Milwaukee Brewers Preview (Batters)

Here is my Brewers preview which I am pretty excited to write about because I think this will be a very successful year for the Crew with probably one of the best coaching staffs in the MLB with Ken Macha, Dale Sveum, and Willie Randolph plus a great offense. Dont forget a pitching staff that could do well.

STARTING LINEUP: Not where these guys will bat but just their overall position then I will do the bench for the Crew overall. Just my thoughts and feelings about how their season will go.

C: Jason Kendall- I think Kendall will still have a typical year but in my opinion he needs to take more days off to let Mike Rivera hit the ball. Although, I cannot take away from the way Kendall calls the game for the pitchers.

1B: Prince Fielder- According to a couple of people, Prince has lost around 50 lbs since last season. If this is true, he could have a big year for the Crew and lets hope the end of the year will be the whole 2009 season. Although if the Brewers are out of it in July which I doubt, they need to deal Fielder to pave the way for Mat Gamel.

2B: Rickie Weeks- Take a guess whose having the best Spring Training? Mr. Weeks and its begs the question could this be the year? I can only hope so. If Weeks starts hitting the ball like everyone said he would, the Brewers go from being good to really good.

3B: Bill Hall- Another big question going into the season is will Hall find his swagger again? My answer is yes, he got Lasik eye surgery and I think Sveum will work with him to not pull the ball so much. If he does struggle, Casey McGahee could start.

SS: JJ Hardy- Last year, Hardy proved to me that he is here to stay in Milwaukee with another 20+ home run year and was very good in the field. It would be nice if he could be more consistent instead of going on just complete tears for a couple of weeks.

LF: Ryan Braun- How can YouTube not have Braun's home run against the Cubs? Anyways, hopefully the injury bug doesnt plague him during the year. We were conversation in the car today and my buddy Jim goes "He's not cocky, he just got swagger." No doubt about that quote and I just expect Braun to be great throughout the year.

CF: Mike Cameron- I am interested to see what kind of year Cam has because with the Brewers giving up on Tony Gywnn Jr (its about time), I could see Cameron having a big year. At the same time, there is a good chance he could be dogshit as well. Another guy who could be gone in July if the Brewers struggle.

RF: Corey Hart- My main man and I took a ton of shit for wearing his jersey in September when he struggled. I hate looking at Spring Training stats but he was close to the top for Home Runs so who knows what the means for the season. I just hope he starts strong therefore the fans can lay off his ass for awhile.

BENCH
C: Mike Rivera- One of the most reliable guys on our bench last year when he played. I hope that Macha plays him more and also lets him pinch hit, I know you usually dont do that but he deserves to get at-bats.

1B/OF: Brad Nelson- He is big dude and could come off the bench with some pop in that bat. I hope he can deliver a couple big homers throughout the year. I am worried about him playing outfield if he is that big.

3B: Casey Maghee- This a guy we got from the Cubbies off waivers and he had a monster Spring Training so who knows what to expect. I hope he has a good year for the Crew.

IF: Craig Counsell- Good to see him back in a Brewers uniform and I hope he just keeps bringing veteran leadership with a couple big hits here and there.

OF: Chris Duffy- He had twenty-two homers in 2007 and I think he could big things for the Crew. I hope that he will bring some speed and power to the Brewers.

Pitchers are next...

-Charlie.