It’s hard to imagine that the Brew Crew can be all that competitive after losing both of their ace starters to free agency, but it’s a little early to be writing off this team.  The offense is young and better than average, while the pitching has a lot of upside, especially if Yovanni Gallardo can regain his form after losing most of last year due to knee surgery.
Still, the Brewers mortgaged their future to acquire CC Sabathia last year, and then failed in the effort to sign him to a big contract. That means there won’t be many home grown reinforcements this year and that the team will really have to have everything fall into the right place in order to compete for the Wild Card.
2008 Regular Season Record: 90-72
Rank: Second in the NL Central 7.5 games back
Home Park: Miller Park
Imported Brew:
OF - Trot Nixon (Free Agent from Mets)
OF - Chris Duffy* (Free Agent from Pirates)
UT - Jason Borgeois* (Free Agent from White Sox)
LHP - Chase Wright (Trade with Yankees)
RHP - Trevor Hoffman (Free Agent from Padres)
RHP - Jorge Julio (Free Agent from Braves)
RHP - Nick Green (Waiver claim from Angels)
RHP - Braden Looper (Free Agent from Cardinals)
RHP - Wes Littleton (Waiver claim from Red Sox)
Exported Brew:
OF - Gabe Kapler (Free Agent signed with Rays)
LHP - CC Sabathia (Free Agent signed with Yankees)
LHP - Brain Shouse (Free Agent signed with Rays)
RHP - Ben Sheets (Free Agent, unsigned)
RHP - Salomon Torres (Retired)
RHP - Gullermo Mota (Free Agent signed with Dodgers)
*Signed minor league contract.
Strengths: Youth/Upside
While I was tempted to call the offense a strength, the truth is that the Brewers offense in 2008 was middle of the pack (seventh out of 16 teams, scoring 750 runs) and they’ll need to do better than that if they hope to win more than 85 games this season. That’s more than possible as their key offensive players Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks, JJ Hardy and Bill Hall are all in their 20s, meaning that there is plenty of upside -- especially since many of didn’t live up to expectations last season.
However, JJ Hardy should be looking over his shoulder as he’s the only one of the above players who has a youngster breathing immediately down his back. The young Alcides Escobar is a ready for major league talent, capable of hitting for high average and with better speed than Hardy. That could mean that one of them could be dealt for pitching help.
Weaknesses: Pitching
The Brewers have two starters with some serious upside in Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra, both of whom have front of the rotation stuff. Gallardo, however, is light years ahead of Parra in development and stuff, but lost most of last season to injury and can’t be considered a sure thing.  Parra’s stuff is more in line with a No. 2 or 3 starter, but he’s been erratic and has yet to pitch more than 166 innings in a season so his endurance is questionable to boot.
After those two, the Brewers rotation is nothing but inning eaters and .500 type pitchers.   The best of the bunch is probably Dave Bush, who’s been a roughly .500 pitcher the last few years but struggled a bit in 2008. After him comes Braden Looper, a converted reliever who has been a pleasant surprise, but has probably outperformed what really can be expected of him. The last pitcher, and the one who is the greatest concern, is Jeff Suppan whose numbers have been trending in the wrong direction since 2005. Expecting any of them to step forward is unrealistic.
Still if the back three can pitch roughly .500 ball, the Brewers could be competitive IF Gallardo or Parra step forward, AND the bullpen can hold its own. The bullpen is a huge question mark especially after losing two of its top arms during the offseason.  You also have to question just how much new closer Trevor Hoffman still has to offer.  Hoffman, the Major Leagues alltime saves leader is 44, struggled a lot last season and is moving from one of the most pitcher friendly parks in baseball to one which isn’t quite as forgiving. That could be a recipe for disaster.
Potential Lineup
2B - Rickie Weeks
SS - JJ Hardy
LF - Ryan Braun
1B - Prince Fielder
RF - Corey Hart
3B - Bill Hall
CF - Mike Cameron
C - Jason Kendall
Rotation
SP1 – Yovani Gallardo
SP2 – Manny Parra
SP3 – Dave Bush
SP4 – Braden Looper
SP5 – Jeff Suppan
Closer
CL – Trevor Hoffman
One question that need answering:
Are Gallardo and Parra capable of stepping up their game to the next level? Unless they can do that, this will be a long season for Brewers fans.
Prediction:
The Brewers are poised for a big fall. Sabathia by himself kept them close -- if you consider finishing 7.5 games back close. This year, they are in serious danger of finishing in the lower half of the Central, and in truth, third or fourth is probably where they’ll finish.
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