Milwaukee Brewers Starting Rotation

Many sports enthusiasts have not been following the remarkable progression of the Milwaukee Brewers over the past five years like I have been.  There are many questions and people have their doubts about this team.  If baseball is your true passion, then you know that teams can't win without a solid starting rotation.  The Milwaukee Brewers have brought up many great pitchers through their farm system and also made a clutch move before the trade deadline to lock up a deal with former Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia.  I am confident that the Milwaukee Brewers can and will upset the Philadelphia Phillies.  And it starts with these five pitchers: C.C. Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Manny Parra, Jeff Suppan, and Dave Bush.

C.C. Sabathia:  It's hard to sum up all of the talent that the ace of the pitching staff has.  C.C. Sabathia is a hard throwing "southpaw" that can also go the distance.  He's thrown ten complete games this season, seven with Milwaukee.  He never gives up on the mound, as a ballplayer that shows great discipline and focus.  He rallies the Brew Crew together and they rarely lose win he's pitching.  Sabathia has a great left-handed slider and a very deceptive fastball.  He's not afraid to bring the heat and also keep the batter honest with the junk.  Expect this Brewer to pitch great in the postseason.

Sheets: He is the leader of the pitching staff, Sheets has been with the organization the longest.  He's shown great promise for many years, and luckily he was able to show the baseball world what he could do this season since he avoided any kind of season-ending injury.  Sheets also has a powerful fastball, but his strike-out pitch is that wicked curveball.  Sheets is a workhorse, like Sabathia, and he can also go the distance.  In fact, Sheets has racked up the most complete games than any other pitcher in the league within the span of five years.  He's tough and he'll have to step up big in the postseason, hopefully he won't be sidelined due to a recent injury.  The loss of Sheets would be detrimental for the Brew Crew.

Parra:  Another good left-handed pitcher.  Parra mixes up speed well while he's on the mound.  The Brewers always have a good chance of winning when he's got the ball because he confuses batters.  He releases his fastball just like his change-up and his curveball just like his fastball.  The problem with Parra is sometimes his fastball becomes flat and in the MLB batters will take advantage of that.  He'll play an integral role and maybe relieve some of the burden on Sheets and Sabathia.

Suppan:  Jeff Suppan used to be a phenomenal pitcher when he was a St. Louis Cardinal, since his jump over to the Brewers he has been somewhat of a disappointment.  Suppan's problem is that he gives up too many hits.  When he pitches well and hits his spots, he puts the Brewers in a great position to win.  I believe the old veteran will play an integral role in the postseason success, especially if Sheets is truly out for the remainder of the season.

Bush:  The "wildcard" pitcher as I like to call him.  You never know what you're going to get with Bush.  In the beginning of the season, he couldn't buy a win.  However, in the summer he had one of the lowest ERAs in the whole league.  The problem with Bush is that he gives up a lot of long balls.  I would look for him to work ahead in the count, and he'll do just fine.  He is an average MLB pitcher at best.