2008 Milwaukee Brewers MLB Predictions & Preview


June 8, 2008 | Posted By Larry Cook

It’s a true story that four players from the Brewers’ roster appeared on the daytime soap The Young and The Restless. This is the perfect show for Milwaukee fans considering this is a young, talented team, but Brewer fans are growing restless after a 25-year playoff drought. The Brewers will need their pitching and defense to keep up with one of the most potent lineups the game has to offer. Below Larry Cook gives you his 2008 Milwaukee Brewers predictions along with a detailed season preview of what to expect.

Starting Rotation:

None of the Brewers’ starters produced more than 12 wins last season. Yet, they didn’t add any starters in the offseason. Milwaukee still appears to boast one of the better rotations in the National League, believe it or not. Ben Sheets is as good as it gets when healthy and is pitching at the highest level in his seven-year career. Injuries have limited him to just 41 starts the past two seasons though. Milwaukee’s best pitcher may be Yovani Gallardo, who expeeded high expectations and dazzled as a rookie last year. Gallardo was 3-1 in September last year and pitched 21 straight scoreless innings in a row. Jeff Suppan is an innings-eater, although he wasn’t as effective in those long innings as the Brewers had hoped. Carlos Villanueva will likely be the No. 4 starter after showing the most consistency out of any Brewers’ starter last season. The fifth spot is a bit dicey with Chris Capuano, Dave Bush, Claudio Vargas and Manny Parra battling. Capuano was just an All-Star two years ago and can’t seem to make this rotation for whatever reason.

Bullpen:

Fans really blamed the Brewers’ bullpen for their collapse last season. These fans watched their team blow a league-high 16 games after leading by 3 or more runs. Also, the best pitcher in this ‘pen is now gone after Milwaukee dealt closer Francisco Cordero to the Reds. Milwaukee did pick up former Dodgers’ closer Eric Gagne in the offseason and they are hoping he can regain new life with the Brewers after admitting taking HGH during his dominance. It will be extremely touch for Gagne to match Cordero’s 44 savers from last season. Derrick Turnbow will also need to be more consistent as Gagne’s setup man. Fans were quick to get all over Turnbow with his inconsistency. Turnbow’s ERA’s from month to month were as follows: 2.19, 7.84, 1.93, 6.10, 2.92, 9.35 from April through September. Lefty Brian Shouse will be called on for spot duty, while veterans Salomon Torres, Randy Choate, and David Riske are likely to win jobs in the bullpen. The ‘pen was one of the Brewers’ biggest problems last season, but yet Milwaukee only hurt their chances of improving by not doing much with it in the offseason.

Line-Up:

2B Rickie Weeks should have his wrist problems behind him, giving Milwaukee the leadoff man they had hoped for. Weeks can provide speed and power up front. SS J.J. Hardy was a pleasant surprise last season. Now the Brewers just hope his power numbers were no fluke and he can improve on his OBP from 2007. LF Ryan Braun was an even bigger surprise. He will play LF and bat 3rd in this potent lineup and is definitely the Brewers’ most powerful young hitter not named Fielder. Braun is a terror against left-handed pitchers. At clean-up the Brewers have an emotional leader in 1B Prince Fielder. He also does some great leading with his bat, and could be this year’s top home-run hitter with some protection in Ryan Braun and Corey Hart. Hart will hit 5th after leading the club with 9 triples. His sneaky ability to steal bases should give CF Mike Cameron and 3B Bill Hall a few extra RBI chances this season. Cameron comes over from San Diego to stabilize this defense and give the Brewers another capable bat. Hall is more comfortable at 3B than he was in the outfield. They hope his mental psych will be in the right state of mind to recapture his power in the infield. C Jason Kendall is a liability behind the plate, but the Brewers just need him to get on base and manage this pitching staff. C Mike Rivera will get limited opportunities to backup Kendall. IF Craig Counsell is not going to see much time off the bench. He has a great glove, but is also a liability at the plate. OF Gabe Gross will get his chance in spring training to compete for playing time. UT Joe Dillon emerged from nowhere as the Brewers’ top pinch hitter in ‘07 and figures to play the same role this year. Milwaukee definitely lacks depth on the bench so keeping players healthy is a must if they want to keep this potent starting lineup.

Brewers 2008 Predictions:

The Brewers are finally out of the laughing stock of the NL Central and into the thick of things heading into the 2008 season. Their core of powerful young hitters is as good as it gets, and the starting rotation has the potential to be better than average. Still, good teams win with pitching and defense, Milwaukee’s biggest weakness. Their best two pitchers in Ben Sheets and Eric Gagne still have health questions to be answered. The shakiness of their status gives me not other choice than to place Milwaukee in the middle of the pack. The Brewers will finish in 3rd place in the NL Central Division, just behind Chicago and Houston.

Larry Cook finished with the #5 World Ranking with his baseball picks in 2007 last year. Hard work with research, analysis and starting pitcher breakdowns gives Larry the edge over your sportsbook and bookies. You won’t believe the kind of profits you can make by signing up for any of Larry’s long-term packages. By doing so, you will get in on all of his winning MLB action this season. Larry will guide you to profits you have never seen before once he makes his move up to the #1 spot in 2008.

2008 Milwaukee Brewers Odds:

Odds to win NL Central: 9/5
Odds to win 2008 NL Pennant: 9/1
Odds to win 2008 World Series: 30/1

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