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Semrau: Excuses won't cut it anymore -- it's time for Brewers to make the playoffs

Dennis Semrau  —  3/31/2008 10:54 am

CHICAGO -- It is time for the Milwaukee Brewers to stand up and be counted when October rolls around.

The days of simply striving to play .500 baseball won't cut it anymore.

The 2008 Brewers, who open the season today against National League Central Division rival Chicago at Wrigley Field, don't quite have all the pieces in place to win a World Series. Take a look at the starting pitching rotation if you want to argue the point.

But the Brewers no longer just think they have the talent to compete for a playoff berth. They know it.

"We've got talented players. Now it's time to win," said utility infielder Craig Counsell, a two-time World Series champion with the 1997 Florida Marlins and 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks. "It's all about winning. We know we can do it."

Counsell, who grew up in Whitefish Bay, would like to end his career with one more World Series ring.

"Ultimately, you've got to have guys who can get the job done," he said. "This is a talented bunch. If we stay healthy, we should be right there."

General manager Doug Melvin agreed that there is a new attitude, a "bring it on, we're ready for you" feeling that permeates Miller Park.

"We're past the development stage," Melvin said. "We want expectations to be high. We want the pressure to be where we're at today."

Yost said his club learned what it takes to compete during a pennant race last season.

"They understand the pressures of it now, that they just go out and play their game," he said. "It's hard to tell them what's involved with all that and how your mindset has to be for 162 games.

"What the experience teaches you is to stay steady in your approach, take what comes every day and don't sweat the small stuff."

Following are 10 points to ponder before ordering your playoff tickets.

• Here are five things that must happen if the Brewers are to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982:

1. The defense must improve. Milwaukee had the fourth-worst defense in the National League a year ago, committing 109 errors. The Brewers don't have to reverse that trend and be the fourth-best defense in the league. But inserting Mike Cameron in center field and moving Bill Hall to third base and Ryan Braun to left field should help turn things around. As Melvin and manager Ned Yost maintained during the off-season, the better the defense is the better the pitching staff will be.

2. The starting pitching must be consistent. You can't have your ace, Ben Sheets, missing more than a few starts. Milwaukee was 13 games below .500 in his absence last year. Jeff Suppan, the No. 2 starter, also was winless from June 22 until Sept. 2. Injured right-hander Yovani Gallardo can't return soon enough. While his 9-5 record and 3.67 ERA as a rookie was impressive, he was a true stopper with seven of his nine wins coming after Brewers losses. It would also help if the starters could get into the seventh inning more often than they did last season.

3. The club must learn to win on the road. Last year's 32-49 road record was the Brewers' eighth straight losing road record. The Brewers have not had a winning road record since going 42-39 in 1999. Until they stop being road kill, they won't be taken seriously as a pennant contender. New veteran acquisitions in catcher Jason Kendall and Cameron should help.

4. Power duo must stay on track. No duo in baseball last year hit more than the 84 home runs that Prince Fielder (50) and Ryan Braun (34) combined to hit. New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez (54) was the only one to hit more homers than Fielder. A-Rod combined with Hideki Matsui (25) for 79 homers, to rank second to the Brewers' bombers. One huge change, though, is that this season Fielder will bat third and Braun fourth, the reverse of last season.

5. Rickie Weeks must deliver on his promise. Considered to be on the verge of a "breakout" season, it's time for Weeks to turn his potential into production over a full season. Like shortstop J.J. Hardy displayed last year, Weeks has to shed his injury-prone reputation and deliver at second base and at the plate like he did in August and September.

Here are five things that can't happen if the Brewers are to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982:

1. Team can't get off to a slow start. Even though Cameron will miss the first 25 games while serving his suspension for testing positive for using a banned stimulant, the Brewers need to pick up the slack. Tony Gwynn Jr. and Gabe Gross, in particular, must make the most of their opportunity to play in the outfield while Cameron is out.

2. The rebuilt bullpen can't fail. David Riske, Solomon Torres and Guillermo Mota were acquired for their durability and to help Milwaukee improve on the 41 games they lost after holding the lead a year ago. New closer Eric Gagne isn't expected to post the numbers he recorded from 2002-04, when he converted 152-of-158 save opportunities. But for $10 million, Melvin would like to see something resembling his 16 saves he converted in 17 chances in Texas early in 2007 -- and not the 6.75 ERA he posted in Boston late last season.

3. Kendall can't repeat Estrada's 2007 season. From fully accepting Yost's experiment of the catcher batting ninth to tweaking his mechanics to improve his ability to throw out opposing baserunners, the new starting catcher is everything that last year's starting catcher, Johnny Estrada, was not, including being a team player and a clubhouse asset.

4. Milwaukee can't live on the long ball. The Brewers hit 231 home runs in 2007, the fourth time in their franchise history that they led the league. That also set a club record, shattering the previous mark of 216 set in their World Series runner-up season of 1982. Improved team speed should help the club manufacture more runs when needed in close games this season.

5. The Brewers can't afford any serious injuries. In a way, the loss of Cameron to open the season is akin to losing a starter for four weeks because of an injury, like when Bill Hall missed a month with an ankle injury last season. While the bench could provide some help, there is no one who can compensate for the loss of any of the everyday starters for any length of time.

Predictions

In the National League, take the New York Mets in the East Division, Milwaukee in the Central and Arizona in the West. However, the Chicago Cubs will secure the wild card berth on the last day of the season with a win at Miller Park over the Brewers.

Over in American League, go with Boston in the East, Cleveland in the Central and Seattle in the West, with the New York Yankees taking the wild card in a close battle with Detroit.

Milwaukee returns to the playoffs for the first time since 1982, winning the division with a 90-72 record. But the Brewers will fall short of making it to the World Series. Cleveland will subdue Chicago for the World Championship as the Cubs' attempt to buy a World Series title fails again.

Dennis Semrau  —  3/31/2008 10:54 am