last championship team (1982), is the man enlisted to do it. That will start at spring training in Maryvale, Ariz.
There are plenty of questions surrounding the first-time skipper, but he watched for 12 years as one of the most respected men in the business, Atlanta's Bobby Cox, molded the Braves into 11-time division champs.
Don't discount a simple attitude change, either. The Brewers were 14-28 in one-run games last season, worst in the league, and 3-10 in extra innings, also the worst. A little change in attitude can make a lot of difference in close games.
On the field, there are some issues to deal with as well. The bottom couple of spots in the rotation, most notably, will have to be dealt with, after Ben Sheets (11-16, 4.15 ERA), lefty Glendon Rusch (10-16, 4.70) and newcomer Todd Ritchie (5-15, 6.06 ERA with the White Sox last season). The well-traveled Dave Mlicki (4-10, 5.34 with Houston) will be in the mix, as will Nick Neugebauer (1-7, 4.72 with Milwaukee last season) and Ruben Quevedo (6-11, 5.76 with the Brewers).
Jeffrey Hammonds just hasn't worked out as the Brewers planned. Coming up on the third and final year of a $21.75 million contract he signed before the 2001 season, the right fielder has only 15 homers and 62 RBIs since donning the Brewers' uniform. A shoulder injury has been the main culprit. If he can stay healthy, or at least get healthier and have a good year, that could go a long way toward getting him another big contract -- though his future, no matter how well he does in '03, probably won't be in Milwaukee
Enrique Cruz has a lot of things going for him. He hit .291 for Class A St. Lucie in the Mets' organization last year, stealing 33 bases. He was the No. 1 pick in the Rule 5 draft this winter, a 21-year-old second baseman that everyone likes. And he's almost assured of a spot on the Brewers' 25-man roster for the whole season, because if the Brewers don't keep him there, they risk losing him to the Mets. Look for Cruz to get plenty of pinch-hit chances and to play a sort of super-utility role for Yost all year.
Arrivals: SS Royce Clayton (free agent signed from Chicago White Sox), RHP Dave Mlicki (free agent signed with Houston), C Keith Osik (free agent signed from Pittsburgh), RHP Todd Ritchie (free agent signed from Chicago White Sox), OF Brady Clark (waivers), RHP Chuck Smith (free agent), C Eddie Perez (free agent signed from Cleveland), OF John Vander Wal (free agent signed from New York Yankees), C Javier Valentin (in trade from Twins), RHP Matt Kinney (in trade from Twins), INF Ryan Gripp (in trade from Chicago Cubs), OF Scott Podsednik (waivers).
Departures: RHP Chad Fox (free agent signed with Boston), OF Lenny Harris (free agent signed with Chicago Cubs), OF Matt Stairs (free agent signed with Pittsburgh), C Jorge Fabregas (free agent signed with Tampa Bay), SS Jose Hernandez (free agent signed with Colorado), RHP Nelson Figueroa (free agent with Pittsburgh), OF Ryan Christenson (free agent signed with Texas), C Paul Bako (traded to Chicago Cubs).
The Brewers have not improved on their win total in any year since they went from 65 wins in 1995 to 80 wins in '96. They'll improve in '03, but not by a lot. There's talent in guys like Geoff Jenkins and Hammonds, and newcomer Royce Clayton could provide some spark. But there are problems, too. Jenkins is impatient, Hammonds gets hurt, shortstop Clayton hit only .251 and won't come close to replacing the power that Jose Hernandez had there in '02. New third baseman Wes Helms is unproven. This team rides on the promise of guys like Sheets and center fielder Alex Sanchez and the steady bat of first baseman Richie Sexson (.279, 29 homers, 102 RBIs last season). That's just not enough.
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