No Reason to Panic Brewers Fans

I realize that in Major League Baseball a team can go for the outhouse to the penthouse and back to the outhouse in a matter of moments. Right now, fans of the Milwaukee Brewers are acting like the outhouse is living in luxury.

CC Sabathia was undoubtedly the biggest prize in free agency in recent memory and the Yankees did a great job at doing what it took to get him. It is quite clear that Sabathia wanted no part of playing in New York but once the Yankees threw in a seventh year and 20 million more dollars, no one could have turned that down. And if you say you would, you're a liar.

It also appears that the Brewers are going to trade Mike Cameron to the Yankees for Melky Cabrera. Many fans view this as the team throwing in the towel for the 2009 season. I want to take this time to talk those fans down from the ledge at let you know things are going to be just fine.

I woke up this morning and checked my calendar. It read December 12. I then when to the Brewers website and checked when Opening Day 2009 is. The Brewers start their 2009 campaign in San Francisco on April 7. That is just under four months away. Four months is literally a lifetime in Major League Baseball for a team to make improvements.

The thing that people tend to forget is just how talented this Milwaukee Brewers team is. In 2006, with no CC Sabathia, Mike Cameron or Yovani Gallardo, the Brewers jumped out to the best record in baseball and all of the game was buzzing over the young talent in Milwaukee.

Last season, the Brewers stayed afloat while Cameron was suspended for the first 25 games and CC didn't come to town until July. We also only got 24 innings out of Yovani for the entire year.

The point is that the Milwaukee Brewers as they are currently structured are a very talented group of players. There will be no Ned Yost in 2009, to have a September collapse. Ken Macha made it clear at his initial press conference that if a player isn't producing, he will be spending a lot of time getting to know the Brewers' bench.

Also, don't think for a minute that General Manager Doug Melvin isn't going to sit on his hands all winter. Reports have already come out of Melvin stating his interest in Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer, John Smoltz and Randy Wolf.

Any of those four pitchers would do wonders for the 2009 rotation. I think a motivated Randy Johnson could be the most dangerous out of the four, but Randy Wolf is the "safe" investment for multiple years.

The core of the Brewers is young and only going to get better. Ryan Braun was dealing with nagging injuries the last six weeks of the season. Imagine the numbers he can put up in 2009, if he's healthy for the entire season. Braun is a sure-fire MVP candidate and one of the best players in all of baseball.

Prince Fielder is now at the point in his career where he is playing for a year-to-year contract. A motivated Prince with something to prove is a very scary proposition for the rest of the National League. I don't see any reason why Prince won't smash 40 home runs in 2009.

JJ Hardy has surprised everyone. There isn't one person I know that envisioned Hardy being the power threat he has become. 50 home runs in two years for a shortstop are outstanding and there is no reason he can't repeat the success he's had the last couple of years.

Corey Hart is talented enough to be an All-Star as he proved last year. A horrendous second half and playoff series against the Phillies really brought down a ton of criticism on Hart. He is still a solid defender and a season of 25 homers and steals is a legitimate stat line for Hart.

Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra may be the two most important pieces to any success that the Brewers have in 2009. The young guns will have a ton of pressure on them by fans to "replace" Sabathia and Sheets. There is no reason for them to even try and do that. All they need to do is continue progressing into very solid top of the rotation pitchers and the numbers will take care of themselves.

Although the talent on this team is young in terms of their ages, they all have had significant time spent in the Majors. They are now veterans and will be expected to play like it.

They all know what it feels like to play in a pennant race and have the experience of playing the Phillies in the playoffs. An addition of one or two more veteran arms and there is no reason the Brewers can't be right in the thick of the playoff hunt again in 2009.