Is the beer mug half full or half empty as we appraise the 2012 Milwaukee Brewers? There's a case to be made on both sides. Belly up to the bar and let's try to sort it out.
On one hand, the Brew Crew is coming off its first divisional title and playoff series victory since the Molitor and Yount days of 1982, and there's a superb starting pitching staff ready to go. But the offense has question marks all over the place, with Prince Fielder leaving town and Ryan Braun stuck in PED suspension limbo.
For my draft dime, I'm still expecting Milwaukee to contend. The World Champion Cardinals also lost their share of talent in the winter (Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa are gone, among others) and no one else in the NL Central had a winning record in 2011. The Cubs are rebuilding, the Pirates had the worst record in the second half of the year, and the Astros remain a punching bag: this is still the weakest division, on paper, in the majors (by process of elimination, maybe it's a good time to buy stock in the Reds). Assuming Milwaukee's Big Three of Yovani Gallardo, Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum can stay healthy, the Brewers should be playing meaningful baseball in September.
So smiles, everyone, smiles. No one likes an unhappy tailgater. All is not lost in Suds City.
What the heck do we do with Braun at the draft table?
While there isn't a specific date set for MLB to rule Braun's suspension appeal, the Brewers expect to know Braun's status before the start of training camp. That's a sigh of relief to fantasy owners, who need to know the score before making critical decisions in the war room.
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