Anyone who watched the Brewers last year – at all, mind you – realize that this team got better when it got younger. It lopped off Greinke, Marcum, and Wolf, and their starting pitching miraculously got better and more consistent. The bullpen was atrocious from April-to-October, so it would make sense to clean house there. And the problem with Aoki and Gomez was that they didn’t have enough at bats, not that they needed more rest. Finally, the Brewers got nothing form Weeks n the first half and Gonzalez and Gamel at all because of injuries.

This ball club became energized after the Greinke trade and actually were in contention for the wild card way later then anyone wold have expected by July. Presently, their one weakness/unknown remains the 8th/9th inning. No way KRod deserves another shot. But Axford does, given he was lights out in 2010/2011.

I am sorry, but instead of a “salary dump” this was the Brewers looking at their NFL brother to the north and saying we can do it too. They are embracing their youth/depth in their starting pitching (Peralta, Rogers, Fiers, and Thornburg are ready NOW) and defense (Lucroy/Maldonado, Segura, and Gomez is the best up the middle D this team has had in decades), and still pack the thunder sticks (Weeks, Braun, Ramirez, Hart is a pretty powerful 2-5).

It is worth noting that pitchers do not have the same aging curves as hitters. It is not uncommon for pitchers to maintain their effectiveness until they are 37+, whereas hitters are usually in advanced decline (or useless) by that point.

The NL Central also has two of the best farm systems (StL & Pit) who have impact guys ready or close to it and the Cubs and Reds have up and coming systems as well.

Haren’s 1 yr $13M deal would have been a good signing for ML, even E. Jackson’s 4 yr deal wouldn’t have been bad…he’s a durable mid-rotation starter…$13M/yr for such a player isn’t bad at all. Dempster’s deal was reasonable (2 yrs/$26.5M)…and plenty of lesser pitchers would have been an upgrade over what they have…and cheap.

For hitters, Cabrera’s 2 yr $16M deal was a steal….but yeah, the Brewers didn’t have much position player need that could be addressed in FA.

Milwaukee’s biggest problem is that their farm system is horrible and their track record for developing their pitching talent is bad as well….so no cheap aid is coming from the farm.

Quite frankly, I’m all for the Brewers giving Peralta, Fiers, and Rogers the ball, especially because the options available in the market have similar current talent levels with less upside. As for Lohse, he’d be a great pick-up for the right price – but not $13M per year. And I was a bit shocked that they wanted no part of Marcum, which leads me to believe there is probably more to the story than is on the record.

The one thing a team like the Brewers, or any small – medium market team cannot afford to do (literally) is spend money just for the sake of spending money.

As far as the Brewer’s young arms, the consensus among the media scouting types is pretty rough. Jed Bradley is a mess, Jungmann is losing velocity he can’t afford to lose and no one seems to think Rogers can stay healthy. The highest ceiling guy on the farm is Coulter and he is a long way away and has the low floor that comes with a high school catcher.

I hate to be the low guy on the Brewers but I think they are at a crossroads in the first few months of this season. If the starting pitching implodes, which it very well might, they have to look at getting what they can for Hart, Weeks, Ramirez, Gomez and Axford. However, maybe none of those guys will have enough value to bring back a top 50 type prospect that could impact the big league club in 2014. I guess I’m just searching for a reason for optimism that really makes sense.

1. Not wanting to kill their draft pool money and sacrificing a draft pick,
2. Didnt want to tie up big money in a select few of players that may or may not be an exact fit
3. Felt that in house options are currently a safer bet
4. Couldn’t find trade partners to fill needs

If any Brewers fans can lend some insight, it would be appreciated.

The only thing we should’ve spent money on is pitching, but what really were the options? We couldn’t afford, really, any of the pitching contracts handed out this offseason. We’re not being thrifty, this is the only way we can operate.

A post season appearance twice every 10 years is fun for our smallest media market. The rest is hopes and dreams. You only need to visit a brewer fan website to see that we believe we can contend this year.