2008 MLB Preview: Milwaukee Brewers

Manager: Ned Yost
Arrivals: OF Mike Cameron, RP Eric Gagne, C Jason Kendall, RP Guillermo Mota, RP David Riske, RP Salomon Torres
Departures: RP Francisco Cordero, IF Tony Graffanino, OF Geoff Jenkins, 3B Corey Koskie, RP Scott Linebrink, OF Kevin Mench, C Damian Miller, RP Matt Wise

Offseason grade: C

Starting rotation

If the Brewers hope to compete in the NL Central again in 2008, they will have to keep Ben Sheets and Yovani Gallardo healthy—no easy task considering Sheets has a long history of injuries and Gallardo already has found himself going under the knife this year to repair torn cartilage in his knee.

Why do the Brewers have to keep these two pitchers healthy? Because Sheets and Gallardo are really the only front-line starters the Brewers have.

Behind them are Jeff Suppan and then any combination of Carlos Villanueva, Dave Bush, Chris Capuano, Manny Parra, and Claudio Vargas, none of who are very attractive options as a No. two starter if either Sheets or Gallardo gets hurt.

If it's possible to be motivated to stay healthy, that's what Sheets will be in 2008. Sheets is in the final year of his contract and a healthy 2008 could lead to a fat contract in the 2008 offseason. 

Suppan is a good innings-eater in the middle of the rotation, but his best days may be behind him. He's still a guy I'd want in my rotation, but Milwaukee probably won't get anything more than 14 wins and an ERA in the mid-fours out of him this year—stats that suit a four or five starter better than a three.

If Vargas and Bush make the rotation, they'll probably put up similar stats to what they did in 2007—win double-digit games, but have their ERAs balloon above five. Having one of them as the fifth starter wouldn't be horrible, but if they both are in the rotation, they'll have to pick it up if Milwaukee hopes to contend.

The two wild-cards in all of this, for me, are Villanueva and Capuano.

As a reliever in 2007, Villanueva posted a 4.76 ERA—nothing to write home about. However, in six starts in September, when Milwaukee desperately needed wins, Villanueva put up a 2.06 ERA. It'll be interesting to see what he does if given a starting role—if he can keep his ERA below four, the powerful Brewers offense will give him a lot of wins.

Capuano is a mystery.

In 2005, Capuano was brilliant, going 18-12 with a 3.99 ERA. Even though he went just 11-12 in 2006, Capuano's ERA was still consistent, finishing at 4.03 over 221.1 innings.

Then, in 2007, the bottom fell out for Capuano as he went 5-12 and saw his ERA balloon to 5.10, the highest it's been in his career. A groin injury may have been a big reason for this miserable performance, so it'll be interesting to see if Capuano comes back healthy in 2008.

If he is healthy, there's no reason to think he can't return to his '05-'06 numbers.

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