Milwaukee Brewers 2009 Preview

52 days, 20 hours, 15 minutes. That's how long Brewers fans will need to wait to see their team play meaningful games, again.

It hasn't seemed too long of an absence, but any kind of absence from baseball is a sad thing.

The Brewers, coming off of a 90-72 campaign in 2008, have lost their top two starting pitchers (CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets). They've lost three key relief pitchers (Salomon Torres, Brian Shouse, and Guillermo Mota).

They've lost three key veterans (Gabe Kapler, Russell Branyan and Ray Durham). They've lost a great pitching coach.

What have they gained? The Brewers made a handful of signings in free agency, among those included are: Trevor Hoffman, Jorge Julio, Braden Looper, Trot Nixon, Mike Lamb (re-signed), veteran infielder Craig Counsell (re-signed), and Mike Cameron (re-signed).

Personally, I think we lost more than what we gained. I think that another 90-win season is possible, as long as everyone stays healthy, and contributes regularly.

Of course, there will always be injuries. It happens to every team, in every sport. However, the Brewers will need to rely on their younger stars to carry the team this year.

The team has an older, more experienced look and feel to it. Some say that nothing is left in the tank of legendary closer, Trevor Hoffman. I disagree.

When you look at Hoffman's stats from last season, they aren't half bad. When you take into consideration the team he was playing for, you can't help but wonder how he did so well.

Julio, the Brewers' first signing of the off-season, can be a productive arm in the bullpen. He's even closed for teams, in the past. I feel pretty confident in the back-end of the bullpen knowing that Hoffman, Julio, and (possibly) Villanueva will be around.

Heck, you can even throw David Riske into the mix. (Doesn't anyone else remember that he still plays in Milwaukee?)

The front end of the bullpen will have a different look to it, though. There will almost certainly bet that a youngster will be on the Opening Day roster for the Crew. I predict Mitch Stetter will be the new Brian Shouse.

I like Stetter, and I think he can do just as good a job as Shouse did. Also, Todd Coffey will more than likely have a spot reserved for him. You might even see Tim Dillard and/or Mark DiFelice starting the season in Milwaukee.

So, overall, I think the Brewers' bullpen will look a little something like this, on Apr. 7:

• Closer - Trevor Hoffman
• Setup Man - Carlos Villanueva
• Short Relief - David Riske
• Short Relief - Jorge Julio
• Long Relief - Seth McClung
• Long Relief - Mark DiFelice
• Lefty Specialist - Mitch Stetter

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