Will the Milwaukee Brewers Go Deeper in 2009?: Top Five Questions Answered

The weather is heating up near Miller Park (37 F˚ today) and so are questions regarding the 2009 Milwaukee Brewers.  Here are, what I feel, the top five questions for 2009.

Question No. 1:  Of course, the biggest question for Brewer fans is whether or not their team will return to the post-season in ’09. 

My short answer to that is…yes!  The Brewers may, once again, compete for the wild card as the Cubs and Mets have been extremely aggressive in comparison to what the Brewers have achieved during the offseason.  However, that doesn’t mean the Brewers are completely shut out. 

Let’s face it, no other National League team, with the exception of, perhaps, the NL West San Francisco Giants have really improved that much.  So, chances are, the young and talented Brewers may indeed make another postseason appearance.  The next question may be whether or not the Brewers can get past the first round.  Let’s hope for the best.

Question No. 2:  Will the Brewers pitching staff pick-up where they left off last year? 

The ’08 pitching staff, although Brewer fans may not believe it, was ranked third overall in the National League in 2008.  With 12 complete games  and a 3.87 ERA (thanks in large, and I mean large, part to CC Sabathia) the Brewers ranked first in complete games, doubling the next best in the Arizona Diamondbacks with six complete games and achieved a second place tie with the dreaded Cubs in the ERA column (3.87). 

The new look Brewers ’09 pitching staff needs to provide some stability and go deep into their games if the Brewers are to compete for the NL Central crown in ’09.  If the relatively young and inexperienced rotation (less Jeff Suppan) can fill the shoes of the departed Sheets and CC, the ’09 Brewers will have an excellent shot at returning to the postseason. 

By going into the seventh or eighth inning with the lead, it will give our middle relievers the rest they need in the first half so they won't be worn out by August.  Hopefully, management has addressed the eighth and ninth inning failures of 2008. 

By not resigning best buddies Eric Gagne and Derek Turnbow, some impatient and rude Brewer fans will have less to boo about.  In contrast, the best music to fans’ ears in’09 may be AC/DC’s  “Hells Bells.”  If we hear that tune more than 50 times this year, Brewer’s season ticket holders will see yet another large envelope of postseason tickets arrive in their mailboxes come September.

Question No. 3: Will Ricky Weeks and Bill Hall use their bats and gloves this year?

Yes, it’s true that the Brewers would have very little offensive swagger without Braun and Fielder in their line-up and thankfully there really aren’t any questions surrounding these two young phenoms now that Prince is signed for the next two years.  However, the big question is whether or not Bill Hall and Ricky Weeks will live-up to their potential this year. 

Both had miserable seasons last year and the Brewers desperately need these two guys to step-up in’09.  Each have excellent pop in their bats and they can really punish opposing pitchers when they’re locked-in-the-zone. 

Weeks really just needs to get on base more often and reduce the number of errors he makes at second base (highest in NL at 15 in ’08).  By being more patient at the plate and drawing more walks, Ricky will increase his stolen base total, OBP, and become the asset the Brewers have been patiently waiting for him to become since his 2003 Brewer debut.

Like the aforementioned Weeks, Bill Hall struggled mightily at the plate last year—especially against right-handers and even more so against the Cubs’ Ryan Dempster in which Hall racked-up goose eggs across the board in nine plate appearances. 

Hopefully, Bill Hall’s offseason eye surgery will help him return to ’06 form when he smacked 35 home runs and drove in 85 RBI’s. Ranked 10th in defense among 16 starting third basemen in the National League in ’08, it wouldn’t hurt the Brew Crew any if Bill Hall can cut down on a few of his errant long tosses to first baseman Prince Fielder as well.

Question No. 4:  Will the Brewers play better against the Cubs in 2009?  

Really, the Brewers record against their biggest NL Central rival Cubs was not bad at 7-9 but getting swept at home in front of an all too obnoxious Cub crowd at “Wrigley North” late in July really ended the Brewers chances of winning their division last year.  In order to compete for the NL Central crown in ’09, Milwaukee players, and fans too, must “Take Back Miller Park” when they host the hated Cubs starting on Opening Day. 

Seriously, if I hear more FIB’s rooting for the Cubs than I do Brewer fans cheering for the home team on Apr. 10, I’m going to puke (hopefully on a Cubby fan) and it won’t be because I had one too many to Miller High Life’s at the pregame tailgate party.  Attention Brewer fans… Attention Brewer fans…please buy all remaining tickets to home games against the Cubs and don’t sell any tickets to Cubs fans either; yes, I’m talking to you buddy! 

If you can’t attend a Brewers/Cubs game at Miller Park next year and can’t give or sell your tickets to a close friend who’s a Brewers fan, don’t sell them on Stub Hub or eBay, tear ‘em up, burn ‘em, or exchange your tickets for a mid-week game later in the season and save all of us die hard Brewers fans from dealing with the onslaught of FIB’s that invade Miller Park for these games. 

Yes, I’m talkin’ ‘bout you man!  Also, it wouldn’t hurt the Brewers to beat up on their more respectable geographic foes (Cardinals and Twins) at home a little while they’re at it.

The Milwaukee Brewers achieved one goal last year in that they managed to have a winning record against NL West teams (20-13) but only racked-up two wins versus the Marlins and Phillies during the regular season.  The Brewers need to dominate more teams than the Pirates in ’09 if they expect to return to postseason play; let’s start by sending the three-and-out Cubbies back to Wrigley South with their short tails between their legs.

Before I address the final of my top five Milwaukee Brewers questions of 2009, there are a number of other questions that will be answered along the way during the ’09 campaign.  How will new manager Ken Macha and bench coach Willie Randolph fare in their first season in Milwaukee?  Will MLB all-time saves king and lock-in future Hall of Famer, Trevor Hoffman, actually save 40-plus games next year?  Let’s hope so. 

Will the departure of former Brewer VP and GM Special Assistant Jack Zduriencik’s knack for drafting great young talent into the Brewer farm system be lost now that he’s moved on to become the General Manager of the Seattle Mariners?  Brewers' fans hope not.    

Will the Brewers offense strike out less, walk more, and add more base hits to the mix?  Will another left-hand bat emerge to join Prince Fielder and balance Milwaukee’s offensive attack?  Will GM Doug Melvin and owner Mark Attanasio sign another gem late in ’09 as they did with CC Sabathia in 2008?  Indeed, there are many answers that will emerge by the end of the 2009 season.  With that being said, here’s my final top five question for 2009 Milwaukee Brewers fans:

Question No. 5:  Which wiener will take the sausage race crown in 2009?

No joke…this is serious stuff here in Milwaukee.  My dear mother, who roots for the Brewers all the way from her home in Anchorage, AK, would give me an earful if she read my first online news article about the Milwaukee Brewers and I failed to address the sausage races at Miller Park so here it goes…

Every game I go to Miller Park I end-up having to call my mother on my cell phone to report who won the sausage races immediately following the race. By the way, her favorite sausage is Frankie Furter, a.k.a. Hot Dog (No. 4).  I cheer for Stosh Jonjak (Polish Sausage No. 2). 

For much of the ’08 season, these two fought for the lead only to see Frankie Furter pull away late and be crowned champ with 23 wins.  Stosh Jonjak finished the season with 18 wins—good enough for second place.  I can hear my mother cheering all the way from the Last Frontier as she reads this!

Anyway, anyone who loves baseball really has to come to Miller Park, if for nothing else, to see the race that made former Pittsburgh Pirate Randall Simon famous.  After the race, Simon was later suspended and charged with assault for the “Whack the Italian Sausage Incident of 2003.”

Okay, back to the question: Which wiener will win the '09 sausage races crown?  You heard it here first; just like the Brewers of 2008, my beloved Stosh Jonjak finished a distant second place.  In ’09, however, Stosh will emerge victorious and take the ’09 crown by three wins or less; just like the ’09 Milwaukee Brewers.  Sorry, Mom.

See you at the ballpark and Let’s Go Brewers!