Sorry to do this to you Brewers fans, but these two guys were the biggest story of the 2011 season, even with all the additions last offseason:
Grade: D-
Notable Additions:
Aramis Ramirez, Brooks Conrad, Cesar Izturis, Alex Gonzalez, and Jose Veras.
Notable Subtractions:
Prince Fielder, Cragi Counsell, Yuniesky Betancourt, Latroy Hawkins, Takashi Saito, Casey McGehee, Jerry Hariston Jr, and Mark Kotsay.
Why?: I know that considering they signed Aramis Ramirez and all, the Brewers look like they have had as good an offseason as they could with there being virtually no chance of signing Prince Fielder. However, you will see many more big MLB players on the “subtractions” list than the additions list.
Ah the McGehee trade. I don’t think we can evaluate this trade yet. If he returns to the level of two years ago, this will be a horrible deal for the Brewers, but if he continues at the level of last year, Doug Melvin looks like a genius.
There are names on both lists I could get into, but it doesn’t make any sense as the players only have an impact on the teams record as aggregate units and not as individuals. I would like to point out, however, that the Brewers are still a good team as they stand. I do see life after Prince for this club. I don’t see them slipping into the days where Jeff Cirillo was on the team and they were the league’s bottom feeder along with Detroit, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, and some other team I’m forgetting (the Expos maybe?).
Predicted Record Range: 81-86 wins
Next up: The World Series Champion, St. Louis Cardinals, but what division would you like to see next?
Filed under: Offseason Recap and Preview Tagged: Alex Gonzalez, Aramis Ramirez, Brewers, Brooks Conrad, Casey McGehee, Cesar Izturis, Cragi Counsell, Jerry Hariston Jr, Jose Veras, Latroy Hawkins, Mark Kotsay, Milwaukee Brewers, Prince Fielder, Takashi Saito, Yuniesky Betancourt
