Questions Facing the Milwaukee Brewers

With Spring Training games starting today there are several questions about this year's Milwaukee Brewers. Much has changed since their push to the National League Wild Card appearance last year especially in the coaching positions.

Will Ken Macha and Willie Randolph lead Milwaukee back to the playoffs? At the start of the recent offseason, Brewers GM Doug Melvin was focused on three individuals for the Manager position. He interviewed Bob Brenly, Willie Randolph, and eventual managerial selection Ken Macha.

But soon after the hiring of Macha, Willie Randolph joined the Crew as bench coach. I believe that between the two of them, they will do very well at leading this club back to a strong winning season. After all, two heads are better than one, right?

Is the current rotation strong enough to pick up the wins left behind by Ben Sheets and CC Sabathia? One would hope so. Many of the losses that piled up prior to CC seemed to come from the struggling bullpen. The additions of veteran starter Braedon Looper and baseball's leading game stopper in Trevor Hoffman should be enough to keep some of the losses off the board with good ground ball pitching and fewer late game meltdowns.

Who will emerge as the fourth outfielder?

Tony Gwynn Jr., Trot Nixon and Chris Duffy figure to be the leading candidates and all should see extra playing time with Ryan Braun playing in the World Baseball Classic. One would hope that Tony Gwynn makes the Major League squad as he is out of options and could be gone if the Brewers try to clear him through waivers.

Will the real Eric Gagne please stand up?

Gagne is back in camp trying to reclaim the mojo that made him one of the best closers in Dodger history. I give the guy lots of credit for admitting that he may have under played his contract and that he sort of let the team down. It takes a lot of guts to come back and play for a city that booed him several times down the stretch. For whatever reason, I really like the guy and I think he's still got it. He just has to find it.

Will prospects Mat Gamel and Alcides Escobar find their way to the big leagues?

Well, Gamel won't go anywhere until his shoulder heels. The kid has a tremendous bat but needs to work on his defensive skills. He does have a great future ahead of him though. And Escobar is climbing up the charts at a high rate.

He has a stunning glove and his bat is coming around too. I would expect to see both in the big leagues for at least half a season and I only say that because injuries happen. Whether their position is open or not, they are too good of athletes to stay in the minors.

Can Chris Capuano contribute this year?

This guy once won 18 games in a season. You don't win 18 games based on luck. Once he is fully healthy and he regains his confidence, this guy will be a valuable addition to an already solid pitching staff.

Maybe I'm a little too optimistic about the upcoming season.

But I have to be.

With all the core young players entering their third and fourth years in the league and a playoff experience to gauge themselves, one has to be thinking positively. The Brewers have a great owner and general manager combo, they are selling tickets like crazy and it's baseball season again.

What could be better?