Brewers offseason moves bring "win now" attitude to Milwaukee

It's about time I write a blog post about the Brewers and I'm glad its about something good. Any Brewer fan would have said the most important thing this team needed to address this off-season was starting pitching and the Brewer front office seemed to acknowledge this and finally made some moves, and they were some big ones.

The first trade for Shaun Marcum was one I really liked. We gave up our best prospect in Brett Lawrie but he was still a couple years from being major league ready and the Brewers needed to make a move to make themselves ready now. As praised as Lawrie was there was no guarantee that his success in the minors would mean he would be a great major league player and to be able to trade just him for a pitcher who has posted good stats pitching in the toughest division in baseball (AL East) and was the Blue Jays opening day starter is a great trade in my mind. Pitchers usually see an increase in wins and a decrease in ERA when switching to the NL because they don't have to face the DH and especially those from the AL East because he won't be facing the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays 3-4 times each per year. The Marcum deal was a step in the right direction but the next move was what made the most waves.

The Brewers trade for Zack Greinke was a complete shock for me. The Brewers were apparently on Greinke's no-trade list but it was reported after the trade that he liked the city of Milwaukee and waived the no-trade clause to complete the trade, and when people talked about it, it seemed as if the Brewers weren't even in the running, but they somehow pulled off the trade.

When looking at what the Brewers gave up for Greinke you don't seem so sure. As a Brewer fan it was always, "save the prospects because they are the future" mentality. So as hesitant as we as fans have become to trade prospects we haven't given up as much as people may think. Alcides Escobar was a great defender but struggled with hitting and continues to struggle even in winter ball right now. Lorenzo Cain was the one I was most sad to see go as he looked real good playing center field last year and he could be a great player but it was such a small sample size of major league playing time its hard to tell. Jake Odorizzi was the highest ranked pitching prospect we had but was still down in A ball last year, so he still had some time till he was ready and who knows how the rest of his career turns out. And the last player included was Jeremy Jeffress, who although very talented, is one drug violation away from being kicked out of the league. So although its tough to see these prospects go as they could all have successful major league careers, the Brewers needed to make a move that says, "we are looking to win now," and thats exactly what they did.

Now where does that leave the Brewers for the upcoming 2011 season? The rotation looks stellar, Gallardo, Greinke, Marcum, Wolf, Narveson. Wolf looked great near the end of last season and I have a feeling that Narveson is just on the verge of figuring everything out and becoming a very reliable starter, and Gallardo is still as good as ever and could possibly get even better. The offense will remain mostly as it was, as it appears the Brewers are going to keep Fielder and look to resign him instead of trade him. If Fielder, Braun, Hart, Mcgehee all have good offensive seasons, combined with the new rotation we could be very dangerous. The bullpen still has some questions around it but the big contributers in Loe and Axford will still be there and will hopefully be as effective as they were last year. Also Hawkins will look to rebound from a bad year, and he looked good early last year but fell off after his injury. Braddock will hopefully improve on his good year and the young Mark Rodgers, who actually started last year could be a big help.

These moves mean the Brewers are looking to win now and I can't help but think that we have a very good team now and could make some serious noise. It will be an exciting year for Brewers fans thats for sure. I'm already counting down the days till the season starts.

Reactions to Cliff Lee going to Philly

The biggest free agent this offseason for baseball was Cliff Lee and he finally made his decision on where he was going to go and he surprised a lot of people by choosing to return to the Philadelphia Phillies. He took less money and less years on a contract to return there, which is funny because Philly traded him believing he would ask for a massive contract. His return has set up what could potentially be one of the better baseball teams we have seen in years.

Just look at this rotation(plus last years stats)

Roy Halladay: 21-10, 2.44 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 250 IP (a perfect game and a no hitter)

Cliff Lee: 12-9, 3,18 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 212 IP

Roy Oswalt: 13-13, 2.76 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 211 IP
Cole Hamels:12-11, 3.06 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 209 IP

So if these guys were to replicate these stats they would total 58 wins and pitch around 882 innings. Plus you have to add to the fact that Cliff Lee missed some time with an injury and played about the first half of the season on the offensive inept Mariners and Oswalt pitched half of the season for a struggling Astros team, so their win numbers should increase. If these four guys stay healthy all year it will be amazing to watch. We just need to find out who their fifth stater is going to be because rumors are that Joe Blanton is on the move.

So what does this mean for the rest of the NL?

Well when you see that rotation plus their still very powerful batting lineup you have to be afraid. If this team is at full health the only way to beat them would be to have a great pitching performance from your starter plus clutch hitting because these guys won't give up many runs. The only team that shouldn't be too worried is the San Fransisco Giants. They beat the Phillies to get to the World Series and then beat Cliff Lee twice in the World Series. So you still have to say the favorite in the NL is the Giants, who have a very good pitching rotation of their own.

Lets dream for a second these two teams meet up in the playoffs in a seven game series again and look at the pitching matchups. (this assuming everybody is healthy and no trades are made)

Game 1: Halladay vs Lincecum
Game 2: Lee vs Cain

Game 3: Oswalt vs Sanchez

Game 4: Hamels vs Bumgarner

I've already wet myself at the thought of this happening.

As for the AL this news leaves the Yankees and Rangers to say, "what now?" as both teams were pushing hard to get Lee and now the options are not as numerous with most of the big name pitchers already gone. The Yankees rotation is looking thin, especially if Andy Pettite retires and who knows how AJ Burnett is gonna be this season. The same goes for the Rangers. They have a very good team, but Cliff Lee was a huge boost for them and without him they may not be the same. C.J. Wilson was so good for them last year and you can hope he only gets better and becomes the ace they will need.

Cliff Lee signing with the Phillies was a surprise and it affected a couple teams and potentially the entire National League. That pitching rotation for the Phillies is going to be sick and most importantly really fun to watch. I am so excited for baseball season already and its still only December.