Your 2009 Milwaukee Brewers: Winners or Losers? by Special Contributor Steve Petrie

I think at first glance, the answer of many fans would be that the Milwaukee Brewers incoming season outlook is definitely gloom. Early headlines of the winter were C.C Sabathia signing a record deal with the evil empire and the Brewers being unable to find a potential trade suitor for perennial Mother’s Day MVP Bill Hall. To make matters even worse, it was determined that Ben Sheets would need elbow surgery and would be out until July, practically eliminating any chance another team would sign him before the June Draft taking away two compensation draft choices from the Brew Crew. With this all in mind, the Brewers were bigger losers this offseason than area tanning salons were last April when Tom Crean bolted for the Indiana Hoosiers. However, like any Brewer fan, I constantly am coming up with reasons to convince myself that this will be a winning year. So being the optimist I am, here are my five reasons why there is grounds for believing that the Brewers will be a successful team in 2009.

1. Financial Flexibility- Yes, it hurts that the Brewers were unable to retain workhorse CC Sabathia. But to say that the Brewers would be fine and dandy if CC would have re-signed is quite false. If CC were to get injured and break down (which I am willing to put major dough down this happening with the way the Brewers rode his arm last fall), the Brewers would be financially handicapped as his contract would probably be almost a fourth of the teams payroll. Signing other high caliber free agents and retaining their home grown talent would virtually be impossible. Instead, with the Brewers minor moves and signings of Braden Looper and Trevor Hoffman, the team will still field a competitive team and might be able to take on salary mid-season if a move needs to be made again for the stretch run. With the current economic crisis our country is in, baseball teams may be more eager to shed salaries of high profile players midseason in order to save money.

2. Peace and Unity- I think one of Melvin’s greatest achievements since becoming the GM of the Brewers is his avoidance of arbitration hearings with any eligible player. With Corey Hart now in the fold for 2009, all arbitration eligible players are under contract and have avoided going to a hearing and listening to all of their obvious short comings from the previous season. Also, the Brewers have avoided another national media fiasco by giving Prince Fielder a 2 year-18 million dollar contract. About a year ago at this time, Prince was complaining about not being paid enough causing some distraction in camp. Now paid and according to some reports, trimmer, Fielder is reporting to camp with a smile on his face and ready for another monster season. Finally, Milwaukee is finally becoming a place on the map in Major League Baseball. The players seem to all get along and chemistry really isn’t an issue. It said a lot when Trevor Hoffman signed here instead of with the Dodgers because Mike Cameron and Jason Kendall vouched just how great of a team and place Milwaukee was.

3. Macha- When Ken Macha was signed this offseason, he was only given a two year deal, meaning this is the year he needs to perform due to Melvin's philosophy of not having personnel in the last year of their contract. If the Brewers are mediocre and their future does not look bright under his guidance, Macha will be replaced faster than GM shares have dropped. The Brewers also have two assistant coaches who already have Major League managerial experience in Willie Randolph and Dale Sveum, so Macha must perform to keep his job. I think it will be interesting to see his style of coaching and to see how he handles late game pitching changes that Yost struggled so poorly with.

4. Rebound years for many- It seems every year we are saying that Weeks is going to break out this year, but *fingers crossed* maybe this is THE year. One of the reasons Randolph was brought in was to work with Weeks and see if he could light a fire inside him. Willie did wonders in getting the best out of Jose Reyes in New York, so maybe he can see similar results with Ricky. Bill Hall followed Jason Kendall this off season and received Lasik Eye surgery, ridding himself of contacts which he blamed for part of his hitting troubles last season. Manny Para struggled down the stretch last year, but in his defense, he has never pitched as many innings as he did last year. Before late August and September, Manny was one of the better Brewers’ pitchers and could be counted on for six solid innings. Corey Hart and Tony Gwynn Jr. are under some pressure to perform. The Brewers have an abundance of talented corner outfielders in the minors.(Gillespie, Cain, and Gindl) Gwynn is out of options and must make the big league club otherwise he will be released and Hart must avoid another late season collapse or he too might be replaced by a more cost effective option. Other players like Chris Capuano and Yovanni Gallardo are expected also to rebound from injury.

5. Fans- Last season, the Brewers broke the 3 million mark for attendance. Milwaukee was rewarded for their patronage with a trip to the playoffs and two home playoff games. After their game three win, there was a certain buzz going around town. People began to finally remember what it was like to have a successful baseball team in town. This excitement has transpired to the offseason with season ticket packages going quickly and events like the Winter Warm-up being heavily attended. If people come out and go to the games at the pace they did last season, which I believe they will, Mark Attanasio will continue to spend money on players and try and put a winning product out on the field. Hopefully the days of Sean Berry being our top free agent acquisition are over.