5 Things to Hope For in a Brewers New Year, Part 2

Part two of five in a series for the new year.

2. A serviceable starting rotation

A Bad Time to Lose a Starter

On the heels of last night's extra innings win in St. Louis came news that Brewers' starting pitcher Chris Narveson sliced his hand while attempting to fix his glove with a pair of scissors. He will miss his next start and might land on the DL. Normally a missed start by a team's number five pitcher would not be of much concern because off days usually allow the other starters to move up spot and pitch on regular rest. Indeed, with Monday's off day, that is still possible if Narveson misses only one start.

However, this injury comes on the first day of a stretch where the Brewers play seventeen games in sixteen days, including a double header in Pittsburgh on August 22nd, requiring another starter to step up and fill in for Narveson if he ends up on the DL. With the double header at the end of this stretch the Crew may need to call up a minor league pitcher, such as Mark DiFelice or Mike McClendon, regardless of whether or not Narveson misses more than one start. Narveson's injury shouldn't affect the Brewers too much, but its timing is unfortunate.

What a Difference a Week Can Make

I've been busy the last few days and haven't had time to post. I'm glad to be back at it today, but with everything that's gone on over the past week that also means that this will be a long one. Bear with me, though; there's a lot of good stuff in here that will make you feel great about the Brewers.

Last Tuesday Brewer fans found themselves lamenting an 0-4 start with their team facing the tough Atlanta Braves for three more games. Yovani Gallardo took the ball that day, put the team on his shoulders, and delivered a two-hit complete game shutout in which he also scored the Brewers' only run. That game started a stretch by the Brewers that left them 5-2 on the home stand and 5-5 overall, moving them back to .500 quicker than even the most optimistic Brewer fans likely hoped.

Time For a Lineup Shuffle?

The Brewers lost again yesterday despite an excellent outing by Chris Narveson (6 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K), pushing their record to a disappointing 0-4 to begin the season. Another tough loss for the Crew, who saw their 1-0 lead slip away in the eighth inning when Takashi Saito, a pitcher historically good at keeping the ball in the park, gave up two solo home runs to give Atlanta the lead. Surely most Brewers fans didn't expect their best performance by a starting pitcher to begin the season from Chris Narveson, and the Narve Dog indeed looked somewhat shaky in the first inning. He quickly overcame what I'm calling his "home opener nerves," settled in, and mostly made Braves' hitters look foolish for six innings.

Through those innings no Brave passed first base. Had the Narve Dog been more economical with his pitches he surely could have stayed in the game longer. Unfortunately, such performances sometimes go to waste, and Brewers' bats just couldn't provide enough offense for the bullpen to secure the win. It's far too early to start worrying, but it's probably time for Ron Roenicke to shuffle his lineup, if not only for the day.

Gallardo to Start Opening Day in Cincinnati

Yesterday Ron Roenicke announced his plans to line up the Brewers starters (sans Zack Greinke) to open the season. For the second consecutive year Yovani Gallardo gets the nod on opening day. He'll face off against Reds ace Edinson Volquez in Cincinnati on March 31. Said Gallardo: "It's very exciting for me, and it just gives me that opportunity to go out there and show what I'm capable of doing."

Marcum Blanks Angels, Fielder Homers in 2-1 Win

Brewers fans got a glimpse of what the club traded Brett Lawrie for yesterday when Shaun Marcum threw three scoreless innings against the Angels. The changeup specialist threw his number one pitch especially well as he struck out three while giving up two hits and no walks. Said Craig Counsell of Marcum's outing: "That was impressive."

Meanwhile Prince Fielder, originally slated for a day off, batted fourth as designated hitter and provided the Brewers' sole runs with his first homer of the year, a two-run shot. Fielder asked manager Ron Roenicke if he could DH in order to get in a couple more at-bats. Roenicke was pleased with Prince's initiative and was happy to oblige the slugger.

Takashi Saito relieved Marcum, walked the first batter he faced and retired the next two on flyouts to right field. He then exited, having reached his pitch limit.

The Brewers play split squad road games today vs the Rangers and A's, both at 2:05 CST. Zack Greinke starts against the Rangers while Chris Narveson leads off against the Athletics.

Brewers Down White Sox 3-1

Brewers pitchers put together a solid day on the mound today in a Cactus League victory over the White Sox. The Brewers struck first in the top of the third when Rickie Weeks batted home catcher Wil Nieves after he singled and stole second.

More Pics From Spring Training

Prince Fielder arrived in camp today, leaving Mark Kotsay as the only Brewer yet to show up. Here are some more pics of this week's workouts (again courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Roenicke Thinking of Batting Pitcher Eighth

Pitchers and catchers reported yesterday and everyone is getting geared up for baseball. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke spoke with reporters today and with the ink on Rickie Weeks' contract still drying his name inevitably came up for discussion. Of Weeks Roenicke said: "He's lead-off but he can hit anywhere. You put him in the 3rd spot last year and maybe he drives in 100 [RBI]." Roenicke mentioned he's even considering batting his pitchers eighth in the lineup to give Weeks more RBI opportunities.

Brewers Starting Rotation Thoughts

Answering fans' questions last week, Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com discussed how the Brewers should line up their starting pitchers for the first couple of weeks of the regular season. Of course, things might happen during Spring Training that would lead to a reconsideration of the starting pitching order, but most fans expect Zack Greinke to start on opening day, followed by Yovani Gallardo, Shaun Marcum, Randy Wolf, and Chris Narveson. McCalvy suggested a slightly different order, and I agree with him.